What’s New

Vernon Howard eTalks
     There are 14 new eTalks available. All the newest digital downloads are the last 14 on the eTalks page. There are now a total of 105 Vernon Howard titled talks available for digital download at a fantastic price. These talks were specifically chosen by Vernon Howard from his lectures. They are the best of the best, containing beautiful higher truths and covering a wide variety of inner life topics. Order     (Last updated November 1, 2018)

Take Charge of Life!

     Here is a new and exciting ongoing series of articles written by New Life Students who have been attending classes for a number of years. They have experienced the benefits of coming to class on a regular basis for themselves. Life throws challenges at us all the time so why not learn to deal with them consciously and effectively. Read and enjoy these helpful and insightful essays which will cover a wide variety of life topics.

You Are Not at the Mercy of Life by Ann Pendleton
     What is my favorite New Life exercise? I thought long and hard about this. There are so many different ones that I’ve used and benefitted from over the years. No matter what I’m going through, there is a ‘Work’ exercise, which if used correctly can free me from any situation life offers.
     When I was younger, I could not wait to grow up so I could be free of the perceived restrictions and people in my life. Over the years, I often heard stories from various friends about their wonderful childhood, how free and easy life seemed to be when they were young. I can tell you, this was not my experience. For as long as I can remember, I had this deep feeling inside that I wanted to be free.
     When I became an adult, I found that I was still under a lot of influences from the world, perhaps not as restrictive as when I was a child, but still there. I felt helpless about this and tried to accept that this was the way life operated on this planet. I told myself that there wasn’t anything I could do and I just had to make the best of it. However, deep down inside, this answer never felt right, it felt more like a platitude.
     When I found Vernon Howard he told us that no matter the situation, you are not at the mercy of life; you are at the mercy of yourself! Well, that put everything right back in my court. No throwing blame out there because I was the problem. Let me tell you, I argued vehemently with this idea in my mind for a long time.
     Eventually, after working with this principle, I could accept that, yes, many things probably could be my fault, but still, weren’t there certain exceptions – what about this situation or that circumstance? What about that particular event? But Vernon made it clear that there are no exceptions because here is what is so wondrous about this truth — it is my reaction to the event that causes the pain, not the event itself. “Resistance to the disturbance is the disturbance.”
     I have a person in my life whom I must deal with on a frequent basis. This person often oppresses people who work for them in order to have a feeling of control over their own life. Even though I knew this intellectually, I often found myself getting angry whenever they made unreasonable demands. One day, I realized getting upset was my reaction. The idea that the other person could make me angry was completely false. They had nothing to do with it. I made the choice to get angry. When really seeing this for the first time, I cannot tell you the freedom I felt — it was like soaring above my usual pained and painful self.
     This principle connects with all the other principles taught by Vernon Howard. When you work with these ideas, they become realities. They become yours to keep and to benefit from in daily life.