Last weekend I attended the Bloom Yoga Festival in Edmonton, AB, where I had the great pleasure of attending Marianne Williamson‘s keynote address. *girlish squeal*

 

Based on my conversations with fellow Bloomers (as well as ones I’d overheard!), Marianne’s talk was definitely the highlight of our weekend.

And by the way, Bloom 2015 featured some of the most amazing speakers, musicians, and workshops I’ve ever had the pleasure of experiencing, so it was definitely a high bar. All in all, a totally transformational weekend.

For those of you who don’t know (?!!), Marianne Williamson is an internationally-acclaimed spiritual writer and speaker who is best known for her work in teaching the principles behind A Course in Miracles.

She has written numerous best-selling books, and if you think you haven’t heard of her, think again. The following quote: “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure…”, is from her book, A Return to Love, which has inspired greatness in people everywhere.

As a speaker, she totally blew me away with her presence, POWER, and her ability to keep us all spellbound. There was a Q & A after the main talk, during which we saw the depth of her compassion AND honesty. As one of the Bloom presenters said the following day, “She was so kind and so straight. I really appreciate that kind of honesty.”

Anyway, I won’t get into specifics in regards to the (pretty wild) questions Marianne was asked, let’s just say you had to be there.

What I want to offer you today are some of my key takeaways from her talk. So, without further ado…

Loving with Conviction

If humanity at large is experiencing a huge shift in consciousness, a global rise in vibration, then why do horrific things still happen? In fact, why does it seem as though things are only getting worse?

Marianne said that the reason hate appears to be such a powerful force is because people who hate, hate with conviction. Simply put, there is enough power and action behind their hatred that it is capable of causing such mass destruction.

There are too many people in the world holding up the “I AM SPIRITUAL” banner, but never getting any further than the sidelines. I remember saying something similar in one of my own talks, in fact, about those who hide behind their spirituality and psychic sensitivity and use it as an excuse to NOT engage and to stay uninformed.

You know who I’m talking about. Those that state, quite proudly in fact, that they’re too emphatic, too sensitive to be in large crowds/malls/parties/situations involving other living, breathing, human beings, and therefore do not engage. People who confuse bystander apathy with turning the other cheek, and therefore do not help those in need.

Not that you shouldn’t honour your boundaries or choose peace – far from it – but Marianne emphasized the deep, desperate need for ACTION and CONVICTION from those who operate from a place of love.

Simply put: If those of us who come from a place of love, love with conviction, in the same way that those who come from a place of hatred, hate with conviction, then WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD.

Love is a force that is infinitely stronger than hate, but it must be channeled and put into action. Enough apathy, enough talking. It’s time for us to step up and walk our talk.

My Tip: Mind Your Energetic Health

It’s easy to get caught in the trap of wanting to be of service, but not being able to due to the fact that you are, in fact, empathic to a fault. There are some people out there who are so sensitive that being a hermit is practically a necessity, but for most people, that’s not the case. 

Fear is the problem. Fear of failure, fear of pain, fear of struggle… But if you can remember to do what it is you know is right, and come from a place of love, then love will carry you through.

Another thing to consider, especially those of you who feel like you’re always being psychically attacked, is the health of your chakras and your energetic body.

Practicing energy healing techniques like Reiki and Chakra Cleansing will give you the tools you need to be able to be active participants in the world – Spiritual Activists, if you will.

Spiritual Progress or Regression?

Marianne spoke a lot about practicing your spirituality in all aspects of your life – family, business, networking, etc., while being careful that you’re not preaching to people.

For example, you can (and should!) send love to all of your colleagues before you engage with them, and even bless your business meeting in advance, but there’s no need to tell them that you did that. Act from your Highest Self and get on as usual.

A question she received from an audience member was, “How do we, being Spiritually Awake, deal with those who are Asleep?”.

Her reply, in a nutshell, was that the minute you start to see yourself as separate from others, or as being higher/better than them because of your spiritual progress, you’ve completely missed the point.

Looking at others with pity because they are “asleep” is just another form of elitism and separation. After all, she said, with all of us being at a yoga conference, there are other people out there praying for US, hoping that WE will wake up and see the light.

My Cliff’s Notes version of her reply? It’s all relative, and if you can’t see God in all, you can’t see God at all.

Practice, don’t preach.

Friends, there was so, so much more that we learned from her but if I listed all of my mental notes here, this post would go on for days. What I will do, however, is share the link to her talk as soon as it’s posted on YouTube 🙂

Words cannot describe how happy and grateful I am to have been able to attend Marianne’s talk. The Bloom weekend was my birthday gift to myself for what 29th year, what I’m calling my #divine29, and I couldn’t have topped off being 28-years-old in a better way.

Om, Shanti, Shanti, Shanti…

P.S. Are we hooked up on Instagram? Be sure to follow me @timmiewellness to see my photos from Bloom, as well as the (many!) future events I’ll be partaking in!