Of late, I have been reading books that reflect on life and spirituality. I have been investing a lot of my time in understanding the epic Bhagwad Gita; each time you read a verse, you get a different meaning. On a recent flight, I picked up The Shift by Dr Wayne W Dyre. Once I started reading, it was difficult to put the book down as its beautiful narrative unlocked and unfolded the reason behind our human avatar and why we need to connect with our inner self to understand the purpose of life. Going through the book was nothing short of meditation.
Life is not complete without a purpose, but more often than not, we get trapped into a world of our self-created egos. As human beings, our greatest lesson is that we are eternal beings impervious to both birth and death, as energy can neither be created nor destroyed. Closely aligned with this is the idea of oneness and surrender. Oneness refers to the stage where we begin to feel a connection to everyone: to the earth, to the universe and ultimately, to the divine. Surrender is the art of giving up your need to control your world.
When we ‘shift’ our perception, we turn towards a new direction in our lives. This learning comes with the realisation that what was relevant or important in our lives yesterday is no longer valid and of any importance today. Life has to have some meaning at every point. We should dedicate a part of our lives to service and give back to society without expectation of reward by simply practicing radical humility. One of the classic examples is that of the ocean, which lies low and yet gains tremendous strength as all rivers and streams eventually flow into the ocean.
It does not matter how far we have travelled on the road of the false self — the moment we realise that the path is not leading us to a sense of purpose and significance, we need to get back on course and make our lives meaningful. This is a ‘shift’ — a shift from entitlement to humility of service, from control to trust in yourself, in others and in the mystery of creation and from attachment to letting go.
Despite the availability of so much technology and so many resources to assist us in our routines, life has only got busier over the years. Hence, it is all the more important to pause regularly and give ourselves some time to ponder over our actions and our beliefs, giving life a more meaningful role. Dr Dyre’s Shift will certainly help us reach that goal.
