Neelam's Invitation into Seva

January, 2011
Total play time: 8 minutes, 35 seconds.

Group Facilitation: Our Volunteers

In some of the longer programs with Neelam, there are scheduled evenings where everyone meets with a Program Facilitator who guides and supports the group in sharing and questions. We are pleased to introduce you to the following Program Facilitators.

Lee Byrd

I was lost for a long long time. I used to joke with family and friends, bragging that I had read every self-help book imaginable and still was as lost as ever! (read more, below)

Nina Gogenola

My husband Joseph and I will celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary this year. We have raised one son who is now a young adult. We have lived in Western Colorado since 1993. It is here also that we met Neelam in 2004. (read more, below)

Jacque Jeffreys

I came to Neelam in the Spring of 2005 with an urgent need to understand my purpose in being here. Everywhere I had searched up to that point had, eventually, left me empty. I wanted and needed a Truth that would be limitless. (read more, below)

Kathy Ziola

I have been a student of Neelam's for the last seven years participating in Satsangs, retreats, and long programs. This has been a profound experience of unwinding my past and unraveling the sense of not being okay that was buried deep within. (read more, below)

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Lee Byrd

I was lost for a long long time. I used to joke with family and friends, bragging that I had read every self-help book imaginable and still was as lost as ever! Craig (my husband, best friend and mentor) kept assuring me that if I just kept taking the steps forward a teacher would appear. Then one day someone urged me to go to Satsang with Neelam - I believe that was back in 2002. I had no idea who Neelam was or what she was saying then but there was an air of hope, a whispered promise of peace...it was as if my path had finally been illuminated.

After Satsang an announcement was made asking for "temporary" office help. I raised my hand and a week later I was hired. I had no clue what I was doing! Oh, I knew how to answer a phone, how to file and how to use a computer. But I had no idea, no awareness of this teaching. It was a job and Neelam was kind and compassionate. I felt then as I do now - very very fortunate!

Over these years I have learned to sit quietly and to simply allow the arisings. I have learned tender acceptance of self and of life as well as a growing understanding of who I really am. I have cultivated the skill of Inquiry, which has become a powerful tool, one that I use countless times a day to sort out life's misunderstandings.

Life happens. At every moment we have an opportunity to either give space to what is here or to fall prey to it. In choosing the latter, I create my own suffering and confusion. My work, my desire is to choose over and over again, the spaciousness of Presence.

My dedication is my loving gift back to this teacher that literally saved my life. Her devotion to her teachers and to the teaching, her constant vigilance in nudging me to know Truth and to rest in Presence, this opened my world, giving me the capacity and strength to simply be here every moment of every day. For this I am eternally grateful!

Nina Gogenola

My husband Joseph and I will celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary this year. We have raised one son who is now a young adult. We have lived in Western Colorado since 1993. It is here also that we met Neelam in 2004. We have all enjoyed Satsang with Neelam over the years.

My career has been varied, mainly working in business, but also with preschool children and in the healing arts. Recently I began work as a Hospice Chaplain. This, of all the jobs I have had, complements the path I am on with Neelam.

I began volunteering for Fire of Truth on the first retreat I attended. I worked for FoTS at our old Paonia office in 2006 with Lee. When Neelam developed her tele-conference format, a group of us formed a coalition to support this new programming. And I continue to volunteer.

Neelam teaches "Presence is our Nature" and points me to a direct experience of this truth. Through commitment to and practice of self-inquiry, deep listening and silence, the realization of my True Nature continues to deepen. My devotion to listening to the resonance of my heart compels me to be of service in this lineage.

Jacque Jeffreys

I came to Neelam in the Spring of 2005 with an urgent need to understand my purpose in being here. Everywhere I had searched up to that point had, eventually, left me empty. I wanted and needed a Truth that would be limitless. Sitting with Neelam, simply stated, is meeting that need for understanding and fulfillment for me. I have been utterly humbled in gratitude to Neelam, to her teacher, Papaji and to Ramana. Almost from the beginning, I understood that I wanted to help Neelam in whatever way I would be asked to do that. Through that helping, my own learning and healing are evolving. I began with very simple tasks and over time, there has just been a natural movement toward more involvement.

Some years into my sitting with Neelam in Satsang, I was absolutely driven to attend a weekend Satsang with her. Beyond that, I understood nothing of the confusion and stirrings that were happening inside me. I had a question to ask her. As she answered it, my world shifted forever. I do not know how it happened. I know there is nothing I could have done to have deserved it; it seemed to me to be an instantaneous shift where one moment I was questioning the Nature of Presence and the next moment, I understood that I was Presence. Time stopped. My mind quieted to a spatial silence. Since that time, I have been slowly growing in awareness of everything as my True Nature. My gratitude for this shift is beyond my own understanding.

Almost two years ago, Neelam trained four of us to prepare us to do deep listening, to facilitate groups, and to be a support to others in their quest for Truth through inquiry. This brings challenge and satisfaction; growth and reward.

I live in Western Colorado in the small town of Paonia with my partner, Steve. I have a private practice as a psychotherapist and teacher.

I love the creative process and am drawn to avenues which support this expression like cooking, art, caring for my home and gardens, friendships, and adoration of the Beingness of life and nature going on around us every moment of every day.

Kathy Ziola

I have been a student of Neelam's for the last seven years participating in Satsangs, retreats, and long programs. This has been a profound experience of unwinding my past and unraveling the sense of not being okay that was buried deep within. I traveled to India to be with Neelam in 2005. That experience was particularly powerful for me. With Neelam's support I faced my deepest fears and opened to Presence and the lineage of teachers in a way that changed me forever, all which I am still integrating. The experiences over the years of really coming to rest in Truth continue to nourish me and bring me over and over back to Presence.

I have been so happy to support Neelam's work in the past, by organizing local events. It is now my privilege and joy to begin assisting in program development and facilitation. I look forward to the opportunity to support you as you join in the Sangha with us.

I live in Grand Junction, Colorado. I am on my own and raising two teenage daughters. This is a great joy to me and a great challenge. The practice of inquiry and trusting Presence along with my practice in Compassionate Communication support me in staying more connected, authentic and loving as a parent than I could ever be without these things. I love hanging out with my kids, swimming, dancing and playing tennis.

I am a psychotherapist practicing privately, and a Certified Trainer in Compassionate Communication with the international network, The Center for Nonviolent Communication. I am also enjoying the adventure of owning a wellness center with eleven other people where we teach a variety of modalities to support body, mind and spirit.