Last week I had the distinct pleasure of chatting with Marianne Williamson about her latest book, which she has co-authored with Deepak Chopra and Debbie Ford, entitled The Shadow Effect. I chat with all three; in our discussion each takes a  look at the power of our shadows and our relationship with time  with their unique defining perspectives.

One of the most notable power of slow moments in the book comes when Marianne writes:

Our busyness is often our enemy, making it hard for us to slow down long enough to breathe in the ethers of the spiritual planes.

As I often say, busy is the new fine. We used to speak of ourselves as being just fine. Now we’re just plain busy. Too busy, if you ask me.

In our interview she spoke authentically about how we realize the preciousness of time once we reach midlife. “We no longer have time for five year detours,” she said.

Along similar lines Marianne writes in her New York Times #2 bestselling book, The Age of Miracles:

It’s almost embarassing to admit, but sometimes it’s a relief to get to finally slow down. You realize ‘slower’ is not necessarily ‘worse than’. the speed of our former years was not as constructive as it appeared to be. Moving too fast, we often missed a lot. Many of us made big mistakes we might not have made if we hand’t been moving through life so quickly.

I had to grin when I read that. We often miss the boat when we’re rushing along the shore. Sometimes an easier stroll will get us there faster.

If you slowed down even one notch, what might happen?

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• Deepak Chopra, Debbie Ford, and Marianne Williamson in New York Tonight (beliefnet.com)