Category Archives: Super Soul Sunday

Oprah and Iyanla Vanzant–Part II

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

In yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, Iyanla Vanzant shared the most profound moments of her spiritual journey. We hear about her suicide attempt  at age 21 and the devastating loss of her daughter, Gemmia. While Iyanla may have crashed down, she didn’t stumble. Instead, she discovered that the quicker she got “It aint’ about me,” the less she suffered.

Iyanla’s daily spiritual practice involves reading her bible and listening to music. She stressed the fact that she does not pray to an external God. To Iyanla, prayer is intimate heartfelt conversation with BOO, her internal God. She shared three personal prayers that cover every circumstance:

Help!

Help me now!

Thank you.

Interesting facts about Iyanla…

1. She went to law school to train her mind. While there, she learned how to think and build an argument.

2. The name Iyanla means mother. It was given to her by her godfather.

3. She is most at home and at peace when she is braless in bed watching reruns of Law and Order.

What does she know for sure…God loves me and I didn’t do anything wrong.

Oprah and Iyanla Vanzant

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Rhonda Harris aka Iyanla Vanzant was born in poverty, endured a childhood filled with fear, married at age fourteen and had three children by the age of twenty-one. She lived off welfare until she turned her life around by putting herself through college and law school. Later, she became an ordained minister, launched a self-help empire and sold more than eight million books.

An amazing story of transformation that merits more than one appearance on Super Soul Sunday.

Yesterday, Iyanla focused on her early years and the hard lessons she has learned along the way. She acknowledges her earlier self—Rhonda—and credits that wounded and sorrowful soul with helping her survive poverty, abuse and rape. When “Rhonda” no longer fit who she had become, Iyanla renamed herself as a symbol of starting anew.

Facing the truth is painful but necessary. Throughout her life, Iyanla dealt with many relationship and money issues that forced her to endure the labor pains of birthing that truth. It took her forty years to realize she was still seeking her father’s approval. When her daughter commented on their financial problems, Iyanla admitted that she had a “welfare mentality with a million dollar life.”

As she opened up, Iyanla Vanzant demonstrated how she found peace among the broken pieces of her life.

So many wonderful quotes…

When you find yourself in a new situation, everything that requires healing is going to rush to the surface. Pause and take a breath.

If you are not living the life that’s in alignment with who you are today, you are living the generational pathology of who you used to be.

Look at your patterns. Pause and pay attention.

When your relationship with God is hit or miss, so is your life.

Iyanla’s definition of God—All there is.

All things are lessons that God will have you learn. (Course in Miracles)

I must have decided wrongly, because I’m not at peace. (Course in Miracles)

You can give but if it can’t be received, it’s like it was never given. (Oprah)

Looking forward to Part II next Sunday.

Oprah and Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

At age sixteen, author and Sufi mystic Llewellyn Vaughan-Lee experienced a shift in consciousness when he read the following Zen koan: The wild geese do not intend to cast their reflection, and the water has no mind to retain  their image.

Afterward, a door opened up within him and suddenly there was joy.

On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday telecast, he spoke with Oprah about Sufism and the universal longing for love. It was interesting to learn that Sufism is inclusive of all religions and helps bridge the gap between the East and West.

I was impressed by this articulate mystic who is concerned with the state of our world. He believes that we are in a state of crisis, much deeper than Wall Street. He spoke at length about the three journeys: from God, to God and in God. Unfortunately, too many people ignore their divine natures and focus primarily on material accumulation. To get on the journey to God, something, usually tragedy, must wake them up. While describing the journey in God, he used Rumi’s words: a return to the root of the root of your own being.

When Oprah mentioned that many of her guests and viewers just want to be happy, Vaughan-Lee replied, “I think they want to be loved.”

Quotable Quotes…

If you go into the core of your being, there is only love or the longing for love.

In order to know God, the ego must be crucified.

For the Sufi, the heart has to break open. Most people are so closed, so contracted; it’s all about “me.”

In God I move and breathe and have my being. (One of Oprah’s mantas)

We are a feather on the breath of God. Hildegard of Bingen

Oprah and Beasts of the Southern Wild

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

During a recent interview, President Obama asked Oprah if she had seen the movie, Beasts of the Southern Wild. Intrigued, Oprah decided to watch this fantasy drama and then added to the buzz surrounding this magical tale of hope and redemption.

On yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday, Oprah interviewed co-writer/director Benh Zeitlin and actors Dwight Henry and Quvenzhané Wallis.

Benh Zeitlin

This is the first feature film for the 29-year-old visionary who wanted to fill his life with wild, brave and good-hearted people. Struck by Hurricane Katrina and how people responded to it, Zeitlin decided to create an anthem to those courageous survivors who had held out for their homes and culture.

Dwight Henry

He was not looking for an acting job. Content with his bakery—later called Buttermilk Drop Bakery and Café—Henry served his delicious donuts to Zeitlin and the rest of the crew at the casting agency across the street. During a slow hour, he read for the part and was asked to return. Flattered, he refused the part because he had no intention of sacrificing his business for a possible acting career. But Zeitlin persisted, strongly believing that if Henry could start a bakery, he could be a lead actor in the film. Also, Henry had lived through Hurricane Katrina and would bring a passion to the part that no experienced actor could match.

Quvenzhané Wallis

Chosen over 4000 other possibilities, this miniature force of nature was only five years old when she auditioned for the role. While her reading abilities were limited, she impressed the film-makers with her improvisational talents. She also had a tremendous scream and the ability to burp on command.

Quotable Quotes…

Stand in the face of things that people say you can’t stand.

When you find someone who believes in you, take heed and respect it.

Everything in life has its own heartbeat.

Everybody loses the thing that made them. The brave men stay and watch it happen. They don’t run. (Hush Puppy)

Oprah and Rev. Ed Bacon

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Rev. Ed Bacon doesn’t want everyone in church on Sundays. More concerned with filling hearts rather than filling pews, he has no problems with anyone who enjoys wonderful Sunday morning experiences elsewhere.

Taken aback by his statement, Oprah asked him to elaborate on spirituality, the main theme of yesterday’s Super Soul Sunday session. He came up with the following definition which resonated with Oprah and many of her followers on Twitter and Facebook.

Spirituality is the experience of feeling unconditionally loved so powerfully that you know there is some Power greater than you. And it fills you so much that you want to share that feeling with others.

He went on to discuss the difficulties encountered by people who choose to live in a house of fear. Dependent upon someone else’s dogma, these people are not interested in developing their own inner voices. Spirituality empowers people to think for themselves and make the choice to live in a house of love.

Throughout yesterday’s program, Bacon stressed the fact that everyone is equally advantaged before God and we should all be moving toward creating a human family.  He acknowledged the challenges and gave practical advice on dealing with anger and conflict.

Stop | Take a breath | Become an observer

I was very impressed by this extraordinary thinker, often referred to as the chief spiritual officer at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena. While reading about his early life, I discovered that Bacon was greatly influenced by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. A chance meeting at the Atlanta airport in 1967 inspired Bacon to reread the Bible using a different lens, one inspired by universal compassion.

Quotable Quotes…

The kingdom of God is within you. You are your own priest.

Satan and the ego are the same thing.

Save us from those who think evil is external.

In every moment, there is something sacred at stake.

You don’t order grace; it just comes.

The cockpit shakes the most just before breaking the sound barrier.

Spiritual nourishment at its best!

Oprah and Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

As I watched yesterday’s telecast on Super Soul Sunday, I was in awe of the articulate woman who sat across from Oprah.

Harvard trained brain scientist Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor is a stroke triumphant!            

At age 37, a blood vessel exploded in the left side of her brain, leaving her unable to walk, speak or recall anything from her past. She was essentially an infant in a woman’s body.

But the story does not end there.

With the help of her mother, Dr. Taylor reinvented herself, embracing the  remaining right hemisphere that allowed her to think and function differently. I was most impressed by her attitude toward “new baggage.” While recovering, if she didn’t like the way something made her feel, she simply chose not to run the circuitry in her brain.  In particular, she focused on anger—that rush of feelings that last only about 90 seconds.

Pay attention to what you’re thinking → You are not your thoughts → Wait and it will pass.

While in the hospital, she could easily perceive who was there to help and who didn’t really care. She responded positively to anyone who…

Gave her time to hunt for the answer.

Didn’t finish all her sentences.

Handled her as gently as they would a newborn.

Excellent advice for all of us to consider when visiting friends or family members suffering from a stroke or other disability.

A movie version of her book, A Stroke of Insight, is being directed by Ron Howard. Jodie Foster will play Dr. Jill Bolte Taylor.

Quotable Quotes…

Please be responsible for the energy you bring into this room.

Peace is only a thought away.

Pay attention to what you’re thinking and if your thoughts aren’t creating the life you want, change your thoughts.

Being grateful is paramount.

Oprah and Michael Singer

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Yesterday, on Super Soul Sunday, Oprah introduced spiritual teacher Michael Singer to her viewers.

In 2005, Michael Singer was indicted in a massive government fraud case against his software company. The investigation went on for six years, during which time Singer wrote The Untethered Soul.  While the situation was a stressful one, Singer never lost his inner peace and calm.

When asked about his spiritual journey, Singer described the deep inner awakening he experienced while completing his doctorate in economics. He became intensely aware of that inner voice that constantly narrates all the events of our lives. He realized that the voice talks incessantly because there is some inner turmoil which has not been resolved.

Throughout the interview, Oprah referred to passages from different chapters in the book. In the chapter “Removing Your Inner Thorn,” Singer addresses the two choices we all have when addressing pain. We can devote valuable energy to avoiding this pain or we can take out the thorn.

Singer stresses that it is not necessary to work out all our issues. If we can quiet that inner voice and open ourselves to more possibilities, we will bring peace to the table and spread it everywhere.

Quotable Quotes…

You will find in every situation in life, there’s a higher way to deal with it.

You will stay lost if you do not separate who you are from who you are not.

Relax and lean away from a situation. Give it room to pass through.

We’re either walking in the direction of love or the direction of fear.

True freedom is freedom from yourself.

Your time is limited and you should be using it for something meaningful.

Death makes us all the same. Are we going to wait for death to teach us that?

Oprah and Marianne Williamson

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

In 1992, Marianne Williamson released A Return to Love, a reflection on the principles in A Course of Miracles. The book resonated with Oprah who bought one thousand copies and invited Marianne to appear on her popular talk show. That year, A Return to Love became the fifth highest best-selling book in the United States. Since then, she  has written nine other books, among them The Age of Miracles, A Woman’s Worth and Everyday Grace. In 2006, a Newsweek magazine poll named Marianne Williamson one of the fifty most influential baby boomers.

Yesterday, the popular spiritual teacher appeared on Super Soul Sunday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the publication of A Return to Love. A long-time fan, I enjoyed the telecast and couldn’t stop taking notes. Throughout the program, Marianne  radiated peace and joy while dispensing her many pearls of wisdom. I agree with Oprah’s final comment: “You are the best prayer I have ever known.”

So many wonderful quotations…

Love is a radical idea.

No religion has the monopoly on truth.

We are either walking in the direction of love or the direction of fear.

Every life is a platform.

The spotlight isn’t pointed at you; it radiates within you.

For every person, there is a highly individualized curriculum.

You can have a grievance or a miracle, but not both.

A miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love.

As long as you keep your heart open, the miracle will find you.

The key to happiness is the decision to be happy.

I can choose to learn the lesson through joy or pain.

If you know what changes a heart, you know what changes the world.

Oprah and Cheryl Strayed

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

After reading Cheryl Strayed’s powerful memoir, Wild, Oprah was so inspired that she decided to reinvent her book club. As part of Super Soul Sunday, Oprah invited the author to her house in Santa Barbara where they sat beneath the redwoods in her front yard. For almost ninety minutes, the two women discussed the novel and Cheryl’s need to spend three months traveling the 1100 mile Pacific Crest Trail by herself.

The Backstory

At age 22, Cheryl’s life took a downward turn. After her 45-year-old mother died of cancer, Cheryl’s wild love turned into wild sorrow and then she went wild into her life. Hungry for affirmation, she sought the company of other men and did heroin.

Three years later, Cheryl’s car broke down on a snowy night. She went into a camping store to buy a shovel to literally dig herself out. While waiting to pay, she glanced at a guidebook about the Pacific Crest Trail. The next day, she returned to buy the book. Six months later, she started her hike from the Mojave Desert to Oregon.

The Challenges

While Cheryl was not a stranger to the wilderness, she had no experience as a long distance hiker. Throughout the interview, Oprah commented that she would have given up at many points along the trail.

Cheryl’s backpack was more than half her weight and she could barely stand up on the first day of the trek.

Her boots were too small and a constant source of pain. She lost six toenails. At one point, Cheryl threw away the boots, wrapped her feet in duct tape and continued.

Cheryl ran out of water several times.

One evening, Cheryl spent the night under the stars. In the morning, she woke up and felt cool, wet hands on her body. She was entirely covered in black frogs.

While she wasn’t afraid of the animals, she experienced fear when encountering several male hunters who made suggestive comments.

She had only twenty cents left at the end of the hike.

The Lessons

God is not a grantor of wishes.

I needed to carry the weight I couldn’t bear.

The universe will take whatever it takes and not give anything back.

I found solace in trail magic–unexpected sweet happenings that stand out in relation to the challenges of the trail (e.g. sunsets).

Big things happened because I was not going to let fear hold me back.

Oprah and Dr. Wayne Dyer

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

I enjoyed watching Dr. Wayne Dyer on Super Soul Sunday with Oprah. Often called the father of motivation, Dr. Dyer has inspired us with his many books and appearances on PBS.

I’ve been a fan of Dr. Dyer since the publication of his first book, The Erroneous Zones. I was surprised to learn that he wrote this book after a profound awakening moment in his life.

At the age of thirty-four, Dyer’s life was out of control. He was involved in bad relationships, overweight, not eating properly, and experiencing difficulty launching his writing career. He decided to visit his father’s grave. Having grown up hating the man who had abandoned his family and forced him to endure many obstacles, Dyer was ready to spew out all his rage. Instead, he felt an inner shift and forgave his father. He then rented a cottage in Fort Lauderdale and spent fourteen days writing The Erroneous Zones, the first of many books that would impact millions of people around the world.

At age 71, Dyer speaks and acts like a much younger man. There are no traces of leukemia and, for all intents and purposes, he was cured by John of God. He spoke at length about his experience with the Brazilian health healer.

His speech with peppered with so many wonderful insights and quotes from other writers and spiritual teachers, among them Mark Twain, Hafiz, William Blake, and Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

Quotable Quotes…

All of us are connected. All of us are individualized expressions of God.

My prayer is to be in the space of God and have the peace of God live and breathe through me.

If we can truly see ourselves in everyone, then we are motivated to hurt no one.

EGO=Edging God Out

Mantra of the higher self: How can I serve?

Put into your imagination what you wish to manifest and act as if it were manifested.