I write this on the heals of just having driven to Flagstaff, AZ, an attempt to “wind down,” my soul craving down time, rest, and moments of pure “nothingness.” Yet, I notice my anxiety increasing, for my ego is not happy with me. In fact, it is seething. It doesn’t want to sit. It doesn’t want stillness. In fact, I have noticed, of late, that its internal chatter has become more persistent, attentive, and even petulant at moments. I don’t seem to notice my ego peering over my shoulder, examining the book I’ve read, The Shift, by Dr. Wayne Dyer; it arrived free, from Hay House Publishers, for me to review. And now, my ego is concerned; it’s not happy with me. It knows the gig is up.

With a constant borage of agitation surrounding his work, the man sitting next to me is on a rant. I struggle to avoid it. Those “other people” at his work “don’t get it” they are “too small minded to see the value of [his] work.” My stomach is turning and I feel like I am going to be ill. I am viscerally experiencing what Dr. Dyer calls the “very twisted world of ambition,” that nurtures the ego’s desire towards “being better than everyone else, winning at all costs, accumulating more stuff, and being seen by everyone else as being brilliantly successful.” My anxiety increases while I feel my energy draining. I struggle to meet the man with compassion, for know I have to. I have been him. I am him. But, I still can’t be near that vibration because it feels too overwhelming. My ego tells says I’m “just being to sensitive.” But all of a sudden, a reassuring inner voice tells me that I’m onto something, and Dr. Dyer’s book seems to anchor me in reality.

What Dr. Dyer summarizes is that through a focus on ambition, we have bought the idea that what we do, own, and how we are perceived is really who we are. As if a highly skilled snake oil salesman eying us from across the street, peddling his wares, the ego is a trickster. For the glittering goods we buy from him, our self-serving ambitions are the very things that lead to suffering. We fear losing what we have accumulated, thus working harder to get more and more. And, like the man I overheard at lunch today, we become attached to the idea that we must defend our ideas and things because they are “ours.” It is ironic, asserts Dr. Dyer, for we are still connected to each other, and to the divine. My, and your, ego would love to keep us separate, but we are connected energetically, albeit that we all bought that snake oil that our egos peddled.

Dr. Dyer’s message echoes various ancient texts, including the Upanishads and the Hua Hu Ching, that all of us have forgotten who we are. That in our desire to become, that we have forgotten a shining light within us, our dharma, what we are here to bring into the world. We have forgotten that we already are. That in our focus on the material, we have been consumed by ambition, driven to create lives that look, sound, and feel good from the outside, but are merely costumes. We have forgotten why we are on this journey, forgotten that we were born from an energetic connection to the divine, that formless spirit, God, Source, The Tao. Dr. Dyer details that, ironically, the universe is always ready for us to shift, remembering that this place we came from, but instead we buy into what the ego has sold us, that this is where we should be.

The good news is that we were born with a round trip ticket, one we can always use to return to that part of us that always knew its divinity. We just have to be willing to cash it in. We have to close the door on ego’s desires, opening another door, moving towards a life of meaning. And as I eagerly write this, I can note that my ego sarcastically chimes in that “ when one door closes, and another opens, it’s the hallway in between that can kill you.” It’s still persistent, that shady, snake-oil seller. I’m onto it.

The Shift reinforces that if we don’t want what the ego sells, a “U Turn,” ensues, one that involves specific steps to returning to and remembering our connection to Source. To me, this is the most valuable part of The Shift. Dr. Dyer thoughtfully, consciously, and skillfully summarizes a 7–Step Summary and 4 Cardinal Virtues that can shift us towards living a life of meaning. And, while echoing the inspiration of Patanjali’s Yoga Sutras, Dr. Dyer’s language transforms what are often seen as inaccessible Eastern principles into a usable and easily understandable Western text.

We can U Turn from what our egos are attached to, challenging ourselves to “be,” to move towards meaning and away from the unreal. Dr. Dyer has successfully taught us why, and how to, avoid that ego driven snake oil sales-man. Because of Dr. Dyer, we know the ego’s tricks. This time, we have The Shift, and we’re ready for it.