A best-selling author for decades, Wayne Dyer was one of the most popular teachers in the self-help, mind/body/spirit, and New Age communities. This interview was my first with Wayne. At the time I was editor in chief of New Age Retailer (now Retailing Insight), the main industry trade magazine for the category, and this piece originally…
I loved talking to the late Wayne Dyer. Firstly, the breadth and depth of thought across disciplines he brought to a conversation were amazing. I always learned new things. Secondly, the last time he saw me, he exclaimed, “Ray Hemachandra-dandra-dandra!” When Wayne Dyer starts calling you buddy nicknames, you feel pretty good about it. Certainly better…
What’s the most common meme people hold? A minister in Maui told me about a boy who was five years old, and his mom came home with a brand new baby. He was a rambunctious five year old, and his parents were afraid that he might do some damage to the baby. They kept…
Ray: Is feeling good a significant spiritual goal? Wayne: The No. 1 principle in the universe is “I intend to feel good.” Feeling good is what you should be doing every day of your life. A friend of mine visited Swami Muktananda back in the 1970s in India. As my friend was going…
Ray: Let’s talk about memes a little bit more. How do political and cultural shifts happen when there are collective memes, or seem to be— Wayne: —oh, yes, there are millions of them— Ray: —and is there a tipping point at which you have enough people changing their thinking that a societal meme actually shifts?…
Ray: What do you think we owe future generations, and how are we doing? Wayne: Oh, we’re doing terribly. We’re leaving these unborn children trillions of dollars of debt, which is just horrific. We’re leaving nuclear weapons—enough to end life as we know it—all over the planet. We’re leaving a legacy of violence and killing…
Ray: What’s the main message you’re trying to express today? Wayne: The message is don’t die with your music still in you. You came here with something to do. You are part of a universal consciousness, and there are no accidents in it. In your true essence—not the false self, not the ego part of…
