2012 Vol 2, August

INNER LIGHT MInistries Journal Volume 24 Number 2

R

August, 2012

Living His Loving

by Jim Gordon, President of ILM

(from Facing Our Fears With Loving, 10/4/05)

ecently I was getting into my car to go to the grocery store, and I saw my guardian angel. She sat on the hood of my car, just like she did of my father’s car when I was five years old. I stopped for a moment and allowed that experience to come awake inside of me where I realized how wonderful it is to truly have God first, to know God first, and to allow God to participate in everything I do.

How do we do this? We do this by first waking up inside.

Remember, there’s no place we have to go except inside.

The Lord is in us, and the Lord is with us. So we begin our inner journey by first understanding who we truly are within, taking authority over that, learning how to live in that authority, and then sharing it out in the world. It’s not about being authoritative in the world; it’s about being Loving – that’s true authority.

On this journey take authority over your inner walk; anything and everything that comes up in your mind, that stirs your emotion, that festers in your body, that wants to get in the way, just love it, and take authority over getting caught up in the distractions of this creation. When we’re not paying attention to the Lord in everything that is present, then we’re in distraction; we’re caught up trying to fulfill something in the world, trying to figure it out, trying to understand it, trying to do whatever it is we’re trying to do.

This world is ‘trying’; it’s trying with the spiritual nature, it’s trying with the physical nature, and it’s distracting us from the truth of who we are. It’s in the “being” that we can see the truth of who we really are, that we can experience God’s grace in all our experience in our inner and outer life. Eyes open, eyes closed, we can be ever awake in whatever state we’re in, awake and paying attention to where the divine is right now in this present experience.

When you’re afraid of something in this world – a person, a place, a situation, something in yourself – begin to see the Lord there. If you keep pursuing the truth, the truth will show itself to you. You may find that the fear has a strong grip on you at first. The key is to continue bringing the Loving forward into those dark areas where fear resides. In Loving, comes awareness and action to move past the fear. It’s important to practice a loving pursuit, then the learning, the lesson, and the opportunity will become clearer. You’ll claim that power you’ve given away, and will restore it unto yourself. You’ll be filled with the Loving, you’ll be freer in this creation, and you’ll be more fulfilled because you won’t have the fear of this world blocking you; instead you’ll be able to look up to God in a greater way of knowing the divine. It’s absolutely amazing.

So, don’t get caught up in this creation believing all these things that you are to be, that you are to become, or are to do, or are to accomplish – that’s all an illusion, and it’s a distraction. The creator of this world, Kal Niranjan, has created all kinds of distractions and illusions for us to get caught up in and keep us trapped in our karmas such as in our beliefs, feelings, and desires. An important key on this journey is to be aware of these distractions, to love them, and to bring your attention back, again and again, to the Lord – and always put God first.

It’s very simple. In every part of our day, God is ever present with us. Being aware of His presence, and being aware of God’s loving for our soul, is putting God first and living His Loving in the fullest. We can choose to look out into the world and be caught up in all the distractions, or we can wake up and see the Lord in everything, know the Lord in everything, live everything that is the Lord. There’s only one thing that exists in all of creation, and that is God. There’s only one thing that God is, and that’s Loving. There’s only one thing for us to do as soul, as the divine, living, loving essence of the Lord, and that is to wake up; wake up to the Loving, and know the Lord. That’s it.

There’s truly nothing else for us to do.

Where Is Your Focus?

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by Brian Yeakey, Vice President of ILM

So while we don’t want our focus to be of this world, there is an important element in giving attention to the pain, understanding it, and letting it go – such a journey can provide us the opportunity of discovering, awakening, and liberating, even if liberation for us right now is just getting rid of the emotional, mental and physical pain. We can ask ourselves questions such as, “What is this pain really about? Where did all this pain come from?” And always practice LAF: Loving, Accepting, and Forgiving. In this way, pain can be a blessing. It’s best if we learn to not condemn the pain; instead, we can learn to use our pain to serve and to motivate us to do the inner work and get beyond it.

(from Be The Loving That You Are, 5/18/10)

hen we say ‘I love you’ to our spouse, our children, our friends, our pet, we’re directing loving towards someone or something. That loving is being expressed from within us because we are Loving; our souls were created in Loving. But whom are we really saying, ‘I love you’ to? We’re saying it to God, creator of all. The statement ‘I love you’ has the frequency of “hu,” and so in saying ‘I love you’ we begin to put that essence, that Loving into motion. It doesn’t matter if we say ‘I love you’ to someone around us or to ourselves or to God because, in truth, it’s all God.

Quite honestly, without pain, some of us may not be motivated to even do the inner work of loving God, of loving ourselves, loving others, loving the pain, the hardship, the disturbance, the negativity, the ego, any of it. Be willing to keep taking action steps because it is through action that eventually we’ll begin to discover that greater Loving, the greater truth, in which we are seeking.

When we do our meditation, what we are doing is both focusing our loving toward God and sharing our loving directly with God. We can begin by saying, “I love my own self, I love my own soul,” and by bringing our attention to the spiritual eye center, we can be in the Loving with God inside.

Our soul will awaken because we are God’s Loving, the soul is God’s Loving. For some of us though, we don’t really believe it. “How can that be?” we say. We don’t yet believe it because we’re still asleep to it. We say, “If I’m the Loving, if I truly am the living, loving essence of the Lord, then how is it I don’t know it?”

Very simple. We get what we focus on, so where has your focus been?

When we’re doing our meditation and it becomes challenging in any of the physical realms, practice acceptance. Let it all be okay. Let the physical – the body, mind, imagination, and emotion do what it does, and redirect the focus from the physical into Spirit where God’s true Loving resides.

Jim and I are here to talk about the spiritual and divine experience. We want our seeking to be that experience of the divine, the truth of who we are, that God is, that all is. We want to encourage, guide and support each of you in focusing in that direction, in moving toward that which is the Loving, and in letting go of everything else. Don’t struggle with letting go, don’t fight it, and don’t try to change it. Simply shift your attention from the physical experience to the Loving, and keep your focus on the Loving: from the people in your lives, to the things that you do, to your thoughts and your feelings, and of course, to your daily meditation.

Remember that we get what we focus on, so we’ll get the Loving if we’re focusing on the Loving.

The results in meditation are not physical in nature, and yet, because our focus has been so much into the world, we are looking for that physical experience.

We’ve been conditioned to seek “the way out” through the world, which is operated by polarity – pain and pleasure – always seeking pleasure and always seeking to get out of pain. Although we can never be fulfilled with the experiences in this physical creation, we can, however, use the pain and pleasure as a reminder of where we are, and in that way, our pain and disturbances can be a great motivator in taking action in finding the way out.

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I nner L ight M inistries

C &P : S –F ‘12 Calendar lasses

rograms

ummer

all

Presented by Jim Gordon and Brian Yeakey in Austin, Texas:

M

For additional information, call 512-306-1056.

onthly Classes: Jim and Brian’s class is held once a month on the following Sundays (see schedule below and please note time for each class), at their home at 203 Buckeye Trail, Austin, TX.

Monthly classes include spiritual teachings, Q&A, and meditation.

Jim and Brian assist participants to become more deeply aware of the Spirit within. No charge.

Sundays: AUG 12

–

Class: 2-4 pm (Recorded meditation and talk.)

SEP 16

–

Potluck: (Bring a dish to share.) 12-1:30 pm & Class with Q&A: 1:30-6 pm*

OCT 14

–

Potluck: (Bring a dish to share.) 12-1:30 pm & Class with Q&A: 1:30-6 pm*

NOV 11

–

Potluck: (Bring a dish to share.) 12-1:30 pm & Class with Q&A: 1:30-6 pm*

DEC 9

–

Potluck: (Bring a dish to share.) 12-1:30 pm & Class with Q&A: 1:30-6 pm*

For additional information, call Laura Doggett at 512-306-1056. * Ending times are approximate.

Send Us Your Email Address, Choose Green Journals, and Update Mail

Since we are doing our best to communicate with our ILM members through the

internet, please send (or update) your email address to your local representative, or to Laura Doggett at ilmadmin@ilm.org.

Also, if you would like to see the ILM Journal

website, please let us know by emailing

only through the internet from our Laura Doggett at ilmadmin@ilm.org.

Finally, if we don’t have your mailing address, or you’ve had any recent address changes, please notify your local representative or email that information to Laura Doggett at ilmadmin@ilm.org.

Thank you.

3 (ILM Calendar continues on pages 4-9)

ILM presents:

in England

Saturday, October 20 Potluck and Sharing

with Jim Gordon and Brian Yeakey Time ime of of Event vent: Potluck otluck 12 noon noon-1:30 pm pm Sharing haring and and Q& &A 1:30-6 pm pm* W Where here:: C Caroline aroline R Rose ose’’ss,, F Flat lat 9, 9, W Woolwich oolwich H House ouse,, 183 183 L Lawrie awrie P Park ark G Gardens ardens,, S Sydenham ydenham,, L London ondon Please Please contact contact Caroline Caroline at at 0208-778-9430 0208-778-9430 for for information information and and directions. directions.

Sunday, October 21

Sharing and Q&A with Jim and Brian Time of Event: 1:30-6 pm* Where: Marriott 47 Park Street, 47 Park Street, London, Phone: 0207-491-7282 Please contact Nanna Brinker at 0207-485-0699 for information and directions.

Wednesday, October 24-Sunday, October 28 Experiencing The Divine – A Meditative Retreat with Jim and Brian

Time of Event: Wednesday at 6 pm thru Sunday at 2 pm.* Where: Dunford House, Heyshott, Midhurst, West Sussex

Dunford House Cost: Single Occupancy - £370, Double Occupancy (per person) - £335 For more information contact Susanne Cook at 01444 870838.

To register contact Laura Doggett at 512-306-1056 or e-mail ilmadmin@ilm.org.

If you would like to support someone with a scholarship please see the back page regarding donations.

Saturday, November 3 Potluck and Sharing with Jim and Brian Time ime of of Event vent: Potluck otluck 12 noon noon-1:30 pm pm Sharing haring and and Q&A 1:30-6 pm pm* Where here: Caroline aroline Rose ose’ss (see see address address above above) Please contact Caroline at 0208-778-9430 for information and directions. * Ending times are approximate.

4

•

Holiday Events in Austin:

Hallowe-ee-een Party

•

Wednesday, oct 31

at 6 pm at Bill Stratton’s home

It’s a batty potluck!

So prepare your gholish delight, and fly on over to Bill’s unearthly haunt, where we’ll feast Addam’s family style with a cackle and a cringe.

Costumes are a plus - make us howl! (Optional, of course.)

All are creepily welcome -

And beware!

C°c

Coins For Kids

O ur Coins For Kids Christmas service project is coming up ... so if you’ve been saving your coins or wondering what you might like to do as an expression of service this year, consider participating with us as we once again go on a joyful gift shopping spree for children in need at Christmas time.

Drop off your coins/donation at one of Jim and Brian’s Sunday classes

by SUNDAY, NOV 11, or you can mail a check to: ILM, P.O. Box 164332, Austin, TX 78716-4332.

(Donations to ILM’s Coins For Kids are tax deductible.)

Shopping Day will be on Sunday, Nov 18 Meet at 9:30 am at the Super Target at I-35 and Parmer.

C°c Christmas Potluck Party: Join us for ILM’s Christmas celebration on Saturday, DEC 8

The celebration

•

begins at 4 pm at 203 Buckeye Trail in Austin, Texas.

Everyone is welcome!

It’s a potluck so bring a dish to share.

5

For additional information for this gathering, call Laura Doggett at 512-306-1056.

(ILM Calendar continues on next page)

•

I nner L ight M inistries Calendar in Austin:

ILM Community Potluck Nights: T

hese ILM community nights are intended for the community to gather together in loving friendship at Laura Kesten’s home on the 1st Saturday of every month for fun, laughter, and great food. We’ll either just be together in a social gathering, or we’ll play games or watch a movie. Everyone is welcome. Bring a dish if you want to add to the potluck. Starts 5-5:30 pm.

13210 Calf Roping Trail, Austin Park on the street or at the pool/park and walk a short block AUG 4, SEP 1, OCT 6, NOV 3, DEC 1 For additional information, call Laura Kesten at 512-323-2058 or 512-658-4117, or e-mail laurakesten@aol.com.

A

llow the desire for God

to replace all other desires.

– Brian Yeakey

ILM.org — the Inner Light Ministries Website

• Jim and Brian’s Spiritual Sharings – listen on-line or download to your computer or MP3 • ILM Journals – the most recent issue as well as archives • Calendar of Events – find out what’s going on by geographic location or by minister

• Order CDs – you can get any and all of ILM’s CDs online

• Open-Ended Meditations – you can listen to or download edited meditations that allow you

to continue meditating for as long as you desire • “Initiates Only” section – find out about Initiates events and listen to talks for Initiates

Initiate’s Handbook Initiates, remember to check out the Initiate’s Handbook

that has been added to the Initiates Only section of the website.

Whether you are newly initiated or a long-time initiate, this most current version of the Handbook contains information that will be of special significance to you on your daily walk on the Path.

Check out our recently updated http://www.ILM.org today!

6

(ILM Calendar continues on next page)

I nner L ight M inistries Calendar Presented by Steven McAfee, Midwest Coordinator:

For additional information, call Steven at 260-485-2167 or e-mail mcafeesa@aol.com.

uesday Class Series: Steven offers a series of weekly ILM classes in Fort Wayne on Tuesday T nights from 7-8:30 pm at the ILM Midwest Center. The classes are open to anyone, and are intended to awaken and inspire our loving devotion to God. There is no charge. Donations are welcome.

V

Special ideo Conferences: Live from Austin! Special live video presentations with Jim and

Brian via the magic of technology (Thanks, George!)! See you at the ILM Center.

AUG 14 Oct 7

7-9:30 pm

2:30-4:30 pm

ILM Midwest Center ILM Midwest Center

Donation Donation

C

: More fun community events are on their way! We’ll provide soft ILM ommunity Nights

drinks and munchies! Please RSVP the week before so we can plan appropriately.

Coffee House Music Night: The specifics for this Community Night are still in the planning stage, so stay tuned for further updates! Meanwhile, save the date for music, food, fellowship, and FUN! Oct 6

7-10 pm

ILM Midwest Center

Donation

Child At Heart: This program is an opportunity for children and the people who love them to come participate in fun activities together in ILM. Oct 25

Pumpkin Transcendence

6-7 pm

ILM Midwest Center

Donation

W

alking The Path: A Year of Self-Study – A year-long program for 2012 that is intended to support initiates on their spiritual journey, yet will also provide inspiration and information for anyone seeking to make a deeper spiritual commitment in their lives.

AUG 5, SEP 9, OCT 7 NOV 3

2-4:30 pm 10 am-5 pm

ILM Midwest Center

Donation

P

New Year-Long rogram: (For 2013) Potluck and sharing to introduce the brand-new mon

thly program taking place in the new year.

NOV 4

1-2 pm Potluck/2-3 pm Meeting

ILM Midwest Center

Donation

: Prior registration is required. Space in this retreat is limited and scholarships are not currently

R available. Registration forms available at the ILM Midwest Center or upon request. etreat

NOV 15-18

Retreat at GilChrist

Three Rivers, MI

TBA

oins For Kids: Join the jolly ILM “elves” as we shop & wrap for our adopted Christmas family!

C NOV 26 7:00 pm Shopping Night Wal-Mart on Coldwater Road, Fort Wayne

Please let us know by Nov. 20 if you can join the shopping elves!

No charge

NOV 27

No charge

6:30 pm

Gift-Wrapping Night

ILM Midwest Center

S

unday S

ervices: Steven occasionally serves as a guest speaker at various churches and spiritual groups in the Midwest. Please call Steven for more information.

nov 4

11 am

Brigade of Light, Ft. Wayne

Donation

7 (ILM Worldwide Calendar continues on next page)

I nner L ight M inistries Calendar Community ILM Meetings

•

Kalamazoo:

T

uesday Study

for more information.

and

Events Worldwide:

Call Judy Richards at 269-349-3943 or e-mail jg.richards@charter.net.

: Group

Call Judy Richards at 269-349-3943 or e-mail jg.richards@charter.net

SEP 11, OCT 9, NOV 13, DEC 11

5-7 pm

S W net for more information.

Call Carolyn Dailey at 269-327-6851 or e-mail carolee12@chartermi.

ednesday

tudy G roup:

AUG 22, SEP 26, OCT 24, NOV 28

1-3 pm

4715 Thistle Mill Court

2485 Brahms Avenue

No charge

Portage, Mich.

No charge

N

M information.

Call Judy Richards at 269-349-3943 or e-mail jg.richards@charter.net for more

SEP 25, NOV 27

4:45-8 pm

ovie

•

ights:

Austin:

4715 Thistle Mill Court Kalamazoo, Mich.

No charge

Call Kerri Dameron at 512-608-5430 to RSVP and get directions.

M

eeting: Join us for a meditation and talk by Jim and Brian as we focus on Loving God and sharing our Loving with each other on the last Sunday of each month.

AUG 26, SEPT 30, OCT 28, NOV 25, DEC 30

•

Chicago:

2-4 pm

Cedar Park, Tex.

No charge

Call Loretta Lassandro at 708-481-7751 or e-mail lassandro6@aol.com.

: This meeting may be discontinued for the time being. Please call or email Loretta if you M have any questions. eeting

Call for dates

•

Dallas:

3:30-4:30 pm

125 Warwick Street in Park Forest, Ill.

No charge

Call Jason Baker at 972-571-8511 for dates, times and directions.

M

eeting: Each meeting will consist of a short meditation and listening to a class CD by Jim and Brian. If interested please check with Jason for the most current date, time, and location.

•

London, England:

Call Nanna Brincker at 0207-485-0699 for directions.

: Join us in listening to an inspirational talk with Jim or Brian followed by a 2-hour meditation

M at 42A Montpelier Grove London NW5 2XE, or join us on skype at 4 pm for the meditation (please log on eeting

10 minutes before). Please let Nanna know your skype name.

AUG 5 & 26, SEPT 16, OCT 7, NOV 18, DEC 9 (Sundays)

3:30 pm

No charge

8 (ILM Worldwide Calendar continues on next page)

I nner L Light M inistries Calendar Community ILM Meetings

•

and

Events Worldwide

(continued):

Hawaii: Call the contact person for the following events.

1. Call Nadine Ferraro at 808-988-7509, or 551-3123 (cell) for directions. eeting: Share in a one-hour ILM meditation followed by a community gathering.

M

Mondays

6-7:30 pm

Manoa Valley, Honolulu

2. Call Brian Samo Ross at 808-247-3305 or 554-3305 (cell) for directions.

eeting: Listen to Jim and Brian’s meditation and talks followed by a potluck.

M

2nd Sunday

10 am

No charge

Kaneohe, Oahu

No charge

3. Call Kelsie and Donogh McSherry at 808-638-0380 for directions. eeting: Share in a one-hour ILM meditation followed by a potluck.

M

3rd Sunday

4-6:30 pm

North Shore of Oahu

No charge

Welcome to Inner Light Ministries Introductory Packet

I n this packet you will find

ILM’s book Love and Loving, the CD: An Introduction To ILM, the CD: Understanding The ‘Inner’ Pathway, the CD: Lotus Meditation, ILM’s brochure: Inner Light Ministries Guidelines For Initiation And Initiates, and a copy of our latest newsletter.

All of these materials have been selected to give a newcomer a better understanding of who we are and what we’re about.

If you would like an Introductory Packet for yourself or someone else, just let us know.

Call us, email us, or write us!

Feel free to take a look at our website too: www.ilm.org (for more information see page 6).

We are happy to do what we can to assist you on your spiritual journey.

Blessings of Peace, Joy and Loving To You! Jim Gordon, Brian Yeakey, and the ILM Staff 9

CDs and Audio Book:

New CD - Fulfillment Through Loving Excerpt:

T

he fulfillment of what you’re here to do is to love the Lord, and to allow the Lord to love you more fully all the time, all the time, all the time; and then to live that Loving into the world that the world might know the Lord in you, and it might know the Lord in itself. Become the living example. Become the living truth.

“I and the Father are one,” Jesus said. Abraham, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Rumi and many other teachers of this pathway have also said just that. “I and the Lord are one.” It’s for you to say that as well, because it’s the truth. It’s the only truth in this creation. There is no other truth. The only way to know that truth is to focus in the Loving, become the Loving, live the Loving, and let the Loving live not in you, but let the Loving live you. That’s the only life there is - to live the Loving. That’s where the fulfillment is.

– Jim Gordon

Audio Book - Love and Loving

T

he Love and Loving audio book is now available through the ILM eStore. It’s in the “Books” section. If you select Love And Loving, you will find the Audio Book for Mac (.mp4 filetype) and the Audio Book for PC (.wmv filetype) among the optional formats to choose from. The narration is by Kerri Dameron.

Recent CDs: (Also available on-line)

Communion In Action

The Story Of Creation

Meditations

Living Spirit In This Physical Creation

Living Your Loving Fulfilling Your Creativity

A Recommended CD: A Soul’s Journey

A

“

Soul’s Journey” has long been my favorite of the ILM CDs. The insight it offers has revitalized my reading of Judeo-Christian scriptures; now when I read them, I am reading the story of my own soul. It is interesting – and helpful – to discover how “who I am” and “where I am” in the story changes as my life unfolds!

– Anita McAfee ILM Staff

(Please see page 11 or go to our website, ILM.org, for ordering information) 10

Inner Light Ministries

To order please place a check mark (or a “2” if you want 2 of any title) next to the title of the CD of your choice(s) below.

A Path Of Sound And Light

You can also place an order at ILM’s website, www.ILM.org.

ILM Audio CDs

Becoming Soul Liberated* ILM’s Toolbox: LAF* Wake Up, Wake Up!* The Three Fold Path* The Pearl Of Great Price* A Simple Way — The Path Of ILM Understanding The ‘Inner’ Pathway The Path Of Sound And Light Waking Up In Spirit What Separates Us From Our Loving A Frequency Of Change For A New Millennium A Soul’s Journey (Manifesting) Abundance I } CD Set (Manifesting) Abundance II Keys to Inner Communication You as a Communicator, You as a Creator and A Meditation The Levels To Soul And Beyond Our Right Relationship With God The Path Of Neutrality Lord, Make Me Worthy and The Master In Your Heart

(2007) (2009) (1998) (2005)

Fulfillment Through Loving Communion In Action The Story Of Creation Living Spirit In This Physical Creation Living Your Loving, Fulfilling Your Creativity My Journey Of Becoming A Spiritual Teacher Fulfillment Of The Soul An Introduction To ILM* The Action Of Initiation and The Power Of The Name Discipleship* Simplicity and Journaling* The Action Of Giving And Receiving* Enter Into The Journey Of Loving* The Pathway As A Classroom* Returning Back Into Spirit* Loving Who You Are* To Be Or Not To Be* The Living Loving Essence* The Tenth Door*

(2010) (2009) (2007) (2009)

* This CD set includes a Meditation and Talk.

(2008) (2006) (2005) (2007) (2006) (2006) (2006) (2006) (2006) (2005) (2005)

CDs On Meditation

(2000) (1999) (1997) (1997) (1992) (1992) (1991) (1991) (1990) (1985)

ILM Books

By Jim Gordon

Lotus Meditation by Jim Gordon The Spiritual Path Meditation by Jim Gordon The Heart Of God Meditation by Brian Yeakey

Love and Loving (Revised)

CD Set {

Meditations by Jim Gordon

(2005) (1999) (2005) (2003) (2003) (2003) (2003) (2002) (2001) (2001)

NEW

The Knowing of God (Revised)

This CD is the remastering of the tape “Two Meditations” with the addition of the “Golden Pool” meditation.

Order Information & Postage Payment

The Staff of the Shepherd (Revised) (If using a credit card, write the name, address, phone number that corresponds to the card)

Name: Street Address: City & State: Daytime Phone: (

Since ILM is a spiritual pathway that is here to assist each person on their journey, our products are all available free of charge. You are welcome to order as many of the titles as you wish with the understanding that we will send you up to two of each item per order. There is a charge of $1.00 per item to cover shipping costs. In addition, donations towards replenishing the CDs and books are gratefully accepted. Checks may be made payable to Inner Light Ministries and sent to: Inner Light Ministries, PO Box 164332, Austin, Texas 78716.

)

Check or money order enclosed Charge my:

Visa

MasterCard

Card Number: Expiration Date: Signature

Total Amount:

11

$ ©

Inner Light Ministries, A Path Of Sound And Light

Q& A

with Jim and

Q:

Brian

(Taken from various Q & A class sessions)

When I’m meditating, the right side feels very open and expansive, but the left side feels very tight.

Can you tell me what that is and if I need to do some more work around it?

to the light because it’s brighter and clearer above the mind, and there isn’t that fog that the mind creates to hold you down.

A: (Brian)

A lot of people have said that they’ve heard God speak to them and it was in words – is that how God communicates when we’re in the mind and then when we’re above the mind, is there another kind of communication without words?

Q:

Personally, I’d leave it alone. The right side is really the action of Spirit and the left side is more about the world. In one way you could call what you’re experiencing ‘spiritual protection’ because you’re more open to Spirit and not as much to the world; since you’ve made that choice to turn toward God, you’re now saying, “The world is behind me,” so it could be part of your unconsciousness opening more to God.

A: (Jim)

It can be all of that. A lot of times when I’m getting impressions spiritually, it still comes across as words, but it has a little different feeling and a little different sound so I just have to pay attention. When I’m above the mind, I know that whatever’s taking place, Spirit is coming forward.

What you can do is just be in the Loving with it, and allow the Loving to go to the left side, but you don’t have to try to direct it, or focus on it, or try to figure it out, or think there’s something wrong. In other words, you can say, “Lord, right now I just open to all this freedom and expansion and loving I’m experiencing on the right side, and I open to all of it going over to the left side.” And let it go at that. This way, you’re not trying to do something with it, and you’re not getting in the way.

A: (Brian)

One of my favorite things is watching for the purple light because if we’re seeing that, the mind is out of the way. As soon as the mind starts entering in, the light will start to fade away. Or if we feel a calmness, a peace, a quiet inside, or feel a sensation on the top of the head, it’s letting us know that we’re more focused in Spirit, and the more we start to go beyond the mind, the mind will start to quiet down. Sometimes, when we rise above the mind, it’s possible to have the experience of hearing the mind below us. It’ll be chattering back and forth, just doing its thing, and we’ll be above it. So, God communicates in all kinds of ways with us. If we could stay with that peace, and that quiet, and that purple light long enough, then it will begin to lift us up above the mind and into the greater experience.

Q: How do I know when I’ve gotten above the mind?

I recognize when I’m deep in the mind because my mind likes to go over and over things like a little treadmill, but there are times when I think or I feel like I’m above the mind and I still hear words or I’m saying words.

Is there language or words above the mind?

A: (Jim) There’s not a language per se. You’ll know

Q:

you’re above the mind when it gets quieter, or you may be aware that those words are more down below you rather than in you. Pay attention and see where the noise is, where the distraction is. If it’s down below you, or off to one side, then you’re above the mind.

When you’re trying to meditate and you’re in the mind, you’ll know it because it’s running, running, running, and it’s trying to get you to move in its direction, but when you’re above the mind, you can direct yourself where you want to go. Other than that, just pay attention

When you were talking, Jim, about old karmas being “off to the side,” but then you knew that you could just pick the karmas back up again just by giving them attention, I could really relate to this. Recently, I’ve found myself doing a lot of that, so would you be willing to speak more on this?

A: (Jim) Yes. Just don’t look to the side. Pay no attention to those karmas because if you try to figure out what has just dropped away, what has released, 12

Q& A continued

what has been pushed aside, all you’re going to do is draw yourself back into them because we follow wherever we are focused. So, if we look to something, that’s where our attention is going to follow, and we’ll be dropped back into it. If we just keep our focus on God, ever moving toward God, then all those other things that aren’t of that focus are going to drop away.

When our focus is on God, we’re moving into a higher frequency and all the old karmas are set to the side because they can’t follow with us into the higher frequencies, but they can attract us back into the old frequency if we’re not careful. So, what we do is not give the attention they want, that they need to stay alive, and be grateful those karmas have been released, that they are beginning to dissolve.

to me, and I just don’t know what to do with all this.

Can you speak to this for a bit?

A: (Brian)

Much of the scripture is symbolic and is actually about the inner realms, but people don’t understand that so they interpret the scripture in a literal sense. That’s the big misunderstanding or misinterpretation of what was being said at the time; the stories are usually in reference to the world, and they’re not. A lot of those things, like the snakes you were talking about, are symbolic of the psychic energy. The snake, for example, is symbolic for the devil or the energies of the world. Moses putting the snake on a stick is showing that the stick or the staff is symbolic of the power of the light and the sound, the Holy Spirit, and that is the very power that kills or dissolves karmas or energies of the world that keep the soul in bondage. So unless we have a spiritual teacher, one who has walked this pathway, and understands and knows the greater truth, we can count on the scripture and other religious and spiritual misinterpretations.

What we have to be aware of is that this creation is very subtle and very powerful, and it can bring in guilt. It can say, “Well, you haven’t worked that out yet. You have to forgive them. You have to love them. You don’t love them so therefore it can’t be healed,” or whatever guilt says to us. In response, we can say, “I love you. I love you, and I’m going to God. Thank you very much, but my focus is on God,” and just keep your attention on God – chant the Hu, chant the Anihu, chant the Name of God, eyes open or eyes closed, and this will keep you moving forward.

Q:

When I’m out of body in meditation and coming back down, so to speak, I just fall really hard back into my body. It’s like, “Oh darn. I’m back in my body,” and because I come down with so much force, I forget where I’ve been.

Q: Earlier today, I was watching this beautiful mother

A: (Jim) The experience of being out of body and then returning to the body is different for everyone.

Often times there’s a sense of urgency to get back in the body, like we have to get back in, we’ve got to get back in, and so we rush in. Eventually, there may be a shift there for you, and you’ll know there’s no urgency, that you don’t have to rush in, and will just slip back in, and then, it’ll be easier for you to retain the memory of where you’ve been.

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who was being very patient and very loving with her child, and I began to compare her to a story from the Bible of this angry God in the desert sending snakes to bite people, then telling Moses to just stick a snake on a pole, and people will look at it and will be better.

So right now I feel a little bitter because I’m going through all this anger. I feel like I’m being deceived constantly. I’ve been exposed to scripture all my life and now I’m beginning to think the scripture is lying

Beyond The Fear

by Steven McAfee, ILM Minister

L

goes out to dinner together; letting go when the day isn’t going the way I thought it would; accepting that people do what they really do, instead of what I wish they would do. My practicing with letting go of lesser attachments builds an inner reference point that I can then use when it comes time to letting go of the bigger things that seem harder for me to release.

ately I’ve been thinking about how many souls I love in this world. I’ve also been working with the notion of attachments, and how we shouldn’t have them if we want soul liberation. So, the question that comes up for me is “How do I love without becoming attached?” Before we go any further, I want to tell you I’m not going to give you the answer. I simply want to share my experience with you as far as I understand it, in the hope that it may shed some light on your struggle (anyone not struggling with this?).

I’m also noticing that the strongest attachments I have are with people and animals I love – not with things, objects, or even ideas. When I love another soul, I don’t want to see them hurt or to lose them. But, I now see how each of these relationships of love have always led me into more loving, more joy, and more gratitude. The more souls I love, the more I seem able to touch into the Loving within me. In having a loving relationship with another soul, I’m gradually learning to have a relationship with Loving itself.

First, I realized that it’s not true that we “should not have attachments.” “Should’s” are a creation of the mind and do not arise in the flow of Spirit. So, whenever I catch myself using the “You shouldn’t have any attachments” idea as a club with which to beat myself, I stop and re-focus my attention. It’s an indicator that I’m focused into the lower mind and allowing it to run its games on me. That is not how we get liberated!

Thankfully, I’m learning to take the “should” out of it, and right away, that makes it easier.

It is the Loving in these souls that I love and connect with. So what I’m really doing is loving God in each and every one of them, and allowing God to love me through them. I’m starting to see the essence beneath the form. It’s not really about husband-wife, father-son, or person-pet. It’s about the Loving that dwells in the soul, and learning to awaken to and live in that “River of Loving” that moves within us all. That is what I am attached to experiencing, and that attachment, far from standing in my way, is actually drawing me closer to God in my meditation and in my relationships.

Second, what if the problem isn’t having attachments, but it’s the believing that the attachments can trap the soul? Then, out of this belief (a mental energy) arises a corresponding fear (an emotional energy). We become afraid – afraid of losing that to which we are attached, and also afraid that the attachment will keep us from God. What if we could let go not only of the attachment when the time comes to surrender it, but also of the fear? What if we could stop being afraid of all that we believe can separate us from God? What if we focused instead on what connects us? Maybe we would find that nothing separates us from God, in truth, for we are always One.

As I learn to respond to Loving, all the lesser forms lose their importance in the face of Loving’s living essence. It’s the living essence that matters, and that essence is part of my very being. The essence cannot be hurt, or lost. Here is my awakening so far: if I find myself getting attached to what I love, I’ll let my strongest attachment be to the Loving itself.

That Loving is the true essence of me and of the one I love. As Jim has said, “This Path is about us loving God and letting God love us.” I have to admit, I’m rather attached to that.

Well, all that sounds really good to me, but my reality at the moment is that I’m still dealing with my attachments and struggling with letting go. So I’m practicing letting go in small ways: letting go of not going to the restaurant I wanted when a group 14

Neutrality

by Laura Kesten, ILM Minister

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feel. So I’d been playing a little game asking myself this question, and having to use one of four common feeling words: happy, sad, scared, or angry.

y personal definition of ‘The State of Neutrality’: Laughter, balance, joy, total surrender.

So I’m thinking – A tree has fallen on my house; there are two big holes through the roof, and water is everywhere–upstairs, downstairs, and I’m by myself.

How should I feel? How should I feel?

The story: A few weeks ago, Austin had thunderstorms and high winds. It’s always such a big deal when these kinds of storms happen in Austin since they are far and few between. I was talking on the phone with my sister, making plans to come take care of her as she has been experiencing some health issues, when I heard this loud crack. I thought lightening had struck close to the house remembering the way it sounded when I was a teenager and lightening actually hit our house.

About ten minutes later, I heard running water. Just the week before I’d left a faucet on upstairs forgetting about it until it started to drip through the ceiling. So my first thought was, “Oh my God. Did I leave a faucet on again?”

I started to laugh. Yes, laugh. I thought that in a hundred years, this house, the remaining part of this tree, and I will all be gone from this world. Everything in Kal’s creation will go through the process of death; from the moment it takes life, it has also begun to die. So a tree falling on my house is just an experience to have.

I thought about all the things I’ve made so important, that I’ve stressed over, tried to control the outcome, conjured emotion from others to support my position, and I thought about how “stories” contain the elements of mind, imagination and emotion, conversely differing from the actual facts. So, what are the actual facts? The facts were a tree fell on my house and I was cleaning it up, and someone would come and make the repairs.

I followed the sound and saw, much to my horror, water pouring through the dining room ceiling light fixture, the a/c vent, and then down the side pillar. I ran over to my neighbor’s house and said, “My house was hit by lightning and the rain is pouring in. Do you have any big sheets of plastic?” They said, “Oh honey. You didn’t get struck by lightning. Your big tree fell on your house.” I looked out their back door toward my house and saw my huge tree, cracked at the “V” in the trunk, sprawled across the roof, and bending all the way to the ground. That beautiful tree was one of five reasons I bought my house a year and a half before, and now it was gone.

So how did I feel? I felt neutral. Now, that’s not one of the emotions listed in any psychology book! And I laughed, and I thanked God for this experience.

The next day, a contractor came out, assessed the damages, gave the insurance company a quote, papers were signed, I handed the contractor a key to my house, packed my car, and headed to New Mexico to take care of my sister. I drove away and said, “None of it was in my hands, nor is in my hands. It’ll all turn out as God’s will.”

My neighbors handed me the plastic sheets and offered their help. “No, no,” I said. “I can do this.” As fast as I could, I began mopping up the puddles on my table and floor, placed the plastic over the affected area and situated buckets under the major streams of rainwater coming in. Then, as I was on my hands and knees feeling for any water I may have missed, I asked myself, “How do I feel?” That’s a question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately. “How do I feel now? Now? Now?” I’m so much a thinker that I have to think about how I

When we’re in an emotional state of being, we’re giving attention to the polarity of the physical realms, and we are attached to the position we’re in. But when we are living Spirit, we’re in a state of neutrality regardless of what is happening, to us or around us, in the physical.

We are not “feeling” the positive or negative, nor taking sides, nor being influenced by the outcome; we’re simply having the experience Spirit is offering us in that moment. So, stick to the facts!

15

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This meditation practice is an inner path through which the soul transcends the physical realms of creation to its true home in the spiritual realms within the heart of God. In spiritual teachings and literature this inner path is often referred to as “The Path of Sound and Light,” “The Path of The Holy Spirit,” “The Path of Love,” or simply as “The Path,” or “The Way.” ILM offers initiation into this meditation practice enabling one to fully experience this inner journey of awakening.

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