Marianne Williamson

We're often afraid of looking at our shadow because we want to avoid the shame or embarrassment that comes along with admitting mistakes.

Today, most Americans are too cynical, or tired, or both, to even approximate our Founders' courageous repudiation of injustice.

I want to be a cheerleader for women who have never even considered running for office or being involved in a campaign, but who in the quietness of their hearts might think, 'Why not me?'

The practice of forgiveness is our most important contribution to the healing of the world.

My self healing lies in praying for those who have harmed me.

I went into therapy several times, but it rarely made an impact.

Ironically, it is when we identify with our spirits rather than our bodies that we are most powerful on the material plane. Our overidentification with the world does not give us power within the world so much as it diminishes our power here. It makes us frightened and nervous and full of anxiety.

Certainly there is such a thing as chemical depression, and for that, obviously, there are issues that psychotherapists are much more expert at speaking to, but I think there is a low-grade depression that actually prevails in our society. And most of us feel it.

In the hands of the ego, marriage is a prison. It is exclusive. It is a place where people are constantly reminded of their failures and limited by the energies of another person. It is rife with judgment and blame.

I'm proud to say I was part of a movement in which we sang 'All You Need Is Love' at political rallies.

We are not held back by the love we didn't receive in the past, but by the love we're not extending in the present.

In 'Healing the Soul of America,' I wrote about Gandhi's notion of soul force in politics and why it matters to stand on your truth.