NONFICTION - Jan. 8, 1995

ILLUMINATA: Thoughts, Prayers, Rites of Passage by Marianne Williamson (Random House: $20; 300 pp.) “Prayer roots us in a different center of emotional gravity. It represents a true conversion from sourcing power in one place to sourcing it in another. It is the spiritualization of our mental habits and the disciplining of our scattered minds. That is why it give us so much strength.” So says Marianne Williamson in her newest book, “Illuminata,” a collection of spiritual thoughts, prayers and rites of passage. Williamson, who is extremely charismatic, achieved fame through her lectures and previous bestsellers, “A Return to Love,” and, “A Woman’s Worth.”

“Illuminata” is an odd book. The expository sections are stunningly written, yet their motion is like a stream that flows at the exact same speed for miles and miles. This creates beautiful scenery, but a lack of momentum. The prayers themselves are simple, nondenominational, and very modern. They cover a variety of subjects from addiction to work to healing the country, and will probably appeal most to educated, mainstream, psychologically hip people. There is an intangible quality in Williamson’s writing that may make one think she has a propensity to overestimate her own importance. Yet, there are other qualities--a generosity, a true desire to serve God, that show an ability to fight vanity tooth and nail.

Williamson’s prayers have an unpredictable force. I finished “Illuminata” in the food court of a busy mall and had to walk quite a distance to my car. On the way, everyone’s face I saw seemed to be almost unbearably vulnerable and miraculous. A few minutes later, when I picked up my son, my eyes unexpectedly filled with tears at the incredible sight of him grinning and waving hello. Hours went by, and still, I could call up the feeling at a moment’s notice. Imagine if life was always laden with that kind of amazement. “It is,” Williamson would probably say. “It is.”