Marianne Williamson

From bestselling books to a new "Oprah and Friends" radio show, Marianne Williamson is making her memorable life journey a universal adventure. Without hopefulness there is nothing. Add to that healthy, respectul dose of self-love and gratitude to the marrow and it's no wonder that Marianne Williamson's inspirational books have resonated with millions of readers around the world. From her mega-bestseller A Return to Love to Illuminata, A Woman's Worth and her latest book, The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife, this New York Times' bestselling author and lecturer is on a mission: to make North Americans revere the art of being not buying.

MODW: "Welcome to MODWOMEN Marianne. It's a pleasure to have you visit with us."

Marianne: "Thanks for having me."

MODW: "Marianne, women around the world consider you such an inspirational role model today. Do you think it is possible for women to have it all today?

Marianne: "I don't really think of my career as separate from any other aspect of my life, so to respond to a question like that is odd. How you see my career and I see it might be very different things. But if you look at the question Can we have it all?' we tend to think the operative word is all.' From a spiritual perspective the operative word is have."

MODW: "So are we such insatiable consumers today that we've completely missed the point?"

Marianne: "Well, when you ask Can I have it all?' you have to realize that the neurotic pattern of American life today leaves us always struggling to get more. We truly don't realize how much we already have. When you're coming at life from a place where you never have enough you'll manifest lack no matter what you do. So grasping for more and more is actually going to deflect rather than attract what you really want in life."

MODW: "Our greed, then, is making us misunderstand the universal law of attraction."

Marianne: "Exactly. But when you stand within that special space of knowing within your deepest self - that place of abundance if you will - you'll only attract more abundance. If people really, really thought about it they'd realize that everything that's really important they already have. In fact, when you come from a place where you realize that abundance flows naturally to you."

MODW: "What has been the most satisfying experience in your career so far?"

Marianne: "Often people show up at a reading or a book signing and they'll show me where they've underlined passages in yellow in my books. I'll see an exclamation by one section or a couple of stars by another. It so satisfying to see that and to know my books have changed people on the inside. So yes, when someone comes up and is moved by something I wrote it's a real high."

MODW: "Are you surprised that people have embraced your philosophies about transforming life and living it authentically?"

Marianne: "If you do your best, whether in a lecture or a book, and speak from that deepest place you can master within yourself then you simply know that your message will reach somebody else. You trust it - and that people will understand and embrace that message."

MODW: "As you know the popularity of "The Secret" has turned millions onto the laws of attraction. Do you think today's fast-fix generation is putting the wrong spin on that idea?"

Marianne: "There are positive aspects to "The Secret" and that's a good thing. But there's a part that I feel is being interpreted on a very elementary level - that is, you'll get a bigger house, bigger car if you think about it coming to you. This isn't a criticism but in the bigger picture "The Secret" doesn't go into the moral dimension of what we are doing in this life. Plus, "The Secret" has been packaged like it's something new. The laws of attraction are ancient. It's called 'karma'."

MODW: "We can't escape that, no matter how hard we try?"

Marianne: "No. But again getting people interested in the laws of attraction is a good thing. There's no question about that. But they need to remember that it's not just what you do in this life that counts. It's how you do it, why you do it and how you and what you do fits into the larger scheme of the universe.

MODW: "Marianne, how you describe the market niche that your books now fill?"

Marianne: "When I started my career there were no professional niche for what I do. Plus I was completely naive. I wasn't coming from a place of trying to make things happen. I just thought it was so cool to get up and talk to people who'd paid $30 for my book. I was so grateful and when I realized that I didn't have to be a temporary secretary any more because I could now pay the bills that was my bliss."

MODW: "So gratitude has always been your anchor?"

Marianne: "Absolutely. But I've also learned that whenever I deviated from just seeking to enthuse people about what I've learned in life the consequences that have been less than wonderful."

MODW: "What is your proudest accomplishment?"

Marianne: "My daughter. Raising a happy child who is now a young woman I admire and genuinely like is definitely my biggest accomplishment by far."

MODW: "Has your worldwide fame strained your relationship with her?"

Marianne: "Well, she goes to school in England right now so I think she decided on some subconscious level that she needed to get her own continent. But to her I'm just 'mom'."

MODW: "Your fame doesn't impress her?"

Marianne: "Let's put it this way... Several years ago, I was prepping for an interview about one of my books. I guess I was making a fuss about it. She rolled her eyes and said, 'Mommy, you're not that famous'."

Interview by Constance  
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