Oprah Winfrey's latest book is a book to be read and re-read often. The book is sectioned into 10 chapter groups - Awakening, Intention, Mindfulness, Spiritual GPS, Ego, Forgiveness, Broken Open, Grace and Gratitude, Love and Connection. The order is quite telling; notice that "Ego" is right in the middle, followed by forgiveness. If we envision these topics as a bell curve, it's an uphill battle to learn to deal with the Ego, after learning it, things get gradually easier.
At the end of her book, Oprah writes, "In order to experience life, you’ve got to start asking life’s big questions;" her book is an attempt to help. What I really like about this book is that it features an array of answers to each question, complimentary pictures that express each topic visually, the reader can zoom in on the topic from various angles.
Here are very few that impressed me the most:
Michael Bernard Beckwith: "... Everyone is spiritual whether they know it or not..."
Jack Kornfield reminds us to ask ourselves, "... “What’s my best intention?” Because if you listen to your heart and ask, “What’s my best intention?” it will answer..."
To my surprise, David Brooks was also one of Oprah's guests. Then again, not surprisingly Brooks offers from his immense knowledge quoting the great theologian Augustine, (Question and answer), "What is sin?" “We sin when we have our loves out of order.”
It's a brilliant definition. If an elderly female relative asked us whether an "old-fashioned" hat or brooch given by her late husband still looks good, most of would come up with a little white lie because we would not want to hurt her feelings. "Our loves would be in order.” The white lie would not be sin.
Anne Lamott articulates what so many of us think at times (certainly I do), "... and you can say anything. I say to God sometimes, “You have got to be kidding.” Or I say, “Would it be so much skin off Your nose to cut this person a little slack?..."
Deeply, deeply moving is Timothy Shriver's statement, "... Normal. The tyranny of that word, it’s just, like, it’s a cancer in the culture. Are you normal? Are you fitting in? Are you like everyone else? My God, it’s terrifying. And yet we all feel that..." which led him to his work for the Special Olympics.
Oprah's elaborations of the dangers of "Egos" hit at the core of many problems (again, I was reminded of what I see on social media platforms)
"... ask, “What role does the ego play in this situation?” This is the essential question we should all be asking ourselves whenever we encounter difficulty..."
and, "... The ego has the power to influence or derail every aspect of our lives. Accepting this as truth opens the door to where the real work begins..."
Which leads me to describing one of the most powerful pictures, placed in the chapter group "Ego." (p. 101)
Most of us have seen in real life what the picture shows: a beach, with gentle waves rolling ashore. A couple of rocks of different sizes lie on the beach. The waves have washed out the sand around the rocks. I see two interpretations:
1) The waves are washing away the foundation around the Egos. By law of physics the rocks themselves enable the process because they "stand in the way."
2) At the same time this process will also break down the "Egos."
Hence: Does it make sense to deny that all of us are part of the universe? Or, try to insist on the power of our Ego?
The picture reminds us that the depicted egos won't last.
And, it is in this way that Oprah's book creates a puzzle readers can put together themselves. If we are not in the mood to hear from one of the featured guests we can skip their contribution until we are ready.
Last but certainly not least, I want to mention Sister Joan Chittister's contribution, "... I was about twelve and we came home and my little parakeet was gone. ... my heart was breaking. And I got into bed and I put my face down in the pillow and I sobbed...
As her mother and father comfort her , "... that’s when I learned that humanity is about identifying with somebody else’s pain, with being there..."
*
This is a beautiful book about the BIGGEST QUESTIONS and it is user-friendly! Love the way how it is designed, planned, structured.
Even though it's "only" a book it is a kind of interactive book. In a too noisy world, retreating with this book (a real book, not an app) and pondering the many offerings may lead us to discovering our own soul. Ideally, we should do a lot of pondering outside, in synch with nature.
5 stars,
Gisela Hausmann, author & blogger
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About the author
You are the Ocean 🌊
The body can be ‘rented out’ but not the soul. We are part of the Great Soul and we are all close to one another. We came from one place and if we look closely, we are not so very different, and in the end we shall all return whence we came. So the greatest wisdom of this book is to convey to all of us that we're not so very different... The main problem is just to see the picture: we all form a huge circle, everyone is so familiar, and silent, and listening and above us is a great, mighty cloud, and we all know it is the common soul - Super Soul. That's the reason why we open our eyes wider, reading 'The Wisdom of Sundays'. We all know the way, but we need somebody who'll whisper: yes, it's true. Oprah engaged the whole world in a brilliant conversation with thinkers and doers. But the point is that all of them are talking about YOU, because you are a thinker and doer - you just need to know it! One day in India a cheery, bald guru told me: "You can't even imagine how good you are!" And it's not about me, it's about all of us. We simply must know it! For me, the words of wisdom from Super Soul Conversations are just the 'last drop' to become the ocean. But we ALL need this drop. Thank you, Oprah, for following your way - for your conscious decision to go with the flow, obeying even the slightest fluctuation in the water. Thank you for your deep questions, for hearing your heart and people around, and... thank you for this powerful inspiration! You're the Ocean 🙏
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2017
- Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2017
Top reviews from other countries
- Cristina YunReviewed in Canada on January 24, 2024
easy and thought provoking read
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- Taba 176Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 19, 2018
Thought Provoking and Enjoyable
- NewanderReviewed in Spain on October 5, 2018
Lovely book. Would recommend in a heartbeat 💗
