Intention is Everything

"I live by the Law of Intention. 

I don't do anything without an intention."

- Oprah

It's still surreal that I went on a girlfriends getaway cruise with Oprah in the Bahamas earlier this month! As I said in my last post, I'm trying to figure out how to hold onto the "buzz" I got from the incredible trip. One way is talking and writing about it and integrating what I learned! My friends seem eager to hear about it - especially the part about how we met Oprah - and I'm always happy to indulge them!

So I want to start with a little backstory. Before we went on the cruise, we were told by a friend who works for Holland America not to expect to meet Oprah and definitely don't plan on getting our picture taken with her. My friend Kim and I responded in unison with our intention: "WE WILL MEET OPRAH!"

There was no doubt in our minds that we would meet Oprah on the cruise. We didn't know how or when, but we KNEW we would. Little did we know, we would "bump into her" within two hours of the boat departing from Fort Lauderdale. 

After attending the Sail O-Way party hosted on the lido deck by Oprah's BFF Gayle Kyle (who was omnipresent on the trip) and editors of O magazine (you can't make this stuff up!), Kim and I decided to explore the grand ship. We were checking out the artwork and trying to get our bearings when I spotted a guy standing next to a very large door next to the elevators. He was non-descript and I really didn't have any reason to think Oprah was going to emerge from that door, but I had a sense. So I stopped Kim, we waited and sure enough the huge door opened and Oprah emerged and walked straight towards us. There were only a handful of people around and she quickly invited us to get our picture taken with her. We were screaming with excitement, "We love you!" She exclaimed "I can't believe YOU'RE here!" Wait, we couldn't believe SHE was there!! We took a few selfies with her and watched as more people realized what was going on. She was completely lovely, and then she graciously exited through that huge door just as she had appeared moments earlier. 

It was surreal! We manifested Oprah!! That was just the beginning...!

The next morning when we woke up we were in the Bahamas! Amazing. We took a tender boat to a private island owned by Holland America called Half Moon Cay. When we arrived, there was yoga going on on the beach, which was a beautiful site to see!

We took part in a motivational movement session with fitness evangelist Angela Davis that inspired us to live our best lives, to set intentions and find our purpose.

Next we explored the tiny island and soaked up the sun!

  

We stayed as long as we could before taking the last tender boat back to the ship to rest up for our big night! Little did we know what was in store for us!

I'll try to summarize "dinner with Oprah." 

It started with this...

And ended with this! 

Yep, we did it again! Oprah and her entourage of family, friends, staff and, of course her BFF Gayle, dined just feet away from us in a tiny intimate restaurant! Lovely, lovely Oprah visited each table and showed us some more love! It was surreal!

Note: I'm sitting down and Oprah's standing up. She's not a giant!

Kim invited Oprah to look her up when she's in Seattle. Oprah's holding Kim's business card. You never know - we might be hanging out with Oprah next time she visits the Emerald City! 

You can see Oprah at the table behind me. Can't wipe the grin off my face! 

There is much more to share about this incredible experience, but I think this quote sums it all up:

"Intention always determines the outcome." 

-Oprah 

So as I go about my daily life, I want to get better at setting my intention for everything I do. Because, as you can see, it's powerful!