{"id":23071,"date":"2026-03-04T15:19:06","date_gmt":"2026-03-04T22:19:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=23071"},"modified":"2026-03-19T15:24:36","modified_gmt":"2026-03-19T21:24:36","slug":"finding-the-light-on-the-mountains","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2026\/03\/04\/finding-the-light-on-the-mountains\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding The Light On The Mountains"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Mike McKenna<\/em>
\n\"\"The first time Gayle Dillon walked into a Center
\nfor Spiritual Living she felt like she finally
\ncame home.
\nFor years, Gayle felt like she was lost in the darkness
\nof the world. Struggling with alcohol issues as
\nher escape, Gayle realized that if she didn\u2019t change
\nher ways the outcomes would be dire. Her search
\nfor help and a new direction led her to a recommendation
\nfrom a small bookstore owner. He recommended
\na book by Ernest Holmes, The Science of
\nMind.
\nThe book inspired her to attend a service at her
\nlocal Center for Spiritual Living, even though she
\nwas nervous about going, and soon thereafter she
\nquit all her bad vices and left the darkness for the
\nlight of religious science.
\n\u201cThe philosophy shared by Ernest Holmes really
\nconnected with me,\u201d Gayle explained. \u201cIt\u2019s really
\nabout making up your own mind. We don\u2019t believe
\nthere is a heaven or hell. That it\u2019s all just part of our
\nexistence here depending on how you live. God is
\nin and through all things and is part of you that\u2019s in
\nexistence for ever and ever.\u201d
\nGayle eventually became a licensed Prayer Practitioner
\nand then a Minister. Based out of Bellingham,
\nWashington, Gayle now serves as an Interim
\nMinister for Centers for Spiritual Living. After a
\nspell in New Mexico, Gayle was brought to the
\nWood River Valley last fall to fill in before a new
\nfulltime Minister can be found.
\n\u201cI hit the jackpot coming to Sun Valley. It\u2019s a
\nbeautiful place and the community here is fantastic,\u201d
\nshe said.
\nLight on the Mountains Spiritual Center (LOTM)
\nwas founded locally back in 1987 to offer, as their
\nwebsite explains, \u201cpractical spiritual teaching that
\ndraws on the wisdom of the ages and New Thought
\nprinciples, in order to promote personal growth and
\na deeper connection to the Divine.\u201d
\nNow located just off Highway 75, neighboring
\nthe Sawtooth Botanical Garden, LOTM teaches
\npeople \u201chow to have a personal relationship with
\nGod.\u201d Their teachings \u201cincorporate the ancient
\nwisdom of all the spiritual traditions through the
\nages. People of all spiritual paths Christian, Jewish,
\nBuddhist, Hindu, Muslim, New Age and others are
\nwelcome in our communities.\u201d
\nLOTM finds inspiration from thought-leaders
\nlike Deepak Chopra, Wayne Dyer and Eckhart
\nTolle, and offers a very inclusive spiritual experience.
\nTheir services are open to anyone, are available
\nlivestream online, and include lots of music led
\nby local favorite R.L. Rowsey.
\n\u201cOur services are not Minister-centric. They\u2019re
\ncommunity-centric. I\u2019m here to help hold that space
\nand lift spirits,\u201d Gayle said, about their weekly
\nSunday services. \u201cWe need community. We need
\nhuman connectivity. We should be singing and
\nlaughing together. Sundays give us an opportunity
\nto share that joy.\u201d
\nLOTM has felt like home to countless locals for
\nnearly 40 years now. Gayle is happy to help carry
\nthe torch until a new Minister arrives to help light a
\npath through the Wood River Valley again.
\n\u201cWe have no dogma. We\u2019re more of a philosophy
\nthan a religion,\u201d Gayle said about the appeal of the
\nCenters for Spiritual Living. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing between
\nme and you and God.\u201d
\nFind out more at LightOnTheMountains.org or
\nby calling 208 727-1631.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Mike McKenna The first time Gayle Dillon walked into a Center for Spiritual Living she felt like she finally came home. For years, Gayle felt like she was lost in the darkness of the world. Struggling with alcohol issues as her escape, Gayle realized that if she didn\u2019t change her ways the outcomes would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":479,"featured_media":10323,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[70,38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-23071","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-chamber-corner","8":"category-sponsored"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23071","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/479"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23071"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23071\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23073,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23071\/revisions\/23073"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10323"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23071"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23071"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23071"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}