Taking the Human Spirit to Infinity—and Beyond

Infinity Foundation, in Highland Park, is a pioneer in exploring, teaching and embracing new ideas that focus on health and wellness, personal spiritual growth and self-awareness, offering more than 200 courses throughout the year. “Personal growth and development is the most important thing you can do for yourself,” stresses founder and Executive Director Nancy Grace Marder.

Marder is no stranger to personal growth and development; she’s been teaching meditation for more than 20 years. Equipped with master’s degrees in special education, as well as educational administration and supervision, Marder is accomplished both as a teacher and as an ordained spiritual minister. With her background and interests, it’s not surprising that the Infinity Foundation would come to fruition under Marder’s guidance.

Marder’s “Aha!” moment arrived when a course guide from New York’s Omega Institute landed in her hands. “It felt like a calling,” she says. “I just knew that I wanted to create something similar in which we would offer classes, retreats and other experiences on holistic and healthy living.”

She began doing her homework, studying other centers’ course guides and reviewing the New York Times bestseller lists to see which authors she could invite to speak at the center. “When we started 15 years ago, we didn’t have technology as readily available as we have today,” says Marder. “Word of mouth was the best way to find out about us in our early days.”

Marder admits it is much easier now to find an author or promote their classes and retreats, especially because the course guide is available online for anyone around the world to view. While most attendees come from nearby states, she says it is not unusual for some to travel from all over the country, especially if a topic can be of benefit to them in their professional career. Two individuals from Romania came recently to hear a bestselling author speak.

Because the field is vast, and to keep offerings fresh, more than 80 percent of the course offerings are updated each trimester. “We like to offer new and different courses to introduce new things to our participants,” says Marder. “It’s like a restaurant. If you keep going to the same restaurant and they offer the same things all of the time, it will get boring.” The fact that the field is so large and changing also makes it easier to offer new content, she adds, noting that Infinity has presented thousands of courses over the last 15 years.

The director is quick to point out that many people contribute to the success of Infinity Foundation. In addition to faculty members, many of whom have decades of experience in their fields, more than 70 people volunteer their time or expertise. “It’s so gratifying to see so many people come, learn something new and turn the training into a career,” Marder says. "What we’ve created is a community, and we’re really proud of that.”

Infinity Foundation is a safe place that is very supportive. In Marder’s words, “We’re not here to convince you of anything. It’s all about the experience. You learn a set of skills that allows you to deal with things better—know yourself better. It’s the juice of life—it’s the nectar, the ability to improve your life. That’s what Infinity Foundation is all about.”

Infinity Foundation is located at 1282 Old Skokie Rd., in Highland Park. For more information or a free course guide, call 847-831-8828 or visit InfintyFoundation.org.

Megy Karydes is a professional writer who is always trying to improve her self-awareness. Connect with her at KarydesConsulting.com.