Fayth™

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Marianne Williamson and New Thought

Fayth™

Dearest J,

I’ve been really diving in today with understanding the history of Marianne Williamson.

There’s been some criticism regarding the “New Thought” response to AIDS that she’s been criticized for. This is also kind of very much a Christian Science issue. Christian Science would say “NO” to medications. Marianne Williamson would say “pray AND take your meds” … and maybe if you pray you can avoid needing meds later too, because a lot of issues come from the mind.

This is the nuance I’m getting at and one I’m really keen to really try to dissect. Because currently in ACIM, it’s really this idea that your thought creates your health and reality.

So questions like …

  • Did someone get AIDS because they weren’t positive enough?

  • Were AIDS a direct response to their prayer? Like they ATTRACTED or MANIFESTED it?

  • What is ACIM’s response to someone with illness like AIDS?

  • Where do Christian Science and ACIM differ?

Here are some articles I found about her:

https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/08/marianne-williamson-aids-crisis-history-gay-community.html

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9m7WgSP-RqE

  • https://newrepublic.com/article/154690/marianne-williamson-liberal-spiritualism

  • https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-02-16-ca-4649-story.html

  • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B7yvI0tu3Ho

  • https://www.maxraskin.com/interviews/marianne-williamson

  • https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/7/31/20748594/marianne-williamson-debate-democratic-july-2019-depression

  • https://peacealliance.org/

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peace_Alliance

  • https://theconversation.org/archive/movement.html

  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_Angel_Food

  • https://www.angelfood.org/

  • https://lamag.com/news/the-new-age-of-marianne-williamson

  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/01/self-centered-religion-shared-by-marianne-williamson-president-trump/?noredirect=on

  • https://www.elle.com/culture/career-politics/interviews/a12708/marianne-williamson-profile/

  • https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/03/magazine/marianne-williamson-2020.html

  • On how much she’s worth:

    • https://www.forbes.com/sites/zacheverson/2023/10/01/heres-how-much-2024-presidential-candidate-marianne-williamson-is-worth/

    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tx1oAmRI23w

“New Thought took this Transcendentalist trust in the self and commercialized it. Its originator, a New Hampshire-born clockmaker, mesmerist and faith healer named Phineas Quimby (1802-1866), preached a gospel of total psychic self-reliance, one largely shorn of Christian theology and trappings. There was nothing human beings couldn’t do, he asserted, so long as they believed fully in themselves. Physical illness, personal misfortune — these were results of an improperly aligned mental system. Both the success of Quimby’s traveling practice and the later writings of his numerous followers and imitators, including Prentice Mulford and Charles Fillmore, brought New Thought — also popularly known as the “mind cure” and the “Boston Craze” — to the masses.” Via https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2019/08/01/self-centered-religion-shared-by-marianne-williamson-president-trump/?noredirect=on

—

“MR: What vitamins do you take?

MW: I take a lot. I take Dr. Amen's brain vitamins, I take vitamin D, B12, I take a bunch of things. I go to an integrative doctor. I do have osteoporosis, so I try to take care of my bones and take care of everything to the best of my ability.” Via https://www.maxraskin.com/interviews/marianne-williamson

See I’m all about “integrative” doctors.