Marianne Williamson's Substack

May I do one thing today that interrupts my fear. Today is the day of my release, as I declare myself free of the bondage of the ego. I will do one thing, however small, to forge a path of greatness where I have formerly cowered in fear. I need not repair every aspect of my wounded self today. I need only practice the thinking and behavior of a greater good. With this, I build new pathways in my brain and in my life. Dear God,Please free me of the habitsThat keep me boundTo a life I do not wish to live.Break the chains that keep meFrom claiming my greater good.I will try today.Please help me.Amen. May I do one thing today that interrupts my fear. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

May I see myself as God sees me. God created me as a perfect creation, and so in spirit I remain. May the light of my internal perfection cast out any darkness in my mortal self. Thus may I express in the world the love that is in my heart. May God's opinion, and not the opinions of others, determine how I see myself. May God's thoughts, and not my own, determine what is possible for me. May my self-perception rest only on the vision that God holds of me. Dear God,Please lift me above the shadowsOf my negative self-perception.Please deliver me from the chainsThat keep me bound to a smaller life.Please show me the beautyYou have placed in me,And give me faith that it is there.Amen. May I see myself as God sees me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

It is not what I do, but rather who I am, that determines the quality of my life I center my mind on the love in my heart, that I might be a beam of light to whomever I meet today. I need not worry what to do or say, for the Holy Spirit will guide my thoughts and actions. My highest function and greatest mission is simply to be, in any moment, the person I am capable of being. May the love of God extend through me to bless the entire world. Thus may I shine and feel the joy of being my true self. Dear God,I surrender myself to You today,That I might find and bethe truth of whoI really am.Amen. It is not what I do, but rather who I am, that determines the quality of my life This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

I choose to awaken from the delusions of the world. If you want to believe that what your physical eyes can see is all that’s there, then fine, you can. Stay in that small fraction of perceptual reality if you choose. But at some point, even if that point is at the point of death, we all know better. I’ve seen cynics become mystics on their deathbed. We are here as though in a material dream from which the spiritual nature of our larger reality is calling us to awaken. The magician, the alchemist, the miracle-worker, is simply someone who has woken up to the material delusions of the world and decided to live another way. In the world gone mad, we can choose to be sane. In order to move ourselves, and our civilization, into the next phase of our evolutionary journey, it’s time for all of us to awaken. I choose to awaken from the delusions of the world. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

Thank you For A Better World, Keith Denning, and many others for tuning into my live video with Brandan Robertson! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

There are two major categories of life for a lot of of us these days: one is taking in everything that’s happening around us, and the other is talking to our friends about it. I hope my little spiritual/political musings are helpful. We have to emotionally strengthen ourselves in order to meet the moment. Faced with a humungous challenge, it’s time to discover the even more humungous power that lies within us. Amen💙 This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.transformarticles.com Hey, guys. I did a Substack Live earlier this evening. The replay is available to paid subscribers. I started by talking about how we need to be “political athletes” - developing our intellectual, emotional, psychological, and organizational muscles in order to respond adequately to this historic moment. Anything positive we do, any energy we generate goes…

Thank you Shelley Sophia Crawford, Wendy Hanophy, Linda A Marshall, Barbara Bell, CF, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

This is a free preview of a paid episode. To hear more, visit www.transformarticles.com I got on Substack Live earlier today to discuss the psychological as well as political state of the nation. We have to address both if we’re going to make our way through this moment…and WE WILL! MW

Thank you Stephen Nikkola, SUE Speaks, Mystic William, Nadia Munla, Julene Cole, and many others for tuning into my live video! Join me for my next live video in the app. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

Our attitude right now is as important as anything else. Current events are an assault on the nervous system and a real challenge to our psyche. We have to prepare ourselves psychologically in order to both endure and transform what’s happening. Think of it as emotional weightlifting. We have to make ourselves and keep ourselves strong in order to rise to this moment. And we can. Some ancient energies are being summoned now. Think Gal Gadot in Wonder Woman:) Amazing things happen when we remember what we’re made of. If you saw the movie Air Force One, remember when Harrison Ford said to the terrorist, “GET OFF MY PLANE!!!”? It was one of those moments at the movies when an entire audience goes YEAH!! In your mind, tell a certain someone to get his hands off our government. Remember… that government belongs to you. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

Big meeting at the White House this week… Hopefully the reporting is true, and Trump indeed is at a point where he’s prepared to rein Musk in: that from now on he will “use a scalpel rather than a hatchet.” Theoretically Trump has directed DOGE to play only an advisory role, recommending changes which Department heads themselves will then decide on. We’ll see. You never know with these guys. But if it proves to be true, it’s a very very good news. Anyone who has made even one call, forwarded a social media post, attended a protest, or in any other way participated in the rising cry of protest against the DOGE insanity, can consider this a job well done. Yes, it’s only the beginning. And yes, so much is performance art over there. But if the reporting is correct, there’s a volcano that perhaps is starting to erupt. For the sake of our country, I hope so. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

While some are still keeping their heads in the sand, many no longer are. We’re in a full scale battle not just for the soul of our democracy, but for its body. Among other things the President’s speech to Congress was filled with lies, such as the debunked stories about Social Security, or making fun of funds for “transgender mice”, or mocking an African nation “no one’s ever heard of.” Fewer and fewer people are in denial regarding the President’s penchant for pathological lying. The shift is when people stop pretending to themselves that his lies don’t matter. Trump forces have said he’s not going to cut Medicaid, while in fact they’re already trying. He says they’re going to end childhood cancer while supporting environmental policies that are known for contributing to it. Many Republicans in office today are going along with things they know are wrong. There are powerful people in Washington today so high on the drug of proximity to power that they’re selling their souls to go along with all this. On some level they know what’s happening, but to stand up and speak out entails courage they haven’t yet summoned from deep within themselves. History will record whether or not they do. And we’re all in process. I’m looking for the miracles in the midst of all the pain. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

Sometimes you realize things matter to you that you hadn’t ever given much thought. As Americans, we rarely think of something like freedom of religion as relevant to our daily lives. But we’re living at a time when freedom in all its aspects is taking up mental bandwidth in ways we might not have previously thought possible.Have you ever thought much about Christian Nationalism? Probably not, but you might want to now. Christian Nationalism is essentially the belief that all major institutions in the United States should be led by Christians - an idea that runs counter to the religious pluralism made possible by the First Amendment. Its adherents see the United States as a specifically Christian as opposed to a religiously pluralistic society. And their philosophical tentacles go way beyond just that. This situation is one of many ways in which current events are turning us into sober, mature adults in ways we might not have been before. Freedom of religion and religious pluralism are not just abstract words; they’re deeply relevant to a society whose freedom is at risk. But it isn’t simply religious diversity that upsets the Christian Nationalist. To them, the “real” America is white, straight and Christian - and they have every intention to use the law to enforce that view. They are a major force behind Project 2025 and the America First agenda. They are strongly against LGBTQ and transgender rights (as of today, transgender Americans will be removed from the military - even those who have achieved stellar feats in defense of our country) and there’s an almost eerie The Handmaids’ Tale feel to their attitude towards women. The Trump administration, for instance, has declared that no scientific grants will now be given to proposals containing the words “woman” or “female.” It’s a strange interpretation of the New Testament in which men subjugating women is deemed a teaching of Jesus, but here we are. There’s a proposed Senate Resolution 7 that says the following: “Whereas health care for women should also address the needs of men, families, and communities as they relate to women’s healthcare.” The SAVE ACT would make it harder for most married women to vote, and Christian Nationalist ministers claim that women should no longer be allowed to vote at all. I don’t mean to be a downer, and I’m sorry to put depressing news into your inbox. But Americans have an unfortunate tendency to ignore a problem until it’s right up in our face, at which point people yell “Why didn’t anyone tell me about this?!!? when in fact the problem had been only six inches from their nose for a very long time. The time to be aware of all this is now, and awareness is everything. Just knowing about these things gives you power. They become part of your conversation when something needs to be said, whether at a dinner table or on a social media post or with the power of your ballot. Today, a lot of things need to be said. As long as we’re a passionately alert citizenry that isn’t having any of this stuff imposed on us and enforced by law, we’ll be okay. But we’re already behind the 8 ball, obviously. At this point each and every one of us has to be awake to what’s happening, ready to push back on any efforts to narrow the definition of what it means to be a “real” American. Christian Nationalists seem to have Trump in their pocket, but they don’t have to have you or me. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

Nothing is more core to American democracy than freedom. The freedom to do, to be, to say, to dream, to create, to work, to play, to speak privately, to speak publicly, to basically do anything we darn well please as long as it doesn’t hurt anyone else. That is the richness and the glory of this country. People have fought, people have struggled, and people have died so that that ideal could be protected and its franchise expanded. It is beyond comprehension to me that there are those who would now limit that freedom. Who’d unabashedly use the powers of the government not in a way to protect our freedom but to diminish it. Yet that is exactly what is happening, and it’s our generation’s task to protect that freedom from their assault, no differently than other generations have been called to do before us. Perhaps someone should remind the modern GOP of these words spoken by Ronald Reagan: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. I’ve been a professional lecturer for over forty years, invited to speak at churches, universities, hospitals, Presidential libraries, and so forth. Never in a million years did I think that here the United States one of those places would have to get permission from the government before inviting me. Like, what is going on here? Except we know what is going on here. The Carter Center was told that from now on they will have to run all programming by the National Archives before scheduling. The Kennedy Center the same. And there is more. Apparently, Washington wants to run everything now. Yet the Save Act is even scarier, though at a certain point this isn’t a matter of degree. This absurd proposed Congressional legislation, under the guise of protecting the integrity of our elections, would demand that a married woman who had changed her name would have to present proof of her citizenship at birth. An actual barrier to voting for the roughly 69 million married women in the United States who have changed their names? Absolutely not. But a damnable inconvenience and serious hurdle for many? Absolutely yes. And let’s make no mistake about it. This is part of a larger project undertaken by some people with very old-fashioned views about the rights of women, now empowered by the new administration. I’ll have more to say about that soon. So here we are. We mustn’t allow ourselves to make excuses for any of this. It will become a slippery slope, if we acquiesce to any of it. Just like many people thought they’d never take away Roe v. Wade, well they did. Don’t kid yourself. These people are on the march. They’re counting on us to get tired, to find the whole thing too mentally exhausting, to ultimately be okay with their encroachment on our freedoms. I don’t know about you, but no matter how tired I get, I’ll never be too tired to say “Hell No” to that. It’s our duty as Americans to honor and protect our freedom, even when others don’t. We’ll hold the torch high until this chapter has passed. And I know in my heart that it will. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

Today I joined my friend author Daniel Pinchbeck for a Substack Live about the critical moment we’re living through. I’m not sure any dialogue about current events is exactly enjoyable right now, but digging deep into what’s happening is important. I hope you feel we did that. Here’s the video, and paid subscribers will receive the transcript within the next couple of days. x MW This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

As I mention in the video, I haven’t heard Musk deny that he’s taken on a dictatorial role. I think his strategy is to so convince us what a wonderful job he’s doing, that we will gladly give him that role. And many millions are going along. I know. It’s bonkers. But right now bonkers is fact. I think their plan is a Dictator-and-King dual leadership thing here, silly and preposterous yes, but the imagery is still dangerous. The U.S. Constitution was written specifically to make sure that neither of those would ever happen here, and right now the Constitution is on fire. Hyperbole, you think? Should I be a good girl and say things a little more, oh, I don’t know, academically, with less emotion perhaps? Someone responded to me on social media by asking whether I’m auditioning for a Soap Opera. My point is that we’re already in one, but it’s so much worse than that. It’s real. Okay, so enough with the bad news. We get it. Now, as they say in AA, let’s “get into the solution.” A principle of political non-violence is to educate ourselves about the problem. In fact, if more American children had been educated about American history, civics and government over the last few decades, I don’t think we’d be where we are. It’s astonishing the amount of sheer ignorance of our Constitutional system (I DID NOT SAY STUPIDITY) that permeates the public conversation today. People are more vulnerable to lies when no one bothered to teach us the truth. Also as I mention in the video, allegiance to the U.S. Constitution should not be a Left-Right issue. There’s no way we’re going to override the danger of this moment unless we’re willing to come out of our silos. No point identifying with only this group or that; that’s what has turned us into the Disunited States of America. It has weakened us. Rather, identify with the United States of America. With our Constitution. With the principle of rule by law. With adherence to idea of three co-equal branches of government. With the idea that no man is above the law. With the idea of a government of, by and for the people. Embrace what you want, and when enough of us do that then all the rest will fall away. It’s a struggle, yes, but that’s the reality of our lives right now. On some level we were all born for this. And in my heart I do believe that we’re ready to take it on. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

Denial doesn’t serve us right now. Our government is in the middle of a hostile takeover, and we probably have limited time in which to seriously push back. Many of the institutions which would normally have protected us have either fallen or are falling. It’s all in the hands of We the People now. We are the most powerful bulwark against the dictatorship lite now proffered by the man/boy geniuses in charge. Our power lies first and foremost in our educated understanding of what’s happening. We will turn that understanding into patriotic, devoted action. And with our actions, however small and however large - from a social media post to a constituent call to a protest - we will interrupt the assault that so threatens our country’s freedom. I hope my little Firelight Chats are of value to you. In this video, among other things I discuss Hungary’s descent into dictatorship . If ever there was a time to read up, it’s now. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

I went on RISING this morning and got into a tête-a-tête with Robby about Musk and his current rampage through our governmental agencies. To hear Musk tell it, of course, he’s just making things more efficient!You don’t feed a hungry child because it’s efficient, however; you feed a hungry child because it’s the right thing to do. Getting rid of government bloat is a good thing, of course, but Musk and his group of computer nerds aren’t just cutting the fact. They’re cutting the bone. They're rushing into government agencies about which they know nothing, asking no one anything about it, and simply deleting programs at will in the space of a few hours. Sometimes they delete a whole agency! There’s a complete absence of democratic, deliberative, Constitutional process here. Congress created those agencies, all of them are overseen by Inspectors General who were fired almost immediately when Trump took office. Don’t kid yourself, anyone. As I said to Robby, this has little to do with fighting corruption. The corruption lies with insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies, Big Oil, military contractors and the rest of the corporate behemoth by which DC is legally and not-so-legally bribed each day. If you really wanted to fight corruption, you’d go there. What’s happening, unfortunately, is right out of the autocrat’s handbook. The Trump/Musk administration has a sinister goal in all this: convincing people that democracy doesn’t work, so you may as well give up on it. They - and they only - could do a much better job.The lure of autocracy can be very cunning. Don’t buy it, of course. This is tyranny masquerading as efficiency, and gaslighting as a political technique. What’s going on here is a power grab and an authoritarian maneuver. Stay awake. Hold on. This country belongs to us. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe

During the 2020 Presidential election, I frequently mentioned that there were 11 states that didn’t require even half a year of public schooling in American history, government or civics. At this point, I don’t know how many there are. But I know many millions of Americans now seem ignorant of how our government functions, and don’t seem too bothered by the idea that our democracy could go away. If no one teaches you about the Bill of Rights in the seventh grade, how can you be expected to be horrified thirty years later is someone is trying to do away with it it? People’s almost giddy embrace of a situation in which a few guys go in and destroy whatever part of our government they feel like destroying that day, is definitely a sign that someone either 1) has no idea how a democracy functions, or 2) is done with it and wants to burn it all down. They also seem quite unaware of how an authoritarian takeover might affect their own lives. The anger people feel about the unfairness of our system is justified, don’t get me wrong. But the brilliantly evil deflection that’s occurring - turning people against the federal workforce, for God’s sake - is a sign that some serious liars are playing with the national psyche. I have two relatives, one a doctor and one an oceanographer, who are genuinely heartbroken that the good work they were doing for their country has now been put on hold. Multiply them by tens of thousands of other civil servants now vilified by people convinced that such “faceless bureaucrats” are the source of their problems. Really…? Medical researchers are the source of our problems? People who feed starving children are the source of our problems? People who monitor fisheries are the source of our problems? People who dispense education grants are the source of our problems? I think not. “But Marianne,” I’m told, “There’s so much fraud and abuse!” Which is why Congress created the role of Inspectors General, people responsible for preventing waste, fraud, and abuse in key government agencies like Defense, State, and Labor. Trump removed 18 of those watchdog officials as soon as he got into office. All of this was planned. So… I hope my videos are keeping you company in this darkened hour. I mention a few books in the video (Strongmen, How Democracies Die, and Tyranny) as well as an excellent Kara Swisher Podcast that I think encapsulates what’s going on quite well. It’s all going to be okay, you know. Long term, this is going to make us better people and a better country. I just feel that. The short and middle term will probably be rough - it already is - but I’m betting on us to rise, to be courageous, and to save our democracy. Nothing less is at stake. I have faith in us, and I have faith in God. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.transformarticles.com/subscribe