Super Soul Sunday Features Oprah and Jack Kornfield

JACK: To live an awakened life is to be here in the reality of the present, in the now.

OPRAH: Yeah.

JACK: Which is all we have.

OPRAH: Yes.

JACK: And to recognize that thoughts about the future are thoughts. You can use them. But you don’t have to believe them because half the time they don’t come true.

OPRAH: Yeah.

JACK: And thoughts about the past are gone The past you can learn from. But to be awake is to live here so that when you are with the person you love, you’re really present. Or with your dog. Or with the work that you’re devoting yourself to. Or your creative life. Or whether you listen to your heart and realize that you can be caught in fear and confusion. The poet Hafiz says “Fear is the cheapest room in the house. I’d like to see you in better living conditions.”

OPRAH: I love that.

See Also

The Power of Partnership

What It Means to Live an Awakened Life

As one of the elders of American Buddhist thought, Jack Kornfield has become a teacher in the ways of mindful living. Watch as he offers his best advice for how to live in the present moment and appreciate the world on a deeper level. Tune in Sunday, December 15, at 11 a.m. ET/PT on OWN or join our worldwide simulcast at Oprah.com, Facebook.com/supersoulsunday or Facebook.com/owntv.

EXCERPT: JACK KORNFIELD DESCRIBES THE WAY TO CALM YOUR HEART

OPRAH: So how do we, each of us, begin to do what you talk about in one of the chapters. Chapter 5, as a matter of fact, making our heart a zone of peace. How do we begin? How do we actually do that?