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Good
morning <$firstname$>,
Do
you recognise this quotation? "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?"
This
quote is often ascribed to Nelson Mandela from his Inauguration
Speeches as State President of South Africa on 9
May 1994 in Cape Town and 10
May 1994 in Pretoria - but that is not true : it
is from Marianne Williamson's book "A Return to
Love - Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles".
"A
Course in Miracles" is a massive workbook and manual
published by the Foundation for Inner Peace and the only
book on personal development I never finished reading :
for me it is totally overwhelming. But Marianne Williamson
has been a student and lecturer of this self-study program
of spiritual psychotherapy since 1978 and her books are
strongly influenced by these principles.
I
have just finished reading her book "The Gift of
Change" and it is truly inspiring and thought provoking
: she explores the powerful role of change in our lives,
which most of us fear and avoid. But every change, although
it may be difficult or even painful, gives us an ideal opportunity
for personal transformation.
She
says that the only real failure in life is the failure to
grow from what we go through. Of course we want to avoid
the pain, but by doing so we inevitably cause more of it.
We live in times that are more difficult than a lot of people
seem willing to admit, and cope with intense amounts of
chaos and fear.
The
speed of change today is faster than the human psyche seems
able to handle, she observes : the most important thing
to remember during these times is to fix our eyes anew on
the things that don't change - they become our compass,
binding us emotionally to a steady and firm course.
We
are being challenged by world events, the tides of history,
to develop a more mature consciousness - who we become as
individuals is intimately and causally connected to how
the world will change over the next few years, of course.
Things
we thought were stable and secure seem less so, things we
thought were distant possibilities have become strangely
close, she continues. Birth, death, divorce, relocation,
aging, career change - many people feel right now like they're
jumping out of their skin.
For
many of us, it's gone way past uncomfortable into a haunting
sense that we might be living a lie. Who doesn't feel displaced
at times? And how do we make the world more aligned with
who we are, instead of always having to struggle to align
ourselves with the world?
These
are sentiments that I share, and there is much more. "The
Gift of Change - Spiritual Guidelines for a Radically New
Life" is an honest and powerful book that I highly
recommend you read if the above samples ring true.
Marianne
Williamson spells out what most of us can't quite put a
finger on or don't admit to ourselves - it literally has
the gift to change our view of the world.
Please
also go to her
website to find out more about her work : there
is a lot of interactive material on offer you might like
to participate in.
Until
next time, all the best from :
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