Last night my wife and I watched the Dr. Wayne W. Dyer movie The Shift (Amazon).
The main message is that we all seek fulfillment or purpose, but need help sometimes from what Dr. Dyer describes as a quantum moment.
The Shift happens after this quantum moment as we shift from living in the morning of our lives—driven by ego—into the afternoon—living on purpose; while everything in the morning was a lie.
The movie opens with Dr. Dyer getting out of bed and his first words are; “thank you, thank you, thank you.”
Gratitude, a most powerful action.
The term “living life on purpose,” previously meant something else to me. I associated it with intent, ambition, and drive. You know, waking up and living life on purpose! Today it means something totally different: living life on purpose; as in on task or in the zone of what my purpose is.
My quantum moment happened on March 12th 2006; and the shift happened over a period of years (and continues today) as a result of my willingness to turn my will and life over to a power greater than myself. To let Go and Let God. Although my quantum moment was a time and place I can remember vividly, the process of shifting my life in to purpose and happiness has been gradual. Moving into this afternoon of my life took work on my part; starting with surrender, getting into action, working towards self-awareness, emotional connectedness, and a continue yearning for spiritual growth.
The Shift was a very inspiring movie and message, yet I found that I had already moved into this phase of my life. Most of what I discuss here on How to Be Happy is the result of that shift and how I got here and what I do to continue a life on purpose. I understood everything Dr. Dyer discussed in the movie, as I experience it daily, but it still leaves a lot unanswered for those who struggle with making a shift in their lives.
Unfortunately, most people need some type of quantum moment to propel them into making a shift. Often this moment comes from desperation as it did for me. In essence, this shift is the movement away from a life lived through and for ego and into a life lived on purpose; an intrinsic purpose given to use by our creator. However, although many experience this quantum shift as the result of some sort of pain, one can make a conscience choice to change. But then choices and decisions are just the beginning; it must be followed by some sort of action.
All these movies, techniques, and theories sound well, but theories do not satisfy the soul. The gap is to find exercises or practical direction of action which can move us towards this shift. No doubt there are programs which accomplish this. For me, it was the action I first took in my recovery program. Simple actions like taking a moral inventory and sharing it with someone else. Making amends and being of service were all practical actions taken which moved me along this shift to a life lived on purpose.
It is my purpose to help others find a way to make this shift in their lives. I know this is a bold statement, but I feel it to be true. That is part of what I’m doing at JaredAkers.com.
I’m not trying to re-package anything and most certainly not attempting to adapt my experience to benefit from Dr. Wayne Dyers (or anyone else’s) great success; I’m simply sharing what has worked for me. It is my belief and experience that anyone has the ability to be happy and make this transition in their life without the pain and desperation I experienced.
I chose to make a shift in my life to live; I would rather have died than continued to live the way I was living. Only then was I willing to stop listening to ego and begin the process of learning how to tune-in to the inner voice of my creator. Must everyone be that desperate? Are those of us who are trying to help others avoid such pain and suffering robbing them of the gift of desperation; the catalyst which will surely move them into a shift in their lives? I don’t believe so.
The bottom is not a place, it’s a decision.
“The bottom is not a place, it’s a decision.” – Click to Tweet
One benefit of my spiritual journey has been the realization of self-love. By surrendering to the idea that I am not God, moving out of ego, and into a life lived for a power greater than myself, I’m able to experience empathy for myself. In hindsight, it’s easy to recognize the lack of self-love in all those years of living life based in ego and self preservation. Simply put: had I truly loved myself, I wouldn’t have treated me the way I did.
In the race to gather acceptance and validation from outside sources, I compromised my morals, values, and dignity. The amazing gift of self-love and the realization that everything I need has been (or will be) given to me by my creator, allows me to lower expectations of myself and others. The result is the ability to accept and give love unconditionally.
“Even after all this time the sun never says to the Earth, “You owe me.” Look what happens with a love like that. It lights up the whole sky.”
–Hafiz
As Dr. Dyer explains, we have everything we need while being created in the womb. No outside help or interference is necessary. It’s a miracle. Yet as soon as we are born, it’s as if we say, “Thanks God, I’ll take it from here.” Thus our ego starts taking over: Easing God Out.
“When you showed up here in this world, you showed up here from a tiny little drop of human protoplasm; a spec if you will. And everything that was in that little spec became you. Everything that you needed was in that tiny little spec.”
–Dr. Wayne W. Dyer – The Shift
Our ego tells us who we should be, how we should live, and the definition of success and happiness; which is a lie because it’s all based on external sources. The truth is Dr. Dyer suggests, and as I truly believe, that everything we need to be happy and fulfilled is already inside of us, given to use by our creator.
The same force that gave us everything we needed in the womb is still with us; thus we still have access to anything we need to live our life on purpose. We just need to get our ego out of the way, be open minded and willing, and let the universe bring it to us. However, we must not confuse this idea with procrastination; we must take action to prepare ourselves in being ready and able to recognize these moments and gifts as they arrive. Anything else is still primarily our ego talking.
If everything we need to become who we are is already in us, why do we continually seek outside of ourselves for happiness and purpose? Because we’re still living for and by ego; telling us if only we had this or that we’d be happy.
We all have an inner voice telling us there must be something more out there, some purpose to our lives. Start listening to it! Think about how you lean in to overhear a conversation that catches your interest. Maybe you’re thinking these people are weak or you’re too proud to ask them questions, but you still sort of lean in and want to know more. Start listening to that need to know and want more out of life and let it take you to where you’re destined to go.
Here’s a small example of how life purpose manifests in my life; letting me know I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be at any given time.
A few bits of background:
- If you’ve been a reader of How to Be Happy for a while, you know my fondness of the Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi. While watching The Shift, Dr. Dyer often refers to the power and significance of this prayer.
- My wife and I got married on Kauai and have talked about returning ever since; we love the spiritual essence and beauty of Hawaii. We also recently discovered that a friend of ours has a rental property on Maui, another island we truly want to, and will, visit.
- I’m currently reading Disappearance of The Universe and have a spiritual advisor who often talks about A Course in Miracles. (it’s my understanding that they are somewhat related to each other yet I’m still haven’t read either completely)
Ok, now back to my story… so there’s one book of Dr. Dyer’s that I’ve considered purchasing for a while; There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem
“You have no problems, though you think you have…”
–A Course in Miracles
Wow, that’s cool too I think. Then I turn a few pages to the books Forward and read:
“I completed the initial writing of this book on the fifteenth of June, 2000, at our home on Maui, with a wonderful sense of accomplishment.”
OK, someone’s telling me I need this book. So I purchased it knowing I was making the right decision.
This may only sound like coincidences to most or a stretch for others, but for me, these types of experiences happen all the time. They are guide posts along my spiritual journey telling me I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be at that place and time. By being self-aware and present to my creator in as many moments as possible, I’m open to these experiences; which are awesome!
Thanks for reading,
