Tag: marianne williamson

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Marianne rocks

Marianne Williamson, a Democratic Presidential candidate, has been on my radar screen ever since reading her book ILLUMINATA, published in 1994.  Her approach to Picture40spirituality in relation to the insanity of our world focuses on individual as well as governmental responsibility and dedication to nonviolent interaction.  It is refreshing to see an aspirant for political office who is not pumping international conflict and control.

from ILLUMINATA:

Dear Lord, please lift me up and heal me. 
Cast out of my mind all thoughts that are not of You. 
Cast out of me all harsh and critical nature. 
Cast out of me all violence and all anger. 
Cast out of me all demons from my past. 
For I would be made new.

It all begins within me.  Cast out of me all harsh and critical nature.  Cast out of me all violence and all anger.  Do you realize how difficult that can be in today’s world as we are blasted every day with media reports of raging conflicts, of government corruption, of unnecessary death as a result of violence?  Massacres of citizens in Syria, imprisonment of dissenters in Russia, genocide of indigenous people in African countries, suicide bombings in the Middle East, mass shootings in the USA – the ceaseless world horrors grab our attention each day as we watch the instantaneous news coverage.  How in hell can I ‘cast out all harsh and critical nature, violence and anger?’

It’s impossible unless I retire to my imaginary Mediterranean island with the monks, give up all worldly connections and meditate 24/7.  On that island is peace?  Maybe.  But living in seclusion on an island is not what Jesus taught through his own nonviolent interaction with the Jewish society of his time.  He did not cave, he did not capitulate to the Roman authorities nor the religious corruption of his time.  He participated and embraced all aspects of life in 1st century Israel.

Fr. Richard Rohr at CAC.ORG comments in today’s meditation:

“How is it that many Christians have managed to avoid what Jesus actually taught? We’ve evaded major parts of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7): the Beatitudes, Jesus’ warning about idolizing “mammon,” his clear directive and example of nonviolence, and his command to love our enemies. I never see the Beatitudes on courthouse lawns. Perhaps we think his teaching is nice in theory but impractical in real life. Perhaps we do not believe nonviolence can actually effect real change.”

He goes on to say:

“Even the common ‘pro-life movement’ is much more pro-birth than about caring for all life—black and brown lives, refugees, the poor, the sick, immigrants, LGBTQIA people, the environment.” In fact, many “pro-lifers” I know are the first in line to oppose any gun regulation.”

I don’t have answers.  But, I do have prayers to instill in my heart and examples of nonviolent success on the world scene to inspire me.  The survival of our world depends on you and me.  We don’t have to be heroes or national celebrities to make a difference.  It all starts with me and what I harbor within.  You, too.  Let’s be instruments of peace.

PRIDE7

 

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cac.org – Richard Rohr

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Marianne Williamson – candidate

 

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(excerpts from ILLUMINATA, 1994, by Marianne Williamson)

“Hitler could never have risen to power had it not been for vast numbers of people who gave him that power.  Although they did not share his hatred, they did not have a solid, moral commitment to not hate.  Only a society in which there is a widespread commitment to not hate is safe from hatred.  A little hate is like a little cancer.  And who among us does not hate?”

Dear God Please remove from my mind the tendency to judge.
Please remove from my mind the tendency to hate.
Please remove from my mind the tendency to blame.

Please reveal to me, Lord, a way to stand in my power,
through love instead of fear,
and through peace instead of violence.

May I not hear the voice for anger, but only the voice for love.
And teach me, dear Lord, how not to hate those who hate me.
Transform all darkness into light, dear God,

And use my mind as an instrument of Your harmlessness.
I surrender to you my thoughts of violence.
Take these thoughts, Lord, and wash them clean.
Thank you very much. Amen.
MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

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Marianne Williamson – candidate

She’s one of the Democratic candidates for the Presidency.  Marianne Williamson penned this prayer in her book ILLUMINATA published in 1994.

PRAYER FOR AMERICA

We join in prayer to celebrate this nation and
surrender its destiny to You.
We give thanks in our hearts for the founding
of this country.
We give thanks for and bless the souls of those
who came before us to found this nation, to
nurture and to save it.
We ask now that God’s spirit fill our hearts
with righteousness.
May we play our parts in the healing and the
furtherance of our country.
May we be cleansed of all destructive thoughts.
May judgment of others, bigotry, racism, and
intolerance be washed clean from our hearts.
May our minds be filled with the thoughts of God,
His unconditional love and His acceptance of
all people.
May this nation be forgiven its transgressions,
against the African-American, Native
American, and any and all others.
May our lives be turned into instruments of
resurrection, that the sins of our fathers
might be reversed through us.
May the beauty and the greatness of this land
burst forth once more in the hearts of its people.
May the dreams of our forefathers be realized
in us, that we might live in honesty and
integrity and excellence with our neighbors.
May this country once again become a light
unto the nations of hope and goodness and
peace and freedom.
May the violence and darkness be cast out of our
midst.
May hatred no longer find fertile ground in
which to grow here.
May all of us feel God’s grace upon us.
Reignite, dear God, the spirit of truth in our
hearts.
May our nation be given a new light, the sacred
fire that once shone so bright from shore to shore.
May we be repaired.
god bless americaMay we be forgiven.
May our children be blessed.
May we be renewed.
Dear God, please bless America.
Amen.

 

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MARIANNE WILLIAMSON – candidate

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MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

What can I say about Marianne Williamson?  If you have not read her books or listened to her motivational seminars then you have missed a great opportunity to know a woman who is uniquely spiritual in a non-religious way.  She has paid the dues of growing up in the 1960s and 70s amidst the rebellion, protesting, and ‘experimenting’, found her way to the sanity of sober-living in a drunken, crazy world.  She has remained grounded in her personal faith walk through the same challenges and travails which we all encounter. Humbly and graciously Marianne leads others to an understanding of what the world needs to do to ensure the earth’s survival in these tumultuous times.

Her prayers speak to and for a hurting, broken world system seemingly intent on self-destruction.  The verses address the realities of hatred, intolerance, greed, racism and xenophobia.  The answers are always the same – humility, self assessment and surrender to a power beyond earthly restraints.  We do not have the resources within ourselves to address the depths of our depravity.  Only a Higher Power can look upon us with enough love and forgiveness to change humanity’s destructive course.  Call that power God, Love, Spirit, Enlightenment, Source, Oneness – it is universal and available to all mankind.

Read with me now excerpts from Marianne’s prayer for America. (this was published in 1994 in her book ILLUMINATA)

“……We give thanks in our hearts for the founding of this country.  We give thanks for and bless the souls of those who came before us to found this nation, to nurture and save it.

cropped-candle.png…..May this nation be forgiven its transgressions, against the African-American, Native American, and any and all others.  May our lives be turned into instruments of resurrection, that the sins of our fathers might be reversed through us.  May the beauty and the greatness of this land burst forth once more in the hearts of its people.

…..May this country once again become a light unto the nations of hope and goodness and peace and freedom.  May violence and darkness be cast out of our midst.  May hatred no longer find fertile ground to grow here.

…..May we be repaired, may we be forgiven, may our children be blessed, may we be renewed.”  Amen

Marianne Williamson has declared her candidacy for President of the United States.  My initial reaction was shock and disbelief.  She’s too nice, she’s too honest, she’s too spiritual….she’s too easy a target for all the slanderous, devious, spiteful, dishonest rhetoric which we have learned to accept from the political world.  She’ll never survive the hatred.

But, she’s a perfect candidate!  Who better to neutralize the quasi-religious element of Christianity posing as America’s savior?  Who better to return a sense of decency and decorum to our nation’s capital?  Who better to restore our standing in the world as a people with an unmovable moral compass?  Who better to heal America’s soul sickness? Who better to resurrect the Lady in the harbor?

“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore.  Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me.  I lift my lamp beside the golden door.”

In Marianne’s world miracles happen.  Mine too.  She’s not a polished politician, just a decent human being.  Let’s have the audacity to be kind, to be loving, to be great as a nation.  Let’s wage peace.

A DEEPER LOOK AT PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE MARIANNE WILLIAMSON

 

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longsuffering

“Dear lord, please lift me up and heal me.  Cast out of my mind all thoughts that are not of You.  Cast out of me all harsh and critical nature.  Cast out of me all violence and all anger.  Cast out of me all demons from my past.  For I would be made new.  I wish to walk so close to You that we might be as one.”  Marianne Williamson, ILLUMINATA
truth

“Harsh and critical nature, anger and violence”.  We betray the truth of our lives, the love and compassion of a Savior, when we fail to speak our truth kindly.  Our Lord’s truth cannot be spoken in any other way.  Tolerance, patience, and forbearance are synonyms of the old English “longsuffering”, a word which occurs frequently in Scriptures.  Probably the most familiar is:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith…”  Galatians 5:22

and in the Buddhist tradition:

“The greatest prayer is patience.”  Lord Buddha

Is one born with patience?  Probably not.  Most agree that patience is earned the hard way.  Life situations teach us patience.  Other people teach us tolerance.  Compassionate listening is developed by listening for hours to the trials of another person.  Children teach us unconditional forbearance.  Our friendships are the result of communications tempered by attitudes of longsuffering.  When we enter into a life occurrence with anything less than a prayer for patience on our lips, the outcome will likely be less than spiritual.

“Our first objective will be the development of self-restraint.  This carries a top-priority rating.  When we speak or act hastily or rashly, the ability to be fair-minded and tolerant evaporates on the spot.”  Bill W. AS BILL SEES IT, pg. 113

Finding a patient friend is a blessing of the greatest order.  Being a patient friend is more desirable than fame and riches.  Nations have crumbled, politicians have failed, families have disintegrated, wars have been waged, and genocides have been initiated because one person failed to engage another in conversations of tolerance and longsuffering.  Words that are harsh and critical, angry and violent will never establish mutual understandings which are necessary to peaceful survival.  And that is our mission, that is our evolution.  We are commanded by all of God’s messengers to live as a brotherhood of mankind speaking our truth kindly.

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making new

angry emojiWhere do you go in times of emotional turmoil?  A quiet space, a walk in the woods, a favorite book, a mind-numbing movie, maybe a favorite destructive behavior pattern?  Sometimes an escape is essential to my sanity and I have numerous options from which to choose.  Thanks to the fellowship, drinking or drugging is no longer one of them.

That’s where I am at today.  What course of action do I need to take to address a living situation which has been festering for several weeks and for which I see no solution other than packing bags and living in my pickup truck?  It’s a tough mental exercise which has at times led me to believe living on my truck is the better option.  But, I still love the creature comforts of a warm bed under a tin roof and meals at a dining room table.  What I don’t like is the theft of serenity by the constant turmoil.

I would love to say that I immediately go to my Higher Power in these times.  But, I don’t.  There is a vestige of the old Larry which says, “I can handle this by myself, thanks,  but no thanks, God.”  I continue to squirm and wiggle trying to work this out through my own powers of decision-making.  And I grow desperate listening to the voices of ‘self will run riot’.  It is not a safe place to be.

My old nature is to be confrontational, to become self-righteous about the perceived wrongs committed against me.  The old me walks away in a huff muttering about the stupidity and insensitivity of other people.  The old me would stew for days over an incident that was misunderstood by all involved.  The old me will get me drunk or dead.  I don’t like the old me anymore.

One of my daily prayers inspired by the writing of Marianne Williamson in ILLUMINATA sets the stage for an assessment of my character defects while asking for relief:

“Lord, cast from me all harsh and critical nature; cast from me all anger and violence; cast from me all doubt and insecurity; cast from me all demons from my past, for I would be made new.” 

“If we were to live, we had to be free of anger.  The grouch and the sudden rage were not for us.  Anger is the dubious luxury of normal men, but for us alcoholics it is poison.”  Bill W. writes in AS BILL SEES IT.

My answer is staring me in the face.  I know what the spiritual response needs to be.  Now, the action part of this discovery must be pursued.  Namaste.namaste rainbow

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the critic

Marianne Williamson

 

Dear Lord, please lift me up and heal me.

Cast out of my mind all thoughts that are not of You.

Cast out of me all harsh and critical nature.

Cast out of me all violence and anger.

Cast out of me all demons from my past,

for I would be made new.

Amen

CANDLEMarianne Williamson’s work has been a part of my inspirational readings for many years.  Like me, she grew up in the turbulent decades of “drugs, sex, rock and roll.”  She also caved to the demons of her times.  ILLUMINATA  The above excerpt from a prayer for healing reminds me everyday that my “harsh and critical nature” is not totally resolved within me.  It is one of the major character defects which can turn my daily interactions into completely chaotic fiascos.  Just one word from my quick, unthinking tongue can erase tireless efforts to be the man whom I believe my HP wants me to be.  A biting comment, an insult, an unwanted opinion in the morning has the power to shadow me for the entire day.  Today, I am aware of my defects and at least now I have the tools to prevent the unkind thoughts and words from ever escaping out of my mouth….most of the time.

We don’t claim spiritual perfection, just progress.  Thank God for this disclaimer.  Without it I would be eternally lost in the seas of self-loathing and despair believing that I am the least worthy and most despicable of God’s creation.  But, my HP delivers to me each new day the strength and resolve to become a better version of the old drunk, to become a vessel carrying his word to a suffering and distraught fellowship of other drunks, and to become a recovering voice in the darkness of addiction.  And because he says I am a work in progress, I need not do this perfectly.  I merely need the willingness to try.

That same harsh and critical nature is frequently turned inward.  I am undoubtedly my own worst critic.  If I truly believe that God’s saving grace has covered me with unmerited and undeserved mercy then how dare I dispute the work he has done in my life and the plan he has for me?  How dare I criticize the miracle working within me?  It is not up to me to judge others or myself.  The indwelling Spirit allows me to be the observer of life, allows thoughts to enter and depart without passing judgement on them, allows others to travel this path alongside me without passing judgement on them, and allows me to be nothing more…or less…than a simple messenger.smiley 3

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all men are created equal

Following is a daily petition inspired by Marianne Williamson in ILLUMINATA

“….cast from me all harsh and critical nature, cast from me all anger and violence;  cast from me  all doubt and insecurity, cast from me all fear and hatred.”

Just as the SERENITY PRAYER was my mantra in early sobriety and continues to be a source of strength today, my version of Marianne’s supplication is a mainstay in the cultural and political chaos of not only America but the entire world.  When insight, understanding, and compassion seem to fail, what is left is either a plea to think, speak, and act in a civil and fearless manner or to react, respond, and attack in a hostile manner indicative of our prehistoric gene pool.

And therein is the solution to any and all issues facing us today.  We live in a world which has polarized its population into two groups.  The one advocates for the inherent rights of all people, the other attempts to continue the tribal instinct of self-protection at the expense of the remainder of mankind.  One is the path to enlightenment and global co-existence, the other leads to oppression and eventual species annihilation.  The choice of which direction to pursue is an individual decision.  It sounds too utterly simplistic, but each one of us needs to decide on which side we will stand in the evolution or regression of mankind.  We will all eventually exit this life in this world as dead carcasses so, it’s a matter of eternal legacy, isn’t it?  Which legacy am I pursuing?

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness…..” DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE

 

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