Being in Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires

by Wayne W. Dyer

In this inspirational work, beloved best-selling author Dr. Wayne W. Dyer shows you how to restore balance in your life by offering nine principles for realigning your thoughts so that they correspond to your highest desires.

Imagine a balance scale with one end weighted down to the ground, and the other end – featuring the objects of your desires – sticking up precariously in the air. This scale is a measurement of your thoughts. To restore the same balance that characterizes everything in our universe, you have to take up the weighty thoughts so that they match up to your desires.

The seasons reflect the overall harmony of life. For example, winter passes and the blossoms emerge. This is balanced by a need to have the trees rest, so autumn arrives on time and helps the trees ready themselves for another period of repose. This book is dedicated to the idea that we’re a vital component of this creative process and have within ourselves the wherewithal to create all that we want if we recognize and revise out-of-balance thoughts.

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction, Spirituality, Personal Development, Psychology, Audiobook, Philosophy

162 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 12, 2016

About the author

Wayne Walter Dyer was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. Dyer earned a Bachelor’s degree in History and Philosophy, a Master’s degree in Psychology and an Ed.D. in Guidance and Counseling at Wayne State University in 1970. Early in his career, he worked as a high school guidance counselor, and went on to run a successful private therapy practice. He became a popular professor of counselor education at St. John's University, where he was approached by a literary agent to put his ideas into book form. The result was his first book, Your Erroneous Zones (1976), one of the best-selling books of all time, with an estimated 100 million copies sold. This launched Dyer's career as a motivational speaker and self-help author, during which he published 20 more best-selling books and produced a number of popular specials for PBS. Influenced by thinkers such as Abraham H. Maslow and Albert Ellis, Dyer's early work focused on psychological themes such as motivation, self actualization and assertiveness. By the 1990s, the focus of his work had shifted to spirituality. Inspired by Swami Muktananda and New Thought, he promoted themes such as the "power of intention," collaborated with alternative medicine advocate Deepak Chopra on a number of projects, and was a frequent guest on the Oprah Winfrey Show.

Reviews

[Kim R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I took a couple of months for me to read this book because it is a "ponder" book. I found it life changing. As in, I have it with my scriptures; (which I study daily, as nothing fills my soul and teaches me truth like studying the gospel.) It's amazing to me that the obviously inspired author can take many of the truths I learn in church and from the scriptures and re-word the same principle to give it a new application in my life. When I find myself crabby, or needing a little shot of joy, I can turn to this book and be reminded that it is me who decides to be in whatever mood I am in and it is me who can change that mood. This book has earned itself a permanent place on my bedside table.

[Marta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read Wayne Dyer, listened to him on audio and watched him speak on PBS. At times he has said things that have made me speculate that he might be tricky to live with, such as saying that his kids from a former wife don't have allergies when they are with him versus when they are with his wife because he teaches them to not believe in allergies. And I have thought, "Yes and you live in Hawaii and maybe your kids don't have allergies to what is there. Ugh."
On the other hand, I think he was a master at re-framing destructive thoughts in a way that is positive, hopeful and quite often far more religious than what people would believe of him. I had one major take away from this book, which is to reflect on the imbalance that comes from when what you want isn't in harmony with your actions. There are many good quotes and common sense moments. At the end were some sappy (to me) quotes from children about what is love.
The book is short and pretty, probably marketed as a gift book, which makes it an easy, pleasant way to get some personal thinking time.

[Ana Peralta · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️

[Drew Constance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick thoughts: Inviting, honest and provoking.


I have a few of Dr. Dyers books on my bookshelf sitting there waiting to be read, and after reading Being in Balance, I can honestly say I am exited to get into them. Dyer has a really positive, informative and resonating voice that really connected me to his words of universal wisdom. He offered great, simple approaches to balancing areas of life that are often overlooked and disconnected and shared some beautiful quotes and poetry throughout to showcase his ideas and experiences.

I am adopting many of the principles already so it was fantastic to read some tips and take a look at different perspectives behind the principles. Manifestation is a huge learning point in my own self transformational development and the frequent “You are what you think, and you create what you think,” is really absorbed into my mind now.

Apart from also being pleasing to the eye, I found this to be a provoking, emotionally inviting and profound look at life, balance, spirituality and the world at large and would recommend it for fans of Dyer, or for anyone wanting to learn more about self love, and how to balance key areas in your life for a fulfilling, energetic and abundant life. I will be reading further works. This book would also make a fantastic gift and is small enough to fit into your bag or handbag for slower reading or reflection.

[Gregory Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

balanced...i believe

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

"We become what we think about all day long." Some people get this immediately. Others don't get it, can't get it, or don't want to get it. But nonetheless it is true and definitely worth getting. So in his own unique and good-natured manner, Wayne breaks it down for us, step by step, piece by piece. Reading this book is a gentle reminder on how to "think" to "become" who you really desire to be.

[Dianna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading a lot of spiritual, manifestating books lately. I don’t feel like they are my jam per se, but I do want to find out more about how can I live a perfectly peaceful life. And I do believe highly in manifesting things and experiences. It works. It’s miracles galore, if only you believe that what you want is available, is yours, and you let go of principles and be delusional. I swear it works.

This book is accurate to the T, it shows how to mind your own business and get peace whilst doing it.

Really enjoyable but truly helpful.

[Nemah Irshad · Rating 2 out of 5]

It feels like a very fixed belief that u must be good to recieve good and you must act a certain way if you want your life a certain way. its good for people to gain some mindfulness if they are that off the mark but otherwise it felt like a friendly reminder to just be kinder to the world and it will reflect back

[Kris · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite reads

[Saúl Girón · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hermoso libro. Hermoso propósito.
El equilibrio es posible xq el ser humano es eso:una posibilidad.

[Teresa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’ve read a lot of Wayne Dyer’s books - they’re always filled with his incredible insight drawing from the wisdom of philosophers, poets, teachers, etc.

Easy to read and ingest before sleeping. Good reminders, thoughts and ideas for staying balanced in what you might perceive as an unbalanced world or rather that an unbalanced world is one of your own making.

[Nadine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple effective principles to practice in everyday life.

[JuLio PaBlo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente!!!!

[Lokesh Merupula · Rating 4 out of 5]

You are what you think about! An excellent book about being in balance. There are a lot of god and faith references. Ignore reference to Deepak Chopra.

[Rubina · Rating 4 out of 5]

The concept of balance defines our Universe, but ever so often we have to be reminded of the need to restore this nature equilibrium in all aspects of our life. This little book provides us with the nine principles to help restore this balance. The focus of these nine principles is about the realigning of our thoughts, that if our thoughts are not aligned with our desires these thoughts are then resistant energy which counters our desires. Basically, as stated in Law of Attraction, we become what we think. An inspirational book, definitely one to be re-read periodically.

1) Balancing your dreams with your habits
2) Balancing your desire to enjoy life with your need to achieve
3) Balancing how you see yourself with what you project to the world
4) Balancing your desire for what you want with your addictive behaviour
5) Balancing your desire to have your body feel great with what you feed it and how you exercise it
6) Balancing your desire for prosperity with your habits of scarcity
7) Balancing your desire to live in a peaceful world with messages of evil continually bombarding you
8) Balancing your desire for love with feelings of not having enough love
9) Balancing your Spiritual Life with your Material Life

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had casually listened to this long ago. I "really" listened to it this time. Wow. I'm changing my review to 5 stars. Perhaps because I'm older or perhaps life has made me wiser or more receptive to Mr. Dyer's message. His message resonated with me this time. Eye-opening stuff. It was too woo-woo before now it seemed aimed at me.

[Abbie · Rating 3 out of 5]

There were good insights and reminders in this book. While the writing was nice and simple it was almost simple to the point of losing some of the deeper truth in the writing. In any case, this was a good, quick read that reminded me of truths necessary to live by.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give 5 stars to Wayne Dyer - he was a master. When I am feeling low, down, helpless, I pick up one of his books and get an instant reminder of who I am, what I am capable of, and he sets me right again. Priceless.

[Lani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this book in piecemeal and found it refreshing every time I picked it up. This is definitely a book I will be referring to every so often.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several interesting chapters about how to bring your life into balance. Law of attraction is part of this.

[R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I get something new out of this every time I read this. It is my go to for attitude adjustment

[Randi · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Wayne. Great Spiritual self help/law of attraction/positive thinking book. Along with exercises and tips for applying good habits to your life.

[Corrina]

I loved this book so much I shared it with someone i love hoping it could inspire hem as it did me.

[gerry divine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good

It is very insightful, inspiring, informative and interesting book .it has a very balanced view of human existence and God.

[Ann · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's all about Perspective

This is a simple reminder when you lose track of yourself, what is truly important. You get back what you put out into the universe. Loved it!

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thought provoking

You don't realize that what you are feeling is out of balance..until Dr Dyer helps you realize how easy it is to realign. I suggest the audiobook.

[Ellaina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Being in Balance is a book about the key principles to being balanced and in alignment to benefit your future. Personally, one of the important questions this book inspired me to consider more deeply, would be the question: What areas of your life right now are currently balanced? My life is currently balanced in a lot of the aspects this book has talked about. For example, I find myself balanced in habits, need to achieve, what I project to the world, addictive behavior, diet, my views of the world around me, and spiritual vs material. I do believe I am lacking in the aspect of my perception of love, and prosperity. I had already been aware of more than half of the lessons that were taught in this book, but it is the extra knowledge I gained from the lessons that made the read worth it. One of the main lessons that I took from the book, is when you are feeling lovelessness, start to project love onto others. You get what you state, you attract what your desires are directed towards. I believe that this book was beneficial to me and my journey, by allowing me to gain the extra lessons I needed to continue to remain in balance. I would not just recommend this book to a friend, but I would recommend it to anyone struggling with their mental state, and seeking a shift in their routines / daily life. I believe that this book can be very beneficial to anyone seeking a mental change. A great example of how life-changing this book can be is when it talks about addiction. This book talks deeply about how to regain balance when and if you are struggling with an addiction. Instead of looking at the battle of addiction in a negative way, you can see it in a positive light and look at what you can start replacing that habit with. When this book talks about lovelessness and loneliness, it mentions the way you view loneliness as well. Instead of looking at loneliness as a bad thing, and searching for someone to fill that “void” with love, reflect on how loving you are. The book mentions several quotes talking about how when you are seeking love, you often don’t find it, but when you look at someone extremely loving, they often times have someone filling that void. Lovelessness and addiction can cause an immense amount of imbalance, so I feel that not only will I learn from these chapters, but others struggling with these various things (and more) can learn a lot from this book.

[Katrina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preface: The beginning of 2024 met me with a strong pull to go back and revisit the self-help/spiritual Originals of my time such as: Eckhart Tolle, Louise Hay, Wayne Dyer, Esther & Jerry Hicks, just to name a few. Much like an athlete who gets a good solid grasp of the basics before moving onto more complex skills, they eventually circle back to the basics to keep the foundation strong - my intention here is the same. There is something pure and simple that is established within the Originals that I find myself gravitating towards. That said, Being in Balance is the first book in my venture and will note that this is a first time read as opposed to a reread.

The most profound take away was that this little book packs a BIG punch. So much insight in so few words making it a very refreshing read from such a wise straight talker. The theory of Balance is taken through an array of topics, creating a direct line approach towards simplicity.

My hope would be that this much needed messaging about BALANCE can be resurrected to share space on the shelf among all the books that promote hustle culture that, when done to the extreme, creates an imbalance that is deemed acceptable - and even glorified these days. Let it be the beacon of light among the fluff and chaos of a complicated modern day living

When viewed as a practice, what a valuable tool to have on hand as a reminder to check in with yourself every once in a while - the beautiful permission slip to take notice of the pendulum and exactly where it is swaying.

I’ve already decided this potent little book will sit on my end table alongside The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz - not just because they are the same size/thickness but also because they both are similar in the way that one short chapter can be read with my morning tea as a stand-alone, no need to read the whole book.

Overall rating - 4.7

[Wanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being in Balance is collection of nine short essays that explain how to balance your spiritual life with your material life. It includes a good number of quotes from other sources and I can’t say I always understood their meaning, especially in the context of their use. One was attributed to Jesus of Nazareth - this is the quote from the book - “Believe that you shall receive and you shall receive.” This was in the section about the Law of Attraction, the idea that we become what we think about.
I’m not sure what verse or from which version of the Bible the quote came from (KJV Mark 11-??) but the only similar ones I know of have to do with prayer which I understand to be different than thoughts. If they are the same, then the phrase ‘thoughts and prayers’ seems redundant. Anyway, there was no bibliography at the end of the book to check so I was left to take it on trust that the quotes were accurate and not paraphrased in a way that might change their meaning. My inner cynic expected more. Like an earlier book of Dr. Dyer's, Your Erroneous Zones, I found this to be a little glib and superficial.

[Bethany · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, I did not like this book.
First, it was syncretistic—the author used a lot of one-line (likely) out of context quotes from lots of different religious beliefs to support his philosophies.
Second, it was humanistic. Everything we need is within ourselves, we just have to be self aware and think better and there is no mention of community, which tells me our navel gazing is never challenged by an outside world; others’ thoughts of us aren’t mentioned except when they hold us back and we should ignore them. Life doesn’t exist in a vacuum, find friends who speak truth in love, and if you can power think your way out of stress and avoid things you probably don’t have real people in your life.
The author’s view on addiction and trauma is infuriating. Don’t fight it, blow past it, if you fight it you’ll get even more out of balance; just think better thoughts to overcome addiction. Wow. Just no.
I stuck with the book because it was short and I don’t believe in rating a book I did not finish.