The Gift of Change by Marianne Williamson
As a new reader to this author, The Gift of Change (HarperCollins) for me started out a bit on the slow side, perhaps even somewhat gloomy as evidenced by her quote, "I think, there is a collective depression among us, not so much dealt with as glossed over and suppressed. Each of us, as individual actors in a larger drama, carries an imprint of a larger despair."
But I encourage the reader to read on. After the doom and gloom the author makes this profound point: "Only when we have faced the limits of what we can do, does it begin to dawn on us the limitlessness of what God can do. It is in the depth of the darkness now confronting our world that will reveal to us the magic of who we truly are. We are spirit, and thus we are more than the world. When we remember that, the world itself will bow to our remembrance."
Williamson is a student and lecturer of the principles taught in the heavily Christian "spiritual psychotherapy" called A Course In Miracles (Foundation for Inner Peace). Many of Williamson's reflections and passages are liberally borrowed from the Course, and she makes no bones about it. So steeped in these teachings, she comes off as genuine and her approach to living life the best way possible is not only believable, but really hits home.
Williamson's honesty is refreshing. She looks back on her life, as most of us often do, and wonders how she could have thought the way she did. Now in her 50's, she muses over a picture she saw of herself taken in her 30's and wonders how she could have ever thought that that was inadequate? She says what most of us are thinking and feeling-that somehow we will never measure up to anything close to good enough. Left to the ramblings of our own puny egos, we will always think of ourselves as lacking.
But we are not our egos, as the author points out time and again. We belong to God. "It's not humble to think you can't do what God is asking you to do: it's arrogant to think you know yourself better than the One who thought you up." (A Course in Miracles as excerpted from A Gift of Change) "I am not here to design God's universe but to allow Him to show me the design He has already created. It was created in total love, for me and all living things. My mission is to trust that."
In the end, I feel Williamson's point was not so much about change as we know it, but rather that we should ask God for guidance and then act on the advice we know to be true in our hearts which is that of love, compassion, joy, and kindness. This is the way we create lasting change within us and the world, she says. This is the way we create miracles. I enjoyed The Gift of Change and give it 4.5 stars.
Copyright 2007 - Mary M. Bauer. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.
Related Tags: love, change, compassion, god, guidance, marianne williamson, a course in miracles
Mary M. Bauer is the author of five books, including The Truth About You: Things You Don't Know You Know (VanderWyk & Burnham, 2006). For tips on how to stay encouraged and focused on your dreams, visit http://marymbauer.com
Your Article Search Directory : Find in ArticlesRecent articles in this category:
- Review-who Hates Whom?
Who Hates Whom?, Bob Harris, 2007, ISBN 0307394360Subtitled "Well-Armed Fanatics, Intractable Confli - Spouted Stand Up Pouches -- 5 Questions To Ask Before Ordering
In recent years, stand up pouches have begun to take over retailers' shelves. Virtually every type o - Towards A Gnostic Science
With a foreword by Member Professor Peter Stewart, this magisterial work is a greatly extended versi - Review-operation: Save The Innocent
Operation Save the Innocent, Tony Ruggiero, 2008, ISBN 1896944604Part two of a series, this book is - The Truth About Earth4energy Technologies
With energy prices on the rise, it's no secret that we need to find more alternative energy solution - The World Of Comic Books
Books have been always popular among readers for ages. There is infinite number of books around the - How To Market New Book Reviews, Create Vision Board
Vision boards are not just used for personal manifestation purposes: they are excellent marketing to - Review-on A Hill They Call Capital
On a Hill They Call Capital, Matt Carson, 2007, ISBN 1604028548This novel is about a bunch of regula - Review-who Really Runs The World?
Who Really Runs the World? The War Between Globalization and Democracy, Thom Burnett and Alex Gaines - Review-america Unraveling
America Unraveling, L. Scott Smith, 2008, ISBN 9780977940783This book defends the expression of publ
Most viewed articles in this category:
- Digital Photography eBook Review: Camera Dollars Income System
The "Camera Dollars Income System eBook" written by Brian Moore claims to contain everything you nee - Animals Rule in Children's Literature: Frogs and Caterpillars and Bears - Oh My!
From very hungry caterpillars and penguins for every day of the year to the Kingdom of Frogavia, ani - Used Book Stores
Many college bookstores allow students to sell their books back to the stores. These used bookstores - Book Review - Through the Storm by Sha' Givens
Mahogany Malone was named for her mother's favorite dancer, and one may argue that this teenage name - Book Review: Fiasco by Thomas E. Ricks
Among the most illuminating, and hence the most damning recent volume about the war in Iraq is Fiasc - Good Starting Places in the Fantasy Genre
I'm a bit of a hypocrite when it comes to my reading. I will deride and verbally mutilate anything o - A Review on: "An Empire of Wealth"
Part III of the book "An Empire of Wealth", the emerging colossus, is being reviewed in this analysi - Book Review: State of Denial by Bob Woodward
The most recent addition to our understanding of our difficulties in Iraq, State of Denial by Waterg - The Traveler - John Twelve Hawkes Review
There is a time and a place for nearly every style of literature out there. I find myself reading a - Crystals Made Simple: a Review of "The Crystal Handbook"
A few years ago, for research purposes for something I was writing, I was searching for a comprehens
