THANK you SO much Marianne!!!! Your voice in the wilderness of screens, AI, lies from the top, and so much detachment from eye to eye, heart to heart communication!! I hope to soon try my hand at mobilizing local women in Sisterhood Circles dedicated to the Creative Core in each one of us! Your inspiration is so appreciated! Great that you have been around the world with the truth. <3
I hope your Wise Women's Retreat in NC draws many from South Carolina, where Dr. Annie Andrews is among the candidates for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator-in the race to replace Uber Patriarch Lindsey Graham. Godspeed to Dr.Andrews!
Well stated and your words are the best thing since sliced bread! We really need to rethink how to avoid the patriarchy as women! The women’s movement failed there immediately. Ask the women of color in coalition groups who were left on the side of the road, while corporations kept marginalizing women of color all along. I wondered why I ever supported the feminist movement, while women of color were being pushed aside to let the privileged upper white class to take over. Then it became apparent that the most important aspect of feminism kept abusing human and civil rights of women of color including Arab American Women, Black Women, Latino Women, and Asian Women. After the murder of thousands upon thousands of women and children in Gaza and now Iran, it seems fruitless. It’s really a class struggle, isn’t it?
First, when I read your piece, I immediately fantasized what it would be like to travel with you to all these different places and hear your conversations. I can't think of anything more wondrous. Second, I've noticed over the years the way women tend to hide their feminine brilliance and try to morph into men, in the sense of fitting themselves/ourselves to their expectations, energy, etc. I do it with my brothers! It's almost a patting on the head by the mother, because we have an inner maturity that has to be hidden, or expressed tactfully, in droplets, lest we upset the patriarchy's apple cart and bring its scorn upon us.
Third, I appreciate the "scientific" approach you employ when taking inventory, and targeting where we went off track and how to reimagine the way forward.
A lovely piece. The only issue I have is at the very end, because it sounds like an ad for your retreat, or it might sound that way to some. (The damage done by advertisers in this country over the decades is, I believe, significant. But save that for another day.)
Lastly, I want you to know, Marianne Williamson, you caught my attention years ago when you spoke of what we owe the American Indians/Indigenous people of this country, and it still impresses me to think of. I send you love and support!
If I don't "advertise" a retreat, or a class, or a book, then how do people know it's available? Also, scholarships - and libraries - make all of them available.
I'm only thinking in terms of forwarding your writing to others. I don't mean to put any negativity on you. I understand what you say and it's certainly reasonable.
WoW, I always loved women that introspect (that statement is not to be read in a patronizing way but with a true spiritual sense). I heard from Ma Prem Zareen once that women have the greatest survival instincts, otherwise how could men shape the world for so long for their own benefit? If they had felt that women are of no use, they could have wiped out all of the women off the face of the earth in blind rage only to realize there cannot be any more men to propel the world further after them. So, somewhere they became quite cunning either to subvert women or really be appreciative of their contributions by showing reverence (growing up India, the morning prayers in our schools started with paying obeisance to the Mother, then to the father and finally to the teacher.) I think that ought to tell us where the societies are going wrong if they don’t have such dispositions anymore culturally. India can lose its sheen but at the same time this beautiful arrangement shall take shape in some other parts of the world (why not USA?) for the humanity and civilization to flourish (not just the sheer number of humans with no relevance unless they can be put to produce more, consume even more and if nothing else just to fight in the name of God).
And to your point on how did this country come to this in terms of women’s movement and also how they are received and treated in corporate cultures, according to my observation, lies in the wrong assumptions by whoever is giving shape to this revival and upliftment of women, as they slowly veered off to either to pit themselves directly in competition with men or trying their hand at proving themselves as equals in a man’s world or have developed a grievance (not without a reason) to disown men with phrases like, “We don’t need men.” Only if they had the cunningness of men (to not disown women completely), and then start imparting the wisdom and nurturing capabilities to their own offspring, the next generations of men would obviously then look at women as a source of inspiration and not just as tools at the disposal of domineering men.
If my comments are triggering an outburst or anguish in anyone, I apologize and also clarify that it was not my intention to cause anyone such trouble but will not be subjected to shame or regret sharing my observations, unless the host kicks me out.🙏😀❤️
Let's all help eachother to all rise together. Such inspirational words. Thank you so much for sharing. Lots of love from Ireland. Hopefully, we'll be on your list when you visit Europe again.
Women know that the common denominator to war planet abuse human abuse hunger and emotional sexual and physical abuse is men. They are the most dangerous species to us all human animal earth and to men. Men need to do the work to change radically. Perhaps Start by placing the power over that they hold down
I wrote a paper to this exact effect in 1979. I was studying in college, majoring in religion, anthropology and women's studies. This was apparent to me then as it is now. Powerful and inciteful. Thank you for eloquently mirroring my thoughts.
We are still heading very much in the wrong direction! I fear with the 'Proud Boys' philosophy infiltrating our young men we have a long battle to overcome. I never really understood what western chauvinism really stood for until I researched it today. I have had dialogs with young male members in my family that revere this philosophy. I am horrified that we seemingly, not only as women, but human beings, have let us go backwards. I could write on and on about the degradation and it's sources and influences but I remain hopeful we collectively rise above the madness.
I am not restacking this one (not punching the like button either), but I did want to comment. I am at my limits on analyses of how wrong things are here in AmeriKKKa--, especially with respect to feminism right now--from white women who do not add in "the race thing".
I am a Black woman pushing 70: born in America, fifth generation genealogically out of enslaved people and their oppressors (of course--to be the complexion that I am). In less than 30 minutes, I will join a live stream that will be discussing how to obtain a visa to live in another country far far away from here. The lack of true reciprocity across racial lines in the feminist movement breaks my heart. We keep tripping over it. And I am one who-- for years corrected every single human (usually Black), who tried to attribute your famous quote to Nelson Mandela.
Who are you not to be brilliant?
Among the white women I know you are not shining your light; and as far as I can tell there seems to be ongoing confusion on where your loyalties lie:
self preservation ?
to your boys with the penises?
or to your daughters?
Somehow, you don't seem to be able to juggle all three.
Translation: I know how to be an ally to my white siSTARS. I don't experience the same allyship from you all.
Among the Black women I know, we are tired and angry, and many (like me) are pulling a bit of a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--as the Earth is scheduled for demolition to make way for an intergalactic, super highway--
Interesting. Next time you see a white woman, or any woman, running for President on an agenda of paying reparations for slavery - twice - please let me know. I might not be "shining my light" enough for you, but your projections onto me seem quite harsh and I'll try not to emotionally absorb them. I know how passionately you feel everything that's happened and is happening - we're close to the same age - but I also know the price I paid personally as well as professionally in standing up for that issue and I continue to. If you've read my books Healing the Soul of America or A Politics of Love, you know the issue of race could not be more front and center. Let's have some mercy on one another please?Thank you by the way, for correcting misperceptions about that quote. I appreciate it.
I'm sorry that you experienced my comment as harsh; "you" white women was a conscious projection onto your entire demographic. And yes I read (and believed in) the visions and strategies in "Healing the Soul of America". And your presidential run (especially the first time). And Hillary, in the primaries (before Obama), and in 2016. And Kamala. But I look at the next 3 generations, and they are reading Octavia Butler's "Parable of The Sower" as prophecy.
Thank you, Marianne! 🙏 *** I'm inspired to share the following to further inspire our rising up, especially during this tumultuous time!: 1.) The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future by Riane Eisler https://centerforpartnership.org/resources/books/the-chalice-and-the-blade-our-history-our-future/ The author’s thesis is that, despite old narratives about an inherently flawed humanity, more and more evidence shows humanity is not doomed to perpetuate patterns of violence and oppression. Female values offer a partnership alternative with deep roots in the pre-Patriarchy paradigm of cultural evolution. She envisions a way of structuring society in more peaceful, equitable, and sustainable ways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chalice_and_the_Blade
2.) The book https://www.alphabetvsgoddess.com/ and video https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/55990/the-alphabet-vs-the-goddess-lecture-by-dr-leonard-shlain The Alphabet Versus The Goddess, by Dr Leonard Shlain, who argues that literacy reinforced the brain's linear, abstract, predominantly masculine left brain hemisphere at the expense of the holistic, iconic feminine right brain hemisphere, a shift that upset the balance between men and women, with profound consequences for culture. Shlain foresees that increasing reliance on right brain pattern recognition instead of left brain linear sequence will move culture toward equilibrium between the two hemispheres, between masculine and feminine, between word and image.
3.) Sacha Stone’s extraordinary 24-minute address to the Alliance of Indigenous Nations (AIN) Summit, Resurrection of The Eternal Mother https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89V380SNxWA. His final statement: "There must be a return of the talking stick to the Grandmothers. We must all now revert to the universal law 101, which runs through the ancestral veins of all of (us). The warrior class of men are not equipped to make determinations right now...we are too caught up in...bad dreaming. Take the knee to (our) Grandmothers. Take the knee. We must resurrect the eternal Mother"!
4.) The Eagle and The Condor prophecy https://blog.pachamama.org/the-eagle-and-the-condor-prophecy says that during the next 500-year period, beginning in 1990, the potential would arise for both the masculine (mind) and feminine (heart) paths to come together, fly in the same sky, and create a new level of consciousness for humanity. The prophecy only speaks of the potential, so it is up to humanity to activate this potential and ensure that a new consciousness is allowed to arise.
Ms Williamson, I "ran against you" (as a Republican) in the New Hampshire 2020 presidential primary, but am on board with your spiritual ideas. Please see my new article about 'women's place' regarding the "Iran war":
Marianne, I am always awed by your writing! You have such ‘a way’ with words ~ which I feel are sourced in a ‘miraculous’ well ~
How true they are and how courageously truth full you are!
I feel indeed grateful to be a part of your world. Thank you so much for sharing YOUrself with us. May GoODness Prevail
~ from a girl in the city of angels
THANK you SO much Marianne!!!! Your voice in the wilderness of screens, AI, lies from the top, and so much detachment from eye to eye, heart to heart communication!! I hope to soon try my hand at mobilizing local women in Sisterhood Circles dedicated to the Creative Core in each one of us! Your inspiration is so appreciated! Great that you have been around the world with the truth. <3
I hope your Wise Women's Retreat in NC draws many from South Carolina, where Dr. Annie Andrews is among the candidates for the Democratic nomination for United States Senator-in the race to replace Uber Patriarch Lindsey Graham. Godspeed to Dr.Andrews!
I've offered to interview her and even speak for her down there, but I assume someone on her team doesn't want it. I definitely hope she wins!
Well stated and your words are the best thing since sliced bread! We really need to rethink how to avoid the patriarchy as women! The women’s movement failed there immediately. Ask the women of color in coalition groups who were left on the side of the road, while corporations kept marginalizing women of color all along. I wondered why I ever supported the feminist movement, while women of color were being pushed aside to let the privileged upper white class to take over. Then it became apparent that the most important aspect of feminism kept abusing human and civil rights of women of color including Arab American Women, Black Women, Latino Women, and Asian Women. After the murder of thousands upon thousands of women and children in Gaza and now Iran, it seems fruitless. It’s really a class struggle, isn’t it?
Judge Napolitano - Judging Freedom
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs : What Hath Trump Wrought?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZRt9xR1df3I
Thank you for the link.
First, when I read your piece, I immediately fantasized what it would be like to travel with you to all these different places and hear your conversations. I can't think of anything more wondrous. Second, I've noticed over the years the way women tend to hide their feminine brilliance and try to morph into men, in the sense of fitting themselves/ourselves to their expectations, energy, etc. I do it with my brothers! It's almost a patting on the head by the mother, because we have an inner maturity that has to be hidden, or expressed tactfully, in droplets, lest we upset the patriarchy's apple cart and bring its scorn upon us.
Third, I appreciate the "scientific" approach you employ when taking inventory, and targeting where we went off track and how to reimagine the way forward.
A lovely piece. The only issue I have is at the very end, because it sounds like an ad for your retreat, or it might sound that way to some. (The damage done by advertisers in this country over the decades is, I believe, significant. But save that for another day.)
Lastly, I want you to know, Marianne Williamson, you caught my attention years ago when you spoke of what we owe the American Indians/Indigenous people of this country, and it still impresses me to think of. I send you love and support!
If I don't "advertise" a retreat, or a class, or a book, then how do people know it's available? Also, scholarships - and libraries - make all of them available.
I'm only thinking in terms of forwarding your writing to others. I don't mean to put any negativity on you. I understand what you say and it's certainly reasonable.
WoW, I always loved women that introspect (that statement is not to be read in a patronizing way but with a true spiritual sense). I heard from Ma Prem Zareen once that women have the greatest survival instincts, otherwise how could men shape the world for so long for their own benefit? If they had felt that women are of no use, they could have wiped out all of the women off the face of the earth in blind rage only to realize there cannot be any more men to propel the world further after them. So, somewhere they became quite cunning either to subvert women or really be appreciative of their contributions by showing reverence (growing up India, the morning prayers in our schools started with paying obeisance to the Mother, then to the father and finally to the teacher.) I think that ought to tell us where the societies are going wrong if they don’t have such dispositions anymore culturally. India can lose its sheen but at the same time this beautiful arrangement shall take shape in some other parts of the world (why not USA?) for the humanity and civilization to flourish (not just the sheer number of humans with no relevance unless they can be put to produce more, consume even more and if nothing else just to fight in the name of God).
And to your point on how did this country come to this in terms of women’s movement and also how they are received and treated in corporate cultures, according to my observation, lies in the wrong assumptions by whoever is giving shape to this revival and upliftment of women, as they slowly veered off to either to pit themselves directly in competition with men or trying their hand at proving themselves as equals in a man’s world or have developed a grievance (not without a reason) to disown men with phrases like, “We don’t need men.” Only if they had the cunningness of men (to not disown women completely), and then start imparting the wisdom and nurturing capabilities to their own offspring, the next generations of men would obviously then look at women as a source of inspiration and not just as tools at the disposal of domineering men.
If my comments are triggering an outburst or anguish in anyone, I apologize and also clarify that it was not my intention to cause anyone such trouble but will not be subjected to shame or regret sharing my observations, unless the host kicks me out.🙏😀❤️
Let's all help eachother to all rise together. Such inspirational words. Thank you so much for sharing. Lots of love from Ireland. Hopefully, we'll be on your list when you visit Europe again.
Women know that the common denominator to war planet abuse human abuse hunger and emotional sexual and physical abuse is men. They are the most dangerous species to us all human animal earth and to men. Men need to do the work to change radically. Perhaps Start by placing the power over that they hold down
Thank you in abundance for sharing your experiences, related to some with ease.
My hat off to you for your ongoing guidance.
Heartfelt. Am 84 from Across the Miles.
Love and Gratitude 🙏
I wrote a paper to this exact effect in 1979. I was studying in college, majoring in religion, anthropology and women's studies. This was apparent to me then as it is now. Powerful and inciteful. Thank you for eloquently mirroring my thoughts.
Exactly. You could see it then, but the mainstream movement wasn't open to the levels you were coming from. And that's where we went wrong.
We are still heading very much in the wrong direction! I fear with the 'Proud Boys' philosophy infiltrating our young men we have a long battle to overcome. I never really understood what western chauvinism really stood for until I researched it today. I have had dialogs with young male members in my family that revere this philosophy. I am horrified that we seemingly, not only as women, but human beings, have let us go backwards. I could write on and on about the degradation and it's sources and influences but I remain hopeful we collectively rise above the madness.
I am not restacking this one (not punching the like button either), but I did want to comment. I am at my limits on analyses of how wrong things are here in AmeriKKKa--, especially with respect to feminism right now--from white women who do not add in "the race thing".
I am a Black woman pushing 70: born in America, fifth generation genealogically out of enslaved people and their oppressors (of course--to be the complexion that I am). In less than 30 minutes, I will join a live stream that will be discussing how to obtain a visa to live in another country far far away from here. The lack of true reciprocity across racial lines in the feminist movement breaks my heart. We keep tripping over it. And I am one who-- for years corrected every single human (usually Black), who tried to attribute your famous quote to Nelson Mandela.
Who are you not to be brilliant?
Among the white women I know you are not shining your light; and as far as I can tell there seems to be ongoing confusion on where your loyalties lie:
self preservation ?
to your boys with the penises?
or to your daughters?
Somehow, you don't seem to be able to juggle all three.
Translation: I know how to be an ally to my white siSTARS. I don't experience the same allyship from you all.
Among the Black women I know, we are tired and angry, and many (like me) are pulling a bit of a Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy--as the Earth is scheduled for demolition to make way for an intergalactic, super highway--
"So long, and thanks for the fish".
Interesting. Next time you see a white woman, or any woman, running for President on an agenda of paying reparations for slavery - twice - please let me know. I might not be "shining my light" enough for you, but your projections onto me seem quite harsh and I'll try not to emotionally absorb them. I know how passionately you feel everything that's happened and is happening - we're close to the same age - but I also know the price I paid personally as well as professionally in standing up for that issue and I continue to. If you've read my books Healing the Soul of America or A Politics of Love, you know the issue of race could not be more front and center. Let's have some mercy on one another please?Thank you by the way, for correcting misperceptions about that quote. I appreciate it.
I'm sorry that you experienced my comment as harsh; "you" white women was a conscious projection onto your entire demographic. And yes I read (and believed in) the visions and strategies in "Healing the Soul of America". And your presidential run (especially the first time). And Hillary, in the primaries (before Obama), and in 2016. And Kamala. But I look at the next 3 generations, and they are reading Octavia Butler's "Parable of The Sower" as prophecy.
So, I'll sing when I feel it all Too Deeply:
https://youtu.be/K8AegG5en2g
So much truth!!!
Thank you, Marianne! 🙏 *** I'm inspired to share the following to further inspire our rising up, especially during this tumultuous time!: 1.) The Chalice and the Blade: Our History, Our Future by Riane Eisler https://centerforpartnership.org/resources/books/the-chalice-and-the-blade-our-history-our-future/ The author’s thesis is that, despite old narratives about an inherently flawed humanity, more and more evidence shows humanity is not doomed to perpetuate patterns of violence and oppression. Female values offer a partnership alternative with deep roots in the pre-Patriarchy paradigm of cultural evolution. She envisions a way of structuring society in more peaceful, equitable, and sustainable ways. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Chalice_and_the_Blade
2.) The book https://www.alphabetvsgoddess.com/ and video https://www.cultureunplugged.com/documentary/watch-online/play/55990/the-alphabet-vs-the-goddess-lecture-by-dr-leonard-shlain The Alphabet Versus The Goddess, by Dr Leonard Shlain, who argues that literacy reinforced the brain's linear, abstract, predominantly masculine left brain hemisphere at the expense of the holistic, iconic feminine right brain hemisphere, a shift that upset the balance between men and women, with profound consequences for culture. Shlain foresees that increasing reliance on right brain pattern recognition instead of left brain linear sequence will move culture toward equilibrium between the two hemispheres, between masculine and feminine, between word and image.
3.) Sacha Stone’s extraordinary 24-minute address to the Alliance of Indigenous Nations (AIN) Summit, Resurrection of The Eternal Mother https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=89V380SNxWA. His final statement: "There must be a return of the talking stick to the Grandmothers. We must all now revert to the universal law 101, which runs through the ancestral veins of all of (us). The warrior class of men are not equipped to make determinations right now...we are too caught up in...bad dreaming. Take the knee to (our) Grandmothers. Take the knee. We must resurrect the eternal Mother"!
4.) The Eagle and The Condor prophecy https://blog.pachamama.org/the-eagle-and-the-condor-prophecy says that during the next 500-year period, beginning in 1990, the potential would arise for both the masculine (mind) and feminine (heart) paths to come together, fly in the same sky, and create a new level of consciousness for humanity. The prophecy only speaks of the potential, so it is up to humanity to activate this potential and ensure that a new consciousness is allowed to arise.
5.) Matriarchy as an Ethic, Not a Hierarchy https://wehavefriendseverywhere.substack.com/p/matriarchy-as-an-ethic-not-a-hierarchy; On privilege, responsibility, and choosing a different way to live, by KELLI KLYMENKO
I've read one and two! Will look into the others, thanks!
Ms Williamson, I "ran against you" (as a Republican) in the New Hampshire 2020 presidential primary, but am on board with your spiritual ideas. Please see my new article about 'women's place' regarding the "Iran war":
https://maxwellm.substack.com/p/blame-the-males-a-womans-point-of
I look forrward to reading it. Thanks!
Beautiful