Marianne Williamson
I think of prayer as a spiritual lifeline back to where I most want to be.
I would never, ever in my life say, 'I want to go to Washington to heal the soul of Washington.'
When you've written 10 books and have six on the New York Times best-seller list - and four have been No. 1 - I think you have a right to be a member of Congress.
Throughout my career I have been an advocate for women, in all aspects of their lives.
The undue influence of money on our politics is like a cancer underlying other cancers, the issue underlying all other issues.
Any conversation which does not include the context of the journey of the heart is by definition untrue to who we are as human beings.
We're often afraid of looking at our shadow because we want to avoid the shame or embarrassment that comes along with admitting mistakes.
America has swerved from its ethical center.
To me, drone use is a moral issue.
Would a man ever be called vain for speaking his mind?
Look at Fukushima. Should we or should we not agree with the U.S. government that none of that radioactive energy is making its way here? Hello!
Politics is in a crisis because it's separated from our deep humanity.
Politics should not be the least heart-filled thing we do, it should be the most heart-filled thing we do.
Religion is like a map. The route isn't important. It's the destination that matters.
When God created the world, he didn't draw a line between Canada and America.
You've committed no sins, just mistakes.
If anything is naive and lightweight, it's the traditional political conversation.
The daughters of God don't brake for jerks.
When we are truly aware of our spiritual glory, a varicose vein or two is not that big a deal.
Spiritual growth and spirituality always seem suspect to some people.
As citizens of the United States, we are stewards of this magnificent thing called democracy.
Being a parent gives you historical perspective. You have thoughts about how you fit into a larger generational drama - those who came before and those who will come after.
Many times in life, we say we want change but are then terrified when the opportunity for it arrives.
People don't live in Los Angeles because we are tied to the same old, same old. We live in Los Angeles because of the intoxicating energy of new beginnings that permeate our city.
I know politics is emotionally brutal; I've already had experience with the reality of smear campaigns, so I understand there will not be a path of roses laid before me.
If I just want to 'start a conversation,' I don't need to run for office. As a matter of fact, it could be argued that many people are more open to hearing you if you're not running for office.
Presidential campaigns are exhausting. Once they're over, we all heave a sigh of relief that we have our lives back, the constant emails and news reports no longer harangue us, and the topic even turns at times to something else entirely.
The primary social contract between the people of the United States and their government - quaint though it might seem to even mention it at this point - is that ours is to be a government 'of the people, by the people, for the people.'
We incarcerate more African-American men today than were slaves in 1850.
The holidays are only holy if we make them so.
Viewing Israelis and Palestinians from a psychological perspective, they would both be seen as victims of abuse; that is how they both understandably feel, and it's how they both understandably behave. The Jewish psyche is in victimized reaction to the Holocaust, and the Palestinian psyche is in victimized reaction to the Israelis.
Allopathic doctors used to laugh condescendingly at those who posited that psychological, emotional and spiritual factors were important contributors to the sickness as well as healing of the body.
Over the years, many people on a spiritual journey have asked me why I keep going on about politics, and many people involved in politics have asked me why I keep going on about spirituality.
When I went to college in the 1970s, the Women's Liberation movement was all the buzz.
While women were powerfully liberated both externally as well as internally by the feminism of the 1970s, we made some serious mistakes as well.
In the name of feminism, we denied some essential aspects of our authentic selves. While feminism should have been nothing if not a celebration of our own unique characteristics, we insisted that we had no unique characteristics... that gender differences were hogwash, and a feminine woman was nothing more than a plaything for men.
I now see that is a woman's God-given role to tend to the home and take care of the children: it's just that the entire planet is our home, and every child on it is one of our children.
Tragedy takes us to the very state of consciousness which, were we to hold to it, would go far toward preventing further tragedies.
An educated child earns more later in life, knows how to keep their own children from dying, produces more food, is less likely to get AIDS, and in the case of boys, is less likely to engage in armed civil conflict.
In my lifetime, we have lost a President, a Civil Rights leader and a Presidential candidate - all to gun violence.
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.
If someone thinks homosexuality is immoral, they have a right to believe that.
For many, many people, getting married is one of the most important things they will ever do in the pursuit of happiness.
I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.
The entire political system is contrary to everything a feminine heart stands for. It lacks inclusion. It lacks tenderness toward children. It lacks honor for relationships. It lacks reverence for the earth. It lacks love. And without those things, the feminine psyche disconnects.
Politics in America is like stale bread. It's so yada yada that the best among us can hardly stand it.
Only do what you feel called in your heart to do, and then give all of yourself to the task.
Never think you can separate who you are from what you're doing.
In God, there is no lack and no recession.