Just One Look Forum Archives

Why you should consider donating money to Just One Look

I have never been much of a follower. Over all the years, I have been involved in various teachings, with various teachers, methods, and traditions, I have never seriously considered giving money.

When I look at it now, what I see is that this was just another aspect of the context of fear that pervaded my life. I did not trust that anyone or any organization was ethical and that my money would actually go to those who needed it, or be used for the purpose I intended to support.

After coming into contact with John and Carla Sherman and taking on doing the looking, I experienced profound gratitude for the work that they were doing with me and all the other people involved in the ongoing meetings and the community forum on their website, but I still did not want to give money. I am not well to do. I have a comfortable lifestyle, but I am not sitting on any money, and live within a limited cash flow.

It was after getting to know John and Carla, and especially after participating in the online forum, that it struck me that my relationship with John and Carla, the community involved in this work, and the actual value I was getting from it all was being carried by John and Carla, and a few other people who were paying the bills involved in keeping this work going. Trust was no longer an issue, and John and Carla were constantly offering to share the details of the income and expenses involved in running the non-profit.

At first, I gave a lump sum on a few occasions when John reported that they were nearing broke. As time went on, and I got more involved in assisting in the development of the organization and the Just One Look Project, it appeared to me that without a consistent source of funding the future of this work was a crap shoot. I suggested that John and Carla make use of the some of the strategies that I saw being utilized by other non-profits which involved selling subscriptions to series of teaching meetings, and charging for all books, CDs, and other products.

John took a very clear stand that what we had to offer should not be sold. He insisted that the opportunity to live free of fear belongs to all of humanity and that to charge money for it would turn it into something else. He asserted that as time moved forward, we would discover together new ways to make the work sustainable, and that we needed to maintain a simple, clean message that anyone could hear, if we were to be an authentic expression of the desire to bring sanity to the world.

John asserted that he could see clearly that it was the growing community of people who were participating in the forum that would become the caretakers of this revolutionary breakthrough act that is the simple key to living a natural life.

I realized that, if everyone who participated in the meetings, the forums, or just took on the act of looking would contribute just one dollar a day, the base funding needed to keep the bills paid would be covered, leaving John and Carla free to continue the work to which they have dedicated their life. I suggested at the time that a request be made, on the website and in the meetings, that people make this small commitment. John was willing to put a note about it on the website and mention it in some of the meetings, but he has continued to be very sensitive about how people are approached regarding the need for money. He told me he is working on a way to talk about money that will encourage those who can contribute to do so, while making it clear to all that he will never require payment from anyone for access to this work, even if it means that the entire effort fails for want of money.

I have now made a commitment of an ongoing monthly automatic contribution because I believe this is the way we can insure that this gateway to freedom from fear continues to be available to everyone. To me, one dollar a day is not much at all, considering the difference that looking at myself and the support from John and Carla have made in my life.

John and Carla Sherman work for you and me. I know firsthand that they put in countless hours to continue to develop the conversation and manage the growing channels of communication necessary to bring this message to as many people as possible. I have come to love them dearly over the past years and absolutely trust their dedication to bringing sanity to the world.

I humbly request that you take a moment to consider the value you have gotten from coming into contact with the suggestion to look at yourself and the freedom from fear that follows. Until I took this simple suggestion, the experience of a natural, satisfying life was elusive. Now, it is my life.

I suggest that you make a commitment to a contribution of just one dollar a day that is automatically transferred each month, so that the experience that we are all in this together is expressed in action.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my comments and suggestion.

Dr. David Parrish,

Just One Look Organizing Committee