Stuart Wilde (1946–2013) was a British author and lecturer whose 20 books on self-empowerment and spirituality include Miracles, The Force and Life Was Never Meant to Be a Struggle. [1] His official channel calls him “an urban mystic and modern visionary.” [2]
Who is Stuart Wilde?
Stuart Wilde was born in Farnham, England, on 24 September 1946, and was educated at St. George’s College, Weybridge. His twin sister, Dee Dee, became well known in Britain as a member of the dance troupe Pan’s People on Top of the Pops. [1]
After school he joined the English Stage Company in London. A year later he opened a jeans business on Carnaby Street at the height of the Swinging Sixties. From the age of 28 he spent five years studying alternative religions and Taoist philosophy. At 33 he moved to the United States and settled in Laguna Beach, California. [1]
His first book, Miracles, came out in 1983, and he soon began lecturing at New Thought churches and New Age conferences. In the 1990s he toured regularly with Deepak Chopra, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay. [1] His books have sold in the millions and have been translated into 15 languages. [3] He also produced and wrote lyrics for several music albums, including Voice of the Feminine Spirit. [1]
His London street slang and humour made spiritual ideas approachable. He has been called “the teacher’s teacher” because of his influence on other writers and lecturers. [1] His official site says many well-known New Age and New Thought teachers “privately studied with him, or they have been greatly influenced by his work.” [3] He died while driving through Ireland on 1 May 2013, aged 66. [1] His official YouTube channel, based in Australia, shares his recorded lectures, meditations and music. [2]
His ideas in brief
- Win back your power. Reclaim what you gave away.
- Flow, don’t struggle. Move through life like the tiger.
- Don’t lean in. Let what you want come to you.
- Choose softness. “There is strength in softness.”
At a glance
Known for: Self-empowerment books and lectures
Topics: Flow, affirmations, meditation, the Tao
Style: Witty, irreverent, warm
Era: 1983–2013
YouTube: Official channel
Good fit if
You enjoy humour with your spirituality, you like classic New Thought writers, or you want a gentler, less effortful approach to getting what you want.
Our take
An original, funny voice from the golden age of self-empowerment. Start with Life Was Never Meant to Be a Struggle or the Super Self seminar.
Stuart Wilde’s key ideas
These ideas run through his books and lectures, explained as he taught them. Tap a card to read more.
Winning back your power
His Super Self seminar opens with a promise to look at how “you as an individual are going to win back that power that at some place somewhere you gave away to somebody else without perhaps necessarily knowing that you gave it away.” [4]
He saw this as the whole point of being human. “We’re here basically as humans to come into our own empowerment,” he said, and he called that empowerment “the life force.” [4]
He believed lasting change comes from building your own power rather than pushing against the world. His suggestion was to “pull out somewhat, build our power and then return back to the society… and heal it.” [4] Wikipedia notes he called people whose minds don’t fit everyday conventions “Fringe Dwellers.” [1]
Life was never meant to be a struggle
This is the title of one of his best-loved books, which helps you “identify the cause of struggle in your life and shows you how to eliminate it quickly through a concerted action plan.” [5]
In his seminars he explained the idea with a tiger. “The tiger doesn’t get up in the morning and go yeah I’m gonna do my affirmations… it just goes through the forest naturally.” Life, he said, “is supposed to be fluid.” [4]
He didn’t claim there’s no effort at all. “There’s a little bit of work involved in being in the physical plane,” he joked, but the aim is to “move through the physical plane very very fluidly,” so that things show up on time. [4] See our guide to the flow state.
Don’t lean in
One of his most-shared clips is a 36-second “handy trick for getting what you want.” [6]
His point was that most people lean into life, chasing the things they want, and that the chasing pushes those things away. The answer, he said, is to stop leaning emotionally, stand up straight and let what you want come and find you. [6]
His closing advice was short: never lean in and “never push.” [6] His book Silent Power develops a similar theme, describing a quiet charisma that “gradually grows and develops around you.” [5] See our law of attraction guide.
Love as compassion
For Stuart, the life force “is love,” but not in a sentimental way. It’s not, he said, “this kind of gooey mushy” love. [4]
Instead he described it as “a compassion for society, a compassion for the trials of mankind, a compassion for yourself… where you’re prepared to forgive yourself for any weaknesses.” [4]
Love in its highest form, he said, is the ability to look at the world from an overview, “be somewhat detached from it and feel a compassion for it,” understanding that people are “doing the very very best they can.” With that compassion and detachment, “all of a sudden you begin to become free.” [4]
Affirmations
In Affirmations (1986), Stuart set out systems of self-talk for changing your core beliefs. [1] It was part of his popular Taos Quintet, alongside Miracles, The Force, The Quickening and The Trick to Money Is Having Some. [1]
His official site describes the book as “not just a collection of nice words to say to yourself,” but “a magnificent battle-plan, where you learn to expand the power you already have.” [5]
He also recorded audio programs on practical themes, such as Developing More Self-Confidence, which shows you “how to arrange your thinking to develop a sense of confident expectancy.” [7] See our self-confidence guide.
Meditation and softness
Meditation was central to his work. He believed the theta state of meditation could help people manage their emotional life and find greater balance and freedom. [1] His audio program The Art of Meditation discusses “the many benefits of meditation, brainwave states and the mysterious inner worlds of the trance state.” [7]
In his later work he encouraged tenderness, generosity, respect, “the soft eye,” mindfulness, meditation, and time in nature and with animals. He urged people to move “from the cold cerebral mind into the warmth of heart and feeling.” [1]
His most quoted line sums it up: “There is strength in softness. Remember, it’s all backwards.” [1] See our meditation guide and mindfulness guide.
Videos with Stuart Wilde
Hand-picked from his official channel and checked one by one: live seminars, short teachings, meditations and music.
Start here
Seminars and interviews
Short teachings
Meditation and music
Articles about Stuart Wilde
Stuart Wilde’s books
Stuart wrote 20 books. These are good places to start.
Find his books in your country: US · UK · Canada · Australia · India.
Audio lectures and meditations
Alongside his books, Stuart recorded dozens of lectures and meditations on consciousness and awareness. [2] His official site lists them, including The Art of Meditation, Developing More Self-Confidence, Joy – Falling in Love with Life and Higher Self, a guided meditation the site calls “a classic.” [7]
His books and recordings are available worldwide, so readers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia, Europe and India can all find them. Prices are usually listed in USD.
What the Research Shows
Stuart’s teaching is spiritual rather than scientific, but two of the practices he championed, affirmations and meditation, have been studied.
- How you talk to yourself. Talking to yourself in the second or third person helped people stay calmer and perform better under stress. [8]
- Meditation. A large review found that meditation programmes helped reduce anxiety, low mood and stress. [9]
Frequently asked questions
Who was Stuart Wilde?
A British author and lecturer on self-empowerment and spirituality, who lived from 1946 to 2013.
What is the Taos Quintet?
Five of his books: Miracles, The Force, Affirmations, The Quickening and The Trick to Money Is Having Some.
How many books did he write?
Twenty, translated into 15 languages.
Who did he tour with?
Deepak Chopra, Dr. Wayne Dyer and Louise Hay, in the 1990s.
What was his handy trick?
Don’t lean emotionally into what you want. Stand straight and let it come to you.
Which book should I read first?
Life Was Never Meant to Be a Struggle is short and a good place to start.
Is there an official channel?
Yes, the Stuart Wilde Official Channel shares his lectures, meditations and music.
Sources
- Stuart Wilde, Wikipedia
- Stuart Wilde Official Channel: About
- Stuart Wilde & His Work, stuartwilde.com
- Awaken Your Super Self Seminar, Stuart Wilde Live
- Stuart Wilde Books, stuartwilde.com
- Stuart Wilde's Handy Trick for Getting What You Want
- Lectures, Meditations & Music, stuartwilde.com
- Kross et al., Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: How you do it matters, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2014
- Goyal et al., Meditation Programs for Psychological Stress and Well-being, JAMA Internal Medicine 2014
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