Friday, October 14, 2011

"Keep it smart, Keep it non-violent, Keep it growing": Marianne Williamson speaks out at Occupy L.A.


I just saw this video of Marianne Williamson speaking at Occupy L.A. over at Claudia's blog, and was so impressed and inspired that I decided to post it here.

The first one minute of the video is disrupted by a technical difficulty; they had to get her another mic, as the one she started out speaking with was not loud enough. But if you stick through that first minute, you will be rewarded with really good stuff.

One thing that she said really stood out to me: American capitalism has lost its ethical center. If this is not a yogic statement, well, I don't know what is. The parallel with our yoga practice couldn't be more obvious: Whatever our particular yoga style, in our daily practice, we step onto the mat in order to center ourselves, so that we can live in accordance with the yamas (ethical precepts) and niyamas (spiritual guides) for the rest of the day. Seen in this light, we can say that the Occupy movement is a movement to shift the ethical orientation of the entire country (and with it, the entire world) back in accordance with the ethical ideals of non-violence, truthfulness, non-stealing, and non-greed. As I said, if this isn't yoga, I don't know what is.

So, at the risk of sounding very preachy, let me say this: Whether you are on the street, at home, or at your workplace (or anywhere else), please direct your thoughts, words, and/or actions to the success of this movement. This is not a political movement. It is a spiritual movement against unnecessary human suffering.  

5 comments:

  1. I really like most of what MW has to say. Her delivery is a little strange for me at times, but she has a good message. I like that she says capitalism is neutral, but that American captialism has lost its ethical center. Thanks for posting this!

    Tara

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  2. Thanks Tara. I really did not know much about MW before seeing this video. But I really like the message she is delivering here.

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  3. Hi Nobel, I agree, it is a spiritual movement, yes, we need to come back to center as a country, I like that.

    I actually heard every thing by Marianne Williamson. Her book a return to love, blew me away, and her CD on romantic relationships taught me everything I had never heard before which I needed to hear....

    :)

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  4. Hi Claudia!@! I loved that cd on romantic relationships too. It was very critical in my life.

    Tara

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  5. Thanks Claudia and Tara! I'll have to check out Marianne Williamson. :-)

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