A Course in Miracles
If you spend an evening with one of the preeminent spiritual teachers expect for her to say things like, “Well, when I was talking to Jackie Kennedy she expressed a similar viewpoint.” I mean, are you serious? Last month I found myself in this precise position at Marianne Williamson’s house.
If you don’t know who she is here’s a little blurb:
Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer. Six of her ten published books have been New York Times Best Sellers. Four of these have been #1 New York Times Best Sellers. A Return to Love is considered a must-read of The New Spirituality. A paragraph from that book, beginning “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…” - often misattributed to Nelson Mandela’s Inaugural address - is considered an anthem for a contemporary generation of seekers.
She founded Project Angel Food, a meals-on-wheels program that serves homebound people with AIDS in the Los Angeles area. Today, Project Angel Food serves over 1,000 people daily.
Ok, So Marianne Williamson shares a mutual family friend with me. I attended one of her lectures and was blown away by her powerful words and teachings. She came to my show Dead Moms Don’t Hug when I did it this summer and afterwards told me she wanted to meet with me, that she was moved by the show.
We couldn’t meet right away because she was going to Israel and leading meditations and basically doing great work all around.
Well, last month we finally got together. This was HUGE. Picture being able to spend three hours, one on one, with someone who sparked a huge spiritual movement. You know how Oprah is really into “Living Your Best Life”? Well Marianne Williamson was the person who inspired Oprah’s interest in that in the first place.
I had no idea what to expect. Would Marianne be all “guru-ish” with me? Why did she even want to get together with me? People stand in line and pay good money just to hear her speak around the world… I was feeling nervous.
We sat in her livingroom which was equally gilded, ornate & stunning and completely warm and homey. In about twenty minutes she, completely naturally and seemingly psychically, “figured me out.” She knew things about me I’d only shared with myself… barely shared with myself. She had so many good things to say and so many thought provoking things to say. A few kicks in the butt and a few reality checks. Amazing.
Then we walked a few blocks to dinner. She was fun, relaxed, young and hip (she’s near 60 and has the body and spirit of a 28 year old). I don’t know what else to say except that meeting her has helped give me direction on the spiritual quest I’ve been on for some time. I’ve actually started “A Course In Miracles” which is a 365 day course of seemingly small yet utterly life changing lessons. It’s not religious, it’s not cultish… it’s what many teachers (Jesus, Buddha) have taught… just a way of thinking we may all be intellectually aware of but are not really truly living.
In a nutshell, I’m learning to live out of love as opposed to fear. And making great strides. And to call Marianne Williamson a friend is just the icing on the cake.
“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 does not serve the world. There is 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 are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
