MARIANNE WILLIAMSON
Beyond Spirituality
By Alexia Melocchi
Edited by Dina Morrone
Marianne Williamson has always been a truth seeker and a truth speaker. She is an internationally acclaimed lecturer, activist, and author of four #1 New York Times bestselling books, as well as one of America’s most well-known public voices for more than three decades.
Seven of her twelve published books have been New York Times bestsellers. A segment of her most known book, “A Return to Love” contains the quote, “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” It’s considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers.
The book, inspired by content from a mystical text called “A Course in Miracles,” by Helen Schucman, a Manhattan doctor, has been her inner compass since first immersing herself in the Course in Miracles precepts. Sales of Marianne’s book skyrocketed after she appeared on Oprah in 1992. But Marianne was certainly not a “one book hit wonder.” She continued to write bestsellers including, The Law of Divine Compensation, The Age of Miracles, Everyday Grace, A Woman’s Worth, Illuminata, Healing the Soul of America, A Course in Weight Loss, The Gift of Change, Enchanted Love, A Year of Miracles, and Tears to Triumph: The Spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment. Her newest book, A Politics of Love: Handbook for a New American Revolution, was published this year.
A native of Houston she has also been using her status to help those in need and causes dear to her heart. In 1989, she founded Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that serves homebound people with AIDS in the Los Angeles area. To date, Project Angel Food has served over 11 million meals. Marianne also co-founded the Peace Alliance.
A few months back, she made an appearance and gave a powerful speech at the EMA (Environmental Media Association) Impact Summit in Beverly Hills where she boldly announced her candidacy for the Presidency in the 2020 election. Outside of her political announcement, I could not help but notice how she ignites the room when she walks in. Her sense of conviction about the issues that matter to her the most was truthful and impactful. Her focus? The environment and the changes that happened in America through the years, by the people and because of the people, not the Governments. Marianne wants to remind us of our own power and to take it back, because we can, for the constitution says so. But most of all, our soul is longing for that power and peace that comes from within. When I spoke with her, I noticed what was evident – she is a highly educated woman, up to speed with current events, and she exudes grace and quiet control in every gesture and every word that comes out of her. She made me feel that she deeply cares about this Country. We cannot predict the trajectory of her political aspiration, but we were compelled to ask her some questions that I feel matter to us all. The Eden Magazine is not a political magazine. It is a magazine where we feature beings who reach their highest potential and strive for more. We put the spotlight on the change makers, the game changers, the empaths, hoping to find wisdom, inspiration, and validation of what we all inherently feel but can’t quite voice out loud.
Marianne, you have been able to reach people of all ages with your message, but I especially noticed several young people at your speaking events. Do you feel that young people’s obsession with technology and thirst for being popular/liked hinders their ability to truly connect with their spirituality and with their direct participation in matters that may affect the future and the future of the next generation?
The digital revolution is as profound a change in human civilization as was the invention of the printing press. We’re only just beginning to understand what it all means — its purposes, its advantages, as well as its perils. But it’s certainly here, and there is no stopping it. The outcome of its existence- either for purpose of good or for purposes of harm-depends on human consciousness. On the one hand, it’s true that people are using their tablets to disconnect from other people, but on the other hand, many people are using their tablets to connect with other people. The internet offers us both the best and the worst in terms of what’s possible for our future.
Do you feel that with so much information accessed on social platforms and media, it desensitizes people in general from truly wanting to seek their own truth and do their own fact checking in every area of their lives?
I fear that might be true. An overload of information on social platforms can bring about a single focus that distorts things, the same way we can look at trees but not realize the magnitude of the forest. In addition to that, there’s often information that is simply untrue, but you wouldn’t know it. The internet is democratizing in that it offers an important alternative to the corporate media, but at the same time there’s some crazy stuff out there. Each of us has to be responsible for our own critical thought processes.
You have dedicated your life to inspire others, and you are known for your messages of love and forgiveness. But in today’s America these messages are becoming increasingly unpopular. Why have you chosen a political path when politics can be so cut throat? How do you plan to apply your message of consciousness to Washington yet maintaining a tough stance towards bullies and critics?
My hope is that my message will resonate with enough people that they will be willing to change the political conversation. An idea grows stronger when it’s shared, and while you say that a message of love and forgiveness is becoming increasingly less popular, I think there’s also a greater yearning for it than every before. Everyone wants love; that’s the essence of our humanity. There’s no reason we can’t take the same conversations that dominate our personal lives and apply them to our larger world. If the purpose of our lives is to love one another, then that should apply to our collective existence too.
We need to be willing to imagine a better world. We need to be courageous enough to think outside the box, to claim for ourselves what it is that we really want. It’s no more ridiculous to claim love as the purpose of our collective lives, as it is to claim love as the purpose of our individual lives. Millions of people take a stand for love in small ways and large ways every day. If all those people would be willing to take that stand for love within the political realm, then we could change this country quickly.
Several of your books call for the “woman” to celebrate her power and be a Queen. How can a woman be a Queen and a Warrior while at the same time retain femininity and softness in her life?
It’s difficult only because of the projection of others. Unfortunately, women as well as men often perceive a woman standing in her fierceness as somehow less feminine. Yet the feminine must be fierce at times. A common anthropological characteristic of every advanced mammalian species that survives and thrives is the fierce behavior of the adult female of the species when she senses a threat to her cubs. Mother energy is fierce when the safety of her young is challenged. Given the unmitigated heartlessness within the political domain today, especially towards children, the feminine aspect in all of us is called to rise. The projection onto women that that makes us less feminine is certainly a challenge.
You call yourself a political visionary, if you were to be elected President, how do you plan to re-engage the
American people in its value system?
People hear you on the level you speak to them from. If you yourself are engaged with a topic in a deep way, then people hear you from a deep place within themselves. I am a romantic about American democracy, and I speak of my life for our first principles – that all men are created equal; that God gave all of us unalienable rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; that governments are instituted to secure those rights; and if the government isn’t doing that, then it’s the right of the people to alter it. To me, every bit of public policy should be weighed against those principles. The role of the government should be to do everything possible to help people thrive. That’s where peace comes from, and where prosperity comes from.
All environmental policies are under attack, which ones concern you the most?
We have twelve years to make serious changes regarding the climate crisis, or we will be facing irreparable harm to our environment. We have twelve years during which we must sequester carbon, reforest, develop sustainable systems of energy and transportation, foster regenerative agriculture, deal with animal agriculture such as factory farming and work to reverse climate change. The EPA should be led by a world class environmental scientist. The EPA should be a magnet for the best environmental scientists in the world. Where The current administration has gutted the EPA s clean water act, gutted the clean air act, and allowed the production of dangerous pesticides, we must move in the exact opposite direction. The Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control, and National Institute of Health have all been disempowered, allowing food and chemical companies to flood our natural systems with dangerous toxins. Those are serious things which must be addressed, and if I’m president they will be.
What makes Marianne, the Woman, truly happy? Is your happiness tied to your current goals?
My happiness comes from the same place everyone’s does — when I feel love and when I feel a sense of purpose. I do feel a lot of love on this campaign, though it comes with a lot of stress as well. I’m doing my best to follow this guidance that was given to me by a friend: “See the job. Do the job. Stay out of the misery.” I’m doing my best.
*The Eden Magazine does not advocate for or endorse any political party, or individual running for the office of the Presidency. This article, on Marianne Williamson, is in support of her many years of efforts to increase spiritual and environmental awareness.
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