NORTHWEST FOUNDATION FOR A COURSE IN MIRACLES
Kingston, Washington
Paul
Norman Tuttle
Executive
Director
P.O.
Box 1490
Kingston,
WA 98346-1490
USA
PHONE:
360-297-4877
24HR.
FAX: 360-297-7222
COMPUSERVE
ID# 72172,334
Dear
friends,
To
everyone who contributed toward the new tape-copying equipment, a belated but
wholehearted thank you! It has been purchased and the great number of requests
for audio tapes is beginning to be filled. The capacity to easily meet the
increasing requests for tapes with this equipment is a great source of relief
and joy in the office. Again, thank you!
There
is, however, still a great need—notfor a one-time increase of financial
support, but for a broader ongoing, consistent expression of giving. And when I
say "broader," I mean the fuller participation of everyone on the mailing list—not just a
few.
Let
me be perfectly clear: I am not
addressing those experiencing an inability to contribute, but those who can and
are not; those who want to but, not realizing how much it is needed, neglect to
follow through; or those who think the Gift can be made with no visible means
of support—without giving.
Paul
and his wife, together with Judy, constantly "live on the edge," as
it were, not always knowing whether they will receive a salary in full, in
part, or at all. And still, with and without my encouragement, they persist in
making the gift—filling requests for materials and holding Gatherings with
willingness and joy.
Contributions
have diminished over the past year to the point where expenses exceed them.
Long distance service on one phone line has been suspended. There are overdue
bills. There was a great delay in sharing the good news with everyone about the
purchase of the tape-copying equipment (for lack of postage), and a loan had to
be made this past week to cover the rent and payroll taxes. I cannot allow
Paul, Susan and Judy to willingly continue without speaking up.
You
see, it is not up to Paul to figure out how to give more for less. He has
assumed that it is his lack of clarity, which accounts for the inequity. At
times, he has even questioned my intelligence in insisting that everything we
do together be done as a gift, because "obviously it doesn't work!"
But, I will reaffirm: There is a vast difference between "paying to
get" and "paying to give." The experience of the difference is my gift to you by refusing to
employ the former. And the transfer value of the learning involved, here, will
be transformational.
I
will give you a little exercise to practice: Every time you buy something,
consider the fact that you are making a gift
instead of a purchase. Then contemplate just who the receiver of the gift is (and there will usually be many). And then
consider the meaning your gift has
for the recipients. Last, but not least, notice how you're feeling!
It's
not the business firm that benefits—the grocery store, the gas station, the
department store. It's the people—the
clerks, the managers, the woman or man who owns the building the business is
in, the people in the accounting firm who handle the business' books, all of
their families, and on and on. How many real
people—as opposed to "Shell Oil" or "Safeway" or
"Macy's"—are directly affected by even a measly fifty-cent purchase
made by you? In the presence and employment of this attitude of Gift, it will
be difficult to feel alone and useless. More
than that, it will be difficult not to feel Whole!
Someone
recently sent in a $4 contribution toward the tape-copying equipment. She
asked, “Could you tell me what the Northwest Foundation for A Course in
Miracles is?” Well, it's three real people who, to the best of their ability,
listen for the Voice for Truth and extend It—each in his or her own way. And
it's you, the real person who finds
the gift valuable in support of your Awakening
to the Voice within you. And it's everyone, together, not becoming so
ungrounded that they forget that in the absence of having to "pay to
get" they cannot forget to "pay to give." And that this is divine economics!
There
are some who, hearing of this letter, will say, "Did you hear? The
Foundation is having difficulty." Well, there ain't no such critter as
"the Foundation" to have difficulty. But there is you and everyone
else on the mailing list having difficulty receiving tapes, update letters, acknowledgments
of contributions, more frequent newsletters and, perhaps, a Gathering in your
area. And there is Paul, Susan and Judy who are having difficulty doing what
they love, which everyone is waiting for and wanting them to do.
I
am going to ask everyone who is able, but has not been standing in active
support of the gifts extended to them, to make a commitment of $20 a month—a
pledge to everyone on the mailing list. Such
a pledge, if received from everyone, would far exceed what is needed. And if,
indeed, an excess is received, I will be the first to inform everyone that less
is needed.
This
is how radical idealism is translated into practical realism!
Rajpur
Kingston, Washington
May 18, 1997