Super Soul Sunday & Other Ramblings

I was not a fan of the Oprah show when it was on regular network TV but I am definitely a fan of Oprah Winfrey (the person). Now that she has her own network, I am a fanatic about her Super Soul Sunday and her Master Classes. The things she brings forward is so needed in the world and it's different from religion, free from dogma and the condemnation of judgement. God is not judgement and spirituality is far deeper than religion.



I have always been very conflicted in terms of my religious upbringing and the alignment of my authentic self. Where some absolutely dismiss God because of their religious confusion, I choose to embrace God in the way that I interpret HIM/HER and no one or nothing should ever interpret or explain God to you. A person must come to their own conclusions or their own knowing about God and not rely on another for interpretation.

One of the flaws that religious zealots have is that they are so judgmental and then they project this onto their definition of God. I'm judgmental so that means God is judgmental. I have favorites on the playground so that means God does too. I don't like Gay people so that means God doesn't like them either. Is that really how it works? For me, I want to believe in a God that loves me flaws and all; that the eternal-ness of my soul is what he loves and not the flaws of my flesh. This places me at odds with the God that was explained to me at church and I'm okay with breaking from the pack. **sigh** But why do I have to? It boggles my mind.

Anyway, one of my absolute favorite segments of Super Soul Sunday is Soul Pancake.Tell me that this little video does NOT make you smile.


This next video makes me remember how easy it used to be to make friends. As we age, we just forget how to be outside of ourselves. **sigh** I HEART SOUL PANCAKE. Thank you Rainn Wilson and crew for being such creative geniuses.


You can find all of the SoulPancake segments on OWN's YouTube page. If you're feeling down, it's a great place to get a pick-me-up. When the condemnation of Religion's Gods has you feeling down... visit SoulPancake and get nourished.

August 2012 Issue of O Magazine

So has anyone seen the cover of the August issue of The O Magazine? Oprah is on the cover wearing a stellar color combo outfit that happens to be the colors featured on my new blog banner. Did I pick that out of the stream of consciousness that's out in the atmosphere or what? Very cool and so worthy of a mention on the blog.

I wanted to point out, though, the cost of the outfit. Granted, it's Oprah and she can afford stuff like this but as much as I love that outfit I don't have the means right now. She probably didn't have to pay for the items either because the designer just wants some exposure. I totally get it!

I love her pose in the shot and I absolutely adore the color combo. The shoes are an interesting pairing with the outfit and I absolutely love Oprah's styling.

According to the Shop Guide on page 171, here is the itemized shopping list for the outfit:

• Shirt - Lafayette 148 New York $278
• Skirt - Roland Mouret $850
• Bangles - Miriam Salat $350 each (you can barely see it on the cover)
• Ring - Jack Vartanian $2,340
• Shoes - Christian Louboutin $1,095
• Earrings - Tresor, Medawar Fine Jewelers (no price)

The total of Oprah's cover outfit could really, truly pay off my car note. Wow!! What industry can I get into that will allow me to don the finest clothing and the finest jewelry?

Oprah meets the Kardashians?

Oprah is catching a lot of flack for her feature of the Kardashian family. I have no idea who they are except that Kim Kardashian is now a part of the cast of one of my favorite TV shows, Drop Dead Diva. I have never watched the show, Keeping up with the Kardashians because they all seem wildly dysfunctional. For me, there is no entertainment value in watching that type of show. I don't get why people enjoy their show.

I follow Oprah and OWNTV on Twitter as well as on Facebook and I was surprised when Oprah posted why she interviewed the Kardashian family.



The comment section was pretty brutal on this and it seemed to have accumulated so quickly. I was not a really big fan of the Oprah talk show because I just didn't get any entertainment value from some of the stories she featured. Rape, Incest, Molestation, and all those things just served to depress me so I rarely ever watched Oprah's talk show. I know she featured more than that but some of the topics were not my reality. I just could not connect. My mother and father loved the show though. **shrugs**

Anyway, back to the Kardashians. I find it funny that Oprah would want to interview them. Of course, they're just normal people that had a really good agent to promote their dysfunction (think The Osbournes on MTV) and acquire a TV deal for them, right? And if this is the case, isn't Oprah just helping to promote more of the same? I remember watching Oprah's Master Class, the one that features her. She explains how she made an abrupt change in the direction that she wanted to take her Television show. She remembers speaking to a skinhead and he called her a monkey because she was Black. In that moment she realized that she was promoting Neo-Nazi brand of hatred by providing a platform for them to spread their message.

What, may I ask, is she spreading by featuring the Kardashians? I just don't get it but I'm curious as hell.

Will you be tuning in to the Oprah meets Kardashians episode?

REACTION - Oprah's Master Class: Gloria Steinem

Gloria Steinem is one of the leaders that emerged in the feminist movement in the 1960's. I love the way we, as women, have evolved thanks to Ms. Steinem's important work.

This episode of Oprah's Master Class is different from the Morgan Freeman one I blogged about it, where the "teacher (feature person)" appears in a studio with a blank canvas backdrop, speaking openly about their life.

In recent years I have become very wary of people who proclaim an absolute. Perhaps it is the academic path I have chosen (philosophy) that places me in a vantage point that forces me to process observed human behavior outside of the "isms" of planet Earth. Having an average knowledge of the more popular "isms" associated with America and Europe, I have concluded that I am quite jaded in terms of the labels that have been placed upon me through culture and religion. I am not defined by the isms placed upon me by virtue of birth. The thought that I have to be something or someone that is not authentically me stifles my spirit and prevents me from being truly free. This Master Class is a reminder that I need not be what others tell me I should be. I love that about Oprah and Gloria -- the encouragement to live an authentic life is always so inspiring.

In the segment where Oprah and Gloria appear at Barnard Collge, Oprah casually speaks of being molested and raped. What is beautiful about her casualness is that she follows-up by professing that she has done the work to heal herself. As a result, there is no shame in talking about it and no need to treat what happened with a victim's attitude. Having been a victim of rape, I speak very frankly and openly about what I endured. I echo Oprah's sentiments by saying that I can be so open about it because I have fully reconciled my experience.

 Oprah asserts, "Knowing who you are is the most valuable asset you will ever have." I love this. I used to write on my blackplanet page that no matter how hard a banana tried to be an apple, it could never happen. What is the lesson? The lesson is that we should be who we authentically are because that is all we can be.

In one of the "webisodes" exclusively on the OWN website, Oprah shares an important message about service. She asks that we shift whatever it is we think we are here to do and approach it in a manner that makes you or I be of service to the world. Doing this will make our lives more fulfilling. This is the purpose of our lives; to share our energy with the people we come in contact with.

This Master Class was different but still very wonderful. Surely we must be who we are destined to be. Who am I outside of what I have? Who am I? Who are you? I pray that we both find our life's purpose soon!

Oprah's Master Class: Morgan Freeman

Oprah's Master Class: Morgan Freeman

I love Morgan Freeman! I loved him before watching Oprah's Master Class. After watching Master Class, I love him even more.

His story is so inspiring.
About Never giving up.
About Courage.
About Providence.
"If you're not living on the edge then you're taking up a little too much space..."

This particular quote has reinvigorated me. Sometimes I get so sidetracked by my world's (read: the people around me) expectation of who I should be. My husband wants me to be a certain way. My family want me to be a certain way. My culture. My religious affiliation. All of these forces have a certain expectation of me of which I'm not certain is authentically me.

Living on the edge means taking more chances without fear of failure. Consciously, I have never been afraid of failure. Especially in recent years. However, people around me have more than enough fear for me. Where others see risk, I see opportunity and I long to move toward it. Though I have no fear of doing things, I do have fear of not pleasing those around me. Of course I want to meet and/or exceed my husband's expectations. Of course I want to be the kind of daughter/ sister/ aunt/etc. that everyone has become accustomed to. But can I really be all those things and still be the authentic me?

Which brings me to my next point. Perhaps I need a little more courage, not to brave the unknown but to stand for my authentic self.

I feel so suffocated by religion. In a universe of infinite creation and growth, how can there be only one way to the Creator? And then at the end of this lifetime, when I am rebirthed into another existence, will any of the dogmatic, religious, theological, doctrinal beliefs really matter? Can we not function in the universe and love each other, as human beings, without the weight of our differences? What if, in the horizon of new consciousness, we find out that God is in me and you and in every person on the planet? Why is it not enough to nurture that?

Let me move toward the edge and throw myself INTO LIVING COLOR rather than the dull existence of black and white print.

In the Master Class, Morgan Freeman closes with the following words:

Go placidly amidst the noise and haste
Knowing what peace there is in silence

and it goes on...
NO DOUBT THE UNIVERSE IS UNFOLDING AS IT SHOULD

Be at peace with yourself
You are as important as the stars

Providence is that unseen force that directs and moves our lives in the paths that we are destined to trod. Some call it God. I don't quite know what to make of it except that I have a strong impression that my destiny is unfolding as we speak, in the way that it should, without my prompting it or forcing it. I look forward to my purpose unfolding where I pray that I will be as free as a bird, untethered by the burden of dogma.

Be at peace with yourself
You are as important as the stars


Thank you Oprah and Morgan Freeman for inspiring me.