Russell Simmons recently wrote a book Do You: 12 Laws to Access the Power in You to Achieve Happiness and Success.  Russell Simmons is known for his work with Def Jam Records, Phat Farm, and Def Comedy Jam and referred to as “The CEO of Hip Hop.”  While most people know him as an entertainment mogul, he attributes his success to spiritual principles that he lays out in his book.  In the introduction he says, “Instead of The Prince or The Art of War, these laws are rooted in books like Autobiography of a Yogi or The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.”

The book is an interesting example of how an entertainment mogul applies spiritual principles to his work.  Russell explains that he is able to be focused through daily mediation and yoga and also how important it is for him to give back.  There are many interesting antedotes throughout the book that give a glimpse into the daily business operations of his life and how he approached these challenges from a spiritual perspective. 

On Tuesday night, the contestants on American Idol sang inspirational songs.  David Archuleta picked a song titled “Angels”, which Simon Cowell proclaimed was the best song choice of the night.  The first line of “Angels”, is

“I sit and wait.  Does an Angel contemplate my fate?” 

It’s interesting that Simon who is known for being very critical of contestants acknowledged that “Angels” was the best song choice of the night. 

This song raises some interesting question about what role Angels may play in our life.  Archangel Gabriel is likely the most well known Angel.  It was Gabriel who was responsible for giving Mary the message about the coming of Jesus.  If a person is open to the possibility that this story is based on truth and Gabriel delivered a message to Mary, then might it also be possible that Angels are capable of giving us guidance today?  For example, why would the Angels be active in people’s lives 2000 years ago, but remain silent now.  Our world today faces just as difficult of problems than any time in history.  So, it appears that these same Angels may be just as likely to offer us guidance and support.  Although their exsistence will never be proven, the sense of peace and direction that some people have reported experiencing will remain very real and powerful. 

Tonight at 10/9c Randy Pausch will be doing an interview with Diane Sawyer on ABC News.  Randy has become well known because of his Last Lecture, “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” he gave at Carnegie Mellon.  In August 2007, Pausch was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and was told to expect 3-6 months of good health.  Since then, he has been following his dreams including practicing with the Pittsburgh Steelers and also sharing his inspirational messages with others.  Disney-owned publisher Hyperion paid $6.7 million for rights to publish a book about Paush.  Below is a link to clips of his interview with Diane Sawyer.

http://abcnews.go.com/gma/lastlecture