Oprah's Super Soul Super Soul Special: Jean Houston: Lessons from 'The Wizard of Oz'
Feb 18, 2026
Jean Houston, American philosopher and author known for exploring human potential, shares how myth and personal calling shape a life of heart, mind, and courage. She connects Dorothy’s journey in The Wizard of Oz to spiritual awakening, radical empathy, creative inner work, aging with purpose, and the power of answering yearning. Short, evocative stories and reflections spark imagination and possibility.
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Childhood Spiritual Awakening
- Jean Houston describes a vivid spiritual awakening at age six when prayer in a closet made the world shift into meaning.
- She felt joined to a joyous universe and that experience stayed alive through childhood and adolescence.
The Universal Call To Adventure
- Joseph Campbell's hero's journey frames life as a call to adventure that everyone experiences in some form.
- Houston says the call often reappears as a deeper yearning later in life, prompting further growth.
Answer Your Yearning
- When you feel yearning, treat it as a call and explore beyond routine roles like just getting a job or marrying.
- If you ignore the call you can ‘die inside,’ so answer emerge through searching and development.
