Marianne Williamson
Marianne Williamson (born July 8, 1952)[1] is a spiritual activist, author, lecturer and founder of The Peace Alliance, a grass roots campaign supporting legislation currently before Congress to establish a United States Department of Peace. She is also the founder of Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that serves homebound people with AIDS in the Los Angeles area.[2] She has published ten books, including four New York Times #1 bestsellers.
Her book, The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife, was published in January 2008 and spent five weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. Her latest book, published in November 2010, is called A Course in Weight Loss: 21 Spiritual Lessons for Surrendering Your Weight Forever. She has been a popular guest on television programs such as Oprah, Larry King Live, Good Morning America, Charlie Rose[citation needed], The Howard Stern Show and Politically Incorrect.
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[edit] Biography
Williamson attended Pomona College in Claremont, California, where her roommate was film producer Lynda Obst.[citation needed]
[edit] Philosophy
As a minister in the Unity Church,[3] Williamson's philosophy adopts a New Thought approach to spirituality. She tries to incorporate ideals originally established in Christianity and Judaism[clarification needed] with a new-age light, using statements such as "You've committed no sins, just mistakes." She also promotes tenets of Zen Buddhism such as the belief that one must empty his or her mind through enlightenment to truly find God.
She gained early attention discussing A Course in Miracles with Oprah Winfrey. She credits her claimed insight to Oprah Winfrey, who invited Williamson to The Oprah Winfrey Show to discuss her first book A Return to Love.[4] She also hosts a weekly radio show at 'Hay House Radio'. [5]
A notable quote of hers is, "In every community there is work to be done. In every nation, there are wounds to heal. In every heart there is the power to do it."[6]
[edit] Popular culture references
A passage from Williamson's book, A Return to Love, has become popular as an inspirational quote[7] and has been used, amongst other places, in the 2005 film, Coach Carter and the 2006 film, Akeelah and the Bee. It is often incorrectly attributed to Nelson Mandela;[8] Williamson herself is quoted as saying, "As honored as I would be had President Mandela quoted my words, indeed he did not. I have no idea where that story came from, but I am gratified that the paragraph has come to mean so much to so many people."[8] The quote is:
[edit] "Our deepest fear"
| “ | Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others. | ” |
Williamson has been featured in some films, including The Power of Forgiveness showcased at the Dawn Breakers International Film Festival in 2009[9] and in the documentary movie "Living Luminaries on the Serious Business of Happiness".
[edit] Bibliography
| Books | Description |
|---|---|
| A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course In Miracles (ISBN 9780060927486) | Williamson's experiences as a teacher and lecturer on the self-study guide, A Course in Miracles (Foundation for Inner Peace, 1975) |
| Imagine What America Could Be In The 21st Century: Visions of a better future from leading American thinkers (ISBN 0451204697) | Visions of an improved America and a prescriptive call towards Americans to action for significant positive change |
| Emma & Mommy Talk to God (ISBN 9780060799267) | Asserts that caring for an individual's "soul" is just as important as caring for his or her physical well being |
| Healing the Soul of America: Reclaiming Our Voices as Spiritual Citizens (ISBN 9780684846224) | Williamson's view of vision and politics in American history, and how they gave rise to the nation's beginnings, and the nature of American nationalism and values |
| A Woman's Worth (ISBN 9780345386571) | Williamson's opinions about the world of the "modern woman" |
| Enchanted Love: The Mystical Power of Intimate Relationships (ISBN 9780684870250) | Willaimson's beliefs about "the true nature" of relationships between two individuals, and how human beings have the potential to become "the angels who reside within us" while still on earth |
| Everyday Grace: Having hope, finding forgiveness, and making miracles (ISBN 9781573223515) | Williamson returns to her spiritual roots, writing about the art of nurturing a thriving soul in a harsh world |
| Illuminata: A Return to Prayer (ISBN 9781573225205) | Bringing prayer into people's daily lives |
[edit] References
- ^ Knapp, Gwenn (2006). "StarBios Report for Marianne Williamson". MOTTASIA Inc.. http://www.adze.com/Celebrities/MarianneWilliamson.htm. Retrieved 2006-07-12.
- ^ Marianne Williamson - The Miracle Matrix
- ^ Lippy, C.H. (2006) Faith in America: Organized religion today. Praeger. p 241.
- ^ Dr Wayne Dyer's Inspiration radio show, 2 April 2007, about 7 minutes 50 seconds and 8 minutes 30 seconds from start
- ^ Author Biography: Marianne Williamson Hayhouse Radio.
- ^ "Marianne Williamson Quotes". about.com, Women;s History. http://womenshistory.about.com/od/quotes/a/m_williamson.htm. Retrieved February 24, 2011.
- ^ See Wikiquote:Marianne Williamson
- ^ a b "That famous speech that Nelson Mandela never gave". http://aetw.org/mandela.htm. Retrieved 29 July 2009.
- ^ http://dbiff.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=17&Itemid=20
[edit] External links
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Marianne Williamson |
- Official Web Site
- "That Famous Speech that Nelson Mandela NEVER Gave"
- Marianne Williamson, article and shows at Oprah.com
- Williamson interview
- Tom Butler-Bowdon commentary on A Return To Love
- Sacred Awakening seminar
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