Jim White this Saturday at 8 PM ET in the Sanctuary. 

I began studying ACIM in 2001 and I’ve been an ardent student ever since. ACIM has shown me a totally different way of thinking about and dealing with life that really works. And, the way it teaches and talks about God has allowed me to more powerfully experience God’s presence, power and guidance in my life on a daily basis.

Love Communications Ministries – Our mission at LC Ministries is to assist in sharing the “Good News” of ACIM around the world, thereby accelerating the manifestation of its world-changing benefits! Put simply, our mission is to make ACIM a “household word” (like the Bible, Quran, Bhagavad-Gita and other Holy Books)

Awakening Together Weekly Gathering

Once again this Sunday, Reverend Regina Dawn Akers officiates our Weekly Gathering.  The Gathering is at 10:15 – 11:30 AM ET in the Awakening Together Sanctuary.

Regina’s Topic: Ego Preserves Itself By Misplacing Spiritual Teachings

When Michael Langford was a young seeker, he went to see spiritual teacher, Vernon Howard. He asked Vernon Howard if the purpose of his teachings was to end the ego. Vernon Howard answered, “Yes.” He also asked if Vernon’s teachings could be used to preserve the ego. Vernon Howard answered, “Yes, and you all do it.” This Sunday Rev. Regina Dawn Akers will discuss some of the ways spiritual teachings that are intended to help end the ego actually preserve the ego.

Reading: Rev. Sandy Ruiz will read “Misplacing the Teachings” by Michael Langford.

Sunday Evening Satsang with Ellie Roozdar – 7:30 PM ET

Ellie Roozdar is an awakened teacher that Rick Archer, host of Buddha at the Gas Pump, has called “a finisher.” In other words, she joins with those who are ready for awakening and helps them to awaken. When we listen to Ellie without defenses, her clarity penetrates.

Rev. Regina Dawn Akers interviewed Ellie Roozdar live on Wednesday afternoon in the Awakening Together Sanctuary. We will play that audio in the Sanctuary on Sunday night, May 15 at 7:30pm ET. Please join us for this amazing conversation.

Common Ground: Guest Mini-Series – Gina Lake – BUSTING THE ILLUSION

Sunday at 9 PM ET in the Awakening Together Sanctuary join Gina Lake in this 8-week class. You will learn how to free yourself from the false self and its negative and limiting beliefs. You will see clearly how the egoic mind, which creates the false self, operates and draws you into its illusory, virtual reality and how all suffering is created by believing the lies in the egoic thought-stream. More importantly, you will discover what you can do about it—how you can detach from the egoic mind and align, instead, with your true self. You will see how living in alignment with the true self is not only more creative, wise, peaceful, and loving, but also safe and provides for all your needs. This course is essentially about how to move out of the egoic mind and live from a deeper place, which is accessed in the present moment.

Common Ground: Guest Mini-Series – Gina Lake – BUSTING THE ILLUSION

This 8-week class with Gina Lake starts this Sunday at 9 PM ET.  

You will learn how to free yourself from the false self and its negative and limiting beliefs. You will see clearly how the egoic mind, which creates the false self, operates and draws you into its illusory, virtual reality and how all suffering is created by believing the lies in the egoic thought-stream. More importantly, you will discover what you can do about it—how you can detach from the egoic mind and align, instead, with your true self. You will see how living in alignment with the true self is not only more creative, wise, peaceful, and loving, but also safe and provides for all your needs. This course is essentially about how to move out of the egoic mind and live from a deeper place, which is accessed in the present moment.

Weekly Gathering with Reverend Regina Dawn Akers – 5/8/16 – 10:15 AM ET

Regina is the founder and ordained President-Minister of Awakening Together. She realized the vision for Awakening Together after a year of contemplating quotes from Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and The Yoga Vasistha. Prior to that, she was a student of A Course in Miracles (ACIM) and the scribe of three books: The Holy Spirit’s Interpretation of the New Testament (NTI), The Teachings of Inner Ramana and Thoughts of Awakening. Regina began teaching from inner wisdom in 2005. She is the author of Awakening Together’s Minister Preparation Program and a regular speaker in our Sanctuary.

Michael Langford Interview – Sunday May 8th at 8:00 PM ET

On April 6, Rev. Regina Dawn Akers interviewed Michael Langford in person near his home in Nevada.  This is the second of those interviews.

Michael is the author of The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss, The Seven Steps to Awakening, Manonasa: A Spiritual Autobiography and many other useful spiritual books.  This is the second of those interviews.

“The fact that almost all spiritual and religious teachers are exploiting those who read or listen to them is only one of the reasons why those very rare seekers of Truth will reject them. The other reason is that almost none of those spiritual and religious teachers are living from the Infinite True Self. Almost all of those religious and spiritual teachers have collected spiritual or religious ideas, beliefs, opinions, concepts, etc., and are now passing all of that garbage unto those who read them or listen to them.” – Michael Langford from the book Manonasa

Join Us for an Informal
Southern India Pilgrimage
to Visit Ramana Ashram & Arunachala Hill
February 6 – 22, 2017

This Pilgrimage is Being Offered
By Volunteer Hosts
As a Fundraiser for the Awakening Together
Retreat Center Campaign

Your Volunteer Pilgrimage Hosts:

Please Read the Details on This Page Carefully, & then
Contact Us if You Want to Go on This Trip

Pilgrimage Dates:

Monday, February 6, 2017 is the day our hosts are departing the United States for India. They will arrive in Chennai, India just prior to midnight on February 7. Depending on your country of departure, you may be able to depart for India on Tuesday, February 7 or Wednesday, February 8. We ask everyone to plan to arrive in Chennai no later than Wednesday, February 8, 2017. The pilgrimage will end on the evening of Tuesday, February 21.

Flights:

Each person will make his/her own flight reservations. We are providing the hosts’ flight information so you may coordinate your flights with their flights if you choose to. You are not required to coordinate your flights with theirs.

Flights to India:

Depart Chicago on Monday, February 6 at 4:15pm on United Airlines. Flight UA8837. This flight is operated by Lufthansa. It arrives in Frankfurt, Germany at 7:30am on Tuesday, February 7.

Depart Frankfurt on Tuesday, February 7 at 10:10am on United Airlines. Flight UA9130. This flight is operated by Lufthansa. It arrives in Chennai (MAA) at 11:50pm.

Return Flights, Leaving India for the USA:

Depart Chennai on Wednesday, February 22 at 1:50am on United Airlines. Flight UA9131. This flight is operated by Lufthansa. It arrives in Frankfurt at 7:45am.

Depart Frankfurt at 10:40am on United Airlines. Flight UA8836. This flight is operated by Lufthansa. It arrives in Chicago at 1:10pm.

Hotels:

Each person will make his/her own hotel reservations. We are providing important hotel information below.

Hotel in Chennai:

We will stay in Chennai until Saturday, February 11, because it can be helpful to stay near the airport in case someone’s bags are delayed or someone misses a flight and arrives a day or two late. Also, there are some nice places to visit in Chennai.

We will stay at the Clarion Hotel Chennai (25, Dr. Radhakrishnan Salai, Chennai, Tamil Nadu, 600004 India). Your reservation should begin on your first night in India. Check-in begins at 2pm and goes until 5:30am on the following day in order to accommodate international flights, which usually arrive in the middle of the night. We will checkout of the Clarion Hotel on February 11.

The Clarion is 13 miles from the airport in Mylapore, which is a very nice residential area in Chennai. From the hotel, we can walk to Chennai City Center Mall, San Thome Cathedral, Kapaleeswarar Temple, Parthasarathy Temple, Ghandi Beach, Marina Beach and Spencer’s Plaza Shopping Mall.

Hotel Options in Tiruvannamalai:

We will travel to Tiruvannamalai on Saturday, February 11. We will stay there 10 nights from February 11 – February 21, when we will travel back to Chennai. Your volunteer hosts will stay at the Ramana Towers Hotel. We recommend you stay in the same hotel. However, we are sharing other options just in case this hotel is full when you make your reservations.

Ramana Towers – Ramana Towers is an all-suites hotel near Ramana Ashram. Each room has one or two bedrooms, living room, kitchen and a traditional south India bathroom with hot water. Each bedroom has one double-bed. The price for a one bedroom suite (Luxurious Double Suite) is approximately $30 per night. The price for a two bedroom suite (Luxurious Double x2 Executive Suite) is approximately $50 per night. For the exact cost in Indian Rupees, see the Tariff page on the website. A small daily tax will be added to the tariff. To make reservations, send an Enquiry to the hotel manager. You can confirm your reservation by wiring a deposit to the hotel. The manager can give you information for wiring a deposit.

Lakshmi Residency Inn – If you are unable to get a suite at Ramana Towers, we recommend this nearby hotel. It is also an all-suites hotel and it is within walking distance of Ramana Ashram. This hotel has one bedroom suites for the same price as one bedroom suites at Ramana Towers.

Aakash Inn – If you are unable to get a suite at Ramana Towers, this is another option. It is near Ramana Towers and Ramana Ashram. You can book directly on Trip Advisor. It has good reviews and offers rooms at a good price.

Rainbow Guest House – This guest house has a good reputation, but it is not in the same neighborhood as Ramana Towers. It takes about 20 minutes to walk to Ramana Ashram from this guest house.

Itinerary and Other Costs:

This trip will be planned spontaneously while we are in India. You will be able to spend time with the volunteer hosts, going where they decide to go, or you can go your own way. However, we will travel together from Chennai to Tiruvannamalai on February 11 and from Tiruvannamalai back to the Chennai airport on February 21. You will be required to pay your share of transportation costs. Once we know how many people are going on this trip, we will be able to make transportation arrangements. Until then, the price is unknown. Transportation costs are much less in India than they are in the United States.

There will be opportunities to take optional tours with local guides. If you choose to go on a tour, you will pay your share for the tour and transportation.

You will need money for your meals and for any shopping you choose to do.

The amount of money you need depends on how much shopping you plan to do while in India. In addition to the money needed to pay for your hotel, you should also have about $500 – $1000 for transportation, tours, meals and shopping.

Note: Credit cards are not as common in India as they are in the United States. It is best to have Rupees available in 500 and 1000 denomination bills. You can get these from your bank or airport before leaving the United States, or you can get Rupees at the Chennai airport. We do not recommend purchasing Rupees at an Indian bank since a trip to an Indian bank can take several hours. There are ATMs in India, but they may not always work.

The Fundraiser:

The volunteer hosts will help you prepare for the trip by sharing useful information in the months and weeks prior to departure. They will provide opportunities for things to do while in India. After the trip is over, please consider the value of the assistance that you received from the hosts both before and during the trip, and then donate that amount to the Awakening Together Retreat Center Campaign. The recommended donation is $200 – $500+ based on your perceived value of the assistance provided by the volunteer hosts.

Passport and Indian Visa:

You will need a Visa to travel to India. In order to get a Visa, your passport must not expire before August 25, 2017. If your passport does expire before that date, you will need a new passport.

We recommend using A Briggs Visa Service to obtain your Indian Visa. Indian Visas are good for six months from the time of issue, so do not apply for your Visa prior to September 15, 2016.

Vaccines and Health Preparations:

Review Health Information for travel to India from the Center for Disease Control. If you do not have the vaccine for Hepatitis A and B, we recommend that you see your doctor to begin this vaccination process by August 1, 2016.

Contact Us if You Want to Go on This Trip

Note: This pilgrimage is not recommended for people with strict dietary requirements, mobility issues or health problems that may require immediate medical attention while traveling.

Join us this Sunday night at 9:00 PM ET for our next guest mini-series.

In this 8-week class with Gina Lake, you will learn how to free yourself from the false self and its negative and limiting beliefs. You will see clearly how the egoic mind, which creates the false self, operates and draws you into its illusory, virtual reality and how all suffering is created by believing the lies in the egoic thought-stream. More importantly, you will discover what you can do about it—how you can detach from the egoic mind and align, instead, with your true self. You will see how living in alignment with the true self is not only more creative, wise, peaceful, and loving, but also safe and provides for all your needs. This course is essentially about how to move out of the egoic mind and live from a deeper place, which is accessed in the present moment.

Gina Lake is the author of thirteen books about awakening to one’s true nature, including From Stress to Stillness, Embracing the Now, Radical Happiness, Trusting Life, In the World but Not of It, A Heroic Life, and The Jesus Trilogy. She is also a gifted intuitive with a master’s degree in counseling psychology and over twenty years’ experience supporting people in their spiritual growth. The focus of Gina’s writing and teaching is on helping people be in the present moment and live the happy and fulfilled life that is possible and on shedding light on the ego and other programming that interferes with that. Gina’s teachings are most similar to Eckhart Tolle’s, Byron Katie’s, Adyashanti’s, and A Course in Miracles. Her most recent books have been received from Jesus in the same way that Helen Schucman received A Course in Miracles. Her website offers information about her books, courses, and spiritual mentoring as well as free ebooks, book excerpts, a monthly newsletter, a blog, and audio and video recordings. Gina’s website is: Radical Happiness

This class is 6 weeks long.

A Course in Miracles is a complete self-study spiritual thought system. As a three-volume curriculum consisting of a Text, Workbook for Students, and Manual for Teachers, it teaches that the way to universal love and peace—or remembering God—is by undoing guilt through forgiving others. The Course thus focuses on the healing of relationships and making them holy. A Course in Miracles also emphasizes that it is but one version of the universal curriculum, of which there are “many thousands.” Consequently, even though the language of the Course is that of traditional Christianity, it is a universal spiritual teaching.

In this class you will:

1. The participant will become familiar with main themes taught in A Course in Miracles.

2. The participant will apply the teachings of A Course in Miracles to the everyday circumstances that arise in his/her daily life.

3. The participant will practice the first forty-two lessons of A Course in Miracles Workbook for Students.

Two Classes to Choose From:

~ On Tuesday evenings, May 24-June 28, 2016 from 7:30pm-9:30pm ET. Homework begins May 18. Facilitator: Jay McCormick.

~On Wednesday mornings, May 25-June 29, 2016 from 10am – noon ET. Homework begins May 18. Facilitator: Regina Dawn Akers

Specific Information:
Cost is $120.
Textbook needed is Living A Course in Miracles by Jon Mundy.
Class is offered in PalTalk. Familiarity with PalTalk is helpful.
Registration closes on May 15.
For more information on this class, click here.

Click to register

Join us this weekend in the Awakening Together Sanctuary for these exciting programs.

Saturday Evening at 8:00 PM ET – The Weekend of Freedom Retreat coming up in June of 2016 showcases many of our regular teachers in the Awakening Together Sanctuary.  Join David Fishman, Shiryl Kaplan, Barret Hedeen, Lorri Coburn and other guests in a discussion about the retreat and the use of Spiritual Round Tables.

Our Sunday Gathering with Reverend Gloria Wells starts at 10:15 AM ET.  Reverend Gloria’s topic for Sunday is Sufficiency: now is enough because you are.

Kathy Smith is the reader and she will read a chapter from Eckhart Tolle A New Earth: Wanting, the need for more.

Michael Langford Interviews

On April 6, Rev. Regina Dawn Akers interviewed Michael Langford in person near his home in Nevada. Michael is the author of The Most Direct Means to Eternal Bliss, The Seven Steps to Awakening, Manonasa: A Spiritual Autobiography and many other useful spiritual books.

The result of Regina’s April 6 visit with Michael Langford is two one-hour audios. We will play these audios in the Sanctuary on two upcoming Sundays so we can all listen to them together. The first one-hour audio will be played on Sunday, May 1 at 8pm ET.

Bruce Rawles Special Mini-Series – Discernment: GIST and the Double Shield of Oblivion

In the last of this three part series, Bruce will discuss the process of discernment and they ways in which we fool ourselves. Join us at 9 PM ET Sunday evening for this humorous and intelligent discussion.

This class is 3 weeks long.

The Bhagavad Gita is an eternal message of spiritual wisdom from ancient India. The word Gita means song and Bhagavad means God, so the Bhagavad Gita is literally the Song of God. Most experts feel the Bhagavad Gita was written 2200 – 2500 years ago, although some experts say that it was written as much as 5000 years ago. The Bhagavad Gita is a conversation, set on a battlefield,  between Lord Krishna and Prince Arjuna. It is comprised of 700 sanskrit verses contained within 18 chapters. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna discusses topics such as ultimate truth, reincarnation, states of mind and liberation (awakening).
 
 
 
In this class you will:

1. The participant will become familiar with the classic Hindu work, The Bhagavad Gita.

2. The participant will contemplate verses from the Bhagavad Gita and realize his/her own guidance.

Class Schedule:

~ On Wednesday evenings, May 18-June 1, 2016 from 9:30pm-11:30pm ET (6:30pm-8:30pm Pacific). Homework begins May 12. Facilitator: Jacquelyn Eckert.

Specific Information:
Cost is $60.
Textbook needed is Bhagavad Gita by Eknath Easwaran.
Class is offered in PalTalk. Familiarity with PalTalk is helpful.
Registration closes on May 10.
For more information on this class, click here.

Click to register

Awakening Together Sunday Service

SUNDAY EVENING