GM asks: “Just how problematic is Debbie Ford, and more specifically her book Spiritual Divorce?”
On a scale of one to ten, with ten being the most problematic, Debbie Ford is a 12.
Ford, who died of cancer in 2013, was 100% New Age. Her works were published by the infamous New Age publisher known as Hay House and hobnobbed with all the New Age giants of the day such as Marianne Williamson, Deepak Chopra, Oprah Winfrey, Dr. Wayne Dyer, etc. It’s safe to say, everything she wrote is New Age, and Spiritual Divorce is no exception.
In her book, Spiritual Divorce: Divorce as a Catalyst for an Extraordinary Life, Ford reveals what she calls the “seven spiritual laws of divorce” which can supposedly help a person turn the experience of divorce into a “profoundly enlightening experience, the first step toward personal power, joy and the freedom to create the life of your dreams.”
In this article about Spiritual Divorce, Ford says: “It is important to know that the breakdown of your relationship is for a greater purpose. Understanding some of the basic spiritual laws of the Universe will help you to discover that there is a reason you’re going through this pain. These laws will guide you through the process of healing and bring you back to a place deep inside that is filled with wisdom, knowledge, and compassion for the human experience.”
For example, the first law is the Law of Acceptance: “Nothing occurs by accident, and there are no coincidences. We are always evolving, whether we are aware of it or not. And our lives are divinely designed for each one of us to get exactly what we need to support our own unique evolutionary process.”
Another law talks about being humble enough to let God into the situation but she does so in very New Age language:
“When you get out of your own way and let go of your defenses, you become humble. Humility is the doorway through which the Divine can walk into your life. . . . Our egos remain in charge until we step outside our righteous belief that we are independent and separate beings. As long as this myth is intact, we keep the door closed to our higher wisdom.”
In a nutshell, Ford’s work is the same old “I’ve-got-all-the-secrets-of-the-universe-and-if-you-pay-me-enough-I’ll-tell-you-what-they-are” New Age scam in just another one of its many packages. And like her peers, Ford definitely capitalized on it. She created The Ford Institute where Spiritual Divorce coaches are trained in a four-module program that can cost up to $10,000.
Referring to herself as “an internationally recognized expert in the field of personal transformation”, she wrote seven books in her lifetime: The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, The Secret of the Shadow, The Right Questions, The Best Year of Your Life, Why Good People Do Bad Things, The 21-Day Consciousness Cleanse, and The Shadow Effect.
I would avoid them all.
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