One One of the best experiences of my life was four decades ago at summer camp, Camp Killooleet, in Hancock, Vermont. I went for eight weeks each summer for five years. It was a magical place and time and the favorite part of my childhood. I cherish that camp and those people and those years,…
When I was growing up in New York, I was definitely considered shy and quiet, lacking confidence, unsure of myself. I agreed with this assessment. It’s fair to say, I think, that in my adult life, which has taken place almost entirely away from New York, just about no one has thought of me in…
I’ve had the pleasure of interviewing Marianne Williamson three times. I have great respect for her, her work, and the enormous power and passion with which she expresses herself. This slightly extended interview excerpt is from the third of our interviews. I also invite you to read a second post on the topic of the…
Ray: You write about the importance in midlife of doing “the rigorous work of taking a fearless moral inventory”—about facing your pain and even facing places of self-loathing. Where do you begin that work? Marianne: Sometimes it’s late at night—it’s 3 o’clock in the morning—and for whatever reason, you can’t stop thinking about something you…
Ray: As you talk to people around the country, what’s surprising you about what other people are and aren’t concerned about in themselves? Marianne: I wouldn’t say that anything is surprising me. It’s fundamental to the body of information and knowledge that I’ve dealt with my entire adult life that there’s really only…
Ray: Were you afraid of reaching middle age, Marianne, and have you truly released those fears? Marianne: My fiftieth birthday hit me hard. In the two or three months before that birthday, it was rough. I talked to people who had already turned fifty, and a few good friends said they had absolutely been through…
Ray: Marianne, from the perspective of midlife, what’s the most valuable question people can ask themselves? Marianne: A lot of times people ask, “What am I supposed to do?” or “What’s my purpose?” But there’s a deeper question to ask. A Course in Miracles, and really any serious spiritual path, posits the question, “Who am…
Ray: Marianne, as people already wrestling with midlife issues also face their parents dying, they encounter yet another transition: becoming the elders in their families and communities. Would you talk about taking on the role of elder? Marianne: We have all often heard the conversation about our society needing to treat its elders with greater…
Ray: How has your relationship to God, and perspective about God, changed and matured as you’ve entered midlife and faced midlife issues? Marianne: I don’t think it’s changed, but the more mature we are, the more receptive we are. It’s like every year you go to the same Easter service, or every year you go…
