you must find a way to serve
Martin Luther King
said that not everybody can be famous
but everybody can be great because
greatness is determined
by service
now we live in a world where everybody
wants to be famous
and where we admire people for just
being famous
we think being known brings us value
the truth is all of that will fade in
time
the real truth is that service and
significance
service and the significance that you
bring to your service is that which is
lasting
so to be able to whatever your
occupation or job or Talent OR gift is
our honorees today getting doctor
degrees to
apparently opposite Fields HIV and AIDS
and the spoken word
but what they have in common
is service
using the spoken word in service to
community in the world
using your knowledge and information
about HIV and AIDS and Medicine in
service to the world and if you look at
all the most successful people in the
world whether they know it or not they
have that Paradigm of service
everybody's talking about Mark
Zuckerberg and IPO
service
Jay-Z rapid
service
through the word two people through song
for many years I was really just happy
to be on TV and people would stop and
say oh you on TV yeah I'm on TV
I like being on TV
it's a nice job
that I went back and I took a long look
at what it was I was doing on
on TV
and made a decision that I was no longer
going to just be on TV but I was going
to use TV
as a platform as a Force for good
and not be used by TV
and I will tell you
my decision
to make that significant change in the
way I operated on television using
television as a service
changed my career exponentially
service through medicine service through
ART
using whatever it is you produce your
product as a way of giving back to the
world
when you shift the Paradigm of whatever
it is you choose to do service and you
bring significance to that success will
I promise you follow you
service and significance equals success
you see I believe that life is really
very simple what we give out we get back
and what we believe about ourselves
becomes true for us our thinking creates
our experiences there is a law of
thinking like everything else like all
of nature there is a universal energy or
law of mind or subconscious mind
whatever you want to call it but to me
it means the power that is within me and
around me transforms my thoughts into
experiences
you see I believe that we are all
responsible for everything in our lives
every thought we think in every word we
speak is creating our experiences our
future and it's almost as though every
time you think a thought or you speak a
word that Universal intelligence or
energy is listening or responding to
what you are thinking or believing or
saying without judgment or criticism
totally accepting us at our own value
whatever we choose to believe becomes
true for us
I have spent hundreds and hundreds and
hundreds and thousands of hours talking
to spiritual leaders and teachers and
not just spiritual leaders and teachers
who have been deemed so but thousands of
people who came from levels of
dysfunction
who came from levels of pain who were
suffering who were challenged in their
progression of trying to be the best
human beings they could be and they
allowed themselves the opportunity to
come on our show the Oprah Winfrey Show
and share their stories
I am one who believes in the sharing of
stories I believe in the process of
sharing period
because I know that all life gets better
when you share it
and those thousands of people who have
been guests on the show and many of them
who are also audience members have been
my greatest teachers
and I would say that one of my gifts
one of my gifts that I've had since I
was a little girl growing up in
Mississippi being raised on a tiny
little Acre Farm with my grandmother
is that I knew how to pay attention I
was a great Observer of life
and I grew up
believing that I was
indeed for sure God's child
it's because every Sunday I sat in our
little church down the road a dirt road
from where my grandmother lived no
running water no electricity but the
church is down the road from us and we
could hear the singing as I was getting
dressed for Sunday school and I'd always
sit on the left hand side the left Pew
in the second row
and I would listen to the preacher
preach about the Lord thy God is a
loving God and sometimes he would say
the Lord thy God is a jealous God but
most important I heard him say you are
God's child and through God all things
are possible and I literally took him in
his word so that by the time I was
leaving had to leave my grandmother
because she became ill and I was sent to
live in Milwaukee with my mother
who had two other children
I got beat up on the playground because
when people would ask me who's your
Daddy I would say Jesus is my daddy
sometimes he's my brother
and God is my father
but what I now know
and have learned that my view of God
although I call that God in a box and
all that although that has ex my vision
of God has expanded to be inclusive of
all things all all God is all God is law
God is all in all things
not just the guys standing up in the
sitting up with the beard
[Music]
if you think for a moment about the
vastness of the universe it is so
incredibly big that our human Minds
cannot comprehend it it is enormous and
even our most our top scientists with
the most up-to-date equipment today
cannot measure the size of the universe
and half of we don't agree on whether
it's expanding or Contracting
and in this Incredible Universe there
are so many galaxies that we have
encountered all of them and in one of
the smaller galaxies in a far-off corner
there is a
call the small Galaxy called a Milky Way
in a very far off corner there is a
minor Sun
and around this Sun revolve a few
pinpoints
one of which is called planet Earth
now I find it very very hard to believe
that the incredible intelligence that
created this entire universe
is an old man sitting on a cloud above
the planet earth watching my genitals
and yet it doesn't compute it does not
compute and yet how many of us were
raised to believe that
and many of us are living it if you were
raised in a religion where you were a
sinner and a worm and you had a lot of
sexual problems and things like that
start to re-evaluate do some mental work
to change that so that you're not still
operating you can sit down in front of a
mirror would be real good look in your
eyes and say okay now when I was a kid
this is what I was taught but I'm not a
child anymore now I am adult and I don't
believe that I now choose to believe and
then decide what you want your belief of
God to be like
you see if you're in a religion
that puts you down or where you are a
sinner or a worm or whatever get another
religion
there are plenty of them they all tell
you that they're the only way
I see I think even our concept of God
must support us and you do not have to
have the same concept of God that your
parents have or your grandparents had
you don't have to
each person is a unique individual and
each one of us creates our own lifestyle
and our own belief system and it's
I think we need to constantly reevaluate
what we believe
and particularly if we believe things
that don't nourish us
think why do I believe that where did I
learn that does is that really true for
me now does it make sense maybe I could
let that one go
you might create a pair of psychic
scissors and cut them out of your
Consciousness or create a great big
waste basket and say okay that one goes
there
[Music]
and decide that you just do not choose
to live under old limitations anymore
refuse to believe in worry
begin to trust the universe and watch
how it works
when life calls us
that's when we have to answer people say
how did you do everything that you did
well I answered the telephone and opened
the mail and did what it what was in
front of me
and then life would give me something
else to do and something else to do
and it's interesting because it's now
been I think 25 years since I wrote the
second book you can heal your life and
in that period of time I that book alone
has sold 40 million copies worldwide
and I feel I've always felt that I
didn't do anything to promote it at all
it's just life took over and life said
this book is going to go to this country
and this book is going to go to this
country and go to this country and it's
gone many many places all over the world
I even have two Chinese versions there's
this Chinese version of traditional
China and then there's the Chinese
version of the Taiwan which is the new
China
you never know where life is going to
take your work
and I think that it's important that you
don't go into it to say how much money
can I make oh I'm going to be rich I've
got to do this because books don't make
you that rich but what they do is open
the world to you
and my thought has always been how can I
help the people how can I help the
people
and I think if you come from that point
of view it becomes a lot easier
it's time to understand
[Music]
all the problems of individual nature
are generated from within
and we don't have to solve problems that
we create
we just have to dissolve
problems that you create you don't have
to solve if there's a problem in the
situation yes we have to solve
but you have a problem within you
solution is not what you need solution
is madness
solution means for an illusion you're
creating an illusory solution
something that you make up for that you
create one more solution that you made
up once again now
you just have to turn off the problems
you're going through a certain drama
only thing is you're a lousy director
that's all there is
instead of improving your direction now
you are trying to find a solution for a
situation in a drama
it's like people watch a cinema and come
home and they have big arguments about
what happened there
so
the thoughts and emotions that you
create
you don't have to find any solution for
it
turn it off it's gone
if you find solution
you
[Music]
moving towards insanity
because
where you create a ghost and you create
a Ghostbuster
[Music]
the ghost that you create
you must learn to play with them
I'm saying if nobody willing to play
with you you have to play with somebody
right
so the ghosts you create if you like
them you play with them if you don't
like them turn them off
but Guru they keep coming
you don't play
[Music]
don't like to play with them don't play
they come and go
never it ever happened that one thought
remained for more than a moment isn't it
it comes and goes comes and goes Let It
Come and Go
if you try to find a solution for that
you will head towards
insanity
one thing that you must do to yourself
is
[Music]
you are absolutely truthful to yourself
if you're also truthful to everybody
around you
you will get other
but I will not go that far right now
with yourself you are 100 truthful
otherwise all kinds of Tricks keep
happening
to be truthful to yourself
is not a easy thing because there is
lifetimes of habit of Simply
bullshitting yourself a guest came to
sankaran pillai's house
[Music]
and being a South Indian man down south
you know pillars come from further down
south
he was carrying an umbrella which is
common thing
in Kerala and Southern Tamil Nadu to
carry an umbrella is a very common thing
because rains can be very heavy
then they walked out he took the guest
out then it started raining
a sangren pillai did not open
the umbrella the guest said why don't
you open the umbrella
Shankar and fly said I'm sorry the
umbrella is full of holes
then the guest asked why did you bring
it
well I never thought it will rain today
[Music]
a whole lot of people are like this
they think somebody else has to catch
their lives
foreign this will take a long time
because someone else catching your lies
will take lifetimes
you must catch them you should not let
your chickens pass
to become hundred percent straight with
yourself you take a certain amount of
application
but if this one thing you do
this piece of life will work for sure
100 percent
then figuring out a few things is very
simple for that I am there
if you just fix one this this one thing
that you're 100 straight no any kind of
deception
when there's a hole in umbrella you know
there is a hole in the umbrella
you will never forget that there is a
hole in umbrella okay
if you are like this rest of the work
becomes very simple and easy
perception happens to you in five
different dimensions
seeing hearing smelling tasting touching
this is how you're perceiving life
this data data has gathered within you
only because this data has gathered
within you now you are able to walk on a
round Planet which spins it's not a
small thing
it is not a small thing that you are
able to walk on a spinning round ball
because all this data has gathered
through five senses it is not
intellectual information but it is a
perceptional information if this
information is not there you won't be
able to walk actually
you will not be able to walk straight
this is what is happening for people
when some people lose their memory and
things like that suddenly they become
unstable in their body because some of
the data is gotten disconnected with
their system so this data that you
perceive is most important that's what a
child is all the time drinking up
everything you see how the child is
looking at everything because he wants
to drink up as much data as possible
because instinctively he knows without
the data he will not be able to function
so how attentive you are how attentive
your eyes are how attentive your ears
nose tongue and touch is accordingly you
have that much you know that much usable
information so why one person is more
efficient while you are an athlete why
one person is able to catch a damn ball
another person can't catch the damn
thing why is it because that level of
attention of exactly how that ball will
behave how you can anticipate where it
will go this is not there intellectually
suppose you have a PhD in football you
think you can play football
uh if you have a PhD I no I think you
need to experience it as well if you
just study it only yeah
oh that is that is not experience it's
perception mm-hmm you're you're watching
it out of your Keen interest you're
watching exactly how a ball moves you
may not be thinking the physics of it
but you're watching it and perceiving it
because of that perception you know
something that you cannot know by
reading 100 books about it
first of all people are assuming that
anger is happening to them or misery is
happening to them no this is exactly
what I said earlier maybe I didn't
articulate it fully no you are creating
anger you are creating misery you're
creating Joy you're creating whatever
all this is happening from within you
but Human Experience is happening from
within us isn't it right whether it's
love or hate or anger or misery or Joy
or anything is only happening from
within us now simple question I am
asking is what happens from within you
should you have should it happen your
way or somebody else's way
it should happen your way
of course because the world will never
happen your way hundred percent
because there are so many stakeholders
in the world little bit will happen my
way little bit your way that is fine but
what happens Within Me must happen my
way if what happens within me does not
happen my way this is the worst form of
slavery isn't it wow
somebody decides what happens within me
somebody decides where I should sit this
is slavery everybody understands this
now somebody decides whether I am
happier and happy isn't this the worst
form of slavery yeah
so this is The Liberation that Humanity
needs to work at this is what inner
engineering means inner engineering is
not some mechanical process because
engineering means this essentially you
will say something is well engineered
only if it works the way you want isn't
it
if this one doesn't work the way you
want what the hell are you expecting
other things to work the way you want
it's just an accident when you live
accidentally anxiety is normal
we have to be ready to do it ourselves
remember each person has come to this
planet to learn a lesson you have your
lessons you have your lessons I have my
lessons you have your lessons they're
all different
we cannot learn the other person's
lessons we are not here to change other
people we are here to change ourself
that is what we've come to the planet
for to change ourselves
if we try to do it for someone else or
learn their lesson or make it nice
they don't get to learn it and even if
we fix it isn't it amazing how they turn
around and recreate it again and we all
know people like that we've paid their
rent or we've gotten them out of some
mess but we've done this for them or
that form
and two months later they're in the same
problem because it's their pattern
it has nothing to do teaching them how
to get out of it it is much better if
they're willing to learn so it's like
you know the student must come to the
teacher and when the student is ready
the teacher is there always
I am the happiest of guys now but it
took me almost like 50 years to really
get there and the fact let's go back
well when I was in the 40s that was like
80s 1980s and I was working on stem
cells and teaching people what most
people still believe that the genes that
we inherit really determine the
character of our lives and that becomes
uh when you think about it it's like
well did you pick the genes you came
with and we got nothing I know of uh can
you change the jeans if you don't like
the characteristics no uh and then we
tell you on top of that is oh the jeans
turn on and off by themselves so you
could be walking down the street and the
Jane goes up time for cancer is like
what and then I say what is what were we
teaching what what were we teaching to
Medical people as well as the public is
that we were victims of heredity that
things were running in our family and
then that would determine the character
of our lives and then the fear are
associated with that is oh my God you
know like uh Angelina Jolie for example
had a double mastectomy because the fear
of breast cancer over mother dying from
it and her grandmother of course I put
into her mind that she would be a next
victim of that and then she has a double
mastectomy to say I will prevent this
from happening which is well that's not
really true but what was the point it
was the fear and the fear of being a
victim meaning you're powerless and I go
this is what people believe about their
health I am powerless we got programmed
when we were children to recognized when
it comes to health we don't take care of
that we go to the specialist the doctor
I said what is what is that learning
period in the first seven years what
does that do with programs though so I
said yeah but what's the program and the
program is I'm not in charge of my
health uh that when it comes to health
issues I have to go see another person
and then their truth becomes my truth
because who am I and I said so what's
the consequence that I said you first
thing you just gave up power over your
health you say I won't take care of my
health I'm going to let that
professional that's that's my program
and I go well there's a problem
and the problem is
as I was learning and then attributing
my life to programs that I didn't know I
had because that was before I knew about
the seven years of programming uh I
looked at my life and it was like okay I
was really good professionally like
that's how I got to be uh the cell
biologist and the joy of working in that
field of science that uh that was that
was really great but the rest of my life
was a shambles you know it's like I
couldn't get a relationship off the
ground no matter what I tried I was like
oh my God am I I am Dooms here why
because I must have got the parenting
genes and the the from my father and my
mother and I'm not really good at it and
um so I was working as life as just a
mechanism you do your thing and then
it's dust the dust I had no spiritual
Foundation at all because it was genes
and proteins and chromosomes that's uh
my dear Society knows exactly what I'm
talking about because she comes from a
very serious science background and
that's why when we started collaborating
and talking together was like oh wow you
know we have this basic understanding of
it and and the basic fact was this okay
I'm a machine that's what we were
teaching go to the doctor that's the
repair person fix a machine and what I
learned uh through my research uh was
that James don't control life and dreams
don't control themselves and it's like
oh my God I spent a whole career
teaching this to medical doctors that
genes control your life and and the fear
that this pervasive out there is that
I'm not in charge and I'm working with
what are called stem cells and this is
15 years ago
and my research with stem cells revealed
that genetically identical cells in
different environments have different
fate what does that mean it says well
all they they all have the same genes
but the Fate wasn't based on the genes
the Fate was based on the environment
and all of a sudden I start my research
started to go off and say wait genes
don't don't turn on and off that's a
complete false statement genes are
Blueprints and I go relevant go go into
an architect's office where she's
working on a blueprint and lean over
this architect's shoulder and ask her
hey is your blueprint on or off and she
would look and she's like it's a
blueprint there's one on and off and I
go
precisely a gene is a blueprint to make
a protein it doesn't know on and off it
has no control by itself it's not
self-emergent meaning it doesn't control
us it turns out that our perceptions and
the environment we live in and the
perceptions of the environment control
our genetics I go so why is that
relevant I say I can change my
perceptions and all of a sudden it says
I'm not a victim of anything more than
the programming that I got in that that
first seven years and it was interesting
because the real the real part that
changed everything for me so obviously
would you had run into before I did uh
was as I said I wasn't spiritual but as
I started to look at how the environment
was controlling the cells I started to
recognize no two people are biologically
identical and so as I mean I can't
exchange cells with you you can't
exchange cells or organs with me because
if I put my cells in your body your
immune system will say not self and if
you put your cells in somebody else's
body their immune system will say no
somebody says what's the point there's a
self
built into your cells that is different
than the self built into your neighbor
cells and I go so why is that real and I
said well what is the self and that's
what I started looking at I was like
on the surface of our cells or these
protein antennas just like TV antennas
no two people have the same set of these
protein receptors a name for them is
interesting self receptors receivers of
cells and I go when I started looking I
said but these receptors are on the
outside of the cell and I said so I was
a Roman I said well if they're signaling
getting a signal of South
the self isn't in the cell the self is
sent to the cell and then all of a
sudden I go wait then the self is not in
here and then I started getting a little
quantum physics started to realize
we are energy units playing through what
we appear to be a physical body
and that our identity is picked up by
these receptors and if I take the
receptors off your cells then your cells
have no identity I can put them into any
human because it's not salvaging cells
not bruises cells and I go so wait so
I'm still getting there folks there's a
point coming here and I started to
recognize well wait a second
Bruce is a set of antennas well we focus
on the antennas in medicine I go no you
fail to understand
antennas receive a signal
and all of a sudden I started to realize
my identity is something signal in the
environment
that is being picked up by myself and so
Bruce the you know the guy who's like
thinking going all the time going wait a
minute
I'm a broadcast Bruce is a broadcast my
my body is a receiver and I make a joke
like I'm a television set son Virginia
watching the Bruce show right now and
the point about it is well the
television can break and we say
television's dead and I go yeah that
happens and I say is the broadcast still
there I said you're watching a show you
say the television is dead and I say
then why I said get another TV plug it
in turn on and tune it to the station
and you're back on again
and all of a sudden I realized oh my God
and this is it
I can't die
I'm not in here
I'm the broadcast and then there's all
of a sudden it's like oh my God I can't
die uh because I'm the TV this physical
thing and and what does that mean it
says well down the road a baby is born
with what oh the same antennas that oh
I'm back on I got a new TV set I said
does it make a difference male or female
nope nope that's the TV set doesn't make
a difference if it's a black brown red
yellow white TV I said no that's a TV
set we are the broadcasts and all of a
sudden I realized oh my God
all of us come from this energy and this
energy is a field and each of us is a
receiving station of our own little
broadcast out of the field but
collectively we're the radio band we got
all the stations on here we're all in
the same Radio band but each of us comes
in here
[Music]
foreign
[Music]