Challenge Day #18
The Shift
Dr. Wayne Dyer wrote and stars in the movie, The Shift, about the
spiritual shift from ambition to meaning.
The movie focuses on three individuals, a movie director, a wife/mother,
and a wealthy business man. Each is a
model of a life of ambition which is ego driven. Wayne refers to ego as -Edging God Out.
The director represents an individual who defines success in
life as what he does. He continually
states “I’m a director – that’s what I am.”
The wife is driven by what others think of her – especially in her role
as a wife and mother. She has put aside
her dreams of being an artist to take care of everyone else. The third character the wealthy business man
operates from an “I am what I have.” Sense of self. None of them are finding what they are
seeking.
The first time I watched this movie I found myself relating
to the wife/mother the most – not because she was a woman but because much of
her sense of self was measured by what she did for others. In our culture this
is a role that is often modeled for young girls. Girls are expected to be warm, nurturing and
put the needs of others above their own. To the point that when I was a
teenager in school I was forced to take Home Economics both cooking and sewing
when what I wanted to do was take shop.
I wanted to work with tools. I
knew how to cook and sew I didn’t know how to use a drill, a saw, and other
power tools. Luckily for girls today
this is no longer the case. But
underlying this is still the idea that “what others think of me is
important.” If I can become a good cook and housekeeper some day some man will love me.
Which of these three do you find yourself caught up in – I
am what I do, I am what I have, I am what others think of me? Are you living
your life based on ego or have you made the shift to living your life based on
your soul’s purpose which is a life of meaning?
No matter which of these characters you relate to or bits
and pieces of each the deeper concern for me is that each represents a
separation. A separation from others and
a separation from spirit. To live an ego
based life I am constantly having to compare myself to others – do they have
more, have they achieved more, do others believe they are better than I am. None
of these thoughts are healthy. Especially for someone who believes that we
are all connected.
What I took away from this movie was two-fold. First it provided me with language to ask myself
to see if I’m being ego driven. Secondly
it was another reminder that within each of us is a spark of spirit – our
soul. If we pay attention to this spark
we will be drawn towards our purpose.
Our path will be clear and easy to follow. It is when we move away from
this and try to force the universe to conform to our wishes that we usually
have moved away from meaning and back towards ambition.
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