“The ego is our own mental energy turned against us. Yet just as darkness is nothing but the absence of light, so fear is nothing but the absence of love. The ego is simply a mental miscreation, the delusional thought that we are not who in fact we are. In its mad belief that we are separate, it persuades us that we are alone . . . and endangered . . . and unloved. Of course we are depressed. And the healing of our depression lies in remembering who we are.

We are perfect, innocent children of God. That is God’s Reality, and God’s Reality is changeless. Moreover, we were created as one and on the level of spirit we are one. The ego is vigilant in its efforts to make us forget we are perfect, to make us forget we are innocent, and to make us forget we are one. The anxiety and mental anguish this forgetfulness produces is the real meaning of the word “hell.” The awareness of our oneness and the peace this pronounces is the meaning of the word “heaven.” Hell is not our natural habitat. Heaven is where we come from and where we belong—not just after we die[…]”

Excerpt From: Williamson, Marianne. “Tears to Triumph.”