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Blink 3 of 8 - The 5 AM Club
by Robin Sharma
Listen to the Intro
A Return to Love summary
Marianne Williamson
Reflections on the Principles of a Course in Miracles
17 mins
Brief summary
A Return to Love by Marianne Williamson explores the power of love to bring healing and transformation to individuals and the world. Drawing from the teachings of A Course in Miracles, Williamson offers insights and practices for cultivating a loving perspective and overcoming fear.
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A Return to Love
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Key idea 1 of 7
All of our unhappiness stems from fear.
We all know there are bad things in the world. But it’s also important to understand that whether our unhappiness stems from sickness, death or just feelings of guilt and anxiety, all these bad things are rooted in fear.
Sadly, many people, especially those of us in Western cultures, are raised to fear everything and everyone.
You could even say that society indoctrinates us with fear. In school, we’re taught that getting good grades is more important than being kind to our fellow pupils. And since students are compared to one another and graded competitively, we’re introduced to fear and contempt at a very young age.
After school, the competition continues as we become part of a fear-based economy, where we battle it out for the best jobs, limited resources and our own little piece of the pie. Every step of the way, we can be filled with fear about job security, home security and being able to continue providing for ourselves and our families.
As you can tell, fear is a vicious circle, and it’s compounded by the individualism that is popular in Western cultures, which teaches us that only naive people are kind and loving.
We’re told that if we’re nice to others, it’s only a matter of time before we’ll be hurt or taken advantage of. So we set up emotional barriers that prevent us from being capable of platonic or romantic love. According to all the warnings we’re given, even an average member of the public is dangerous. So we’re told to lock all doors and to cross the street at night if we see someone on the sidewalk behind us.
These endless potential dangers, and the availability of bad news around the clock, turn fear into an everyday habitual thought.
In fact, there’s a good chance you don’t have a lot of real negativity in your life. But the more time you spend thinking negative thoughts, the more misery you will believe there to be.
The good news is, we can break this cycle and reject fear for good, as we’ll see in the blinks ahead.
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What is A Return to Love about?
A Return to Love (1992) is a powerful call to surrender yourself to a higher power in the universe by rejecting your ego and embracing love. Marianne Williamson’s thought-provoking message shows us how to let go of the fears and resentments that suppress the love we all carry within us. Her practical steps will help you improve your relationships, career and overall happiness.
Best quote from A Return to Love
The spiritual journey is the relinquishment – or unlearning – of fear and the acceptance of love.
—Marianne Williamson
Who should read A Return to Love?
- Spiritual people looking for guidance
- Troubled minds seeking ways to let go and forgive
- People looking for a meaningful career path
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