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Wayne Dyer

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Wayne Dyer
Dyer in 2009
Born(1940-05-10)May 10, 1940
Detroit, Michigan, US
DiedAugust 29, 2015(2015-08-29) (aged 75)
Maui County, Hawaii, US
Occupation(s)Author, motivational speaker
Children8

Wayne Walter Dyer (May 10, 1940 – August 29, 2015) was an American self-help author and a motivational speaker. His first book, Your Erroneous Zones (1976), is one of the best-selling books of all time, with an estimated 35 million copies sold to date.[1]

Early life

Dyer was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Melvin Lyle Dyer and Hazel Irene Vollick. He spent much of his first ten years in an orphanage on the east side of Detroit,[2] after his father walked out on the family, leaving his mother to raise three small boys.[3] After graduating from Denby High School, Dyer served in the United States Navy from 1958 to 1962. He received his Ed.D. degree in counseling from Wayne State University.[4] His dissertation was titled Group Counseling Leadership Training in Counselor Education.[5]

Career

Dyer, a Detroit native,[6] worked as a high school guidance counselor there and as a professor of counseling psychology at St. John's University in New York City.[2] He pursued an academic career, published in journals, and established a private therapy practice. His lectures at St. John's University, which focused on positive thinking and motivational speaking techniques, attracted many students. A literary agent persuaded Dyer to document his theories in his first book, called Your Erroneous Zones (1976). Dyer quit his teaching job and began a publicity tour of the United States, doggedly pursuing bookstore appearances and media interviews ("out of the back of his station wagon", according to Michael Korda, making the best-seller lists "before book publishers even noticed what was happening"[7]). After Your Erroneous Zones dozens more books followed, many of them also best-sellers.[6] Among them were Wishes Fulfilled, Excuses Begone and The Sky’s the Limit. The success of these books eventually led to national television talk show appearances including The Merv Griffin Show, The Tonight Show, and The Phil Donahue Show.[2]

Dyer proceeded to build on his success with lecture tours, a series of audiotapes, PBS programs, and regular publication of new books. Dyer's message resonated with many in the New Thought Movement and beyond. He often recounted anecdotes from his family life and repeatedly used his own life experience as an example. His self-made man success story was a part of his appeal.[2] Dyer told readers to pursue self actualization, calling reliance on the self a guide to "religious" experience, and suggested that readers emulate Jesus Christ, whom he termed both an example of a self-actualized person and a "preacher of self-reliance".[8] Dyer criticized societal focus on guilt, which he saw as an unhealthy immobilization in the present due to actions taken in the past. He encouraged readers to see how parents, institutions, and even they, themselves, had imposed guilt trips upon themselves.[9]

Although Dyer initially resisted the spiritual tag, by the 1990s he had altered his message to include more components of spirituality when he wrote the book Real Magic and discussed higher consciousness in the book Your Sacred Self.[2][10]

Influences

Wayne Dyer stated Nisargadatta Maharaj to be his Teacher and cited the quotation, "Love says: 'I am everything'. Wisdom says: 'I am nothing' from a compilation of talks on Shiva Advaita (Nondualism) philosophy I Am That. He was influenced by Abraham Maslow's concept of self-actualization and by the teachings of Swami Muktananda, whom he considered to be his Master.[11][12] In his book, Wishes Fulfilled; Mastering the Art of Manifesting, Dr. Dyer also credited Saint Francis of Assisi and the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu as foundational influences in his work.[13]

The Books

Pulling Your Own Strings.(Copyright 1978) This was Dyers' 2nd work published as sole author. It developed the idea of habitual "belief systems" hampering our personal effectiveness. Chapter 7 "Never Place Loyalty to Institutions and Things Above Loyalty to Yourself" listed "Strategies for eliminating institutional victimisation".[14]

The Sky is the Limit (copyright 1980) was the 3rd work published by Dyer as sole author. Dyer introduces the concept of the "critical inch", that portion of life where the ultimate meaning of our life is considered. He is critical of the "hurry up" Western world society. In Chapter 8, "Cultivating a sense of Purpose" he recommends such strategies as "Do something you have never done before", "Make a point to talk to a stranger today", "Stop defending things as they have always been". [15]

Criticism

Psychologist Albert Ellis wrote that Dyer's book Your Erroneous Zones was probably "the worst example" of plagiarism of Ellis's Rational Emotive Therapy (RET).[16] In a 1985 letter to Dyer, Ellis claimed that Dyer had participated in an Ellis workshop on RET before he published Your Erroneous Zones, in which Dyer appeared to understand RET very well. Ellis added that "300 or more people have voluntarily told me... that [the book] was clearly derived from RET." Dyer never apologized nor expressed any sense of wrongdoing. Ellis admonished Dyer for unethically and unprofessionally failing to credit Ellis's work as the book's primary source, but he never took legal action and that is because in the final analysis, he actually felt overall gratitude for Dyer's work, writing: "Your Erroneous Zones is a good book, ... it has helped a great number of people, and ... it outlines the main principles of RET quite well,... with great simplicity and clarity."[17] In Your Erroneous Zones, Dyer makes reference to Albert Ellis in chapter seven. However, Dyer affirmatively stated that the entire premise of Your Erroneous Zones was principally derived from three years of audio tapes of the lectures that he gave while acting as a professor at St. John's University in New York on pages 150-155 of his memoir I Can See Clearly Now, which was published by Hay House Publishing in 2014, one year before Dyer's death. Thus, Ellis's criticism of Dyer was disputed and has not been proven.

In 2010, writer Stephen Mitchell filed a lawsuit against Dyer and his publisher, Hay House, for copyright infringement for taking 200 lines, without permission, from his version of the Tao Te Ching for Dyer's books Living the Wisdom of the Tao and Change Your Thoughts – Change Your Life.[18] The suit was dismissed in 2011 after Dyer and Mitchell agreed to a settlement.[19]

Personal life

Dyer was married three times. With his first wife, Judy, he had a daughter. With his second wife, Susan Casselman, he had no children. With his third wife, Marcelene, he had five children, and two stepchildren from Marcelene's prior marriage. Wayne and Marcelene legally separated in 2001, after 20 years of marriage.[20][additional citation(s) needed]

Credos

My beliefs are that the truth is a truth until you organize it, and then it becomes a lie. I don't think that Jesus was teaching Christianity, Jesus was teaching kindness, love, concern, and peace. What I tell people is don't be Christian, be Christ-like. Don't be Buddhist, be Buddha-like.[21] Religion is orthodoxy, rules and historical scriptures maintained by people over long periods of time. Generally, people are raised to obey the customs and practices of that religion without question. These are customs and expectations from outside the person and do not fit my definition of spiritual.[22]

Death

Dyer died from a heart attack, said his publicist, Lindsay McGinty in Maui, Hawaii[6] on August 29, 2015, at age 75.[23][24][25] He had been diagnosed with leukemia in 2009.[26]

Bibliography

Fiction book

  • Gifts from Eykis (1983)

Nonfiction books

  • Your Erroneous Zones (1976)
  • Pulling Your Own Strings (1978)
  • The Sky's the Limit (1980)
  • Universe Within You: Your Secret Source of Strength (1981)
  • What Do You Really Want For Your Children (1985)
  • Happy Holidays (1986)
  • You'll See It When You Believe It (1989)
  • No More Holiday Blues (1990)
  • Real Magic (1992)
  • Your Sacred Self (1994)
  • Awakening (1995)
  • A Promise is a Promise (1996 - with Marcelene Dyer)
  • Manifest Your Destiny (1997)
  • 101 Ways to Transform Your Life (1998)
  • Wisdom of the Ages (1998)
  • There's a Spiritual Solution to Every Problem (2001)
  • 10 Secrets for Success and Inner Peace (2002)
  • Getting in the Gap (2002)
  • The Power of Intention (2004)
  • Staying on the Path (2004)
  • Inspiration (2006 - Renamed Living an Inspired Life, March 2016)
  • Everyday Wisdom (2006)
  • Being in Balance (2006)
  • Change Your Thoughts - Change Your Life (2007)
  • The Invisible Force (2007)
  • Living the Wisdom of the Tao (2008)
  • Excuses Begone! (2009)
  • The Shift (2010)
  • A New Way of Thinking, a New Way of Being (2010)
  • My Greatest Teacher (2012 - with Lynn Lauber)
  • Wishes Fulfilled (2012)
  • Co-creating at Its Best (2013 - with Esther Hicks)
  • The Essential Wayne Dyer Collection (2013)
  • Don't Die with Your Music Still in You (2014 - with Serena J. Dyer)
  • I Can See Clearly Now (2014)
  • Memories of Heaven (2015 - with Dee Garnes)
  • Happiness Is the Way (2019)

Children's books

  • Incredible You! (2005 - with Kristina Tracy)
  • Unstoppable Me! (2006 - with Kristina Tracy)
  • It's Not What You've Got! (2007 - with Kristina Tracy)
  • No Excuses! (2009 - with Kristina Tracy)
  • I Am (2012 - with Kristina Tracy)
  • Good-bye, Bumps! (2014 - with Saje Dyer)

Films

  • Ambition to Meaning (January 2009), rereleased as The Shift (April 2009) by Hay House
  • Day & Night (2010), an animated short film created by Pixar, featuring an excerpt from one of Dyer's lectures and voiced by Dyer, which was shown with Toy Story 3 (2010) during the latter movie's opening in the U.S.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ Comfort, David (November 14, 2013). An Insider's Guide to Publishing. Writer's Digest Books. p. 244. ISBN 9781599637815. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d e Dan Coffey (2002). St. James Encyclopedia of Pop Culture. Gale Group7TV.[dead link]
  3. ^ Wayne Dyer and Oprah Winfrey - The Wisdom of the Tao (Full ed.). YouTube.
  4. ^ "Author Biography". Hay House.
  5. ^ Wayne, Dyer. Group Counseling Leadership Training in Counselor Education. ProQuest. ProQuest 288309779.
  6. ^ a b c "Wayne Dyer, author of 'Erroneous Zones', dies at 75". Spokesman. September 1, 2015.
  7. ^ Michael Korda (2001). Making the List: A Cultural History of the American Bestseller, 1900–1999. Barnes & Noble Publishing. ISBN 9780760725597. wayne.dyer self.help.
  8. ^ Dan P. McAdams (2006). The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live by. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198039303.
  9. ^ Henlee Huxlee Barnette (1982). Exploring Medical Ethics. Mercer University Press. p. 61. ISBN 9780865540316.
  10. ^ "Local News". Boca Raton News. November 13, 2002.
  11. ^ "Interview With New Age Retailer". November 2005. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
  12. ^ YouTube. YouTube. May 16, 2014. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  13. ^ Dyer, Wayne. Wishes Fulfilled, Mastering the Art of Manifesting.
  14. ^ Pulling Your Own Strings, ISBN 0 600 20061 2
  15. ^ The Sky is the Limit, ISBN 0583 13477 7
  16. ^ Ellis, Albert (2010). All out!: An Autobiography. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. p. 485. ISBN 9781591024521.
  17. ^ Ellis, Albert (2010). All out!: An Autobiography. Amherst, N.Y.: Prometheus Books. pp. 486–490. ISBN 9781591024521.
  18. ^ Belloni, Matt. "Self-help guru Wayne Dyer sued for stealing from Tao book" Hollywood Reporter, December 21, 2010
  19. ^ "Stephen Mitchell v. Wayne Dyer et al" California Central District Court, Case No. 2:10-cv-03891, October 18, 2011
  20. ^ Dyer, Wayne W. (2012). "DVD no. 1 of 4-DVD set: Experiencing the Miraculous". Archived from the original on January 27, 2012. {{cite web}}: |archive-date= / |archive-url= timestamp mismatch; January 30, 2012 suggested (help)
  21. ^ "Health & Wellness Articles - Anti Aging - Fitness - Detoxification - Inspiration - Mental Health - Nutrition - Medicine - Relationships - Weight Loss - Success - Anti Aging". Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  22. ^ "There's A Spiritual Solution To Every Problem". Archived from the original on December 4, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
  23. ^ Aiello, McKenna (August 30, 2015). "Wayne Dyer Dead at 75—Ellen DeGeneres, Portia de Rossi and More Stars Remember Self-Help Guru". E! Online News. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  24. ^ Johnson, M. Alex (August 30, 2015). "Self-Help Pioneer Dr. Wayne Dyer Dies at 75, Family and Publisher Say". NBCNews.com. Retrieved August 31, 2015.
  25. ^ Hearne, Geri (August 16, 2016). "Dads Never Die: In Death, Wayne Dyer Teaches His Children And Us About Love". The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 4, 2016.
  26. ^ http://www.inquisitr.com/2380302/dr-wayne-dyer-confirmed-dead-self-help-guru-battled-leukemia/
  27. ^ "Day & Night: The Quote". Pixar Talk. Retrieved June 6, 2015.
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