Marianne — thank you for this book. I continue to reread it and listen to it over the years.
What you've given us isn't a political book or a spiritual book. It's both — because you're committed to naming the separation the human experience keeps trying to make real, and refusing to let it stand.
*Healing the Soul of America* is medicine for people who feel called to the public square and people who feel called inward — and for those of us learning that those aren't different callings.
There's a big revision to our historical story that sheds light on the dissolution of what we hold dear that we are experiencing. Please read it. It's a game-changer. It starts with this:
BEYOND THE VENEER: "The story is told, with remarkable consistency from Manila to Mumbai and from Madrid to Montevideo, that the United States is the world’s oldest democracy…The men who gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 were not designing a democracy in any sense that this word now carries…they were intent on designing a stable political order capable of protecting property, quelling unrest, securing commerce, and keeping decisive power within a particular class…I have come to call this worldview Industrial Economism, and it’s the operating system of the modern world."
Hi Marianne did you say this was written in 1997, I’m just amazed by 1. how so few of us including myself were unaware or not listening I mean truly listening. 2. That you knew what was going to happen and it did.
Marianne, are you and Paul Zeitz working together? He is working in the same direction. Hoping you already know each other and are combining your efforts. :-)
I have spent a lot of time being furious about this contradiction. People who went to the women’s match, after 30 years of ski weekends and pool parties, who thought they’d done enough in the sixties and earned the right to sit it out and even, FFS, try to get out of fucking jury duty when they literally had nothing more important to do. This reached me in a new way, bc that anger and judgment (which I’ve held very tightly for a decade, and only recently started to just loosen bc bigger fish to fry: “And thus we became a class of rich slaves. Our fear that what had happened to our slain leaders might happen to us, our naïve and immature preoccupation with drugs, and ultimately our complete seduction by a consumer society conspired to turn us into the greatest fuel source for the status quo that America has ever seen. Given our previous, youthful repudiation of the downside of American materialism, the irony here is almost grotesque. We who sought to heal America once before have helped to run her into the ground.”
“Only when the mind has itself transformed does the world achieve any permanent change.”
There is more to it than Kent State.
Marianne, the most influential social change movement of the 20th century was not led by Gandhi, King, Mandela. It was achieved by the billionaire Koch brothers (c/f Jane Myers Dark Money). They understood that if they wanted to shift America from Roosevelt’s positive social values to their values of liberty and small government, they needed to affect public mindsets. They set about doing this. This led to the adaptation of neoliberalism and America’s split.
“All you need is love,” was a popular song way back.
Yes, we need love, caring and courage… and also a means to empower millions of good willed people to communicate to help Americans and Australians grasp catastrophic ecological trends, the real consequences of nuclear war, and the need to make democracy work for our mutual well-being. In other words, grasp the need to transform our destructive system and see ways to act on this.
As I often comment, you position yourself as a preacher and a font of knowledge. What is not in your skill set as of yet is understanding how to empower people to be leaders along the lines I just indicated. You may get adoring comments to your posts, but this is not particularly useful.
The League of Evolutionary Catalysts is a community of practice supporting regular people in becoming effective communicators for healthy cultural evolution in our time of ecological emergency and social cruelty.
If you are open to it, I can introduce you to ways of thinking that could make you orders of magnitude more influential.
On behalf of Marianne, as the person I think of as our world teacher, who in my book embodies the combo of political and spiritual that can inspire humanity, I find your comments to be annoyingly offensive. Having played some in your world and never finding it to be very potent, my two cents is that more respect is due to someone with brighter lights than you have.
In all friendliness, Sue – despite your contemptuous dismissal – I raise this query. I don’t know how large Marianne’s contact list is, but let’s suppose for the sake of argument that it’s about a million people.
Tell me: How will Marianne writing articles to which people respond with something like ‘Marianne, that’s wonderful’… actually contribute to moving the dial in the context of our ecological emergency and the path to nuclear war?
I don't feel friendly to you so insensitively bashing anyone, especially someone of the quality of a Marianne. There's such arrogance to your comment. Shame on you. Even your explanation to me is riddled with when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife contempt for, oh, love. Isn't that something!
In all friendliness, Sue – despite your contemptuous dismissal – I raise this query. I don’t know how large Marianne’s contact list is, but let’s suppose for the sake of argument that it’s about a million people.
Tell me: How will Marianne writing articles to which people respond with something like ‘Marianne, that’s wonderful’… actually contribute to moving the dial in the context of our ecological emergency and the path to nuclear war?
"Politics has become the active involvement of an increasingly smaller subset of the American people. Out of 163 democracies in the world, we reportedly rank among the lowest in democratic participation. "
With all do respect, I would like to know the source of this statement. ... Thanks
Marianne — thank you for this book. I continue to reread it and listen to it over the years.
What you've given us isn't a political book or a spiritual book. It's both — because you're committed to naming the separation the human experience keeps trying to make real, and refusing to let it stand.
*Healing the Soul of America* is medicine for people who feel called to the public square and people who feel called inward — and for those of us learning that those aren't different callings.
Grateful for the work. Grateful for you.
— Bill
There's a big revision to our historical story that sheds light on the dissolution of what we hold dear that we are experiencing. Please read it. It's a game-changer. It starts with this:
BEYOND THE VENEER: "The story is told, with remarkable consistency from Manila to Mumbai and from Madrid to Montevideo, that the United States is the world’s oldest democracy…The men who gathered in Philadelphia in the summer of 1787 were not designing a democracy in any sense that this word now carries…they were intent on designing a stable political order capable of protecting property, quelling unrest, securing commerce, and keeping decisive power within a particular class…I have come to call this worldview Industrial Economism, and it’s the operating system of the modern world."
GET THE WHOLE THING HERE: https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/p/deep-springboards-to-higher-ground
Hi Marianne did you say this was written in 1997, I’m just amazed by 1. how so few of us including myself were unaware or not listening I mean truly listening. 2. That you knew what was going to happen and it did.
Thank you for your life’s work. You make the world a better and more hopeful place.
Marianne, are you and Paul Zeitz working together? He is working in the same direction. Hoping you already know each other and are combining your efforts. :-)
Thank you for your wisdom.
I have spent a lot of time being furious about this contradiction. People who went to the women’s match, after 30 years of ski weekends and pool parties, who thought they’d done enough in the sixties and earned the right to sit it out and even, FFS, try to get out of fucking jury duty when they literally had nothing more important to do. This reached me in a new way, bc that anger and judgment (which I’ve held very tightly for a decade, and only recently started to just loosen bc bigger fish to fry: “And thus we became a class of rich slaves. Our fear that what had happened to our slain leaders might happen to us, our naïve and immature preoccupation with drugs, and ultimately our complete seduction by a consumer society conspired to turn us into the greatest fuel source for the status quo that America has ever seen. Given our previous, youthful repudiation of the downside of American materialism, the irony here is almost grotesque. We who sought to heal America once before have helped to run her into the ground.”
“Only when the mind has itself transformed does the world achieve any permanent change.”
There is more to it than Kent State.
Marianne, the most influential social change movement of the 20th century was not led by Gandhi, King, Mandela. It was achieved by the billionaire Koch brothers (c/f Jane Myers Dark Money). They understood that if they wanted to shift America from Roosevelt’s positive social values to their values of liberty and small government, they needed to affect public mindsets. They set about doing this. This led to the adaptation of neoliberalism and America’s split.
“All you need is love,” was a popular song way back.
Yes, we need love, caring and courage… and also a means to empower millions of good willed people to communicate to help Americans and Australians grasp catastrophic ecological trends, the real consequences of nuclear war, and the need to make democracy work for our mutual well-being. In other words, grasp the need to transform our destructive system and see ways to act on this.
As I often comment, you position yourself as a preacher and a font of knowledge. What is not in your skill set as of yet is understanding how to empower people to be leaders along the lines I just indicated. You may get adoring comments to your posts, but this is not particularly useful.
The League of Evolutionary Catalysts is a community of practice supporting regular people in becoming effective communicators for healthy cultural evolution in our time of ecological emergency and social cruelty.
If you are open to it, I can introduce you to ways of thinking that could make you orders of magnitude more influential.
Andrew Gaines
andrew.gaines@evolutionarycatalyst.net
On behalf of Marianne, as the person I think of as our world teacher, who in my book embodies the combo of political and spiritual that can inspire humanity, I find your comments to be annoyingly offensive. Having played some in your world and never finding it to be very potent, my two cents is that more respect is due to someone with brighter lights than you have.
In all friendliness, Sue – despite your contemptuous dismissal – I raise this query. I don’t know how large Marianne’s contact list is, but let’s suppose for the sake of argument that it’s about a million people.
Tell me: How will Marianne writing articles to which people respond with something like ‘Marianne, that’s wonderful’… actually contribute to moving the dial in the context of our ecological emergency and the path to nuclear war?
I don't feel friendly to you so insensitively bashing anyone, especially someone of the quality of a Marianne. There's such arrogance to your comment. Shame on you. Even your explanation to me is riddled with when-did-you-stop-beating-your-wife contempt for, oh, love. Isn't that something!
Here's my Marianne playlist of how she contributes https://suzannetaylor.substack.com/s/marianne-williamson
Hi Sue – I recommend this article to you.
https://www.beyondintractability.org/ttdth/hate-bait
Andrew, this is beneath you. It's like what Trump does, calling others out for things he does.
I simply noticed that you have excoriating condemned me the most unloving terms. Or did I misinterpret you?
Oh this is a way cool way
for us to share the book with you! 😍
In all friendliness, Sue – despite your contemptuous dismissal – I raise this query. I don’t know how large Marianne’s contact list is, but let’s suppose for the sake of argument that it’s about a million people.
Tell me: How will Marianne writing articles to which people respond with something like ‘Marianne, that’s wonderful’… actually contribute to moving the dial in the context of our ecological emergency and the path to nuclear war?
I think you may have meant this comment for someone else. It doesn't relate to what I said above.
Please find a person you mean to answer share your words with her.
- Amylouise Donnelly
Quite so!.
"Politics has become the active involvement of an increasingly smaller subset of the American people. Out of 163 democracies in the world, we reportedly rank among the lowest in democratic participation. "
With all do respect, I would like to know the source of this statement. ... Thanks