Showing posts with label Meditation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Meditation. Show all posts

Tuesday, January 19, 2016

How Self Aware Are You...Really? (Rosy the Reviewer's "Happiness Trilogy, #1)

No, this isn't one of those quizzes you find on Facebook like "What Kind of a Flower Would You Be?" or "If You Were a Kind of Pasta, What Would You Be ?
(I think I got rigatoni, but not sure). 

No, I am really asking the question.

I reserve my Tuesday blog posts for a rant when I feel one coming on.  And this Tuesday, I feel one coming on.

I blame it all on Oprah. 

This whole self-awareness, living in the present, self-help thing.  I used to poo poo such things, but now I meditate regularly and am taking not one, but two courses by two of her anointed ones: Brene Brown and Brendon Burchard.  I will check back in with you in a couple of months to see if I have achieved "better personhood."

All of that is to achieve more self-awareness.

Why is that important?

Because, in a nutshell, when you are self-aware you will be happier and so will the people around you.

I talk about it a bit in my blog post "A Little Meditation on a Little Meditation by an Unlikely Meditator" that I wrote back in 2014 - how most of us live our lives in a bit of a fog, living our lives, but not really being aware that we are living our lives, you know what I mean?

But there is more to it than that.

Self-awareness can take several forms. 

I have divided the concept into two realms:  one, the realm that includes getting in touch with your true self, that silent observer within, and two, being aware when you are being a dick, pardon my French.  I should have said "dique."
 
Let's start with the first one.

How often have you suddenly realized you were picking your nose in your car at a stoplight and then wondering if anyone noticed and thinking, "What was I just doing?"  How often have you been at the supermarket and realized you didn't remember putting those two gallons of salted caramel ice cream in your cart?

Because that, my peeps, is how most of us walk around. 

NOT self aware. We walk around with our heads in the clouds, our noses in our phones and our brains on hold.  Once in awhile we "wake up," and realize where we are and we might be present in that one moment when we realize we are picking our noses at a stoplight, but basically we mostly live our lives thinking about the past or the future or whether or not there will be another season of "Keeping up with the Kardashians."




Self-awareness is not the same thing as self-consciousness. 

Self consciousness is when you realize you are wearing jeans to a black tie affair or when a giant zit appears on your nose right before giving an important presentation at work.

Self-awareness is defined as "the capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals," and it happens when you slow down and take the time to be present in the moment.

When you are self-aware you are aware of your inner true self, your thoughts, emotions, and beliefs that govern you as you move through life.

And what is your true self? 

Your true self is that silent observer (some people call it the soul) that looks out through your eyes and notices that you are observing. All of those thoughts that run through your brain do not constitute your true self.  Your true self exists in those spaces between all of those thoughts. That's why meditation can be so helpful in becoming self-aware. When you quiet the thoughts and spend some time with yourself in the stillness, you become more aware of your true self.



But if you don't have time to meditate or it scares you, you can achieve the same thing by stopping yourself periodically during the day and thinking about what you just said, by noticing what is happening right in that moment.  What did I just say?  How did the listener respond? 

You can also spend a few minutes each day noticing sensations as you move around, touch objects or savor your food.  Taking a walk in a park, noticing the rustling leaves and the blue sky (unless you live in Seattle, then it would be gray sky) and the feeling of your feet touching the ground. You can also listen to soothing music or go for a run.  Anything that quiets your mind.


Or you can decide to greet your friends, loved ones and colleagues whole-heartedly, being present with them and giving them your whole attention.

Eventually as you become more aware and mindful, you are not just living your life, you are AWARE that you are living your life, but not in a self-conscious way. You realize that you are conscious, that you are part of the whole and that is where happiness lies.

And that is the whole point.

But the quest for self-awareness can also be all about the self, which is not necessarily a good thing and leads me to "Self-Awareness #2, which is really all about being self-aware of your actions and how they affect other people.

How often have you heard someone say..."I am self aware enough to realize..." That has become a catch-phrase for "I know what I am doing" or "I have it all together."

When I hear that I want to say, "Really?  Are you self aware enough to know that you are often not a very good friend?  Are you self-aware enough to know that you were just condescending to that waiter?  Are you self-aware enough to know that you were insensitive to your spouse when he shared something with you?  We should change that to "I am self aware enough to know that if I say I am self aware I am probably not."

This form of self-awareness, or lack thereof, falls more into the consideration and courtesy realm, but I realize that it takes self-awareness to know when you are pissing other people off, which hopefully would lead you to stop doing that.  Now you could say that you don't care and if that's the case, I hope you are self-aware enough to know that you are that kind of person, someone who doesn't care what your fellow humans have to endure when you are around.


Here are some things that show a lack of this kind of self-awareness:


  • Talking on your cell phone at the gym
 
 
 

---When you do that, are you aware that everyone in the gym can hear you arguing with your mother or begging your parole officer for another chance -- and that it is very annoying?

I'm not even going to get into talking on the cell phone in your car because I think that's a lost cause.  But I want to know...who are these people you are talking to that you can't wait until you see them?  I hardly ever get any calls that are important, and when I need to make a call, I can certainly wait until I get home.  I don't have to let the entire gym know about my new outfit or what a chump my husband is (not you, Hubby, I'm just using that as an example).  And why do people talk so loudly when they are talking on a cell phone?  It's like I am back in the 50's listening to my mother talking long distance.


  • In a very crowded parking lot, you get in your car, your brake lights are on and it takes you forever to pull out.

---When you do that, are you aware that people are waiting for your parking space?

What are you doing in there? Talking on your cell phone? Fiddling with your seat belt?  Picking your nose?  Just get in your car and get the heck out of that space so someone else can have it.


  • Always being late

---When you do that, are you aware that you are basically sending a message to other people that your time is valuable but theirs is not?




  • Driving slowly in the left lane

---When you do that, are you aware that you are not only holding up traffic but being indifferent to other drivers?

My mother didn't learn to drive until she was 65 and that's a whole different story.  But I remember her saying during a discussion about how awful it was when someone got into the left lane and stayed there even though it was slowing traffic.  My mother responded, "I don't care.  I'm there and I am going to stay there."  My mother was not very self-aware.



  • Riding your bike on the sidewalk

---When you do that, are you aware that in most states this is against the law (yes, in most states it is.  It's the equivalent of driving your car up over the curb and onto the sidewalk - now you wouldn't do that would you)? 

But it is also annoying as hell when I am out for a walk and have to hop off the sidewalk as a bike comes barreling past.  Little kids I understand, but it seems to be a common practice for adults these days too.



  • Putting your coat/purse/shopping bag/whatever in the seat next to you at a crowded Happy Hour bar/seat on a bus/anywhere where someone might need a seat.
---When you do that, are you aware that others might want that seat and that if they do, they must say to you, "Is someone sitting here?" at which point you will reply, "Oh, do you want to sit here?" which might prompt a person to say, "Yes, bitch, why do you think I am asking you if someone is sitting there?"  So don't risk it. 


Now it's your turn.  Fill in the blanks...I might as well let you in on this rant too.

What actions by other people leave you shaking your head and wondering how someone could be so unaware of how their actions affect others?

__________________________________

__________________________________



And then I guess we have to ask ourselves, are we guilty of those things too?

Because we can't change others.  Oh, I like to think that my little blog might have an impact on people and they will be called to action and that's why I write it.  I write it to express myself and to hopefully make people think about some things.  But in the end, we can only change ourselves and the more self-aware we become about our own actions, the more likely we will be to change our behavior, which in turn will make us happier and in turn those we come in contact with. Self-awareness starts at home.

How often do you hear someone say "I am self aware enough to know I can sometimes be a jerk?" 

Now that person is self aware.

The bottom line is that self-awareness will lead to happiness: yours and those around you.

Thanks for indulging me in my little Tuesday rant.  Must be the holiday let-down, the cloudy days and the fact that the Seahawks lost in the play-offs last weekend.  I will try to be more cheerful next week.

However, I am self-aware enough to know that I can't promise.



 

Thanks for Reading!

 

See you Friday

 

for my review of the new movie

 

"The Revenant"


and 


The Week in Reviews
 (What to See or Read and What to Avoid)
  
 and the latest on
  
"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before

 I Die Project."
 
 
 

 
 
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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

5 Things I Know For Sure

In November, I reviewed Oprah's book, "What I Know For Sure," where she recounts, well, stuff she is sure of.  Because, hey, she is Oprah.

And there is a lot of it.  She weighs in on "Joy," "Resilience," "Connection," "Gratitude," "Possibility," "Awe," "Clarity" and "Power."



Here are some of Oprah's things she knows for sure:

"It's up to each of us to get very still and say, 'This is who I am.' No one else defines your life.  Only you do."

"Failure is just a way for our lives to show us we're moving in the wrong direction, that we should try something different."

"If you make a choice that doesn't please your mate, friends, or whoever, the world will not fall apart."

"This is the body you've been given -- love what you've got."

"The same questions follow every woman through girlhood and adolescence: Can I really do this?  Will I get it right?  Am I okay?"



And, like I said, she has a lot more of these -- 228 pages worth to be exact.

I, on the other hand, not being Oprah, only have five things I know for sure, but it's a start -- and here they are.

 

1. Meditation can remove the "bitch factor" from your life.

Meditation has many benefits (and I wrote about them in a post called "A Little Meditation on a Little Meditation by an Unlikely Meditator"), but the one that is most powerful is the capacity meditation has to shut down any tendency you might have to be a bitch (and that goes for you guys out there too). 

When you are still with yourself, you connect to the source of love within you, your soul, that silent witness within that is always there sending you messages of love, joy and inspiration.  When you listen you feel the love that is your true nature.  Buddha said, "You can search the entire universe and will not find another person more worthy of love than you."  When you realize that, when you love yourself first, you become conscious of your existence and the existence of others and can love them too. You realize that at the soul level we are all inextricably connected. And that's called compassion. And it's really difficult to be a bitch when you have all of that compassion and love shining through.  But I know, it takes practice. 

I know that for sure.

 

2. Libraries change lives.

I know I talk about libraries all of the time, but I think that's what it takes for people to understand the true power of libraries.  I also think it takes just one meaningful encounter for you to understand it. 

Here is an example:

When I was a librarian in a public library, I was teaching a very basic computer class on how to set up a personal Yahoo email account.  The class consisted of about six people who had few computer or typing skills, a few seniors and a couple of people where English was not their first language.  One of the latter was a lady from Korea.  After the class, I gave them all a bit of homework:  sometime during the week send me an email so I can see that you can do that. A few days later, I received an email from the lady from Korea.  In it she thanked me for the class and said that she had just sent an email to her son in Korea who she hadn't seen or spoken to in over a year. So that one encounter, that one class, brought together two people separated by space and time.  Not to mention the lump in my throat.

That is just one such life changing encounter I can relate.

Libraries are not just about books, though books are certainly worthwhile and life changing on their own.  Libraries protect our right to information, provide training and classes to better ourselves, teach our children skills to make them successful in school and provide a place for the community to gather.

If you have a need, have you gone to your local library or checked out your local library's webpage lately?  I think you will be amazed at what you will find.
Trust me. 

And I am going to keep talking about libraries until you do! 

I know that for sure.


 

3. Television is not evil.

It is no secret that I like to watch television.  My flirtation with it goes way back and I have poked fun about myself and TV in other posts.  And I have no problem with people who don't watch.  What I DO have a problem with is people giving television more power than it really has and ranting about how it is destroying civilization.  I can think of a lot more things that have destroyed civilization than an episode of  "Modern Family."  (Now if you are talking about Fox News, you might have a point, but that's a whole different post). 

I had a husband once who wouldn't have a TV in the house because he believed if he had one, he would somehow be forced to watch it.  Not sure how that works (the evil little TV fairy attacks him and makes his finger press the "on" button?), but needless to say the marriage didn't last.

Likewise, there is what I call the "snooty factor." When I am enthusiastically talking about the latest episode of "So You Think You Can Dance," and someone says to me something snooty like, "I don't watch TV, which in a conversational setting is a conversation stopper if ever there was on, I think I will not let that stop the conversation and say, "No need to apologize" as in "Bless your heart, you poor thing (I can be snooty too)." Because it's one thing to not watch, which is fine.  What am I, the TV police? But it's another thing to feel you need to say that to someone who obviously does and somehow imply you are better than. 

And there is a certain hypocrisy attached to that.  OK, you don't watch TV but are you playing video games and reading comic books instead?

Another idea is to recommend meditation to this person because clearly the "Bitch factor" is an issue (see above).

If we are talking about evil, let's talk about war, racism, mass murder, child abuse, those things are evil.  Television isn't even close.

I know that for sure.


 

4. Retirement isn't for sissies.

For those of you who have been following this blog since the beginning, you know that I shared my retirement fears and woes since I started this blog.  It's been a year and a half since I retired and like Bette Davis said about aging, "Old age ain't no place for sissies," retirement ain't no place for them either.

No matter how much you have looked forward to not having to get up early and go to work at a job you might not like for a boss you hate, the adjustment to not having that job anymore is HUGE.  What do you say when someone asks you, "What do you do?"  Then you realize just how much you have defined yourself by your job. 

I never liked getting up early, but I had a job I liked and never hated my bosses, which made it even more difficult to say sayonara.  Suddenly you have all of that time you always wished you had.  What are you going to do with it? Where you once derived meaning by merely going to work, now you must find it somewhere else. You need to start redefining yourself, your life, your dreams, what's left of the your future... You are staring your mortality in the face.  What are you going to do with the rest of your life?

So just as starting out in life is a scary adventure, so too is the endgame.  Sissies need not apply.

I know that for sure.


 

5. Skinny jeans don't make you look skinny.

I thought since this blog is not just about retirement, books and libraries, it's also about movies, fashion and fun, that I should add something about fashion, so here it is.

"Skinny jeans don't make you look skinny."

But who cares?  I'm going to wear them anyway!

 


I know that for sure.



What do YOU know for sure?



Thanks for Reading!


 
See you Friday 
 


for my review of the new movie

"American Sniper,"

 

The Week in Reviews,
 
as well as my progress on
 
"My 1001 Movies I Must See Before I Die Project."

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to click on the share buttons to share it on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and LinkedIn, email it to your friends and LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer






 


 

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

A Little Meditation on a Little Meditation by an Unlikely Meditator




Ommmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm






Well, that's it.  See you next time!





I'm only kidding. 

That's just a little meditation humor.

But it is kind of funny that I am even talking about meditation.

Why?

Because I am a type-A personality who has been known to scoff at any New Age self-help type stuff.

I grew up in a household in the Midwest with a Swedish mother who didn't brook any nonsense when it came to "new fangled thinking."  She didn't believe in anything she couldn't see, though I find that funny looking back, because she was religious.

Growing up, I was the hyper one who always wanted to be "doing" something.  I couldn't imagine sitting in a chair alone with myself.  In college, I would be that kid who would burst into a room loudly announcing I was heading out for an evening of fun and who would like to join me, when it was obvious everyone there was stoned and just wanted to lie around grooving to Vanilla Fudge.

When I moved to San Francisco in the early 70's, everyone we knew from Michigan came out to visit and several of our friends were into TM (Transcendental Meditation).  It was all very mysterious. They had mantras that were secret (probably because as it turned out, everyone had the same one!).  I remember coming home from work one time and finding one of our friends sitting on the floor, up against the wall, legs crossed in the lotus position, eyes closed and not acknowledging my arrival.  I thought that was very rude.

My first library job was in a very rural area in northern California.  Twice a week I rode the bookmobile to various locations in the County and one of them was up a mountain where a Transcendental Meditation University was located. I interacted with the students, but I thought it was all rather hippy dippy.

So meditation has been hovering around me for years, but I was never really interested.

Ten years ago, we moved away from where we had lived for 30 years to a new place where we knew no one.  The nest was empty, and though I found a job and had colleagues, I also suffered from bouts of loneliness. 

And a year ago, as retirement was looming, I started thinking about what I was going to do with all of that free time I anticipated.  And when I did retire, I found it to be very stressful.  Check out some of my early blogs and you can see what I was dealing with.

I think when we are confronted with big life changes, that's when we open up to new ways of thinking.  And sometimes the forces convene to lead you on a different path.

I have always been one to want to improve myself, but I wouldn't say I read a lot of self help books.  However, being in the library profession I read book reviews and titles would come across my desk.

I stumbled upon the idea of "emotional intelligence" and a book called "Search Inside Yourself: The Unexpected Path to Achieving Success, Happiness (and World Peace)" by Chade Meng-Tan, who worked for Google and trained employees there on how to apply mindfulness techniques in order to succeed at work and in life. His class has become Google's most popular class and always has a long waiting list when it is offered. As the title indicates, it uses a somewhat self deprecating light hearted tone to put out an important and serious message: how to nurture your "emotional intelligence" in order to deal with stress. 

One of the tools that I was particularly taken with was the mnemonic "Siberian North Railroad," which helps you remember to Stop, Breathe, Notice, Reflect and Respond when confronted with stressful situations.



And he talked about meditation. There it was again.  The idea of meditating was following me around.

Then Oprah appeared. 

And you know how I feel about Oprah.  Right there in my email was a special invitation, just for me, from Oprah!  Inviting me to join her and Deepak Chopra in a 21 Day Meditation Challenge.  And it was free!  How could I say no to Oprah?

So I signed up.

Every day for 21 days an email would appear in my inbox, and there would be the link for the day's meditation.  Oprah would say a few words and then Deepak would come on to give me my "Centering Thought" and lead me to the day's meditation. 

Some thoughts might be:

"My security and peace are within."
"Today I make great choices because they are made with full awareness.'
"Today and every day I give that which I want to receive."

It certainly can't hurt to be thinking thoughts like that as you go through your day, right?

My first whole session took about 20 minutes, 15 of it sitting quietly, listening to tinkly New Age music and my trying not to open my eyes or wonder when Deepak was going to ring that little bell to let me know it was over or thinking about what I was going to cook for dinner.

But then as I did it every day, I started to "get it."

Meditation is not this secret, mysterious thing.  Meditation is being alone with yourself. 

Yes, there can be a mantra, but you can do just as well counting your breaths or watching clouds pass by over a blue sky in your mind.  Focus on whatever you want.

It doesn't have to be 20 minutes, it can be five minutes or forty minutes.  Whatever you are comfortable with.

Yes, your mind will wander and thoughts will come and go.  That's OK.  There is no right or wrong way to do this. Just return to your mantra or counting your breaths.

As Russell Simmons says in his new book (see, even the celebs are getting into this) "Success Through Stillness,"


"Meditation does not mean the absence of thoughts.
Meditation does not mean going into a trance.
Meditation does not mean forgetting who or where you are..."

"It's just that meditation allows you to have a different relationship with your thoughts...Instead of being overwhelmed or controlled by your thoughts, you get to detach yourself from them...and start choosing how you want to live in a controlled, peaceful and contented manner." (his book is a very good beginner's guide, too).

You WILL have thoughts, but as you settle into meditation, your thoughts will be "quieter" and you will be able to see those thoughts from a different perspective, and some of those thoughts might just lead you to where you need to go.

But every so often you get into those moments between thoughts and those moments are YOU.  Because believe it or not, you are not your thoughts.  Thoughts are just that -- thoughts.  YOU are pure consciousness.

Before I get too drifty here, think of the fact that most people are going through life asleep - acting, doing, living without thinking about how they are acting, what they are doing or how they are living.

Meditation is just about being conscious of our existence, being aware and in so doing, we become more alive and more in tune with ourselves and others.  It's about attitude and compassion.

When I retired, I was very worried about the social aspect of my job.  Here we were, far from our children and family, and work had provided a social outlet.  Once retired, how would I deal with the possibility of loneliness?

I always remember something which I think David on Real World New Orleans said (I know what you are thinking and, yes, I still watch it and let me remind you of something Buddha said, "Judgment is the road to suffering."  I am just saying). 

He said,  something like "I am never lonely because everywhere I go, I am there."  That quote has stuck with me, because I thought it was such an interesting thing to say and to think, especially since I have suffered from my share of loneliness.

And then I came across another book, "Wherever You Go There You Are:  Mindfulness Meditation in Everyday Life" by Jon Kabat-Zinn and realized where Real World David got that from.



Meditation is hanging out with yourself.  Your true self. And hopefully you like yourself enough to hang out!

So as I continue on my retirement "journey" - I can't believe I just said that.  Everything is a "journey" these days - But anyway, through meditation, I am getting to know myself better, and it is helping me enjoy life more, whatever form that life may take.  It helps me accept what comes my way, how things are. It gives me a more positive attitude toward myself and others.  It has moved my A-type personality to a "B."

I highly recommend your giving meditation a try, whatever form that might take. 

It will change your life.

As Deepak might say, "Sat Chit Ananda."  Existence, consciousness, bliss.

I am working on that bliss part.


If you are interested in learning more, here are some other titles you might enjoy.






Stay tuned for a blog on tarot cards.  I am getting into those too!

Do you meditate?

Any meditation tips to share?
How do you deal with stress?





See you Friday for


"Reality TV, a Primer"



Thanks for reading!

If you enjoyed this post, feel free to share it, email it to your friends and
LIKE me on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/rosythereviewer.


Check your local library for books mentioned.








 


Friday, March 28, 2014

Why Oprah Still Matters and The Week in Reviews

[I give you a sneak peek at Kevin Costner's upcoming new movie "Draft Day" - it opens April 11 - and review the movies "Kill Your Darlings," "Telstar: The Joe Meek Story" and "Spinning Plates."  I also recommend a great rock & roll memoir].


But first...
 

Why Oprah Still Matters

Since I have retired, I have started meditating.  I am om'ing and counting my breaths all over the place, and I really am the better for it.  There is something to being "still" with yourself, living in that quiet space between thoughts, communing with your consciousness, your real self, and being aware of your breath.

I have Oprah to thank for that. 

She and Deepak Chopra have teamed up to present free "Meditation Challenges," and that's what got me started (there is another one - "Finding Your Flow" - starting April 14.  Check it out.)

I miss Oprah.

She is not on TV every day anymore. 

I know we still see her on her OWN channel.  She has several shows she hosts such as her "Oprah Prime" series and "Oprah's Life Class." But since she left her daily afternoon show, it hasn't been the same.

I started watching Oprah's show from the very first episode.  In fact, I can remember seeing her ads for her first show, this overweight black woman who exuded something...what was it?  Realness?  All I knew was that I wanted to be her best friend.  And she was a kind of best friend for over 25 years.
 
For 25 years, Oprah came into our living rooms and kitchens, interviewing guests on the topics of the day, and sharing her views, but most importantly, sharing herself.

When Oprah first went into national syndication, her show wasn’t much different from Donahue’s or Geraldo’s. And Jerry Springer had not yet gone to the dark side. 

She had the usual shows like “Librarians Gone Wild” and “I’m in love with a librarian. Does that mean I have to read books?" or something like that. 

But it was during a program on skinheads that she had an epiphany. She didn’t want her show to be a vehicle for spreading hate, so she made a conscious decision to move away from the sensational and to use her show as a platform for good. And she has never looked back.

But now Oprah has retired from her daily presence on the small screen and in our homes to pursue her dreams.

Why does Oprah still matter?



  • She practically single-handedly revived the publishing industry with her Oprah’s Book Club where people reported not having read a book in years until she told them to and she is still promoting reading. Here is her list of books for 2013.

  • Her seal of approval was given to countless “favorite things,” thus assuring their success: from Spanx to Miraclebody jeans to Barack Obama’s bid for the Presidency to her current interest in meditation.

  • She launched the careers of Dr. Phil, Dr. Oz, Suze Orman, Rachael Ray and Nate Burkus and she is single-handedly trying to save Lindsay Lohan.

  • She made dreams come true with her Wildest Dreams tour, from helping  audience members figure out their true bra size to bestowing Pontiac G6s to all 276 of her audience members (I wish I had been there). 

  • She has teamed up with Deepak Chopra for Meditation Challenges (I have been doing these and just signed up for the next one.  They are free and wonderful. I highly recommend them.  Can't you tell how much more calm I am?) and one of her new shows on the OWN channel is Super Soul Sundays where she sits with top thinkers, writers and spiritual leaders like Eckhart Tolle or Toni Morrison to try to raise our consciousness.

  • Oprah was and still is a champion of reading and libraries, even if she never did fill her audience with librarians for one of her Favorite Things shows, despite my many emails to her producers. ( Didn't she realize that librarians needed new cars and washers and dryers too)? Oprah said that it is not enough to simply tell children to read, but there should be books in the house. She said, “You make a field trip of a day to the library and make a big deal out of getting your own library card."  Hallelujah!

Her shows made a difference.

Oprah tells the story of a woman who came up to her in a store and told her that she used to beat her kids. And then she watched an Oprah show about how you weren’t supposed to beat your kids. At first that didn’t make sense to her, because her mother had beaten her and her mother had been beaten. But she kept watching the show and she said that Oprah had been consistent about this issue. So she said she was going to try to not beat her kids for one week. She tried it for a week and then a second week. And then she said, “Now I can’t remember how long it’s been. I don’t beat my kids anymore---and I got different kids.”

As Oprah says, quoting her friend Maya Angelou, "When you know better, you do better."

For me personally, it was Oprah herself that I tuned in to see every day. 

Oprah was like a close girlfriend for 25 years, sharing her own story which included child abuse, issues with weight and her “aha moments.” Her sincerity urged me to make a difference and to be my best self. Her programs always seemed relevant to what was going on in my life at the time. When I would share some new idea with my family about family time or how we might want to change something, my son would yell, “Mom’s been watching Oprah again.” When the change was something he didn’t like, he would cry, “I hate Oprah!”

She is one of the most powerful women in the world, and she has chosen to use that power to help others. No matter what you think of her, I don't think you can say her heart is not in the right place.  She wanted to use TV to make the world better.  She has her own network and what she shows there is of a higher nature than most television. 

On her website she shares her vision:

"My life's work is about fulfilling my potential and leading other people to fulfill their own. It is my calling to help other people find their calling and summon the courage to live it."

So even though Oprah is not on television every day she is still a presence as she uses her fame and power for good.

And we should support her.  If you complain about television, then you should support people who are trying to elevate it and use it for higher goals.  Check it out.

Oprah deserves all of the accolades, and I am glad she is realizing her own dreams.

But I miss seeing her every day. 

I think she should run for President. 

Or at least become my best friend.


What do you think of Oprah?

Oh, on second thought, I don't really care. 
I don't want you to say anything bad about Oprah.

Check out her new website.


The Week in Reviews



***In Theatres April 11***

Sneak Preview
 
 
 
 
 
 
Kevin Costner plays the General Manager of the Cleveland Browns and his career is on the line if he doesn't put together a winning team on Draft Day.
 
This movie doesn't open in theatres until April 11, but my active theatre-going resulted in some free tickets to this sneak peek.
 
Hubby had to explain some of it to me (as in how the draft works) since I am not a big football fan, and I probably wouldn't have gone to this if my beloved Kevin wasn't in it.  But football fans will enjoy the real life football footage, the behind the scenes wheeling and dealing for draft picks and the appearances of famous football heroes.

I could have done without the romance side story, but didn't mind the big kiss at the end ('cuz I LOVE Kevin).
 
(Humorously, the Seattle Seahawks had the first pick here and were the "bad guys!" This must have been made before we won the Super Bowl).
 
Rosy the Reviewer says...football fans will enjoy this despite some implausibilities.  And it's a nice lead-in to the actual NFL draft in May.
 
 

***DVDS***
You Might Have Missed
And Some You Should Be Glad You Did
(I see the bad ones so you don't have to)


 
 

Recreation of a true life murder that brought Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs together.

It's 1944 and all three meet while at Columbia University. It's early days for what will become the "Beat Generation." Ginsberg is just finding his writing chops. They fall under the thrall of charismatic Lucien Carr, who is supposedly being stalked by an older man.

"Kill your darlings" comes from a quote arguably attributed to William Faulkner.  It's a caution to writers that to reach their writing potential they must get rid of their literary self-indulgences and pretentions.

 
Rosy the Reviewer says...Brace yourselves, Harry Potter Fans. Daniel Radcliffe like you have never seen him. An interesting addition to the history of the Beat Poets.
 
 
 
 

This documentary shares the stories of three restaurants: Alinea, a Chicago restaurant with three Michelin starsBreitbach's Country Dining in Balltown, Iowa and La Cucina de Gaby in Tucson, Arizona.

There could not be three more different restaurants.  Alinea embraces molecular gastronomy and the concept of food as art; Breitbach's embraces home cooking and provides a place for locals to meet; and La Cucina de Gaby embraces Mexican comfort food. 

What links them together?  They all faced tragedy and heartbreak and triumphed.  And they all really cared about their customers' dining experience.
 
Rosy the Reviewer says...A foodie's delight.



Telstar: The Joe Meek Story (2008)


 
 
 
A biopic about the rise and tragic fall of British record producer Joe Meek, who had a huge hit in 1962 with "Telstar," the first record by a British group to make it to #1 in the U.S. He recorded many artists who went on to have big careers (Tom Jones, Gene Vincent...) and his influence on the music industry is still felt today.


 

 
 Recognize it?
 
Despite his genius and innovations in music production, Meek had issues.  He was the British equivalent of Phil Spector.

I love biopics, but this one doesn't know if it wants to be a comedy or a tragedy. It starts out with over the top comical characters and then morphs into tragedy. It's all over the place. Despite a good performance by Con O'Neill as Meek, there is a lot of scenery chewing (do you hear me, Kevin Spacey?). What could have been a compelling story fails to engage.
 
Rosy the Reviewer says...very atmospheric take on the British pop scene of the early 60's and a sad story, but it's a bit of a slog.  Depends on how dedicated you are to films, biopics and the music world of the 1960's.  I had trouble with this one.  But this guy is worth knowing about.
(For a better British biopic on a similar topic and of the same era, try "The Look of Love."  I reviewed it here). 
 



***Book of the Week***
 


Wild Tales: A Rock and Roll Life by Graham Nash (2013)
 
 


Musician Graham Nash candidly shares his life, his love affairs and his stints in The Hollies and with David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Neil Young.

I judge a memoir on how readable it is and how honest and this one meets both criteria.  It's a fast, fun read that you Baby Boomers will especially love.  All the shenanigans of the 1960's and 1970's are here.  Made me very nostalgic for the good old days of sex, drugs and rock and roll!

 
Rosy the Reviewer says...for rock & roll memoirs, they don't get any better than this.
 
 
 
That's it for this week.
 


See you Tuesday for


 "Why We Need Librarians."


 


Thanks for reading!


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