Profound quotes from the month of December, 2010.
First, from the December issue of Oprah:
"Until you accept the magnitude of your function, your unconscious mind will sabotage any attempt to show your full magnificence. Your self-concept has to match your manifestation or else the manifestation is doomed. In fact, if you diet and lose weight, your mind will either put the weight back on or trip up in some other area. In order to lose weight on a permanent basis, you want a shift in your core belief about who and what you are. This is the miracle you seek."
- Excerpt from a letter that Marianne Williamson wrote to Oprah, regarding Oprah's struggle with weight. In the article, Oprah says the letters from Marianne were the genesis of Marianne's book "A Course in Weight Loss."
Then, two days ago, I read a beautiful speech, (I would call it a prayer) in a book called "The Art of Possibility." It is reported that Nelson Mandela addressed these words to the world at large, but in researching it, that doesn't seem to be true. Still, it is beautiful nevertheless:
"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.
It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.
We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?
Actually, who are you not to be?
You are a child of God.
Your playing small does not serve the world.
There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.
We are all meant to shine, as children do.
We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we're liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."
This was again written my Marianne Williamson.
I am taking these two quotes with me into the New Year as a sort of mantra for 2011 - to remind myself whenever I become afraid. Or when I start to think about turning another year older in twelve months, or when I start to think negatively about opportunities for "older" actresses or any number of other things that may make me doubt God and His desire for me to reach my fullest potential.
