What Blocks Love? — Marianne Williamson
What would change if love was not just something we believed in, but the principle we used to make our decisions?
Marianne Williamson has spent more than four decades exploring that question. A bestselling author, spiritual teacher, and longtime student of A Course in Miracles, her book A Return to Love introduced millions of people, including Robin as a teenager, to a different way of thinking about love, fear, forgiveness, and inner peace.
In this episode, Robin and Marianne explore how we can train our minds away from judgement, blame, and fear, recognize the everyday thoughts that block our capacity to love, and practise forgiveness without abandoning boundaries or the ability to say no. They talk about what we bring to our relationships, why love requires us to take responsibility for our own part, and how even small moments of judgement can shape the way we move through the world.
Marianne also reflects on what running for president taught her about power, speaking up, forgiveness, and owning her mistakes without becoming consumed by resentment or self-blame.
This is a conversation about choosing love as a practice, from the way we think about a stranger in a café to the way we treat the people closest to us and the world we create together.
This episode is sponsored by BetterHelp. When life feels overwhelming, therapy can help. Sign up and get 10% off at betterhelp.com/loveready.
IN THIS EPISODE
(00:00:00) Introduction
(00:05:49) What A Course in Miracles Teaches About Love
(00:08:36) Training Your Mind to Choose Love
(00:13:31) Making Love Our Bottom Line
(00:17:45) The Blind Spots That Block Love
(00:20:36) Mercy, Forgiveness & Intimate Relationships
(00:24:54) Ego, Fear & the Illusion of Separation
(00:28:01) Radical Accountability & Spiritual Detox
(00:35:30) Forgiveness, Repair & Atonement
(00:36:29) What Running for President Taught Marianne
(00:44:55) Owning Your Part & Choosing Again
QUOTES
“Every moment you are making a decision. Will your heart be open to accept, to be your best, to hold another person in a space where they can be their best?” – Marianne Williamson
“How very important it is for us to take radical accountability for our part. As human beings, that’s hard to do, but that’s what’s required.” – Robin Ducharme
“When someone treats you without love, the only appropriate response is to see that as a call for love.” – Marianne Williamson
“How can we be more loving in our individual lives, so that we are contributing to a more loving world?” – Robin Ducharme
“The miracle is the new beginning. Get up, choose again.” – Marianne Williamson
ABOUT THE GUEST
For more than four decades, Marianne Williamson has been a leader of spiritual and progressive circles. She is the author of 17 books, four of which became #1 New York Times bestsellers, including A Return to Love, A Woman's Worth, The Law of Divine Compensation, and The Mystic Jesus: The Mind of Love. She founded Project Angel Food, which has delivered more than 20 million meals to homebound patients with life-threatening illnesses across Los Angeles since 1989, and co-founded The Peace Alliance in 2004 to support the creation of a U.S. Department of Peace. Williamson has run for U.S. president twice.
Instagram: www.instagram.com/mariannewilliamson/
Website: Marianne.com
Substack: MarianneWilliamson.Substack.com
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@MarianneWilliamsonCommunity
GET THE REAL LOVE READY BOOK
Real Love Ready: A Guide to Relational Literacy is a clear, compassionate guide to the knowledge, skills, and daily practices that help us love with greater intention, truth, and heart.
https://geni.us/RealLoveReadyBook
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