Last year I had the privilege of meeting Dr. Wayne Dyer. I was attending an event in Ft. Lauderdale called Writing From Your Soul. His physical presence was grand. Whether he was being calm or animated, he held the focused attention of each person in the room. He helped me learn four major life lessons over the course of the weekend.
1) Mine your past for gold
Dr. Dyer was completely open and forthright about his experiences as a child. He spoke about his time living in orphanages as a time when he learned independence -- something that he would later teach others. If he did not learn that he had the power to choose his own thoughts, he may not have had this skill to share with the world.
While I had addressed my past from a healing context, I had not yet thoroughly mined it for gold. This different perspective got me thinking about everything I learned as a child and teenager that is currently supporting me in some way and the list is much longer than I would have imagined.
2) Acknowledge your greatness and own it
As you can imagine, there were long line-ups to speak to him at every break all weekend. The room was filled with self-help junkies, writers and entrepreneurs of all sorts. I had a copy of his book I Can See Clearly Now and knew I would get it signed, I just wasn't sure of how this would happen.
On the second day I wrote a little note and put it in a copy of my first book, intending to give it to him and to my surprise there came a break when he was sitting on stage and there were only a few people mulling about. I walked up to him and asked if he could sign I Can See Clearly Now, then gave him the copy of my first book called There's A Pebble In My Shoe, he took it and looked at the cover for what felt like a long time. He laughed and said, "I like the title." This little moment made my day.
My children's stories had been rejected by every major publishing company across Canada before I published my first book on my own. If I had chosen to give up, I wouldn't have had the experience of sharing my work with a fellow author who I looked at as an inspiration.
3) Lay low and let things come to you
Over the course of the weekend, Dr. Dyer spoke many times of his study of the Tao Te Ching. What stayed with me was the concept of "laying low." Today with the obsession of social media, the desire for attention seems strong. He spoke about the deepest and most powerful waters being the oceans which lay low and because they lay low, all of the streams and rivers run into them. The way I interpreted this was, by letting go of desperation and the obsession to control the outside world, I would enter an internal state of peace and focus that would allow all of my dreams and goals to manifest around me.
4) Share your passions with the world
Before Writing From Your Soul, my passion for self-care, healing and my spiritual practice were private. I had an idea for my first book for adults and hadn't told anyone about it. Dr. Dyer's sharing inspired me to share with other people at the event and to my surprise everyone I spoke to was supportive. They asked me tons of questions and one of the guests even interviewed me for their radio program.
Shortly after returning to Toronto, I attended a 10-day silent retreat. I was afraid to share my passion and I knew it was time. I thought about Writing From Your Soul and how they spoke about the importance of having an online presence. Dr. Dyer was so open about speaking his own truth and I felt like if he could be that open, I could do it too. Upon my return, I had stumbled across a contact at The Huffington Post and reached out to them. I began blogging shortly after and a few months later had the privilege of meeting Arianna Huffington, who kindly encouraged me to continue sharing what I was most passionate about as well.
Today, one year and 3.5 months later, I am a self-care instructor. I conduct workshops and seminars in offices, schools and for private groups on self-care skills, emotional awareness and how to live our ultimate lives.
Thank you, Dr. Wayne Dyer for being an example of greatness and for inspiring others to be the same.
A Little Love From Mala