I’m re-reading Democrat POTUS candidate Marianne Williamson’s 1992 bestseller A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A COURSE IN MIRACLES. Because, why not? It’s on my bookshelf and I’m a believer in first principles, or rewarded behaviors being foundational for a person’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors.
The Platform
I’m surmising from declarations from the book that launched her successful career as spiritual healer and guru. This was her first book. In 2019 she authored A Politics of Love: A Handbook for a New American Revolution. That book was part of her 2020 presidential quest. She’s authored nine books. All non-fiction and in the self-help genre.
As I said, I believe people continue on a path if they are rewarded. [That’s our reptilian brain (or Id).] at work. Here is Williamson’s platform. [I’ve numbered them for easy reference. ;-)]
Introduction
- When we were born, we were programed perfectly.
- Love is what we were born with.
- The meaning of life … is Love.
- Love isn’t seen with the physical eyes or heard with the physical ears.
- It has nothing to do with the physical world.
- The truth doesn’t stops being the truth because we’re not looking at it.
Hell
- The problem is we’re terrified.
- A miracle is just a shift in perception.
Principles
God
- Love is God.
- Love is energy.
- Fear is the root of evil.
- Fear is an illusion.
- Thought is Cause; experience is Effect.
- Freud defined neurosis as separation from Self.
You
- We get in life, that which we focus on.
- Fear makes us neurotic.
- We’re precious because of what we are, not what we do.
- The ego is our mental power turned against ourselves.
- God comes to us in many forms.
- The purpose of life is to grow into our perfection.
- Our species is in trouble because we fight too much.
- Prince Charming is the Holy Spirit.
Surrender
- Faith is a psychological awareness of an unfolding force for good …
- Love one another. Because if we don’t, we will all die.
- We’re always fighting for something. [Masculine force.]
- The feminine process is a quieting of the mind.
- Feminine consciousness exerts power through attraction rather than activity.
- We don’t have to be struggling all the time.
Miracles
- Behavior is a world of illusion.
- The laws of scarcity and death rule this world.
- Our self-perception determines our behavior.
- We have a mission–to save the world through the power of love.
- Brilliance is the capacity to forget the past and forget the future.
- The world of time is not the real world.
- Our creativity makes us hysterical, it drives us insane.
- If we’re peaceful, life will be peaceful.
- When things look the worst, God does tend to appear.
- All we have to do is ask for His help.
Practice
Relationships
- Do you prefer that you be right or happy?
- All thought is thought about ourselves.
- Projection makes perception.
- There are only two emotions: love and fear.
- All minds are continuous.
- Denial or suppression of emotions is unsound.
- No meetings are accidental.
- People are energy, not physical substance.
- There is no such thing as objectively attractive or unattractive.
The End.
Just kidding. Because the above declarations covers only to page 112. However, that’s enough!
My Thoughts
are that Marianne Williamson is a grifter, snake-oil salesperson, or charlatan. Take your pick. But, what does that make me?
I read A Return to Love, when it first came out, in 1992. Thought it was great and highlighted many passages. At forty-two, I was just two years older than Marianne. I was adrift – psychologically and emotionally – having just been divorced. I didn’t know who I was. In other words, I was separated from my Self.
However, I didn’t return to love. What I did return to was college; and got a degree in Psychology. That launched a “second life” (?) for me.
I do agree with some of the declarations. Still. There is truth in some of what she says. Some overlap with the Law of Attraction, which I do think has merit and aligns with both history and psychological theory.
In Conclusion
I think Williamson is blind to her own delusion. She has a Messiah Complex. After all, her beliefs have worked out very well for her. She’s wealthy and successful – running for president of the United States. She’s polling now around 10% and has the support of Krystal Ball and other progressives. Ten percent is where Trump started in 2015. But there’s a big difference.
Donald Trump worked/works in the real world. In addition, because of that he was the 45th president of the United States. I think this Slate article nails what’s up with Williamson.
Williamson’s support is coming mostly from young people and a few older idealists like Ball. Young people are desperate – things are looking bleak. I get it. I fell for her spiel when I was desperate and alone. That’s who charlatans target. But in her defense – she believes what’s she’s selling. It worked for her. Rewarded behavior will be repeated.
What do you think? Have you read A Return To Love? Can a spiritual guru lead the most powerful/forceful country in the real world? Let me know in the comments.
Why isn’t Teal Swan running for president? Now that’s a debate I’d love to see – Swan vs. Williamson.
So yeah. Teal & Marianne would never debate- unless there was gross amount of money to be banked.
So I asked ChatGPT if it could simulate a debate between Williamson and Swan and it said no. CAI isn’t “capable of anticipating future events.” So I asked it about The Law of Attraction. Wow! It came back immediately with accurate and historical detail.
Complete with the barriers to “our manifestation journey.”
One of which is “bad timing”. Because “the universe may have other plans and goals for us.”
Overall, it was a great response and conversation.
“Can a spiritual guru lead the most powerful/forceful country in the real world?”
Absolutely not! A spiritual guru is a snake oil salesman, nothing more. The only one that can lead the most powerful/forceful country in the real world is one with the character of Julius Caesar. Netflix has a short documentary series on the Roman Empire. One of the segments is on Julius Caesar. Unfortunately, when a country is lucky enough to have a Emperor who has his shit together and does right for the citizens, that is no guarantee that the next Emperor won’t be a shit head.
The only tactical mistake Caesar made was underestimating the Senate. Even though they did his bidding (unwillingly of course), he didn’t think they had the balls to assassinate him. Wrong!!!!!
WOW! Very interesting, First Cause. Thanks for your input. …
Wouldn’t you love to see a debate between current, popular, spiritual gurus? Male and female?
… … …
That would be an interesting circus act. It’s not that their schemas don’t help, it’s just that the sales pitch is a fix all and typically linked to some type of immortality.
My spiritual advice is threefold:
1. Think for yourself.
2. Own everything you do and every decisions you make.
3. Stop being a victim.
Don’t know if you remember Osho and the Rajneeshees from Antelope, Oregon back in ’84. Another great documentary on Netflix called Wild, Wild Country. Historically accurate put together by some of his dedicated followers; a great series if your into that sort of thing.
“the sales pitch is a fix all and typically linked to some type of immortality.” That pretty much accounts for most belief. Other wise, why be good? There is a theory TERROR MANAGEMENT, based on Becker’s book THE DENIAL OF DEATH (1973). Of course, the roots go way, way back.
Williamson couches this as FEAR. And the antidote is LOVE. Well, she really goes off the rails into full-out lala land.
Teal’s a little more grounded in the real world; but (big but) she gets into reincarnation. Teal’s been called The Suicide Guru and there was a documentary on her. The filmmakers tricked the trickster. It’s pretty interesting. Both build on the Law of Attraction, or positive psychology, or the power of positive thinking. Which Trump was raised on by his pastor, Norman Vincent Peale.
Funny how none of these spiritual gurus can get together. They all swear they got the truth.
I just watched a BLACK MIRROR about life after death, SAN JUNIPERO. Season 3. Many of BM episodes deal with that subject–technology being what gets us over the hump. But it usually backfires and leads “to the road to hell.”
A lot of cults in Oregon. Great place. Spooky with all the grey skies and rain. The Forests and Ocean. The Storms. Loved my time there.
Yeah, it seems that Utah and the Latter Day Saints in particular starting with Joseph Smith produced and still produces an array of self-proclaimed prophets and visionaries through the decades. Being hyper-aware constructs does have its pitfalls and the culture we grow up in contributes to our delusions.
A fundamental question that we need to ask ourselves is: What is my tolerance for uncertainty? With that question as the grounding premise of spirituality, as a spiritual leader I doubt if I’d have much of a following… 😂
Haven’t read it, I’m impressed with your synthesis of the first 112 pages into a campaign platform. I don’t believe I would be capable of spending that much time thinking about it. I do like this statement: “We’re precious because of what we are, not what we do.” Our culture (and admittedly your conclusion that we keep repeating what we’re successful at doing; see the 4 Tops following up “Sugar Pie Honey Bunch” with “The Same Old Song”) is enslaved to this concept: you are what you do.