Catching up on all of my class notes, we are on day four and I am already feeling the changes.  Subtle…but empowering.  Today, Oprah’s talking about Truth and what it means for your life to live in your OWN truth and let go of any lies, secrets or shame.  Another powerful class.  Here are my notes…

• If you in any way are keeping a secret or pretending to be something that you are not, you will never ever become all you can be. It was not until I was able to break free of pretending to be an anchor woman that my career took off.
• If in any way you are pretending something that is not true for your life, you will not be able to move forward because that untruth, that uncertainty about standing in your truth blocks you from all that you are meant to be.
• Case Study – Ellen’s coming out in 1997.  Step out of whatever is the lie of your life and let yourself blossom in the fullness of your own truth.  If you are keeping a secret or pretending to be something you’re not, you will never become all you were meant to be. It wasn’t until that she allowed herself to be truthful with the world that her career took off.  All of the other success that have come to her have come, I think, in great part because she was able to set herself free and not be limited by the secrets she was holding all those years.
• Case Study – Ricky Martin. “When I was holding my children in my arms, I thought “am I going to teach them how to lie?”  When I told, “I felt relief because I felt free. I felt liberated. I felt that I could finally say that I love myself completely.”
• There is something incredibly powerful about people who are genuine and authentic.
• Keeping secrets are a waste of time for your body, your soul and your life.
• You will not have the life you deserve if you are pretending to be anything you are not.
• Are you living in excess and pretending that this is who you are? 
• Case study – Jeannette Walls and keeping her family secret. – Think about what you’re hiding or faking in your own life.  Tell the truth about who you really are.  Tell the truth.  Don’t underestimate people’s compassion.  An ah-ha moment for Jeannette was when she was covering the launch of O Magazaine and asked this question.  “What makes Oprah Winfrey special?” Jeannette asked Gayle King.  Gayle’s response, “While she’s pulling herself  up with one hand, she’s pulling other people up with the other hand.”
• Shame is an isolating emotion.  Don’t let your past define who you are today. When we hold secrets, we create shame.  Shame  is a great barrier to success because when you carry shame, you don’t allow to fulfill your greatest potential.  Being ashamed is like a veil that covers your whole life.
• Being able to let go of the secret, you release the shame.
• People who love you and want the best for you want you to set yourself free.
• When you let go of the secret, you let go of the shame.
• Case Study – Suze Orman and Erica Ship on rising above adversity and troubles.  Suze offers a different perspective.  See hardship as a blessing to be able to rise out of the situation and show your children how strong you are.  It doesn’t have to look like or be like what everyone else thinks it needs to look like.  Change your perception and see things differently and see who you really are and not the role that the rest of the world requires of you.
• Your life doesn’t have to be what everybody else thinks it should be.
• Change your perception and see your life differently.  Turn it around for yourself.  Change your life.
• Be 100% completely yourself.  Oprah is.  You can do it too and choose to live your best life.
• All truths set you free.  Be your authentic self…and your life will flourish.