A new article posted on The Toronto Star Website about Wayne Dyer includes a number of quotes from Portia about working with Dyer on Ambition to Meaning - Finding Your Life's Purpose. Click here for the full article, or continue reading for the Portia-related parts.

Last summer, Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi made headlines when they married in California.

Though not a household name, the man who officiated the ceremony for one of Hollywood's most famous couples is also a star in his own right: Wayne Dyer, known as the "father of motivation" is an international best-selling author and speaker who is in Toronto this weekend to screen his new movie The Shift, co-starring de Rossi, at the I Can Do It! conference at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

de Rossi, who stars in the new television series Better Off Ted, has been a fan of Dyer's for years. She says "Both Ellen and I have read a lot of his books ... He's just an amazing philosopher ... an amazing human to connect with." According to Dyer, the feeling is mutual. "These are two of the nicest human beings I've ever known in my life. Talking to Ellen is like talking to your next-door neighbour ... she's very, very funny – all the time!"

After DeGeneres invited Dyer to be a guest on her daytime talk show, subsequent appearances led to a friendship that has since intertwined their personal and professional lives. de Rossi explains:

"When Ellen and I decided to get married, we couldn't think of anyone better to perform the ceremony than Wayne. While we were talking to him, he casually mentioned to Ellen that he was making the kind of movie that outlined his life's work ... (and mentioned) there was a part for a woman my age. Ellen said, `She'll do it!' Wayne said maybe (I) should see the script first and Ellen said, `No, she'll do it!'"

de Rossi says she's seen Dyer's principles work in her own life. "It's very clear, very obvious, that if you practise (Dyer's teaching), if you are conscious and try to apply it in your everyday life, it does work. It benefits you in ways that you are constantly surprised by."