Last week I was privileged and honoured to be at a talk by Marianne Williamson, author of “A Return to Love” (Amazon UK / Amazon USA) and famed for having written the words Our Light , often incorrectly attributed to Nelson Mandela. She spoke passionately about her hopes for a better world and finding our higher purpose.

Over the next couple of years, the vision is to have Marianne present her inspirational message at the Royal Albert Hall, so look out for that.

Her talk left me inspired and more optimistic about the future of the world. Here are some of the many things she shared with us in her uniquely evocative, humorous and deeply loving style:-

• Believe in infinite possibility
• Claim the world you want!
• Have faith in the power of healing – it is far stronger than the power of disease
• Believe in the power of the possibility of positive change and be a stand for positive change
• We can be “midwives” for a better world
• To change the world, first face the things in our own lives
• We can make enough of a difference in our lives by taking a step to become what we are meant to be. Our souls will “tingle” when we do so 🙂
• As human beings we have a choice to live our lives either through circumstances or a higher vision.
• Time expands with your vision and noble thoughts – the shallower your thoughts, the quicker the time goes.
• False modesty is not a strength
• Be happy to serve god. Ask daily – dear god, how may I be of service? How can I be of maximum service to the world
• There is no worldly joy without god. Meditate daily early in the morning and surrender the day to god / the universe. Ask – how may I be more loving / compassionate today?
• You only discover the joy of being in a relationship when you are united in a common higher purpose.

Something that really resonated with me was when Marianne asked what it would be like if the time had come for the concept of war to end?! Or the concept for the end of world hunger?

In the same way that the world knew that apartheid in South Africa was no longer feasible, there will surely come a day one day soon when we as humanity will decide that enough was enough, and we will wholeheartedly embrace world peace, food for all and social justice.

Let us all work towards making that happen.

In the same way that one man, Nelson Mandela, took a stand in South Africa for the end of apartheid and a peaceful transition, we all need to do our bit and take a stand for what we all intuitively know to be the truth and the right thing to do.

It just takes one person to change the world. Indeed, one of the recurring points in Marianne’s talk was all about letting your light shine.

So how will you begin to let YOUR light shine from today?