2016 Vol 1, April by Inner Light Ministries

ABOUT ILM’S NEW NEWSLETTER & WEBSITE

and Web Stuff page, there are links to the appropriate pages of the website. Simply put your curser over “click here.” or the purple text boxes and click to go to the corresponding website page.

Welcome to ILM’s NEW Newsletter and NEW Website! We have been building this online experience for the ILM commmunity for the past year, making it easy for everyone to connect to ILM We hope you are enjoying all and all that is offered through- the wonderful features of the out the regional communities. new website, and will enjoy this new newsletter as well. Much This is an ever evolving pro- Loving from Jim and Brian, the cess, both for the online news- ILM Staff, and our website team! letter and website, and you will experience both additions and changes as we continue to improve your online experience! We invite you to explore the website through this newsletter! How is that possible? In the newsletter, on the Events pages

ILM NEWSLETTER Volume 28 – No. 1 | April 2016

TABLE OF CONTENTS A Word From Jim Gordon .............. 2 A Word From Brian Yeakey ............ 4 A Word From Kelsie Mc Sherry .... 6 A Word From Steven McAfee ....... 9 A Word From Laura Kesten............ 11 Q&A With Jim And Brian.................. 13 Letter From Jim Gordon................... 14 Letter From Laura Kesten................ 16 Letter From Bill Stratton................... 17 ILM Ministers .......................................... 18 Core Tenets ............................................ 21 England Retreat Review .................. 22 Events ....................................................... 23 Web Stuff ................................................ 26 About ILM ............................................... 27

(FROM THE TALK, GO INTO SPIRIT TO AWAKEN – 02/19/2014)

GO INTO

SPIRIT TO

AWAKEN

A WORD FROM ILM FOUNDER

JIM GORDON Jim Gordon is President and Founder of Inner Light Ministries. Jim has served as ILM’s spiritual teacher for many years, and as an anchor point for sharing the Path of Sound and Light through ILM, his teachings have created the foundation of ILM’s focus in the world. He now supports Brian Yeakey as the spiritual teacher for ILM.

You know your body. You know your emotions. You know your imagination. You know your mind. You may not know them fully but you know them, and you know how much they control you, and run you, and rule you, and how much they can tear you apart. What I’m asking you to do is to stop looking and living and believing their voices, and rise above them. Go inside, meditate by closing your eyes and holding your focus inward and upward here, at the Seat of the Soul, and begin waking up here again. Wake up here. You went to sleep here. When you came into this world, when you looked away from the Source and looked out into this creation and began to live into and believe in the separation, you began to believe in all the components – the mind, the emotion, the imagination, the body and all the other elements, and you’ve lived in them, caught up in them, and your soul has been trapped by them to live in separation; and the realms of separation only live as long as you live here. If we all, as Soul, withdrew from here in this very moment, this would all drop back into the nothingness from which it came. This is all created out of nothing and it will go back to nothing. Isn’t that what this creation is? “In the beginning, God created the heavens and earth and the earth was void and without form.” (Genesis 1:1) This is void, this is formless, there is nothing here. It says it in the Bible. But we came down into the nothing and began to stir the waters, and we created this illusion. Pretty real illusion, but it’s an illusion. This is not real, and what we’re asking you to do is to give yourself time every day to wake up again because this is a place of sleep. Separation is going to sleep. Living in the illusion is going to sleep. Giving your power away to the illusion is going to sleep, and what God is asking is for us to wake up, wake up, wake up. Go inside and wake up to the truth of who your are. Go inside and live once again in that truth that you are Soul, that you are a child of God. By going inside and bringing your consciousness, your awareness, back here to the Seat of the Soul, by holding your attention here at the spiritual eye center, holding loving with God, just sharing your loving with

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I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT LOVE. THAT’S ALL I WANT. I JUST WANT YOU TO WAKE UP TO THAT AND TO LIVE INTO THAT AND TO KNOW THAT. God and allowing God to share Loving with you, you’re going to begin to wake up to the greater truth of who you are once again as that Living Loving Essence of the Lord. And you will begin to the live the truth of who you are above the mind and all these elements of separation and illusion, and begin to know the truth once again: that you are the Living Loving Essence of the Lord. And you don’t have to go to anybody or anything or any place to Live The Loving – You are the Loving. All you have to do is wake up to it again, and then choose into it more and more every day to live it. Every teacher that has ever been on the planet that truly is teaching the spiritual pathway is teaching the same thing: “I and the Father are One.” (John 10:30) You are the Living Loving Essence of the Lord, and in that Living Loving Essence, we are all One. We are not separate. We are One. But you’re never going to find it as long as you keep looking out in the world for it. You’re going to live in separation. You’re going to be chasing after the illusion. You’re going to be creating gods that you’re going to worship rather than worshiping the God that created you. That’s the difference. The inner and the outer are a very different pathway. The outer has a lot to offer. Why? Because we get experience by walking in the outer. God has let us live in separation and live into the illusion and walk through it because the soul is gaining so much awareness through experience in separation, and it’s through separation that we become so strong in the truth of who we are, which is Loving.

So, if you really want to know who God is, if you really want to know who you are, if you really want to be filled with the Loving that you are longing for, however it might be interpreted and defined inside of you, the way to do that is to sit down every day and meditate. Go inside and don’t try to meditate to gain powers and become psychic and whatever else, go inside to just love the Lord. “I love you God. I love you. I love you. I love you. And I open to receive your Loving.” And believe me, there will be a day, if you do that regularly every day, fifteen minutes a day, half an hour a day, whatever; if you do that every day, there will be a day – I don’t know when, I don’t know if it’ll be a month, a year, or thirty years, but there will be a day in there where all of a sudden, you’ll look up and Love will be there. I just want you to know that Love. That’s all I want. I just want you to wake up to that and to live into that and to know that.

(FROM THE TALK, DEVELOPING OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD – 12/13/2015)

DEVELOPING OUR RELATIONSHIP

WITH GOD

A WORD FROM VICE PRESIDENT

BRIAN YEAKEY Brian Yeakey is the Vice President and Spiritual Director of Inner Light Ministries and an ordained ILM Minister. As the Spiritual Director, Brian is responsible for ILM’s overall Mission and Purpose, as well as overseeing ILM’s Ministerial Program.

The word vulnerability comes up quite a bit. Vulnerability. Unfortunately, a lot of people associate it with being hurt. “If I make myself open and vulnerable, then I make myself open to be hurt.” And, it is unfortunate, and that does happen and goes with being open and vulnerable that it does open a door to allow oneself to be hurt. It’s taking a risk. And most of us have had life experience where we have been hurt, and so we’ve learned or we’ve been conditioned to shut down and to close down; and in that closing down though, we don’t allow ourselves then to also be open to other aspects. In this case, of course, we talk about those qualities of God, because when we’re so busy trying to protect ourselves so we don’t get hurt anymore, we also keep that door closed to the Loving, the accepting, the caring, the joy and the peace, the grace, the abundance, the freedom – all the different qualities that we could ever describe God with. Those are all expressions of that Essence of Loving, and all we have to do is open ourselves and make ourselves available, and we will have the experience. And therein lies the challenge, because we’ve been so conditioned and have been so hurt, we find it now hard to open once again. To really trust and have faith, and then now maybe it could be a different experience, that maybe we really can begin to experience more of those qualities of God, rather than those qualities of abuse and pain and separation. And so, it’s a risk. It’s a risk to be vulnerable. I know vulnerability is defined in many different ways by many people, but just so you know, here in Inner Light Ministries, the way we look at vulnerability is simply making ourselves open and available to God. So, when we use that word here, please know how we define it or perceive it or utilize it here when we talk about vulnerability, because Jim and I look at the word vulnerability as a keyword that is so important on this pathway of awakening and the soul’s union with God. It’s important to open ourselves – to open ourselves, to take the risk of getting hurt, because guess what? When we do that, when we open ourselves to take that risk, well

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that opening is where we actually let go of all that conditioning, of all the pain. We give ourselves the opportunity by opening. It’s a simple action, but oh my God! How many years, and if we want to talk about other lifetimes – a lot of that conditioning, of where we’ve been shut down, suppressed, oppressed. I know it’s not easy to start opening up in one lifetime, let alone within a few weeks, months or years. But, nonetheless, it’s a valuable attempt, or process, to take part in. And every time we go to meditate, that’s exactly what we’re doing – opening that door, that spiritual door, here (pointing to the Seat of the Soul at the center of the forehead), to really begin to heal and to find that release, what often we will call, in ILM, soul liberation or freedom, which is an action of this pathway of Sound and Light. It’s about the soul gaining liberation and freedom from all those things that would get it caught up in this physical creation of the mind, the imagination, emotions, the body. But that’s not the real purpose. That’s secondary. But sometimes we get too caught up and make that our primary focus. I know a lot of us will get really caught up in taking responsibility for our thoughts and feelings, and actions and reactions, and working that Loving, Accepting, Forgiveness process, the LAF, and we need to do that too; but not to lose sight of the action of meditation as the primary action. And what that action of meditation truly is about is the soul really looking to God and loving God, and in that is how we open to also receive God’s Loving for us and all that comes with that. Whether you call it grace or blessings, no matter what you call it, it’s all that Movement of Loving and that’s what’s key here. Without that, I don’t care how much LAF and taking responsibility you do, without that Loving it just will never get done. So when we talk about God first and God only, well, that action of meditation is the main single action that can be taken for that to take place.

So, make that your primary focus, make that your first service to yourself. We’re in the time of the holidays, the Holy Days, but yet every time, every day that we choose to meditate, we are making a Holy Day. I know

HERE IN INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES, THE WAY WE LOOK AT VULNERABILITY IS SIMPLY MAKING OURSELVES OPEN AND AVAILABLE TO GOD. I tend to joke around and play a lot here, and sometimes I wonder if maybe it distracts people from that greater sacredness or holiness, that’s what is really going on here. If it has, I apologize. Hopefully it just helps to open the doors to the playfulness, to access that innocence, and create a space where we can be vulnerable. There’s a purpose in that, and that is exactly that – to open up to be vulnerable, because I know we won’t do that with one another, let alone with God, until we feel safe that we can once again open up and be vulnerable. So, we spend a bit of time working on that. But really the simplest and easiest work is just loving God in meditation. It really is. It’s why we start all these gatherings with the meditation, and from there all the rest unfolds. If you don’t already, I’d recommend starting your day with meditation, ending your day with meditation, doing a meditation in the middle of the day. Try it. Even if it’s just a few minutes.

(FROM THE TALK AT LAF WORKSHOP – 02/07/2016)

HONORING

SOUL

A WORD FROM EXECUTIVE ADMIN

KELSIE MC SHERRY Kelsie Mc Sherry is ILM’s Executive Administrator, an ILM ordained minister, and the Hawaii Area Coordinator. Kelsie creates, coordinates, and facilitates ILM classes, workshops, and retreats using ILM’s teachings and practices.

So my experience of Loving God, and doing Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness, really comes from my highest aspiration or my highest truth, which is – I just want to experience God. And when I met Brian and Jim for the first time one-on-one, in a counseling, Brian was sharing with me about LAF. I was asking him questions because I had a lot of pain inside from my relationship with my father. What I really wanted to know was – how do I do this Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness with the pain I have been experiencing my whole life, with my father. So as Brian was sharing with me that this is not about my father, but that it’s really about the feelings that I have inside about that relationship; that when my father does something, it’s for me to look at how I feel about it, and what’s the hurt that goes on inside of me. And so as he was sharing about Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness and how to do it, I was doing it inside and it was like these explosions were going off inside of me. All this pain that I had been holding onto my whole life was just releasing, and it was just like, “I get it, I get it, I get it!” It was so exciting! Something in me was waking up inside to what Brian was sharing, and it was like it was blowing up all this “stuff” that I had tried to figure out how to let go of up until that point – probably for fifteen years prior to meeting Jim and Brian while I was on my “other” spiritual journey before I came onto the Path (this pathway of Sound and Light). And, I’d say, it was the first time I really experienced, in this creation, that I could get my freedom and liberation. And I felt a freedom for the first time inside. It’s been eight years of working the many layers with my feelings and hurts with my father, but my experience during Brian’s sharing of LAF was the beginning of something. It was the beginning of a freedom that I had never felt before. So I took that experience that I had while Brian was sharing about how to Love, Accept and Forgive and I wrote a children’s book, You Are The Light Of Love. And from there I wrote a workbook on Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness and I shared it with Jim and Brian. They liked it but told me to keep working on it. I just felt this enthusiasm for LAF because of my experience of a freedom I finally found. So, probably for the first

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four years I didn’t really chant the Sacred Name of God, I just did Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness. That was my meditation. I would go inside, and something would come up, and I’d go to “Love it”; when that didn’t work I’d go to “Accept it”, and I’d get a little bit of movement. Then I’d go into “Forgiving it”, and then back to “Accepting it”. My two and a half hours was filled up with just approaching what was coming up for me, no matter what that disturbance was; I realized that if I didn’t do LAF first, then I couldn’t get to God with this disturbance standing between God and me; I realized that I’d only be focusing on the disturbance. So, after about two and a half hours the Loving would come in, and then I’d have all my focus in the Loving, in that peace; then I would experience God and that piece of my soul’s loving for God that I’d put out into that disturbance, into that fear, that shame, that guilt – whatever that was, then I finally loved and reclaimed it to experience that aspect of God. And it wasn’t until just only two years ago that Brian said to me, “So what about the Sacred Name of God?” And I replied, “Oh yeah!” And so I started focusing more, in my meditations, on the Sacred Name of God. Because I had done so much work on reclaiming a lot of the soul essence that I put out into this creation and all the disturbances I had inside from it, I started to wake up and experience more the fullness of God. So I realized, “Ohhhhh, chanting the Name of God is about experiencing the fullness;” and for me, Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness is reclaiming the aspects of that God essence that I had given away. And so I realized, once I started chanting the Name of God, and that became my focus in meditation, that what I’m really doing – whether it’s LAF or the meditation – is I’m really just working towards having an experience of God. And that all those disturbances that I have inside, that have separated me from God, are really opportunities to actually experience

God. It’s just that I don’t experience God when I shun them, avoid them, shut down to them, don’t want to feel them, or don’t want to deal with them. That’s the separation because I have chosen to do those things with my disturbances. But, like Brian talks about, those disturbances – that which separates us from God – are actually pointing you towards God if you take that as an opportunity. It’s going to bring you back to God. It’s going to bring you back to that experience of the Loving which is God. For me, it’s like a bird with two wings. The inner and the outer; you do the meditation and you do LAF. You do the taking responsibility for your thoughts and feelings, and your actions and reactions, and then you do Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness. Any way I look at it ultimately it’s bringing me back to experience God. And in that, I give my soul dominion over my thoughts and feelings, my imagination, and my unconscious parts of myself. In this way I’m honoring my soul’s loving for God, rather than giving my focus and attention and energy towards those thoughts, and those emotions, the imagination, and the unconscious, and the physical. I really love this last year when Brian brought forth honoring and honoring our time together, and looking at honoring the inner process as well. I feel like that word “honoring” automatically brings me into a place of Loving. I can’t go anywhere else with it. So then I go, “Wow, I want to honor the disturbance I have right now, and really honor it by bringing my loving focus and attention to it, and begin accepting it and forgiving it if I need to.” It keeps me out of that pattern of trying to avoid or not wanting to look at or go into the fear, or the scary parts. And it keeps me focused on really moving into that experience with my soul’s loving for self and for God. So that word honoring has been a real inspiration, I’d say, to really do the inner

A WORD FROM KELSIE MC SHERRY CONTINUED...

work; and there’s that word work that’s attached to the inner, so it feels like work! We have to go in and dig around in all the stuff we’ve been avoiding and shunning and not wanting to look at...at least that was my experience. And up until this Pathway, I was all about, “Where’s the peace?…Where’s the love?…Where’s the joy?…I’m so peaceful…I’m so loving… I’m an angel…” And inside I was a MESS! A complete train wreck of emotions, of anger, feeling rejected, abandoned, unloved, unwanted, just a lot, a lot of stuff! But I was avoiding all that stuff trying to be spiritual, trying to be loving, trying to be at peace, trying to be something out here that I imagined what I was to be versus just being me. Being the angry “elf” that I was or am and just loving that part of me and accepting that that is a part of me, and forgiving the part of me that’s judged it and shunned it and made it wrong. Now I am really honoring it by doing LAF. So that’s been my journey. That’s been my inspiration. I remember the first class that I was attending with Jim and Brian, and every iota of my being was just screaming, “Give me The Name (the Sacred Name of God)!! I just want that Name!” I knew that that was what I had been searching for my whole life. And as soon as I received The Name (through initiation), I didn’t want anything to do with it, I just wanted to Love, to Accept… I wanted to understand and know how to do this Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness thing. I don’t know why it was that way for me, but I do know that for me there was a whole lot I had to take care of first before I could really wake up and use The Name, use those keys (to the kingdom of heaven) to really move now into the fullness of God. So, I’m not saying not to chant the Sacred Name of God. I’m just sharing that, for me, I had to go in there and I had to dig around, and it was just amazing…every time I closed my eyes, anger for my father, frustration, disturbance for my family

members, it all just came up! And I couldn’t get past it to even focus on chanting HU or the The Name. I am grateful for that now, but it was really frustrating at first because I felt like a bit of a failure. Here I wanted The Name so badly and now I had it, but I just felt so much Loving and so much grace and so much of God’s presence in going within and working my “stuff” with LAF that I spent my meditation time on that, instead. I realize now that that was because I was reclaiming those aspects of God that my soul wants to Love. I truly want to Love those things, those disturbances, because they are a part of me. They are a part of my experience here in this creation, and until I Love them and claim them, how am I going to experience the fullness of God? So, there’s my passion, my enthusiasm. Those of you who know me, you know that’s all I talk about is LAF. The first thing I’ll ask is, “Well, did you do LAF?” Because that’s where I got a taste of freedom. So, I’m hoping, as Brian had shared the intention for all of us in these workshops, my part is for me to just share my experiences, to be vulnerable and open, and completely honest with my journey, so that it may inspire you to continue on your journey in the way that you’re going to do or approach Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness for your soul’s awakening and fulfillment. And to see that here’s an opportunity once a month for us to really go there and really be honest and open and vulnerable and share to those depths so that we all can get free and not hide anymore or avoid or shun the very things that are most beautiful about who we are that we’ve judged as ugly. Because God’s in that fear, God’s in that anger, God’s in the shame and in the guilt, God’s in all of it…and in that we can get to the silence, and the stillness, and the peace. Thank you.

ACCEPTING

CHANGE A WORD MIDWEST ADMINISTRATOR

STEVEN MCAFEE Steven McAfee is ILM’s Midwest Administrator and Area Coordinator, and an ordained ILM Minister. Steven creates and facilitates the Midwest ILM retreats, monthly workshops, and weekly classes. He also provides information about questions regarding ILM’s initiation process and its teachings.

Life in this world is always changing. Like it or not, nothing stays the same for long. Bodies, relationships, finances, politics; you name it, they all change. It is just part of how life works in the world. How do we deal with that? Do we willingly let go of the old and embrace the new, or do we struggle and resist in hopes of finding a way to keep things the way we want them to be? I wish I could say that I am comfortable with changes I did not initiate or desire, but the truth is, sometimes it’s really hard for me to accept those changes. I find myself trying to create safety and stability in my life; yet, all too often, the world creeps in and shows me that this “safety” is an illusion. Try as I might, life moves on, and what seemed stable shifts; what appeared solid becomes fluid; what seemed always available no longer is. Situations can change or disappear overnight; families can expand through marriage and babies, or contract through divorce and death. People we love make choices we wish they wouldn’t. In the twinkling of an eye, health and fortunes change; people say hello…and goodbye. The security I seek in this world is an illusion, and the desire for it arises from the shadow that fear casts over me. I tell myself that if only I can make things stay the same, if only I can be in control, then everything will be okay. But they don’t, and I am not. The real question, it seems to me, is not “Will everything turn out okay?” but, “How am I inside, no matter how my circumstances shift?” Because the truth is, we do not live our life on the outside; we live it on the inside. All we know of life is what we experience of it in our awareness. Therefore, we really live in our consciousness, not in the world. Ask yourself, “How am I living inside? What am I telling myself? What am I thinking and feeling and experiencing inside? Am I living in the Loving of God, with peace of mind and joy of heart?” These qualities are of Spirit, and though we may, from time to time, experience them in the world, that experience is fleeting, because they are not of this world.

A WORD FROM STEVEN MCAFEE CONTINUED...

We can only truly experience them within, and even then, only when we relax enough to open ourselves to the movement of Spirit in us. Movement, not stability. Movement, not safety. Movement, not rigidity. It is commonly taught that life changes. What is less often taught is that Spirit moves, God flows. This movement, this flow, cannot be grasped, caught, held, or put in a box for safe-keeping. It is alive, and free. Our true security is in learning to move with it, to ride the waves of Spirit from one experience to the next, from one situation to the next, and from one way of being to the next. True â&#x20AC;&#x153;safetyâ&#x20AC;? is the Loving at the core of it all. When I stand in the Presence of that Loving, it is so peaceful, so joyful, and so complete that I want for nothing more. I am whole, safe, loved.

When I allow my attention to be absorbed by struggling over changes in life, I miss the Loving and instead feel the fear; and with the fear, the need for a safe place arises, along with the urgency to find one that will endure and weather all my storms. The only such place I have ever found is the one deep within me, where the light of that Loving shines and the peace of its Presence dwells. What I am learning to do is to trust that Presence and to do what keeps me focused on it. That is the security I am seeking. To find it I need to realize where it resides. And to dwell in it, I need to be willing to let go of the illusion that I can build it by myself in the world. God has already built it and is inviting me inside.

THE HIDDEN GEM IN

CONFESSIONS

A WORD FROM ILM MINISTER

LAURA KESTEN

Laura Kesten is an ILM ordained minister based in Austin, Texas. Laura’s own life experiences and healing on this path are the basis of her desire to be of service to others.

At the last ‘Experiencing the Divine Retreat’ in England, there was a common theme that came forward for me and several participants: Confessions. I realized that to confess required mustering up the courage to tell the secrets I’d kept in the dark, and to bring them into the light so that I could forgive myself, and in that, experience great freedom. But still, at the retreat, I did not confess. As a child, whenever I did something that was unacceptable to the adults in my life, the way they corrected my behavior was to punish, send me to my room, tell me I was bad … even when I told the truth. And so I learned to either lie about whatever I’d done that had caused or would cause the adults great upset, or to withhold. I learned that confessing had consequences. I learned that those consequences often led to rejection, ridicule, abandonment, and judgment. And then at some point, as I learned how to hide the truth more and more, their judgments of me became my inner judgments, and the debilitating pain of now believing these judgments and from withholding the truth, anchored inside of me. When I find myself in separation, I’m either hiding from or keeping hidden, consciously or unconsciously, something that is causing me to be in

protection mode. I can often link those things to my past; and even though they happened a long time ago, because I haven’t brought them out in the open, they still have great impact on my life right now. They become the filters by which every thought and feeling, every action and reaction, must go through. The longer I use the filter, the more it gets mucked up and the harder it is to see what the truth is. And, as long as I’m going through these filters, I’m going to continue to feel separation from my God-self and God. Over the years, if I could tie certain feelings and behaviors to the origination in my childhood, precisely to my mother and father, it felt less of something I actually created. It was easy to blame my parents, and my parents’ parents, and so forth, because I didn’t really have to take ownership for the creation. I just had to take ownership for picking it up and carrying it. So, in that, it was relatively easy to forgive myself because I could blame my parents. And yet, it wasn’t really their fault either – it was their parents’ fault! And so, I could eventually forgive my parents, as well. So, what about those creations that I haven’t dealt with yet, that I can’t link to my parents? What do I do with those creations? Do I really have to accept ownership for all my creations in

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order to get free? Ahhh. Now, we’re talking about some really “bad” stuff, things I’ve kept in the dark a very long time, so long that the key is surely lost, and I have almost completely forgotten them altogether… Surely, I don’t have to confess these! No way would I dredge these up and confess now. I don’t even want to confess them to myself. Besides, that was then and this is now. And yet, as I witnessed in the England retreat, there is a hidden gem in confessions. Confessing brings the creation out of the darkness and into the Light – the Light of Loving, of Forgiveness, of Compassion; and in the Light, all things warm and melt back into the nothingness. On the long plane-ride home following the England retreat, I took out my laptop and opened a new word document which I entitled, “Confessions of an Initiate.” I closed my eyes and went back in my life as far as I could remember and began searching for places where I was still holding onto things that I have not yet forgiven, things that I judge, things that I use against myself. I looked for creations where I still felt the pain, and the way I knew I was still in pain soon became very clear to me. Inside, I would see the creation and would quickly look away from it. When I’d look back, I’d shrink from the guilt and embarrassment, shun myself, and feel the ache I still carried. I’d want to turn and run away, but instead, 34,000 feet above solid ground, I faced my creation, and said, “Yes, I did that. I acknowledge you as my creation. And I forgive myself for creating you, and I forgive you for manifesting. I love you, and I love myself.” And Poof! Number one quickly emerged, and I typed a single sentence about that creation. I felt freer, lighter, and that gave me the courage to search for another one. Number two, three, four, and five also came quickly. Sometimes, I would see

something from my past that was “bad”, but not always did I feel the pain from it. Those creations felt neutral, so I realized I had already forgiven myself, and so I would go on to the next. I wasn’t looking for bad things I’d done to beat myself up again; I was looking for those creations that I had not forgiven and in that, was still shunning myself, consciously or unconsciously. That differentiation in and of itself showed me the difference between what is already neutral and forgiven, and what is still alive in me that I’m feeding with my own judgments. This new realization gave me the impetus to rummage some more, and six through ten were written. In total, I came up with eighteen confessions, and have since then, written down six more. Twice, I came to a creation that I absolutely didn’t want to look at. I said, “I could never admit to that! I can’t write this one down because then I would have to admit this is my creation! So, no! I won’t.” But my liberating soul was having so much fun and poked at me to go ahead, write it down. And so, I did. Then, I took in a deep breath. I hadn’t realized I’d been holding my breath. And that made me laugh. I suddenly realized that writing down my confessions was just as powerful and liberating as what I had witnessed participants doing for themselves at the retreat. The action of confession is done within, as is the action of forgiveness. Ok, so at this point, I will say that I was hugely relieved, and felt incredibly lucky to have discovered that! However, if confessing to one person or to a room full of people is the only way to get my soul’s liberation, honestly, I would do it. I would do whatever was necessary to get free and be in total bliss with God.

Q I’m experiencing so much Loving right now.

I’ve been experiencing so much loving and appreciation for this path, and gratitude for choosing back. A lot of times I’m aware of getting caught up in my meditations, and this week I’ve been having so many thoughts and I’ve had a hard time just getting through, so just by being here it goes away, and I appreciate and love you so much for holding the Loving for us and creating this space for us to be able to share like this. So one of the things that comes up for me is what you were talking about with these experiences on these other realms. There’s a part of me that wants that so much. Often, I don’t recall remembering many things from meditation, but when I come out of meditation, my life is so much better, and my attitude is so different that I know that something has changed. And once in a while, I come to this place of wanting more, of wanting to be more conscious of what’s happening on these other levels, and so I ask and pray for awareness of my journey. And, there’s another part of me that speaks up and says, “Just don’t worry about it. Just keep meditating. It’s going to happen.” So, I just wanted to put it out there because it certainly feels like a dilemma of eagerness and trying to slow down. Do you have any comments on that?

A (Brian) You described how it works for ev-

erybody pretty much. Anybody not go through that? You see, if you understand though, that’s the longing of the soul that really wants to wake up to the Oneness and that you want to have. And then to get there, you’ve also got to surrender it. You described it exactly. You just keep doing that, and little by little, as you keep surrendering and surrendering and surrendering, all of a sudden, one day, you actually will wake up into it; it’s literally both at the same time.

Q Yes, I keep forgetting about the word surrender. A (Brian) That’s the whole thing with “Let Go, Let God,” but you described it as Letting God and

Letting God, because your focus is God; but in that, you just got to let go. That’s what the surrendering is. You said it. That’s the simplicity right there, so let it serve you. And just understand that wanting to wake up and be conscious of that is really the soul’s longing to once again reunite into that Oneness with God. And you want to have that. That’s why a sharing like this today can really stir that, and that’s the reason for sharing it. That’s part of what we’re here to do, is to stir that longing awake inside of people. I know it’s painful sometimes, but that’s the good kind of pain, because that’s the pain of the soul’s real longing to be back with God. And that waking up in us, we’re going to answer that, and part of the answering that is now surrendering all this other so that we can now move into that, and then that is the answer. The only thing that will answer it is the merging into it. Until you merge in there, it’s going to keep on hurting, but that hurt is a good hurt. Without it, you won’t be motivated. You won’t be motivated. I’ll admit, I’m not as motivated as I used to be. I’m not. I don’t have that longing anymore like I used to. Now, I just have the pain. (laughter) True, but now, instead of the longing being the motivation, it’s now just the Loving. Now, I just keep doing the Loving, but that longing – without that, you’re not going to do the meditation, you’re not going to do what it takes to get Home to God, so that’s serving you very well. It’s serving everybody. And you know, you just try to answer the pain. You do everything you can to get rid of the pain, and that’s the thing – you do everything you can. That’s the whole point of it. All the actions you take to get rid of the pain, well, finally gets answered, and the answer is you’re merging back Home to God. That’s the only thing that answers the pain, and that’s a good thing then. In other words, if you still have some pain and longing, it’s excellent – you’ve got something motivating you so you’ll keep doing the action steps. And one of the action steps – one of the big ones, really the main one – is surrender.

Q That makes me happy. Q&A from 10/11/14, Brian Yeakey

FINANCIAL

A LETTER FROM ILM FOUNDER

Dear ILM Community, I want to share with you that, for many years, since 1986, ILM has been financially set to be of service to people without charge of any kind. We have never looked to people for funding or money to support our service. This is because ILM was funded by a gentleman back in 1986, and because of his funding we would not have to charge. I will explain later why this was set up in this manner. What I want to share with you now, is that over the last few years with the different downturns in the economy, both in the US and throughout the world, ILM’s funds have been hit and have not recovered. This has left ILM with less funds to work and do service with. We have been hoping that there would be a recovery for us and instead things keep moving down. Now we are finding ourselves in ILM having to make some cuts to be able to move forward and serve the community. This is one reason why we are cutting back in our traveling each year, closing the Fort Wayne Conference Center, limiting our funding of the Scholarship Program for the retreats, and unfortunately, we are having to make some cuts in our staff and salaries. We are letting go of Laura Kesten and Bill Stratton as employees of ILM, but they will be continuing to participate with ILM through actions of service and attending events. So you will still be seeing them! We extend our heartfelt gratitude and appreciation to Bill and Laura for their many years of service and wish them much love and support as they move forward in their lives - may the blessings continue! I am sharing all this so that you have the information, and to share with you that if you would like to support ILM and its actions of service such as; Scholarships for retreats, Coins for Kids, and other programs such as the Sunday class in Austin and the Video Broadcasting of the class, you can do so through our website, ILM.ORG, or by mail: Inner Light Ministries 2303 Ranch Road 620 South, # 135-303, Austin, TX 78734.

15 A WORD FROM JIM GORDON CONTINUED...

LET ME SHARE WITH YOU, ONCE AGAIN, THE STORY OF WHY WE DO NOT CHARGE IN ILM. I know that in the past I have shared that ILM is financially sound and therefore we are not looking for people to donate or fund ILM, and now things are different. I have also told people in the past, that if I ever start asking for money to turn and run. Well, please do not turn and run, and know there are no expectations of you giving anything. We are here for you and we are here in service to God first. This has always been the case and will continue to be so, whether you donate to ILM or not. Let me share with you, once again, the story of why we do not charge in ILM. When I first started this action of service, I was asked by the Holy Spirit to always see everyone as the soul they are. This is an action that has always been first and foremost in all I do. I was told to never see anyone as a dollar sign or as a source of money, but to always see the Spirit of the Divine in all people. I remember clearly at the age of 18 when I was first given this direction. I was working at my first big job after graduating from high school, and doing what I could to cover my life expenses. At the same time, I was beginning to step forward in my action of Spiritual Service in alignment with the direction I had been given by Spirit, which was to go into the world and share my understanding of God, and Loving, and Soul, and to counsel people who requested it. I was not to charge for my services, as God is Loving and Loving is free, and all that I was to do in this service action is in alignment with God’s Loving. So I went to work and did my daily job, and then in the evenings and on my one day off each week

I did my spiritual service. Soon people started giving me donations in gratitude for what I was doing in my service action. I did not ask for it, nor did I want it, as I was not sure what to do with the money. I remember sitting in my bedroom looking at the money people had given me and not sure how to handle this. I looked up to God and asked if this money could be used to cover my life expenses and the answer came back, “No.” My service was to be given in Loving. I was not to look at people as dollar signs, rather I was to see each person as the soul they are and hold that they might see that for themselves. Spirit made it very clear to me if I began to charge for my services that I would soon expect money and begin to see people as dollar signs rather than as souls. So, I then asked, “What do I do with this money then?” God responded that the funds should be used to assist others. Therefore, I used the funds for medical and dental bills, education, career development and other ways to assist people in their need. So that is what I did and have done over all these years. ILM has never asked for funding from people, and in fact, ILM has been financially giving a great deal over the years to make this spiritual journey more available to all freely. This is why we, in ILM, have never asked for money from you, other than to cover your cost in the retreats. So, this is where ILM is at, right now, financially. You may notice a few changes over the year and I wanted you all to have an idea of why we are making the changes. With the new website now up and running, and being able to offer more ways to connect through the website, including the monthly live video broadcasts of the Austin classes, we are grateful to stay connected with you all on a monthly basis as well as when we are in your community for retreats. We look forward to seeing you all. Much Loving, Jim Gordon

A LETTER OF

GRATITUDE A WORD FROM ILM MINISTER

LAURA KESTEN

Dear ILM Community, My journey with ILM began in 1990. I was ordained as an ILM minister in January of 1995. The first workshop I ever facilitated was in Austin called, Gratitude. So divinely perfect, that’s what this letter is all about – gratitude. A few weeks ago, I learned that my employment with ILM would be coming to an end. Almost immediately, I felt the grace of the Holy Spirit come in, and overflowing bushels of gratitude came forward for all that ILM has been for me over the years. Some of you knew me way back when. My attention has always been on God, but I still had a lot to get through. And while therapy moved a lot of it, it has been the teachings of ILM, the Grace of the Holy Spirit, and the abundance of God’s Loving through Jim and later, Brian, that have been the true gifts in my soul’s liberation, helping to pave a straighter and more debris-free pathway back Home to God. No amount of therapy could have done what ILM has done for me. I knew that to truly get free of my karmas and go back to the Heart of God I would have to be on this Path, because any other way would only take me so far. Hearing Jim talk week after week about meditation and then doing the meditation,

and then later, Brian sharing about LAF and then implementing it – for me, there hasn’t been anything else I’ve had to do other than those two things to truly reach freedom. It’s that simple. ILM, Jim and Brian, the staff, the participants, the initiates – all have been such blessings and wayshowers in my learning to live more and more into my true God-self. For that, I am eternally grateful. I leave ILM, as a staff member, full. So, what’s next for me? I really have no idea, except that the one thing that will always begin, fill, and end my day, is to put “God first” and live “God only.” Other than that simple action, I will do my best at following the movement of Spirit to whatever is next. That’s all I need to know and do and be, right now. With much Love, Joy, Peace, and Gratitude, Laura K

A LETTER OF LOVING

A WORD FROM ILM MINISTER

BILL STRATTON

Dear Ones, “Breathe in Love, Breathe in Light” are lyrics a singing/acting student of mine in NYC wrote in a song describing, in short, the class I created, which was spiritually focused. In this class the inner focus was on God and the outer expression was that of Loving, allowing the full colors of feelings and creativity to be freed up and expressed. Since the early 80’s the focus of Loving and Light has been primary in my life, which inspired me to become a minister in 1985, and then later on with ILM in 1998. This ministry has taken me on a wonderful journey all these years, and has given me a greater sense of Self, understanding my Divine purpose in becoming, and being the “Living Loving Essence of the Lord.” Along this journey my body has been working through muscular dystrophy, which has enabled me to experience much grace and ease, and see and understand the apparent “blessings in disguise” with what I have chosen to work through in this lifetime. I have, through my friendships with Jim and Brian, and through the teachings of ILM, been able to focus more of my time on meditation, and experience the clearing and lifting values of working LAF in my life – again enabling me to be more present with “What Is.” What a blessing the work with ILM has

been over the years, and will continue to be so in my future. Recently, as I was meditating in a staff meeting I saw, inwardly, myself rise up to Jim who was positioned like a cherub holding a nearly invisible bow pointing upward. Immediately I became the arrow as he shot me into the beautiful blazing sun. After the meditation had ended I asked Jim if he could give me greater understanding of these symbols, and he explained that it was about my merging into the Oneness and experiencing freedom and liberation. At that point I became even more grateful for this new opportunity of retirement on my horizon. With all this in mind and moving forward with this exciting journey of retirement, it seems to me that I’m just simply getting new wheels, enabling me to continue on with my focus of “God First” and live the Loving throughout the rest of my blessed life. Thank you Jim, Brian, ILM Staff, and all the ILM community for enriching my life with Loving, and bringing forward much joy and greater peace. I’m looking forward to the fellowship continuing. “Breathe in Loving, Breathe in Light. Breathe in Joy, Breathe in Peace.” With much Loving and gratitude, Bill Stratton

ILM MINISTERS

JIM GORDON PRESIDENT & FOUNDER

The Path of Sound and Light, Jim began to initiate people into this inner meditation practice. In this way his service in alignment with the Holy Spirit has expanded and has reshaped into today’s spiritual action of Inner Light Ministries: teaching and initiating into The Path of Sound and Light.

Jim Gordon is President and Founder of Inner Light Ministries. Jim has served as ILM’s spiritual teacher for many years, and as an anchor point for sharing the Path of Sound and Light through ILM, his teachings have created the foundation of ILM’s focus in the world. He now supports BriVP & SPIRITUAL DIRECTOR an Yeakey as the spiritual teachBrian Yeakey is the Vice Preser for ILM. ident and Spiritual Director of Jim has been spiritually aware Inner Light Ministries and an orsince the age of five. At that time dained ILM Minister. As successor Jim began to realize that his inner to Jim Gordon, Brian serves as vision and his understanding of ILM’s Spiritual Teacher, sharing the the things around him were differ- Path of Sound and Light and inient from others. His awareness of tiating people into the meditation Spirit and its action in the world practice with the Sacred Name of led him on a great search for un- God. As the Spiritual Director, Briderstanding and clarity of God an is responsible for ILM’s overall Mission and Purpose, as well as and the inner spiritual realms. overseeing ILM’s Ministerial ProAt the age of 18 Jim was asked by gram. the Holy Spirit to begin being of service in the world. The service He has been a long-time student action that came forward was to of mystical teachings and holds a share with those who showed in- Master’s degree in Theology, and terest about God, Spirit and the a Bachelor’s degree in Business. inner realms. Jim’s sharing and Through his loving devotion and counseling sessions have taken dedication to the Spirit within him around the world. His com- all, Brian shares from his own expassion and loving has been the perience of spiritual awakening on The Path of Sound and Light. hallmark of his spiritual service. In 1999, Jim began a new action With humor and compassion he of service as directed by the Holy assists others in finding the loving Spirit. After years of sharing about essence of the Spirit within.

BRIAN YEAKEY

KELSIE MC SHERRY EXECUTIVE ADMINISTRATOR

Kelsie Mc Sherry is ILM’s Executive Administrator, an ordained ILM Minister, and the Hawaii Area Coordinator. Kelsie creates, coordinates, and facilitates ILM classes, workshops, and retreats using ILM’s teachings and practices. Through spiritual counseling, Kelsie assists people in working with ILM’s teachings, LAF, and utilizing ILM’s LAF Workbook and Meditation Journal. In the classes and counseling Kelsie offers, she shares her personal experiences of using the tools of meditaiton and LAF: Loving, Acceptance, and Forgiveness, that others might be inspired to find their way in waking up and knowing their oneness with God, and to ‘Live The Loving’ in their daily lives. Kelsie majored in Elementary Education and taught in Thailand and South Africa. She has studied and practiced meditation from the Buddhist, Hindu, and Christian traditions for sixteen years. After teaching meditation for over a decade to both adults and children, Kelsie found the Path of Sound and Light through Inner Light Ministries, and has been walking this path ever since.

19 ILM MINISTERS CONTINUED...

the Midwest ILM retreats, monthly workshops, and weekly classes. He also provides information about questions regarding ILM’s initiation and its teachings.

LAURA DOGGETT ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT

Laura Doggett is ILM’s Administrative Assistant, and an ordained ILM Minister based in Austin, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. Since a child, Laura has had a close relationship with God. In 1994, after meeting Jim Gordon, her journey Home to God has been more focused as she has dedicated her life following the Path of Sound and Light through the teachings of ILM. Through her ministry Laura enjoys providing support and guidance to the ILM community. She recognizes that through this ministry, she completes her life-long desire in being able to assist individuals in discovering a way to align their mind, body, and soul. Laura also considers her ministry to be one of service to others through kindness and Loving. As Jim and Brian’s assistant, Laura is the contact person for information regarding ILM, ordering books and CDs, and scheduling initiations. Laura handles registration and logistics for ILM’s meditation retreats in Austin, Hawaii, and England, Austin events and classes, and assists ILM’s Area Representatives.

HENRY DE LA O ILM’S COMPTROLLER

Henry De La O is ILM’s Comptroller, and an ordained ILM Minister based in Austin, Texas. He has a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting, a Master’s degree in Theology, and has completed the Doctorate program in Theology ABD (all but the dissertation). Henry has pursued a spiritual life since boyhood; he has been spiritually focused on the Path of Sound and Light for over twenty years. Henry has been an accountant since the 70’s and has been working as ILM’s Financial Administrator responsible for all accounting, record keeping, and financial reporting since January of 2011. His keen organizational skills and love of numbers keeps everything in the office running smoothly.

Steven majored in both philosophy and theater at Indiana University. He is also a musician and songwriter who uses his music to touch and inspire the heart. Steven has studied world spiritual traditions for over forty years and has taught classes on spiritual development in many parts of the country. His primary interest is in the area of Jewish and Christian mystical teachings, particularly those originating in the generation of Jesus during the first century. He enjoys helping people find the ‘hidden’ connections and references in the Bible that point to the inner Path of Sound and Light, which the followers of Jesus called “The Way.” Steven presently resides in Fort Wayne, Indiana with his wife Ani. They have six children and nine grandchildren, one substantial cat, and one amazingly sweet golden retriever.

STEVEN MCAFEE

ANI MCAFEE

MIDWEST ADMINISTRATOR

MIDWEST ASSISTANT

Steven McAfee is ILM’s Midwest Administrator and Area Coordinator, and an ordained ILM Minister. Steven creates and facilitates

Ani McAfee is ILM’s Midwest Assistant, and an ordained ILM Minister based in Fort Wayne, Indiana. She is married and has six children

20 ILM MINISTERS CONTINUED...

and nine grandchildren. Ani has a Bachelor of Science degree, and taught middle school Language Arts and History for nine years. Her focus as a parent and a teacher has been to teach children to be independent, well adjusted, and productive adults. Ani comes to ILM through her studies in First Century Christianity and Rabbinic Judaism. Her ministry is a chaplaincy that provides support and comfort to the Midwest ILM community, to neighbors, to friends and family, and most of all, to Steven. Ani assists Steven by managing logistics for all Midwest events, classes, workshops, retreats, and community gatherings, including class schedules, retreat details, calendars, fliers, and ecards. As chaplain, Ani also provides support as a spiritual caregiver for those who have experienced recent bereavement.

Loving Self I want to find myself complaining less and just accepting more. I want to find myself looking and learning rather than blaming and making excuses. I want to find myself living more in the sacredness rather than in the separation and the disturbance that comes with it. I want to find myself doing less of telling people what to do and rather accepting myself how I am. ~Brian Yeakey

From Developing Our Relationship With God, 12/13/15

Core Tenets

of Inner Light Ministries

GOD CREATED YOU (SOUL) YOU ARE THE LIVING LOVING ESSENCE OF THE LORD ONE DAY YOU WILL WAKE UP AND REALIZE YOU NEVER LEFT THE HEART OF GOD

THE ACTIONS OF SOUL LIBERATION THROUGH ILM MEDITATION Loving God and Allowing God To Love You By Focusing On The Inner Light and Sound Of God. You Do This Through Chanting The Sacred Name While Holding Your Attention At The Seat Of The Soul.

LOVING, ACCEPTING, FORGIVING (LAF) Loving, Accepting, and Forgiving Yourself, Others, and God.

TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR THOUGHTS AND FEELINGS, ACTIONS AND REACTIONS Acknowledge and Accept Responsibility For Your Thoughts and Feelings, Actions and Reactions (Be Honest and Take Ownership).

ENGLAND RETREAT REVIEW 2015 EXPERIENCING THE DIVINE MEDITATION RETREAT

The England retreat was fab-u-lous! So powerful! It is because of these retreats and through the powerful teachings of ILM that I’m experiencing a profound unfolding and transformation of my true Godself. Each time I go to a retreat, I let go more of the self of the world and experience more of my soul’s liberation. Having the loving environment and the true guidance of a spiritual teacher has helped me move through issues that have blocked me unconsciously for years to where I am literally now getting free of them. Not only am I experiencing this for myself, but I’m also witness to so many others doing the same. There is no other place on earth that I would rather be than in an ILM retreat, getting free. I am forever indebted to Jim, Brian, and ILM. By Laura Kesten

EVENTS 2016 APRIL TO JULY ILM EVENTS

JIM AND BRIAN EVENTS HAWAIIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S INITIATES ONLY MEDITATION RETREAT DATE: July 13-17, 2016 Retreat is open to ILM Initiates Only For more information, please click here.

AUSTIN CLASS WITH JIM AND BRIAN DATE: Check calendar for monthly listings Lake Travis Event Center in Austin, and live-streaming at ilm.org. For more information, please click here. MIDWEST INITIATES ONLY VIDEO CONFERENCE WITH JIM AND BRIAN VIA SKYPE DATE: April 9, 2016 This video conference is open to ILM Initiates Only For more information, please click here. MIDWEST VIDEO CONFERENCES WITH JIM AND BRIAN VIA SKYPE DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings For more information, please click here.

OPEN MEETING WITH JIM AND BRIAN (OAHU, HI) DATE: Sunday July 10, 2016 Open Meeting with Jim and Brian on island! For more information, please click here. INITIATES ONLY MEETING WITH JIM AND BRIAN (OAHU, HI) DATE: July 23, 2016 Retreat is open to ILM Initiates Only For more information, please click here. OPEN MEETING WITH JIM AND BRIAN (MAUI, HI) DATE: July 30, 2016 Open Meeting with Jim and Brian on island! For more information, please click here. INITIATES ONLY MEETING WITH JIM AND BRIAN (MAUI, HI) DATE: Sunday July 31, 2016 Initiates Only Meeting with Jim and Brian on island! For more information, please click here.

ENGLAND VIDEO CONFERENCES WITH JIM AND BRIAN VIA SKYPE DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings For more information, please click here. HAWAII VIDEO CONFERENCES WITH JIM AND BRIAN VIA SKYPE DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings For more information, please click here.

EVENTS 2016 APRIL TO JULY ILM EVENTS

WORLD WIDE EVENTS KELSIE EVENTS AUSTIN LAF WORKSHOP SERIES WITH BRIAN AND KELSIE DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Open to All! We will be working with the ILM LAF Workbook & Meditation Journal, Communion-inAction, Taking Responsibility for our thoughts and feelings, actions and reactions, and much more! For more information, please click here. LIVING THE LOVING CLASS VIA SKYPE (OAHU, HI) DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Living The Loving Class with Kelsie via Skype. For more information, please click here. MIDWEST RETREAT: ILM MEDITATION & LAF RETREAT DATE: May 19 - 22, 2016 Join Steven and Kelsie, at Manchester University, for a retreat on Meditation, Discipleship and LAF. For more information, please click here.

STEVEN MCAFEE EVENTS THE YEAR-LONG WALKING THE PATH PROGRAM (FORT WAYNE) DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings The 2016 Year-Long Program will study the book, The Spiritual Path In Ancient Texts, that is in development by ILM. For more information, please click here. UNITY OF FORT WAYNE SUNDAY SERVICE (FORT WAYNE) DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Steven occasionally serves as a guest minister/ speaker for area churches and other spiritual groups in the Midwest. For more information, please click here. TUESDAY CLASS SERIES (FORT WAYNE) DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Steven offers a series of weekly ILM classes intended to awaken and inspire our loving devotion to God. For more information, please click here. BRIGADE OF LIGHT SUNDAY SERVICE (FORT WAYNE) DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Steven occasionally serves as a guest minister/ speaker for area churches and other spiritual groups in the Midwest. For more information, please click here. MIDWEST RETREAT: ILM MEDITATION & LAF RETREAT DATE: May 19 - 22, 2016 Join Steven and Kelsie, at Manchester University, for a retreat on Meditation, Discipleship and LAF. For more information, please click here.

EVENTS

2016 APRIL TO JULY ILM EVENTS

AREA REP EVENTS DEERFIELD, FLORIDA, VICTORIA ENG DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Watch ILMâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Austin live-stream Sunday monthly class. Also offered, a second meeting of meditation and fellowship. For more information, please click here.

AUSTIN, TX, LAURA KESTEN DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Austin Community Nite, once a month potluck, on a Saturday evening. For more information, please click here.

HONOLULU, HI, KATE ROSE DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings Hosting the Living The Loving Class with Kelsie via Skype. For more information, please click here. AUSTIN, TX, BILL STRATTON DATE: July 4th July 4th Celebration: Potluck gathering and fireworks! For more information, please click here. DALLAS, TX, GERRI BARRICK Recordings by Jim and Brian focus on Meditation and the Path of Sound and Light. For more information, please click here.

HONOLULU, HI, NADINE FERRARO DATE: 1st & 3rd Tuesdays of each month 2.5 hour mediations. For more information, please click here.

LONDON, ENGLAND, NANNA BRINCKER 2 hour ILM meditation. For more information, please click here.

KALAMAZOO, MI, JUDY RICHARDS DATE: Every month Sunday Study Group: Meetings are combined with potluck. For more information, please click here. PORTAGE, MI, CAROLYN DAILEY DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings ILM Study Group: Meditation and Talk. For more information, please click here.

SUSSEX, ENGLAND, LYNNE JOHNSON DATE: Check calendar for multiple listings ILM Study evenings with Lynne via Skype, for European communities. For more information, please click here.

WEB STUFF CHECK IT OUT! ILM’S NEW WESBITE:

ABOUT ILM You can find information about the Ministers of ILM, the Core Tenants, and Teachings of ILM. Learn about Initiation into ILM and download introductory information about ILM.

BOOKS AND CD’S ILM has 4 books that you can download or order hard copies, as well as over 50 compact discs of talks, mediations, and chanting’s.

AUDIO DOWNLOADS Talks from Jim and Brian’s monthly classes, as well as portions of retreats, can be downloaded to your computer.

AUDIO STREAMING

NEW ILM TECHNOLOGY

In January, the new ILM website launched. First, thank you everyone for your patience and support as we make this huge leap forward. When the new website was being designed, Jim and Brian asked that we keep two constants in mind: Simple and Elegant. While implementing their request, we have developed a site emphasizing usability, and interoperability. From your computer, tablet, and phone you can play both the audio talks and the video classes via the Streaming section. You can also download and play previous years Audio talks from the Downloads section. We started with the most recent talks and are in the process of expanding the Video and Audio Streaming as well as the Audio downloads to the previous years. You will find new content and exercises in the Self Study section. The Newsletters have been added in an electronic publishing platform that delivers an incredible reading experience. Soon we will be adding this technology to the ILM Books section, as well. The new website also gives us the ability to show Jim and Brian’s monthly class worldwide using live streaming technology, once again, accessible to you on your personal computer, tablet, or phone. Jim and Brian can now share their teachings and loving with all of us no matter where we are in the world.

Talks from Jim and Brian’s monthly classes, as well as portions of retreats, can be streamed to your computer, tablet or cell phone.

VIDEO STREAMING Starting in 2015, we began recording Jim and Brian’s open class meetings in Austin. From this section of the website you can stream the edited class videos to your computer, tablet or cell ILM WEB LINKS phone. Click on the purple text boxes below to go to those pages on the new ILM

NEWSLETTERS Each ILM newsletter, from 1991 to present, is available for viewing. The newsletters are presented in a easy to read format with the ability to enlarge text with a double click.

website.

ABOUT ILM BOOKS & CD DOWNLOADS

ILM EVENT CALENDAR Each ILM event, back to the beginning of 2015, is listed in the calendar. By double clicking on the event you can see the event details, including an interactive map and the ability to download the event to your own calendar.

EVENTS BY MINISTER Each ILM event is categorized by Minister to allow quick access to just the events you want to see.

SELF STUDY You can enhance your daily activities with a number of different topics from Loving, Acceptance and Forgiveness exercises, to weekly KISS (Keep It Simple Soul) quotes.

AUDIO DOWNLOADS AUDIO STREAMS VIDEO STREAMS NEWSLETTERS ILM EVENT CALENDAR EVENTS BY MINISTER SELF STUDY

INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES A PATH OF SOUND AND LIGHT

ABOUT ILM

DONATIONS

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 lifelong practice of meditation, spiritual study, and service.

Donations to Inner Light Ministries are gratefully accepted, and help us support: 1. ILM events, production of materials and books, as well as the website. 2. Scholarships toward supporting members taking ILM retreats and workshops. 3. ILM’s Holiday Service Project: Coins for Kids (Austin and Midwest) Checks may be made payable to Inner Light Ministries and sent to: 2303 Ranch Road 620 South, Ste. 135-303, Austin, Texas 78734. Or, to make a donation by credit card, go to ILM’s website at ilm.org. ILM is a 501(c)(3) non-profit ecclesiastical organization. All donations are tax deductible. Main Office: Jim Gordon, Brian Yeakey 2303 RR 620 S., Ste. 135-303, Austin, TX 78734; 512-306-1056, ilmadmin@ilm.org Midwest Office: Steven McAfee P.O. Box 5139, Fort Wayne, IN 46895; 260-485-2167, ilmMidWestAdmin@ilm.org

www.ilm.org

INNER LIGHT MINISTRIES A PATH OF SOUND AND LIGHT MAIN OFFICE 2303 Ranch Road 620 South, Ste. 135-303 Austin, Texas 78734 512-306-1056 | ilmadmin@ilm.org

MIDWEST OFFICE P.O. Box 5139 Fort Wayne, IN 46895 260-485-2167 | ilmMidWestAdmin@ilm.org