On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, Oprah sat down with  Jean Houston, one of the elders of the personal growth movement. Asked to describe herself, the American scholar, lecturer, author and philosopher came up with the following:   “an evocateur of the possible and midwife of the soul.” Throughout the telecast, she impressed Oprah and all of us with her optimism and insights. I am looking forward to reading her latest book,  The Wizard of Us,  where she interprets the deeper messages within the The Wizard of Oz and leads us along the Hero’s journey that awaits each of us.

While she has met with some of the great citizens of the world, she finds greatness in everyone she meets. In particular, she is ignited by her encounters with young people. She is very optimistic about our world and believes that more people are becoming more conscious.  When asked to define soul, she came up with three definitions: essence of who and what we are, lure of our becoming, and sometimes a pain in the neck.

The seventy-five-year-old Houston does not look her age and attributes her youthfulness to her Sicilian roots. She has never thought too much about the aging process; there’s so much to do and to be. She finds the second half of her life most interesting and believes that her own life started to get really good at age sixty.

Quotable Quotes…

You’re always wearing those red shoes.

I have a passion for the possible.

Guru—Gee, you are YOU!

We are sourced in spirit and we are adequate to the challenge of the times.

If you don’t accept the yearning, you end up dying inside. Joseph Campbell

We are the heroes of our own life’s journey. Joseph Campbell