Who we are... In the beginning...
We have found, in our singular commitment to the extraordinary gift of A Course in Miracles, a deep desire to join with Jesus in bringing these teachings and the imperative for experience to the world. In the recognition of the great need the Course addresses, namely to accept the Atonement for ourselves through “true forgiveness”, and to awaken the living awareness of Christ as our eternal Self, a decision was made, in 2013, to formalize this desire and to set up a non-profit association, the ‘Illuminate Mind-training Project’.
Our passion and certainty evolved as a natural and genuine urge to share the teachings. Our personal experiences of healing and the growing appreciation for the depth of the teachings, the light of God’s growing presence in our minds and the consummate joy of joining in the process, healing and awakening with those we came into contact with has been the basis for moving forward. We worked to grow the association and establish it as a recognized Charity with the Charities Commission in the UK (England & Wales) in 2018 (the first time the Charities Commission have given recognition of A Course in Miracles as the basis for a bona fide religious charitable organization).
“All religion is the recognition that the irreconcilable cannot be reconciled. Sickness and perfection are irreconcilable. If God created you perfect, you are perfect.”
T.10.IV.1
We stand together in purpose “not of our own making”, with open hands, hearts and minds, to join with all those who are seeking a way out of the dark dream of separation, with its manifold troubles and sufferings. We stand with Christ Jesus, resurrected man, in offering to every mind, a singular, contemporary and revolutionary spiritual foundation for the undoing of the illusion of ego-self and the restoration of that changeless Self, a true and immortal identity we share; the illuminate mind which is One in Christ, the only (non-dual) living Son of God.
Those listed here are the ones who have assumed responsibility for the mission purpose and objects and are most actively working to sustain and develop the Foundation’s aspirations. However, “Salvation is a collaborative venture.” – (Text.4.VI.8) – These words could not be more clearly demonstrated, for without the support of a wider association of individuals helping and connected in so many ways, the activities of the Foundation could not take place or continue forward.
The trustees
Simon Christopher
Chair/Director
Simon (formerly and also known as Tim) has been involved with healing for more than 40 years after understanding the great need for healing within himself and reflected in the world. By the Grace of God, experiences of true forgiveness, healing and direct understanding brought him into the great peace of God, “the Peace that passeth understanding”. The natural continuation of his profound, personal experiences with A Course in Miracles, compelled him to open the UK’s first centre for A Course in Miracles in London in 1987, ‘The Centre for Healing Through Forgiveness’. Simon’s dedication to working with the Course, led him into the company of Master Teacher, a living demonstration of Christ and a very direct learning situation for which there is no substitute. On return from the US he founded the Illuminate Mind Foundation, where his work with A Course in Miracles and as an international teacher and healer continues.
“It is my profound gratitude for all that has been afforded me in the experiences of healing, awakening and revelation, that compel me to travel and heal and teach in the name of Christ. It is clear to me that this Course in Miracles really offers so much more than is generally realized or accepted. Jesus has said “There is much to do and we have been long delayed.” (T.15.XI.10) as it is yet to be fully understood for the immeasurable gift it offers in the restoration of power and glory and the joyful realization of the mind of Christ.”
“What God created one must recognize its oneness, and rejoice that what illusions seemed to separate is one forever in the Mind of God.”
Song of Prayer – I.in.2
Barbara (Lambie) Matarrese
Treasurer / Creative Communications Director
Barbara is one of the founders of the Illuminate Mind Foundation. Her practice of A Course in Miracles began in 1985 when the Course was first published in the UK.
“Since childhood I had been searching for a solution to my deep existential questioning, hoping to be relieved of the painful experience of what I saw as being in a world with no meaning.”
The answer was found when, following a spontaneous mystical experience, a spontaneous experience of the divine that would radically transform her being, Barbara discovered A Course in Miracles. These two events were ultimatelly one to her; the recognition that Truth had come to her both through direct experience and in the form of A Course in Miracles.
Since then Barbara has been committed and dedicated to the practice and teaching of the Course. Her life has become the practice, the expression and the extension of the Truth that humanity is seeking; the remembering of our Self and of God our Father.
She serves the Foundation as treasurer and creative communications director, and in any other way that is needed. As a visual artist Barbara also leads events in which the Course’s ideas can be experienced with new and creative methods of self-exploration and realization.
“God is my life. I have no life but His.” Lesson 223
Holly Rose Thomas
Secretary
Holly is a founding member of the Foundation and an active student and teacher of A Course in Miracles. In addition to the essential service she performs as Secretary, she co-ordinates a twice-weekly Course group which has been running consistently for a number of years. Holly has discovered, very happily, that as a singer/songwriter and guitarist her music can be used by the Holy Spirit to extend the light, joy and certainty she has found in her God-appointed function to be the ‘the light of the world’.
“I have come to recognise the only genuine everlasting joy possible in this world is through service to That which is beyond it. Through the dedication of the brothers and teachers associated with the Foundation I have come to understand my own value and trust my own commitment to the one function and the one goal that we share. I have been offered constant support and guidance in the practice and process of A Course in Miracles, a consistent demonstration of the Course, and complete unconditional help and love. I am incredibly grateful to join with those who have given their lives to accepting and extending the certainty of a true identity in the resurrected mind of Christ.”
“Alone [the Teachers of God] are nothing. But in their joining lies the power of God.” (M-26)
Deb Frankiewicz
Administrator
Deb is a passionate student and teacher of A Course in Miracles who demonstrates the truth and the certainty the experience of miracles has taught her. She enjoys communicating her love of the Course and her own expression of the truth through singing, song-writing and playing guitar. She also works with children in environmental education which helps her to remember that everyone is a beautiful, innocent Child of God.
“Through my own healing and transformative experiences, I am discovering the great joy and peace of God and the release from the world that the Course offers. The Course has now become my life, in the One life I share with Him, and it brings me so much happiness to share my love of the Course in my role as Administrator and as a trustee for the Foundation. My only purpose is to give of myself in complete service to God through this conduit of awakening under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and supporting my brothers through the light of true forgiveness.”