Tag: Oprah Winfrey

Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, The Power of Now, BlacKkKlansman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and a Bible Passage

Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq, The Power of Now, BlacKkKlansman, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and a Bible Passage

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on February 5, 2023

Sunday Supplement #91 (February 5th, 2023)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Without knowledge, action is useless, and knowledge without action is futile.”

– Abu Bakr al-Ṣiddīq

Book of the Week:

The Power of Now – Eckhart Tolle

I’ve featured Eckhart Tolle in six previous Sunday Supplements, but I haven’t featured arguably his best work, The Power of Now.

The book delves into concepts of self-reflection and being present. Tolle provides insight into why both are powerful tools, and he gives exercises to achieve the principles.

Tolle is a spiritual teacher, public speaker, and bestselling author. Oprah Winfrey hosted a 10-episode web series with him and, in a previous interview, stated that what she learned from him eliminated all stress from her life.

Most self-improvement books point to many of the same conclusions about living a better life. For me, Tolle’s The Power of Now is one of the best and most useful.

Movie of the Week:

BlacKkKlansman

Spike Lee’s catalog of movies is extensive, stretching back to the 80s, and well worth delving into. BlacKkKlansman is one of his more recent masterpieces.

The film tells the true story of the first Black detective in the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Ron Stallworth infiltrates a local Ku Klux Klan branch with the help of his Jewish colleague and combats the racist organization from within.

BlacKkKlansman has much to appreciate from a filmmaking point of view and much to take in on the history of racism in America.

Brainfood of the Week:

Neil deGrasse Tyson — How to Dream Big | The Tim Ferriss Show

Neil deGrasse Tyson is an astrophysicist, educator, and author. He has been appointed by the United States government on multiple occasions in an advisory capacity or to serve on a scientific commission.

In the interview with Tim Ferriss, Tyson discusses his childhood, his education, and how he progressed in his career as an astrophysicist.

There are many entertaining stories in the almost two-hour interview, in addition to the coverage of his career in science.

I’ve featured many Tim Ferriss podcast interviews in previous Sunday Supplements, and there is always something worth picking up from them. Tyson’s is another great episode.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, unfit for any good work.”

– Titus 1:16

The Epistle to Titus is attributed to Paul the Apostle and describes the requirements and duties of elders and bishops.

This passage calls out those who preach the word of God but don’t walk the walk. It emphasizes the expression that actions are louder than words.

The Bible has many passages that express how God doesn’t view flowery words and lack of action highly.

There are also passages that express the good path of improvement. This verse from the Epistle to Titus reminds me to reflect on what person I want to be.

Think about what you want to put out into the world, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Wayne Dyer, Think and Grow Rich, Interstellar, Deepak Chopra, and Matthew 13:12

Wayne Dyer, Think and Grow Rich, Interstellar, Deepak Chopra, and Matthew 13:12

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on December 25, 2022

Sunday Supplement #85 (December 25th, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“Abundance is not something we acquire. It is something we tune into.”

– Wayne Dyer

Book of the Week:

Think and Grow Rich – Napoleon Hill

I heard of Think and Grow Rich long before I ever picked it up. The book comes up on every recommended list for those who have delved into the personal development genre.

Napoleon Hill went on a journey to discover the commonalities between the most successful people in various fields.

Hill credited Andrew Carnegie’s prompt to him as the genesis of his work to study the likes of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, and others to discover and reveal the roots of success.

There’s a reason the book has stuck around for decades, has many plaudits, and has sold over 15 million copies.

Think and Grow Rich is a brilliant read for those looking to better themselves. It’s not just an insight into physical wealth.

Movie of the Week:

Interstellar

Christopher Nolan is one of the leading filmmakers of modern times. His filmography includes The Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk, Inception, and many other brilliant films.

For this Movie of the Week pick, I chose his Sci-Fi Drama Interstellar. Nolan wrote the film with his brother Jonathan, and it currently holds the 26 spot on IMDb’s Top 250 Movies list.

Interstellar follows ex-NASA pilot Joseph Cooper and his decision to join a mission of explorers traveling through a wormhole in space in search of a new planet for the survival of the human species.

Cooper chooses to leave his family behind in hopes of saving them. However, he doesn’t know what it will cost him, and his team discovers that the information that prompted their journey wasn’t fully realized.

Every Christopher Nolan film I’ve seen has provided a fantastic experience that has often stayed with me. Interstellar is my favorite of his filmography.

Brainfood of the Week:

The Abundance in Your Life is Proportional to Your Sense of Self | Deepak Chopra

In the video, Deepak Chopra discusses how we often get lost in egoic perceptions of ourselves but can tap into abundance by remembering our true sense of self.

Chopra is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit for research on well-being and humanitarianism.

He has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, has been featured by Oprah Winfrey, and was described by Time magazine as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.

I’ve featured a Deepak Chopra guided meditation on Sunday Supplement #77, and this video gives an extra glance at his work.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”

– Matthew 13:12

This passage from the Bible is taken from Jesus’s parable of the sower. It discusses a sower’s seeds that were scattered among a variety of terrain. Only the seeds that fell upon rich soil took root and survived.

For me, the parable and the verse above discuss the necessity of having the right mindset and core beliefs. If we do, positive seeds will flourish, if not, they wither.

If we don’t control our thoughts, mindset, and core beliefs, we continue to see the world from whatever default setting we currently have or are held sway by external stimuli.

The good thing is that we get to choose our mindset and our core beliefs. And we all have the ability to tune into and amply those qualities we want to see more of.

Choose how you want to move forward in life, tune into the abundance you wish to perceive around you, and have a blessed week ahead!

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John F. Kennedy, The Stand, John Q, Deepak Chopra, and an African Proverb

John F. Kennedy, The Stand, John Q, Deepak Chopra, and an African Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on October 30, 2022

Sunday Supplement #77 (October 30th, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.”

– John F. Kennedy

Book of the Week:

The Stand – Stephen King

I’ve featured Stephen King many times in previous Sunday Supplements. I figured a Halloween weekend post was a good excuse to feature my favorite author again.

King’s The Stand depicts a world as it falls to a deadly virus leading to a post-apocalyptic world that becomes divided by the good and evil people who remain.

The Stand received much attention during the pandemic, but much of that publicity focused on the McGuffin of the book (the virus) rather than the heart of the novel.

Themes like the power of community, transition, and vices are brilliantly explored in the massive 1000+ page novel.

I’ve read almost 50 excellent Stephen King books, but The Stand has always been toward the top of the list. It has also been on many more prestigious best books of all time lists like Rolling Stone, Time, Amazon, and BBC.

Movie of the Week:

John Q

Getting away from the Halloween weekend excuse from the previous recommendation is this entry of Nick Cassavetes’s John Q.

While Cassavetes’s most famous film is probably The Notebook, John Q deserves more recognition for the handling of a challenging story.

The James Kearns screenplay shows a father, John Quincy Archibald, making the decision to hold a hospital emergency room hostage when his insurance won’t cover his son’s heart transplant.

Denzel Washington puts in a masterclass performance as John Quincy Archibald. His acting carries the film and has the audience on his side as he tries to save his son.

John Q might not be the best film I’ve recommended, but the movie is worth a watch, especially for the acting of Washington.

Brainfood of the Week:

10 Min Meditation – Gratitude – Daily Guided Meditation by Deepak Chopra

The video here is pretty self-explanatory by the title. Deepak Chopra leads a ten-minute guided meditation around gratitude.

Deepak Chopra is the founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit for research on well-being and humanitarianism.

He has written numerous New York Times bestsellers, has been featured by Oprah Winfrey, and was described by Time magazine as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century.

In this guided meditation, Chopra brings you into the present moment and cultivates a meditative state around gratitude opening the door to abundance.

I featured two other meditation videos in Sunday Supplement #31 and Sunday Supplement #41. Check them out if you want some other recommendations!

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Ingratitude is sooner or later fatal to its author.”

– African Proverb

I started this post with a quote highlighting the importance of following through on words of gratitude, and this African Proverb reminds me of how detrimental ingratitude can be.

For me, gratitude is one of the best ways to fill your cup daily. Having a ritual around feeling and expressing thanks for the blessings in your life keeps your attention on the good in life.

False or insincere gratitude can be a slippery slope to emptiness and ingratitude.

Ingratitude leaves a person feeling many negative emotions that ultimately can turn the head down a path where all you see is darkness.

While there is much evil in the world, you get to choose the attitude you put forth each moment.

Express your gratitude through your actions, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Oprah Winfrey, The Law of Attraction, Titanic, Eckhart Tolle, and Sur Al Nisa 147

Oprah Winfrey, The Law of Attraction, Titanic, Eckhart Tolle, and Sur Al Nisa 147

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on October 2, 2022

Sunday Supplement #73 (October 2nd, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“If you look at what you have in life, you’ll always have more. If you look at what you don’t have in life, you’ll never have enough.”

– Oprah Winfrey

Book of the Week:

The Law of Attraction – Esther Hicks & Jerry Hicks

New York Times bestselling authors Esther and Jerry Hicks always seem to be featured in Barnes and Noble’s Self-Help/Spirituality section when I visit.

I first stumbled across their work through guided meditation videos and enjoyed the free content on YouTube provided by them.

The Law of Attraction was the first book of theirs I came across.

Esther and Jerry discuss how they learned the law of attraction in the book’s first section and go over the law of attraction in the following parts.

You might have come across the term law of attraction before, but this book is one of the best explanations and guides I’ve read.

Do a little research on the topic beforehand, and also, be prepared to put judgment aside if you pick up the book.

The Law of Attraction heavily tips toward the mystical side of spirituality, but the book’s lessons are worth checking out.

Movie of the Week:

Titanic

James Cameron’s Titanic tells the story of a young aristocrat questioning her direction in life and her new relationship with a poor young artist on the doomed R.M.S. Titanic.

I was six when this film came out in theaters, but I still remember how it dominated news cycles and swept at the Academy Awards.

The three-hour movie won 11 Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.

Cameron is known for immense spectacle films, but the characters in Titanic don’t get lost in the scenery.

The movie does an excellent job of telling a compelling story with engaging themes against the backdrop of an ill-fated historical event.

Brainfood of the Week:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzARLjSuPBQ

Gratitude: A Powerful Tool for Conscious Manifestation | Eckhart Tolle

It’s been a while since I’ve featured an Eckhart Tolle video, but this one is an excellent breakdown of gratitude and the power of being grateful.

The video starts with Tolle addressing the question, “Is there some type of discipline that is needed to be successful with conscious manifestation? If so, can you describe what the discipline is that is needed?”

Tolle responds with, “To be aware of yourself and your own state of consciousness.”

He then explains the importance of gratitude, that it can be a powerful transformational tool and one of the most powerful tools for manifesting better things in your life.

Tolle defines gratitude as acknowledging the good in your life right now. He cautions against approaching gratitude as a comparison.

The rest of the video covers ways to be grateful in the moment. It’s worth watching, and if you enjoy the video, check out more of Eckhart Tolle’s work.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Why would Allah cause you to suffer if you are grateful and believe? God is always responsive to gratitude, the All-Knowing.”

– Sur Al Nisa 147

When I first came across this Quran passage, it was interesting that I thought it could have easily been something I read in the Bible.

Many of the passages I encounter in various religions or spiritual practices seem drawn from the same source.

In this Quran passage, I’m reminded of the power of gratitude and how being grateful effects your life.

The Oprah Winfrey quote at the beginning of the post also depicts the benefits of gratitude and the hells of ingratitude.

Reminders like these help prompt me to be more aware of my thoughts, whether I’m thinking positively or negatively, and how being grateful brings joy.

Remember things you are grateful for, and have a blessed week ahead!

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Madeleine Albright, Teacher Misery, Hidden Figures, Brené Brown, and a Japanese Proverb

Madeleine Albright, Teacher Misery, Hidden Figures, Brené Brown, and a Japanese Proverb

Published by Drew Alexander Ross on June 26, 2022

Sunday Supplement #59 (June 26th, 2022)

Below is another Sunday Supplement with a quote worth sharing, a book worth reading, a movie worth watching, brainfood worth consuming, and a spiritual passage worth pondering.

I hope you take something away from these recommendations that enriches your week ahead!

Quote of the Week:

“It took me a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent.”

– Madeleine Albright

Book of the Week:

Teacher Misery – Jane Morris

When I decided to pursue teaching, I was given Teacher Misery by one of the teachers I worked alongside.

The book compiles short stories, emails (from students, parents, and administrators), and other essays that paint the ridiculous and sometimes disheartening experience of teachers.

As I read the book, I could see and believe many of the experiences described by Morris and other teachers who anonymously contributed to the book.

I think the book can be outlandish at times and doesn’t take the other party’s perspective in many instances, but I believe the book is a warning for those who think teaching is a straightforward profession or calling.

Jane Morris is a pen-name for the teacher that authored the book. She has worked in education for decades and provides resources on her website to aid all teachers.

The book is an interesting read but not one I’d describe as pleasant. I recommend it to anyone interested or looking to enter the teaching profession.

For a more supportive guide for teachers with some phenomenal advice, I’d recommend The Courage to Be Happy, which I discuss in Sunday Supplement #22.

Movie of the Week:

Hidden Figures

The film Hidden Figures is based on the non-fiction book of the same name by Margot Lee Shetterly about African American female mathematicians who worked at NASA.

Hidden Figures showed the segregation of race and sex at NASA and how Katherine Johnson, Mary Jackson, and Dorothy Vaughan had to overcome both.

Taraji P. Henson played Johnson, Janelle Monáe played Jackson, and Octavia Spencer played Vaughan. Each was brilliant in their roles, and Spencer received an Oscar nomination for her portrayal.

The movie went on to show how each woman played a vital role at NASA during the Space Race with the USSR.

One of the strikes against the movie was the argument of a white savior narrative from Kevin Costner’s character, director of the Space Task Group Al Harrison.

I don’t think the moment referred to in the arguments was shot well, but it didn’t take away from the overall experience of the film for me.

The movie was nominated for Best Picture, and writers Allison Schroeder and Theodore Melfi were nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Academy Awards.

Brainfood of the Week:

Dr. Bené Brown’s Vulnerability Breakdown | SuperSoul Sunday | OWN

The video recounts one of Brown’s experiences after her TED Talk, “The Power of Vulnerability,” went viral.

One night Brown looked at the comments under one of her videos and found some scathing anonymous feedback.

While getting her mind off the internet trolls, she came across Theodore Roosevelt’s “Man in the Arena” quote.

The quote became a catalyst for Brown to move forward on her path. It represented everything she learned about vulnerability in her research—showing up and being seen.

Brown wanted to be courageous and daring like the person in the quote and committed to only taking feedback from people who put themselves in the arena.

Brené Brown went on to be a bestselling author, an expert on shame, vulnerability, and empathy, and has helped others through her podcasts, talks, and appearances.

I’ve featured Oprah Winfrey and Brené Brown in multiple previous Sunday Supplements. Click their tags at the bottom of the page to see other posts with their content highlighted.

Closing Spiritual Passage:

“Heart to heart.” (以心伝心)

– Japanese Proverb

This Japanese proverb “heart to heart” means to share your true feelings to connect with another person.

When I look at passages and quotes, I try to think about them in different ways. With this one, I believe it also means that you can only have a deeper connection with someone if you share your true feelings.

For me, to share your true feelings or to be able to achieve “heart to heart,” you must be willing to be vulnerable.

When opening yourself up to be vulnerable, there can be rejection. However, I find there is great power when being vulnerable. Regardless of the outcome, you know that you gave 100 percent.

I think it’s vital to let yourself be seen and heard by yourself as much as others. This Japanese proverb reminds me of how important it is to open your heart for genuine connection.

See and express yourself fully, and have a blessed week ahead!

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