TAT Teachers
TAT Teachers
The following TAT authors, presenters, and filmmakers are long-time members of the TAT Foundation. Many are former students of Richard Rose and all continue their commitment to seekers of Truth through books and films, presentations at TAT Foundation events, contributions of essays and poems to the TAT Forum, and free audio recordings.
Read the teacher responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire or find links to a teacher’s response after their biography (if available).
Anima Pundeer began meditating in her late teen years and soon realized that underneath all the suffering in the world, the real pain was the pain of feeling a separate self. In June of 2004, Anima had an experience where she realized her All-ness and One-ness…. She finally knew Freedom. She feels immense gratitude for all the help and guidance she got from her fellow seekers. She feels she couldn’t have made this journey without her Guru and her friends—and the only way she feels she can help anyone is by sharing her own struggles and obstacles. She tells her story in the documentary Meetings With Remarkable Women or watch her talk from the June 2021 TAT retreat “Falling In Love With Truth.” Anima is co-author with Art Ticknor of Always Right Behind You. She lives with her family in Houston, Texas. Read her responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire.
Art Ticknor worked first hand with numerous psychological and philosophical systems during years of intensive research. Twenty-six years of effort toward self-definition paid off in 2004, when the final nail was driven into the ego’s coffin during an intense Realization. Art is the author of the books Beyond Relativity, Solid Ground of Being, and Sense of Self, invaluable guides on the quest for self knowledge. See his session from the 2011 North Carolina Self-Inquiry event “Going On The Spiritual Offensive.” Art currently lives the life of la dolce far niente and is involved in the Gainesville Florida-based Philosophical Self-Inquiry Discussion Group.
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.
Over the past decade, Bob has delivered a number of poignant presentations during TAT events and has authored numerous TAT Forum essays that were ultimately published in Beyond Mind, Beyond Death, a TAT Foundation Press book. Read his responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire.
Bob Fergeson is a teacher, writer, photographer, and avid mountaineer. In the winter of 2000, while skiing in the backcountry of Colorado, Bob found what he sought. In his own words, “something happened to me that answered my questions as to who I am and my relationship to life and death, the questions that had somehow haunted me—consciously or not—for most of my adult life.” He is featured in the film Mountain High: Touching the Void. Bob is also the author of The Listening Attention, a simple and profound teaching on finding the gateway to within. He is the co-author of the beautiful book of poetry and photographs, Images of Essence. See Bob’s talk from the April 2011 TAT retreat.
Mike Gegenheimer met Richard Rose in Pittsburgh in the fall of 1972. A freshman science and engineering student, Mike was interested in “the unknown” and the nature of existence. He worked with Rose and other students in Pittsburgh during college and moved to the Rose farm following graduation. Rose’s teachings, insights from several rapport sessions, and a few TAT members were a lifeline during a 15 year hiatus from serious group work during which he married and had a family. Returning to TAT with renewed commitment in 2000, his search ended with an intense realization during a rapport session at the April 2019 TAT meeting. A brief description can be found at www.searchwithin.org/. Mike remains active in the TAT Foundation and recently co-authored with Shawn Nevins, Passages: An Introduction and Commentary on Richard Rose’s Albigen System.
Paul Constant‘s fascinations and explorations are directed toward uncovering the mysteries of life and ourselves. Of late, his spiritual interests include balancing the natural intelligence of our body, the wisdom and resourcefulness of our mind, and the feeling-sense of our Heart. Listen to a September 2016 podcast interview of Paul Constant on SpiritualTeachers.org.
For the past 30 years, Paul has expressed his love for Truth by facilitating retreats, leading rapport sittings, serving as a TAT Foundation member, and studying with Richard Rose during 1985-1995. Paul and his wife live in Pennsylvania. Read his responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire.
Shawn Nevins “fell onto the spiritual path in 1990,” had an enlightenment experience in 1999, and since then has enjoyed making films, writing, and working with the TAT Foundation. His creative endeavors include the book The Celibate Seeker and the film Closer Than Close — an acclaimed documentary on Self-realization. Shawn is also the author of Images of Essence with photos by Bob Fergeson, Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment, Hydroglyphics: Reflections on the Sacred with photos by Phaedra Greenwood, and Passages: An Introduction and Commentary on Richard Rose’s Albigen System co-authored by Mike Gegenheimer. Shawn and his wife live in the San Francisco Bay area.
Shawn Pethel is a physicist and lifelong questioner of reality. In his twenties he learned of something called “enlightenment” and thus began a spiritual adventure of self-discovery. Along the way he met many helpful teachers and friends and investigated myriads of spiritual practices. In 2014 he had what he calls his ‘enlightenment experience’, because it left him completely satisfied and question-free about the nature of existence. These days he rarely thinks or speaks about enlightenment–except when he’s asked to, whereupon he surprises himself with how much he has to say about a realization that cannot be spoken of. Watch his talk, “The Egoless Vector & Enlightenment“, from the June 2020 TAT retreat. Read his responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire.
Tess Hughes, an Irish woman who lives in Ireland, came across the TAT Foundation one Autumn evening in 2003 while Googling an old boyfriend whose name was Richard Rose! This serendipitous event eventually (7 years later) led her to “the golden find beyond the mind” that Richard Rose referred to. Tess attributes the direction, encouragement, and knowledge she found at the TAT community to forging the way for this transformation in herself. Watch her talk from the August 2020 TAT Virtual Retreat “Contacting the Inner Child” or her interview on ConsciousTV. Tess is the author of This Above All: A Journey of Self-Discovery. Read her responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire.
TAT-Affiliated Teachers & Friends
TAT has been fortunate to host a number of teachers at our events. While some have little familiarity with the teachings of Richard Rose, the spirit of their teachings and friendship with TAT is greatly appreciated.
Bob Harwood had an active role in developing the TAT retreat center, and has given many presentations during past TAT retreats. In his spiritual autobiography, Pouring Concrete: A Zen Path to the Kingdom of God, Bob recounts his path to the resolution of dozens of existential questions. His search for truth came to an end on August 17, 1999 when his past sense of personal selfhood vanished after hiking in the mountains and pursuing a meditative activity that he calls “ATA-T” (attending the actual minus thought). He realized on that day that he was NOT who had always imagined he was, and that no separate volitional entity had ever existed. He also realized that duality is solely a product of imagination, and that any sense of separateness is an illusion. See his talk “Meditation And The Path Within” from the August 2022 TAT retreat. Read his responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire.
“I’m not a teacher,” says Norio Kushi, “I’m not someone who knows something you don’t know. Just look for yourself and see what you see.” When not crisscrossing America in his truck, Norio makes an occasional landing to deliver a dose of wisdom. His talk “Recognizing the Human Dilemma” is from the April 2019 TAT retreat.
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.”
Tyler Matthews‘s spiritual search began when he first heard the Buddha’s four noble truths in college. After that, there were a lot of years of undisciplined striving and many ups and downs. But by working extensively with a close mentor on more direct pointers for five years, as well as learning how to move through a great deal of suppressed emotional baggage, and finally benefiting from at least two instances of sheer spontaneous Grace, Tyler found his true Self and is happy to do some pointing for others. He lives a quiet life in western North Carolina with his wife and dogs. Read his responses to the Finder’s Questionnaire.