I'm Oprah Winfrey. Welcome to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. I believe that one of the most

valuable gifts you can give yourself is time. Taking time to be more fully present. Your journey

to become more inspired and connected to the deeper world around us starts right now.

I really do find it hard to believe that just three months after launching my talk show in 1986,

there I was, talking to Shirley McLean on national daytime television about spirituality.

That kind of material, even more so than today,

was really considered out there,

not your typical talk show kind of subject.

I invited her to the show because I had read and loved her memoir out on a limb

while filming the color purple.

The international bestseller detail

Shirley's lifelong spiritual quest, and reading her story was life-changing for me. In fact,

her writings helped inspire my own spiritual awakening. Shirley has always felt a keen connection

to the world beyond. Over the course of her

remarkable career, Shirley has appeared in more than 60 movies, and she's been nominated for more than

100 various awards. She has won an Emmy, seven Golden Globes, and of course, who could forget

her Oscar-winning performance as Aurora Greenway in terms of endearment.

Today, on the cusp of 80, she's as outspoken, opinionated, and sharp as ever.

Never one to accept the status quo.

Her latest book, her 13th, by the way, is appropriately titled, What If?

Isn't it wonderful to be 79 and still so curious about life?

I really am.

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