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Oprah's enlightenment quest hits a technological snag

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Oprah Winfrey If Oprah Winfrey can cast a spell that turns thousands of housewives into literature critics and transformed underdog Barack Obama into the possible Democratic nominee for president, getting her followers to embrace an esoteric New Age philosophy should be a snap. Her latest endeavor, though, is going to need more bandwidth.

The talk show queen is getting into the business of enlightenment, offering a 10-week Web seminar with self-help guru Eckhart Tolle, author of "A New Earth," an amalgam of Buddhist, Christian and Islamic influences, according to USA Today. The book also happens to be the latest pick of Oprah's Book Club.

Last night's first webcast was one of the largest events in the history of the internet, attracting more than 500,000 people. "Unfortunately, some of our users experienced delays in viewing the webcast," according to a statement from Oprah's Harpo Productions. "We are working to identify the specific causes for the problems experienced and will work diligently to rectify them."

Seekers of enlightenment be forewarned, the path outlined by "A New Earth" isn't an easy one.

"After making my own way through the first chapter -- reading and rereading a number of paragraphs to make sure I grasped what Tolle was getting at -- I had to wonder what would make 700,000 people want to commit to exploring this particular brand of East-West-hybrid mysticism," writes Chicago Sun-Times religion columnist Cathleen Falsani.

Why, the power of Oprah of course. Tolle's publisher has shipped 3.5 million copies of the book since she announced its selection January 30, making it the fastest-selling title in the history of Oprah's Book Club, according to USA Today. Not bad for a book published in 2005.

To be sure, Tolle has his share of detractors. A reviewer on Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN) named "Concerned Buddhist" calls the author "a salesman, and his own books are his primary product. He repeatedly congratulates readers for being `awakened' enough to read this crap, claiming that merely reading this book will take you to the next evolutionary level."

The book's rise underscores Oprah's huge influence in pop culture. In November, Tolle appeared on Winfrey's XM Satellite Radio (NASDAQ: XMSR) show three times. "But I just skimmed A New Earth," she told USA Today. "After the radio show, I sat down and read it and couldn't stop talking about it with friends and my producers."

At first, Winfrey lamented that she couldn't choose it for the book club which had been limited to novels and memoirs. "But then I started thinking, Why can't I chose it? It's my book club," Winfrey is quoted by the paper as saying. "I can choose what I want. Duh!"

Nice to see that even media demigods need to remind themselves of their power.

--Freelance writer Jonathan Berr edits the blog Ketchup and Eggs.

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Last updated: November 24, 2009: 10:38 PM

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