April 2025 TAT Meeting
A TAT Foundation In-Person Gathering
April 25 – 27, 2025
THE WAY OF TRUTH
Since its founding in 1973 by Richard Rose, TAT has sponsored numerous events that offer a remarkable gathering of seekers, finders, and friends. Please join us for TAT’s annual April event for a weekend of exploration, sharing, and questioning. Together, we will look at…
The Way of Truth
Step beyond the distractions of daily life and into a space of profound discovery. This immersive weekend retreat is designed to awaken deeper insight, cultivate authentic connection, and ignite true transformation. Whether you are taking your first steps on the path of self-inquiry or seeking renewed clarity, this gathering offers a rare opportunity to explore life’s deepest questions in an atmosphere of support and sincerity.
Three inspiring speakers will lead thought-provoking sessions on seeking spiritual truth, sharing illuminating wisdom and practical guidance for those yearning for deeper meaning. Through Group Inquiry sessions, you’ll engage in rich dialogues that challenge and refine your understanding. Morning Meditation Sittings will guide you into deeper presence and stillness, while Rapport Sessions will foster powerful connections with fellow seekers, building trust, insight, and new perspectives.
This weekend is more than just a retreat—it’s an opportunity to step into the unknown, embrace the mystery, and uncover the truth that lies beyond words.
TAT Members: Please note that the April retreat also includes TAT’s Annual Business Meeting on Friday evening. Your presence is valued—plan to attend this important gathering.
Meet our featured presenters:
Paul Rezendes has a particularly compelling life story: leader of two notorious motorcycle gangs, becomes yoga teacher, spiritually awakens, then lives that through his work as a renowned wildlife tracker, teacher, and photographer. Paul points definitively to the conundrum of the self, the seeker, getting in the way of what is sought. See Paul’s video from the April 2019 TAT retreat: “A Session in the Now.”
David Weimer is the author of A Handyman’s Common Sense Guide to Spiritual Seeking, Portrait of a Seeker, Situations of I, and Ben and the Dragon. “When I encountered Richard Rose and his group in my mid-20s, I was a walking question mark in a perpetual condition of extreme existential concern. I bought into the notion of becoming a capital-T Truth seeker.”
Bob Cergol was 19 when he met Richard Rose in 1972 and soon after attended the April 1973 meeting at Rose’s house in Benwood, WV where TAT was conceived as an organization. He lived with Rose at his house in Benwood, WV, on Rose’s farm, and in the local area on and off over many years. Twenty years later, after living in isolation for a year in a cabin he built on Rose’s farm, and feeling his spiritual path had run its course, he moved away to pursue a secular life. He married and started a family, but soon gravitated back to the path, participating in group work with other TAT members. That group work led to a series of events that triggered a spiritual realization that for Bob was an absolute, and final answer to the existential questions he had been asking for all those years. Listen to his story in an August 2016 podcast interview of Bob Cergol, or watch his talk “Do you see what is? Or what you WANT to see?” from the June 2022 TAT Retreat. Bob is the author of the recently released book Hope! Life’s Calling and will be signing copies during the event weekend.
Friday, April 25, 2025
5:00 to 7:30 PM – Set-up and arrivals
7:30 to 9:30 PM – TAT Foundation members-only business meeting
Saturday, April 26, 2025
7:30 to 8:00 AM – Optional group meditation with Paul Constant
8:00 to 8:30 AM – Break
8:30 to 9:45 AM – Potluck continental breakfast and open discussion
9:45 to 10:00 AM – Welcome
10:00 to 11:00 AM – “Finding the Way” a session with Paul Rezendes
11:00 to 11:15 AM – Break
11:15 to 11:45 AM – Q & A with Paul Rezendes
11:45 to 12:00 PM – Break
12:00 to 1:15 PM – Potluck Lunch
1:15 to 3:00 PM – Group Inquiry: Through honest, open dialogue, we help one another clarify our understanding by turning away from untruths. Thus we turn from the illusion of life to Reality. Such questioning is at the core of Richard Rose’s Albigen System.
3:00 to 3:30 PM – Free Time/Discussion
3:30 to 4:30 PM – “How Can You Tell What’s True?” a session with Dave Weimer
4:30 to 4:45 PM – Break
4:45 to 5:15 PM – Small Group Exercise with Dave Weimer
5:15: to 5:30 PM – Break
5:30 to 7:00 PM – Potluck Dinner
7:00 to 8:15 PM – TBD
8:15 to 8:30 PM – Break
8:30 PM to 9:00 PM – Rapport Sitting: The purpose of a group rapport sitting is to transcend personal, ego-centric consciousness. It is Satsang with the silent, inner guru that is present in everyone – yet hidden behind the ceaseless chatter of the ego and the glare of sensory experience. It is the meaning of the saying: “Where two or more are gathered in my name, there I am present.”
Sunday, April 27, 2025
7:30 to 8:00 AM – Optional group meditation with Paul Constant
8:00 to 8:30 AM – Break
8:30 to 9:45 AM – Potluck continental breakfast and open discussion
9:45 to 10:45 AM – “Hope! Life’s Calling” a session with Bob Cergol
10:30 to 10:45 AM – Break
10:45 AM to Noon – Q & A with Bob Cergol
Noon to 1:00 PM – Potluck Lunch
1:30 to 2:00 PM – Meeting wrap-up & feedback for future meetings
The registration deadline for TAT’s August Spiritual Retreat Weekend is Wednesday, April 23 2025.
Location, Facilities, and Lodging
The event is being held at the Claymont Society’s Great Barn near Charles Town in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. The Great Barn’s presence mixes perfectly with 350 private acres of forests and farmland. Sleeping accommodations include a mixture of single and double beds with dormitory style bathrooms. Claymont provides towels and bed linens for overnight guests (guests make and strip their own beds). During the registration process, we will do our best to accommodate room preferences, but all guests should expect to share sleeping quarters and bathrooms with other participants.
The Claymont Society Great Barn is located at 667 Huyett Road, Charles Town, WV 25414. Claymont is 50 miles/60 minutes from the Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. Travel directions to Great Barn.
Costs
The fees per person for TAT members are as follows:
$175 for members, which includes meeting registration and overnight lodging on Friday and Saturday in Claymont’s Great Barn, or
$115 for members who arrange alternative lodging; this includes meeting registration and on-site camping if desired. Camping is informal—no hook-ups or restrooms.
The non-member fees per person are:
$235 for non-members, which includes meeting registration and overnight lodging on Friday and Saturday in Claymont’s Great Barn, or
$165 for non-members who arrange alternative lodging; this includes meeting registration and on-site camping if desired. Camping is informal—no hook-ups or restrooms.
Full-time students should contact TAT Foundation events for information on discounted registration fees.
If cost is a serious issue that will make or break your attendance, please let us know. We do not want someone to refrain from attending for reasons of cost.
Event registration closes on Wednesday April 23, 2025. To Register:
To register for the event, please click the button below! This will take you to our membership platform where you can register for the event. If you have any trouble registering, please contact us directly so we can help!
If you would like to become a member prior to registering for the event, please visit our membership page where you can learn more and join as a member.
The deadline for registration is Wednesday, April 23rd. Upon receipt of your registration, you will receive a confirmation message with additional information. You may cancel your registration on or before April 23rd and receive a refund minus processing fees. Cancellations after November 6th will not be refunded. Because ADA-compliant facilities are limited, persons with a disability should contact TAT Foundation events before registering.
Meals
Meals are potluck style for Saturday and Sunday continental breakfasts, Saturday and Sunday lunches, and Saturday dinner. If you are already a TAT member, please help our meal planning team by visiting our potluck contributions page at PerfectPotluck. We ask that each TAT member bring 2 items, totaling about $20. A good rule of thumb is to bring enough food to serve 7 people with each item.
All meals are included for non-members, but non-members are also welcome to bring potluck contributions by using PerfectPotluck. Sorry, we cannot reduce fees for those who prefer to bring their own food. TAT will provide coffee and tea.
Off-Site Lodging
For those who register using the alternative (off-site) lodging option, the following overnight accommodations are located near the Claymont Society:
- Americas Best Value Inn, 807 Willow Spring Dr, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-2041
- Carriage Inn Bed & Breakfast, 417 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV (800) 867-9830
- Hampton Inn and Suites, 157 Pimlico Drive, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-2200
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel Ranson, 681 Flowing Springs Road, Ranson, WV (304) 725-1330
- Northgate Inn, 106 Jefferson Terrace Rd, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-1402
- The Inn at Charles, 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV (304) 885-5800
- Towne House Motor Lodge, 642 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-8441
- Turf Motel, 741 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-2081
You may also try searching Airbnb or VRBO for accommodations in the Charles Town or Ranson areas.