By Ernie Suggs

“Because of the journey I have been on in my life. I recognize the specialness of the moment and I have always recognized that she is a human being, living her life with her purpose. That is what was special about the moment,” Canady said. “We have to get past the celebrity of Oprah Winfrey and use her life as an example of someone using their life with true intention and purpose.”

Nothing is predictable about throwing a watch party. Is the house clean enough? Do you have enough food? Will Oprah show up?

Sunday night Oprah Winfrey stunned more than 50 people in Southeast Atlanta when she popped up at the home of Imara Canady, who was hosting a showing of her new OWN Network series, “Beliefs.”

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“It was pretty crazy,” Canady said, adding that his party has been heavily trending on social media. “It is pretty crazy seeing my living room all over the Internet.”

So how does one of the biggest stars in the world end up at the home community activist and all-around Atlanta go-to guy Imara Canady anyway?  Canady said it started innocently enough about three months ago when he got a call from Joshua DuBois, the former head of President Obama’s Office of Faith Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. He was now working on a project with Winfrey.

“Belief,” is a seven-part series created by Winfrey that explores faith from several perspectives. DuBois wanted to put Canady – who is active in Baha’i Faith – on a conference call with the president of OWN to discuss the project. A week later, Canady was part of a larger conference call that included Winfrey talking about the project.

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Canady said Winfrey made herself at home in his home. “She was present and what I love about it is that … Read More

As they looked at ways to broaden the discussions about faith and belief into communities, Canady said he was struck with the idea of hosting “dinners of dialogue. Where we invite people into our homes to begin to break down these barriers.”

Winfrey loved it and invited Canady and others to her home for dinner and a private screening.

“So my spirit was really moved. I was moved by the series and I know the power of bringing people together,” Canady said. “I extended an invitation to people to come and break bread with me. And for them to feel free to invite other people.”

Early Sunday, he got another call from DuBois, telling him some OWN executives were in town and might want to come back and watch the show at his house.

“No problem,” Canady said.

Then he got a call that there might be a couple of special guests.

“No problem,” Canady repeated, as he prepared his home for about 60 people.

An hour before the show started, Canady got another call. Oprah might come by. Oprah was in town on another project, ““Greenleaf,” a new OWN/Lionsgate project, that is set in Tennessee but films here in Atlanta.

“We kept it a surprise to all the guests,” Canady said. “Then during a commercial break she knocked on the door and I introduced her to the room. They went nuts!”
Dressed in a simple black t-shirt over a white long-sleeved shirt, Winfrey just walked in, plopped down in front of the television and watched – just like everyone else.

“It never was like it was anybody else but a wonderful person who decided to come share the evening with us,” Canady said. “I never I felt like my house wasn’t good enough or clean enough. She came just like everybody came.”

But she was also funny, took selfies, tweeted and carried on meaningful discussions about the show.

“Oprah’s “Belief” was a cinematic masterpiece about faith and how spirituality is viewed around the world,” said celebrity blogger Ray Cornelius. “It was also an opportunity for us to see that we are more alike than we are different. Last night’s viewing was special and Oprah’s appearance made it magical.”

Canady said Winfrey stuck around until about 10:30 p.m.

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Winfrey stuck around all night, talking about her project and taking pictures.

He didn’t say whether or not the mogul helped him clean up.

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“Last night’s viewing was special and Oprah appearance made it magical,” said blogger Ray Cornelius.

There is something extraordinary happening in the world

We still haven’t realized of something extraordinary that is happening.

A few months ago, I freed myself from society, I’ve released myself from attachments I had and fear that locked me to the system. And since then, I started seeing the world from a different perspective. The perspective that everything is changing and most of us have not even realized that.

Why is the world changing? In this post I’ll list the reasons that take me to believe this.

1 — No one can stand the employment model anymore.

Each one is reaching its own limit. People that work in big corporations can’t handle their jobs. The lack of purpose starts to knock the door of each one as a desperate scream coming from the heart.

People want to escape. They want to leave everything behind. Look how many people trying to become entrepreneurs, how many people going on sabbaticals, how many people depressed in their jobs, how many people in burnout.

2- The entrepreneurship model is also changing

A few years ago, with the explosion of the startups, thousands of entrepreneurs, ran to their garages to create their billion dollar ideas. The glory was to get funded by an investor. Investor’s money in hand was just like winning the World Cup.

But what happens after you get funded?

You become an employee again. You have people that are not aligned with your dream, that don’t give a damn to the purpose and everything turns into money. The financial return starts to be the main driver.

Many people are suffering with this. Brilliant startups start to fall because the model of chasing money never ends.

We need a new model of entrepreneurship.

And there is already many good people doing this.

3- The rise of collaboration

Many people have already realized that makes no sense to go alone. Many people awake to this crazy mentality of “going on your own”.

Stop, take a step back and think. Isn’t it an absurd, we, 7 billion people living in the same planet get so separated from each other? What sense does it make, you and the thousands (or millions) of people living in the same city turn your back to each other? Everytime I get myself thinking on that, I get even kind of depressed.

But fortunately, things are changing. All the movements of sharing and collaborative economy are pointing towards this direction. The rise of collaboration, sharing, helping, giving hands, getting united.

It is beautiful. It makes tears come from my eyes.

4- We are finally starting to understand what the internet is

Internet is an incredibly spectacular thing and only now, after so many years we are understanding it’s power. With internet, the world opens, the barriers fall, separation ends, union starts, collaboration explodes, help emerges.

Some nations made revolution with the internet, such as the Arab Spring. In Brazil we are just starting to use better this magnificent tool.

Internet is taking down mass control. There is no more television, no more few newspapers showing the news they want us to read. You can go after whatever you want, you relate to whoever you want. You can explore whatever you want, whenever you want.

With internet, the small starts to get a voice. The anonymous become known. The world gets united. And the system may fall.

5- The fall of exaggerated consumption

For many years, we have been manipulated, stimulated to consume as maniacs. To buy everything that was launched in the market. To have the newest car, the latest iphone, the best brands, lots of clothes, lots of shoes, lots of lots, lots of everything.

But many people have already understood that it makes no sense at all. Movements such as the lowsumerism, slow life, slow food, start to show us that we have organized ourselves in the most absurd possible way.

Each time less people using cars, less people buying a lot, each time more people trading clothes, donating, buying old things, sharing goods, sharing cars, apartments, offices.

We need nothing of what they told us we needed.

And this consciousness can break any corporation that depends on the exaggerated consumption.

6- Healthy and organic eating

We were so crazy that we accepted eating any kind of garbage. It only needed to taste good in the mouth, that was ok.

We were so disconnected, that the guys started to add poison in our food and we didn’t say anything.

But then some guys started to wake up and give strength to movements of healthy eating and organic consumption.

And this is going to be huge.

Bu what does it has to be with economy and work? It has everything!

The production of food is the basis of our society. Food industry is one of the most importants of the world. If consciousness change, our eating habits also change, and consumption changes, and then the big corporations must follow these changes.

The small farmer is starting to have strength again. Also people who are planting their own food.

And that changes the whole economy.

7 — The awakening of spirituality

How many friends you have that practice yoga? What about meditation?

How many used to do it 10 years ago?

Spirituality for many years was a thing of the esoteric people. Of those weird people from mysticism.

But fortunately, this is also changing. We got to the limit of our rationality. We could see that only with the rational mind we cannot understand everything that happens here. There is something more happening and I know you want to understand.

You want to understand how things work in here. How life operates, what happens after death, what is this energy thing that people talk so much, what is quantum physics, how can thoughts become things and create our reality, what are coincidences and synchronicities, why meditation works, how is it possible to cure with the hands and what about these alternative therapies that medicine does not approve, but work?

Companies are promoting meditation to their employees. Schools teaching meditation to kids.

8 — Unschooling movements

Who created this teaching model? Who chose the classes you have to take? Who chose the lessons we learn in history classes? Why didn’t they teach us the truth about other ancient civilizations?

Why should the kids obey rules? Why should they watch everything in silence? Why should they wear uniform?

Take a test to prove that you learned?

We created a model that forms followers of the system. That prepare people to be ordinary human beings.

But fortunately there are many people working to change that. Movements like unschooling, hackschooling, homeschooling.

Maybe you have never thought of this and you are chocked with the points I’m listing here.

But all these things are happening.

Silently, people are awakening and realizing how craziness it is to live in this society.

Look at all these movements and try to thing everything is normal.

I don’t think it is.

There is something extraordinary happening.

Gustavo Tanaka