Joseph Sieber Benner (January 3, 1872 - September 24, 1938) was an American author, New Thought writer and Representative of the Brotherhood of Christ who used the pen name Anonymous. He was the first to introduce the Knowledge and Teachings of Impersonal Life (also known as the I AM Teaching) to the world in his first book, The Impersonal Life published in 1914. His other works were The Way Out, The Way Beyond, Wealth, Teacher, Brotherhood, The Way to the Kingdom, Papers (65 Lessons), etc.
According to author Jon Klimo, by 1916, Benner said he felt he could no longer resist the growing inclination to give himself over as a vehicle to a larger presence, to let his mind be subsumed by (or co-creatively interact with) a larger Mind or Being. His book The Impersonal Life contained words Benner believed were recorded directly from God, and was first published in July 1914. Benner taught that Christ's proclaiming I AM indicated the true spirit that resides in every human being. The SUN center was an Ohio group formed in 1920 around Benner's teachings. One of the group's practices was to enter into the silence, stillness and peace each day at noon. Benner also made a series of lessons called the Inner Life Courses he intended to develop discipline in life, discernment and the awakening of the Christ within the soul.
Benner died in 1938. According to his daughter, letters were found after his death in which he expressed devotion to God and his belief that God had chosen him as a medium.
In the 1960s Elvis Presley was introduced to Benner's work by his hairdresser-turned-guru, Larry Geller. In the last 13 years of his life, Presley gave away hundreds of copies of the book. A copy was allegedly with him on the night he died. (wikipedia.org)
Joseph Sieber Benner (January 3, 1872 - September 24, 1938) was an American author, New Thought writer and Representative of the Brotherhood of Christ who used the pen name Anonymous. He was the first to introduce the Knowledge and Teachings of Impersonal Life (also known as the I AM Teaching) to the world in his first book, The Impersonal Life published in 1914. His other works were The Way Out, The Way Beyond, Wealth, Teacher, Brotherhood, The Way to the Kingdom, Papers (65 Lessons), etc.
According to author Jon Klimo, by 1916, Benner said he felt he could no longer resist the growing inclination to give himself over as a vehicle to a larger presence, to let his mind be subsumed by (or co-creatively interact with) a larger Mind or Being. His book The Impersonal Life contained words Benner believed were recorded directly from God, and was first published in July 1914. Benner taught that Christ's proclaiming I AM indicated the true spirit that resides in every human being. The SUN center was an Ohio group formed in 1920 around Benner's teachings. One of the group's practices was to enter into the silence, stillness and peace each day at noon. Benner also made a series of lessons called the Inner Life Courses he intended to develop discipline in life, discernment and the awakening of the Christ within the soul.
Benner died in 1938. According to his daughter, letters were found after his death in which he expressed devotion to God and his belief that God had chosen him as a medium.
In the 1960s Elvis Presley was introduced to Benner's work by his hairdresser-turned-guru, Larry Geller. In the last 13 years of his life, Presley gave away hundreds of copies of the book. A copy was allegedly with him on the night he died. (wikipedia.org)
Originally published anonymously in 1914, The Impersonal Life is Joseph Benner's classic work of Christian spiritualism which was influenced by the New Thought movement, a religious movement of the later part of the 19th century and early part of the 20th century. Central to the New Thought movement is the idea that God resides in all things and that through the power of positive thinking one can attract the success and contentment that one desires. It is Benner's intent to bring to the reader's attention the true spirit that resides in every human being, that the individual is essentially inseparable from God's divinity. Benner argues that only by leading an impersonal life, a life which recognizes that God is represented in each and every one of us, one can truly experience the glory of God. The impersonal life is a life aware of the idea that one's identity is inseparable from the light of God and that through this acknowledgment one can experience the peace that emanates from all that is God's creation. This edition is printed on premium acid-free paper.