Marianne Williamson was interviewed on Oprah on Thursday, February 28th to promote her new book The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife. So far, I’ve purchased about twenty of her books from The Miracle Distribution Center in Anaheim for many of my friends who are celebrating birthdays, or as an acknowledgement to many of my dear friends.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with Marianne Williamson, she is a prolific author and lecturer who elucidates the teachings of A Course in Miracles. I’ve always admired how Marianne pulls from a vast variety of reference points to bring the teachings to light for her students. She shows up fully as a modern woman bringing the Divine feminine to her work while creating a road map for those of us who seek to do the same.
Oprah was so excited to have Marianne on that she kept interrupting Marianne when Marianne was trying to speak. I can hardly blame Oprah. When I’ve met Marianne I’ve been hard pressed to say anything. Most of the time I stand nose to nose with her (we are exactly the same height) and I just smile at her. As far as I am concerned, Marianne deserves all of our love, and appreciation, even if it is a little over the top.
At one point Oprah shared a note that Marianne had written for her for her fiftieth birthday. She had to work hard to compose herself because she was so deeply moved. Oprah I am sure receives accolades on a daily basis; certainly it was a special note. The ritualizing of birthdays and landmarks in our lives was suggested to be one way to access our divinity.
The gist of the conversation was that the 40s and 50s are often a time when we inhabit ourselves in a more authentic way than ever. In our 20s and 30s we are often tempted to grasp for that which is outside of ourselves. We spend our time trying to please others and keep up with the Joneses. By mid-life, we begin to dig deep. Lying latent we find the treasure that we searched for all those previous years.
Another main point was that when we are on the right (I would say authentic) path the Universe rises up to meet us. One woman at midlife who was featured abandoned an unfulfilling job, followed an instinct to make European style chocolates, and fell deeply in love with a man who had office space in the same building as her new chocolate company. When we follow our truth we might just find an outstretched hand as Joseph Campbell said.
Marianne, who looked amazing, told the audience she was fifty-five and Oprah, also radiant, said she was fifty-four. How lucky are we that we have these amazing cougarlicious mentors that have blazed a trail for us.
I received an email from a woman in her early 20s (the same one who told me the show would be on. Thank you A.T.) who said she was also inspired by the show. She shared that she doesn’t want to wait ten years to inhabit herself; she wants to do it now. Let’s take a cue from her, all do our best to inhabit our lives and ourselves with authenticity.
