Oprah’s ‘Super Soul Sunday’ recharges the soul & can even create abundance into your life

Let’s face it, these days if you let it, life can really get you down. Thankfully, though, there’s Oprah’s ‘Super Soul Sundays’ airing on the OWN network, to help you get out of your funk & inspire you to make positive changes in your life.  

Each week, I look forward to Oprah’s sit down with spiritual leaders & authors who somehow have insight as to how we all can improve our lives & offer up words of wisdom we can all benefit from.  As For those who take the time to tune in, Oprah’s mission is more than accomplished, “I wanted a place for people to go every Sunday to wake-up, thought-provoking, eye-opening & inspiring. This will lift you right on up. It’s food for your soul.”

In addition to finding your own ah-hah moments from O’s inspiring super soul conversations each week,  you can also create abundance in your life by participating in Deepak Choprah’s 21 day free online meditation challenge. This was the recent topic of conversation on O’s Super Soul Sunday sit down with spiritual leader & author, Deepak Chopra. The online mediation is about a week in , but no worries as once you register, you can access any of the missed days mediation. It’s been a great way for me to start each day.  To access go to:  www.chopracentermeditation.com. Below are some excerpts from Oprah’s recent Super Soul sit down & Meditation 101 with Deepak Chopra where he explains the benefits you’ll receive from meditation & how this will transform your life. I’ve followed it with another meaningful conversation Oprah had with best-selling author, Gary Zukav.

Oprah with Deepak Chopra/Meditation 101:

Deepak Chopra says he’s meditated every day for the past 40 years. He began this spiritual practice while a student in medical school to relieve stress & kick his pack a day smoking habit. The effects of meditation on Deepak’s life were so profound, it became a cornerstone of his teachings.

Oprah: How do you define meditation?

Deepak: Meditation is defined in the following way. It’s a progressive quieting of the mind until it reaches the source of the mind, which in spiritual tradition is called the soul or the spirit. It takes you to your source.

Oprah: Why should someone do it?

Deepak: The reason they should do it is it’s the most effective way to manage stress & when you are stressed you don’t sleep well you’re not good in your relationships & there are biological effects, your blood pressure goes up, heart rate speeds up your immune system. So the first reason is stress, management & you’ll improve your physical health, your mental health& emotional well being. Here’s the real reason, once you do all that, you open the door to your spirit, the field of possibilities. It opens the door to your soul. It opens the door to creativity because you are connected to the source of creation.

Oprah: How does meditation differ from prayer?

Deepak: Prayer is you are speaking to G-d & meditation is allowing the spirit to speak to you but it speaks in silence & it then manifests as intuition, inspiration.

Oprah: Is being present, a  form of it’s own meditation?

Deepak: Yes, it’s called mindfulness. If you live mindfully, you will make conscious choices & it will change your life.

Oprah: How does meditation create abundance?

Deepak: The specific abundance meditation opens you up to what we call abundance consciousness. So let’s say you are feeling gratitude, it opens your heart & your spirit to the source of abundance which is the universe itself. So if you open yourself up to abundance consciousness then you create neural networks, connections between neurons that make you notice abundance, that make you feel grateful. That make you open your consciousness to opportunity where other people see a problem, you might see an opportunity. What is good luck? It’s opportunity meeting preparedness. So what we are really doing is rewiring the brain in this meditation to open ourselves up to this state of being where we live in an abundance consciousness not scarcity consciousness. If you’re scared & living in scarcity consciousness then it will be a self fulfilling prophecy.

Oprah: What I thought is for the mind to stop & you are in G-d space.

Deepak: What you do in these meditations is you introduce the intention, then you let it go. Then you use mediation to transcend, get into the G-d space & then you let the universe handle the details. It handles the details through insight, intuition, inspiration, creativity, gratitude, choice making. These are the by products. Here’s the formula: intention, transcendence, detachment, let the universe handle the details. The source of the universe is the source of you too.

Oprah: What’s going to happen to me, you, all of us, joining in this force of a 21 day abundance mediation challenge?

Deepak: You will create a consciousness that will change the way you think, the way you feel, the way you behave, the way you socially interact, your personal relationships all will head in the direction of abundance consciousness. You will actually rewire your brain.

Below are the daily meditations so far & accompanying  affirmations. To access them go to:  www.chopracentermeditation.com & connect with other “karmically connected souls”

Day 1 The Reality of Abundance “Today I behold all the abundance that surrounds me.”

Day 2 The Source of All Abundance “I create my personal abundance from an infinite source.”

Day 3 Mind, Matter, Spirit “Today, I focus on what I want to attract in my life”

Day 4 Pure Consciousness “From this moment forward, I invite unlimited abundance into my life.”

Day 5 The Field of All Possibilities “Today, I embrace my potential to be, do, and have whatever I can deam.”

Day 6 The Seeds of Success “Everything I desire is within me.”

Day 7 Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire “I use my conscious intention to manifest my dreams.”

Day 8 Abundance & the Law of Pure Potentiality “Through the Law of Pure Potentiality, I can create anything, anytime, anywhere.”

Day 9 Abundance & the Law of Giving “Today, and everyday, I give that which I want to receive.”

Below are some more excerpts from Oprahs Super Soul Sunday which stood out to me & those I thought I’d share:

Deepak:  There’s a difference between self esteem & self image. The reason people have all this plastic surgery is they’ve forgotten themselves & they are identifying themselves with their self image. The real self is beneath. It’s immune to criticism & is fearless.

Oprah with best-selling author, Gary Zukav:

Oprah: One of the things that impressed me the most & really stayed with me forever,  (13 yrs ago ) is on page 31 of ‘Seat of the Soul’ when you say “When the  personality comes  fully to serve the energy of the soul, that is authentic power.’ That awakened a spark of knowing in me that I never knew existed. I now call them ah-hah moments but I realized oh, when my personality comes to fully align with the energy of my soul & I allow my soul to be the guide that is when I am the most powerful. That is when I am in my sweet spot.

Gary: You were born to live in the sweet spot. That is the creation of authentic power & that’s how we’re all evolving now. Creating authentic power is developing the ability to distinguish between love & fear within yourself & then choosing love. It doesn’t matter what is happening inside of you or outside of you.

Oprah: Now you know the most exciting chapter to me in ‘Seat of the Seat of The Soul’ & the one that has altered the course of my life . It is the principle upon which I rule my company & the principle in which I rule every action in my life & that is intention.

Gary: Yes. That’s at the heart of it. That at the heart of creating authentic power. Intention. I want to suggest that everyone watching this consider the possibility that you are a powerful, creative, compassionate, and loving spirit. Try that on for size. If you find it doesn’t fit. If you find there’s a distance between who you think you are & what you say & what you do then consider that distance is the distance you have to travel.

When you are not aware of what your intention you are creating with fear. When you are aware of intention, then you can choose whether you want to create with an energy of fear or love.

Oprah: I think the most important thing to understand is the principle of cause & effect. For every action, there is an equal & opposite reaction. Every action is going to have a consequence & that intention is what is going to rule that cause & determine the effect.

Gary: Exactly. Whatever you throw out above you comes down. Once you understand that, you become more thoughtful about what you throw into the air. Every intention, you are throwing something into the universe & it will find you. This is the universal law of cause & effect. In the East, it’s called Karma. Here we call it the Golden Rule. It is to allow us to learn through our own experiences, how powerful we are as creators & how we are responsible for what we create.

Oprah: It’s like the wonderful line from the Color Purple..’Everything you try to do to me is already done to you.’ What really happens is whatever you do onto others, is already done unto you. You can’t escape it.

Oprah: : How do people actively apply these principles? 

Gary: Go inside. Develop emotional awareness. By turning inward instead of acting in the moment, into that space you can chose consciously . Act from the most loving part of my personality.  You have then changed your universe. Its your choice & you make the choice every time you choose an intention. Choose an intention of love instead of intention of fear. That is the spiritual journey, path.

O:  Isn’t  the ultimate  lesson to Dorothy in Wizard of Oz..you’ve always had it my dear, you’ve always had the power.

G: Yes that you are a powerful, and creative, compassionate & loving spirit & the more you cultivate the loving part of your spirit the more it begins to fill your experience and field of awareness until that’s all there  is. Creating authentic power is a process, not an event. It’s done decision by decision, step by step.

Super Soul Sundays airs locally every Sunday on OWN at 11:00 am. To find out what channel OWN airs go to www.oprah.com/own.

To join Oprah & Deepak on the 21 Day Meditation Challenge, sign up for free online at: www.chopracentermeditation.com

Your soul will thank you.

My exclusive interview with 'Real Housewives of New York' Sonja Morgan!

Photo: Christopher Free

The ‘Real Housewives of New York City’ Reunion Part 2 airs tonight on Bravo TV & who better to dish with this week than one of the RHONY fan faves, Sonja Morgan.  I recently had a chance to chat with NY Housewife, Sonja Morgan, who explains why viewers aren’t the only ones surprised by what’s revealed on those Reunion shows. Sonja also shares with me how she’s been able to move on and start a new chapter in her life,, offering up advice to others going through a challenging time. 

I initially met Sonja & her beloved dog Millou last February at the ‘Golden Collar Awards’ last February here in Los Angeles, where Millou was nominated for Best Dog in A Reality TV Series. At that time Sonja agreed to do an interview with me for Examiner.com. Sadly, Millou passed away shortly thereafter last March.  Sonja stayed true to her word to me & gave me this candid interview, where I found her to be inspirational, funny, relatable & accessible.

Thank you so much for speaking with me & Examiner today. I wanted to say how sorry I am to hear Millou passed away, since meeting you both at the Golden Collar Awards. How have you been coping?

Sonja Morgan: It’s so devastating because he’s been with me for 18 years. He travelled with me everywhere. He was with me before I was married. He was with me during my marriage. He was with me for my pregnancy. He went with me to Russia, Turkey, South of France, everywhere this dog went. There’s no dog that will replace him.  Upon sharing with Sonja that I could relate because I lost my cat Precious last year, Sonja went on to say, I have a kitty who’s been here 4 years now & this kitty has come out now from under the bed & thinks he & I are a couple.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): Will we be seeing your kitty on future episodes of RHONY?

 Sonja Morgan: I guess so because before I’d have to drag him out onto the pillow & say get a job & now because Millou passed away, he doesn’t feel like he has to get a job at all. He thinks he’s now Millou.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): When we last saw you on the RHONY Finale, you said that ‘you were turning a page.’ & ‘ready to put the past behind you.’ Have you been able to do that & what is the status with your ex?

Sonja Morgan: Yeah. I’m doing pretty well. I took down lots of photographs around the house. I took down the painting of my ex & myself which were a time capsule of all the good things in my marriage. It was hard to let go, but it really did cleanse my soul.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): You’ve become one of my favorite Housewives & are a friend in my head, not just to myself but many others as well & I think it’s because you are so relatable.  In the Finale you stated you ‘were angry, but you weren’t going to let it ruin your spirit.’ What advice can you give others who are going through a financial or emotional hardship? Sonja Morgan: If you’re going through a financial hardship, you still have to fight the fight. You can’t give up everything you’ve worked your whole life for. Obviously, I wasn’t going to walk away, but at the same time you can’t let it take over your spirit. So, I try to remember the good things that were in my relationship before money became the object between us, because if I die tomorrow who cares about the money. But, I have a daughter to support & I want to fight for what I worked hard for. At the end of the day, the relationship means more to me, which was why I was trying to salvage the relationship I have with my ex & to have a co-parent in my daughter’s life. My advice is to not try to control the things you can’t control & to live in the moment because really everything can be gone tomorrow including your own body & soul. You can only answer to the Lord.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): What’s been you favorite & least favorite part about being part of RHONY?

Sonja Morgan: Well my favorite part, being my age, is being able to show all the things I’ve learned for other people. I love to share all my tips & secrets or maybe some of the mistakes I’ve made. I love to share so people don’t go there, which is why I have so many interns. I feel the interns enjoy learning together with me & they’re so young & they know so much about technology & social media which is so important in my field. So they teach me that & I teach them the basics, the school of hard knocks with Sonja. That’s the good part. Also, all these emails that come through my website & knowing that people feel inspired & that they’re not alone. That’s so rewarding. The bad thing is the show is all over the world now & I can’t go anywhere without being recognized& ironically, I’m a private person. However, I am very grateful to Bravo, they’ve given me this opportunity to support my daughter & to feel independent again.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): Is Aviva really as mean in person as she appears on TV & how did that make you feel when she called you “white trash?”

Sonja Morgan: Well, that wasn’t nice. She definitely has deep anger issues. When I’m not around her, I feel bad for her but when you’re with her & she’s saying this stuff to you, it’s so hurtful. I was worried about my daughter, but she didn’t take it seriously & saw the episode and said wow. She felt bad for Aviva as well. As time goes by, my initial personal feeling is easing & I now feel more pain for Aviva. She definitely has some very deep seated anger that she projects on other people. It’s more than anger it’s fear. I feel she’s fearful & very hard on herself, she’s hard on others. I wish she could figure out a way to love herself more & understand that people want to love her & not be so paranoid. I think one of the reasons I trust people so much is that I love myself, so I love others, maybe a little too much. So it’s very painful when it backfires.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): I’m curious what your take on this is. Certain Housewives change so much as the season progresses from when they first are introduced on the show. Do you think they are repressing who they are in the beginning or does being on the series bring out the worst in some people?

Sonja Morgan: I think that if you try to be someone you’re not, the demeanors very thin. If you’re gonna show hundreds of hours, the real you is going to come out. So, if you’re not sure who you are & you try to be someone you’re not & you’re insecure, that’s what happens.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): What have you learned about yourself from doing RHONY?

Sonja Morgan: I knew I didn’t love myself on camera. I don’t love the way I look.  I’m very critical of myself, but I learned being on the show that the viewers don’t mind the way I look at all. I get very few hate mail. I think most viewers could care less if you look beautiful or if your hair is perfect. The viewers are more into who you are & what you represent & what you share & if you’re real. That’s what I learned about the show. Where before I was so worried about being on camera because I was thinking wow Luann & Ramona have such great features at every which angle that they always film well & I was thinking I don’t have great angles unless I work at it. That’s what I learned. Viewers don’t care about that. I guess that goes with our mothers always tell us, beauty is from the inside out.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): You’ve been looking extra fabulous lately. I saw you on a recent ‘Watch What Happens Live” & you looked amazing. Can you share some of your beauty secrets?

Sonja Morgan: The first thing is, we film for months & months at a time. Plus I work extra hard on my other businesses. That lack of sleep starts to show & then the anxiety of what’s going to come out of the other housewives mouths. So the #1 thing is sleep. As soon as you start seeing me on WWHL & interviews toward the end of the season, I thin right up. The water weight comes off, the belly comes down. My other secret weapon is Dr. Sharon Geiss & that’s no secret because I put her on the show when Ramona introduced me to her on the show & you know a little Botox goes a long way, if you use it conservatively & don’t go crazy.  Everything in moderation & then I have my weekly facial peel. I take fiber & I have my special Chocolate Sesame shake which keeps things moving & of course fruits, vegetable & fish. Exercise sweats out impurities & helps keep your skin fresh. **Sonja Slim Packs will soon be available on her site.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): We can’t be good all of the time. What’s your guilty pleasure on a splurge day?

Sonja Morgan: Well I’m a fan of the 80% cocoa bars, Green & Black. I like the high content cocoa bars.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): What’s your favorite cocktail?

Sonja Morgan: Prosecco , sparking wine with fruit juice & I love vodka but my #1 choice is Prosecco.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): Do you think you’ll follow in the footsteps of Bethenny & Ramona & come out with your own Prosecco line?

Sonja Morgan: Yeah. I’m looking into doing a bubby wine collection of drinks but I can’t do it all at once.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): When will your toaster oven be available? What is the status or your toaster oven cookbook?

Sonja Morgan: I need an investor for Sonja Home.  I need a backer to make these toasters. I have a manufacturer but I need to make sure they’re shipped properly. I did have offers regarding the cookbook from publishers but didn’t feel it was enough $ to go on tour because I have a daughter at home & I want to stay with her. If I’m going to take time off for the tour, it’s going to have to be worthwhile. So I started rewriting the book & putting lifestyle tips. People who watch the show are interested in housewives lifestyle, as well as the recipes.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): Tonight’s the RHONY   Reunion. In your blog you state that ‘you’ll be surprised to say the least.’ Why?

Sonja Morgan: Because everything is different than what you think & then when I get to the reunion, I was even surprised myself. The comments that came out, because after the housewives watch the show, they’re surprised because we don’t see what goes down on film. We’re only basing what we saw & heard. So if Aviva tells Carol something about me & Ramona, it’s not necessarily true.  It’s her perception & when Carol tells Heather something she heard from Aviva, it’s not necessarily true. I felt Carol enabled Aviva this season instead if actually helping her friend. Everyone knows there was some contention between the Countess & the Princess over titles & whether people should use them or not. There were some revelations among the housewives themselves because they’re watching along with the viewers & the other thing is, we’re surprised at what Bravo decides to use. Just that trip to St. Barts was hundreds of hours of filming. We’re surprised ourselves at what Bravo decides to use.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): Are you dating anyone now?

Sonja Morgan: No. There was a point where I said I need to focus on Sonja Home & focus on my catering & events company, Sonja in the City & I’ve always put my daughter first. So, after my time with my daughter & my businesses, there’s not much time to date.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): Do you want to get married again?

Sonja Morgan: Yeah, I love being married.That’s my favorite state of life, being married & part of a family & having my family over for the holidays & having my group of friends over & visiting my friends around the world with my husband. That’s what I love to do, I’m good at it but, it will have to be a special guy, a smart guy to keep me interested.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): Can we expect to see you back on the next Season of the RHONY?

Sonja Morgan: Well, we’ll see. If it’s in the stars & it’s good for me & good for my daughter & Bravo wants me, I’ll be back.

Examiner (Miriam Bolber): In the meantime, your fans can interact with you on your website, Twitter & Facebook.

Sonja Morgan: Yeah, boy do we interact. I have to tell you, after I put my daughter to bed & pay bills online, it’s nice to tweet with fans because where they don’t feel alone & they relate to me, I relate to them & I don’t feel alone, so it’s nice to have a Twitter family & to feel supported & that I’m doing the right thing by choosing to be on the show.

If you’d like to Tweet with Sonja during tonight’s RHONY Reunion Part II and join her other 172,000 followers, follow Sonja Morgan at @SonjatMorgan. You can also “Like” Sonja Morgan on Facebook & check out Sonja’s website & sign up to receive her newsletter to stay updated with all things Sonja at www.sonjamorganonline.com.

Watch the ‘Real Housewives of New York’ Reunion Part II on Bravo TV tonight at 8:00 pm.  You can also follow Sonja Morgan’s RHONY blog at: www.bravotv.com/the-real-housewives-of-new-york-city

The drama is about to explode on ‘The Bachelorette’

We’ve all been hearing  the rumors since day that ‘Bachelorette’ frontrunner Arie Luyendyk, Jr. once dated a ‘Bachelorette’ producer. Well, we now know that this is indeed fact!

Last week, the drama on ‘The Bachelorette’ was that Emily finally kicked off smooth talking, womanizing pretty boy Ryan.  He tried to talk her out of not giving him the final rose on their on-on-one-date, but although great editing made you think she was going to keep him, Emily left Ryan without a rose & invitation to carry on. It seems this time around, Emily is trying not to make the same mistake she made with Brad. She fell for the pretty boy on the ‘Bachelor’, but in the end he wasn’t right for her or her daughter Ricki. 

Just when you thought Ryan leaving & the way he was booted was enough drama for one ‘Bachelorette’ episode, we get a sneak preview of next week.  We see Emily practically in tears, saying to the camera basically that she can’t believe he kept this information from her. She even alludes to the fact that this person (I’m guessing the ‘Bachelor/ette’ producer that Arie Jr supposedly dated a while back) is still in the picture as far as working on the show & that Emily has even hung out with her & possibly she & Arie Jr have hung out with her together. Another recent preview shows Emily going on a one on one date with Arie Jr on next week’s episode in Prague, now knowing the whole truth & wondering when Arie will reveal the big secret.

Unfortunately, I believe this secret that Arie keeps from Emily is a dealbreaker for her. The trust becomes broken. Others maybe not in the lead, will probably now surpass Arie Jr.

***Spoiler Alert****

Usually by now, Reality Steve )www.realitysteve.com) knows who gets the final rose. Funny enough, he has not revealed this yet. Either he really doesn’t know or the recent lawsuit by ABC against him has kept him mum. Here’s what Reality Steve does know.  Next week Doug gets eliminated. The Final Four hometown dates go to: Chris, Sean, Arie & Jef.  I’m a Chicago girl & am excited to see my hometown on display when Chris shows off ChiTown. However, unfortunately Chris doesn’t make it to the end.

Reality Steve says the Final 3 are Arie, Jef & Sean . The Final Rose ceremony was already been filmed on May 10. So,it’s anybody’s guess who wins. Who’s team  are you on? Team Arie, Team Jef or Team Sean? Believe it or not, they all 3 have T’s you can buy! Team Aries’ site is www.team-arie.com.  Follow all 3 & try to uncover some clues : @ariejr, @jefholm & @seanlowe58

The big reveal airs tomorrow on ‘The Bachelorette’ on ABC at 8:00 PM PT.  Catch the whole season of ‘Bachelorette’ here: http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelorette

Adventure awaits as Spike TV’s new unscripted series ‘Diamond Divers’ premieres on June 20

Billions of dollars worth of diamonds lie undiscovered at the bottom of the ocean waiting to be found by those whose lives would be changed overnight by becoming instant millionaires. Now for the first time ever, in the original unscripted TV series ‘Diamond Divers’ premiering Wednesday on Spike TV at 10:00 PM PT, we get to go on this brave & very risky voyage, rarely seen by ordinary folks, with Captain John & his crew, as they trek across the country to the infamous Skeleton Coast off the dangerous coast of South Africa in search of rare diamonds.

I recently had the chance to talk to fearless Captain John about his adventures as a diamond diver. When asked if he ever felt his life was in danger while on this 30 day expedition he replied, “Always. That’s the nature of going to sea. You have to do your best with every challenge that the ocean throws at you & that the boat throws at you to come home alive. You’re always respectful of mother nature.”

Even though the payoff is huge, diamond diving isn’t for everyone. Captain John brought with him the needed skill set & experienced crew to tackle the job at hand due to his background with his own rescue & salvage company out of Cornet Bay, Washington, ‘Marine Services & Assist’ (www.vessel-assist-nw.com).  “The skill set we brought to the table was exactly what was required. Keeping the machinery alive, not killing each other while trapped together for hundreds of hours, the maintenance & safety of the crew. It’s what we do on a daily basis in our business.’

As to what diamonds were found, if any, we’ll all have to watch the 6 one hour episodes  to find out. Captain John assured me that he & his crew were rewarded in so many ways, not just financially. He also promises viewers that the “scenery & the adventure was pretty spectacular. “ He also feels viewers ‘will have a new appreciation of the challenges of the ocean.’ On ‘Diamond Divers,’ we get to see a part of the world not many of ever get to see in our real lives & for most of us, our day jobs don’t even come close to diamond diving.

Delve into the depths of the ocean with Captain John & his ‘Diamond Divers’ crew on Spike TV premiering Wednesday June 20 at 10:00 PM PT & every Wednesday.

Catch a sneak preview of the premiere of ‘Diamond Divers’ and clips of upcoming episodes at: http://www.spike.com/shows/diamond-divers

And the 'Bachelorette' fantasy suite date night card goes to...noone?!

Last April during the taping of the ‘Bachelorette,’ creator  Mike Fleiss (@fleissmeister), had everyone gussing when he tweeted…“@EmilyMaynard just delivered another bachelorette first!” He then added, “@EmilyMaynard goes her own way...” I think I now know what he was referring to. According to Reality Steve (www.realitysteve.com), this season’s ‘Bachelorette’ Emily doesn’t accept or offer the fantasy suite overnight date cards to anyone. No doubt she is trying to set a good example for her daughter Ricki and this is why she chose to not go down that familiar road we’ve seen in all season’s past.

With all the drama now surrounding what looks to be Emily's first pick, Arie Luyendyk Jr., she’s probably happy she did. On paper, it seems that Arie is her best match. He’s got the race car driving thing going for him AND his last GF had 2 children. Translation, he’s not afraid to commit to someone with a child & has a lifestyle that Emily likes & is familiar with. However, recent reports show that Arie may not be as sincere & genuine as he’s appearing to be. According to reports, he allegedly dated a ‘Bachelor’ producer Cassie Lambert & she’s the one who convinced him to do ‘Bachelorette. According to Reality Steve, this is all one big publicity stunt for Arie Jr., who is on the show to promote his brand. Ironically, on last night’s episode Arie talked about his last GF which was also a Cassie. Her last name Harshman & things didn’t work out.  According to Reality Steve, last night’s episode edited out a part of the conversation where Arie confessed to Emily that his last GF had a miscarriage.  We only heard the part where he said she didn’t want any more kids.


The highlight of last night’s episode was when Dolly Parton performed while Emily & Arie were on their one on one date at Dollywood in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Emily’s a huge fan of Dolly’s & apparently Dolly has been following Emily’s quest for love as well. Dolly said she’s been married for 45 years to the same man & expressed her support for Emily. Dolly even wrote & song for her and Arie Jr. & belted out that tune on last night's episode. I got a kick when Dolly implied that this supposed surprise of Dolly coming out & singing on stage wasn’t really a true surprise because hellloooo..they were in Dollywood after all.

More scoop is out now as to who the last 3 men standing are. According to Reality Steve, Chicago Chris makes it to the hometown dates, but is let go shortly thereafter. Thus, according to Reality Steve, Emily's Final 3 choices will be: 

Arie Luyendyk, Jr.

Sean Lowe

Jef Holm

Next week the ‘Bachelorette’ is off to Bermuda. I usually look forward to the episode with the overnight fantasy suite dates. Now, I’ll be looking forward to the first ever, one of its kind, most dramatic fantasy suite date nights ever, when Emily does the unexpected & takes the good role model card instead.

Watch last night's episode of the 'Bachelorette' in its entirety at:

http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelorette

'Bachelorette' Emily's Final Four revealed!

The next ‘Bachelorette’ premieres on ABC on May 14. & Reality Steve (www.realitysteve.com) has already revealed who Emily Maynard’s Final Four men are! Ironically, one of them is an auto racing driver, just like Emily’s ex-fiance, & father of her daughter Ricki, Ricky Hendrick. 

Unfortunately, Ricky Hendrick, was involved in a fatal plane accident in 2004. Ricky was an American NASCAR stock driver, while the next ‘Bachelorette’ suitor is a former Indy car racer.

Meet the final four:

Arie Luyendyk, Jr- 30, Scottsdale, Arizona, Former Indy car racer & son of 2 time Indy 500 champ, Arie Luyendyk, Sr.

Jeff Holm-27, St. George, Utah, CEO, People Water

Sean Lowe-28, Dallas, Texas, Fitness Model/Insurance Agent

Chris Bukowski-25, Chicago, Illinois, Sales Manager, Sears Center Arena

No doubt the attractive Arie Luyendyk, Jr. will be Emily’s frontrunner.

Other locations we’ll be jetted off to on the upcoming ‘Bachelorette’ season are Bermuda, Croatia & Prague.

The new season of the ‘Bachelorette’ is still 2 weeks away but let the juicy gossip begin. Ben & Courtney who? It’s amazing how quickly we forget.  Also, I don’t think I’m alone in rooting for Emily in the hopes  that she finally finds the love she couldn’t find with ‘Bachelor’ Brad. 

Check out the sneak preview of the upcoming ‘Bachelorette’ at http://abc.go.com/shows/the-bachelorette

‘The Bachelorette’ premieres on ABC on Monday May 14 at 8:30 pm PT.

'Auction Hunters' premieres LIVE on Spike TV tonight & my exclusive INTERVIEW!

One man’s trash is another man’s treasure and hosts Allen Haff & Ton Jones of 'Auction Hunters' are out to prove this once again as Season Three of the hit unscripted Spike TV series, ' Auction Hunters' premieres LIVE on Wednesday, March 21 at 9 PM PT/ET with host Mike Catherwood.

In my exclusive interview with Allen & Ton, I learned why these two are amongst the best in the business. This isn't just a job for them, but a true passion for both. I also learned what we might expect to find during their unprecedented live kick off & how fans can get a piece f the action.

Me: Hi guys, thanks so much for talking to me today. I was surprised to learn that there are thousands of abandoned storage units being put up for auction daily. What are some of the reasons people let their valuable items go.

Ton:  It can be for a number of different reasons, anything from a hardship or a divorce. A lot of people don’t realize this, but we actually had one of the people on the show that was working with us that had the same mind frame that most people do. They think, I’ve been storing this unit paying $200 a month for the last 6 years and say I don’t remember there being that much stuff really worth anything in there. Instead of going back and paying the 6 months that are owed on that unit, they think it’s not worth the items that are in there.  Some don’t remember the items that were put in there. It gets passed on, they don’t feel like paying it, it gets too expensive & people can’t afford it. Sometimes a family member pass on & then the other generation that was meant to take care of it, didn’t want to pay the bill or couldn’t afford it and they let it go. We’ve had some where they’ve gone to jail. They say I don’t want it & turned it over because they can actually call the storage facility if they owe a bunch of money and say you know what  I’m signing this unit to the storage facility because I can’t afford to  pay it off.

Me: Are you more likely to find higher ticketed items here in LA?

Allen:  California is the 12th largest economy in the world  & most of that wealth is concentrated in this area. So I don’t think there’s anywhere better than where we are naturally stationed, as far as the most amount of money that you can find in units. Though really every city has its nice part of the city & typically that’s where the best stuff is found.

Me: What would you typically find here in Los Angeles?

Allen: Obviously in Los Angeles this is where show business is, so we get to see a lot of autograph memorabilia, a lot of collections. That’s the thing about the LA. You’ve got the fans, you’ve got the collectors, you’ve got the movie stars. When those units come up a lot of times they are rented in the name of their assistants or their friends or somebody that no longer works for them, so that’s one reasons they didn’t know their stuff is coming up for auction. Ton & I have seen some pretty amazing things & a lot of it we haven’t sold out of respect for the celebrities like videotapes, photographs that nobody needs to see that kinds of stuff. So really this is an incredible area as far as the Hollywood memorabilia & that type of thing. When there’s this much money & this much transition everyone’s always moving, & when you’re successful, you move up ,you get the bigger place. Sometimes while you are making over your mansion, you put stuff in storage & sometimes you decide it’s not worth it.  There are a million different reason but the largest one is people don’t appreciate what they have. The grass is always greener on the other lawn. Look twice at your mother in laws junk, because it can’t all be junk. Anytime we hit those rooms that there’s 60 years old full of stuff Ton & I get giddy. Anything 50 years old is going to be worth something.

Me: Let’s talk about your upcoming LIVE Auction Hunters special. Who’s idea was it to go LIVE?

Allen: We joked about it & unfortunately somebody heard us. The point we were trying to make was, people should really see what happens & what we really do because by the time they cut the show up it looks a lot easier than our real life jobs. We wanted the opportunity to go straight to the fans with that but somebody decided that would be interesting so here we go.

Me: I understand all proceeds will be going to charity. Tell me about the charity.

Ton:  This is actually pretty cool. The money that’s going to be raised from the auction & selling of the items, as well as a portion of the donations being matched by Spike TV, will be going to the IAVA, Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America. It’s a pretty important thing. These are the people fighting for our peace & for us to be able to do what we do.

Allen: Ton & I get a lot of attention & credit but really the fact is that any one of those guys that are over there fighting for us is worth more than me, Ton, the whole show & probably just about anybody in the genre. We really want to honor those guys and what an exciting opportunity. That really was the pushing point for us too.

Me: What’s exciting as well is that your fans will also be able to interact with you during the show via Twitter & be able to win some pretty cool prizes. How can they get involved?

Ton: The items they are giving away are from past shows that we’ve done. Items that we’ve picked up & didn’t sell. So what we’re doing is to keep people involved and make them a little bit more of part whole process. There will be random giveaways while people are tweeting to Spike_TV on Twitter.

Allen: You can also type in #AuctionHunters  & specify what you are interested in. I can tell you that when they said do you guys have anything for the cause, one of the things we are giving up is a very high end nice piece of historic, I don’t want to blow it, autograph. It’s an autograph photograph that has several very important sports figures that signed it & would be worth some big bucks. So I’m excited our fans get a chance to win this without getting their hands dirty.

Me: Speaking of Twitter can people follow both of you?

Allen:  Yes do I finally get to promote my twitter? AllenLeeHaff

Ton: Mine is TonsRescue

Me: Any highlights you’d like to mention that we’re going to see this upcoming season?

Allen: What I’m most excited about is a week from Wednesday, we’re opening up in the wildest place a person can go to in the United States, Alaska. I’m telling you it’s incredible. I have to tell u the stuff we shot is so beautiful. I saw dailies & thought I was looking at high end Hollywood movie. The footage is gorgeous & we found some really cool stuff. So Alaska is by far the star this season.

Me: What advice would you give advice to someone who wants to do what you do to try to make extra money on the side?

Allen: Start small. With the competition now you have to hit the ground running. You have to know what you are buying. You really can’t lose. You can pick up a storage unit on average  for about $80, $90 bucks.  Hey they were probably spending $300 a month just to store it, so they thought it was worth more. Start out small. Don’t get carried away. The best thing you can do is go to an auction and not buy a thing & just watch how it goes.

Ton:  Make sure you have room to store everything you just bought. Make sure that you don’t fill the garage that your wife kicks your butt & don’t spend what you can’t afford to lose.

Me: What do you like best about what you are doing now?

Allen: I’ll tell you what it is for me. The idea that I can share something that I’ve been passionate & enthusiastic about my whole life. That I can actually sort of turn younger people towards antiques which really celebrate our nation because we were on the cutting edge of ingenuity for so long that most of the innovation that we saw with technology at the turn of the century is thanks to us. So to be able to have a show where we get to celebrate that American ingenuity & make people feel a lot better about what we’ve accomplished, I’ve got to say I’m honored to do that.

Ton: It’s for me a lot of it is I just enjoy the everyday treasure hunt, going out there with a friend & being able to go on these treasure hunts day in and day out & discover Americas history & keep learning. I like to learn & just soak up everything I can about everything. To have the chance to do that with a friend, working with Allen & to be able to go across the country , to all of these new places & find a little history about each place& the uncovering of all these vintage artifacts. It’s almost overwhelming & it makes doing this a pleasure instead of a job.

Me: Why should people tune into your live special?

Ton:  Anything can happen.

Allen: You’re going to get to see the real us without someone standing between us. Your gonna get a better idea of the human beings we are. Hopefully.  We’ll see how it goes. This is going to be weird. 

Tune into the Premiere LIVE special kick off of Season 3 of ‘Auction Hunters’ tonight on Spike TV at 9:00PM/PT & ET. Check out  preview clips of tonight’s show or watch full episodes of previous seasons  at : http://www.spike.com/shows/auction-hunters