Kuvaus

Preface

When Elizabeth Clare Prophet was working on her biography, she said that one of her goals was for people “to know me spiritually and humanly.”
Both aspects of her life are here. She faced the same issues that everyone deals with—family, joys and sorrows, school and relationships, college and career choices.

But through all of this runs the deep current of a spiritual quest that was the central purpose of her life.

In My Own Words tells the story of the early years of Mrs. Prophet’s journey, her first twenty-two years, which were marked by an unusual dedication to the search for God. The seeds of the extraordinary life that was about to unfold are evident.

For almost three decades she led The Summit Lighthouse, a worldwide spiritual movement founded by her late husband Mark L. Prophet.

Mrs. Prophet went on to become one of the most well-known female spiritual leaders of the twentieth century. She appeared on Nightline, Larry King Live and hundreds of television and radio shows around the world.

She traveled to more than thirty countries and published more than fifty books to deliver her message. She is known to thousands as their spiritual teacher.

Yet even with all of her accomplishments, Mrs. Prophet was never interested in attention or fame. For her, it was the message that was important, and she was simply the messenger.

Her concern was always for the spiritual progress of those she taught. If she spoke about herself, it was so that others might learn from her experiences and apply those lessons, often hard-won, to their own lives.

In My Own Words has its origins in 1991, when Mrs. Prophet and members of her editorial staff first began working on it.  About half of this present volume is drawn from Mrs. Prophet’s original writing for the project. The remainder of her outline has been filled in by material compiled from her many published and unpublished lectures and interviews.

The resulting memoir provides a rare insight into the life of a renowned twentieth-century mystic.

Thomas Merton once wrote: “The spiritual anguish of man has no cure but mysticism.” If so, then perhaps we all have something important to learn from the mystic in our midst.

In the story of her life, each of us may find a measure of inspiration for our own spiritual journey.

—The Editors

Table of Contents

1.  The Heart of a Child
2.  Birth
3.  Parents
4.  Early Memories
5.  Neighbors
6.  Ellis Island
7.  The War
8.  Family
9.  Three Signs
10.  A Past Life
11.  Searching for God
12.  Earning My Way
13.  The Demons of Alcohol
14.  Home Life
15.  Friends
16.  Blacking Out
17.  The Trials God Gives Us
18.  My Mother’s Confession
19.  Sundays
20.  Love
21.  Switzerland
22.  Other Realms
23.  Saint Germain
24.  Antioch College
25.  Summer Camp
26.  The United Nations
27.  New York
28.  Family Ties
29.  “Go to Boston!”
30.  Inner Work
31.  “Obey Immediately”
32.  Marriage
33.  “I Can't Wait Any Longer!”
34.  Mark Prophet
35.  The Call
36.  Beyond Christian Science
37.  Karma
38.  Mary
39.  A New Life

Chronology
Notes