“Depression can be a sacred initiation into the journey of enlightenment” reads the new book by Marianne Williamson, Tears to Triumph, The Spiritual Journey from Suffering to Enlightenment.
If you’ve ever heard her speak live, this book follows a familiar rhythm. Williamson teaches from personal experience and relevant mainstream knowledge, making her relatable and understandable. In Tears to Triumph, she processes the issue of emotional, spiritual, and psychological suffering through the wisdom of various religious traditions – including, but not limited to Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and A Course in Miracles. Rediscovering these universal spiritual themes, Williamson provides an intelligent, open, practical look at surviving and transcending our personal and collective suffering.
As we’ve come to expect from her, Marianne Williamson addresses the elephant in the room – a few of them, actually.
“Sometimes neurosis is best measured not by the things that make us sad, but by the things that do not make us sad.” She goes on to say, “Where would we be if abolitionists had not been upset about slavery, or suffragettes had not been upset that women could not vote?”
Marianne Williamson points out that grieving the death of a loved one, the end of a relationship, or the fact that your nation is in a time of war, is not mental illness. Such a “knee-jerk pathologizing of emotional pain is a dysfunctional reaction to the experience of being human.” She proposes that allowing ourselves to experience deeply the ups and downs of life is part of a spiritual initiation that can take us to new depths of understanding, even reminding us that, “…it was after Moses had committed murder that God appeared to him in the burning bush.”
Calling to accountability major industry giants and celebrity personalities, Tears to Triumph is not without its politico pop culture juice – delivered with just the right balance of classy and sassy. However, Williamson’s message is more than a message of spiritual growth, welcoming the experience of suffering, and taking responsibility for our cultural missteps – her message, as always, is the message of unity, the peace of God, and of course, miracles.
Declared by Conscious Lifestyle Magazine as “one of the world’s leading meditation teachers,” Ben hosts popular classes, trainings, and events on meditation, social justice, and related studies at The Den Meditation, Wanderlust Hollywood, Divine Meditation, and Unplug Meditation.
Once praised by Forbes as a “legendary PR maven,” and “a shining example of the talent the philanthropic community needs to attract,” Benjamin W. Decker left a prolific career in Hollywood to dedicate his professional life to conscious activism.
He has worked closely with humanitarian organizations including anti-human trafficking organizations Unlikely Heroes & Saving Innocence, as well as Generosity.org, Children of the Night, the American Red Cross, and many others.
Decker is the Founding Executive Director of The Providence Project, President of the Board of The inerHEALTH Foundation, and Founding Spiritual Director of Full Circle Venice.