Marianne Williamson Accepts Elevated Existence Award & Talks Election Results

Posted on by Tammy

Since publishing her very first book, “A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles,” in 1992, Marianne Williamson captured the hearts, minds and spirits of millions around the world.

Elevated Existence honored Williamson with its 2016 Elevated Existence Spiritual Service Award, given to one individual every year who has dedicated their life to spreading the gift of spirituality and uplifting the consciousness of others.

“I am honored by this award, and I appreciate your acknowledgement,” Williamson said.

During the interview for the December 2016 Issue of Elevated Existence Magazine, (which is an interactive, digital issue and includes an EXCLUSIVE Skype video interview with Williamson), she spoke about “A Course in Miracles” as it relates to relationships, anxiety, depression, politics and more, and offered advice to those who were not happy with the recent Presidential Election results.

“From “A Course in Miracles’” perspective, fear is to love what darkness is to light. Where there is love, there cannot be fear. But the love that is the transformative elixir that delivers us to a miraculous field of infinite possibility is not always an easy love. It is not just pouring pink paint over anything,” she told Elevated Existence in the December 2016 Issue cover story.

“This is a very disturbing moment in American history, and grown-ups are concerned. So the love I believe that replaces our fear is love for our country, love for our democracy… it takes a little maturity to hold the juxtaposition we need to hold now. On one hand we had an election, and unless it’s proven that that election was not fair, we have democratically elected our new president elect named Donald Trump. And the democratic process is to be respected.”

At this time, Williamson believes we must all be engaged in what is happening in our government, including reading the newspaper and seeing where we can get involved in making a difference.

“I think this is the time to be really reading. Watching the news is extremely important right now because the president elect is appointing people,” she shared. “A person who is so far on the transition team for environmental issues is seeking to dismantle the Environmental Protection Agency. Our new president thinks climate change is a hoax. Don’t look away from that if you disagree with him, we didn’t elect a king. This is how America works. So look at the issues you care about.”

She continued: “We all want to support him. He is democratically elected. But in addition to that, we want to pray that the angels of his better nature arise and prevail here. However, when see things that disturb us, that are way too similar to some of the worst conjectures in human history, it is our moral responsibility to speak up.”

Williamson also noted many in the spiritual community shy away from the news and politics, looking at them as negative and toxic, but she pointed out the importance of addressing the suffering of others and taking a stand where it is necessary. In order to do this, we need to stay informed, and we need to take action when guided.

“Those of us who are spiritual, its kind of this faux, artificial spirituality that’s out there like “No, no, no, politics is too toxic.” There is no deep, spiritual or religious path out there, which gives any of us a pass on addressing the suffering of other sentient beings — whether it’s suffering of human beings, the suffering of the earth, or suffering of the animals. If you see a very powerful force that moves in the direction of increasing that suffering, then it is absolutely your spiritual as well as your civic responsibility to do what you can to change that trajectory.”

She continued: “A woman I once knew used to say, ‘You need to put feet to your prayers.’ You pray, and… The highest prayer is ‘Dear God use me.’ God cannot do for us what he cannot do through us. So you can’t pray and say, ‘Dear God, fix all this,’ but don’t sign up to be the vessels through which he can operate . . . We got into this mess in this country because too many people were disengaged. The answer is not to be disengaged further. And this prevalent disengagement on a political level within the spiritual community, this idea that if I just drink green juice, and I just meditate and I just go to yoga, that’s enough.

“Actually, it’s a lot of it, but it is not of itself everything because the highest level of prayer is ‘where would you have me go, what would you have me do, what would you have me say and to whom?’ In a time like this, it’s very unlikely that God is going to say, ‘Oh, just sit there.’”

For more from this interview with Williamson, see the December 2016 Issue of Elevated Existence Magazine, and for more on Marianne Williamson, visit www.marianne.com.

The Truth About Soulmate Love

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By Tammy Mastroberte

We all dream of finding our perfect soulmate to love and cherish forever, and we often feel if we could just find that one person, then everything in our lives would fall into place. There would be no fighting, pain or disagreements, and life would just be an endless stream of bliss and love.

However, that is just not the reality or the purpose of love relationships. Yes, being with our soulmate can be wonderful, fun, exciting and blissful. But it can also cut us deep, bring up old wounds and push all our buttons. But that’s exactly the way it should be.

Back in June 2012, bestselling author Marianne Williamson taught a weekend workshop dedicated to the topic of romantic relationships, and she shared the true purpose of these connections from the viewpoint of “A Course in Miracles,” which is to heal.

“The Course says relationships are assignments made in order to increase the maximum soul growth of both people,” she explained in our June 2012 cover story. “It is as though a giant machine somewhere sees where you are wounded, and then picks out the person and situation in all of the universe in combination with whom you would most likely be healed.”

In the March 2016 issue cover story, bestselling author Arielle Ford shares expert advice and tips for reigniting love and passion in romantic relationships, and reconnecting to the feelings that brought us together with our partner in the first place. Her newest book, “Turn Your Mate Into Your Soulmate,” explains what is true and normal for relationships, and how with a little work, we can create our own happily ever after.

“Chances are if you marry somebody there was a time when you were in love and you believed they were your soulmate, and now you are thinking the grass is greener somewhere else or you are just not in love with them,” she says in the March 2016 issue. “There is a 90 percent chance what’s happened is you have years of anger, disappointment, frustration and unexpressed desires, or desires you expressed by yelling or shouting that didn’t get met. So all that love is covered up,” she shared. “But chances are the love is still there.”

I believe our soulmates are there to help us grow, evolve and heal, and I believe we planned it all with them before entering into this physical world. Remembering this, appreciating them and changing our perspective can not only transform our relationship, but can also strengthen our connection to our partner and the universe as a whole. Even if the relationship is not meant to last a lifetime, there is always a purpose, and there is always an opportunity to become a more evolved soul as a result.

But it’s up to us to increase our awareness and do the work. Soulmate love doesn’t equal easy, but it does equal expansion. And our souls and the souls of those we love are worth it.

Tammy Mastroberte is a three-time, award-winning writer, founder of Elevated Existence, and publisher and editorial director of the multi-award-winning Elevated Existence Magazine. She started the new age, spiritual and self-improvement publication at age 30 – eight years after the sudden death of her mother from a brain aneurysm only three days after Christmas in 1999. This tragedy led her down a synchronistic path to discover her purpose and the meaning behind many of the events in her life – including her mother’s death. She now shares her guidance, and the wisdom of today’s top authors and spiritual celebrities through Elevated Existence Magazine. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter: @ElevatedTammy on Instagram: elevatedtammy. For more information, visit www.tammymastroberte.com.

Marianne Williamson: Trusting Others and A Course in Miracles

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Based on “A Course in Miracles,” bestselling author, Marianne Williamson gives a live talk every Monday in Los Angeles (also available via Livestream anywhere in the world) to teach the principles of “miracle mindedness.” During a talk in late July, she focused on trusting others.

“To the extent to which our thought system is based on fear, or non-miraculous thinking, we bind ourselves to the experience of the world of scarcity and death,” she said. “As we shift our thinking from fear to love, we literally shift into a place where a process of divine intercession — a thought system beyond our own, an actual celestial order of love and harmony — then enters into our experience of this world. Because we transform our thinking, we can transform the effect that thinking has caused.”

“A Course in Miracles” tells us we are perfect, and the core belief and thought within that miracle-minded thought system is the recognition of that perfections, Williamson shared with the audience. However, because the Course tells us we are all connected, meaning there is really only one of us existing in this world, we cannot recognize the perfection of our spiritual being unless we are willing to recognize it in another.

Quoting Lesson 181 from “A Course in Miracles,” Williamson read: “Trusting your brothers is essential to establishing and holding up your faith in your ability to transcend doubt and lack of sure conviction in yourself.”

Trust is a big issue for many people, but only if we trust others can we actually trust ourselves, because any thought we have about another is a thought about ourselves, she said.

“If I think lovingly about you, that is an act of self-care, because I myself will feel ultimately more nourished as I am willing to think more lovingly about you. If I think attack thoughts about you, ‘A Course in Miracles’ says, a sword is dropping over their head and in the realm of reality where there is not time and space, a sword is dropping on me as well.”

Additionally, if we hold the thought and belief that people cannot be trusted, the Course teaches we create what we defend against, so our subconscious mind will set things up in such a way that we will create it. People make mistakes, and we make mistakes, but the question is what we choose to focus on.

“A Course in Miracles” states: “Perception has a focus. It is this that gives consistency to what you see. Change but this focus, and what you behold will change accordingly. Your vision will shift, to give support to the intent which has replaced the one you held before.”

While the ego mind intends to focus on the guilt of another, the spirit within wants to focus on their innocence, Williamson said. We can make a choice to shift our perception in any moment.

“The ego will use your mistakes as evidence for why you deserve it and the spirit in me chooses to extend my perception beyond what the bodies eyes reveal to what the spiritual eye revels, which is the truth in you,” she explained. “I can choose what I intend to see, and when we choose to see the innocence in another person, the Course says this is an act of self-interest, and a gentle reinterpretation of the world. And when we gently reinterpret into miracle mindedness, we see all human behavior as either love, which obviously calls for love to be returned, or as a call for love. In the moment we behave like jerks, the spirit is saying ‘I’m trapped in here. Love me. Because if you condemn me in this place, I’m only going to be worse.’”

Faith in Sinlessness
Quoting from Lesson 181, Williamson said: “Remove your focus on your brother’s sins and you experience the peace that comes from faith in sinlessness. This faith in sinlessness receives its own sure support from what you see in others past their sins. For their mistakes if focused on are witnesses to sins in you. And you will not transcend their sight and see the sinlessness that lies beyond.”

The Course views sins as errors or mistakes to be corrected. But if we limit our focus to the errors of others, we are also binding ourselves to our own errors, she said. Since the level of our errors is not truly who we are, we cannot feel comfortable I our own skin. The only way we can escape our own feelings of self-hatred is to be willing to have faith in the sinlessness of another.

“This is why ‘A Course in Miracles’ says heaven — which is an awareness of our oneness, and the inner peace that comes from that, not later but in this moment — is entered two by two,” she shared. “I cannot get into heaven unless I am willing to take you there with me. If I am binding you to your guilt, I cannot escape feeling the hell of feeling guilt myself.”

The course says we achieve so little because we have undisciplined minds. Just as we exercise our bodies and discipline our muscles, we must do the same for our minds, Williamson said. The ego can take over, or we can instruct our mind and say, “These attach thoughts only hurt me. I am willing to be miracle minded here.”

“Miracle mindedness in any moment is our willingness in any moment to align our thinking with the will of God. We have been trained to look at the world as ‘Do I want to serve the will of God, or do I want to be happy and I can get what I really need?’ and this is ego-oriented,” Williamson noted. “In any moment, when our goal is the perception of sinlessness, then our goal is to rest in heave — meaning our awareness of our oneness, meaning the place we can be happy, meaning the palce where people want to get along with us, meaning the celestial order where our highest good is already programmed.”

For more from Marianne Williamson, and to sign up for her Free Monday Night Livestream, visit www.marianne.com.

Emerging Women Live Coverage Part 3: Gabrielle Bernstein – Miracles Now

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On Sunday of the 2nd annual Emerging Women Live conference “Changing the World Through Feminine Leadership and Entrepreneurship,” in New York City, Gabrielle Bernstein, New York Times bestselling author of “May Cause Miracles” and “Miracles Now,” took the stage to discuss the power of our presence.

Bernstein shared how she was once running a PR company and on the outside it looked like she had all she desired to be successful and happy — but on the inside her world was falling apart. She was addicted to drugs and alcohol, and when she woke up at 25 years old in a stranger’s apartment not knowing where she was or how she got there, she realized she needed to change.

She went home, opened her journal and wrote — “there has to be a better way.” She then heard the voice of her intuition for the first time — an inner voice — tell her to “get clean and you will live a life beyond your wildest dreams.” She realized she needed to stop looking outside herself for what she already had within her.

“I got clean. I found a recovery group, and immediately spun back into this childlike faith I had forgotten,” she shared with the audience. “Within a month I was guided to a beautiful mentor in my recovery group who said, ‘I have a book for you.’ She handed me Marianne Williamson’s ‘A Return to Love,’ which is basically the cliff notes for a metaphysical book ‘A Course in Miracles.’ I read the entire book in one night.”

Bernstein decided to become a student of “A Course in Miracles” and began doing the workbook. The Course teaches that “through the experience of forgiveness we reorganize our beliefs systems and shift to love…the moment we choose again, to forgive, to see as situation with a loving lens instead of a fearful lens,” is when miracles occur, she said.

She shared five principles with the audience that she has been using to change her perceptions and shift from fear to love for the past nine years. These include:

1. Become the Non-Judgmental Witness of Your Fear — She asked the audience to be willing to take a fearless inventory of what is going on in their lives and take full ownership of what it means to be in negativity and fear. “Yes I am an addict I’m not stepping into my power. I’m talking a lot of shit about people. I am stuck in fear. I am stuck in a bad relationship,” she said. “But in a non judgmental way so you don’t get stuck in fear. Get brutally honest with yourself and your notebook. What is it that you want to transform?” It’s about owning if you are not showing up for your husband, business, etc. and accepting where you are first.

2. Invite In a Higher Power — She shared a line from the Course that says: The presence of fear is a sure sign that you are relying on your own strength. “How are you blocking and controlling the natural flow of your life by relying on your own strength, and how do you get to a place where you can start to redirect?” she asked, explaining we can all tap into a higher presence, whether we call it God, inspiration, energy or the Universe. She shared a daily prayer she uses every morning directly from the Course: “Where would you have me go, what would you have me do, what would you have me say and to whom?”

She also urged the audience to take up a meditation practice, as she has found it to be the most important tool she has in her life. “What I find to be most important to me in my life, more than husband, work, family and friends, is the time I spend on my meditation pillow,” she said. “My meditation has offered me everything. Why I’m standing here today, why I’m a New York Times bestselling author, why I have a healthy relationship, why I have a healthy body, and why I can live in this city [New York]. Do you want to go big in your life? My answer is meditate.”

3. Measure Your Success By How Much Fun You Are Having — “Joy is your responsibility,” she said. “We need to elevate joy in our own lives. If you are feeling powerless, lean toward joy . . . release the littleness, the story of ‘I’m not where I want to be yet,’ or ‘my guy sucks’ and say I’m going to show up.’”

4. Our presence is Our Power — It’s not how well we are dressed or what it says on our business card or even what we say or do for a living — our power is how we be, said Bernstein. “Have you even been in the presence of someone who is really embodying who they are? You feel good. Because you can recognize yourself,” she said. “ In every given situation, if you are leaning toward joy, you will be guided to show up, and you will be guided to your power and to be.”

5. Be the Light — “In any given moment we have the capacity to show up with our darkness or we can be the light,” she explained. “Any given moment offers the opportunity to show back up, to choose again. You can smother the darkness and dissolve all boundaries with love. Take ownership and bring the light.”

As a result of practicing these principles, Bernstein said she truly has created a life far beyond her wildest dreams and just celebrated nine years of recovery and one year of marriage. She also shared a mantra mediation for people to use to bring them out of negativity. It is “Ek Ong Kar Sat Gur Prasad,” and the music she played was from “Meditations for Transformation: The Expansive Spirit,” by Jai-Jagdesh.”

Read Part 1 with Kris Carr on Resilience

Read Part 2 with Sera Beak on Unleashing Your Soul’s Voice

Read Part 4 with Danielle LaPorte

Elevated Existence New Meditation Books & CDs Picks

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Here are Elevated Existence editor’s newest picks for books and CDs on meditation, including a new CD by Marianne Williamson, and a book by Sharon Salzberg.

“Meditations of the Heart: Liberating the Power of Love,” by Andrew Harvey & Marianne Williamson
Bestselling author Marianne Williamson joins spiritual activist Andrew Harvey as they guide listeners through a series of questions and practices to harness the love within, fulfill their purpose and help others.

“Mindfulness @ Work,” by Anna Black
The author, Anna Black, offers short and easy mindfulness meditations for people to use throughout the work day in order to strengthen focus and concentration, enhance work relationships and relieve stress.

“Real Happiness at Work: Meditations for Accomplishment, Achievement & Peace,” by Sharon Salzberg
Introducing the eight pillars of happiness in the workplace, Sharon Salzberg shares subtle meditations for pre- and post-meeting, finding meaning in seemingly meaningless tasks, dealing with mistakes and more.

Marianne Williamson launched Crowdfunding Platform to Support Her Run for Congress

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The Marianne Williamson’s campaign in California’s District 33, launched a crowdfunding effort so fans and supporters around the country can play a role in supporting her run for Congress.

Crowdfunding is the practice of raising money from a large number of people on the Internet, and fans can create their own branded page and ask those they know to contribute.

Williamson is not taking money from corporate PACS, special interests or lobbyists. To date the campaign has received grass roots donations from thousands of people across the country. Her campaign message of getting big money out of politics has become even more critical with the recent McCutcheon decision eliminating the cap on the amount of money that one citizen can donate to a political campaign committee.

Rally.org is the platform the Williamson campaign is using to fuel this crowdfunding effort, which allows individuals to create their own page, personalize their message of why they are supporting Marianne for Congress and recruit others to do the same!

“I am inspired by this crowdfunding platform,” Williamson said. “Running as an Independent, it is vital that my candidacy be powered by the people, using every method of engaging citizens to raise the funds necessary to take this effort to a top two spot in the open primary on June 3.”

Williamson’s campaign is using this innovative method of engaging citizens around the country to get involved in the political process, supporting a Constitutional amendment outlawing the undue influence of money on our politics. Her campaign represents a disruption as opposed to the perpetuation of America’s political status quo, promoting a politics of conscience and a new bottom line.

To learn how to create your own crowdfunding page to support Williamson, visit: http://www.marianneforcongress.com/crowdfund