Spiritual Uplift

I’ve long been a fan of the work and thoughts of Marianne Williamson, author of A Return to Love. She’s a spiritual teacher who is hugely successful in the US, and is also a close friend of Oprah Winfrey, who helped promote her books and work. Marianne was in Australia last week, and I was lucky enough to meet her through a friend. We just happened to be heading to Melbourne at the same time, and so agreed to meet up for dinner while we were both there.

This was truly a dream come true for me, and I wanted to share this with you, especially in case you are unfamiliar with her and her writings. Marianne’s teachings are based on the book A Course in Miracles and are inspiring in a spiritual way that is outside of the usual religious parameters. For anyone who is in need of a little spiritual or emotional boost, here is the quote from A Return To Love that she is most famous for. I read this whenever I need a little more courage and faith in the universe and myself.

(It has often been incorrectly attributed to Nelson Mandela in his inauguration speech of 1994). Enjoy…

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'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.

Marianne Williamson