September 2023 TAT Forum

Humor {(h)yo͞omər}

“One thing you must be able to do in the midst
of any experience is laugh. And experience
should show you that it isn’t real, that it’s a
movie. Life doesn’t take you seriously, so why
take it seriously.” ~ Richard Rose, Carillon

Weight of Thought

Thanks to Rob-In Leeds. Image of “Not Enough Brains to Survive” by sculptor Thomas Lerooy; source unknown, appears widely on social media sites.

Last Words

“I have observed that we all get about the same amount of ice. The rich get it in the summer and the poor get it in the winter.”

U.S. Army scout, lawman, professional gambler, and journalist Bat Masterson’s last words on his typewriter as lead sports writer for the N.Y. Morning Telegraph. President Theodore Roosevelt had appointed him as a deputy U.S. Marshall, and he was showered with honors over two decades for his role in “taming the West.”

Born in 1857, he moved to New York City in 1902 and spent the rest of his life there as a reporter and columnist for the Morning Telegraph. In 1921, at age 67, Masterson died at his desk from a massive heart attack after writing what became his final column.

His last column included this statement: “There are those who argue that everything breaks even in this old dump of a world of ours. I suppose these ginks who argue that way hold that because the rich man gets ice in the summer and the poor man gets it in the winter things are breaking even for both. Maybe so, but I’ll swear I can’t see it that way.”

~ The image is of Masterson at age 26, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The Wisdom of Doing Nothing

~ Thanks to CoolFunnyQuotes.com.

Inspiration & Irritation

Irritation moves us; inspiration provides a direction

A Sincere Moment’s Passing

In the depths of our sincerest moments,
Where nostalgia dances on gentle breezes,
Unfettered by the weight of present fears,
And the longings of desires past,
We catch a glimpse of a truth that eludes us,
A truth that resides beyond our grasp.

Oh, how it whispers to us,
In the quietest corners of our souls,
Revealing the essence of our being,
In the symphony of sounds that serenade.

A beauty, raw and poignant,
Like the resonating chords of a melody,
We seek meaning in the vastness of words,
Always chasing elusive clarity,
Yet forever remaining on opposite shores,
Of an equation that defies balance.

But what of the echoes that birth the words,
What of the ear that grants them their voice?
For in the sound lies a deeper resonance,
A harmony that resonates with our very core.

Listen, then, not just with ears,
But with the heart’s keenest ear,
For words are mere vessels, empty on their own,
If we only pause to listen.

And if the sweet words of flattery hold allure,
Do not the bitter arrows of insult possess equal power?
For in our clearest moments,
Where nostalgia rings true,
We find the mirror of our existence,
Reflecting the truth we’ve dared not to face.

So let us embrace those moments,
Unburdened by fears and desires,
And let our souls be touched,
By the sound that breathes life into words,
For in the unfolding of each passing second,
We discover a beauty as poignant as this.

~ Thanks to Dan McLaughlin. Image by seth schwiet on Unsplash.

Life After Suicide: Given a Message for Humanity

“I started working with special ed kids because I’ve somehow felt like they were closer to God than a lot of people. I felt like the special-ed kids they don’t get the certain life skills that a lot of the other kids get but Spirit-wise they’re like so connected…. Suicide is real, and a lot of people don’t have the experience I did. If I didn’t have my experience, I probably would have been another lost soul out there. I just got lucky enough to come back and tell the people that are suicidal that God / Source loves you, and there’s someone in the world that loves you, too. You just gotta open your mouth. There’s someone out there that’ll help you. I was, too, pretty much embarrassed to even speak out on it, which the average suicidal person won’t, and that’s when they’re gonna do something, because they’re not talking about it….”

~ Near-death experience related by Chris Batts.

The Negative Process

If you are feeling frustrated, scared, confused, then that’s an indication that you’re making progress (ok apparent progress if you want to get technical). However what most people do is attempt to alleviate these apparent negative responses, by trying to calm themselves down, meditating more, or stilling the mind, etc. It distracts away from the natural process of awakening and puts the person right back into ego. It then becomes a vicious circle, where no one awakens and is why enlightenment is so hard to discover.

The key is to push through the negative emotions, explore them deeply and see what or who is driving them. Instead of using the energy of the emotion to move you into a more tranquil state, you use the energy of the emotion to disrupt your ego, is a good way of thinking about it.

For example, at times I was frustrated, but by plunging deeper into that frustration, I was able to see that I was trying to control the process. By seeing that attempt at control then I was able to realize that I have no control really. No matter what I did, I would always end up back into the circular pattern. In recognizing the attempt at control and diminishing its hold, it was one powerful concept negated that doesn’t have energy: one less construct to identify with.

That’s the basic process of preparing to awaken.

~ Thanks to Shawn Nevins for suggesting this excerpt from Eddie Traversa’s book, Truth Realization: Assorted Works. Image of Eddie from his Twitter account. See Eddie’s memoriam in the December 2022 TAT Forum.

The Mars Lander’s Final Message

After 4 years on Mars, NASA’s InSight lander tweets one last selfie and then falls silent:

My power’s really low, so this may be the last image I can send. Don’t worry about me though: my time here has been both productive and serene. If I can keep talking to my mission team, I will – but I’ll be signing off here soon. Thanks for staying with me. ~ NASA InSight (@NASAInSight) December 19, 2022

See also https://www.cbsnews.com/news/nasa-insight-lander-falls-silent-mars-final-selfie/

Please your thoughts on the above items.

Reader Commentary

Encouraging interactive readership among TAT members and friends

A reader wrote that what would make the Forum more interesting would be:

Hearing from people who are searching—and have questions instead of those providing endless advice and “answers.” What challenges they are facing. What their doubts and questions are. How they perceive their path is going. What they are doing in their lives. Where they think they will end up, etc., etc.

Can you help make the Forum more interesting?

The Reader Commentary question for the September TAT Forum comes from the “Genius Takes Effort?” article in the August Forum:

What is your feeling about spiritual geniuses? That Self-Realization takes effort (maybe even the 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell asserts in Outliers is necessary for true expertise in any skill)? That “many are called, but few are chosen” in a parable attributed to Jesus Christ?

Responses follow:

From Patrick K:

How many people follow/know their true heart’s calling? Is it my choice or is it in the cosmic plan whether I will be chosen? I would liken Gladwell’s “10,000 hours” to Gurdjieff’s “magnetic centre”. When you put attention to something it grows, deepens, opens up more. To me it seems obvious that life is about the quest for truth, but not obvious to the vast majority of the people that I know. And since I don’t learn the Truth, I must become it; the quest is about finding/becoming my true Identity. My definition for the word genius is “applying myself toward what I love”, however that comes out. I am fond of the quote that Richard Rose liked a lot and is documented in the book “Retreat from Untruth” by Alan Fitzpatrick, which is “Adversity reveals genius, prosperity conceals it”. Maybe the reason why the most people who are called that are not chosen is because people are driven toward becoming prosperous and feeling satisfied/compensated with that. Prosperous in the sense of “securing their survival” as opposed to facing the immanent doom/implications of their impending death, however faraway it may seem.

A chilling title to one of Stephen King’s novellas is “Everything’s Eventual”. Another chilling title to one of his short stories is “All That You Love Will Be Carried Away”. Maybe those few who are chosen are the frogs that are placed in the boiling saucepan of water and jump out straight away and those that are not chosen are the frogs that are heated up so gradually that they do not notice and get cooked and eaten, by becoming a slave/bondservant to their fears for basic worldly survival/life experience, under the guise of prosperity. Another way I look at it is that maybe those who are chosen are those who are reaching their last incarnation in this dimension. I don’t believe in reincarnation per se, but I have suspended my disbelief after reading some books by Ralph Allison (Minds in Many Pieces, Collected Works III). Would I want to keep reincarnating? My answer is that I think I am finished; I don’t see or feel any conscious purpose for me to keep reincarnating. Maybe the reason that the vast majority of the people who don’t consider self-inquiry any way useful to them is because those people are just starting or midway through their incarnations. Maybe that is God’s design, I don’t know.

From Lenny S:

What is you feeling about spiritual geniuses? A genius is always the biggest fist in the jar.

That Self-Realization takes effort (maybe even the 10,000 hours that Malcolm Gladwell asserts in Outliers is necessary for true expertise in any skill)? Right effort can greatly help, but as Mr. Gurdjieff has said: “stand in the middle of the street with your mouth wide open and there is always a chance a roasted pigeon will fly into it.” That “many are called, but few are chosen” in a parable attributed to Jesus Christ? Such is the nature of the universe.

From Yasmin C:

I feel it’s total nonsense but also makes a lot of sense.

The concept of “genius” comes from the Romans – it seems they saw it as someone’s individual essence and destiny, the generative force that creates and steers a life. I find it easier to accept this framing than our modern sense that a genius is some super prodigy.

According to the Roman concept, when you do what your true nature dictates, you’re following your genius. This is not the same thing as slogging through 10 K hours of practice to attain “mastery”. It is doing what you most want to be doing and can’t keep yourself from doing, because it’s what you were born to do.

It makes sense to me that some people might have a genius that impels them toward furniture-making or stock-trading or being a parent. And some might have a genius for self-realisation. It seems to be a very niche genius – most people do not want self-realisation, even people on spiritual paths.

The people who do have this weird genius will seem to be doing all kinds of work: meditation, self-inquiry etc. But if it’s their genius, then it isn’t really work – it’s all they want to be doing and what they can’t avoid doing. It will look from the outside like the self-realisation is the result of the work, but maybe that’s backwards. Maybe the work is just the shape this kind of destiny is likely to take in the world.

Anyway my mind is getting tired so I will sum up: on the one hand, I feel self-realisation is not complex and does not require “specialness” – Jesus said you just have to become as a little child again. I think it is probably entirely attainable for anyone who really wants it. But the really wanting it – the desire or genius – is very rare and can’t be forced. 10 K hours of practice will not get you there without sincere desire for it (and of course, no one is going to do 10 K hours of work without a sincere desire, i.e., without being driven by a genius).

From Dan McLaughlin:

My comment would be: “How much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? As much wood as a woodchuck could chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood.”

From Jeanette B:

Both the words genius and spiritual feel like exclusive terms to me. There have to be dumb, secular people to distinguish a spiritual genius. Would a genius recognize his geniushood without the world to tell him he is a genius? I feel like genius is more a knack or gift of keen attention with action than an innate superiority because once the genius method is public, other people can copy it. Perhaps a genius uses his gift of keen attention 80% without exclusion while a non-genius needs to expend the 10,000 hours because he is still at 20% attention?

At first, I thought, well sure there are spiritual geniuses just as there are business geniuses and supermodels. Then it occurred to me that neither are universal, but regional and cultural. Jesus and Buddha were regional and cultural figures so not universal at one time, but they are more so now. Their sayings have been copied and interpreted into systems, like a genius manufacturing method might be, but results are not typical and may vary. It is a confounded feeling to consider “spiritual genius” because it is just words with variable definitions, yet there are people who communicate something immeasurable and not comparable to a manufacturing method. Maybe to label them spiritual geniuses is to try to compartmentalize and measure them?

A long time ago when I read, “Many are called but few are chosen,” I had a sinking feeling, like being last pick for the losing team in volleyball. God didn’t pick Me either. Wouldn’t I know if I was chosen? Would the chosen feeling be like knowing I was first pick? It sounded like an Outsider already voted. Now, the verb “are” feels more like the calling and choosing are happening now, not in a past.

A subtle discovery after school team sports and corporate social life is that I choose myself regardless of gifts and talents or what team I happen to be on. Choosing myself as the loser or winner doesn’t make a difference to what happens. In that respect God does the choosing. I feel like it is both ways. Maybe this is one meaning of the saying, “God helps those who help themselves.” Gifts are not guarantees of realizing successes or rich husbands. For all I can tell, gifts or genius are auspicious but no guarantees of realizing anything.

From Ben B:

Genius seems to pertain to intellect, and so I’d say that ‘spiritual genius’ is an oxymoron. From what I have come to see, intellect doesn’t really have any part in becoming—in fact, intellect may even be a hindrance, in that any conceptual understanding is probably getting in the way.

Nevertheless, there are clearly those who have a gift of guiding and directing those on the spiritual path. These folk are not necessarily geniuses. A great teacher is one who understands things intimately enough to be able to explain things simply. The best teachers are often ones who have struggled long and hard and not found it easy.

Ego seems to want to put others on a pedestal and revere them. In doing so it makes the whole enterprise ‘special’ and remote and more difficult to achieve.

Is deference and reverence an indication of a lack of self-worth, an example of a deficiency story?

Effort may indeed be necessary, but there may come a point where effort is the enemy. Anything that reinforces the ‘I am the doer’ feedback loop could be detrimental. Intellect often seeks certainty, whereas perhaps doubt is more precious.

To begin with, we are habitual gainers of knowledge and experience and see these as accolades for success. However, unlearning paradigms is in my experience more useful. Unlearning what I am, a backing away from untruth.

“Many are called but few are chosen” doesn’t really mean a lot. It becomes somewhat off-putting if the chances of ‘success’ are minimal. But nothing is done or ‘achieved’ if one doesn’t begin.

Clearly, it appears that fewer have a breakthrough than don’t, but I don’t see that as surprising in our self-obsessed culture of having/wanting/needing/achieving.

“We are cowards, and what we witness in us is a dynasty of fear in a playhouse of desire.” – RR

From Vishal C:

As I ponder an answer to the above questions I notice there is a common thread behind them, which I’ll find hard but will attempt to articulate. The idea of spiritual geniuses, expending great effort, and only a select few being chosen to realize the great truth that an examined spiritual life portends to offer, all seems to allude to a contradiction (no surprise to us spiritual seekers): that there is a balance between effort and luck involved in this project. As a scientist by profession, my inclination is to look at this systematically.

If there is a place we are heading we will naturally be a certain distance from it. Now in terms of the spiritual journey, that distance will be contributed to by a whole set of factors that can broadly be summed into two categories; (i) Our tendencies, and (ii) Our environment. Both of these, more the latter, are a matter of (at the face of it) pure luck. Now I’m certain some folks on reading will raise objection to that assertion citing much of the material we are typically exposed to in spiritual circles; the dependency on karma and past lives being the glaring example – but that reasoning has at its core a rather insurmountable flaw – how far back do you want to go? If you go back far enough we all end up at the same place down that path of thinking, so there’s something fundamentally wrong about that which has always stayed with me. Let’s take things at their simplest and consider only what is here, right now, present to each of us; we as part of a community such as this have an apparent road ahead of us, and luck intermingled with our own efforts has defined the journey thus far and defines what remains to go. Given then that we can’t control luck, all that remains in our capacity is to throw effort at the task. In other words, what we lack in luck we have no choice but to make up in effort.

As for Christ’s parable “many are called, but few are chosen” – this also presents the same dichotomy between luck and effort in my view. If viewed through the traditional lens one may be led to feel that it implies membership to a group, that of the Christian faith, and that membership alone (possibly defined by an admission of sin, a surrender of purpose, and a faith in Christ’s word) constitutes that calling – I do not take this view. In the end, such a view is a mere permutation of what many dogmatic faiths prescribe as the way out of hell. Instead, I look at it like this; We call on ourselves, but rarely do we heed that call.

From Paul Constant:

It feels impossible to gather enough empirical data to confirm the amount of effort required for Self-Realization. Anecdotally, based on a small circle of long-time spiritual friends, I have the conviction that a seeker must apply an enormous amount of energy towards self-inquiry, meditation, working with others, etc. None of those friends drifted into Self-Realization. For most, periods of intense seeking amidst times of despair and rest were part of the formula. Of course, everyone has their own set of approaches, inspirations, and proclivities. In the end, it is likely that most “spiritual geniuses” exhaust themselves and all their seeker impulses to the point where Providence welcomes us Home.

From TLC:

The world’s great religions are often represented by “spiritual geniuses,” individuals who are considered to be “self-realized.” Each spiritual genius frames the path to self-realization with unique language that points to the infinite mystery (ever-present “Awareness” – capital “A”) of which we all are a part, whether we recognize this or not. “Languaging,” as Norio Kushi calls it, is a tool we have to help each other move along the spiritual genius spectrum; however, from a Christian framework, “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).

That language concludes a parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew (which is also in the Gospels of Luke and Thomas) that refers to the Kingdom of God (or “Christ Consciousness,” as Bob Harwood has written, or “Awareness”). The “many are called” has been translated as “all are included,” meaning that the awareness of “Awareness” is always available to everyone. The “few are chosen” may mean that few take the time (the 10,000 hours, perhaps, which some may need) or few have dissolved “the false self” and live aware of “Awareness.” In other words, grace is available to all. We are swimming in it. Yet few are truly open to that realization.

From Mark W:

That Self-realization takes effort and “many are called, but few are chosen” can both be true at the same time. It makes sense to me that the few who are “chosen” are likely to be the same ones who persist, commit, and put forth the most effort. You could probably add another dimension to the question as well by including those who are most vulnerable to receive grace by opening up to their feelings and following nostalgia back home to their True Self. It may be that no “data” is overlooked by one’s computer processor.

From Art Ticknor:

I don’t know about spiritual geniuses. If I look at the definition of genius from Wikipedia (“genius is a characteristic of original and exceptional insight in the performance of some art or endeavor that surpasses expectations”), I have met a few people who impressed me as having a natural talent for self-inquiry. Dictionary.com compares genius to ingenious (“genius refers to a high level of intelligence, while ingenious refers to being clever or inventive”). My feeling is that a “generic” spiritual path for the genius, the ingenious, or the common slogger may unfold something like this:

• An intuitive feeling that something needed for full satisfaction is lacking or missing, and we can’t get a clue as to what that might be.
• Life produces an experience that “rings our bell” about how to satisfy this longing. Maybe that comes in words we read or hear. In a sense, we might say the teacher or the teaching has appeared.
• Effort is applied.
• An eventual conviction of hopelessness occurs.
• But we keep working with and for others.
• An extraordinary experience occurs internally that destroys the arch of our faulty self-beliefs, which opens the mind to Self-Realization.

I feel that we’re all truth-seekers. It’s our source and essence. For some it becomes a conscious search, and for some also a primary commitment.

Something has to break our misplaced identification with, our love of, limitation. Who or what do you feel yourself to be? What have you been able to eliminate as likely answers?

We can’t know anything for sure until we know the knower, as Richard Rose pointed out.

From Mark C:

In terms of “spiritual geniuses”; I am confident that there are folks who have devoted a considerable amount of time/effort and appear to be very knowledgeable of the spiritual marketplace. I, myself, have been one of these well-read types, but the knowledge path ultimately has a lot of limitations because as Albert Einstein said, “you can’t solve a problem with the same mind that created it.” I have met quite a few people who have been very captivated by their own knowledge, to the extent that one realizes that these folks are likely no longer searching further because they feel so very confident in their current answers. I submit that the mind can only take you so far, which may have been why Richard Rose once said that you had to “fatten the head up before you chop it off.”

I think that gathering knowledge allows us to use subtraction to help us hone down the many ideas/methods/practices that may or may not be of value to us…basically to save us time on our spiritual path. But while the most recent book read or the most recent retreat attended may provide inspiration, these things serve to give us a vector or a heading on where we might want to look next. The answer or the Truth will not be found in a book or an idea, otherwise someone would have already marketed the damn thing for $19.99.

What I find to be most useful is the idea of making myself susceptible to grace. The mind is not going to make the trip, but perhaps a mind that had been put under continual tension can have an intuition or an eventual breakthrough. The phrase uttered by Jesus Christ that many are called, but few are chosen suggests to me that many will be curious about who they are and what this life is about, but that very few will experience the grace of actually becoming the Truth.

From Jerry S:

What makes interest genuine? Is it my interest or is it alien to me, an inspiration, prodding or tugging from something else? Or is everyone positioned somewhere upon the same slippery slope of reality of which a few lose their grip and, if even for a moment, fall off? So is the real purpose of this reality for everyone to hang on, or to fall-off? Why is it I want to leave; is that genius or foolishness?

I think there’s a certain type of foolishness far more interesting than any state of genius.

From Anima Pundeer:

Yes, I do think every now and then, but not so often, a spiritual genius comes along. What sets them apart is the clarity about what they seek from a very young age. It’s not the circumstances of life that set them on a spiritual path, but something within that is pulling them in. It seems like their minds are already ripe, and a simple clue is all they need to get to that stage of realization that we call Enlightenment.

I recently read a biography of Ramakrishna Parmahansa written by one of his students. He would fall into a state of samadhi when he heard anything that would trigger a thought of divinity.

Ramana Maharishi was only seventeen when he became enlightened. Mr.Rose sought Absolute from a very young age.

Buddha, Jesus, Muhammad, were they chosen?

For the average Joe like me, I know that I had to put in the effort where it wasn’t just getting 10,000 hours but a way of life, one-pointed focus and commitment, and a teacher who pointed me in the right direction.

I don’t think Creator has favorites but enjoys the game played differently.

Other Reader Commentary

From Shawn Nevins:

Regarding the essay “Genius Takes Effort?” in the August TAT Forum, remove the question mark on the last sentence because success in spiritual matters is “likewise explained [largely] by a supportive environment, genuine interest, and sustained effort over many years.” This essay reminded me of the Fixed vs. Growth Mindset – where the Fixed mindset believes that intelligence, personality, and talent are fixed at birth. A nice comparison of the two mindsets is here: https://www.themarginalian.org/2014/01/29/carol-dweck-mindset/. Of course, we’re all on a spectrum between the two mindsets.

*

[Excerpt from the cited article by Carol Dweck: -Ed.] “If you imagine less, less will be what you undoubtedly deserve,” Debbie Millman counseled in one of the best commencement speeches ever given, urging: “Do what you love, and don’t stop until you get what you love. Work as hard as you can, imagine immensities…”

From Lynn A:

I finally located this quote I jotted down years ago and wanted to send it along…. “It’s not enlightenment that’s coming and going, it’s the self that disappears or appears.” It’s from The Silent Foods: Aphorisms by Yvan Amar (published in French). I would love to find an English translation of this book, if one even exists.

From Brett S:

The August 2023 TAT meeting and retreat gave me a renewed appreciation for TAT. On the drive down, a TAT friend picked me up from my parents’ house where I was visiting, and he talked with my family and my partner. We stopped at a gas station and I ordered a milkshake I shouldn’t have and he decided against a sandwich. We talked about our lives, whether AI could be conscious, and what Bob C. might’ve meant when he said, “we’re only as needy as our unmet needs.” As the conversations got more personal and more vulnerable, I got more emotional. Then we arrived. The TAT meeting was a chance to reconnect with people looking for the meaning of their life, Absolute Truth, God, and other things. After the meeting, I participated in a retreat led by Shawn N., Paul C., and Mike G., where we examined our self-beliefs and tried to get into silent rapport with one another. There were moments of levity and moments of tears. On the ride back, I drove with a different friend from TAT, and we talked about how to differentiate our intuition from our fears and doubts, and how to work with synchronicities.

When I got home, I read an email from a TAT friend telling me they’d connected with someone in their area. It reminded me of the times TAT members helped me start my own local self-inquiry group by putting me in touch with local seekers, or when they helped me find a place to do my first solitary retreat. To me, it speaks to TAT’s ethos of finding answers for ourselves by working with others, and “passing it on.“TAT is a special place for me. It’s a group of people dedicated to supporting one another based on a commitment to finding whatever we’re truly looking for, even when we don’t know what that is ourselves. At the retreat, I talked about something I call “impersonal love.” It’s a working together, a respect, a really listening, a sharing, a being present, a sincere desire to understand, a curiosity; it’s not based on compatible personalities, similar politics, or social self-images. It’s seeing someone else as similar to ourselves in a way that is not contingent on anything. I’ve heard Richard Rose’s poem “Friendship” several times, and I heard it again at the TAT August weekend and retreat. Through my experiences at TAT, my definition of friendship has taken on new meaning.

Next Month

The Reader Commentary question for the October TAT Forum comes from Bob Cergol:

How do you perceive your path is going?

Please your responses by the 25th of September, and indicate your preferred identification (the default is your first name and the initial letter of your last name). “Anonymous” and pen names are fine, too.

PS: What question(s) would you like to ask other TAT Forum readers?

Q: What are your thoughts on this month’s reader commentary? Please your feedback.

Richard Rose described a spiritual path as living one’s life aimed at finding the meaning of that life. Did you find anything relevant to your life or search in this month’s TAT Forum?

We like hearing from you! Please email your comments, suggestions, inquiries, and submissions.

Sign up for notices of TAT’s four annual events and free monthly Forums by email on our contact page.

Founder’s Wisdom

Richard Rose (1917-2005) established the TAT Foundation
in 1973 to encourage people to work together on what
he considered to be the “grand project” of spiritual work.

Quotes and Notes XII from Richard Rose Audiotapes

* Miscellaneous Meetings *

1. You must honestly get disgusted with thoughts, then it will stop.
2. Exercise transmutes muscle energy to neural.
3. You walk the way you tell about yourself. Walk fast and you think aggressive.
4. The man’s intuition doesn’t tell him he will survive death [of the ego].

~ From Shawn Nevins, who commented: “Notes I took from several Rose audiotapes. Direct quotes are in quotation marks, but the rest I assume is paraphrasing.” There are quotes and notes from 20 audiotapes. The first set appeared in the July 2022 Forum with eight additional sets in subsequent Forum issues previous to this. The local self-inquiry groups were called Pyramid Zen groups in the early years of the TAT Foundation.

Definition of Terms

Index of many of the key terms and principles in Rose’s work, with brief definitions, from Richard Rose’s Psychology of the Observer: The Path to Reality Through the Self by John Kent.

Jacob’s Ladder © 2001 Richard Rose. See this transcript of a talk on the topic by Rose.

Homing Ground Update

… A spot on earth where people can do retreats and hold
meetings; where the emphasis is on friendship and the search.

September 2023:

August donations brought us to 10.8% of our 2023 fundraising goal of $15,750. Recall that TAT Center’s first floor air conditioning system went kaput in July and had to be replaced for close to $6,000. Thus, we’ve raised about $1,700, while spending $6,000 on just one maintenance item. A few dollars a month from just a portion of you who read the Forum or enjoy visiting the TAT Center would make a big difference, so please consider helping out.

Thanks to all of you for making TAT the extraordinary organization it is.

Sincerely,
Shawn Nevins

PS: Monthly contributions are a great way to support the TAT Center if making a larger one-time donation seems too much. If you’re so inspired, click the Donate button below, then check the box for “Make this a monthly donation” as in the example below:

Let’s bring this to life! “The job is upon us,” Richard Rose said, “and it is worthwhile.” To contribute to the TAT Center, mail a check made out to the TAT Foundation to:

TAT Foundation
PO Box 3402
Roxboro, NC 27573

Big checks, little checks, all are welcome. Or use the PayPal link above (though we lose 2.2% of your donation to PayPal fees).

* See photos and more on the Homing Ground page. *

Did you enjoy the Forum? Then buy the book!
Readers’ favorite selections from seven years of issues.
Beyond Mind, Beyond Death is available at Amazon.com.