A universal assembly for true discernment
You are cordially invited to Awakening Together’s Third Quarter Member Meeting, which will be held in the Sanctuary on Sunday, September 13 at 8pm ET.
The agenda for this member meeting includes:
~ Update regarding our application for church status
~ Changes on the Member Board of Trustees
~ Full Disclosure – Financial Status Review
~ And more …
All members are invited to bring questions and feedback to the member meeting.
We hope to see you there!
Sincerely,
The Member Board of Trustees
Dearest Members,
Thank you very much for responding to our request to write letters to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regarding your experience with Awakening Together. We have forwarded 43 heartfelt letters from members along with several other documents in order to express to the IRS that we are, indeed, a strong and close like-minded spiritual community who deserves to be recognized as a church.
If you would like to learn more about our application for church status, please join us in the Sanctuary for our quarterly Member Meeting on Sunday, September 13 at 8pm ET.
With great love and in gratitude,
Regina Dawn Akers
Join Regina Dawn Akers in the Awakening Together Sanctuary for Satsang with Ram Das Batchelder at 8pm ET on Sunday.
Ram Das Batchelder was born in Pennsylvania in 1961, had a spiritual awakening in his early twenties, and has spent most of the last 25 years in India as a devotee of Amma, the “hugging Saint.” He has written four children’s books, which have been translated into several European languages, and also a novel in rhyming verse, three full-length plays, and 40 original songs. In 2012, he and his wife, Tarini Ma, wrote and co-taught a university course on Hinduism in Venezuela. He has given numerous talks and workshops about various aspects of spirituality in many locations around the world. He and his wife are currently offering 5-star tours of the sacred cities of India, to both Spanish and English-speaking groups.
“Rising in Love: My Wild and Crazy Ride to Here and Now, with Amma, the Hugging Saint
Website: rising-inlove.org
(Rising in Love’s publication was directly approved by Amma, and contains 22 photos of her. All royalties from the sale of Rising in Love are being donated to Amma’s orphanage in Kerala, India, which houses 500 children and consistently turns out some of the most successful high school graduates in the state, one-third of whom go on to earn college degrees.)
Dear Awakening Together Members,
As you know, Awakening Together has applied for church status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and is currently under review. In the past, another internet organization applied for church status and their request was denied. Their court case is a well-known court case, The Foundation of Human Understanding vs. United States.
In that court case, The Foundation of Human Understanding was turned down for church status because their organization operated as an internet radio broadcast. The court determined that there was no evidence that the listeners of their broadcast had a shared or communal worship experience.
In order to receive church status, we must show that our members associate with each other regularly and participate in shared, communal worship. We feel that our Sanctuary allows association and shared, communal worship because of the interactivity provided through PalTalk.
Here’s How You Can Help
We are now on a short-deadline to respond to an IRS Request for Information. In that response, we need to show whether our members feel that they do or do not associate with one another on a regular basis and whether they feel they do or do not have a shared, communal worship experience through Awakening Together.
Please send an email addressed to the Internal Revenue Service describing your genuine experience with Awakening Together. Do you experience association and shared, communal worship with other members? How long have you been coming into the Sanctuary? Why do you come into the Sanctuary? Is there something about Awakening Together that makes it your church of choice? Describe your experience.
Your email must include your full name, telephone number and mailing address so that the IRS may contact you if they choose to. (Note: The IRS will not respond via email.)
We must receive your email by Saturday, August 15.
You may send the email to [email protected] or send it via Contact.
Thank you very much for your assistance.
Sincerely,
Regina Dawn Akers, Jacquelyn Eckert & Barbara Deurwaarder
Tony Samara was our guest last month for Awakening Together Satsang. However, the interview was cut off early due to a lost connection, so Tony is returning this month for another Satsang interview with Regina.
This month’s interview will cover topics including:
Please join us in the Awakening Together Sanctuary this Sunday evening, July 19, from 8-9:30pm ET for Satsang interview with Tony Samara.
If you would like to hear last month’s interview, click here.
The Awakening Together Member Board of Trustees Election ended on midnight Monday night, July 6. I have the results of the voting. The voting was very, very close. In most cases, only one vote separated one nominee from the other. More than 10% of members voted. The total spread of votes between the nominee receiving the most votes to the nominee receiving the least votes was only 7 votes difference. Since there were five nominees, this difference shows an extremely close election. I am not surprised at how close the voting was, because each of the nominees would be an excellent Trustee.
Let me share a paragraph from our Bylaws with you regarding Member Board Elections:
“Ballots will be sent at least thirty days prior to the regular or special election meeting. The Awakening Together Assembly shall provide a forum for candidates who wish to address the membership regarding their qualifications for office. Details regarding the time, place and manner of such forum shall be provided with the ballot. Each member shall cast one vote per candidate, and may vote for as many candidates as the number of candidates to be elected to the board and return the ballot via electronic mail to the Secretary. Voting shall close fourteen days prior to the regular or special election meeting. The candidate receiving the highest number of votes up to the number of Trustees to be elected shall be eligible to serve on the board. Results of the election shall be published to the current Member Board at the election meeting and provided to the membership immediately thereafter.”
According to our bylaws, the vote becomes official at an election meeting that is held two weeks after the close of the vote. That meeting will be held on Monday, July 20. Immediately after that meeting, I will be able to notify you of the results of the vote.
Thank you very much for participating by voting.
With great love and appreciation,
Regina
Join us in the Awakening Together Sanctuary this Sunday, June 21, at 8pm ET for our monthly Awakening Together Satsang. This Sunday’s Satsang guest is Tony Samara.
Tony Samara was born in England. He grew up in Egypt, England, and Norway, where he discovered the “Zen Buddhist philosophy”. This discovery eventually led him to the Mount Baldy Zen Center in California where he learned the spiritual teachings of Kyozan Joshu Sasaki. He had curiosity to explore further the essence of spirituality and thus went to live and learn with shamanic communities around the globe. By going on pilgrimage to various sacred sites in India, Tony was able to dwell deeply upon the ancient Vedic and Jain philosophies and work profoundly with the essence of these teachings.
At the age of 27 he experienced a dramatic moment of enlightenment.
Now people from all over the world visit Tony Samara to take spiritual guidance and experience being in his presence.
Tony Samara believes that “the vast majority of people go through life without directly experiencing the depths of their true self, or understanding their connection to life, or their relationship to others and to the world at large. We are often taught to only relate to the world through our senses. We think, we reason, we feel – but we do not know from our hearts what it means to be connected to what is beyond the senses.”
He recognizes that direct experiences have the potential to radically transform an individual and his or her life, as well as promote a profound and effortless letting go of past emotional, mental and physical pain and suffering. Verbal dialogue is not the essence of his teachings, but he explains in a direct and simple way that everyone can understand how each individual can practically integrate greater acceptance, peace and joy into their daily lives.
Tony Samara teaches with humour, humility and with infinite patience, empowering the individual with courage, trust and inner strength to continue on this journey back into wholeness, a path that leads towards real freedom. He is the author of a number of books including ‘Shaman’s Wisdom,’ ‘The Simplicity of Love Meditation,’ ‘Different Yet the Same,’ ‘Karma, Mantra and Beyond’ and ‘Discover Your Inner Buddha’.
To all Awakening Together members:
We are now in the process of nominating members for Awakening Together’s second annual election! This summer we will elect three members to the Member Board of Trustees.
Have you nominated anyone yet?
Before a member can be placed on the ballot, they must be nominated by 10% of the membership or by the Member Board of Trustees. Right now we are halfway through the nomination process.
Once you look over the current list of nominees, consider adding yourself or someone else to the list of nominees or consider supporting a current nominee to help ensure he/she gets placed on the ballot.
Who can be nominated to the Board of Trustees?
This year a member must be a charter member of Awakening Together in order to be nominated for the Board of Trustees. Charter members are people who joined Awakening Together by October 21, 2013.
How do you nominate or show support for someone?
You may nominate yourself, someone else or show support for a current nominee by sending an email to [email protected] by June 8, 2015.
Remember — If you don’t have a specific idea regarding who you’d like to nominate, it is just as helpful to show support for a current nominee since nominees need 10% of the members to support their nomination before they are placed on the ballot.
How many people can I nominate or support?
Each member may nominate or support up to three nominees since there are three seats available to be filled on the Member Board of Trustees.
For example, if you nominate one person you can support two others. Or if you nominate two people, you can support one additional person. If you don’t nominate anyone, you can show support for three different members who have already been nominated.
Again, to nominate someone or to show support for a current nominee, send an email to: [email protected] by June 8, 2015.
Sincerely,
The Member Board of Trustees
