September Strawberry Banquet Report 2007 …
  Visitors from both east and west of the Mississippi — from Arkansas, California, Colorado, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Washington as well as Arizona — filled Howard Hall for the September 2007 banquet in Strawberry, Arizona. We gathered to study and to celebrate Truth in the ponderosa pines of the Mogollon Rim about 100 miles north of Phoenix.
  Lighthearted jokes from the entertainers, cheery singers and dancers and those unstoppable Parisian Pretties were all highlights of the banquet entertainment. This was in addition to the bountiful Mexican-themed meal and unlimited desserts, all prepared by the New Life ladies. As one student put it, “They sing, they dance, they cook!” Students enjoyed informal dancing “following the leader” to pretty and often lively, old-fashioned music. This all creates a respite from the insanity of the world and a chance to welcome changes in our being such as calling the bluff on fear and letting go of negativities.
  The talks on Wednesday and Sunday emphasized Vernon Howard’s “Secret of Secrets” (see pages 151-152 of Secrets for Higher Success) and the necessity of developing “spiritual fierceness”. On a humorous note, Dave Netherton likened human beings to donuts in his Saturday talk — we all have a big hole (of emptiness) in the middle! Richard mentioned that unfortunately, we are “memory makers”, tending to live in the past to give us a feeling of life but that the Truth, taught and lived by Vernon Howard, is here for us right now. The real world is now. It’s not in the past and it’s not in the future. It is not caught up in the pettiness and childishness of this world, but is eternal.
  Vernon arranged our banquets so that, while having a good time, we have many opportunities to apply the principles we’re learning. By turning our attention back and watching, we see more deeply into ourselves — a necessity for breaking free and finding the Self within that our heart yearns for. So a valuable part of New Life banquets is the great opportunity they provide to see oneself as he/she really is. Since all growth must be preceded by self-knowledge this is an important part of the process. Here is an example: We may catch ourselves starting to play a familiar but fake role when we meet someone and begin talking to them; that is, we see ourselves putting on a psychological costume of say, being a cheerful, nice, pleasant person and maybe even fawning, while our actual inner state is that of fear and anxiety. But by catching that happening, we can drop that phony self. This might happen over and over and every time we catch it we are on our way to being freer. In order to find our True Self, we have to give up all those artificial roles, and as we do, the awful pain that goes with them starts to dissolve.
  The banquet armed us with powerful exercises and warned of the resistance of the false personality, so that we could readily choose to say “NO, be gone with you negative tempters” and jolly well boot them out. We were sent home with the exercise to watch for and drop our negative thoughts and to try to stay in either practical thought or in a state of conscious awareness.
  The additional light at banquets where so much is revealed to us provides the perfect setting to start to see our inner states and to break free of what has enslaved us up until now. No, the world doesn’t want this, but those who do will thank God they came to New Life and stuck with these principles to the end. You can be one of the few!

Pagosa Springs Banquet Report 2007 by Regina Netherton …
  High in the mountains of Colorado our third annual summer banquet was held this July in a rare and delightful setting at the Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse. Those who attended from many parts of Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and even from Florida found themselves in a most refreshing environment quite unlike anything out in the world.
  Spread before us was yet another incredibly delicious banquet. Everyone enjoyed a bountiful supply of delectable food at breakfast and lunch meals throughout the weekend. The dessert table included a host of specialty desserts, not the least of which was our locally famed strawberry cake.
  A pleasant variety of acts, songs, and a dance or two made up the formal entertainment which was provided by the students and laced with good humor.
  The three classes set the stage for a right atmosphere and of working on ourselves, but while all were inspired by the talks and enjoyed the entertainment and food, undoubtedly, the highlight of the banquet was truly that Something Else – higher energies – were present and were felt by all. As Richard put it, “We received help.” Everyone who came recognized that he or she was attending something in a very unique atmosphere.
  Bruce Tracy, Richard Wooldridge, and Bill Brown led three separate classes where powerful Truths were given. The weather cooperated beautifully for the Sunday morning class held on a mountainside at the New Life property. The classes were a vital part of the Spiritual Banquet which included several other speakers as well. Other students also shared something helpful or simply spoke from their hearts to express how much New Life teachings, but especially this banquet weekend, had helped and inspired them.
  Following the guidelines laid out by Vernon Howard himself, all the students participated in many, many ways in order to make the whole experience a successful one. The activities are designed to give students of the higher life a chance to develop inwardly by doing things they don’t usually do, including being in an act or giving a talk in front of the class and helping with the work. At one point during the “follow the leader” dancing, the atmosphere was so light that a thought went through that “We are escaping”. That is, escaping into a higher, brighter state than the usual heaviness and disappointments we so often experience from this world. 
  It is very easy to get off the path and be dragged back down into the world without even realizing it, so, while it is impossible to describe the value of attending this banquet, all sincere students received new insights and understanding and the impetus to keep going upward. They went away inspired to work and study harder in order to reach that place where the world can no longer touch them – that truly problem-free life which, we are told, lasts beyond this lifetime. Thank you Vernon Howard, for giving us this opportunity.
  Enjoy a sample of what it was like to be there from the video clip to your right.

Women’s Expo Report …
  In April a number of New Life students (including Gary and Jodi in the picture) manned a booth at the Women’s Expo inside the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona. Our booth was very close to the entrance of this huge venue which gave attendees a great chance to learn about Vernon Howard’s marvelous teachings. A number of books, booklets and other materials were sold, in many cases to people who had never heard of Vernon Howard before. It’s always rewarding to let others know that true life answers exist.

New item available for purchase …
  The Thanksgiving and Christmas banquets were filmed this past year. An edited version of the Christmas banquet is now available on DVD for you to purchase at a very reasonable price. There is no substitute for actually being there but it will give you some idea of what the banquets are like. It is highly recommended that you attend a banquet but if this is not possible for some reason, you can get a taste of the variety of activities enjoyed by those who were there. You will hear eight different speakers make powerful points. Also included are highlights of the
entertainment and lots more.

Something to be cognizant of …
  Please be aware that when we have banquets, especially on holidays, all office work shuts down so that everyone can participate in the festivities. So if you send an e-mail or place an order during those times, it will be two or three days before it will be taken care of.

Special banquet report from May 2006 …
  At the May banquet in Westminster, California we experienced another wonderful time because truth was there. And something out of the ordinary occurred at one point. At the very end of the banquet, after a marvelous class, a delicious meal and desserts and delightful entertainment, everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, and a spontaneous round of applause broke out. The applause went on for nearly a full minute. It was in appreciation for having had a truly enjoyable time. It was in appreciation for being given the opportunity to experience something right and decent. It was in gratitude that New Life existed at that moment in time and afforded everyone the chance for a different kind of life. It was one of those rare moments where something out of the ordinary occurs. Everyone naturally and spontaneously expressed his gratitude to truth. Thank you Vernon Howard for telling us the truth and showing us that God actually exists. Now we have to get busy and work even harder.

Special Report by Regina Netherton
Pagosa Springs Banquet — July 2006
  New Life’s July Banquet was held in Pagosa Springs, Colorado, where a soft, most welcome rain fell much of the weekend as the banquet activities progressed undisturbed, even enhanced.
  The Pagosa Lakes Clubhouse, surrounded by so much natural beauty, was the perfect setting for Friday and Saturday’s events. As always the food was plentiful and delectable, with a wide variety to please one and all.
  From Friday night’s class throughout the whole of the weekend, students were also showered with energies from on high, while each New Lifer benefited no doubt according to his/her degree of receptivity. And the more we participated in the available activities, the more we felt this wonderful energy.
  It seemed as if each and every person who spoke was inspired to give us something beyond his usual self, increasing our value of this work and rousing us to work harder. (I think Vernon must have been watching from “high upon a hill where Truth has always been.”)
  The theme for the weekend was “Practical Exercises for Inner Harmony” with each speaker assigning an exercise and giving so much in his talk, it truly set the stage for realizing that ‘Something Else’ does exist.
  Bill Brown launched the first session on Friday night by assigning the exercise Keep Your Mind Where Your Body Is, which unmistakably raised the level of the class. Saturday’s exercise was to Get Off the Stage, or said another way, to stop pretense. Though the exercise made our old nature uncomfortable, the effect of everyone immediately working hard on themselves and becoming more conscious gave remarkable results.
  Richard Wooldridge, our keynote speaker on Saturday, invited students to come up during the first half of class and tell ‘what cross they had to bear and then give truth’s solution to it.’ This exercise led to revelations of what people secretly suffer from; from feeling ‘left out’ to secretly wanting to ‘be someone important.’ The exercise in fact exposed the impostors within, the voices which tell us how to think and feel, the voices we believe are us but which in reality are not. An indispensable part of our work is to become aware of the voices which are the cause of so much pain in our lives.
  Sunday’s class, led by Dr. Bruce Tracy, was held again this year on a mountainside high among the Blue Spruces and Ponderosa Pines on the New Life property a few miles southeast of Pagosa Springs. A deer or two were spotted while the rain held off until the last minute of class, allowing us to enjoy the uniqueness of the surrounding beauty and a special class atmosphere charged with new and higher energies.
One special benefit of banquets is that the efforts made to attend and participate are an important step in continuing to climb the spiritual mountain. Without super-effort, people begin to fall back asleep, never noticing that the direction they have taken is no longer upward. Those who made incredible efforts to attend, those who worked hard to help out and/or those who worked with right intensity to go against the false nature were highly rewarded. Our hearts indeed were thrilled. What else could one want, but more?

Holiday Banquet Report 2002
by Dr. Lynne Wooldridge
  More than 100 New Life students celebrated Winter 2002 with banquets and classes during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Both banquets featured three days of classes, a traditional turkey dinner with all the trimmings and lively wholesome entertainment.
  “The Thanksgiving banquet was held at the New Life Plaza in Westminster, California and the Christmas banquet was held at New Life’s national headquarters in Strawberry, Arizona,” says longtime student Sally Forrest. “We had a wonderful time. The banquets were just what we needed: self-work, self-remembering, and a lot of natural healthy fun!”
  The entertainment was full of fun and lightness and included songs by the Strawberry Sisters, dances by the New Life Parisian Pretties, a comedy skit by the Pep Boys and much more.
  Two students who are husband and wife performed an exceptionally good 5-second act. Standing before the group, the husband asked the wife how she liked their new car. Belting out her line, she replied, “I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is, the air bags work!” Uproarious laughter followed.
  Many helpful lessons were conveyed. Christmas Day’s class topic was “The Real Path to Freedom.” “The real path to freedom comes from not wanting anything from anyone,” said Dr. Terry Roche, New Life’s Southern California Director. On the same topic other students said, “When I want something from you, I am a slave to that wanting.” Speaker Moe Janosec told the group: “Instead of seeking the real path to freedom, we live life like the bubble boy, a child whose physical condition prevented him from living naturally in the world. We live in our own little world, don’t we? And we are terrified of leaving it. As a result, we are separated from anything higher.”
  Vernon Howard once said that if we could paint a giant sign on the side of the New Life building, it would say “Something Else.” “These teachings are that Something Else. While imparting necessary spiritual lessons, they give the heart what it has always yearned for, refreshing the spirit and putting us on the right course at last,” said New Life Director Richard Wooldridge.

Irish Banquet Report March 2002
  New Life Foundation celebrated St. Patrick's Day 2002 with three days of classes and an Irish banquet at the group's headquarters in Strawberry, Arizona.
  About 50 students from all over the country attended the festive March 6th - 10th event.
  “It was a powerful weekend, with lots of good food, both spiritual and physical,” said Richard Wooldridge, Director of New Life Foundation.
  Students traveled from Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Texas and Utah to attend the classes and banquet.
  The banquet meal featured deliciously seasoned corned beef and cabbage, with boiled potatoes, carrots, and authentic Irish soda bread. Delicious desserts and fresh fruit were served all day.
  The wholesome banquet entertainment included the Strawberry Sisters singing, “Now is the Hour” and “McNamara's Band.” Two lively colleens — dressed like two bonnie lassies — performed an Irish jig. Others sang beautiful Emerald Isle songs like “The Rose of Tralee,” “The Minstrel Boy,” “When Irish Eyes Are Smiling” and “I'll Take You Home Again Kathleen.”
  One of the themes for the weekend talks was “If we did not think we were unhappy, we would not be.”
  “I can't think my way into a state of happiness,” Richard told the group. “See how we're always thinking in one of two ways: ‘I wish things were different’ or ‘I hope they don't change.’”
  “Happiness comes when we give up our frantic search to find happiness.”
  Longtime student Bill Brown explained the topic like this: “Satan wants to create chaos and disorder. He wants to destroy all that is good, decent, right, and natural. He wants to distort all that is of God. Know this, because it stands in the way of your personal happiness.”
  Students were reminded that “Happiness is not the acquisition of anything but the understanding of something.”
  It doesn’t make any difference how much you ‘get’ while you are here on this earth. It will never take away the insecurity, the fear, the pain. Give all that up and Truth will supply genuine help and relief.
  A weekend highlight was the introduction of transcripts from three live Vernon Howard classroom talks given in 1985 (tapes no longer available). These transcriptions are entitled “Defeat Has No Right to Exist,” “Let's Play Fair” and “The Help You Really Want to Find.” Copies were $3 each, and they sold quickly. “It was a lovely banquet, mixed with strong, healing classes, and lots of fun and self-work for all,” added longtime New Life student Sally Forrest.