New Life News 3
Previous Articles and Banquet Reports

     In 1989 a man from England felt a need for something more in his life, so truth led him to Vernon Howard. Knowing no one, he booked his first trip over to Nevada and stayed for a full 6 months. He then went back to England for a short period of time and came back for another 6 months! Right away he felt a strong connection with what he was hearing. His name is James Potts and he subsequently made many journeys to New Life classes from  England. He has also thrown himself into the work, helping out whenever and wherever he can, thus increasing his opportunity to learn more and to benefit from a right attitude toward truth.
     It has been 5 years since his last visit to New Life and he was thrilled to have the opportunity to come again and to participate in all of the activities going on in Pagosa Springs, Colorado. Speaking in his broad Lancashire accent, James said about the trip, “It’s like coming back home. We should never take New Life and these classes for granted. We are only here temporarily.” He timed his visit so he would be able to attend the 3-day banquet festivities recently held there. He was a star in one of the best acts ever given at a banquet. It is the theme song of most human beings on this planet, the song “Gloom, Despair and Agony on Me” from the old HeeHaw TV show. The students who participated dressed the part perfectly and sang the song with great gusto. All of the singers as well as those in the audience loved it.
     James was rejuvenated by being around like-minded people, those seeking something higher than what the world has to offer or what they can do for themselves. It was very interesting because a number of students at the banquet who had never met him before felt drawn to James right away. Even though they didn’t know him personally they had something in common with him. A receptive spirit and a genuine love of truth can take you a long way in this work.
     James is very unpretentious and leads a simple life. He rents a small flat in England and spends a lot of his time listening to and reading Vernon Howard and applying what he hears to his own life. We could all learn something from him.
     Upon returning to England he let us know he had received tremendous energy from the experience and was very grateful for everything.
      Breaking News! — James is a perfect example that you don’t have to be an aggressive ‘striver’ to get along or to really make it in this world. One of Vernon Howard’s favorite words, which he used quite frequently, is the word ‘pleasant.’ It’s all right to just be a pleasant man or woman. He is a great contrast to some spiritual students who are full of themselves and full of unconscious hostility and unseen egotism. Real humility is a very attractive quality to find in a seeker and it is much more rare than would normally be supposed. As James himself said in one of his talks, “We can stop trying to be important.” Here’s another helpful quote on this subject from 1500 Ways to Escape the Human Jungle, “When spiritual facts are not accompanied by the erasing of egotism, we fall into imaginary spirituality.”
     Let’s all refuse to live in imagination and embrace the life lessons of simplicity, unpretentiousness and thankfulness toward the power that has given us the chance to ‘live above this crazy world.’

     At the Wednesday evening May 10 class in Pasadena CA, New Life’s May 2017 banquet was begun with a compelling, spirited talk by Director Richard Wooldridge. He said, “There’s a completely different kind of learning based on intuition, not interpretation.” The mind interprets what it sees and hears through its long years of training, through its bias, through its defensiveness and these interpretations block direct seeing and always get in the way of spiritual understanding. But genuine intuition based in essence is understanding itself. He continued, “Start to realize that our aim is to draw closer to the Higher Source no matter what must be given up, like our love of fighting and arguing.”
     At the Friday evening class in Westminster, a powerful exercise was given which was used by many students over the banquet weekend. Vernon said that we must begin to challenge the dark states that take us over by saying to the state, “Can you help me?” If we’re honest, it’s crystal clear that no darkness in the form of any negative thought or emotion can ever truly make us feel better. Do this exercise persistently and it will clear your mind if only for a few seconds. The negativity will of course try to reassert itself but in the interim lies the freedom from all the mental noise!
     In his Banquet Saturday talk, Richard said, “What we’re doing here is getting a soul. Truth is working on you whether you know it or not. It is healing you. Turn your life over to Truth because it knows what it’s doing. The work has already been done and we simply have to accept the invitation to join it.”
     Everyone in the audience smiled with recognition when Richard also spoke of a pill that everyone takes called Blamitol. Taking Blamitol leads us to blame others for all of our woes and problems and to refuse to accept self-responsibility for our own lives. Remember Vernon said that the person who awakens is the one who refuses to blame anyone for anything.
     Paul Wolfe, New Life’s Southern California Director, spoke from the Vernon Howard CD entitled The Freedom of Being Good. He pointed out that “we don’t want out badly enough because if we really wanted out, we’d actually be out!” We have to be receptive to what Truth is trying to tell us because “It’s what we don’t know that hurts us.”
     After the class, a delicious taco salad and chef salad meal was served with all fresh fixings, including organic beef and shredded chicken, homemade salsa, guacamole and many other items. Delectable desserts like a beautiful 5-layer cake, pies, cookies and other sweet treats were available throughout the afternoon.
     The outstanding formal entertainment by New Life students followed. Especially entertaining were the “Father William” skit, a rendition of the classic song “Red River Valley” by three New Life “cowboys” and an expressive reading of a pertinent Aesop's fable by Texas Judy. The Pretties dance, choreographed to an old favorite, the “Peanut Polka,” had the entire audience clapping along with the music and you could tell that dancers and audience members alike were thoroughly enjoying themselves. The festivities continued with lively informal dancing in which many of the participants released any self-consciousness and just had a great time.
     The enthusiasm level was high when the class met for more talks and another meal on Sunday morning. Many students commented on how great the banquet was and how much was learned. “These classes are here for us. We’re here to get a life and a soul,” said David Hearst. “Develop an attitude of humility,” said Texas Judy. “Don’t take offense; it’s not about ‘you.’ Don’t fight. Who in their right mind wouldn’t want to let go of the suffering?”
     Every New Life banquet is different, unique and uplifting. “Come to class no matter what,” Richard told the group. “Years ago, I once went to class when I was very sick. I sat in back of the room. Vernon could see I was ill, yet he called me up to give me some practical information. I told him I was sick. He consciously said, ‘Get up here!’ Needless to say, I went up to his desk. If you can be in class, be here!”

     “Keep Your Sunny Side UP, UP!” This old song that we danced to in the entertainment portion of the banquet could be both the theme for our March get-together and an exercise for the entire year, to see more while being cheery and refusing suffering.
     Many new and old faces were seen gathering to celebrate both St. Patty’s Day and Vernon Howard's birthday in the splendid spring sunshine.
     Richard opened his talk Saturday with this observation, “Before class, I was looking around the room at faces and realized that there was a definite difference between the faces of people who come to New Life classes regularly and those who haven't been here for some time.” The benefits of attending New Life classes on a regular basis shone in the faces of those excited to gain more insight, proof that even though Vernon Howard is no longer with us physically, these classes give us a lot more help than we realize. He later added, “Something in you likes coming here and being spoken to frankly.”
     Richard continued, “You are responsible to wake up, to never be negative.” Explaining how to transform our nature, he said. “You haven't called the bluff on negativity yet. Negativity is not your natural state — not who you really are. You have the power to smash the darkness.”
      A Treasure of Trueness quote, #1499 was read, “Only a personal internal earthquake is going to wake you up.” He explained that this is why we must walk right through the flames of hell in order to have the arrogance of the false self burned away. Well, you may say, what kind of fun is that?! But separating from that person I think is “me” will provide tremendous relief. So we must come to class after class, banquet after banquet, to really experience and understand it all.
     An incident occurred when a speaker dropped his microphone when standing up and was then excused by the following speaker. It was explained how we must never excuse ourselves or others but should always make it worse! [You can see why these teachings are so unacceptable to the world and the false nature!]   
     Since this was our St. Patrick’s Day banquet, Bill mentioned the concept of the trinity as taught by the shamrock and mentioned that Vernon gave us the three terms God, Truth, Reality to refer to the Higher Power. He also recalled the old adage to ask before you speak, “Is it true, is it kind, is it necessary?”
     No better corned beef, cabbage and potatoes could be found anywhere than at the long, bountiful tables at the New Life Irish banquet. Formal entertainment included melodic Irish songs such as the lilting “My Wild Irish Rose,” and the well-known poem “The Road Not Taken.” Humorous skits brought laughter and the Pretties dance was a lively Irish jig.
     But what was really important about the New Life banquet was the indescribable energy and increased understanding that we take home plus a desire to work harder on ourselves.
     As Kyle pointed out in the comments before class on Sunday morning, we get energy from doing work for the Work. This was an observable fact and a magic secret. For example, two ladies worked in the kitchen somewhat late on Saturday night while making preparations for Sunday morning's appealing and colorful breakfast. Then they arose very early Sunday to finish the preparations. And instead of being tired as expected, they were filled with amazing energy not found out in the world.
     Also observed throughout the week of preparation ahead of the actual event on Saturday was that a woman who worked non-stop almost every day and night prior to the banquet had the most life and brightness at its close. Richard, who was very sick much of the week, went against himself and let the strength of Truth pour through him in his talk on Saturday. We should never doubt the power of God to help us. And as Regina commented, we can do a lot more than we think we can. For it is not us but the Truth that works through us. But we must do the work in order to know and experience that.

     Snow fell on Strawberry, Arizona Christmas eve and morning bringing bright sparkles and also clean-up work, a good metaphor for the banquet weekend itself. One student from California said how she loved to see the beauty of the snow, while another from Colorado had a different perspective and knew it meant both physical and inner work: plowing, shoveling and uncovering cars covered with ice, all the while watching any negative reactions that may have come up. The higher view is that we use both “positive” and “negative” ideas about events to rise above and learn.
     The recently ended presidential election was another such event which could be used either to hide our heads in the sand or to be studied for the fascinating lessons it offered about human nature. Vernon Howard was quoted as saying we “were put here on earth at this particular time to see the changes,” and the election and its aftermath have certainly been eye-openers about all forms of evil.
     We were so fortunate to have another opportunity to gather together to celebrate Christmas while receiving more sparkles from heaven in the talks based on Vernon Howard’s teachings. Since Christmas Day fell on Sunday this year, the banquet was preceded by three other inspirational classes held on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday.
     One common theme appearing in many talks was that complaining and wishing to change another person cannot help me to change. Each individual must do the work and is responsible for his or her own reactions. Richard said, “When something doesn’t go my way, I must say NO to being negative!” Moe, using “Time to Go to Work” from A Treasury of Trueness, said, “Get tired of feeling bad. Realize there’s no way this wrongness inside can be part of me because it’s trying to kill me! It’s an outsider, an alien.”
     Christmas Day’s class began when Richard asked students to speak on the topic: “What bothers me and its spiritual solution.” This immediately encouraged right initiative and self-responsibility to ponder and contribute.
     Richard talked about the Cosmic Viewpoint, an intuitive understanding beyond “head knowledge” that transforms everything we experience. To illustrate, he described how on a recent drive, a buck crashed down a slope and crossed the highway in front of his vehicle. “I don’t get mad at the buck,” he said, who was just following his migration route; “he didn’t build the highway, we did.” Coming awake at such moments saves our lives and reveals if we’re still complaining against life’s challenges or if we’re using them to change.
     The formal entertainment, an enjoyable and relaxing learning experience, was rich with the beautiful harmonious music of the season like “Christmas in Killarney” and “Silent Night,” and jokes that all related to the winter holidays. The Christmas turkey dinner, though traditional, seemed full of fresh delights as we strived to put attention on the present moment and apply the exercise to be new each moment. Refusing to live in memories of yesterday or in worry or dreams of tomorrow makes everything new.

     A light and lively spirit was present at New Life’s Thanksgiving Day banquet held at the New Life Plaza in Westminster in Southern California. The day’s class was opened by Richard Wooldridge who shared a marvelous quotation from a talk given by Vernon Howard. Vernon said, “Some of you people are afraid to smile. That smile was deep down inside of you all along. Use the physical to work on the inner to free yourself. This is very high.” Richard then added, “Be cheerful and try to be consciously pleasant. No excuses!”
     In his opening remarks, Richard said to come to every class possible because “you don’t know how much help you’re actually getting when you come here.” He also urged students to familiarize themselves with the New Life website which contains a treasury of higher information and is updated all the time.
     The class’s first speaker, Paul Wolfe, talked about having a moral obligation to live a free and happy life. “Real morality means you never hurt another human being.” Paul also said we must realize the fact that we’re separated from God and that the world is doing everything it can to keep us in our present position, in the thought trap. He gave a great example of how we’re protected if we will abandon the false nature and begin to obey heavenly instructions. “You can actually have a ‘force field’ around you when you go out into the world. That is what protects you and keeps negativity out.”
     In his talk, Richard reminded the class of the famous Vernon Howard exercise “Bear the pain and pain the bear.” “We must call the bluff on pain instead of always wanting to run away and lose ourselves in distractions. For example, there are millions of things to do, millions of distractions in the Los Angeles area. Truth doesn’t say we can’t do those things but it does say they are not necessary.” He also relayed a story about deliberately going against the sour part of us that wants to be dull and insists on being in a gloomy state. In the Colorado classes, some students often ride to class with another student. This student, by his own admission, is a grump in the morning, but one recent Sunday morning he made a conscious effort to drop the grumpiness and be pleasant. The other students commented they were grateful for his effort because everyone was positively affected by his lighter mood. Richard said, “A lot of people will be grateful when you are no longer a grump!”
     At one point during his talk, he had people trying to remember the names of the Seven Dwarfs, like Grumpy, Sleepy, Bashful, Dopey, etc.  During student comments, Richard asked one student which dwarf he was and the student said “All of them!” And Karen made a very funny comment when she said, “I don’t care anything about the Seven Dwarfs but I sure am identified with Sleeping Beauty.” The New Life atmosphere really does combine the authentic study of very serious subjects with a lot of fun and good cheer.
     The delicious traditional Thanksgiving feast was followed by wholesome entertainment put on by the New Life students including pretty, melodic songs, dancing and funny jokes. One hilarious 5-second act portrayed Doug as a hospital patient with Lupe as his nurse. The laughter from the first punchline was so loud, no one heard the second part of the joke!
     Following the end of the day’s festivities, everyone felt gratitude for what had been offered to them at New Life: the opportunity to transcend every problem and every fear and to live a free and peaceful inner life.

     Banquets! An ideal place to work and grow! Said Vernon Howard in a talk, “There’s no such thing as idle time for you — you should always be working.” So though we have lots of fun and food, banquets are not a vacation where you go to be served, but a place to become different and, as Vernon said, to take a vacation from yourself. We show how grateful we are to New Life and Vernon, not by endless talking, but by doing the Work, both inner and outer.

Benefits of Banquets
     Comments which emerged, especially on Sunday as activities were drawing to a close, provided glimpses of the insights and changes that occurred. Regina Netherton said, “When we come we're all mental, but by the last dance we're mostly out of the mental; it’s gone.”
     Banquets are far more than just words, as someone said. Bill Brown mentioned you “can't get this with the intellect.” Speakers provided vital spiritual information to ponder and learn from: we then sought to act on the principles and examples. Judy Parsons mentioned, “Everyone here is a teacher for me.”
     During food preparation early Friday morning, lots of women worked cheerfully and efficiently getting the Italian feast ready for Saturday. Meanwhile men were learning new lessons helping to clean up the New Life property. At work parties, lightness and fun prevailed, as well as relaxing work and great pizza. Bill provided lots of humor with his jokes about our unconscious mistakes while working on the newsletter mailing, such as classifying them as “class A or B felonies.” The lightheartedness helped us to not defend the mistakes but to learn from them.
     In formal entertainment you never know when you'll encounter the emcee with an Italian accent, in a funny hat and bright-colored, striped jacket to introduce witty and talented entertainers right out of the audience. They delighted and amused us by portraying various characters in humorous jokes or sang beautiful songs of old like “My Wonderful One.”
     After Nancy Shade, former opera star, led a sing-along with Lynne of “Brighten the Corner Where You Are,” director Richard Wooldridge later commented what a treat it is to hear Nancy sing, and that she said she had never used a microphone in any of her stage performances. He added the lesson that the art of speaking clearly and projecting the voice, as Nancy does, and which was once practiced in large amphitheaters in Greek and Roman times, has been lost. This is evidenced at banquets and in talks when students will sometimes mumble weakly, even when using a mic! Vernon himself encouraged us to “speak up” when giving a talk or performing in an act.

Awareness of Negativity
     We must go farther than we want to go, a speaker pointed out. So we are pushed and encouraged and inspired to see what we haven't seen before and to do and be something new and different. One speaker gave an example of how “you think you’re aware when you're really asleep,” as when misplacing keys and getting locked out. As the talks continued over three days, a theme emerged that “only awareness of negativity” can move us to change. 1500 Ways to Escape the Human Jungle was quoted, #779: “Remember that the sighting of a new weakness must precede the acquisition of a new strength.” It does no good, as Doug said, to be “a fox-hole Christian who turns to God only when afraid or in a pickle.” It's a full-time job and we can “practice all day long dropping negativity.”
     Banquet Saturday’s talks emphasized dropping dependency on others and doing independent self-work. Like the “puzzled porcupines” in Secrets for Higher Success, we can’t cling together in shared misery. [Vernon once said, “Shared experiences are very low.”] Richard told us how we give other people power to upset and intimidate us: “Don't be bluffed. Let them be mad if they want. Let the other driver be an idiot — it has nothing to do with you…. You think your own depression is real. So you excuse yourself and others with ‘it’s only human.’ Stop it! Get rid of these stupid liberal ideas you have about helping others. No! Help yourself! Let Truth handle it for you and tell you what to do — with ‘a new power of consciousness.’”
     When we make a stand for God and Truth by coming to banquets we are often attacked by our own mind. “Darkness is aware of what’s happening here,” a speaker said and Richard reminded us, “There are evil forces at work that are trying to destroy you. You’re going to have to call the bluff on the darkness. Satan knows where each one of us is the weakest. Truth can free you if you will let it.” We can become smarter than the darkness!
     A letter was read on Sunday by Judy Poston from a student who has visited New Life on several occasions. She said, “Going to banquets has been one of the best experiences I’ve had in my life…. And I would really like to thank you and New Life for making Vernon's materials available and accessible. His material has certainly changed my life and the way I view myself and the world around me; I don't know what I would do had I not come across his publications years ago….”

     Exploration for the three-day weekend of the 2016 July banquet was based on a chapter in Vernon Howard's book The Power of Your Supermind entitled “The Cosmic Wonders Within Yourself,” a tremendous topic for inner study. By plunging into the work and the activities at the banquet, students again felt the awakening of cosmic energies.
     “Do you just want to star in your own zombie movie?” inquired speaker Moe Janosec, to jolt us into awareness Friday evening at the opening of the New Life banquet. He explained how we’ve been lied to about everything and must become aware of what is really happening. Everything in the world is calculated to stop us from finding Higher Truth.
     The metaphor from The Power of Your Supermind [as well as in The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power] about people riding in a train up the spiritual mountain was introduced by Jack Carter. He warned us not to get off the train and settle down to the lower life.
     “Feel your feet on the floor, the seat you are sitting in. Keep your mind where your body is. Start life all over,” directed speaker Paul Wolfe in his talk on Saturday. That little interruption in the mechanical flow of life made room for an increase in consciousness, in something new in the atmosphere. Paul explained how even if another person is negative or screams at you, you can calmly leave it with them and “let it drop to the floor without touching it.”
     Director Richard Wooldridge gave us some very practical yet spiritual advice about communicating with each other. When we are 100% responsible for giving others clear directions, there is no confusion and everyone benefits. He implored us to understand that these teachings must be incorporated into our entire life. We need to begin to view our spiritual efforts as One thing instead of placing life into separate compartments like health, finances, recreation and higher study.
     Richard told us to just see what is there, without interpreting. “With silent receptivity, all things are possible.... The only way is for you to go silent.... It is very valuable to just sit there and do nothing.”
     During the banquet, meals, beverages, desserts or snacks were always available. Banquet dinner offered choices of BBQ beef brisket, pulled pork, chicken and delectable smoked turkey breast, accompanied by a savory cranberry-habanero sauce. A tempting and tasty array of salads, fruits, and desserts completed the menus.
     The Saturday afternoon entertainment with a western theme was a lively mix of dance, song, and comedy, all entertainment provided by New Life students. A sample of the entertainment was “Blue Montana Skies,” a song beautifully harmonized by four singers. It included words most fitting to the theme of the banquet: “Free as the eagle flies in blue Montana skies, with him my spirit soars and will be free.” Duets by Lynne and Kyle included two more light, amusing western tunes with challenging yet well executed yodeling.
     After Saturday's banquet, which included a taste of something else the heart yearns for, another class followed on Sunday morning. We found ourselves in the New Life Pergola, an open mountainside structure situated where nature abounds. There everyone gathered for a final class to expand our understanding and continue our growth. Bill Brown opened that talk by stating, "My topic is LOVE." [Everyone laughed.]  He then explained, "There is no love in you if you are not presently residing in the Kingdom of Heaven.” And he added, "Your traitor mind does not care for you.... Our natural state is to live in natural love, not in frantic seeking…. You’re trying to have a life outside of cosmic law. It doesn’t exist — nothing is separate from it.”
     David Netherton spoke on the section of the Supermind chapter about shocks. He said shocks crack our habitual ways. Quoting Supermind, he said, “But consciousness, awareness is always something new. It is never the mechanical parroting of memorized information.” Lynne Wooldridge talked about our “spilling level” and read some notes from Vernon about how it is necessary to be shocked and insulted in order to grow. Bill said you’ve got a chip on your shoulder a mile wide. Coming to banquets is the perfect opportunity to have that knocked off!
     Other speakers throughout the weekend made comments about how banquets are incredibly beneficial and can show us what is hidden inside. We volunteer to be pushed by self-work to go beyond our usual limits of mind and body. Sherry Day commented that she now loves the banquet dancing, though she used to fear and run away from it. Jeff Fisher added, "You don’t get the full effect of classes and the teachings unless you come to banquets." During informal dancing a spontaneous and hilarious drama occurred in which two fishermen, Jeff and Doug, struggled over an imaginary fishing line, followed by a frantic chase as the fish, Kyle, got away!
     Perhaps Doug expressed best what the banquet was all about with the statement, "There has to be something more to life than getting the things I want and when I get them, they don't make me happy." He later added, "Every time I come to a banquet, it's like a gigantic leap upward." Judy Parsons said, You don’t have to know what you’re doing, just follow instructions.”
     The intensity of the presence of Truth increased as the weekend progressed and everyone left to go back to the noisy world with the resolve to work harder on themselves. But not before another magical meal was enjoyed on tables near a sparkling stream and under massively tall spruce and pine trees. Oh yes, and who can forget the natural delight of feeding little Chipper, the golden-mantled ground squirrel who loves to take an almond from the hand!

     New Life’s May 2016 banquet started Wednesday evening May 11^th with a rousing, inspirational talk by its director Richard Wooldridge, at the group’s meeting location in Pasadena, California. The talk was entitled How to Go from the Mechanical to the Higher.
     “You don’t see how addicted to pain you are,” he told students in the room. “You’re using pain to make you feel alive, and it doesn’t. Pain makes you feel dead.”
     “As shocking as it sounds, the purpose of this world is to try to wreck a human being’s chance to find true and lasting happiness. And because we’re always looking for ways to distract ourselves, we’re helping the world to destroy us. It is our mission not to let this society and this world’s craziness overwhelm us. Everything in this world is trying to ‘dull’ us, to turn us into mechanical beings and to block us out of the spiritual world.”
     Richard recounted a few minutes he spent before class in a garden area near the meeting room. He said he was going over his notes for the talk, and all of a sudden he simply slowed down and began to relax. A little bird was chirping nearby. Close by a man was talking to his daughter. In the distance a soccer game was being played. The point is we’re supposed to slow down and be a receiver.
     Truth wants to help us, to elevate us, so we’re not so completely burdened down with distractions. Our insistence that we have obligations toward everyone and everything takes us away from our true life’s purpose, for as Vernon says on page 125 of Secrets for Higher Success, “The truly spiritual life does not include obligations.” When we’re free of false obligations, we are also free of the feeling that we’re owed something from other people, from this world.
     Richard said, “The only person who can help you is you. The only person who can wake you up is you….  When you put Truth first, last, and always, amazing things are going to happen in your life. It trumps all worldly involvements! Understand these great truths. Go over and over the ideas until you sense their hidden depths.”
     All students were encouraged to write a 300 to 500-word article on Truth Principles at Work, for the www.anewlife.org website’s What’s New page, detailing how Truth and these classes have helped them. “Vernon Howard encouraged us to write,” Richard added. “Write your article, and help put the word out. You can describe how your pain was so bad that something led you here; how you sensed there was something wrong with yourself and the world.”
     On Banquet Saturday, Paul Wolfe, director of New Life’s Southern California classes said, “The Work is about seeing through yourself. If you choose to see just the bad in others, that makes you arrogant. It’s you that you have to see through; it’s me that I have to see through.”
     In his talk, Paul discussed “The Intelligent Seed,” from chapter 4 of Vernon Howard’s book Secrets for Higher Success.  There is a special kind of seed that has cosmic intelligence. It doesn’t put down roots until it reaches friendly and healthy soil. Likewise, we can develop more receptivity to Truth by becoming a cosmic farmer. And where we live rightly, there is no concern as to whether that rightness is attractive or acceptable to others. We can sense that the problem is within, but can go beyond that to sense that the solution is also within.
     Beginning his talk Richard said, “This Work is fantastic. God exists. Something higher exists. We should be thrilled about being here in this room, to be given another opportunity to learn how to make contact.”
     He touched on the fact that we have a lot of wrong ideas about what is valuable in life with the reminder that welcoming the tough stuff is the key to getting out. On MP3 CD Vol. 2, Talk 5, Vernon says, “Are you telling me that you are so retarded in your life that you take this social life, this business life, this family life, this sports life, this religious life — you’re taking that as what you want, and what’s valuable for you? How can you be so dense as to take the earth as the Kingdom of Heaven? How can you be that dense?” But we must also never forget that as long as awareness is there, you are in the presence of Truth. Truth is always trying to come down into the mind and spirit to help us but in order for this to happen we must get out of our own way and go beyond the touchy little self. Someone in class mentioned they used to smoke – Vernon said the reason you smoke is because you’re nervous. Another habit – the habit of thinking – is unfortunately all we presently rely on.
     Saturday’s banquet continued with excellent food, dancing and entertainment. Doug Stewart’s hilarious imitation of Elvis’s “Love Me Tender” brought down the house and Nancy Shade’s rendition of the old favorite “Let the Rest of the World Go By” with its special higher meaning was delivered with perfect pitch and feeling. Dancing all afternoon was enjoyed by all who stayed the course and didn’t hide out from that unique learning experience. Especially having fun was Ken Inouye, who commented, “During dancing, I’m always looking to see how well my legs will hold out!”
     A cooperative spirit prevailed at the banquet. Any initial tension at the beginning melted away as people relaxed and worked together for a higher purpose.
     On Sunday, May 15, Dr. Terry Roach and other speakers discussed How to Truly Live as You Like. Terry said, “Perfectionism means you’re never good enough,” he said. “I used to work on cars and was compelled to polish a car part till it was perfect. People can’t enjoy just playing sports – they have to be perfect at it. We’re all on the great search for happiness, looking in all the wrong places and leaving no stone unturned. We think we need friends, we need accolades, we need other people to tell us we’re great.”
     “The mind is like a salty pond,” added Doug Stewart. “And I keep going to it and drinking from it. I think I can find happiness from this mind, and it’s not going to happen. There is such a thing as refreshing pure water, but it comes from a different place. When I get into trouble of any kind, I can always say, ‘I am stronger than that.’”
     Doug described an incident in which he showed a film he produced to his family. When his sister tried to play it on Apple TV, it wasn’t working, and Doug suggested (perhaps pushing his sister’s buttons a bit) that maybe she didn’t know what she was doing. Her reply — “Just because it doesn’t work doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing!” — brought down the house again. It’s so great to be able to see and laugh at our human foibles!
     Comments about class included heartfelt expressions of gratitude for the teachings. “This class is real,” said Connie Vesely. “You have to take what you hear here and apply it to your life. I’m learning to question everything.”
     “This is the most direct method toward Truth,” said Asa Guillermo. “Everything else out there is watered-down.”

     Would you like to truly change your life? All of the information and energy necessary for that change was present at New Life’s March 2016 Irish banquet. The fun and particularly congenial atmosphere at this banquet provided a unique opportunity to work on ourselves right then and there.
     With an impetus to steer our attention away from its wasted wanderings and toward higher development, Wednesday night’s class speakers talked about a “Power that Sets You Free.” The deeply insightful story was recalled about people in a small town who returned from the big city depressed. One man who investigated discovered that negative voices were being piped into the hotel rooms and were whispering evil messages to them at night while asleep.
     Bill Brown also told us of a Vernon Howard talk [Secret Energy for Inner Change, DVD # 22, talk 3 and Blu-ray # 8, talk 2] that describes how, if we give up our negative use of energy and relax from ourselves, the energy will actually be reversed and can then be used as a powerful tool for higher perception and understanding.
     Powerful talks on Saturday gave further practical advice on insights for change. New Life Director Richard Wooldridge used a personal example to illustrate reversing energy for inner change. Misplacing a case for his glasses, he described how the mind misfires in all directions, such as getting irritated or wanting to blame someone else. So he got practical like a spiritual detective and tracked it back to the source. To solve problems, we must “remove me from the equation; get myself out of the way…. Let Truth show me what to do!”
     Doug Stewart also talked about the study of suffering [see chapter 7 of The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power] and the value of a crisis: “Advancement to higher understanding is always preceded by a crisis.” For example, we can study mental pain by observing phony behavior and the wish for approval from others. David Hearst mentioned that we can’t get in touch with Truth using the lower mind. The spirit must become active and the mental apparatus passive, for as Richard said, “the intellect cannot function from spiritual logic.”
     During the banquet activities, such as preparing and serving the delicious Irish dinner and during rehearsals and cleaning, a cooperative spirit prevailed. Lots of work was accomplished in a short time, while flowing smoothly without chaos. The “easy flow” talked about in Sunday’s class [see Pathways to Perfect Living, chapter 9] actually prevailed in most situations. Of course we could observe where the lower nature likes to get offended if its plan doesn’t win out when lots of other egos are present. But that is the “value of a crisis” which is so powerful at banquets. As was mentioned Sunday by Bill, a big part of us does not want to wake up, so the crises are necessary to shock us awake and to end our self-deception. The banquet atmosphere was light and safe for learning serious life lessons and a genuine effort was made to let Truth, not the false old mechanical nature, be in charge.
     The entertainment portion of the banquet continued our chance for growth and learning, not to mention the enjoyment of some good old-fashioned fun. Formal entertainment opened with a big welcome from an Irish Doug Stewart and the lively and unforgettable tune of “MacNamara’s Band.” Katherine read a humorous parody very expressively about boy and girl potato sweethearts. Ireland is home to the County of Limerick and limerick also means a short rhyming poem, so we heard some lighthearted limericks, as well as many other funny jokes.
     One high point of the entertainment was two beautiful songs about the Emerald Isle sung by Kyle and Lynne in their exquisite blend of pure harmony. Further work in the evening wrapped up the mailing of the new Spring/Summer 2016 Newsletter which will reach many students who want to know more about how to have a “New Life.”
     We were reminded that the New Life website www.anewlife.org has a new feature beginning this month on the What’s New page. Called Truth Principles at Work, this new section of articles will be written by a different New Life student each month, describing valuable lessons they have learned from the Work.
     It is difficult to express what is received at a banquet but one student summed it up this way: “I’m feeling that all unanswered questions about life are offered here if only I will have an authentic affection for what I’m hearing!”

    On Christmas Day 2015, while juniper logs crackled in the fireplaces at Howard Hall, outside a soft snowfall replaced days of rainy weather. There, folks from Colorado to California gathered to enjoy a splendid all-day banquet together with many entertaining and rewarding events.
     A class, based on the wisdom of Vernon Howard, followed a tasty early morning breakfast. "How to Put the Universe on Your Side" was New Life Director Richard Wooldridge's subject. His talk, based on a chapter in Pathways to Perfect Living, provided new insights for experiencing this life for oneself. Richard encouraged everyone to push themselves to do more than they want to do by participating in all of the activities. These are actual directions from Vernon for how to break out of one’s self, including getting free of fear, Richard explained.
     Speaker Paul Wolfe then gave some guidelines for “how to live a supremely happy life.” Paul is now the Director of New Life’s Southern California branch. A few of his comments included, “Let your false self dissolve. Let something higher come in and take over your life.... Something in us has to die in order to reach a higher level of understanding and to be given a New Life." And lastly, Paul said, "We're not who we think we are."
     Connected with Paul saying "We're not who we think we are," pre-class talks included a reminder by Karen West that this world is not our home. "We are visitors to this world," she said. Lynne Wooldridge advised (from her own experience) that “God rewards you for making super-efforts" ... as in doing more than you thought you could at this banquet.
     Vernon Howard taught that everyone is spiritually sound asleep but that it is possible to wake up by obeying spiritual instructions and by putting in long hard work on yourself. And as speaker Moe Janosec put it, "Vernon came to this evil, sick planet to wake people up," which is also the deeper meaning of Christmas.
     In his talk, quoting a passage from Pathways to Perfect Living, Eric Pendleton stated, "Proceed while not knowing. Proceed while being afraid. Something will come in to help you because you can't help yourself."
     As students made efforts to be awake and aware of themselves while working together, a different atmosphere was felt, because messages from a different and higher level were able to reach them.
     There were many ways for attendees to make super-efforts as Richard had encouraged. For example, in the preparation of a Christmas Eve meal consisting of homemade chili and chicken tortilla soup, together with freshly baked cornbread and more. On Christmas morning Katherine Pascal did a lovely job of providing a bright early morning breakfast of quiches and everything one could want to enhance it. Judy Poston and helpers were busy from very early morning, too, creating the perfect turkey dinner with the best ever cranberry sauce. A macaroni and 8-cheese casserole — a special creation of Chef Eric’s — was served in addition to the traditional turkey dinner, so good it was still the topic of conversations a week later.
     Before Christmas day began, the floors in Howard Hall had been scrubbed and polished, parking lots and pathways had been dragged, and firewood was brought in to keep fires brightly burning. At a banquet, much work always goes on behind the scenes because as Vernon taught, truth lies in making the banquets and all New Life activities as efficient and as well-organized as possible. Other classes were held on Wednesday night, and Saturday and Sunday mornings. In Bill Brown's talk, he said that we want to work out our own salvation instead of letting it come to us. Richard worked long and tirelessly in order to have the new and beautiful brochures ready and printed, which he brought with him from Colorado.
     Christmas afternoon all gathered to enjoy the entertainment. Among the acts and skits, Kyle and Lynne sang the beautiful "Oh Holy Night" followed by "All Through the Night," then danced a beautiful "Christmas Ballet." Judith Anderson recited a most appropriate poem, "Winter Chill," at about the time snow started falling again.
     All the efforts made did receive a special reward best described by David Hearst in his closing talk with this statement. "I feel the presence of God here." The next banquet, also in Strawberry, Arizona, will be held on March 12. If you too, want something different than anything this world has to offer, something REAL, keep studying the truth as Vernon Howard gave the world and join us then.

     “Cease to be a problem to yourself, and you’ll cease to be a problem to other people,” said New Life Director Richard Wooldridge, in his talk which launched the 2015 Thanksgiving Day banquet at New Life’s Westminster CA branch.
     Remarking on how some students had driven a long way to attend the banquet, he said, “A great place to work on yourself is on the freeway. Vernon Howard guaranteed that with a right aim, we can be 100-percent alert and aware when driving. When that person cuts you off, watch the irritation jump up and try to take over. Don’t be carried away by the negativity but just stand aside and watch it try to take over your emotions, your internal and external talking and even your physical body.”
     Richard pointed out that when a request is made of you to do a job at New Life, “watch to see if any resistance comes up and just do what you’re asked to do in good cheer.” With this relaxed attitude, you’ll begin to understand that what is asked of you is for your own benefit.
     Richard continued, “Vernon always had my best interests at heart but I didn’t always fully appreciate that. In fact, I was an idiot about Truth but eventually Truth won. What’s that song? I fought the law of cosmic Truth, and the Truth won!  So, catch yourself in complaint and just drop it. Do you know that gratitude can take you all the way out?”
     Paul Wolfe, also speaking on Thanksgiving Day, based his remarks on the Vernon Howard booklet, “Freedom from a Life of Hell.” “This is a life of hell,” Paul said. “We’re not meant to live this way. He declared that “Hell is being conflicted inside. Hell is division but Heaven has no opposite. Truth would say that if you want to be a genuine human being, you must get rid of all your negativity. For true happiness, life doesn’t need to conform to your demands.”
     Paul also reminded us of an incident related in the New Testament in which Christ healed a crazed man with an impure spirit. When Christ asked the man “Who are you?” the man replied “I am Legion, for we are many.” We have a number of selves inside of us and the purpose of life here on earth is to become a whole and integrated man or woman. “There’s more wrong with us than we think there is. But it’s not beyond repair. We can get out.”
     Students’ comments started off by David Hearst telling the class, “Today is the one day when turkeys get to eat turkey!”
     Tom Geiger brought up a freeing principle if we’ll take it to heart. “Don’t be psychologically connected or identified with anybody. That includes family members, friends. Something different will happen in your relationships and you’ll suffer a lot less if you do this.”
     After the break Richard commented, “Be aware of everything. Be aware that impatience is hell, irritation is hell. Fear, being afraid, is hell. Truth will come in when there’s less of you. The less there is of you, the more excited you’ll get about this.”
     He also reminded the group: “If you make a mistake, you can start life all over again. For the rest of today, here are two exercises: Don’t defend yourself, and know you’re sitting in your chair.”
     The talks reminded Lynne Wooldridge of a story Vernon once told in which he said, “The New Life train will never be stopped.” She continued the theme by remarking that “The train has endured saboteurs for a long time but has kept Vernon Howard’s pure message of Truth going out to humanity. The Spirit of Truth can never be blocked or stopped.”
     Talks were followed by a delicious turkey dinner with all the fixin’s. Then the day’s entertainment began with rousing versions of “Home on the Range” and “Red River Valley,” sung by a talented trio. The skits and jokes were funnier than ever and the emcee did a masterful job of creating a light and fun atmosphere in which everyone could relax and enjoy themselves. In the grand finale, the New Life Parisian Pretties performed an especially excellent and graceful dance.
     One student mentioned that he regularly reads the books and listens to the talks but that the banquet experience adds an extra dimension which he feels is invaluable for growth. So join us for more enlightenment and lighthearted fun at New Life’s Christmas Banquet in Strawberry, Arizona.

     Basic and vital principles of truth emerged in the powerful talks at the New Life Banquet in Strawberry, Arizona this September week, as well as numerous opportunities to practice using them by receptive students.

Truth Principles in Talks
     Victory over Harmful Forces, a series of talks given by Vernon Howard, provided a guiding light for Wednesday night’s talks. Bill Brown introduced the concept of time in contrast to the principle Now is new: “The Devil’s pitchfork is in time. He can’t get into now.” To break the spell of what wants to possess and destroy us, Dave Netherton brought us into the present moment to listen to the loud chorus of chirping crickets outside.
     New Life Director Richard Wooldridge emphasized in his talk how we must go beyond the mind to the heart or essence. Our mind and the self can’t provide the answer; we must turn to God. Why would we believe that our minds, which drive us crazy with wild, negative thoughts, have the ability to lead us to spiritual sanity? We must also slow down the mind in order to glimpse what has been running our lives so frantically.
     More truth principles were given on Sunday when the section called “Heavenly Bread” from The Power of Esoterics was used by speakers. The baker or truth tells us exactly how to make bread but we don’t follow the recipe, or the instructions of truth. Instead we put in our own ingredients, like wrong thinking, because we think we know better than God. Moderator Paul Wolfe pointed out several “recipes for a happy life” from different Vernon Howard books, for instance the “four golden keys” in The Mystic Path to Cosmic Power (see Chapter 8).

Dining, Dancing and Entertainment
     This banquet’s dinner tables held outstanding Italian dishes of spaghetti and sauces, lasagna, beautiful green salad and bright deep red, garden fresh tomatoes. Dining was accompanied by soft, light music. Abundant and delicious pies, puddings and cakes filled the dessert table all day. Charming waltzes, lively polkas and funny songs imparted an easy-going background for informal dancing. That dancing is a good example of the chance to go against the harmful voice which screams “I can’t do that” — and you say “No!” to it and it turns out you can do it and even enjoy it.
     The formal entertainment accentuated harmonious and old-fashioned songs, like “In the Shade of the Old Apple Tree,” “Red Red Robin” and “Country Roads,” and was concluded by an excellent, graceful dance by the New Life Parisian Pretties. We were fortunate to have piano accompaniment for our sing-along of “Brighten the Corner Where you Are.” And it was most instructive in the skits and jokes that the person who got the most laughs never said a word but had a bucket over his head.

Comments of Gratitude
     At breakfast Sunday a student said, “I wish banquets were longer. There is so much to see and learn.” Another commented that when you put 30 or 40 people in a room talking and working together, there will be much that’s new to encounter and stir us up. “It’s a chance for us to grow up and be adults,” David Hearst said.
     And a chance to give up our personal life in order to find new life. Or as Richard put it, “Be willing to see thru your pretensions that you have a practical purpose in life, in order to find your real purpose.” The highly energetic atmosphere of the banquet coming down from heaven increased our opportunity to do just that.