Everyday Grace: Having Hope, Finding Forgiveness, and Making Miracles

Everyday Grace is another enlightening book by the author of A Return to Love, Illuminata, A Woman's Worth, Enchanted Love, and Healing the Soul of America. In the introduction, Williamson urges the reader to go beyond being a seeker of the truth. She encourages us to embrace the mystic in ourselves, describing the mystic as a "spiritual practitioner, seeking not merely to understand the principles of spiritual awareness, but to embody them..." She states that she wrote Everyday Grace as a "traveling companion for the modern mystic" who is on the journey of personal transformation. Since "everything we encounter throughout the day is a spiritual opportunity" then we need tools along the way, which she describes as "spiritual principles." According to Williamson, "Our spiritual victory lies in rising above the mental forces of fear and limitation...thus attaining the power to heal and be healed." That appears to be the destiny when we embark on a journey as a mystic. We take love along with us, which "is a process as well as a goal." As with the other books written by Williamson, the depth and analysis of spirituality seems to have no limits within her words. She is infinitely a mystic who goes miles beyond her own learning to impart her knowledge to others. Her books are remarkably easy to read considering the complex spiritual concepts she shares. Or perhaps the concepts are not as complicated as they appear, and Williamson makes these concepts easy to understand. The exception reads like a philosophical riddle: "You are not pretending that something is not really happening, but only that it is not Really happening... [because] only love is real" In Part I Thoughts of Grace Williamson begins to help the reader find the path to forgiveness. She writes: "Forgiveness is our decision to see the love that is real in all of us, despite whatever appearances to the contrary there are." She also states that "the presumption of spiritual innocence is the only real answer." Williamson divides Part II A Day of Grace into time frames. She starts the day at 8:00 am by encouraging readers to avoid the morning news. She suggests that we turn to God in prayer and meditation. During the day Williamson offers ways to deal with common concerns, such as working and making decisions. She ends the day at 8:00 pm by offering a lesson on compassion: "Even the most horrific situations can increase within us our capacity to love." Williamson is chagrined by the ambitions of humans on the material plane. She writes, "We don't need to push life so much as we need to experience it more elegantly, to be motivated more by inspiration than by ambition." Indeed, if inspiration means "the breath of God" then Williamson is urging us to breathe more deeply and move up on the ladder of faith. She urges readers to live more in the "realm of divine understanding" and be less attached to the worldly objectives of career, competition, and capitalism. Part III A Life of Grace studi

After wearing out my copy of "Illuminata", I thought it was time to check out Marianne's latest discoveries. Marianne puts down in words the way we all feel in our hearts when our mind is still, which these days is not very often. She reminds us there is joy out there if only we take the time to find it. I learned from Illuminata and again in this book that carrying around resentment was only a burden to myself and to forgive the wrongs of other's was a blessing for me! I know what she means about recapturing the magic, as I too felt that when I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, the same way I felt when I read the Wizard of Oz as a child. There are miracles all around us. As adults we mindlessly make our way through the ugly mazes we travel every day but wouldn't it be nice to look at our journey in a more positive and loving way? How lucky we are that Marianne feels these things in her heart and soul and shares them with those of us too busy doing life to explore those sensations ourselves and remind us to look at things differently. What a gift this truly is. God Bless Marianne Williamson and all of God's prescious creatures great and small.

Marianne Willaimson has been an important author and lecturer to me since she debuted with Return to Love. Some of her work in between didn't speak to me as clearly as her earlier work. That being said, I think that, with this book, she has recaptured the magic of Return to Love. This book is as powerful as any I have ever read. My wish would be for everyone I love to read this book. After I read it, I bought serveal copies to give as gifts this Holiday Season. Take a chance, read it with an open mind and heart. You will be glad that you did. So will those around you.

Marianne Williamson is in good form in "Everyday Grace," her eighth book. Her basic message is that change occurs on the level of consciousness. Through the agents of prayer, meditation, and new thought the world can be changed. She draws on a diverse source of material to support her beliefs -- the writings of Ghandi, RFK and MLK Jr., various Eastern and Western religious traditions, and American pop culture. The writing is personal, as she relays touching stories like the moment she said goodbye to her dying sister, but also universal in its desire. Those who have read Williamson's other books, and listened to her library of tapes, will be familiar with her message. Many of her ideas are based on A Course in Miracles, a kind of New Age bible that came about through channeling sessions in the '70s. Williamson is an invaluable agent to break its message down in easier and more relevant language.The message is simple, as Williamson explains it. Only love is real. When we attempt to judge others, we are ignoring the innocence in them. By focusing on their guilt, we have forgotten that we are all children of the same God. We can give up judging by asking for a miraculous intervention, a simple prayer that our thoughts be aligned with God's. Ask to see the situation through a new set of eyes and a miracle will occur. Williamson believes this works not just on a personal level but on a political one as well. We must pray for our enemies and seek to understand them.I'm sure that many will benefit from the advice Williamson offers. This book is a good one. I'd also recommend "Healing the Soul of America," an underrated tome from a few years ago.

No one, absolutely no one, can inspire me like Marianne Williamson. In today's world, with all the terrifying, depressing news that haunts us every single day, it's quite a challenge to feel that there is something we can actually do about it. The minute I picked up this book, I began to feel hopeful again. Everyday Grace is so important because it actually gives us the tools to help us shift from feeling so negative and helpless, to creating the experience of the miraculous in our lives. No mean feat for these troubled times. I don't know of anybody that can provide this kind of insight and inspiration the way Marianne Williamson does. This is the perfect Christmas present. I can't think of a better gift at this particular time. I heard Oprah say that on her show, and, after reading this book, I see what she means.