2008 Vol 2. June

INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES JOURNAL

IT’S FOR THE LOVING

VOLUME 19 NUMBER 2

by Jim Gordon, President of ILM

I

(from Sunday class – 12/02/07)

s there ever a day when you go into question about your journey on the Path of Sound and Light, where you find yourself wondering, “What am I meditating for?”

JUNE, 2008

When you have understanding at that level, you have peace, you have quiet, and you have joy. Not joy the way the world often talks about joy. Rather Joy in the Spirit, which is living in that flow of Loving with God and God with me. As I move into that joy I can’t tell which is which — am I giving to God or is God giving to me; it’s all one in the same. That’s my joy.

When I get to that place when I can’t distinguish, when it’s all the same, that’s my joy. Then my soul is in the Joy of Spirit in Loving.

If so, here’s the answer: it’s for the Loving.

Meditation is about only that: it’s about creating the opportunity for this movement of Divine Loving to move in us, around us, and through us.

It’s to live in the Loving. It’s to live in the peace and the joy that is the Loving. It’s to bring that Loving into every aspect of your beingness, into every part of your expression, so that you have peace and joy at every level of your conscious expression and experience — from the physical, all the way up through the mind and into the unconscious, and to the realm of soul itself … that you have Loving, Peace and Joy. And the wonderful thing about that movement of Loving is that it also brings about understanding — true understanding, true knowing. Loving brings forth awareness in a way that you, at the ‘mind level’, can never gain. The mind will ever try to figure things out — tear it apart, put it back together — but it will never truly have the understanding that Loving can bring. Loving doesn’t tear things apart, doesn’t try to figure things out, doesn’t try to make sense of something. What Loving does is bring fulfillment. It brings wholeness. It brings answer.

It brings understanding. It brings understanding with whatever is going on in the moment. And then you can walk into situations, into whatever is going on with you, with Loving, and in the understanding that ‘right now’ is an opportunity of growth, of learning, of fulfillment.

Now, I also love being in the joy that is a part of this creation, the joy of the physical consciousness that we can get from giving and receiving with others — a smile, a laugh, a gift, or whatever it might be. But I have found at the physical level that I do not get to that level of spiritual joy in the same way, because at the physical level there isn’t that action of oneness in the same way as in Spirit … of the giving and the receiving where all of a sudden you can’t tell which is which. At this level I can look and see that you’re smiling and now I’m smiling … we’re both giving a smile to each other, but there’s still that awareness of separation, of difference of one and the other, of polarity at the physical level. Or of now I’m giving them a gift and now they’re giving me a gift … but there’s not that union of energy flow at the physical level that can take the place of the giving and receiving, where there’s no awareness of one or the other, in the same way there is in Spirit.

So if you really want to enjoy the joy and the peace and the understanding of that spiritual nature that resides at the “seat of the soul” that is the divine spark of who you are, then connect into that Loving, of that loving of the Lord and the Lord Loving you, and live in that movement of that divine Loving in your meditation. And then expand it into your daily life — and you will come into the understanding and the peace and the joy that resides in that movement, and you‘ll find the way by which to live it more fully in every moment of every day.

(LOVING continues on page 3)

INNER EXPERIENCE:

THE REAL VACATION

by Brian Yeakey, Vice President of ILM

E

(from Sunday class – 6/24/07)

retreat.” Meditation is my mini retreat everyday: every morning, whatever time in meditation I spend that day — that’s my mini retreat.

arly on in my spiritual journey, when I didn’t have the money to travel, I didn’t even really want to — because I was so excited to get out of body and soul-journey, or soul-travel, that I was grateful to have several hours to meditate. So instead of planning vacations physically, I would plan my time to spend extra hours and days meditating. Actually, I would spend time in meditation, then reading about Spirit, and then going back into meditation — all because I wanted to travel inwardly. I took my vacations this way because I wanted to take that greater journey, the inner journey; that got me excited.

But that’s why it’s even more wonderful to get away for a weekend, or a week, to do a physical retreat — because what are you doing when you go into a retreat? You’re scheduling time that you can really focus on Spirit, in order to have the inner experiences, in order to have the inner awakening. And you don’t have to go to some ILM retreat or other spiritual retreat physically to have that for yourself. You can do that, and it’s wonderful — but you can also do that any time you want for yourself. Take a spiritual vacation. Give yourself the time so that you can have the inner experience that you are wanting to have.

And then, let me know if you have it!

And I’ll tell you what. That inner journey is more exciting and fun than any vacation or journey you’ll have in this world. If you like to travel, or even if you don’t, try that journey. Schedule your next vacation — if you get a week, schedule a week — and it doesn’t matter where you bring your body.

I don’t care if you put it some place else or if you stay home; schedule a vacation not to go tour out in the world but to totally immerse yourself in hours every day of meditation. Maybe you can find a nice book or CD to listen to as part of that time, in order to inspire or motivate you and actually bring you to that place of meditation; that makes it easier to just close your eyes and go inside. Schedule time like that for yourself.

I don’t know anything more exciting than inner experience. I remember those first several years that I was practicing this Path of Sound and Light in particular: how excited I was to spend that time in meditation, to have the inner experience. And that inner experience is what this journey is about.

I don’t care if it’s inner experience ‘in body’ or ‘out of body’. It’s the spiritual experience, however it is for you, that’s important. That’s what makes it real.

That’s what answers all the questions and removes the doubt; that’s what brings us back to that place of enthusiasm and the joy of living, to the excitement of the journey home. And believe me, when you have that running in you … then the things of this world, this physical world, are just not going to matter so much anymore. All those things of the physical world, the strivings, the struggles, whatever it is — whether mental, emotional, or physical — those things will just not matter that much anymore when you begin to have that greater inner experience.

It’s amazing what experience you can have when you really give yourself that type of time, because then you really give yourself the opportunity to truly have the greater experiences you’re looking for. Many of you come to ILM classes and all that we do, and you wouldn’t come if you weren’t looking for that experience — but if you really want it, realize that it does take time and energy.

And then, at that point, the challenge will change.

Then the challenge will be to still take care of the physical world, the physical body, and all that goes

Of course, whether I’m on vacation or not, my meditation is always what I like to call a “mini 2

(VACATION continues on page 3)

I NNER L IGHT M INISTRIES

CALENDAR

CLASSES & PROGRAMS: SPRING – SUMMER ‘08 PRESENTED BY JIM GORDON and BRIAN YEAKEY IN AUSTIN, TEXAS:

W

For additional information, call 512-306-1056.

EEKLY

CLASSES:

Jim and Brian’s weekly class is held on Sundays, 10:30 am - 12:30 pm at the ILM Center, Franklin Sq. Bldg, 3724 Jefferson, Ste. 100.

Each class includes spiritual teachings, practical exercises, group discussion, and meditation. Jim and Brian help participants to become more deeply aware of the Spirit within. No charge.

(ILM Calendar continues on pages 4 - 8)

LOVING Now, I wish it were true that we could do this in every moment of every day, one day at a time, one breath at a time; there will be days and there will be moments when that happens, but as long as we’re in the physical world there’s going to be another phone call, there’s going to be another knock on the door, there’s going to be another thing come in the mail, there’s going to be another boss walking down the hallway — whatever it is that causes us to go into distraction and into the world, where all of a sudden we give our power away to that for a moment.

Spirit,” the journey of our life changes. The journey truly changes. We begin to move inward and upward, in a gradual process of transition from the outer to the inner — into the experience of Loving. More and more we begin to find after initiation, after that ‘second birth’, that that call inward gets stronger and stronger; and once we begin experiencing that Loving, then the attraction and attention into the outer begins to weaken. We begin to let go of some of those things that we thought were so important, that we thought were really so much of who we really are. We begin to live our lives differently. We begin to live more from a different place inside of us, and we begin to identify ourselves from that inner place of Loving rather than focusing so much on the outer.

But once we receive that initiation into the Path of Sound and Light, when we are “born again of the

To experience that inner place of Loving — that’s what we are meditating for.

(continued from page 1)

by Jim Gordon

VACATION (continued from page 2)

that … it’s not out of the struggle and the pain and suffering of it, but out of the joy of you knowing that, as you handle the things of this world, it’s allowing you to finish and complete your journey of learning here, so that you can now fully return back into the realms of Spirit.

by Brian Yeakey

with it — because there’s a part of us that will just want to spend so much more time inside, in Spirit.

But that’s a nice place to be in, with inner experience as your motivator. At that point you’re just handling the world because you know that that’s part of the journey and that there’s a responsibility to complete

Spirit, then, becomes your motivator, your life.

And then you just handle all the rest so that you can experience more and more in that Greater Journey of the soul’s return.

3

Experiencing The Divine – A Meditative Retreat 2009 facilitated by

Jim Gordon and Brian Yeakey

Register early:

Austin, Texas:

Choose one of two retreat sessions at

Red Corral Ranch Renewal Center Wimberley, Texas 1st Session: Sunday, March 15 at 6 pm thru Wednesday, March 18, 2008 at 1:30 pm

and

COST: Single Occupancy – $350

Double Occupancy (per person) – $275 If you would like to sign up for one of these retreat sessions go to the ILM website (ilm.org) or contact: Laura Doggett at 512-306-1056. A $50 deposit will reserve a place for you.

2 Session: Thursday, March 19 at 6 pm thru Sunday, March 22, 2008 at 1:30 pm nd

In this meditative retreat, Jim and Brian will be taking you on

an experiential journey into the greater knowing of your divine nature. They will be sharing about the meditation practice of The Path of Sound and Light to “experience the divine,” and there will be gracious periods of time for meditation, relaxation, and rejuvenation.

Kalamazoo, Michigan: at Yarrow Conference Center

Augusta, Michigan

Thursday, April 23 at 6 pm thru Sunday, April 26, 2008 at 1:30 pm 4

COST: Single Occupancy – $425 Double Occupancy (per person) – $275 If you would like to sign up for this retreat please contact: Steven McAfee at 260-485-2167.

in Hawaii ILM presents:

Sunday, August 24, 2008 MEDITATION & SEMINAR with withJJIM IM G GORDON ORDON

BRIAN RIAN Y YEAKEY EAKEY and B

TIMES OF EVENTS

SHARING AND MM EDITATION : 10:00 am-12noon noon SHARING AND EDITATION : 10 am-12 Lunch break SHARING AND Q&A: 1:30-5:30 pm WHERE: Ohana East Hotel, Waikiki, Hawaii

Ohana East Lobby Conference Room Park in the Ohana East garage located at 2375 Kuhio Avenue.

Parking will be provided by ILM. DONATION For further information regarding this event please contact: Nadine Ferraro at 808-988-7509.

INITIATIONS and

APPOINTMENTS

August 20 thth - September 5 thth Jim and Brian will be available for appointments, and for initiations for those who have been approved.

To schedule appointments with Jim or Brian please call Laura Doggett at 512-306-1056.

5

I NNER L IGHT M MINISTRIES CALENDAR PRESENTED BY LAURA KESTEN:

For additional information, call Laura at 512-266-9400 or 512-658-4117 or email: LSKestenB@aol.com.

S

TORIES UNTOLD: Jim and Brian talk about Loving, Acceptance, and Forgiveness in every talk they give. Through our writing in STORIES UNTOLD, we first-handedly get to practice and experience Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness in the events of our lives, letting go of the past so that we can open more fully to the Divine. As a bonus, the process of writing also prepares us in the present, as well as laying a foundation for the future — keeping us more aligned and in the flow of God’s Loving. These weekends are magical!

Try it for one weekend and see for yourself. No experience necessary! You just have to show up!

TEXAS: MAY 17, JULY 12, SEPT 13, NOV 15 9 am - 5 pm MICHIGAN:

ILM Center Office

No charge

JUNE 21-28 AUG 29-31 OCT 24-26 DEC 12-14

Green House Saugatuck, Mich. $325 Green House Saugatuck, Mich. $125 The Hide Out Saugatuck, Mich. $125 Yarrow Augusta, Mich. $125 * * * Also, in Texas, there is a small group of writers who write 2-3 times a month during the week. This is not a workshop but a time to work on your own writing within a group setting of other writers. We meet from 10 am – 6 pm at Laura Kesten’s home in Lakeway. Please contact Laura for upcoming writing sessions.

AUSTIN ILM COMMUNITY MOVIE NIGHTS:

Join Tom and Laura at their home in Lakeway on the 1st Friday of every month to watch an uplifting movie. Come early (6 pm) and have a fresh bowl of homemade soup and slice of Great Harvest bread. Movie starts between 7:30 -8:00 pm. Everyone is welcome. Bring nothing but your beautiful self. No charge.

(No June Movie), JULY 4, AUG 1, SEPT 5, OCT 3, NOV 7, DEC 5 (ILM Calendar continues on next page)

ILM.org — the INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES Website We Have Upgraded The ILM Web Site!

To keep up with internet security improvements we recently upgraded the ILM web site.

There’s a

slightly new format for all the same information, including:

• Jim & Brian’s weekly talks – Listen on-line or download to your computer or iPod • ILM Quarterly Newsletters – The most recent issue as well as archives • Calendar of Events – Find out what’s going on by geographic location or by minister

Note to Initiates:

If you previously set up a Logon to the Initiates Only section, you will need to re-establish your account. Just click on the Initiates Only link in the menu bar, then click on the word “HERE” at the bottom of the Initiates Only Login Area. Fill out and send the application form. You will get an email notice confirming we received your application followed, in 5-7 days, by a second email to let you know your access has been granted. Applicants must have completed the initiation process before access can be be granted. granted.

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

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I NNER L IGHT M MINISTRIES CALENDAR PRESENTED BY STEVEN MCAFEE, MIDWEST COORDINATOR:

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

T

Steven offers a series of weekly ILM classes in Ft. Wayne on Tuesday UESDAY CLASS SERIES: nights from 7-8:30 pm at the ILM Midwest Center. Each series focuses on a specific spiritual topic. Please call Steven for current information.

ILM

C

More fun community nights are on their way! We’ll provide soft drinks OMMUNITY NIGHT: and munchies. Please RSVP a week ahead so we can plan appropriately.

JUN 7 7 pm MUSIC NIGHT! ILM Midwest Center Ft. Wayne Donation JULY 29 7 pm “Coffee House” ILM Midwest Center Ft. Wayne Donation This is a brand new format! Join us for a casual evening of live music in a café atmosphere.

AUG 2 7 pm LUAU MUSIC NIGHT! Steven & Anita’s home Ft. Wayne Donation This is a “Gilligan’s Island” theme — feel free to come dressed as one of your favorite characters from the show, and be prepared to enjoy a night of island-inspired fun! Come hungry!

AUG 16 starts 5 pm Potluck & Movie NIGHT! ILM Midwest Center Ft. Wayne Donation We will be watching “The Five People You Meet In Heaven.”

SEPT 27 7 pm “Coffee House” ILM Midwest Center Ft. Wayne Donation

“

INNER STUDIES”:

JUNE 1, JULY 6, AUG 3 SEPT 7

The events below are open only to those already enrolled in this program.

WORKSHOPS: 2:30-5:30 pm ILM Midwest Center Ft. Wayne Donation 2:30-5:30 pm Kathy Stark’s home Ft. Wayne Donation

S : Steven frequently serves as a guest speaker for various churches and spiritual S groups in the Fort Wayne area. If you would like him to speak to your group, please call to make arrangements.

UNDAY

ERVICES

The following is presently scheduled.

JULY 6 SEPT 7

11 am 11 am

New Brigade of Light Room New Brigade of Light Room

Ft. Wayne Ft. Wayne

Donation Donation

G ”: This workshop will focus on how we deal with change and loss in our S lives. How can we better respond to life’s changes? Who and what can best assist us in our times of grief? “

AYING

OODBYE

We will explore how living with Loving, Acceptance, and Forgiveness can transform the way we experience and relate to loss. The workshop will be followed by a potluck dinner and movie (see Aug. 16 above).

AUG 16

•

1-5 pm

ILM Midwest Center

Ft. Wayne

Donation

Community ILM Seminars and Events Worldwide ILM ACTIVITIES in KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN:

Please contact Judy Richards at 269-349-3943 or Penny Miller at 269 664-3577 or Carolyn Dailey at 269-327-6851 for more information on the activities below.

I S R : Presented by Carolyn Dailey and Penny Miller. The focus C of the weekend is on spiritual awakening through meditation and creative processes. Space is limited so REATIVITY

N

PIRIT

ETREAT

advance registration is required, and a $50.00 deposit is required by June 10th. Deposits should be sent to Carolyn Dailey, 2485 Brahms Avenue, Portage, MI 49024. Call Carolyn or Penny for more information.

JULY 17 – 20

The Hermitage 7

Three Rivers, Michigan

$165

(Worldwide Calendar continues on next page)

I NNER L IGHT M MINISTRIES CALENDAR Community ILM Seminars and Events Worldwide

••

ILM ACTIVITIES in KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN continued:

Please contact Judy Richards at 269-349-3943 or Penny Miller at 269 664-3577 or Carolyn Dailey at 269-327-6851 for more information on the activities below.

G : We meet twice monthly to support our spiritual growth with a group meditation S and the study of ILM books, CD’s or tapes. Join us for an enriching experience of growing in our loving.

TUDY

ROUP

1st & 3rd Tuesdays

M

OVIE

6:15–8:15 pm

Judy Richards, 4715 Thistle Mill Ct.

No charge

NIGHT: Fun, enjoyable evenings with ILM friends, watching favorite movies with a spiritual

message. Welcome all — yourself, friends and family members! A light meal is provided.

MAY 27, JUL 22, SEPT 23

5:45–8:15 pm

Judy Richards, 4715 Thistle Mill Ct.

No charge

ILM SEMINAR in CHICAGO:

•

S

Please contact Richard or Trisha LoveJoy at 630-768-8313 for more information.

TUDY

GROUP: We meet approx. monthly to support our spiritual growth with a group meditation

and the study of ILM books, CD’s or tapes. Join us for an enriching experience of growing in our loving.

JUN 22, AUG 17, SEPT 21 1–3 pm 490 Woodcreek Drive, Suite D, Bolingbrook, Illinois No charge

ILM SEMINAR in LOS ANGELES: Please contact Victoria Eng at 310-980-2224 to RSVP before coming.

•

S

EMINARS: The focus of each evening is on spiritual awakening, and on supporting one another in experiencing and sharing greater Loving within ourselves and with others. These seminars will be held every other Wednesday at 6 pm at Victoria and Willard Eng’s home in Beverlywood. Please call for exact dates. No charge.

•

ILM SEMINARS in HAWAII:

S

1. Please contact Nadine Ferraro at 808-988-7509, or 551-3123 (cell) for directions.

EMINARS:

Monday evenings

Share in a one-hour meditation and fellowship opportunity on: 6-7:30 pm Manoa Valley, Honolulu

No charge

2. Please contact Mig Gaspar at 808-638-8153 for directions.

S

EMINARS:

Listen to Jim and Brian’s weekly meditations and talks on: 7 pm Pupukea, Honolulu

First Tuesday

No charge

3. Please contact Brian Samo Ross at 808-247-3305 or 554-3305 (cell) for directions.

Listen to Jim and Brian’s meditations and talks followed by a potluck: S Second Sunday 10 am Kaneohe, Honolulu EMINARS:

•

No charge

ILM SEMINAR in LONDON, ENGLAND:

Please contact Nanna Brinker at 0207-485-0699 for directions.

: Each evening will consist of a short meditation and the listening to a CD or tape S

by Jim and Brian. Our ILM seminars are at 42A Montpelier Grove, London NW5, on the following dates.

EMINARS

Sundays 4 pm JUNE 22, JULY 13, AUG 3 & 24, SEPT 14, OCT 5 & 26 8

No charge

Recent ILM Meditations and Talks On CD

LOVING WHO YOU ARE

TO BE OR NOT TO BE

THE LIVING LOVING ESSENCE

THE TENTH DOOR

BECOMING SOUL LIBERATED

LOTUS MEDITATION

ORDERING INFORMATION: See pages 10 & 11, or you can go to our website ILM.org to order (see page 6).

Welcome to Inner Light Ministries!

Introductory Packet In this packet you will find ILM’s book LOVE AND LOVING,

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 were selected to give a newcomer a good 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

New ILM Meditation and Talks On CD Excerpt from ENTER INTO THE JOURNEY OF LOVING:

W

hat we are coming awake and alive to, in our meditation, is that essence of Loving that is the longing to go Home. It is that which is God within us calling us Home. And when you begin to sense that, you will then know the direction to go to in your meditation. You will see it, you will feel it, you will hear it, you will know it on those inner levels. And that will give you the direction that you’re going to go ... and that is inward, to go inand-up. You let your awareness first rest at the “seat of the soul,” and let that essence of the soul, which has been trapped in the physical-material-psychic worlds for so long, begin to draw itself here, at the seat of the soul — and then you look up inside. You look up once again — and you go inward and upward.

And then in that inward-and-upward state, eventually you will find yourself truly being drawn to look upward into that next part of your journey. And that is the direction that will begin to take you into that Divine Flow of Loving where the soul begins its journey back home to the Heart of God. – Jim Gordon Excerpt from THE ACTION OF GIVING AND RECEIVING:

A

nd so the inner journey is one of awakening to become a true co-creator.

Truly as God Loves all creation, so too are we, as co-creators on journeys of learning, learning how to Love as God Loves, to Love all of His creation. So it’s up to us as creators to love all of our creations. No judgment, no fear, no anything, other than Loving. We’re on journeys of learning to become like God — because that’s who we are ... that’s what the soul is! The soul’s not only like God, but really is God — the same.

And so remember, as you learn to love all things, to use those keys you’ve been given for unlocking the doors. It is you doing the unlocking, and it is you opening the doors ... the doors to yourself, to allowing yourself to expand into all of its loving expression. That’s what creation is — it’s simply that expression of Loving. Creativity, creation, expression — all of it. It is the movement of that Loving.

– Brian Yeakey

NEW CD FROM AN OLD TAPE:

Excerpt from A SOUL’S JOURNEY:

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hen Moses made his way up to the top of the mountain, he was confronted by a burning bush which spoke to him. Moses asked, “Who are you? If I go to these people as you ask me to and tell them that you’ve sent me, who is it that’s sending me? Who are you?”

And the voice responded, “I Am that I Am — that’s who I am. I Am.” When the voice said those words, God was saying we are all one — ‘I Am’.

He wasn’t saying I am separate from you, he’s saying, “I Am that I Am.” — I am all things. I am in all things. And you and I are one. ‘I Am’. And there is nothing but ‘I Am’ in all of creation.

“So go and tell them that I Am sent you.”

– Jim Gordon

ORDERING INFORMATION: These CDs are each $10.00 plus $3 postage and handling per order (not per item).

Checks may be made payable to INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES and sent to: ILM, P.O. Box 164332, Austin, Texas 78716-4332. Or you can go to our website ILM.org to order (see page 6).

10

INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES MATERIALS LIST ILM AUDIO CDS & TAPES

Each CD and tape is $10.00, except for the ABUNDANCE I & II and the WAKE UP, WAKE UP! CD packets which are each $15. Only the titles with the CD icon next to it are available as a CD as well. Two titles together indicate different lectures on each side. Please place a check in either the circle or box in front of your choice(s):

CD/Tape

THE ACTION OF GIVING AND RECEIVING* NEW (2007) ENTER INTO THE JOURNEY OF LOVING* NEW (2006) THE PATHWAY AS A CLASSROOM* (2006) RETURNING BACK INTO SPIRIT* (2006) LOVING WHO YOU ARE* (2006) TO BE OR NOT TO BE* (2006) THE LIVING LOVING ESSENCE* (2005) THE TENTH DOOR* (2005) BECOMING SOUL LIBERATED* (2005) THE TOOLBOX* (1999) WAKE UP, WAKE UP!* (2005) KEYS OF INITIATION WITH JIM AND BRIAN* (2005) THE THREE FOLD PATH* (2003) THE PEARL OF GREAT PRICE* (2003) A SIMPLE WAY—THE PATH OF ILM (2003) UNDERSTANDING THE ‘INNER’ PATHWAY (2003) THE PATH OF SOUND AND LIGHT (2002) WAKING UP IN SPIRIT (2001) WHAT SEPARATES US FROM OUR LOVING (2001) A FREQUENCY OF CHANGE FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM (2000) A SOUL’S JOURNEY (1999) FOCUSING ON CHRIST (1999) GUARDIAN ANGELS (1998) SOUL VS EGO (1998) ANGELS (1997) (MANIFESTING) ABUNDANCE I } CD Set (1997) (MANIFESTING) ABUNDANCE II (1997) SENDING THE LIGHT (1994) AURA CLEANSING WORKSHOP (1994) AWAKENING TO YOUR INNER LIGHT and CALLING IN THE LIGHT (1994) KEYS TO INNER COMMUNICATION (1992) YOU AS A COMMUNICATOR, YOU AS A CREATOR and A MEDITATION (1992) MOVING INTO SOUL CONSCIOUSNESS and COMMUNION CEREMONY (1991) MEDITATIVE TECHNIQUES (1991) COMMUNICATION THROUGH DREAMS (1991) THE LEVELS TO SOUL AND BEYOND (1991) OUR RIGHT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD (1991) SONGS OF PRAISE TO GOD and A NEW UNDERSTANDING OF RELATIONSHIPS (1990) THE PATH OF NEUTRALITY (1990) UNDERSTANDING CHRIST CONSCIOUSNESS (1987) INNER REVELATION and A FLOWER FROM HEAVEN (1986) LORD, MAKE ME WORTHY and THE MASTER IN YOUR HEART (1985) FROM HERE TO ETERNITY and RESPONSIBILITY (1984) (1980) HEALING AND COLOR THERAPY

* This CD set includes a Meditation and Talk.

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CDS & TAPES ON MEDITATION

CD/Tape

LOTUS MEDITATION by Jim Gordon THE SPIRITUAL PATH MEDITATION by Jim Gordon THE HEART OF GOD MEDITATION by Brian Yeakey TWO MEDITATIONS by Jim Gordon Sacred Place Meditation Forgiveness Meditation

THREE MEDITATIONS by Jim Gordon

Starry Sky Meditation, A Healing Meditation & Balancing The Consciousness Meditation

MEDITATION AND THE HEALING PROCESS

by Brian Yeakey

PRACTICING MEDITATION – CONNECTING WITH THE DIVINE

by Steven McAfee

ILM BOOKS ($10 each)

BY JIM GORDON

LOVE AND LOVING

(REVISED)

THE KNOWING OF GOD THE STAFF OF THE SHEPHERD

(REVISED)

ORDER FORM

(A replacement copy will be enclosed with your order.)

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

)

Check or money order enclosed Charge my: Visa MasterCard Discover American Express Card Number: Expiration Date: Signature:

Total Amount (including shipping):

$

ORDERING INFORMATION:

Each CD and tape is $10.00, except for the ABUNI & II and the WAKE UP, WAKE UP! CD packets which are each $15. Please add $3 postage and handling per order (not per item). Checks may be made payable to Inner Light Ministries and sent to: Inner Light Ministries, PO Box 164332, Austin, Texas 78716.

DANCE

WITH

Q:

Q& A

JIM

AND

(This Q&A is from the Sunday Class — 4/08/07)

Recently I read that someone had created a feeling of oneness with magnetic pulses, I guess, and that raises some doubt in me. How do you guys know that God is real? How do you perceive that? Is it explainable?

What are your views on God, and how do you know that He or She is alive?

A:

(Brian) First of all, go and have your own experience. Go try this magnetic thing-a-ma-jig that someone said they experienced a state of oneness with.

Sometimes you have to go and take the physical action so that you have your own experience to know what is true for you. That’s the only way I know, the only way.

When I started this pathway, I heard people share all kinds of experiences, and I wanted to have them for myself; so I would do the practice they prescribed to begin to have my own experience. I didn’t know if it was going to work or not; I wanted it to but it wasn’t until I started doing the practice that I found out for myself. And it’s no different for any of us. You can believe or not believe anybody; in truth, that doesn’t make one bit of difference one way or another. It has nothing to do with what anybody says, or what they believe, or even their experience no matter how true it may be. Ultimately, it’s for each of us to find out for ourselves through our own experience. Everything you hear Jim and I share here is based upon our own knowing and experience.

How did I come to know God? Through the meditation practice we keep sharing here, through the techniques we do. And the way I know that is because when I saw the Face of God for the first time, and ever since, it was more real than us talking right now. That’s how I know. There’s no question. There’s no doubt. When you fully know it, there’s no denying, you can’t doubt it — because it is your full-on experience. And then there’s no way around it. When you have that, then no matter what anybody believes or says from that point on, you know that that’s simply their experience or what they think is their experience, or not even their experience but just what they think. And then you realize: that’s all right. That’s their process and for their learning right now. I’ve seen shows and heard people trying to explain away out-of-body and spiritual experiences, and, my

BRIAN

God, they even have scientific things with brain waves and everything to prove what they say is true. And that raises a question, doesn’t it. Maybe the physical body goes through its biological processes, but maybe that has nothing to do from the true spiritual experience but is just something that goes on while we, as souls, are having spiritual experience. To me, the spiritual experience is the Light of Life. So the physical experience, this magnetic pulse, or whatever you described, is really, in a sense, the frequency of the physical dimension. And so I say: go have the experience and pay attention and see what happens from there. Don’t worry about it, because we’re only going to be drawn to that which we really need to know and understand — because that’s where our souls’ lessons are. So we’re going to have that. You can go and talk to people and ask them: “From the earliest you can remember until now, have your beliefs changed over your lifetime? Did something happen in your life where you were convinced that this is the way it is, and then all of a sudden something changed and you no longer believed that; and now it’s something else? And now that something else is: This is the way it is?” And you’ll even find that, for some, a change happens again and they say, “Okay I don’t know what is anymore. I’m just going to be open.” Go talk to anybody and you’ll hear that things do change. I don’t care how convinced anybody is of anything. So it has nothing to do with belief or conviction of what you think is; it is all based on what you know through your experience.

(Jim): And I’ll share an experience with you that I

had. Once I was working with a group of scientists in the development of some equipment that they were going to use to measure what Tibetan monks were experiencing in meditation. And they found that with this equipment they could stimulate the mind to have certain experiences called mystical or metaphysical experiences, and they thought these were the same that the Tibetan monks were having. With their equipment, they thought they could stimulate these experiences with people who had never meditated before. And then by doing blood tests they found they were getting the same hormonal changes with the equipment that the monks were getting by meditating.

And so these scientists began to believe that this was all physiological and had nothing to do with metaphysics at all — that there was nothing that was spiritual in nature.

(Q&A continues on page 15) 12

LIKE A BUTTERFLY

by Laura Kesten,

0

ILM Minister

and took flight inside me as a wonderful realization: the stages of a butterfly’s development are analogous to the stages of our spiritual development.

ne day this spring I looked out my front window and was amazed to see waves of literally hundreds of thousands of butterflies, as if they all broke away from their cocoons at once. All day long, butterflies and more butterflies continued to take flight in a euphoric explosion of colors, flying away with the warm west wind. It was a spectacular sight, and filled me with an inexplicable sense of wonder, reverence, and awe.

In the first stage in the life of a butterfly, the butterfly egg is laid in an appropriate place near its vital food sources. For a human being, a soul, the egg represents the physical body that the soul comes in to occupy, and the food sources represent the experiences, or lessons, to be learned in life. An appropriate place for each soul entering the physical body is determined by the types of ‘food’, or experiences, one ‘must’ encounter. In the second stage, the caterpillar develops within the egg.

Soon the newly hatched caterpillar will spend its entire time eating, periodically molting old skin. Similarly, human beings develop and grow, within the housing of the body. We spend our time having experiences, learning lessons, and periodically going through physical and emotional transformations; or, if you will, “eating and molting old ‘karmic’ skin.”

As I watched them throughout the day, I began to reflect back in time to when I first learned that butterflies were once caterpillars. I was probably five years old. For long periods of time, I used to watch caterpillars crawl over the branches of a tree, snacking on the leaves. I remember trying to find just one leaf that they hadn’t taken a bite out of but never could.

My mother told me that these caterpillars would, one day, turn into butterflies. She explained that the caterpillar forms a cocoon, or chrysalis, around itself, and the wormlike body then changes shape and form inside.

And in time, she said, the newly formed butterfly would let itself out of the chrysalis and fly away. It was truly fascinating to me that a creature of one form, a crawling caterpillar, could just transform itself into another form, a butterfly with wings which enables it to fly freely in the sky. The transformational life of the butterfly struck a chord inside my young being that I could not explain, but which felt somehow timeless and wonderful.

Then, in the third stage, the caterpillar forms a chrysalis, a protective casing or cocoon, around itself, becoming an almost immobile object. It is now called a pupa, or chrysalis. For human beings, this is a time in our soul development when we begin our inner spiritual work through meditation. When we sit in meditation we are, in a sense, forming a chrysalis around ourselves: our bodies becoming very still, or almost immobile, as we commune with God. In this stage, like a chrysalis awaiting metamorphosis from caterpillar to butterfly, we sit in meditation awaiting transformation from our physical-bodied selves to our spiritually awakened selves.

Later in my life, I remember studying butterflies in school. I learned that the natural transformational process which a butterfly undergoes involves four stages of development: egg, caterpillar, pupa or chrysalis, and finally, butterfly. The completion of these four stages is called metamorphosis, a Greek word which means, “to transform.”

And so on that recent spring day, as I watched these beautiful creatures fill the sky with their gracefulness, that same chord that had struck inside of me as a child was again resounding. This time, however, it transformed 13

Then, in the fourth and final stage, we become like butterflies as we travel through the inner realms of Spirit.

Some species of caterpillars transform into butterflies in just a few days, while, for other species, the process may take as long as several months. Likewise, during the time when we are sitting in meditation, wrapped in our protected chrysalis, it may take a few days, or several months, or perhaps even years, before we actually transform into a ‘butterfly’ where the soul takes flight and journeys to the inner regions.

(BUTTERFLY continues on page 15)

THE SONG OF LOVING

by Steven McAfee,

T

our lives and to walk a spiritual path. We seek a direct, personal knowing of God. However, just as having a guitar does not make you a guitar player, having a desire to seek God is not the same as finding God. Our inner commitment needs to be followed by an outward supportive action. Finding a teacher who we trust can show us the way is a vital step in that action. Then, we “sign up for lessons.” We begin to attend to the teacher’s instructions. Eventually, we receive initiation into a specific meditation practice which will lead us into the direct experience of Spirit that we are longing for.

ILM Minister

he other day one of our musician friends mentioned her desire to learn how to play the mandolin. She said she wanted to find a mandolin teacher but that, at the moment, her schedule really didn’t permit much time to practice a new instrument. Her husband responded, “There’s no point in learning it if you’re not going to practice it.” That phrase really caught my attention, and I began to think about how profound it really was, especially for those of us seeking to be awakened on the spiritual path.

Then the “practice period” begins. Just as a guitar teacher gives us scales and exercises to practice, that will enable us to develop familiarity and facility with our instrument, so too does the spiritual teacher give us a practice of meditation to develop a familiarity and relationship with the Divine Loving that is God. In my guitar training, I needed to go to my lessons with my teacher on a regular basis, even in those times when the initial enthusiasm had diminished and I didn’t really feel like going. I went anyway. And I also realized that, to get any real value out of the lessons, I needed to work with my guitar at home and practice it every day, just as my teacher had shown me. With our spiritual practice it is the same: to really keep moving forward spiritually, we must create time for ourselves each day to practice what our teacher has shown us.

Have you ever noticed yourself not practicing the very thing you seem so intent on learning? We want to awaken to the divine within us, so we find a spiritual teacher to instruct us on the inner way. But how consistently do we practice the meditation the teacher gives us? I remember, years ago, I was talking with my friend, Tom, about a spiritual book I had just finished reading.

He said, “Oh, yes, that was a difficult book for me to get through.” Now Tom is a very intelligent fellow, so I was surprised by his comment. I told him that I thought the book was fairly easy to understand and had not seemed difficult to me. He answered simply, “Oh, I wasn’t trying to understand it; I was trying to live it.”

Sometimes we act as if the goal were simply to learn the spiritual teaching. In truth, the point is to allow the teachings to transform our lives and awaken us to who we truly are.

In order to become proficient on any musical instrument, we not only practice each day, we incorporate music into our lives. We listen to music, we associate with other musicians, we perform and share our music. Likewise, spiritually, this means that we begin to live our initiation: we take our meditation into our life, not just in the moments we are sitting in meditation, but into every aspect of our lives. We invite the Loving into the inner kingdom of our thoughts and feelings and imaginings, we allow it to transform them into purer expressions of loving. And we share that Loving outwardly in our interactions with others in the world around us — at work, at home, and at play, enabling us to accept and forgive whatever we encounter which is not Loving.

So how do we awaken, and what is it we awaken to? Let’s use our musical analogy. First, just like with learning to play a musical instrument, we make a choice. Years ago, I chose to learn to play the guitar. So I had to commit myself to learning how to play. This commitment was a conscious action that took place within myself. I then had to follow this inner commitment with a supportive outer action in the world. I had to find a teacher whom I believed would be able to teach me what I wanted to know; and once I found him, I signed up for lessons.

Similarly, on a spiritual level, at some point we make an inner decision: we decide to put God at the center of 14

And so, I did not learn to play the guitar merely by thinking about it from time to time. My inner commitment to playing the guitar led me to take the action necessary (SONG continues on page 15)

Q& A (continued from page 12)

to experience itself more fully. But it was just a mental experience. This stimulation did not move me into those more spiritually-masterful experiences beyond the physical-consciousness effects that they witnessed in the Tibetan monks.

by Jim Gordon and Brian Yeakey

So, these scientists began to use this equipment to have these experiences in order to see if they could master, in a sense, what these Tibetans had learned to master — physical effects such as they didn’t feel heat or cold or pain, and where they could hold their attention on a particular point for a long period of time in meditation and not let the body needs draw them back into outer awareness. The scientists found that they could stimulate in the mind, in the body, certain responses. I myself went through experiencing this equipment as it was being developed, because they wanted to test me with my meditation ability to see if they could measure me before they measured the Tibetan monks. In the process, I did experience what the machinery could impart on me, or could impact on me, energetically. And it was very interesting — because it was a very low frequency of what I would call the spiritual journey. It was a very low frequency, and what it stimulated, which for them was a blissful state of consciousness, a euphoria, for me was what I would call a ‘mental orgasm’. It was the mind orgasming on itself and having pleasure within itself because it was able to be freed up enough

However, when I expressed this result, this difference, these scientists just couldn’t understand what I was talking about. I said, “You do it. You sit down, hook yourself up, and see what this is like; and as you move into this and begin to experience it, see if it doesn’t impact you like a mental orgasm would be. And one scientist, right in the middle of the experience, opened his eyes and said, “Oh my god. You know exactly what this is about. Let me try a different frequency on you.” He wanted to see what else their frequencies could stimulate. So we experimented with all these different frequencies, many different levels — but we could never get above the mental orgasm. There was no experience beyond it.

So things can be stimulated, but it doesn’t bring you into the spirit of who you are or the spiritual experience.

What can be induced in this way is all physical in nature.

It’s a poor reflection of the Truth. The saying goes, “As above, so below,” but it’s a poor reflection of the Spiritual Truth.

BUTTERFLY (continued from page 13)

if I am totally wrapped inside a chrysalis. As I begin to commune with God, I feel safe, warm and protected in the darkness. And, as with the butterflies, the metamorphosis and the ‘flight’ to spiritual freedom inevitably does take place: it is the Law of Nature and of God.

by Laura Kesten

When I sit in meditation, I actually place a shawl around my body and another one around my head, and I feel as

SONG (continued from page 14)

what I would someday be able to play. And likewise, in our meditation, at first we may merely taste that Loving in brief moments. Slowly, slowly, with practice and perseverance, we come to know that Loving more intimately and more fully.

by Steven McAfee

to fulfill my longing. I had to invest the time required to bring about the results I desired. Similarly, we do not find God merely by thinking about God once in a while. Our spiritual fulfillment requires that our inner longing be coupled with taking appropriate action. We simply must give ourselves the time and space for our spiritual practice.

Then, finally, one day we realize that we have come to live that Loving. That is what we awaken to: that the reality of Loving is real, and that we are the living embodiment and expression of that Loving. As we awaken the “divine musician” within, we discover that we ourselves are the instruments we have been learning how to play, and that Loving is the song.

At first, on my guitar, I only experienced glimpses of 15

NNER LIGHT IGHT MINISTRIES JOURNAL INNER

ABOUT ILM INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES (ILM) is a non-profit

organization dedicated to teaching spiritual awakening through an inner practice of meditation. 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.

To provide support for those individuals interested in this path, Inner Light Ministries offers numerous publications, materials, programs, and services, which encourage devotion to God and support a life-long practice of prayer, meditation, spiritual study, and service.

ILM:

A

lways look to the Loving, because eventually the Loving will awaken you. Have yourself a good laugh. Begin to laugh at life. Laugh in the face of death.

Laugh in the face of your most awful fears that run within you. Begin to laugh, because that is where you will begin to shake those realms of illusion that are living within you.

The shaking that takes place in the laughter is one of the greatest services that you can do for yourself. Laugh at the illusion. Laugh at the Truth. The Truth is Divine. It is joy and it is humorous. The true child of God is laughter, joyfulness ... the child of God is Divine Beingness in expression.

– Brian Yeakey

Main Office: Jim Gordon, Brian Yeakey, P.O. Box 164332, Austin, TX 78716-4332; Financial Office: Tom Beaver, 14618 Mansfield Dam Ct., #16, Austin, TX; Midwest Office: Steven McAfee, P.O. Box 5139, Fort Wayne, IN 46895

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