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Enchanted Love: The Mystical Power Of Intimate Relationships
Explore the mystical power of intimate relationships in this deep personal collection of essays, prayers, and self-reflections from New York Times bestselling author and 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Marianne Williamson.
Three of Marianne Williamson's previous bestsellers -- A Return to Love, A Woman's Worth, and Illuminata -- explored the issue of relationships. Now, in this deeply personal collection of essays, prayers, and self-reflection, she turns to romantic love.
In Illuminata, Williamson wrote that "we experience God to the extent to which we love, forgive, and focus on the good in others and ourselves." Now, in Enchanted Love, she writes that "enchanted partnership begins with the conscious understanding, on the part of two people, that the purpose of their relationship is not so much material as spiritual, and the internal skills demanded by it are prodigious." High romance, she says, "is not about past or future. It is not about practicality. It is not about society or worldly routines. It is an audacious ride to the center of what is, at the heart of every person. It is a bold and masterful inquiry into what two people really are and how we might become, while still on earth, the angels who reside within us."
Three of Marianne Williamson's previous bestsellers -- A Return to Love, A Woman's Worth, and Illuminata -- explored the issue of relationships. Now, in this deeply personal collection of essays, prayers, and self-reflection, she turns to romantic love.
In Illuminata, Williamson wrote that "we experience God to the extent to which we love, forgive, and focus on the good in others and ourselves." Now, in Enchanted Love, she writes that "enchanted partnership begins with the conscious understanding, on the part of two people, that the purpose of their relationship is not so much material as spiritual, and the internal skills demanded by it are prodigious." High romance, she says, "is not about past or future. It is not about practicality. It is not about society or worldly routines. It is an audacious ride to the center of what is, at the heart of every person. It is a bold and masterful inquiry into what two people really are and how we might become, while still on earth, the angels who reside within us."
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1999
61 people are currently reading
1115 people want to read
About the author
Marianne Williamson
450 books2,326 followersMarianne Williamson is an internationally acclaimed lecturer, activist, and author with six New York Times bestsellers. Her books include Tears to Triumph, A Return to Love, A Year of Miracles, The Law of Divine Compensation, The Gift of Change, The Age of Miracles, Everyday Grace, A Woman's Worth, Illuminata, and A Course in Weight Loss. She has been a popular guest on television programs such as Oprah and Good Morning America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews
June 1, 2013
Admittedly, this particular tome was a bit of a struggle to stick with at first. After three years of self-imposed exile from relationships, I felt ready to attract someone suitable and willing to build a holy relationship with me...a concept Marianne introduced in A Return to Love.
Now, Marianne's work usually has me at hello, but she took an odd angle with Enchanted Love that had me cocking my head a bit. I remember thinking, "Ah...she must have been in love when she wrote this..." While Marianne is usually so forthright in her work, this one has that sticky-sweet flavor that none of her other offerings sport. I'd just completed The Law of Divine Compensation, quickly followed by A Return to Love, and desired a continuation of the same.
However, once I got over my insistence that she write the dang book my way - which, you know, is so very effective - I began to appreciate what Marianne envisioned as she wrote. As I let go of my resistance, I warmed to this softer version of her voice, and began to appreciate the profound wisdom of her words.
As such, the inner shift that had begun as I read Return to Love accelerated within my consciousness and became more polished. I began to see the soul of the man who I'd just met, and realized that the spiritual heart beating within his chest was also my own. I realized that, after decades of only seeing the "wrong" types of men cross my radar, while simultaneously refusing to allow God to express itself through me in the scope of my relationships, I had indeed let go and healed. I had emotionally and spiritually grown up. I could finally welcome God into my relationships...both with others and with myself.
God speaks with us in many forms, and Marianne is quintessentially the best at pulling us out of ourselves and showing us the Truth of who we are. Our only task is that we open and receive. I am so grateful that I have.
All Love <3
Now, Marianne's work usually has me at hello, but she took an odd angle with Enchanted Love that had me cocking my head a bit. I remember thinking, "Ah...she must have been in love when she wrote this..." While Marianne is usually so forthright in her work, this one has that sticky-sweet flavor that none of her other offerings sport. I'd just completed The Law of Divine Compensation, quickly followed by A Return to Love, and desired a continuation of the same.
However, once I got over my insistence that she write the dang book my way - which, you know, is so very effective - I began to appreciate what Marianne envisioned as she wrote. As I let go of my resistance, I warmed to this softer version of her voice, and began to appreciate the profound wisdom of her words.
As such, the inner shift that had begun as I read Return to Love accelerated within my consciousness and became more polished. I began to see the soul of the man who I'd just met, and realized that the spiritual heart beating within his chest was also my own. I realized that, after decades of only seeing the "wrong" types of men cross my radar, while simultaneously refusing to allow God to express itself through me in the scope of my relationships, I had indeed let go and healed. I had emotionally and spiritually grown up. I could finally welcome God into my relationships...both with others and with myself.
God speaks with us in many forms, and Marianne is quintessentially the best at pulling us out of ourselves and showing us the Truth of who we are. Our only task is that we open and receive. I am so grateful that I have.
All Love <3
July 17, 2013
Read this twice and used quotes from this book in my wedding ceremony.
July 8, 2010
Normally I like Marianne Williamson's style of writing, but I was a little put-off by the setup of the book. She prefaces each chapter with an interesting quote/mini story about love (which I did enjoy) but then starts each chapter with this weird conversation with a fictious man about how she's a mermaid, she's been waiting for him and he needs to feel love like she feels love (or something along those lines). The whole "conversation" piece of each chapter (note - not only was there bits of a conversation at the beginning of each chapter, there was also bits sprinkled throughout the chapters as well) just didn't click with me. I'm all for metaphors but I think she took this one a bit too far. Not just with the mermaids, but with the angel/aliens in the spaceship. Seriously. A spaceship. In a book about love.
However, the one redeeming quality of this book was the actual content of the chapters (excluding, of course, the random conversations with the mystery man). I enjoyed her explanations of the different kinds of love there are in this world and the idea that the type of love you need for a lasting and fulfilling relationship isn't always the romantic love you read about in books or see in movies; it's hard, it can hurt and it's a lot of work. I think too many people confuse lust with love and forget that in order for a relationship to survive, you need to work to sustain an intimate love between one another. All interesting points and Williamson expressed them wonderfully; I just couldn't get past her odd metaphors in this book.
However, the one redeeming quality of this book was the actual content of the chapters (excluding, of course, the random conversations with the mystery man). I enjoyed her explanations of the different kinds of love there are in this world and the idea that the type of love you need for a lasting and fulfilling relationship isn't always the romantic love you read about in books or see in movies; it's hard, it can hurt and it's a lot of work. I think too many people confuse lust with love and forget that in order for a relationship to survive, you need to work to sustain an intimate love between one another. All interesting points and Williamson expressed them wonderfully; I just couldn't get past her odd metaphors in this book.
September 4, 2017
I love everything she writes. I would give this 5 stars since she's able to put all my feelings, emotions, and dreams about romance into words, but there were a few parts that were even too sappy for me. I'm glad I read it though, and I will keep it to read again someday when I'm in a relationship. It will help me remember what a gift it is to love someone and pray to see their innocence instead of all their faults.
July 28, 2012
the passage that brought me to this book:
"I came for you, I came for you, but you could not see me.
I swam the seas, I traversed the coals, I died a thousand deaths for you.
I found my way, I did, I did.
But when I got there, you had fallen asleep.
You had drunk their potions and I could not wake you.
I got there in time but your eyes were closed."
"I came for you, I came for you, but you could not see me.
I swam the seas, I traversed the coals, I died a thousand deaths for you.
I found my way, I did, I did.
But when I got there, you had fallen asleep.
You had drunk their potions and I could not wake you.
I got there in time but your eyes were closed."
September 4, 2017
I decided to quit reading this book with about 50 pages remaining. It was my second go at trying to finish this book because I set it aside for a while a few weeks ago. I just wasn’t getting much from it. It’s my opinion that there comes a time with proselyting authors where they start to either repeat themselves ad nauseam or rehash their ideas by spinning out allusions. In this book M.W. was doing both. I enjoyed and valued ‘A Return to Love’ and even more ‘A Woman’s Worth’ but here she didn’t say anything new, or even the same thrust in an original fashion. And so much seemed truly pointless – such as ‘Ah, you swam, but never before without the fear of drowning. Lie back and I will swim you home. The stars will guide us, the waves will carry us and all our fear will slip away. Surrender now. The sea caresses.’ She seems to pussyfoot around taking no definitive position in an attempt to please every reader. The only lines that spoke to me came just 8 pages into the book. It suggested there comes a time when you need to stop doing the interior work alone and share your gifts with another soul. Certainly there’s a time to stop reading something so stale.
February 24, 2009
There are many books on my list, and very few that I can honestly say affected me in a profound way. EL is one of those books that I will be talking about for years to come. The images she creates and the concepts she draws to conclusion put great perspective on many of the things I've questioned with regards to relationships, love and most importantly the profound connection we draw with certain people. For women, a must read...for men a must read if you want to understand the stuff that makes women tingle.
Happy to say I've experienced Enchanted Love in my life, and grateful for the perspective the book offered on it.
Happy to say I've experienced Enchanted Love in my life, and grateful for the perspective the book offered on it.
August 15, 2015
Enchanted Love is a series of short essays, prayers and poems around finding a sacred romantic love. Along the way, Williiamson describes judgemental relationships that fall far short of a sacred ideal. She talks about sex, divorce, God, and the reflections of love on the greater world. Beneath all of her ideas are the concepts that we partner with others to work on our deepest wounds and that the love we exchange with each other is actually the love of the Divine. I read 2/3 of it in the first sitting because it is such a smooth and easy read. The concepts contained within are deep and powerful, but Williamson explains them so clearly that it feels like reading a work of fiction.
June 6, 2010
This book challenges you to approach relationships and love with more depth. Williamson likens love and relationships to enchantment--mystical, magical, spiritual and soulful love. Don't be mistaken, Williamson gives no illusions and does not give false hope nested in unattainable fantasies. Instead, she instills hope and explores the spiritual side of love. There is no preaching or bible brow beating--just reality based approach to love. This is a must read on anyones spiritual journey to attaining and understaning love's call.
June 13, 2010
In all honesty, I thought this book would be lame, and this is coming from someone who LOVES sappy, new age-y hippie stuff. Yet, this looked to be a little much... but I gave it a shot. Talk about exactly the right book at exactly the right time! Inspiring, uplifting, and beautifully written. Thanks, Marianne, for this book. It has helped me immensely.
August 2, 2012
Marianne Williamson is such a profound author. Her books especially this one has absolutely changed my life. Although, I'm not in a relationship, this book gives me a better understanding of what a true love is, and how an intimate relationship should be. Great read! Read it.
January 31, 2018
As long as you allow yourself to be open to the mystical and fantastical bits, this book is an inspiring, illuminating view on love and intimacy. If you’ve ever felt a love that seemed magical and defied explanation, this book will resonate and validate that experience. A refreshing read.
February 12, 2020
I could not finish this. Painfully heteronormative and full of gender stereotypes. Also, she seems to endorse incest at one point. Not okay!!!!!
June 27, 2010
I'm on a personal yearlong quest to examine my idea of love, so I'm reading a lot of books on the topic. Some I read and didn't expect to be so much about love (Trail of Crumbs for example) but they were. I'm not doing a year long quest to be faddish, but rather, my husband I decided that sometime within the next year we would *probably* start trying to expand our family (if you count the dog we got 3 months ago we already have!) and this caused a lot of thought on my part abut what kind of person I am and what kind of person I would be to this little person coming into our lives. I wanted to be better than my parents (don't we all) and so I set out to read more books on love, peace, and yes, happiness. So... that said..
This book was weird.
I mean really weird. It talked about the universes cervix. Call me crazy but I didn't know the universe had a cervix. It was a bit much. Really. But there were some really good thoughts and ideas in between the wtf did she just say moments. To be fair I should add that this was an abridged version, so maybe if I had access to the unabridged I would have been a little more open to the whole universes vagina talk.
Also I really *really* don't like to hear people read poetry. There are very few poems I've heard aloud that I've liked. Authors tend to do that whole fake poetry reading voice that I abhor. They drop an octave and get raspy and too serious and pause awkwardly to make sure you got their point and it is so melodramatic and ridiculous sounding. And usually the poetry is bad, not helping anything. So is the case with Ms. Williamson. Reading her bad prayers, poetry and prose on the page would have been immeasurably better than hearing her sultry it out to you in bad thespian attempts.
Now back to something positive. I think she does have a lot of points that echo my own thoughts. For instance she talks about how important it is to practice kindness/love on strangers so that it becomes a habit that you unconsciously carry out daily with those you actually care about. I really liked a lot of what she said about what to do when you get that good relationship going. I liked that she pointed out that you shouldn't overanalyze things.
In the end I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to read a different way of looking at love and relationships. The pros outweigh the weird cons and cervix's. Just don't the audiobook and do get the unabridged print version.
God forbid, but if you are interested I have a blog going of my poor attempts at chronicling my battle with being more loving. Though often it deals with where I'm struggling than where I'm improving. And it often feels more just like a diary than a quest, but maybe that's more true than a clinical dissection of my desire to change.
This book was weird.
I mean really weird. It talked about the universes cervix. Call me crazy but I didn't know the universe had a cervix. It was a bit much. Really. But there were some really good thoughts and ideas in between the wtf did she just say moments. To be fair I should add that this was an abridged version, so maybe if I had access to the unabridged I would have been a little more open to the whole universes vagina talk.
Also I really *really* don't like to hear people read poetry. There are very few poems I've heard aloud that I've liked. Authors tend to do that whole fake poetry reading voice that I abhor. They drop an octave and get raspy and too serious and pause awkwardly to make sure you got their point and it is so melodramatic and ridiculous sounding. And usually the poetry is bad, not helping anything. So is the case with Ms. Williamson. Reading her bad prayers, poetry and prose on the page would have been immeasurably better than hearing her sultry it out to you in bad thespian attempts.
Now back to something positive. I think she does have a lot of points that echo my own thoughts. For instance she talks about how important it is to practice kindness/love on strangers so that it becomes a habit that you unconsciously carry out daily with those you actually care about. I really liked a lot of what she said about what to do when you get that good relationship going. I liked that she pointed out that you shouldn't overanalyze things.
In the end I'd recommend this to anyone wanting to read a different way of looking at love and relationships. The pros outweigh the weird cons and cervix's. Just don't the audiobook and do get the unabridged print version.
God forbid, but if you are interested I have a blog going of my poor attempts at chronicling my battle with being more loving. Though often it deals with where I'm struggling than where I'm improving. And it often feels more just like a diary than a quest, but maybe that's more true than a clinical dissection of my desire to change.
May 5, 2014
The most profound, powerful book that has ever come across my path...shifting me to the most intensely reflective and deeply affirmed inner space I have never known. Never before has a book reached me at such a perfect moment of crystal clarity and destined synchronicity. Never before has any message from an author or teacher resonated so intensely, unmistakably and entirely with the complete essence of my being. Ms Williamson captures in her poetic prayers the unspoken thoughts I never knew existed in words beyond my own consciousness. My life will never, ever be the same. Note however to the disenchanted: This one is not everyone's cup of tea.
December 30, 2018
Enchanted Love is a beautiful book written by Marianne Williamson. Williamson illustrates an elevated way to attract, maintain and (when necessary) let go of romantic relationships. The mix of prayers, myth, storytelling and practical self help advice allows the reader to take in the concepts and information on a variety levels. If you love love, yearn to be in a vibrant long lasting partnership, need material for your wedding vows (my partner and I plan to use it for ours) or want to reignite the fire and passion in your current romatic relationship -- this book is for you. I know I will be referencing this book for a long time to come. Happy reading!
November 4, 2012
I have known of this author for some time but this is one of the first books by her that I have read. It is refreshing to see the approach that she has taken in regards to intimate relationship. I am still challenged by a number of her ideas that she presents about love, relationships, and how we approach them. A lot of food for thought in addition to the fact that she allows the reader to enter the magical realm she is describing as love through her storytelling. That is what I appreciated the most!
February 6, 2015
Strengthening my intimate connections is something I have been wanting to work on. This book has helped me to gain a new understanding of my relationships. The writing is poetic, and easily entices you into the very beginning of the world of enchantment that she describes in her books. It was an inspiration to me to find and create that enchantment in my own life. A reminder that it is possible, and not at all strange.
June 24, 2016
I worked for an off-the-wall, mystic massage therapy lady like this New Age dame. She was a cooke. Too hippy & "one love" for me, but the very worst part about the publication was at the very end, after the acknowledgements & other stuff people don't read, it gives her website: www.marianne.com. I don't need her to have this kind of credit or association from people looking looking to find ME.
May 29, 2007
I loved this book. I read it at a time when things in my marriage were 'interesting' to say the least. It helped to give me better perspective and love my better half for all he was and was not. I still refer to the book now and again for brief reminders. It's a great read...very romantic, mystical and spiritual.
August 11, 2017
One of the best books I've read on love, partnership and intimate relationships. Highly recommend it!
"Romance is one of the sacred temples that dot the landscape of a human life. It is transformative and healing when approached with reverence, but always potentially dangerous when approached with anything less."
"Romance is one of the sacred temples that dot the landscape of a human life. It is transformative and healing when approached with reverence, but always potentially dangerous when approached with anything less."
January 9, 2013
This book was such a profound read for all of us hard driving, goal oriented women who don't know how to make relationships work like our careers do. It brings us back to our intimate selves in a real meaningful way. Real talk.
May 12, 2013
If I take this and apply it to my relationship with God it's valuable. However, it's hard for me to take her input when she, to my knowledge, has not had a life long (or significantly ling)romantic relationship.
April 13, 2014
ENCHANTING EXPERIENCE <3
awakening
sensual
so profound , really touched my soul
LOVE THIS AUTHER and I WANNA READ ALLLLLL HER BOOKs
my favorite quote is this :
"a mature woman knows she only needs god , the person on her side is one who she desires"
AMEN TO THAT
~_^
awakening
sensual
so profound , really touched my soul
LOVE THIS AUTHER and I WANNA READ ALLLLLL HER BOOKs
my favorite quote is this :
"a mature woman knows she only needs god , the person on her side is one who she desires"
AMEN TO THAT
~_^
August 23, 2015
This was my first encounter with this author, so I'm unfamiliar with her normal writing style. However, I was not impressed. I found the story to be very rambly and way too syrupy, even for my romantic taste. I couldn't even finish the book, which rarely occurs.
October 27, 2007
Very insightful and worthy of pondering. Some weak spots, but overall, well worth reading.
Read
March 27, 2008299.93
July 9, 2008
I love Marianne, but this isn't my favorite book of hers. It's a little too...gooey (?) for my taste though the message of loving others without losing one's self is still prominent.
August 1, 2008
A must read for EVERYONE on Love and Relationships. I generally give this book to couples at their wedding... What can I say, its never too late to actually get it right!
November 11, 2008
Was on loan from Naomi. Loved it.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 57 reviews