THIS MONTH IN OPRAH : HOPE, HAPPINESS, AND MORE.

March 6, 2008

I enjoy reading Oprah when I’m in a waiting room but I seldom buy it. I don’t often connect with the topics. Dr. Phil, Suze Orman, retail items I can’t afford, US politics, solutions to problems I don’t have, celebrities I don’t care much about,… But in this issue, I found tons to interest me.

Cover of O, The Oprah Magazine March 2008

Sites To Know : TED

I bought the magazine for one article. “Shift Happens tells of the TED prize. $100,000 and the help to realize a dream are given to 3 people who must propose a world-changing wish.

I consider the TED conference to be a testament to human imagination, creativity, and capacity for vision. The conference was mentioned in the article The Abuse of Permission Marketing. In California, once yearly, by invitation only, the world’s greatest thinkers are given 18 minutes to speak about their field of interest. The topics range from music to psychology. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, and Design. Every speech stirs you to look beyond yourself and imagine what the world we share could be.

Our interconnectedness is humanity’s magical gift, if we could only learn to use it. In the same way that the internet brings us together as equals, so do the TED conferences elevate and inspire us. You can watch spectacular performances and contemplate how our history shapes our destiny. This is a site we must know. Look through the Themes A to Z directory and listen to a few of the speeches. Every single one is mind-opening.

This article concentrated on the prize itself, to whom it has been awarded, what their vision was for its use, and which industries and private citizens came forward to aid in its implementation.This month, a cosmologist who studies black holes, a writer, and a religious historian will reveal their dreams. With the attention of the world for a few minutes, they carry the weight of inspiring all of us to be remarkable.

How others see us

I loved “Am I Doing This Right?”

2 women do their hair and makeup as they normally would. Then, a hair and makeup artist do their version. Since I am fascinated by the difference in how we see ourselves and how others see us, this was the second article I read. First I looked at each woman and wondered what I myself would do differently. Then I looked at what makeup artist Mally Roncal did.

It was lovely and very real. I simply loved the nude and caramel lips. These are the neutral makeup colors women should wear. And it looked like the makeup on the older woman was done without shimmer, just as it should be. There is a very fine glow product on the cheeks, I think, but in that place, it works well to make the skin look moist and healthy.

It annoyed me deeply that they did not say what products were used. The article was about the makeup, for Pete’s sake! I had to make my own copy of the lip colors by mixing L’Oreal Colour Juice in Peaches N Cream and Caramel Crème. Still, this is the type of irritating omission that prevents from buying magazines regularly.

L’Oreal Colour Juice lip gloss

I was glad to see how full lips could be created without using tingling glosses. Does anyone actually believe those lip glosses work to make lips look fuller? Your lips might feel a little puffier, as they sting or feel numb. But really, on which of your friends do you think you can tell a difference with a plumping gloss? I have never found those products to truly plump anything. The color, the shimmer, the application, maybe. The prickling feeling? Never.

It would be my dream to have myself re-invented by someone with good taste. I really have no idea what I look like, what my good or bad features are, or what I could do better, but I certainly would love to learn.

Make yourself happy

“5 Things Happy People Do” was full of associations for me. As you may have read in this blog, I am on a journey towards My Deeper Self. I hope that you join me on that trek. That’s where the best stuff will be, the true awareness and creativity. One of the means to get closer to that place comes from a life spent playing to your strengths and your true joys, doing what your special gifts allow you to do with ease and with fulfillment.

The article tells of a belief held by the Greeks in Aristotle’s time of each child being born with a personal ‘daimon’, the incarnation of their highest being. Since I’m reading the Golden Compass trilogy, where the soul of humans is not within them, but external in the form of an animal, I was fascinated by that this ancient idea exists.

The article describes other aspects of creating happiness in your life, because you do create it, by design and intention. An excellent presentation at TED by Harvard psychologist Dan Gilbert shows us that we have no idea what will make us happy, and more importantly that we can make the feeling of happiness. We are capable of chemically manufacturing happiness. How incredible that is. We can choose to make ourselves happy. This is also related to the article Hey, Universe, Are You Ignoring Me? Do we really know what is best for us?

Natalie Portman’s books

There’s a small feature with Natalie Portman who discusses a few books that made a difference in her life. Though I realize I’m not alone in saying this, this is the one woman whose looks I would trade mine for. Not because I think I’m so spectacular-looking, but because I think that she is. Absolutely could not be improved on, in my opinion.

She seems to have an inclination toward dark topics (as Oprah herself does, if you’re familiar with Oprah’s Book Club), war zones, kidnapping, death from despair, and beautiful but tragic outcomes. Since my favorite books are the Confessions of a Shopaholic series, well, I won’t be running out to get these books. In the very few minutes I have to read each day, struggle and misery are not where I want to spend the time.

Confessions of a Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

Great recipes in this issue

The Good Carb recipes look fabulous. Even a quinoa recipe!! A beautiful dip with black beans and goat cheese. A pizza crust with a ground cornmeal crust. I never find a magazine with even 1 recipe I’d make; in this one, I’ll make everyone of these. Cookies with oats, apple butter, walnuts, chocolate, and no white flour – these I cannot make because I’d eat every single one the same day. I am not exaggerating.

The Last Page

The What I Know For Sure page this month is about getting paid to do what you love. This is so important, and yet not enough of us ever achieve it, or consciously set up our lives to make sure that it happens. I wrote more about it in Anti-Aging Strategy o What You Love. Spooky how many connections I made in this magazine.

Oprah describes her approach to money as a form of energy. When energy is given, it will, in turn, create. Affording a certain lifestyle is not of primary importance to her. It is the ability she has, through the power of many energies, including money, to help others envision and become their finest selves. It was very eloquently written.

Posted by Christine Scaman | Filed Under Sites To Know, This Month In ...

Comments

One Response to “THIS MONTH IN OPRAH : HOPE, HAPPINESS, AND MORE.”

Joseph on June 3rd, 2008 2:44 am

I read “My Stroke of Insight” in one sitting – I couldn’t put it down. I laughed. I cried. It was a fantastic book (I heard it’s a NYTimes Bestseller and I can see why!), but I also think it will be the start of a new, transformative Movement! No one wants to have a stroke as Jill Bolte Taylor did, but her experience can teach us all how to live better lives. Her TED.com speech was one of the most incredibly moving, stimulating, wonderful videos I’ve ever seen. Her Oprah Soul Series interviews were fascinating. They should make a movie of her life so everyone sees it. This is the Real Deal and gives me hope for humanity.