The Wisdom of Sundays: Life-Changing Insights from Super Soul Conversations

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

“We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” ~Pierre Teilhard de ChardinOprah agrees with Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, that we are spiritual creatures who are on earth to have human experiences. Her book is not about any one religion, it is more about spirituality and wisdom learned from life’s many challenges.I am humbled by the love in this book and the courage of the participants to speak their truth. I found many names I recognized like Caroline Myss, Tony Robbins, Joel Osteen, Jack Canfield, Deepak Chopra, T.D. Jakes and many others who have influenced my life and who Oprah feels have great wisdom to share.I was hoping by reading this book, I could shed some light on things I’ve been thinking about and I was not disappointed. I was actually very delighted to read many of the beautifully comforting moments of wisdom that made this book inspirational.Not everyone in this book agrees on what a soul is. Some think it is a universal soul and others think you have an individual soul. I thought India Arie’s answer was best and what many believe.I also found Oprah’s idea of God interesting. I would have liked her to explain that in more detail. Especially since once I received a message from God that said: But Hope I Am All Everything. This came to me at a moment of sadness so I think it meant God should be my everything. But Oprah talks about the “ALL” and I wonder how that relates to the message I received.Some of the topics go beyond the spiritual and there is a discussion about what it takes to have a good marriage or at least participate in a soul partnership. There were also some parenting tips. I also felt there were a lot of new ways to look at older ideas.This book is beautifully crafted and the cover has a texture so it feels solid and artistic. It is a book you can read in a night or contemplate over a longer period of time, reading it more like a devotional.What made this book very interesting was Oprah’s introductions to each chapter. She truly is a wonderful writer who captures ideas in meaningful ways. Oprah was born to do many things for the world, but this is her most stunning gift yet.~The Rebecca Review