One of my former life coaching clients recently told me that, back when we worked together about five years ago, she thought my open brand of spirituality was a little “crazy.” It didn’t stop her from working with me or later becoming friends with me and it certainly didn’t stop her from building a highly successful business. But this is what she thought back then.

I laughed when she told me this a month or so ago because, A. I love being in the universal flow and what people think of it doesn’t faze me in the least and, B. She was telling me because she had evolved to a similar spiritual place herself.

While her goals were not specifically about spirituality when we worked together, my favorite goals to set with my clients now are often those revolving around ‘body, mind and spirit.’ Sometimes it’s about unifying the three, sometimes it’s about focusing on areas that might be neglected, and other times it’s about exploration. I especially love the exploration of spirit, the possibilities that exist in that realm, the idea that there is more than one way.

Does that language sound familiar?

It should – and I swear I didn’t drink any Kool-Aid -- if you’ve seen the recent news about Oprah Winfrey and her supposed “gospel” and all the “danger” she poses to her “followers.” There are highly produced YouTube videos about this, articles simultaneously printed in the May editions of 23 Christian publications, as well as books (existing and forthcoming) on this.

Harpo’s publicity machine couldn’t have generated this much buzz if it tried. And all because Winfrey decided to share a book that touched her deeply and changed her perspective on life – A New Earth by Eckhart Tolle. In the spirit of disclosure, I read the book and took the 10-week webinar with Winfrey and Tolle and found it uplifting and nourishing. Somehow, spending 10 Monday nights pondering questions like ‘what does life want from me?’ or ‘what does God want from me?’ didn’t give me an anti-Christ vibe.

Did I miss something? I assumed those who felt it conflicted with their Christian beliefs took it with a grain of salt and moved on. How does anything in any way threaten your faith unless you let it? Why the revolution?

One part of the YouTube piece I watched ominously warned that Winfrey is friends with and promotes Marianne Williamson, who has founded an Alliance for Peace. Ah, yes, by all means, let’s stone them both. Peace? What a concept. The funny thing is, that movement has participants with all kinds of political affiliations. But it’s anti-Christian?

Using Christians’ own belief system, isn’t it enough that Winfrey, Williamson, Tolle and their ilk will be doomed to hell when they die for not espousing Jesus as the one way? What exactly is the alarmist outcry about then? Fear of Christianity losing ground? Something tells me Jesus isn’t worried about it.

It may be a hard fact to swallow, but our religious or spiritual path is something we have chosen to believe. We were either told to believe its doctrine as a child and have never questioned it or we’ve dug deeply into our soul and picked one that resonates more with our adult self, or something in between. The bottom line is, we’ve chosen to believe it. Most of us have consumed a bit of Kool-Aid in one way or another.

When I talk to clients about spirit, I can draw on my personal beliefs and experiences if I think they’ll find it helpful. This is what Oprah is doing. She’s putting it out there, living out loud because she can and there’s demand for it, not from robots but from flesh-and-blood people who want to learn and grow. It’s not for everybody. I recommended A New Earth to a few clients, but refrained in some instances because it felt like I would be imposing as opposed to supporting. I have also urged a few clients to read Eat, Pray, Love, but certainly wouldn’t expect it to speak to others.

I had a Catholic client who went to Italy last year and was excited about visiting the Vatican. She decided to go to confession while there and came back flabbergasted after being told she was doomed to hell. I can’t reveal exactly what prompted this, but trust me, she didn’t behead anyone. Is it any wonder that Buddhist meditation is appealing to her right now?

We all have our path, our way. If someone else’s path threatens you, you may want to explore what’s really going on there. That’s what I tell my clients because that’s what I live.

In all the quotes and posts I read on this topic calling Winfrey “demon possessed” and citing how she’s “fallen prey to” a way of thinking, this comment by a person espousing belief in God as the Supreme Being summed up the hypocrisy perfectly: “Oprah Winfrey makes me sick.”

What would Jesus do?

Surely not that.

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.