Oprah, we use our spirit wars to prey on our own flesh!

Good evening. Well, I'm in Chicago training for a new job, and well, if I'm in Chicago, guess who's on my mind? Oprah! If anyone knows how to get tickets to her show, please let me know! I'll drop everything and anything to go anytime! Recently, I even had a dream I went to Harpo, so maybe I'm getting closer!

In the meantime, I just sent the Oprah team my thoughts, and believe me, this isn't the first time. But, I'll keep trying. Wonder if they read them?


Dear Oprah team,

I'm writing to express my continuous gratitude for the messages you send and to propose and idea.

I'm a single 26-year-old woman who's just trying to "figure it out" along with everyone else. One of the greatest tools I use is journaling. When I was 11 or 12 years old, I remember watching Oprah on the floor of my family den; Oprah mentioned the best advice she could give was to keep a journal, and I've had one ever since.

Writing is like breathing to me, and I'm grateful to have this creative and therapeutic outlet to seek my own truth. Luckily, through my soul-searching-writing I've discovered my passion to raise awareness of the mind/body connection. I want more people, and especially women, to respect and listen to their bodies.

Sure, we can talk about celebs' eating disorders, but what about the millions of real women suffering from bad body image and disconnect? Let's seek the root of the matter: the truth, the appetites, the self. The living fully, or as you might say "living your best life".

Please consider my thoughts:

"I think seeking your truth can be scary because we are afraid to be the best we can be, we're afraid of blooming, we fear having happiness because we're so used to pain. But, I say maybe we're here to experience our own heavens on Earth. Everyday. In our own way.

It might be hard to believe or grasp when other messages have bombarded you for years. But, I love the simple, famous quote: 'If it is to be, it is up to me.'

We shouldn't be afraid of taking up our own true space. I think we either eat to fill up the space because we're afraid our 'being' or our self is too big, so we make our bodies big; and/or we're afraid of our appetites because they reflect our selves that feel too big, so we purge; and/or we are so afraid of taking up space, we starve. We use our spirit wars to prey on our own flesh.

Think about your self. Let that shine. Let your self take up space. Put all the dieting and food obsession into the *gentle* journey of your own truth. Not obsessive but *gentle* journey. Find the support you need to step out there, ask for what you want, and work for it."

While I think you all do a wonderful job on promoting strong senses of self, let's take the fear of our bodies (dieting, aging, growing, shrinking, etc.) and focus on embracing the possibility of going beyond the body wars and living colorful, fulfilling lives.

Best,
Caroline

Appetites: What are you hungry for?

Appetites. And, while Thanksgiving is around the corner, I'm not talking turkey. Think about it this way: Where are you stuck? A relationship, a job, lack of a hobby or passion, health?

What's stopping you from asking for more, for less, for something different, for something new? Fear, confusion, the not-good-enoughs? Instead of being overwhelmed or scared of having more good in your life, ease into it. Open yourself to recognizing things that would truly warm your spirit, then slowly open yourself to receiving those things.

You don't need to pull out last week's Halloween mask and scare yourself into changing. Make small changes, realize you're good enough to step out of the stuck-keep-it-small-and-safe box. Step into the open-bring-it-on-because-it's-time world.