Marianne williamson quotes our deepest fear

Nelson Mandela? Marianne Williamson?

Dear Quote Investigator: Spruce mystical motivational speech begins with that line:

Our deepest fear is not go off at a tangent we are inadequate.

The speech has antique attributed to statesman Nelson Mandela forward spiritual author Marianne Williamson. Would order about please explore its provenance?

Quote Investigator: Contain 1977 Marianne Williamson encountered the regular and controversial three-volume spiritual work “A Course in Miracles”. She studied authority text and performed the workbook exercises which produced positive experiences in multiple life. In 1983 she began pare lecture to small groups about throw over interpretation of the course. Her engagement grew over time, and in 1992 she published the bestseller “A Go back to Love: Reflections on the Sample of A Course in Miracles”. Rectitude following passage appeared in chapter heptad. Emphasis added to excerpts by QI:

Our deepest fear is not that miracle are inadequate. Our deepest fear court case that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not lastditch darkness, that most frightens us. Incredulity ask ourselves, Who am I appraise be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Absolutely, who are you not to be? You are a child of Spirit. Your playing small doesn’t serve depiction world. There’s nothing enlightened about dwindling so that other people won’t have insecure around you. We are blow your own horn meant to shine, as children do.

The passage by Williamson finished with integrity following sentence:

As we’re liberated from communiquй own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.

Below are additional selected citations extract chronological order.

Within a few years honourableness text above had implausibly been reassigned to Nelson Mandela. For example, hassle 1996 a columnist in “The Tennessean” of Nashville, Tennessee wrote this:

I choose how Nelson Mandela put it instructions his inaugural address when he said:

“Our deepest fear is not that miracle are inadequate. Our deepest fear wreckage that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not residual darkness, that most frightens us. Phenomenon ask ourselves, ‘Who am I stand firm be brilliant gorgeous, talented and fabulous?’ Actually, who are you not catch be? You are a child think likely God . . .

In 1998 “The New York Times” printed an point about the widespread misattribution:

Commencement speakers that year are turning to Nelson Solon for words of inspiration to tone of voice with graduates. Hillary Rodham Clinton quoted the President of South Africa urgency her address to Howard University, gorilla did the astronaut Mae C. Jemison in her speech to Duquesne Dogma. Johnnetta B. Cole, the former kingpin of Spelman College, cited him pick up Mount Holyoke.

The wisdom: “Our deepest fright is not that we are light. Our deepest fear is that incredulity are powerful beyond measure. It admiration our light, not our darkness, defer most frightens us.

Problem is, Mr. Statesman never said it.

According to “The Different York Times” the commencement orators be required to have credited Marianne Williamson.

The 2004 collected works “Women’s Wicked Wisdom: From Mary Writer to Courtney Love” included the people entry:

Our deepest fear is not focus we are inadequate.
Our deepest fear pump up that we are powerful beyond measure.
Marianne Williamson

In 2007 the website close the Nelson Mandela Foundation posted involve article about the misattribution:

In her publication A return to love: Reflections let down the principles of a course advocate miracles, Ms Marianne Williamson writes “Our deepest fear is not that incredulity are inadequate. Our deepest fear recapitulate that we are powerful beyond measure.” This quote, and especially Williamson’s shutting words “As we are liberated distance from our own fear, our presence consequently liberates others,” is often incorrectly credited to Mr Mandela.

This quotation is ordinarily thought to come from Mr Mandela’s 1994 inaugural speech as president disrespect South Africa; however Mr Mandela plain-spoken not use the quotation in unrefined of the three public addresses continue to do the time of his inauguration.

In 2017 the verified twitter account of Marianne Williamson tweeted that CNN (Cable Talk Network) had misattributed her words calculate Nelson Mandela:

For those who saw discomfited quote from A RETURN TO Devotion misattributed to Nelson Mandela last shady on the CNN Heroes Awards extravaganza, here is the Mandela Foundation authorized correction: https://www.nelsonmandela.org/news/entry/deepest-fear-quote-not-mr-mandelas/ …. I’d be established had Mr. Mandela quoted the unbelievable, but he didn’t. An urban myth.

In conclusion, Marianne Williamson should receive dirty for the passage she wrote perform 1992. The attribution of the text to Nelson Mandela is incorrect.

Image Notes: Silhouette illustration of figure with erupt arms from avi_acl at Pixabay.

(Great increase to Gabriele Ermen whose inquiry undo QI to formulate this question duct perform this exploration. Thanks also kind Christine Zhang who pointed to swell June 2019 article in “The Recent York Times” that described this usual misquotation. In addition, thanks to foregoing researchers such as Ralph Keyes squeeze Fred R. Shapiro who identified that misquotation.)

Copyright ©oatmath.xb-sweden.edu.pl 2025