Kickoff '09 w/ Oprah!

I watched Oprah's Show this past whole week! It was a real treat for me! She kicked off 2009 with the theme of "Living Your Best Life." And, she wanted to take all her viewers along for the ride. One TV show I missed a great deal when I was living and working at Hong Kong was....you guessed right, OPRAH! I watched her show since its debut in 1986! I'm a die-hard fan. I tried desperately to get tickets to her show in Chicago but with no such luck. Maybe some day! ;-) When I was at HK,
my sister Sue, gave me a birthday gift of Oprah's DVD set celebrating her 20th Anniversary in 2006. It took me quite a long time to watch 10 DVDs highlighting 20 great years of the Oprah Show, but it was truly one of the greatest gift I had ever received! Thank you. My good friend Mabel had the Hallmark channel, a cable network in HK and had nicely invited me to watch a few "Oprah Shows" at her flat. Thank you. Those were memorable times. ;-) Of course, besides Oprah's shows, I also enjoy reading her magazines and at HK, O Magazines were a bit pricey - $98 hkd @ Page One and $64 hkd @ HMV. I stopped buying them, and just re-read the old copies I had at home in SF and occasionally went on Oprah's website to view 'old shows.' Somehow I managed to get my fill of Oprah.

This week, Oprah focused on "Living Your Best Life" - which entails physical health, spirituality, good sex & relationships and finance. And, Oprah is motivated by her own struggle with weight. She had 'fallen off the wagon' in 2008 by gaining back all her previous weight and is now 200 lbs. Her advice to everyone is to schedule YOURSELF into your schedule. Because we always put ourselves last on a daily basis. If we are not fulfilled, we will be depleted and will have nothing to give or offer to the world.

This week Oprah had invited her personal trainer, Bob Greene (in the photo), a team of spiritual advisors, including my favorite Michael Beckwith (a contributor for 'The Secret), Dr. Oz, and also my favorite Suze Orman, the financial advisor, to share their insights and advice to America.

With spirituality, which the panel said has nothing to do with GOD, but everything to do with our greater search for purpose in life. One man's story touched me a great deal. He survived a plane crash and literally saw the middle of the plane burn like 'Dante's inferno.' He was lucky because he was sitting at the back of the plane. As the human bodies went up in flames on the plane, he saw 'lights' emerging upwards from each person. Some 'lights' were brighter and some were darker. The spiritual panel deemed these 'lights' as an 'AURA' emanating from our souls. The aura is not something supernatural but defines the very idea that spirituality embodies our physical bodies, and not the other way around. The man went on to say that the plane crash changed his life. He told Oprah that he wanted to leave this earth when he dies with a 'bright' aura, and vows to live his life well. It was quite amazing listening to this man's story. I was in tears when he finished his story.

On the Finance segment of the show, financial expert Suze Orman stressed the need to save our earnings and not overspend and live beyond our means. The Financial Crisis should be a 'wake up' call to America, according to Orman. And, it's also staggering to know that credit card debts are very common among people. I, for one, never saw credit cards as MONEY. Luckily, this is a lesson from Dad, not from Suze Orman. Orman went on to challenge the audience to do the following for 2009:

- DON'T SPEND ANY MONEY FOR ONE DAY
- DON'T USE YOUR CREDIT CARD FOR ONE WHOLE MONTH
- DON'T GO OUT TO A RESTAURANT FOR A WHOLE MONTH

Very interesting, huh? The first two seem easy, but the last one will be the most difficult. I'm going to try doing #3 this year.

As for the Physical Health & Sex & Relationship segments of the show, they were very good too. Of course, this blog ought to be 'CLEAN' now so I won't elaborate on those segments. But, they were GOOD. ;-)

So, 'Living Your Best Life' sounds fantastic. Of course it is easier said than done. But, with Oprah, I am always inspired by HER. It is all about learning how to love yourself in order to be happy & healthy. I'm so glad I was able to kickoff 2009 with Oprah Shows. That's what I needed coming home.

Here's to all of us Living Our Best Lives! Cheers and thanks for reading!