“The simplest pattern is the clearest. Content with an ordinary life, you can show all people the way back to their own true nature.”
This morning, as I read these words from the Tao Te Ching, which appeared on the Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life perpetual calendar on my kitchen table, I was reminded of the passing this week of the beautiful soul who produced this calendar – Dr Wayne Dyer. I would like to dedicate this week’s blog to this special man, who, through his ordinary life, showed millions of people the way back to their own true nature.
It was only in the last couple of years that I realised that Wayne’s influence on me started many years ago. I hadn’t realised until then that the same man, who had been teaching me so much since my early fifties, was also the man who had written Pulling Your Own Strings, a book I read in my twenties, in which Wayne taught me how not to be a victim, but to take responsibility for my own life. Although this lesson started with this book, I think it might still be a work in progress.
It was not until my early fifties that I began to awaken to the spiritual path, and began searching for spiritual answers. I had been writing a book about some of the answers I found, and was booked to go on a cruise with Hay House, Wayne’s publisher, to attend the seminar: “Speak Write and Promote – Become a Mover and Shaker”. I had heard of Wayne Dyer before (a friend had loaned me CDs of his meditations), but it wasn’t until I was booked to go on the cruise that I was reintroduced to Wayne and his teachings. Dr Wayne Dyer was conducting a seminar on the same cruise and would be a guest speaker during the seminar I was attending.
I thought it was time I learned more about this man, so bought his book – There’s a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem. It taught me so much, and I could tell that St Francis had helped him with this book, in which he quoted St Francis’ prayer – “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace”. I could tell that this is what Wayne had become – an instrument of God’s peace.
After reading his book, I was keen to learn from him directly on the cruise, and I was not disappointed. I fell in love that day…with this font of knowledge. I loved the way he quoted from great masters, most of whom I had never heard of, let alone read. He quoted also from the Bible, and made me look at it in a new light.
He quoted from Exodus 3:13-15, in which God tells Moses that his name is “I AM THAT I AM”, and from Psalms 46:10: “Be still and know that I am God”, and taught me how to use this knowledge that “I am – God” can manifest all of my desires. I was learning to have my Wishes Fulfilled, and was happy to buy the book to learn more.
When at the microphone asking him a question, I told Wayne that I was from Brisbane, and he told me the story of the conception of his daughter there. I was not only learning about spirituality, but learning a lot about Wayne’s life in the process.
The movie, Tales of Everyday Magic: My Greatest Teacher, gave me an even greater understanding of his life, some of the obstacles which he had overcome, and some of the miracles that he had experienced. I also learned about the magical power of forgiveness.
Our New Spirituality Study Group learned about more miracles in his life when we watched the DVDs, Experiencing the Miraculous, which showed the lectures which Wayne conducted in Assisi, Lourdes, and Medjugorje. We learned about his miraculous feat of carrying a man up a spiral staircase on his previous trip to Assisi. We watched as tears streamed down his face as St Francis made his presence felt, and love enveloped both him and his audience.
The next time I saw Wayne was at I Can Do It, in Melbourne in 2013, where he was forced to leave the stage suffering from severe neck pain. I was happy when I saw him in the elevator of the hotel, and had the opportunity to wish him well, but I was sad that he had more health issues to deal with, after all that he had already been through.
He had contracted leukaemia in 2009, but with the help of many earth angels and treatment by John of God in 2011, he felt that he was cured of that disease. Along with the disease, his treatment had allowed him to let go of fear and experience more of what he had been all along – love.
I loved his movie, The Shift, which taught me how to go from ambition to meaning.
I thought that there would not be much more that Wayne could teach me, but when I heard that he was coming back to Brisbane with his “I Am Light” seminar, I could not resist.
And I was wrong; there was still a lot more to learn, both from Wayne, and from Anita Moorjani, who told more about her ‘near death experience’ than I had read previously in her book, Dying to Be Me. I knew that Wayne had played a vital role in ensuring that Anita’s book was published, and was thus able to help thousands of people lose their fear of death.
Just a few weeks ago, during I Am Light, Wayne introduced me to the book, The Impersonal Life, which I read as soon as I got home from the seminar. Wayne had often spoken of feeling like he was just part of a giant game of chess, and someone greater was moving all of the pieces around. This was the concept learned from The Impersonal Life – we are all here doing the Will of God, whether we realise it or not.
Because the Will of God is leading each of us inextricably towards the same ending, albeit often along different paths. We are all heading back towards Eden, back towards God.
If you read my blog a couple of weeks ago, you will have read about the two creation stories in the Bible:
http://www.lorelletaylor.com/gods-truth/
“In the first, in Genesis 1, God creates the heavens and the earth, the animals, and then male and female humans were created together and blessed equally by God. God tells the humans that they can eat any of the plants, seeds or fruits (a vegan diet if ever I heard it), with no mention of forbidden fruit.
In the second creation story, in Genesis 2, God made man from dust, then animals, and then woman from the rib of the man. In the second creation story, man is allowed to name all of the animals and the woman, giving him power over them, and it is forbidden them to eat of a particular tree.”
It is possible that the first creation story tells us about Eden, where God lives, and that the second creation story is the beginning of our journey in a world of duality, which is why we needed a second story – a dual story. We wanted to experience the world of good and evil, but God saw to it that we would always be able to find our way home, back to Eden, back to God. This is why God is moving all the pieces around for us – to make sure our path is clear.
Many would say that Wayne had followed the path that God had cleared for him, and that this week he found his way back to Eden. But I would say that Wayne had already found God within, during his physical life, and that Eden was all around him.
Dr Wayne Dyer had 2.5 million followers on facebook. He used his ordinary life to show all people the way back to their own true nature. He showed us all that we are light and love. He showed us all the path back to Eden, and helped us see that we are already there.
Dear Dr Dyer, may you rest in peace, but continue to be the same scurvy elephant that all of your family, friends, readers, and followers came to love. I know that you will continue to be a source of inspiration and enlightenment, both from your legacy in the physical world, and from your loving spirit in the spiritual world.
Love
Lorelle
Image courtesy of samarttiw at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Dr Dyer was a true inspiration and a gentle soul.