Is it possible to achieve our dreams of success without a spiritual practice?

Can we be both spiritual and successful? Or are the two mutually exclusive?

I remember growing up I started developing ambitions about the future of my life.

I fantasized about having a successful business, having lots of money, and being cool and confident in social situations…the usual aspirations for a young man.

Yet deep down, I felt a small and subtle but ever-present longing for becoming more "spiritual".

Whenever that feeling would come up, I would usually brush it off and say to myself, "I'll study spirituality when I'm older" or "Once I get my life together and achieve most of my goals, then I can spend time on spiritual stuff."

I've come to realize the irony in it all because without the "spiritual stuff", it becomes pretty tough to achieve anything in life and truly be happy.

Sure, you can achieve anything without being spiritual, but in my own experience, to truly find fulfillment, one must begin to focus inward and reconnect with their source.

At that point, everything changes quality and fulfillment is experienced not through achievement but by alignment.

Because of this, many of the old ambitions fall away and are replaced by new ambitions, ones that are created out of a new paradigm of reality; a new understanding of the world.

Instead of the cycle of reaching for a goal and suffering until it is reached, one aligns oneself with a deeper purpose and all action arises out of that purpose.

The fulfillment comes from the purpose itself, rather than in the achieving of any particular goal or action.

In this way, one is happy when they start a new project or goal, they are happy while it is in progress, and they are happy when it comes to fruition.

This way one lives in a state of constant fulfillment - every moment is full and complete just by the fact that it is happening.

Sounds good doesn't it?

This is the basic premise of Wayne Dyer's first feature film, entitled "The Shift" (originally it was titled Ambition to Meaning: Finding Your Life's Purpose).

Wayne Dyer is a widely known and well respected author and speaker in the area of personal development and spirituality.

He has created many video programs centered around his various concepts but this is his first full-on movie with actors, a plot, and more.

I really like the way they created this film.  It's a new and unique approach to film making. 

The movie follows 3 separate story lines that all weave together at a retreat center in Northern California.  One story follows a woman as she handles the pressures of being a loving wife and mother while coming to terms the feeling that something is missing from her life.  

Another story follows an ambitious young filmmaker who is on the verge of making his breakthrough film that will launch his career into the big league.

 The third story follows a young corporate executive who's drive to succeed at work has taken a toll on his relationship with his wife, and with himself.  

Interspersed throughout the movie, Wayne Dyer narrates with words of wisdom that describe the transition from the ambition phase of our life, where success is "out there", to the meaning phase of our life, where success is "in here".

Wayne is also part of the movie, since the filmmaker character is supposed to film Dr. Dyer as a mini project before his big movie deal.  So in this way Wayne is actually a character in the movie, even though he plays himself.

As the 3 story lines start to culminate, the various characters start to see parts of their lives breakdown or transition as they make the critical shift.

Although to them it seems confusing and frustrating, when viewed from the context that Wayne provides, we see that life does have a deeper meaning and when we connect with our own inner calling and align ourselves with this purpose, we find an unending source of joy, love, and guidance.

I especially liked this film because it sheds new light on one of the biggest sources of suffering and misunderstanding in the western world - the confusion between a needy, longing desire for something and the steadfast, accepting path to actually realizing it. 

So many of us, myself included, confuse wanting something really really badly as progress toward attaining that thing.

As discussed in the post, Fulfillment is Found Not Through Attainment but by Letting Go, we can see that by letting go of something we want in advance, we actually make it much easier to bring into our lives.

Another reason I like this film, besides the powerful body of wisdom presented throughout, is the living and breathing example of a man who has integrated his yin and yang side (his masculine and feminine parts), which is Wayne Dyer of course.

Wayne Dyer creates out of a deep connection to his innermost purpose and lives life with an open heart.

Rare is a man who expresses both truth and love in such a way as him.

Here is an excerpt about the movie:

Best-Selling Author and Renowned Spiritual Teacher, Dr. Wayne W. Dyer, Presents His First Feature Film—The Shift (formerly titled Ambition to Meaning).

What is The Shift? It’s the story of the most important moment of your life—when you stop striving and start arriving! It’s the choice you make to move toward a life that gathers up the pieces of your best, most fulfilled, most loving self. It’s the moment when you start living a life rich with meaning and begin playing the music you came here to play!

Are you ready to make the shift that changes everything? When will you find the joy, the peace, and the love that you came here to give and to receive?

In this inspiring new movie, you’ll enjoy an engaging, heartwarming and humorous tale of transformation on vacation. You’ll marvel at the beauty of the windswept ocean scenery. Share the characters’ delight as they receive the most precious gift—permission to follow their hearts. Hear Wayne say, “Don’t die with your music still in you” and see everyone set free to join the orchestra!

Early in life, we follow the path mapped out by ego, a path of ambition, competition, and striving. When midlife dawns, we too often find ourselves stranded in a lonely and desolate place we never intended to visit. Our feelings of sadness and frustration tell us we took a wrong turn. Like a shift in the wind or a change in the tide, the yearning we feel at midlife is a call to renewal. The Shift shows us the path home, the path to rediscovering our true self, our purpose, and the life of meaning that is our true calling.

“When you get it—that you don’t do things because of what somebody else is going to do for you, but you do them because you’re living your life’s purpose—you can light up the whole world with that kind of love. That’s how it works for me.”
—Wayne Dyer 

To view the trailer and view or purchase the movie, visit Wayne Dyer's The Shift: Ambition to Meaning

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This is one of those questions that can be a very sensitive topic for many people.

Who is God?  Or better yet, What is God?

I know for me, the meaning of this question has changed quite profoundly in the past few years.

Like many in the west, I seemed to have this notion of a judging, watchful, man in the sky who would dole out punishment to those who did "wrong" and help those who did "right".

I can understand when people question "if there even is a God" or reject the ideas that were handed down to them earlier in life.

What is God?

For one thing, God is subjective; a little different to each person.  To some it is a silly fantasy, while to others, a lifelong companion.  

For most of Western man's history, the way to know God was through a middleman - a priest, rabbi, or otherwise holyman.

For the average person, the experience of God was just not a possibility, let alone a part of their life.

Because of this setup, most men had to rely on their designated holy man to guide them in spiritual matters.

Of course, in their humanness, there were some who misunderstood or misused their position and overtime this notion of God became a mixed bag of ideas, agendas, misunderstandings, and wisdom.

Soon a dogma formed around "God" and many positionalities became entrenched in some of the organizations and people.

(A dogma, in my opinion, is a strict adherence to an idea of which the person does not have any direct experience regarding.  A positionality is the state in which a perspective is skewed to one polarity, or side, of the mind, which blocks out a large, opposing, part of reality).

Fast forward to today and we see a new definition of "God".  As we stop relying on outside sources to tell us what our own personal spirituality is, we begin to take our power back.

No longer is God an idea or a belief system…rather God becomes a direct experience.

What is God?

To me, when I sit quietly, close my eyes and calm my mind, I allow my awareness to fade out.  I let all that is going on in the world drift out of my mind and I become open.

Soon I feel a presence, a feeling within me yet also encompassing me.  I feel a connection, a communion is you will, with an intelligent field of pure love engolfing my being.

My awareness extends beyond my personal self and I begin to feel as if I am going up, not up as "in to the sky" but more "back" as if I were drifting out of this dimension of existence.

In these moments, it feels as though all is well, and a powerful peace encompasses my awareness.  I feel a deep and personal love; a 2 way love going out and coming in. 

I am the giver and the receiver all at once.

Waves of blissful energy pulsate through my body and for a moment, I am home.

Then I return to my world, but this time, I bring more of that loving state of peace with me.

And every once in a while, during my day to day life, I will run into someone who says "God doesn't exist" or who "Isn't sure about God".

And I smile, knowing that they are really just releasing an outdated concept; a belief system.

I know that as they search for their own truth, they will come to experience that same presence as I have.

With this awareness, there is no longer any question about it.  There is nothing for me to argue or defend.  Instead, I just allow…and trust.

All IS well.

I know that this question of "what is God" is a reflection of our relationship with our own inner masculine energy. 

Do we deny it?  Or do we realize our own true nature?

I know that as our culture finds what true masculine power is and begins to heal it, it will come face to face with this question of "What is God".

 For God is the ultimate masculine, the unmanifest, the silent presence…"The Father".

As we heal our relationshiop with God, through direct experience, we begin to integrate true masculine power.

As we do that, we also begin to integrate our deepest purpose and, simultaneously, start to live from our authentic, loving, and joyful Self.

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Are we more empowered when we say "Yes" or "No" to life?

What role does our peer group play in our ability to choose?

How do we manage our energy in such a way that each choice strengthens us and improves our life?

I recently had a chance to see the movie "Yes Man" with Jim Carrey and I gotta say I really enjoyed it.

It's good to see him back doing comedies again and it's also good to see a movie with an overall positive message and uplifting vibration.

One thing that amused me during the film was the whole concept of being a "Yes Man" and how Jim Carrey's character seemed to empower himself and improve his life by saying "Yes" to more and more requests from others.

It was funny because, in my experience, it has been the complete opposite.

Don't get me wrong, there is definitely a good side to being open to life and to be able to give a full yes with all of our being, yet I've come to learn that this is only possible if we can also give a full no if the situation calls for it.

"No" is one of the most empowering words in the human language. 

Every time we take back our power, we say "No" to something we are no longer choosing and in that moment we are becoming conscious.

In those times when we say "No" to something that we have unconsciously said "Yes" to for all the years past, we are waking up and reclaiming a part of our spirit.

In every full "No", there is the seed of a full "Yes" to something else.

When we have the inner strength to say "No", it is because we have decided what we are no longer willing to accept in our life, and instead, we have figured out what we do want in life and we will not compromise our spirit in the meantime for anything less.

Many of us fall into doing things because they are easy, comfortable, and safe, even though they are not what our soul longs for.

We often do things because that's how everyone does it in our social group and we've never consciously chosen these things for ourselves.

Other times we do things because those we depend on choose for us and we may not be strong enough to withstand their disapproval or rejection.

In all of these situations, when we gather enough courage to break free from these outside authorities and consciously choose for ourselves, often it is in the form of a solid and unwavering "No".

Saying "No" is like a tool for inner energy management, a door that we close to all things that are not in alignment with our inner being.

It is the guardian of our inner integrity; a way to silence the cries of need that come out of fear and insecurity.

What you say "No" to in life determines how you use this divine currency known as choice.

Let me give you an example to illustrate this idea.

For many years during college and afterwards, I would party with my friends at bars, clubs and other events.  We drank a lot of alcohol, of course.  In fact, it didn't matter as much where we went so long that we got drunk and had a good time.

I had many good times doing this (though my health was suffering), yet I don't really remember there being a point where I said "Yes, I'm choosing this drinking/partying lifestyle" (from a deeper level, that is).  I just sort of fell into it since this is how everyone in my social group did it.

Only this past year did I start to question this pattern of excessive drinking and start to separate myself from it.  I soon realized that almost everything revolved around drinking and that there were many "issues" under the surface that pushed one to drink. 

As I healed these "issues" within me through constant use of things like EFT, TAT, Holosync, and other spiritual practices, I started to not feel so driven to drink.

I also realized that I was not honoring my body, my physical tool for bringing divinity into physical form, by drinking so much.

Eventually I realized that I felt so good normally (both physically and because of the self-love), that drinking actually made me feel worse without any of the "high" that I used to get.

After I realized this, it became time to strengthen my backbone…by saying "No".  

I began to turn away drinks, or spend nights out with friends at bars and clubs completely sober.

Sure, I would get flack from the guys about not drinking and at the beginning I would sometimes cave and drink a few, but eventually my inner "No" became more powerful than their outer "Yes".

(In fact, I think that sometimes our friends will put a lot of pressure on us if we try to improve our lives  because it subtly means that they will have to face all the issues they have been avoiding or denying in themselves, but that is another story).

Now it's at the point where any outer "Yes" is so quiet, if someone throws one out there or tries to pressure me in anyway, I either laugh it off or don't even give it a second thought.

One thing that I notice as I hang out with my friends while embodying this choice to not drink, is that just by my example and presence, something in them is waking up.  They are starting to question this need to drink, yet now they have someone who can anchor this reality for them.

I truly believe the most powerful catalyst for change comes from living the change yourself.

Your example, as communicated by your presence alone, is potent enough to wake up the hearts of those around you (even though their minds may resist you at first).

The way to embody your powerful presence starts with consciously choosing "No" to all things that drain you.

This applies not just to addictions but also to relationships, thought patterns, habits, and any area of your life where your power of choice resides outside of you.

Keep in mind, also, that I'm not saying "No" to alcohol itself, but rather to a tribal belief system or the way in which alcohol is used.

We never say "No" to the specific substances, person or activity at hand, we are saying "No" to the energy field which determines the role these things play in our life.

In my case, I was not saying "No" to the alcohol because "it's wrong to drink alcohol" or anything like that, I was saying "No" to the underlying energy field that subconsciously says that alcohol is the way to have fun and is the answer to life's problems.

See, this is where people get caught up.  They think that breaking free of an addiction means never using that drug again or never seeing that person to whom they've given away their power.

So they avoid that specific substance or person and think they are healed or "clean", until one day they find a new substance or enter a new relationship and they find themselves in the same addictive power struggle all over again.

The root cause is never the outer substance or person (they are just a trigger), it's the underlying energy field that we have not yet evolved out of; the context of how one relates to the world.

Make one conscious choice to let go of a type of addiction and you've let them all go, for good.

Two people can be having a beer in the same bar, yet be in two completely different worlds on the inside.

The path of empowerment comes to us as a process of waking up to this inner world and using this awareness to make better choices; one's that lead to peace, happiness, and self-love.

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