Becoming Your Own Authority

A TAT Foundation In-Person Gathering

June 27 – 29, 2025

A TAT Foundation Seeker-Led Retreat

Becoming Your Own Authority

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 June event for a weekend of exploration, sharing, and questioning. Together, we will look at…
 
Becoming One’s Own Spiritual Authority
1.    Seeing the Actual Versus the Conceptual, and
2: Working with Fellow Seekers on the Path
 
TAT Founder Richard Rose advised seekers to work with others in order to expedite their progress. The benefit of helping others and being helped by others who are on a level similar to our own – Mr. Rose called, “the Law of the Ladder.” Becoming your own authority means looking for yourself; no one can do that for you. Yet our peers on the path are a great resource in overcoming whatever might stand in the way of such looking. This journey involves developing self-awareness, trust in intuition, and increasing reliance on our direct personal experiences. In this seeker-led weekend, we explore approaches that have helped others clear obstacles to seeing within to a direct knowing for ourselves. Join us at the beautiful, historic Claymont property for a weekend of meditation, rapport, group inquiry and presentations from seekers sharing from their own experience.

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The registration deadline for TAT’s June Spiritual Retreat Weekend is Wednesday, June 25.

Weekend Schedule

Friday, June 27, 2025

• 5:00 – 7:30 PM — Arrival, Check-in & Community Setup
• 7:30 – 9:30 PM — Breakout Group: “What does ‘Becoming Your Own Authority’ mean to you?”

Saturday, June 28, 2025

• 7:30 – 8:00 AM — Awakening the Body: Gentle Movement or Walking Meditation
• 8:00 – 8:30 AM — Silent Meditation
• 8:30 – 9:30 AM — Shared Breakfast & Open Dialogue
• 9:30 – 09:45 AM — Opening Remarks & Welcome
• 9:45 – 11:00 AM — “Spiritual Awakening and AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)” -Eric B.
• 11:00 – 11:15 AM — Journaling Prompt: “What have I been unwilling to face within myself?”
• 11:15 – 12:15 PM — Breakout Group: “What Do I Want Out of Life?”
• 12:30 – 1:30 PM — Potluck Lunch
• 1:30 – 1:45 PM — Silent Re-entry / Personal Journaling
• 1:45 – 3:15 PM — “Mace Energy Method” -Eric M.
• 3:15 – 3:30 PM — Break
• 3:30 – 5:00 PM — “How Intuitive Are You?” -Jane F.
• 5:00 – 5:30 PM — Break
• 5:45 – 7:00 PM — Potluck Dinner
• 7:00 – 7:15 PM — Reconvene
• 7:15 – 8:00 PM — Healing Music & Movement
• 8:00 — Free time

Sunday, June 29, 2025

• 7:30 – 8:00 AM — Movement or Walking Meditation
• 8:00 – 8:30 AM — Silent Meditation
• 8:30 – 9:30 AM — Light Breakfast & Morning Check-in
• 9:30 – 10:45 AM — “We are not what we think. What’s beneath words and thinking?” -Hardy M.
• 10:45 – 11:00 AM — Journaling Prompt: “What practice or principle from this weekend do I want to live out?”
• 11:00 – 11:45 PM — “Becoming My Own Authority” -Mark W.
• 11:45 – 12:00 PM — Retreat Closing Circle & Feedback Sharing
• 12:15 – 2:00 PM — Farewell Potluck Lunch & Open Dialogue 

Meet our featured presenters:

Hardy M.

Hardy’s spiritual search began in early childhood with memories of living previously. He grew up as an eager participant in the Episcopal church before reconnecting in high school with the Indian yogi teacher from his previous life. In college he explored a number of other traditions and has been a student of G.I. Gurdjieff’s 4th Way for the half century since. He has also been a student of Rumi’s Mevlevi sufi tradition for nearly as long. He explores the commonalities too often hidden by words and thinking. He lives a mostly contemplative life in woods at the end of a road.

Join Hardy for a brief introduction to Mevlevi sufi practice mixed, as is customary, with some of Rumi’s instructional poetic guidance and some friendly spiritual conversation. And quite possibly some quiet companionship as well. Listening and the inner silence necessary to listen well are fundamental to the Mevlevi way; and Mevlevi practices both arise from and can contribute to such listening.

Eric B.

Eric had a powerful spiritual awakening in 1995 as the result of the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. He has spent much of his spare time since trying to show other alcoholics that there is a way out. Retired from the world of Telecommunications in 2019, soon after an AA friend pointed him toward “non-duality”. Eric has participated in a couple of TAT online groups since, enjoying many books on the subject referenced in the calls.

In this session, Eric will describe what happened to him as the result of earnestly taking the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous.  Though no one speaks for AA, Eric will recount his personal experience and show how it applies to anyone earnestly seeking for an answer.

Jane F.

Jane joins our retreat from northern Wisconsin, her third in-person visit to TAT. As a retired English teacher and a technical communication writer and editor, her professional experience in reading and responding to both fictional and non-fiction texts fits her passion for philosophic works and discussion. This passion resulted from Jane’s many metaphysical experiences starting in early childhood and begging the questions, “Why are ghosts and demons here?” Jane is now completely non-religious, and still trying to answer the question: “What is the complete and unpunctuated Truth of all existence, form and formless?” At present, Jane uses Richard Rose as her touchstone. She is grateful for his guidance and the legacy found here with all the members of TAT as we work together to find and transmit one to another that singular answer, Truth.

This session includes a short history of intuition research and definitions, Richard Rose’s opinions concerning the need to develop this skill, and a tactic for developing real-life intuition: Zener card practice. Following a short introduction, attendees will pair up and practice using “Zener cards” as an intuition-building exercise. These cards were first developed by Joseph Banks Rhine who founded the parapsychology lab at Duke University. Certain conditions promote the acquisition of intuition. The session will end with sharing personal results.

Mark W. 

Mark joined TAT while attending meetings in Pittsburgh in 1973, and moved to Richard Rose’s farm in 1974. He gradually drifted away from TAT when he joined the Navy in 1977. He finally returned some 40 years later in 2017, in part because he was bored with retirement. While attending Art Ticknor’s retreat in November 2017, another TAT member went into some detail describing “suffering,” which Mark, who was “living the dream” in Florida, could not relate to at all. Yet, he could not understand why he felt so irritated and confused simply by listening to such personal feelings. It was only after hearing the same TAT member mention “pride” that Mark realized that his own pride disguised and denied his feelings, especially fear, and had prevented him from seeing his own suffering during his whole life until then. From this insight, he knew he had to somehow open up to his feelings, which has become a major part of his search ever since.

Mark’s session will explore doubt, self-honesty, and what it means to “become your own authority.”

 

Location, Facilities, and Lodging

The event is being held at the Claymont Mansion near Charles Town in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. The Mansion’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 Mansion is located at 577 Claymont Mansion Rd., Charles Town WV, 25414. Claymont is 50 miles/60 minutes from the Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. Travel directions to Claymont Mansion.

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 Mansion, 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 Mansion, 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 June 25, 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, June 25^th. Upon receipt of your registration, you will receive a confirmation message with additional information. You may cancel your registration on or before June 25^th 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.

Click the RSVP button below or HERE to register

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.