Tag Archives: Oprah

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 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.

Oprah and Her Spiritual Mod Squad

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Last evening, Oprah and her co-teachers–Iyanla Vanzant, Deepak Chopra, Tony Robbins, Bishop Jakes–discussed the art of gratitude. Oprah  shared her gratitude ritual with us. After meeting Sarah Van Ban Breathnach, author of Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy, Oprah started keeping a daily gratitude journal. Each day, she writes down at least five things for which she is grateful. She strongly believes that gratitude can change our consciousness.  If we are grateful for what we have, we will have more.

Insights from the Spiritual Mod Squad…

Iyanla Vanzant

Your life will stop at different places. Be grateful for each step along the way and pay attention to how you respond.

When you are conscious of the energy you bring to the room, your presence is enough.

Deepak Chopra

The sinner and the saint are merely exchanging notes. The saint has a past and the sinner has a future.

The only true belief you need to have is in your infinite potential.

Tony Robbins

Our biggest addiction is problems…We can reduce our life to a description that makes other people feel sorry for us. Or we can expand our life to a dimension that connects and gives to others.

Flood yourself with positive experiences…that changes your biochemistry.

Bishop Jakes

It is not your outer vision, but your inner vision that makes you special.

Wherever there is appreciation, there will be duplication.

Chopra/Oprah Tour–A Class Act

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Last night, Oprah welcomed spiritual master Deepak Chopra to her life class at Radio City Music Hall in New York. A global leader in the field of mind-body medicine, Deepak Chopra is a prolific author of 65 books, including 19 New York Times bestsellers.

Throughout the two-hour program, Oprah and Deepak Chopra discussed and  answered questions about spirituality. I particularly liked the segment where he shared his STOP formula for controlling unwanted thoughts.

S=Stop

T=Take three deep breaths

O=Observe what is happening in your body

P=Proceed with kindness and compassion

Quotable Quotes…

5. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.

4.  The highest form of intelligence is being able to observe yourself without judgment.

3.  You can believe the diagnosis, but never believe the prognosis.

2.  I use memories, but I do not allow memories to use me.

1.  The past is gone. The future is not here. Now I am free of both. Choose joy.

What is your favourite quote?

Oprah in Toronto

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

With over 8500 people assembled at the Metro Toronto Centre,  Oprah achieved her dream of having the world’s largest classroom. Joining her were four Master Class life teachers–Iyanla Vanzant, Tony Robbins, Deepak Chopra and Bishop T.D. Jakes–her spiritual mod squad. The two-hour life class dealt with the power of forgiveness. Throughout the evening, Oprah and the mod squad stressed the fact that forgiveness can set us free.

So many wonderful insights…

Iyanla Vanzant

Until you heal the wounds of your past, you will continue to bleed.

Too many people are spiritually constipated and emotionally retarded. Forgiveness is a spiritual laxative.

Tony Robbins

Become aware of your love patterns.

Level 1–Baby or brat love

Level 2–Horse Trading (you give only to get)

Level 3–Real love

Level 4–Pure spirit love as demonstrated by Nelson Mandela and Dalai Lama

Deepak Chopra

Process your pain or it will surface as disease.

Holding onto resentment is like holding your breath–you suffocate.

What other people think about you is not your business. If you make it your business, you will be offended for the rest of your life.

Bishop T.D. Jakes

Unforgiveness unchecked becomes a cancer in our soul.

Forgive so you can detach from the poison.

If you forget, you lose the wisdom from the experience.

When you taste one segment of your life in isolation, it is bitter. Combine all the segments and it will taste better.

Do not expect people to love on a gallon level if they are pint people.

Irrigate your life with gallon people.

Nuggets from Bishop T.D. Jakes

Posted on by Joanne Guidoccio

Oprah said it best. “He isn’t a preacher. He’s a prophet.”

On Monday night, Bishop T. D. Jakes was featured on Oprah’s Life Class. The founder of the 30,000-member Potter’s House Church in Dallas ignited the members of the studio and worldwide audience with his insightful comments. I am looking forward to reading his latest book, Let It Go.

In the meantime, I am  reflecting upon his many nuggets of wisdom.

My Top Five…

5. Don’t allow your situation to become your world when it’s just a launching pad into the next dimension of your life.

4. Don’t ask permission for what you are directed to do.

3. You cannot embrace your destiny if you’re holding on to your history.

2. Don’t let other people put a period where God has put a comma.

1. You need to be around people who make deposits not withdrawals.

What is your favorite nugget?