Average Rating: 
Rating:  - Growth is challenging
This book is like a guide to putting the principles discueed in her first book "A Return to Love" into practical everyday life. The challenge of growth is to remind us that everything that is REAL is GOOD. Williamson reminds us that everything that is not grounded in love is an illusion, which we believe is real. The challenge is to remember what is real (love) in situations that push our buttons and entice us to focus on judgements and what the situation lacks. It is that focuse on what is real, that casts out the illusion and IS the miracle. In response, human suffering is not real. It only has so much power because we collectively focus on lack, rather than the abunance that already exist in the world and a fairer distribution of it. This book reminds us in literary form what life reminds us of everyday, that love and its healing power is what we live for.
Rating:  - Some good -- Some bad
Marianne Williamson's book is truly a mixed bag -- some good and some marginal. The art and science of discernment is the skill of being able to separate each, and in this book that is not an easy task. 1. On one hand Williamson says that "every person in line is someone we can bless." She tells of how we are confronted with countless opportunities each day to effect the lives of others in a positive way. This is surely true. However, she is less clear on why we should place other people's interests ahead of our own. She seems to suggest that it is a matter of karma. That is, we do it to get when we give. This is subtly different from a motivation which solely desires to worship God through loving others. 2. Another concern with the book is Williamson's emphasis on 'mystical union'. Mysticism as a closeness with God and a practice of the presence of God seems a worthy goal. However, 'union' with God is an entirely different goal. If God is holy, just, eternal, and the transcendent Creator, then attempting to become one with God seems terribly foolish. However, if God is not personal, but is merely a 'force' or 'energy', then perhaps she is right. So, the outcome depends directly on the nature of God, which is a topic she doesn't pursue, nor does she describe her theological view. Trying to be one with God reminds me of the serpant who whispered, 'eat, and you will be like God'. 3. Williamson does a great job of addressing the problem of overscheduling and the distractions of pop-culture, and media. If God did create the universe then it does makes sense that God is to be found in the common and everyday things. That is, if God's fingerprints are on creation, then through this general revelation we can gain some understanding of God's nature. In turn we can reflect back to God praise, and blessing for the wonders of creation. This comes in the form of daily observation -- for instance, while commuting to work, or while doing the dishes. (I think of Brother Lawrence's book, 'Practicing the Presence of God) 4. I do question Williamson's monistic claim that everything connects to everything. She doesn't seem to leave room for 'good' to be distinct and separate from 'evil'. That is, she seems to blend everything in life, instead of finding what is good and praising it, and finding what is evil and denouncing it. Her claim seems to be '...it's all good'....... but is it? Isn't it good to call famine, rape, and sickness for what they are(evil), and not call them 'good'? Yes, good can come out of each, but they themselves are not good. Human suffering is not good. 5. In short, Williamson's insistence on a sort of magical oneness with all things leaves much to be desired. However, her understanding of finding the sacred in the ordinary is much needed -- and yet there is a big difference between understanding the ordinary as pointing to the divine, vs. seeing the ordinary as divine. It seems Williamson falls into this later catagory.
Rating: - A message of peace and personal empowerment
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.
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