To Me, A Most Powerful Teaching

I think the below quotation by Presidential candidate Marianne Williamson in her book A Return to Love is timeless and so on point. But so there is no ambiguity, I also strongly believe that when we are being attacked— whether verbally, physically, or spiritually-- we have every right to defend ourselves. And I believe Light will win in the end. Happy Holidays everybody.

"Focusing on their guilt drives the nails of self-loathing more deeply into our own skin. Focusing on their innocence sets us free. Since ‘no thoughts are neutral,’ every relationship takes us deeper into Heaven or deeper into Hell . “Forgiveness takes away what stands between your brother and yourself.” Forgiveness is the key to inner peace because it is the mental technique by which our thoughts are transformed from fear to love.The cornerstone of the ego’s teaching is: “The Son of God is guilty.”“Dear God, I surrender this relationship to you,” means, “Dear God, let me see this person through your eyes.” In accepting the Atonement, we are asking to see as God sees, think as God thinks, love as God loves. We are asking for help in seeing someone’s innocence. ‘By bringing the past into the present, we create a future just like the past.’ By letting the past go, we make room for miracles.

An attack on a brother is a reminder of his guilty past. In choosing to affirm a brother’s guilt, we are choosing to experience more of it. Whether you’re attacking first or attacking back, you’re an instrument of attack and not of love. What we think of as people’s guilt is their fear. All negativity derives from fear. When someone is angry, they are afraid. When someone is rude, they are afraid. When someone is manipulative, they are afraid. When someone is cruel, they are afraid. There is no fear that love does not dissolve. There is no negativity that forgiveness does not transform. But peace isn’t determined by circumstances outside us. Peace stems from forgiveness. Pain doesn’t stem from the love we’re denied by others, but rather from the love that we deny them."