About Oprah & Friends Host Marianne Williamson

About Marianne's Show
Marianne offers listeners practical advice on how to live a more loving and peaceful life, drawing from her experience with the self-study program for spiritual reflection A Course in Miracles. In this daily, hour-long program, Marianne provides sensible counsel on how to apply the course to everyday life through listener-involved discussions about relationships, career and health issues, among others. Listeners can also engage in further personal study using supplemental materials available online. Take today's lesson.

About A Course in Miracles
According to Marianne, A Course in Miracles is a self-study program of spiritual psychotherapy contained in three books. It is not a religion, but rather a psychological mind-training base on universal spiritual themes. The practical goal of the Course is the attainment of inner peace through the practice of forgiveness.

"A Course in Miracles (often called just "the Course") is an educational program for retraining the mind that is spiritual, rather than religious, in its perspective. Although it uses Christian terminology, the Course expresses a universal experience, and its underlying ontology is reminiscent of ancient refrains, echoing the world's most hallowed traditions. …

The Workbook includes 365 lessons, one for each day of the year. It is not necessary, however, to do the lessons at that tempo, and one might want to remain with a particularly appealing lesson for more than one day. The instructions urge only that not more than one lesson a day should be attempted. The practical nature of the Workbook is underscored by the introduction to its lessons, which emphasizes experience through application rather than a prior commitment to a spiritual goal.

Some of the ideas the workbook presents you will find hard to believe, and others may seem to be quite startling. This does not matter. You are merely asked to apply the ideas as you are directed to do. You are not asked to judge them at all. You are asked only to use them. It is their use that will give them meaning to you, and will show you that they are true.
Remember only this; you need not believe the ideas, you need not accept them, and you need not even welcome them. Some of them you may actively resist. None of this will matter, or decrease their efficacy. But do not allow yourself to make exceptions in applying the ideas the workbook contains, and whatever your reactions to the ideas may be, use them. Nothing more than that is required (Workbook, p. 2)."

— Excerpted from A Course in Miracles

Take today's lesson.

About Marianne
Marianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed author and lecturer, who has published several books, including New York Times best-sellers A Return to Love and Everyday Grace. A popular guest on numerous television programs such as The Oprah Winfrey Show and ABC's Good Morning America, Marianne has lectured professionally since 1983.

Marianne's Latest Book

The Age of Miracles: Embracing the New Midlife

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The opinions expressed by the hosts, guests and callers to Oprah & Friends are strictly their own.

A Course in Miracles is owned by the Foundation for A Course in Miracles and is used with permission. For more information about A Course in Miracles, please visit The Foundation for Inner Peace at www.acim.org.