Oprah and Phil Jackson’s “Super Soul Sunday” Sit-Down
Phil: Wow, it’s such a great community that you have when you play the sport. Especially if you get to play it at a high level.
Oprah: Yeah.
Phil: That there is this — you know, this is what esprit de corps the word exactly comes from. That there’s a spirit among this connected group, a connected group of people.
Oprah: Yeah.
Phil: And the spirituality is not about religion, of course. It’s about the ability to incorporate other beings in your plans, in your system.
Oprah: Uh-huh.
Phil: And my best nature also elevates their nature and basketball or sports does this. It does this for us as — as watchers, too. As spectators. We see something that, you know, is a remarkable play and we want to see it over and over again because it brings an elevated spirit to us that this was not just an individual action.
Oprah: But you say “Some coaches are obsessed with winning trophies. Others like to see their faces on TV. What moves me is watching young men bond together and tap into the magic that arises when they focus with their whole heart and soul on something greater than themselves. Once you’ve experienced that, it’s something you never forget.” That is the spirituality you’re talking about.
Phil: Yes it is.
Alternative Methods/Ego
Oprah: Did you not also have them play in the dark at one point?
Phil: It wasn’t totally dark, but I wanted them to get the idea of being able to do things that are just out of the ordinary like silence day. Have a day of just silence. There’s a lot of chatter in basketball and rightfully you want players to be talking to each other and communicating with each other. But sometimes the practice, it gets too — too verbose and guys are yelling and having fun with each other and teasing each other. So, I tried to take things out of the ordinary and make them something special so they’d understand the difference.
