8 Times Ellen Degeneres Was Your Spiritual Guru (Quotes from Ellen)

“For me, it's that I contributed, ... That I'm on this planet doing some good and making people happy. That's to me the most important thing, that my hour of television is positive and upbeat and an antidote for all the negative stuff going on in life.”

No one can do it quite like Ellen Degeneres. Here are eight times she just shed some light and sprinkled positivity all around.

1. When she proved you should always be yourself …

“I had everything I'd hoped for, but I wasn't being myself. So I decided to be honest about who I was. It was strange: The people who loved me for being funny suddenly didn't like me for being... me.” … No Matter How Gay Or Straight You Are …

“Do we have to know who’s gay and who’s straight? Can’t we just love everybody and judge them by the car they drive?” … So really no exceptions … or almost.

“Accept who you are unless you’re a serial killer.”

2. When reflecting on life

“Right before I decided to come out, I went on a spiritual retreat called 'Changing the Inner Dialogue of Your Subconscious Mind.' I'd never been to anything like it before, and all my friends were taking bets on how long I'd last with no TV, no radio, no phone. But for me that was the beginning of paying attention to all the little things.” “My point is, life is about the balance. The good and the bad. The highs and the lows. The pina and the colada.”

3. On always living a life that is your own

“Follow your passion. Stay true to yourself. Never follow anyone else’s path, unless you’re in the woods and you’re lost and you see a path. Then by all means follow that path.” “I didn't go to college at all, any college, and I'm not saying you wasted your time or money, but look at me, I'm a huge celebrity.”

4. On the importance of being kind

“I learned compassion from being discriminated against. Everything bad that’s ever happened to me has taught me compassion.”

5. On being an animal lover

“Stuffed deer heads on walls are bad enough, but it’s worse when they are wearing dark glasses, and have streamers in their antlers because then then you know they were enjoying themselves at a party when they were shot.” “I ask people why they have deer heads on their walls. They always say because it's such a beautiful animal. There you go. I think my mother is attractive, but I have photographs of her.”

6. On happiness

“The thing everyone should realize is that the key to happiness is being happy for yourself and yourself.” “It’s our challenges and obstacles that give us layers of depth and make us interesting. Are they fun when they happen? No. But they are what make us unique. And that’s what I know for sure… I think.”

7. On being grateful

“It makes a big difference in your life when you stay positive.” “The world is full of a lot of fear and a lot of negativity, and a lot of judgment. I just think people need to start shifting into joy and happiness. As corny as it sounds, we need to make a shift.”

“I feel extremely lucky to have my own TV show. Every day I pinch myself because I’m sure I must be dreaming. Actually, I don’t pinch myself. It’s one of my manager’s jobs to pinch me and say, “You ain’t dreamin’, kid!” Then I pinch him, he pinches me back, and it usually ends up in a slap fight. Sometimes the slap fight lasts until midnight.”

8. And when showing that humor and a good laugh will always save the day.

“In the beginning there was nothing. God said, 'Let there be light!' And there was light. There was still nothing, but you could see it a whole lot better.” “Laugh. Laugh as much as you can. Laugh until you cry. Cry until you laugh. Keep doing it even if people are passing you on the street saying, "I can't tell if that person is laughing or crying, but either way they seem crazy, let's walk faster." Emote. It's okay. It shows you are thinking and feeling.”