There is so much in here to address, the task feels Herculean. I am a psychotherapist. While I am sorry “Clare’s mother” misunderstood what she was hearing, what about the tens of thousands of people who heard the same words but understood them the way they were intended? If Clare’s mother had actually spoken to Williamson, she would have been told to absolutely get medical attention - and - also - help Clare get the emotional support she needed so she wasn’t reduced to simply her symptoms and challenges… that Clare’s value was not only found in her health status. I was in NYC during the AIDS crisis and attended Williamson’s lectures and volunteered at her AIDS charity. At that time, when treatment options were non-existent, death was the likely outcome and disease shame was being inflicted on our community, we were being told “you are the disease”. When hope was scarce, when our own government abandoned us, the message that Williamson - through a Course In Miracles - delivered was “you are more than this disease.” That “love was stronger than AIDS” in terms of our value and our spirits. It is a message of transcending your circumstances in circumstances where you are made to feel hopeless. It is the same message that thought leaders have been sharing since Marcus Aurelius through Buddha, Jesus Christ, William Blake, Howard Thurman - and on and on. When medications became available but the side effects were horrific, Williamson told people to take them anyway to stay alive - and - to help them manage symptoms - would use some of those same principals to help them cope - “you are not only your illness, you are not only your symptoms - you are more than what you are experiencing right now.” It is a form of meditation and transcendence that has been used by thought leaders throughout time to empower people who feel powerless. She created an AIDS charity that offered community, safe spaces to gather and alternative care (yoga, whole food meals, meditation, qigong) to keep people engaged in the business of living beyond “their diagnosis”. Williamson has clarified her position on vaccines, medical science and mental health over and over again. When she has made a misstep or a misstatement or a mistake - she admits it. But to frame her work in the way you framed it - without context - feels agenda driven. There is nuance here you chose not to engage.
