Is there a word greater than “miracle”? Is there a word that fully expresses that moment when the sky and the Universe open up and rain their blessings upon you? Whatever that word is, I invoke it today.
Today I watched as Oprah Winfrey welcomed Iyanla Vanzant back to the Oprah Show after an 11 year absence. It was a tour de force demonstration of what it 
looks when two masters sit down and have a difficult conversation, tinged by hurt, sadness, and anger, while both stand completely in ownership and responsibility. It is so rare to see this kind of conversation anywhere, let alone on television. It was so clearly unscripted, so clearly from the heart, and it reminded me of the one of the greatest miracles I have ever experienced.
I am blessed to call Iyanla Vanzant my teacher, my mentor, my Mama. She helped me to save my life. Did you read that sentence the way that I wrote it? I didn’t say that she saved my life. I said that she helped ME to save MY life. When I entered her tutelage, I was in so much pain that I didn’t know how to live my life. I wasn’t sure that my life was worth saving.
This woman and her amazing team of angels showed me a path that my soul had been crying out for – a path of deep emotional honesty, personal responsibility, and claiming my gifts. Two years in her world quite literally changed my life. I am the person who I am today because her love reminded me how to love myself.
Let me be clear – I still have plenty of shit. As Iyanla said a few times today on Oprah, “There is some crazy that a pill can’t fix!” But those times when I thought that throwing myself off the roof of the tallest building was the best way to deal with the pain are a part of my memory. Thank you God.
My world is now filled with a rich network of beloved people from my time at Inner Visions Institute. There are my Inner Visions teachers and coaches – Rev. Nancy, Ken, Renee, Mama Almasi, among others. There are my soul-sisters, women who I may not speak to or see very often, but we know each other’s hearts without question – Judi, the two Danielles, Lisa, and so many more.
Watching Iyanla with Oprah today reminded me that I am beyond blessed and privileged to have spent two years in her care and the loving space that she has created for us, her students. She embodies the love, honesty, personal responsibility, humor, laughter, and grace that I strive for every day.
There is a Yiddish word bashert; it is often used in the context of soulmates who were destined to meet. When I think of how I ended up studying with Iyanla, it feels like bashert – I didn’t mean to be there, but thank heavens God knew better and put me exactly where I needed to be.
Thank you, Iyanla. You are a miracle in my life.
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The Miracle Journal » Recognizing Crazy
July 18, 2011 at 9:51 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] Iyanla Vanzant often says that if you see Crazy walking down the street, you can choose to cross the street. Well for a couple of days I’ve been choosing to walk up to Crazy, introduce myself, take it by the hand, and go for a long walk along the river. There might even have been some making out at the end of the evening. CRAZY. […]
The Miracle Journal » Finding God in unexpected places
August 5, 2011 at 10:25 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] I entered Inner Visions and everything changed. I was brought back to a concept of God that I could understand and feel […]
The Miracle Journal » Sanity
August 29, 2011 at 9:55 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] years ago I started my path toward sanity. It was a long path to climb up… but that made sense because it had been a long path to get […]
The Miracle Journal » Sorting out money shame
September 19, 2011 at 9:12 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] – that money saved my life. That is the money it cost to spend two years as a student at Inner Visions and I wouldn’t change that for any amount of money in the world. That is the money that […]
The Miracle Journal » Looking for a fight?
October 11, 2011 at 10:48 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] I watched my teacher, Iyanla Vanzant, on Oprah’s Life Class and she said something that makes it all clear to me (I’m […]
The Miracle Journal » Go west, young man
October 31, 2011 at 8:30 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] thing – it’s okay for me to be a little crazy with him. I hear frequently from my teachers this phrase: “Love will bring up everything unlike […]
Taking a leap on faith | The Miracle Journal
February 22, 2012 at 7:54 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] week at the newspaper, and now having a full-time job and making most of my income from writing. Iyanla Vanzant says that when the Universe shines its blessing on something, almost nothing can mess it up. When […]
Getting okay with being okay | The Miracle Journal
April 2, 2012 at 9:38 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] my time at Inner Visions, I began to see those core beliefs and core identities shifting. I no longer saw myself solely as […]
The reunion vs. social anxiety | The Miracle Journal
June 3, 2012 at 9:08 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] the country to work in professional theaters, forcing me to make new friends everywhere I went. I did the work to overcome a lot of old demons, which allowed me to open myself even more to the world. As a reporter, I have to make phone […]
Worldwide Miracles | The Miracle Journal
June 21, 2012 at 9:40 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] then I heard that Iyanla Vanzant mentioned me by name on her Hay House Radio program this […]
Three perfect gifts | The Miracle Journal
July 30, 2012 at 9:33 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] the show Starting Over every day and was completely in awe of one of the coaches on the show, Iyanla Vanzant. I really wanted to meet her and learn from […]
The Miracle Journal | Clearing away the clouds
November 27, 2012 at 9:28 PM (UTC -5) Link to this comment
[…] commitment to myself. As you may know, I spent two years traveling to Maryland to study at the Inner Visions Institute for Spiritual Development with Iyanla Vanzant. During that time, I healed a lot of my old inner junk. I was also very […]