NEWSLETTER EWSLETTER NNER L IGHT M INISTRIES N IINNER LIGHT VOLUME 16 NUMBER 2
JUNE, 2005
KEEPING IT SIMPLE by Jim Gordon, President of ILM
W
hen I was 8 years old, in my prayer time one day I heard a voice speak to me from the stillness inside. That still small voice of loving said to me, “Jim, keep things simple in your life, in your prayer time, in all that you do. God is simple and the way to knowing God is simple. Do not complicate your inner or outer life; rather, keep it all simple.” That has been my goal in all that I do. To keep it simple. This is a great ideal to live into, and yet I continually find that the world does not ‘do simple’ so much as it ‘does complex’. I find that the world of the mind, the emotions and the physical are ever moving and changing. And in this change there seems or appears to be complex actions and reactions moving in us and all around us. I guess I am very aware of this process of keeping it simple at this time because we have been busy in ILM over the last several months putting together a website. In doing so, one thing that I have become aware of is how simple I want things to be, and how complicated the world makes them. I have been enjoying the process of creating this website along with the others in ILM, and I have learned a great deal about myself in its development. I remember when we first began to put together books for ILM. The challenge then was to be as clear in our communication as possible and to be simple in our sharing and explanations as well. Taking hundreds of pages of written material and distilling it down to a hundred pages of simple sharing took time, patience and focus. I feel that we did accomplish the action of simplicity in our books. I also see us keeping things simple in our newsletter articles. We share from our experience and in doing so we keep it simple. So this has been my goal as we have been creating an
ILM website. The challenge in this has been how websites are put together and how complex the systems of creating websites are. I have learned a great deal about keeping the complex simple as we have developed the site. I have also learned that even when you do simplify things in the world they can still appear complex. So in putting this website together I have found a new challenge for me: to focus on simplicity, and at the same time, to allow the complex to enter into the process. Our goals in putting the site together were to create a place where people can come and learn about ILM, as well as to serve those who are taking part in our spiritual action. In doing this we have created three different sections of the ILM site. The first section is for someone to take a look at who we are and what we are about at ILM. This first section gives a person an introduction and some basic information. One can read about the teachings of ILM, read sample newsletter articles, and purchase tapes, CD’s, and books to discover more about us. There is also a member section, which is for those who want to experience more of what is happening in ILM. After a person registers for this part of the site, he or she has access to information about ILM initiation, as well as information about upcoming ILM events, programs, and retreats. There is also a complete archive of all the newsletters we have published since 1991. In addition we have an audio section, where we will be putting up the most current talks that Brian and I have done at the weekly Tuesday night class in Austin, as well as an archive of past talks. In this way you can ‘attend’ our Tuesday night talks even if you don’t live in Austin, and thereby have a more direct experience with the entire ILM community. We also have a section for ILM initiates. This area gives information to initiates that relates to the inner path of initiation and meditation. This section will support ILM’s initiates and allow a greater ease of communication with Brian and myself. (SIMPLE continues on page 3)