Dear Oprah,

Sometimes I hear things and am so ridiculously blown away that I kick myself for not having thought of it myself.

This goes for a seminar I recently heard called, The Extra Mile, by actor Glenn Morshower.

You should have him on your show.

If that name doesn't sound familiar, Google him and you will know you've seen him a million times. Not only is he a great actor but an insightful and glorious speaker with nuggets of wisdom that will make you go, Wayne Dyer, who?

Hearing this seminar made me have a you, Ah Ha moment.

To misquote and paraphrase, he mentions that when you come into this world, you have already won the greatest race of all time. You have beaten out 650million sperm, lookin' to the right and left and fighting through 'em all to get to this earth. And the prize...is this great trophy, your body. So every time you look in the mirror, you see this great trophy and know that you are a winner.

Knowing that, you must keep your trophy clean and polished, eat healthy food, exercise and dust it whenever needed. You must take care of this trophy, as it is the best prize.

I had to share this with my yoga class because it was the most interesting and in Morshower's delivery, humorous way of looking at your body and soul not so much as the 'temple' we often hear about, but as a truly prized possession that our soul worked hard to achieve. Very spiritual...very yogi!

If we won an Oscar or Olympic Gold Medal we wouldn't toss it aside, abuse it and neglect it.

So we must treat our bodies, our prizes, our souls and our teammates, with the same respect and goodness.

It made me think of a run I had recently, on the beach.

There is this little spot where I swear I can feel my dad. I can feel the connection.

It's the same spot where I felt the warmth of him or the spirit or whatever is higher than us, guiding us. I can show you where it is, about two foot ball fields north of the pier, just south of the California incline, right where the shore meets the sea.

If you go there, say hi to my dad.

It's in that space where I felt him months ago ask me if I was warm enough on one cold day I went running. It's the same space that on the anniversary of his death, I felt him nudge me to let go and I felt, actually felt a weight of heaviness lift off of me. Of course, this could have been the weight of the chocolate chip cookies I had been eating in bulk since his passing, burn off of me after the long run, but I doubt it. Hold on, let me check.

Yup, they are still on my hips.

So it was definitely my dad lifting the weight of sadness off of me.

And it was him or the spirit or the 'whisper' Morshower speaks of in his seminar that was right next to me last week when I was so sad and confused about where my life was turning amidst such fast change that I felt that everything was going to be ok. Trust it and don't fear it.

'Cause here's the deal...change, is not a controlled substance. Change is not often something you consciously make happen because it is so scary. I love to mix things up and change things, move my armoir there, change the part in my hair, but big change isn't always self-monitored but rather guided by the higher ups that are the real puppeteers of our purpose.

We often get so distracted with technology and things to do and are moving so fast in our bodies that our minds can't possibly tune into the subliminal suggestions or whispers we receive at that high and enlightened frequency we all have access to. We are side swiped or hit over the head with change because we weren't listening to the soft messages that are delivered to us daily in order to make shifts, upgrade and grow and progress to the next level. Graduation doesn't end in high school or college. There are so many more years to look at with pride, accomplishment and financial debt. (insert small, uncomfortable laugh here)

So much has shifted for me over the last two months that I literally stood still in the middle of my chaos and thought, how could I have missed the little messages? How can I remain still and calm when everything around me is moving so swiftly?

Change was thrust upon me like it is many of us. We are forced into triage. We are zoomed in and focused singularly on the moment that needs attention. We are being present and aware to prepare.

We are made to do yoga. Ha, an oxymoron for this moron.

On this particular run, I stood at the shore and asked out loud, what am I supposed to do?

No one was around, so I didn't feel weird.

This is all I need. This is all I want. I want to be able to do good. I want to inspire. I want you (the divine U) to use me as a tool to make people feel good about themselves, make them laugh, have fun and be happy. Please tell me what to do. I want to be a reflection of your divine light.

And in that moment, I felt the flash of light.

Ok, maybe it was the camera flash from the gaggle of Asian tourists that scared the crap out of me rushing over the dunes trying to capture the final act of the day’s sunset with their jazzy iPhones.

But that was it for me. I had my mantra, 'in your divine light, I reflect.'

It's catchy and I can remember it. I suggest everyone find a mantra they can keep in their mental pocket and whip out like a light sabre when feeling conflicted.

It made sense to me and clarified my purpose. Whatever changes need to happen, it will happen in support of that mantra. Trust it, don't fear it. It will be ok.

Now get the heck out of my light, tourists. Kidding!

My metaphorical light bulb was recharged, environmentally friendly and beaming.

If we can look at God or whatever it is you believe is higher than us as reflections of divine in ourselves and each other, no matter what trials are going on in our lives, it will be impossible not to reflect back anything other than goodness.

Impossible.

Nothing has changed for me from last week to this week except for that perspective.

I look at all of the change and the people I feel I was hurt by and look at it all as divine light, not crap and I felt the same warmth from the beach.

All of a sudden, I have a ton of energy, un-caffeinated, unrefined, pure energy that has been reflected back to me from the good friends, family and people in my life. The students, the teachers, the strangers, Glenn Morshower and more importantly, the crazy guy in the Porsche behind me with his middle finger up at me for reasons I still don't know and all those people that have hurt me. Because it is in that hurt, that I have learned the greatest of lessons.

I am in awe of the people who help and support. They make me a better person. The people who have helped us provide models on how to be better people and pass it on. However, the people who hurt us also serve us greatly. The people who have hurt us provide models on how NOT to be and how to live by experience - treading softly with others who have been hurt because we understand. We learn to strive high from the hands that guide us forward and compassion from those who push us down.

I know, deep stuff right?

Bring on the change. Bring on the hurt.

I'm still reflectin' divine light, people.

And when I'm homeless, living under the pier, a few football fields from my dad, with a cardboard sign that says 'Will Work for Lifetime Television and Turkey Jerky from Whole Foods', I will still be reflecting that divine light.

I know a lot of this is stuff you've heard before but repetition breeds’ habit and hopefully a squeaky Windex clean reflection of divine light that will keep us all beaming and proud winners in this beautiful, scary life.

You can think about this whilst eating a bag of Cheetos and watching the speed skaters on the Olympics this week. You can cheer them on proudly as they race and know you're a winner too!

humbly yours,

Laur