Super Soul Special: Mariel Hemingway and Bobby Williams: Finding Soul Connections
32:25 Share

Are you still quoting 30-year-old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now. It pays to discover. Learn more at discover.com slash credit card based on the February 2024 Nelson report.

Does it ever feel like you're a marketing professional just speaking into the void? Well, with LinkedIn ads, you can know you're reaching the right decision makers. You can even target buyers by job title, industry, company, seniority, skills.

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. She was born in 1961, the youngest daughter of Byra Louise Whittlesey and Jack Hemingway, the eldest son of literary lion Ernest Hemingway.

Mariel was the baby of the family with two older sisters, Muffet and Margo. Despite her famous name, growing up was anything but glamorous. Life at home was volatile. She recalls many nights watching her parents drinking and arguing. At home, the Hemingway family dysfunction escalated. Mariel's sisters both struggled with alcohol, drugs, and mental illness.

In 1996, Margo's life was cut short after she intentionally overdosed at 41, just one day before the anniversary of her grandfather, Ernest Hemingway's, suicide. Seven family members would take their own lives. It became known as the Hemingway Curse.

It is what led Marielle, a mother of two daughters, to set off on her own spiritual journey, hoping to find answers so she and her girls would not suffer the same fate. Marielle says it was yoga and meditation that saved her life and led her to find love with Bobby Williams. Bobby's a former Hollywood stuntman, extreme athlete, and all-around health nut.

They met through mutual friends five years ago and had an instant connection, which evolved into a shared spiritual practice centered on their love of nature. I couldn't imagine a more perfect setting for a conversation with Mary Ellen Bobby than here amidst the natural beauty of a Maui mountainside.

I'm so excited to have you all here. - No, thank you. - Thank you so much for having us here. This is a great place. - Thank you. - Great space. - You know, often, we all know this, that spiritual challenges are really what define our character. That's how you get it. And the daily decisions that we make, often to choose love or to choose fear, really define, you know, who you're gonna be in your life.

you have had enough challenges to plenty of spiritual challenges. Well, I think here's the truth. I think we all have incredible spiritual challenges. Yeah. And I also believe that, you know, we all have a story. And we need to tell our story. Yeah. And we need to get it off our chest. But once you've told the story, it's time to move on and create a new story. But your story, coming from a family of dysfunction,

suicide, seven suicides. That's a pretty powerful story. And you've said that your family is your karma. What did you mean by that? Well, you know, I really think the heritage of being a Hemingway, it's a big name. It carries a lot of weight. And I think with that comes tremendous creativity, love, you know, fame, whatever. But also with that comes

The opposite, because I think with darkness there is light. And so that darkness is that mental illness, that mental instability, that insecurity. So in spite of or maybe because of your family's history with suicide and addiction and mental illness, you decided, made a decision, which I think is the number one spiritual choice that people make. It's a decision, right? Make a choice. Make a choice to find a better way. How?

Absolutely. Yeah. Absolutely. But I wouldn't have been able to find a better way had I not really addressed my fears, you know? I really, I mean, the movie that I did, the documentary, is called Running From Crazy, which is really what I felt like I was doing my entire life. Running From Crazy because you were trying to... Because I was trying to, like, you know, I was afraid that I was going to wake up one day and be... Crazy. Crazy. I really thought that...

uh-oh, you know, this is something in my face. - This is contagious. - Yeah, I really thought it's in my blood, you know, everybody says it's genetic, what is it, you know, and so you worry, but now, having really dealt with the story and the issues and the seven suicides and the mental illness and, you know, all the stuff and the addictions in the family,

I know that by living the life that I choose to live, which is a mindful life, you have to be very conscious and aware. You can't just put it on cruise control. You have to be conscious every moment. But when I live that way, and it's my choice and it's my joy, then I know I overcome anything, any obstacle. But it took me to have to go through it. It took me to be afraid. It took me, you know...

Because you were afraid you were going to end up like that. Oh, yeah. I was worried. When I was raising my girls, I thought when my sister killed herself, I actually thought, oh, no. I thought it was like the baton being passed to me. It's my turn. Wow. You know, she's gone. Now it's going to be my turn. And here's the horrible thing about worrying you're going to go crazy is you're not going to know you're crazy. You're going to just wake up.

You wouldn't be in a hospital and you won't even know you're there. But you could see it with other family members. Could you not see it? I could see it. But then I started to piece together why.

What were they doing? How were they living their life? Massive amount of addiction. There was a lot of pain that wasn't being dealt with. So what do we do? We take something. You know, we're trying to self-medicate through alcohol and drugs and whatever they were doing. And I started to realize, oh, wait, I don't have to do those things. That's my choice. I actually have the power here to make different choices in my life. Now, I'm not saying it might be the sole solution for somebody else, but for me,

Those choices. This is why running with nature is such a powerful statement of how lifestyle can create balance. And so every time you'd reach an age where somebody else in your family, where somebody else in your family had killed themselves, I'm sure you would think, now is it going to happen? Now is it going to happen? Yeah. Oh, absolutely. There was always that fear. But I have to tell you, right now in my life, I never fear that I'm going to go crazy.

I actually love myself and that was a huge big walloping, you know, dark hole that I never thought I could... What does it mean? What does that mean to love yourself? Well, I didn't know. Because, you know, every spiritual practice talks about loving yourself. What does that mean? It means that you get up and you enjoy who you are. You actually go, wait, I like me. I like the choices I make. I like...

I like the things that I don't like. Do you know what I mean? I like the things that are foibles and weird and I have too high a voice, but it's funny and whatever. And you reach that point in your life. I know India Arie talked about this a lot when she was on about not trying to live your life defined by what other people expect. That's exactly right. That's when you know. Living through the eyes of...

somebody else will kill you. That's the big one. Well, that's one thing when we did get together I noticed, you know, right away. What'd you notice? I said, quit thanking people. You don't have to thank anybody. They didn't do anything for you. Mariel was constantly...

looking at everybody else like, you know, they helped me, they helped me, they helped me. I'm like, you know, you help yourself. You know what the greatest metaphor for her was? But you're supposed to thank people. Well, not in a polite way. Thank you for telling that to him. You just told me to say please. That's true. If you asked a question, she would thank you. It was way over the top to the point where she felt like she was obligated to have to thank everybody. But also, I used to apologize all the time. I'm sorry.

I'm sorry. I apologize. I've been around people that do that. They say, I'm sorry for-- And you're like, why are you-- They walk through the door. And they say, I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. Oh, because you were-- what do you apologize for? Because you were standing there and I should-- yeah. What does that mean when you're doing that all the time? Well, and that's the thing. Feeling less than. Feeling less than. That's feeling insecure about it, not liking you, trying to make yourself small. You know, when I started to step into my own shoes, so to speak, you know, when I started to fill in my body, I started to go, oh.

I'm okay. So loving yourself is not, it's more than giving yourself a cup of tea. It's more than going to the spa. It's saying, I exist.

And I'm okay with that. Yeah. Beyond okay. You know, when she was a guest on Supercell Sunny, Iyana Van Zandt said that we all have generational patterns, those unconscious behaviors that we inherit from our families. And you were able to break free. I want to know how specifically. And it didn't happen overnight, obviously. Oh, no. I seem to be a slow learner. That's why you did the documentary. You were running from crazy. I was running from crazy. And then you decided to...

Shift. But it wasn't one cathartic moment. You know, I'm a slow learner. Mine is like slow and plodding gets the job done. I mean, I was just, you know, I because when I started knowing that there was something different about my family and knowing that you don't, you know, you make that choice. I'm not going to be like them.

So you run far away from how they were. And so I thought that I was doing all the right things, eating certain ways. And I've eaten every way. Yes. An outside solution. Maybe that'll be the answer. Yeah. And if I eat that way and I exercise this way-- Maybe that'll be the answer. Yeah. But then you realize, no.

I am the answer. I am the answer. I have the answers. Yes. But it's getting to the point, which took me many years, to trust that my answers were fine. Yeah. And they were not only fine, they were perfect for me. Are you still quoting 30-year-old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? No.

If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now. It pays to discover. Learn more at discover.com slash credit card based on the February 2024 Nelson report.

Raise the rudders. Raise the sails. Raise the sails. Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching. Over. Roger. Wait, is that an enterprise sales solution? Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors. With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title, and more. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign. Get started today at linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply.

So we spend so much time on Super Soul Sunday talking about the necessity of a spiritual practice and what spiritual laws mean in our life. You have not just the idea of why we should lead a spiritual life, but how to start it. Yeah. Well, our big belief is that it's everything you do. It's not just meditation, which is an unbelievable thing. It's about how do you wake up in the morning?

Do you breathe? Do you have good thoughts? You know, it's from the moment your eyes open, it's making your life a mindful practice. That's really what it's about. Yeah, I love where you said every day is an opportunity to find ways, big and small, to transform our lives and to grow spiritually. So that's the way you look at it. Absolutely. I mean, the word inspire, that's one of my...

all-time favorite words, right? Yeah, I like it too. So inspire, spire, the Latin word, right? Yeah. Inspire, so it means spirit. And so inspiration is basically the relationship between two souls, right? What you're breathing in and breathing out, sort of like the trees. What the trees breathe out, we breathe in. Yeah. How sacred is that? How profound is that? And so these are the things that Marilyn and I look at when we say, well, if we pay attention to that, that's

That's the amazing stuff. Those are the gifts. So you call the book Running with Nature because you believe that running with nature is your sacred connection to all that there is. Absolutely. Absolutely. And nature is not, it's not about running, just in case you were wondering. Talk about the pantheist thing about you. Well, growing up, I, and he, this is something that we shared when we first met each other is that

The outdoors was such a place that that's where God was or is. And that's where I made connections. And I really believe now coming full circle, you know, being a woman now and knowing that, you know, we learn from what's around us. Yeah. The simple things. But hadn't you, like, gone through lots of paths searching for God? Oh, my gosh. Yes. I mean, I think I always...

Here's what I think. I think I started knowing God. And then I went on this search, reaching out, thinking that everybody had an answer to where God was and what was going to solve all my problems outside of myself. And then you come full circle and you realize, wait a second. You finally came home. I'm my teacher. I'm the connection. But it's about being conscious of everything around you.

- Yeah. - Do you know what I mean? It's about being conscious that we're here and that we're tangible beings and that we feel and we touch and we smell and we take in nature. And those things make us feel God. - One of the things that I love about

what you all have written is that we spend so much time on Super Soul Sunday talking about the need for spirituality, connection to it, which you're never separate from it because you either, you're a spiritual being, but the awareness of it. And a lot of people don't know the how, the how to be connected. And I think that what you do with Running With Nature is offer the how, beginning with a daily ritual. Now, you know, I have a daily ritual.

And I never thought of it as a spiritual practice. And my daily ritual, I think, is the same as yours. Yours is tea? Yes. Mine is tea. People think a daily ritual means you have to wake up. Chant. Chant about the sun. Do 12 yoga positions, which that is also true. That's part of the tradition. And that can be part of it. But it's really like, how do you wake up in the... I mean, I love to go in the kitchen in the silence.

boil the water, put it in a beautiful pot. Yes. You know, I love, I love jasmine pearls. I love the essence, the smell, you know, and it's just that I think ceremony and ritual creates mindfulness. Yes. And I love what you say that, and I never thought of it this way before, but now that I've heard the words through the book, that a daily ritual is a way of saying, I am

Voting for myself. I'm taking care of myself. I love myself Absolutely, absolutely and we both take time in the morning. It was like we separate we both take time I can't wait to get out of the house as soon as I wake up I'm like a kid gotta get outside gotta get outside I grab the dogs jump in the car and take off right to the top of the mountain I love it up there. I mean, I'm fortunate enough to be able to do that. Yeah, I'm a sunrise guy I love I love getting up first light and you know taking my time with my day and the dogs love it. I

Oh, the dogs. Yeah. I love this taking the time with the day because I want by the time we finish today's Super Soul Sunny that people have specific things that they can do to begin a...

spiritual practice and you say it's everything from looking at what you have for breakfast to looking at your the person you're living with your spouse absolutely it's all of that it's everything I mean our relationships I mean we first and foremost our relationship to ourself is is you know we honor that and so just beginning with that just taking the time to allow yourself to approach the day with a sense of ease is the beginning of a spiritual practice absolutely yeah

And then I love what you all have. Do you do this every day? You have, everybody's heard of the life review, which, you know, we've heard that that's what happens in the moment of death, the life review. I've actually talked to some people who've, you know, experienced NDEs, near-death experiences, and they, everybody always says the life review is different. But you do a daily review.

A day review. A day review. Well, and interesting that you say that about a near-death experience because in some ways I always think of being present and life and spirituality is that, you know, being present, there's always a death of a moment. Every second there's a death of a moment and there's the birth of a new moment. So when you do a daily review, it's about looking at your life that day and being...

And making peace with it because sometimes, you know, we make mistakes. We have relationships and we are harsh with each other. And sometimes it's about reviewing yourself. Did I accomplish what I wanted to do today? Did I accomplish what I wanted to do? Was I kind? Could I have done something differently? Could I have made different choices in the way I eat, the way I move, the way I communicate with my loved ones, with myself? You know, it's about all those relationships.

And then every night you sort of, or do you do this in the morning? You set an intention for what you want to happen the next morning. I do. I do it the night before. I visualize. I take a

picture in my mind of how I will how I see the day to create the intention of I will have a loving day. You know things are going to I'm the all feel abundant whatever it is whatever you know I'm at you know we're going to have this wonderful time with Oprah and we're going to have a great. And see you're going to have a wonderful time here on the mountain and honestly when I do that I wake up to that day to the to the feeling of that day the beauty of that day.

I love that you say the more experiences we have with things that are real, the less false we become. Can you talk about that?

We believe that reality is this, is what you've created here. So we connect to that. That's what's real. And inherently, we're connecting to ourselves, right? If we're connecting nature, because we are nature. We believe that man's sort of become this innovative capitalist. You know, he thinks he's smarter than nature, which is a huge oxymoron, because how could you be smarter than yourself? Yes. Right. So this is where we are. Right. So this is where we fall down. Now, I

I love technology and there's some great things we're able to get here. We flew here and there's great things. We just have to be mindful that not to let that supersede this. This is the most powerful thing we can connect to. So this is our reality. So one of the things that people would like to take away is that

It's about knowing when technology is there to serve you and knowing when it's actually working against your life, against your spirit. So turning it off. At a certain time at night, it's just like, I'm done with that.

I'm done texting. I've done this, you know. And we actually turn the power off to the internet so that it's all-- and boy, the silence that is created through that. So you don't even have the little hum thing going. No. Nothing's going on. And boy, when it's off, you're like, wow. And it's not that you detach from it, because it's fun.

fun it's love our twitter and all that stuff it's all good it's fun they're tools but it's knowing when those tools are running you yeah instead i think it's all good when it's in service to the greater good exactly yes you know because we all tweet tweet on sunday mornings and everybody's talking like right now i'm tweeting talking about what we're talking about about here so you say it's about really finding a way to live a simpler life

that is in rhythm with nature. What does that mean if I am living in the middle of Manhattan or Dallas or... - Right. Well, we say, our belief is everybody, sunrises and sunsets happen every day, everywhere. - I know. - So you find a place. - Even in the city. - New York, Central Park, come on. - Central Park, you need to get outside. - The piers, just the piers up on the upper west side. - It's so funny, you get to the river.

I mean, it's as much as, you know, find out where your local farmers markets are. And then how about our six doctors? Dr. Air, Dr. Sun, Dr. Water, Dr. Nutrition, Dr. Exercise, and Dr. Rest. They're available 24/7.

We can all tap into that philosophy. That we have Dr. Air. Dr. Air, Dr. Sun, Dr. Nutrition, Dr. Exercise, Dr. Rest, and what was the other one? Dr. Water. Dr. Water. Dr. Water. There's a lot of water here. Yeah, a lot of water here. But you see these guys 24-7, right? Yeah. 365 days a year. Yes. They're free. And you don't have to go to the person in the white coat. And truly, that's our belief system. I mean, we... How could you deny that? Not only do we believe that, we know it to be true. Right.

And who's more powerful than the sun, the air, and the water? And how sacred are those things? If we pay attention to it, it's awareness to that. Well, I know, because that's why I live here. Yes, exactly. But that's spirituality plugged into your real life. Yes.

Are you still quoting 30-year-old movies? Have you said cool beans in the past 90 days? Do you think Discover isn't widely accepted? If this sounds like you, you're stuck in the past. Discover is accepted at 99% of places that take credit cards nationwide. And every time you make a purchase with your card, you automatically earn cash back. Welcome to the now. It pays to discover. Learn more at discover.com slash credit card based on the February 2024 Nelson Report.

Raise the rudders. Raise the sails. Raise the sails. Captain, an unidentified ship is approaching. Over. Roger. Wait, is that an enterprise sales solution? Reach sales professionals, not professional sailors. With LinkedIn ads, you can target the right people by industry, job title, and more. We'll even give you a $100 credit on your next campaign. Get started today at linkedin.com slash results. Terms and conditions apply.

I love where you say in the beginning of Running With Nature, our motto is to live your life and forget your age. Absolutely. Because you believe that age is more about habits and choices and lifestyle. Absolutely. Yeah. And in the book you talk about the number of days you've lived rather than the number of years and that gives you a new perspective on things. 18,250 I think we mentioned that now, right? Yeah. And there's 86,400 moments a day and

And those are moments that you can make different choices. You can make better choices for yourself. That's how many seconds in a day. When you think that the average lifespan, you know, you get your 28,000 days and that's it. And that's it.

those how many of those yes but it's about according to the cbc the average american lifespan is 78.7 years or 28 745 days get you 28 000. that's under 30 000 days you have got to get that's right got to get to 36 000. all the way all about it but it's so true and we believe that's about belief systems so it's really about how do we maximize our less than 30 000 days

Absolutely. It has to be that. I mean, look at this place. There's so much to do here. There's not enough hours in the day for me to go out and play. That's how I look at it. Yes. I think one of the things that you all talk about so well is that everybody has to find their own adventure. You have to know that your life is an adventure, but find your own adventure. Speak to that.

It could be learning how to dance. It could be learning how to play a musical instrument. It could be so many things. It could be art. There's so many things that are an adventure for an individual. Everybody's adventure is different. But that's the beauty about what we're trying to say is that you're an individual. One of the things you suggested in the book is trying a new vegetable or fruit every week. I go, God, is there that many new ones to try every week? But go in your garden. Yeah.

I'm telling you. Yes, I love my garden. Yeah, you could do, you know, but the point being is that... But that's not exactly an adventure, but you're saying open yourself to new. Open yourself to new. And for some people that might be an adventure, you know, if they don't... You know, and some people walk around their neighborhood. Try kale. Try the dinosaur kale. Yeah, there you go. There you go. Dinosaur kale's pretty cool. But I think everything...

I think everybody's adventure, everybody's inspiration is going to be different. So it's not about rock climbing or jumping out of planes or doing all that stuff. For him it is. For you it is. For me, I do some of that. But then, you know, sometimes the adventure is to, you know, sit in a meadow and just be still. For me, it's nature. Yes.

- Yeah, that's me. - I find God in nature. - Me too. - That's how I connect to myself. For me, it's nature. - Absolutely. - For me, it's the silence because you can absolutely feel and are a part of the stillness here. - Absolutely, and that stillness really is your connection to God, to whatever. - To all that is. - All that is. - That's us, that's us. We love that. We love that you think that. - What did you learn about each other and the process of running with nature?

A lot. A lot. Like, he taught you how to laugh and play. Yeah.

And coming from the background that I grew up in, I honestly did not know how. I really, you think you do. I'm reading this too. I'm thinking, I really don't play hardly at all. There's no plan going on. Being silly is something, you know, it's a way of life for me. Yeah, I don't play. Being serious is something you have to do until you get to be silly again. I cannot stop. This is the most serious I could be is what we're doing right now. This is hard for me. He literally taught me how to play. Really?

and I is one of the greatest gifts I've ever been given. You taught you how to play. Taught me how to play because, you know, I raised my girls and, you know, I thought I was being a good mom, but I was a clock watcher. I was like, okay, we're at the park for another 15 minutes and I just didn't know how. I pull over to see something. She's like, no, we don't have time. Time for what? Let's go. I saw this horse. We got to go take a picture of the horse. And then I started to realize, what am I...

What am I? What do you have to be? Where do I have to be? And why do I create rules around? I started to become aware of how I'd been programmed and how I was raised. You know, I was also a caretaker of my mother who was sick as a child. So then when you do that, you sort of lose control.

You know, and it's not like, oh, poor me. It was taken from me. It was just, it was the role I played. But I did not know how to play. I loved, I loved what you had to say about laughing out loud. You never think about laughing as a spiritual practice. But you know, we now LOL, LOL people all the time. But I was thinking that if you could really laugh out loud at least once or twice a day. It is powerful.

Because laughing out loud, doesn't it just change your vibration? It changes everything. We have to pull the car over we laugh so much. Oh, seriously, we will laugh so hard that he cannot drive. And he's a stunt driver. That's saying something for a stunt driver. I had dinner with Meryl. The first time we had dinner together with a friend, Meryl and I laughed so hard.

that I got to the point where I thought that I was gonna die. You know when you laugh that hard and you can't breathe? And I thought that if I got up on the table, I might fall over, but if I stayed there, I might not stop laughing. I didn't know what to do. I got to that point. It was the most insane laughter I've ever had. My stomach hurt. - What were you laughing about? - I think we were laughing at each other.

We just laugh. I mean, sometimes we... When that happens, you know, then you think, oh boy, something's going on here. But that's also a connection to love. Yeah, that's a connection to love. I want to talk about some more spiritual practices. Love more.

Yeah, that's profound. Meryl loves love. I love love. She is love. I mean, she really is. She gives so much space for love, it's unbelievable. She holds space for love. That's what I think Meryl does. Yeah. Love more. Yes. Find a way to love more no matter what. No matter what. No matter what. But how do you love more? How would you say we begin to love more?

Just become aware of the choices that you're making in your everyday and everything that you do, you know acts of kindness small stuff Doesn't matter if you hold the door for somebody smile. Yeah, you know say hello make connection Gary Zukav says that real soul mates are Spiritual partners and spiritual partners are partners for together who are equals for the purpose of spiritual growth Do you think you've grown 100%? absolutely

Absolutely. I've gotten so much from Mariel and Mariel's gotten so much from me and together we created something else. It's like there's three different relationships going on at the same time with the two of us. You know, and it's amazing. It's just amazing. And there's some connections that I make for her that she couldn't make that seem impossible and vice versa. It's amazing. It's absolutely amazing.

And you say happiness is a choice, so what are the steps that we all need to take to get there, do you think? You know, we take ourselves so seriously in life. And when I started to realize that I was so, you know, I was controlling and I was scheduled and I was really anal. Really? Okay, so I'm a little still. Okay, so just calm down, don't say anything. There's a time she used to be. Yes.

knowing that about yourself and also... But was there a time for you where it seemed impossible to be happy? I mean, really. I think it's interesting that now you can talk about it, you can write about it, but was there a time when it seemed impossible to be happy? Yeah. Okay. Yes. And I think... And that's where...

I relate to so many people out there that are in that dark night of the soul. Yeah, people who are joyless, depressed, stuck. Depressed, stuck. Because you've been in all those things. Absolutely. So tell me this. What do you want people to get from this? We want people to, as we say at the back of their book, we want them to find their own life. Find the life that inspires them. Find out what you love and do that.

Eat the food that nourishes your soul. But be connected. Find your simplicity. So sleep deeply, live in silence, breathe in life, drink pure water, find your adventure, practice kindness, laugh out loud, inspire others, eat real food, and love more. That's the essence. It absolutely is. Yeah.

That's the essence. How perfect is that? How perfect is that? Now, do you all do all those things? Yes, we do, actually. As often as we possibly can. Yeah. You know, it's called life. It's not 30 or 60 or 90 days to your best life. Life is a lifetime. Go out and live it, you know? Find out what it is that you love and do that. Everybody's got some gift, you know? It's not supposed to be you do these things and this is how it goes. It's whatever your life is going to be, go out and explore that. Find that. Whatever it is. What is the soul?

My soul. My soul is a place where I live in silence. That's my soul. And I think my soul-- no, I know my soul is my connection to God. My soul is my God connection. It's where-- it's where, you know, being is. And what's your definition of God? 100%. I think we all agree on that one. Yeah. What does prayer or meditation mean to you? Do you do both?

I do both. I think I pray and then I meditate or sit in silence. And prayer is an honoring. It's a voicing of your intention for me. It's about laying out the groundwork for my gratitude. Where do you feel most at home or at peace? Nature is definitely a big part of it. Meryl and I have discovered feeling most at home and most at peace together.

Meryl gives me space to be myself when we're together. It's sort of like we're still our separate selves. We have this space. It's really, really wonderful. There's an ongoing joke that Meryl and I spend more time with each other than we do by ourselves. And it works. It's true. I think I feel most comfortable. I mean, I feel, I got to say, I feel comfortable when I'm really present and in my body. And it's new for me.

You know, I'm no longer running, so... Running from something. Running with. Running with myself, kind of running with the present and being... And like Bobby said, it's the first time I can honestly be with somebody, be wholly myself, and yet share space and...

God, it just, it feels good. This is a spiritual partnership. I can tell. Yeah. And Gary Zukav's definition is a partnership between equals for the purpose of spiritual growth. Yes. And what's so interesting is a lot of people figure that out along the way, but you all knew it from the beginning. You certainly were aware instantly. Yeah.

Yeah. This is somebody I can grow my life with. Well, you know, because that's the only way you can be fully 100 percent yourself. Absolutely. And it's when I mean, there was a recognition and it's more than chemistry. It was, oh, my God, this person speaks my language and he can see me. And I've never felt seen. Sorry. I love that. I love that. I love that. What's the lesson that took you the longest to learn?

Being present, being present. That's a hard, that was a hard one. I mean, to not be thinking about what happened in the past in order to be worried about the future, you know, to just be here. To be here was the, it was the most difficult lesson and it manifests itself in weird ways. So, but I think that when you have those moments, you know, it's always, I think finding balance and finding presence every day is always a challenge. That's the biggest lesson. But when you do it,

It's like-- and time expands in the present. And every day you get another chance to get that right. Exactly. Because you're never fully present in every moment. Because you have 86,400 moments to do it. 86,000 opportunities to be present every day. Every day. I thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the time. Thanks for coming to the mountain, upcountry. No, thank you. Thanks for the upcountry adventure.

I'm Oprah Winfrey, and you've been listening to Super Soul Conversations, the podcast. You can follow Super Soul on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook. If you haven't yet, go to Apple Podcasts and subscribe, rate, and review this podcast. Join me next week for another Super Soul Conversation. Thank you for listening.

Know what tomorrow is? It's that day you do something. Monumental or seemingly inconsequential. Start a new job, leave an old one. A big date or a small gathering. Drinks with a new someone or simply to strut past an old flame. So celebrate in style. Step out and stack on. Flash a look of bold 14-carat gold. Layer that fit with a solitaire diamond drip. Whatever the reason, Jared Jewelers has the perfect on-trend way to show the world you did it.

So tomorrow, you be the one who went to Jared.

High Five Casino is the top sweepstakes casino that's free to play. Sign up today to receive a free welcome bonus and exclusive first purchase offers. Choose the premium jackpot package for $29.99 and claim up to 700 game coins, 55 sweeps coins, 1 sweeps coin daily bonus for 5 days, and 400 diamonds. Your High Five moment awaits at HighFiveCasino.com. No purchase necessary. Boardware prohibited by law. Must be 21 years or older. Terms and conditions apply.