After perusing the web to get a grip on what everyone else is saying about Oprah’s spiritual path I had to laugh. People are really fired up about the fact that she is embracing teachings that do not directly reflect the Bible.
~shrugs~
I don’t know. It seems as though people are threatened by her influence. Kim explained it to me in this way, “It’s about people’s SOULS! She’s an influence over millions of people and their souls are at stake. I always thought she was a Christian but to hear what she’s studying really hurts me. I have to admit, I don’t watch her show anymore.”
Kim is crazy… Ever since I’ve known her Kim has called Oprah her “mama”. She prays diligently that God will allow her a similar success but now that the rumors are flying…Kim has walked away from her admiration. I explained to Kim that Oprah still believes in God, but Kim doesn’t buy it. “If she believes in God, then she has to believe in Jesus. Jesus is God. Any other belief is wrong,” she said.
Kim won’t even watch the video that has been circulating through emails and posted on youtube which claims that Oprah is a heretic and denied Christ. She says she’s not ready to see something like that.
Ahhh….Let that lady share her views…But be confident in the way that you believe God presented Himself to you. Allow God to present Himself to others in any way that He sees fit. As long as there is a connection– God is present. God is not religious.
After watching more video responses on Youtube and reading the comments, I felt it was time to do some reading on Oprah’s life. I absolutely love reading biographies and I will hop on wikipedia in a minute just to enjoy reading people’s biographies.
So I hopped over and read Oprah’s page.
It was a good read. But the one passage that struck me was the section about her past relationships with men. Wikipedia quotes her as saying:
“The reason I gained so much weight in the first place and the reason I had such a sorry history of abusive relationships with men was I just needed approval so much. I needed everyone to like me, because I didn’t like myself much. So I’d end up with these cruel self-absorbed guys who’d tell me how selfish I was, and I’d say “Oh thank you, you’re so right” and be grateful to them. Because I had no sense that I deserved anything else. Which is also why I gained so much weight later on. It was the perfect way of cushioning myself against the world’s disapproval.”
Reading this quote turned on a light for me. Since I’m all about learning to develop more healthy relationships it confirmed why I had been involved in abusive relationships in the past.
The number one reason: I allowed it, thinking that I was only worthy of criticism, that I deserved criticism and that anyone who didn’t give it to me was being fake with me. It was through this belief that I created my reality.
For me, my belief of “I am worthless and I need to be changed into something better” led to my seeking out men who would criticize me and try to change me into who they thought I should be. Instead of walking away, I clung to them even more, hoping that if I could just grasp what they wanted me to be, I would be fine.
I never did. Instead I fell into the abyss of self loathing and condemnation.
You see, when I chose to believe that I was unworthy of love, I sought out people who would confirm that belief and thus affirmed my belief. This is exactly why people write that we create our own reality. It’s not about magically making things appear. It’s about the vantage point that we take when we view the world.
I had plenty of people telling me that I was lovely, destined for success and unique, but my belief did not line up with what they were telling me so I disregarded their statements and made the negative statements my prominent belief for my life.
Now I am in the process of changing my beliefs about myself. By changing my beliefs when I meet someone who does not agree with my new positive belief, I will then dismiss them and cling to the people who interact with me as I believe myself to be.
Don’t be discouraged. It’s all a learning process…
But if you take the time to examine your beliefs about yourself and change them to more positive ones, you will begin to see your reality change into what you want it to be.
I believe that.