Spiritual Movie Review: “The Shift” from Ambition to Meaning by Wayne Dyer
April 27th, 2009 by RyanIs 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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May 15th, 2009 at 5:19 pm
Ryan, thanks for the great information. I’ll have to watch some of these video programs. Keep up the great work!
July 6th, 2009 at 6:56 pm
hi thanks for sharing this story haven’t watch it yet … and yes your right on “Fulfillment is Found Not Through Attainment but by Letting Go”. It’s hard in letting go of something that you don’t have the kind of confidence around it this is were eft training will enter. It is the building block for low esteem of confidence in our selves. Well keep up with a great article
July 8th, 2009 at 2:32 am
Life is meant to be abundant in every field whether its our married life, personal life, or professional life. by possessing millions of dollars cannot guarantee you that you will be happy & i think spirituality is the best way be happy and being still
July 17th, 2009 at 7:16 am
amazing info
July 17th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
Hi Ryan!
I know I can always count on you to share something insightful and interesting!
The differences are subtle yet profound. Like the difference between ambition and aspiration. What is spoken of I find similar to the view of an artist.
As an engineer, it was the idea-izing, the planning, the stages of construction and completion that were all stages of creation in action or “creativity”. As a sculptor, the actual experience of creativity was the same.
It is in being Creative that we find ourselves and our fulfillment, regardless of the end results of that creativity. See our lives as a canvas, colored by our own creations.
What the “Divine Feminine” would say regarding material ambition is this:
Man with hand in pocket is feeling cocky.
July 21st, 2009 at 6:34 pm
I would love to see this movie. I know the movie medium is the best for Wayne Dyer’s concepts and ideas to be presented. This way, his thoughts and teachings do not stay as some vague theories in our minds like they do when we just read them from printed books. They become three dimensional truths that you know can be applied to yourself too.
July 25th, 2009 at 8:28 am
Interesting article, where can I see the film
July 25th, 2009 at 8:36 am
I have never had a interest in spiritual matters however, reading your article has cause me to think about the subject. Now I am very interested in seeing the film and eploring the idea of spirituality in my life even further.
August 11th, 2009 at 6:02 pm
Wayne Dyer is one of the best spiritual adviser/writer. I remember sometimes that when I read his creations, I felt something strange about me.