February 2024 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

Sticks & Stones

~ Thanks to Dan G., who recommended this, and to John Atkinson of Wrong Hands, who created it and gave us permission to use it.

Factitious

Guru and aspirant relationships I’ve witnessed at large appear to form around one person suffering from Munchausen syndrome and the other Munchausen by proxy. ~ Thanks to Dan McLaughlin. Image by WikiImages from Pixabay.

Do Trousers Matter?

P. G. Wodehouse was a prolific writer, publishing more than ninety books, forty plays, two hundred short stories and other writings. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jeeves. This quote is a dialogue of Wooster and Jeeves from The Code of the Woosters, thanks to scoopwhoop.com.

Inspiration & Irritation

Irritation moves us; inspiration provides a direction

Liberation

It was about 7-8 weeks … that I tried Liberation Unleashed, basically going back and forth with a guide. I wasn’t confident my guide was enlightened because this person said something like they lost their sense of I but then it came back later and then they lost it again. The program was they would have me do exercises where I looked for “me” using my 5 senses, and when I couldn’t find “me,” they would be pretty direct about how “there is no I,” “thoughts are not true,” etc. But when I would push back about how that seeing of “no I” didn’t seem to be permanent, we went back and forth for a while until the guide basically said I can’t help you if you won’t accept this; maybe you can talk to this other guy who is good with “doubters.”

Anyway, at the beginning, that “Liberation Unleashed is not…” page had made me feel confident in at least giving them a try though.

~ Thanks to BH. Photo of the monument in Jakarta, Indonesia by Anisetus Palma on Unsplash. Comment from the Forum editor: The Liberation Unleashed home page says that Liberation Unleashed is …

– here to help you see through the illusion of a separate self;
– a global internet-based community. Everyone is welcome to join;
– an ever-growing movement of volunteer guides, here to Point you to no self.

Q: Do you feel that seeing analytically or even intuitively that your beliefs about being a limited self are a construct of the mind will liberate you from all limitation?
Q: Do you feel that knowing with complete certainty what you truly are is impossible (Self-Realization vs. no self)?

What Do I Really, Really, Really….

Charley Ellis, PhD, MBA, internationally prominent investment adviser, and author of 12 books, asked by Consuelo Mack on WealthTrack about what’s the most important thing an investor can do, responded: Sit down quietly and ask:

• • What do I really, really, really want to accomplish?

• • What do I really, really want to avoid?

• • What’s the most realistic way of getting where I want to go?

~ Richard Rose recommended Think & Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill, pointing to his feeling that Hill’s book had the success formula, which is the same for spiritual as for financial endeavors. Photo from CFA Institute.

The Death of SpaceTime & Birth of Conscious Agents

“Our experience is to reality like our video interface is to our computer.…” – Donald Hoffman, cognitive scientist.

~ Thanks to Yasmin C.. The video is from the Science & Nonduality YouTube channel.

The Film of Experience

“When does one experience the occurrence of any event? Now!

“Listen carefully: When do we remember the event? When do we reminisce about the event? When do we think about the past? Now; always now!

“When do we dream of a future event? When do we plan and calculate concerning future activities? Now. All experience, all activity, all memory of the past, dream of the future, thinking and thought taking are inevitably, invariably ‘happening’ in the now. Isn’t this so?”

~ A Guide to Awareness and Tranquility, William Samuel

Q: If the film of experience slowed down and stopped, or if our focus on it was disrupted, who would we be without a past or a future? What is your Identity not clouded by spacetime experience?

For more on William Samuel, see William Samuel: Tranquility & Awareness.

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 February TAT Forum:

What practice aimed at self-definition comes easiest to you and which one is the most difficult for you?

Thanks to Jeroen V. for this month’s question. Responses follow:

From Cindy S:

Easy practice and difficult practice are the same for me at this time. I seem to have a glitching point with the term self-definition and hold the concept of self-awareness a bit more easily. If I am having a moment/day/week when Cindy is rebelling or craving (basically acting squirrelly) my walking-meditation, reading for insight, Savasana [the final resting pose at the end of almost every yoga practice –Ed.], or discussion with teachers can be filled with angst and become difficult. However, when Cindy personality is not as intent on running the show, most any of these practices become easier.

From Patrick K:

In terms of self-definition these categories come to mind:

• Defining where I’m at. If there is a ladder to Self realisation, where on that ladder am I? This piece, called “Pathfinder” by Richard Rose, in a previous TAT Forum gives a good categorization of position on the path I feel. How do I define what is a good teaching, or teacher for me? Maybe that comes down to what I want, next point. [Level of difficulty: 3 out of 10]

• How do I define what it is I am after? What do I want? I find it incongruent to say I want Absolute truth. From an enlightened perspective it is said that the only thing you can know for sure is who you are. I sense the truth in that. And even though I don’t feel like my heart and energy are 100% behind finding my Absolute identity, I also feel that I won’t stop searching until it is found. But maybe I don’t study or work to define my longings well enough and try to instill a more nostalgic sense around the whole of my life. [By nostalgic sense I mean a philosophic sense about life that is impersonal]. My longings are difficult to define and I feel if I could, I would be able to connect that part to my spiritual path to make for a more congruent sense of direction. [Level of difficulty: 8 out of 10]

• Using “the view is not the viewer” paradigm, defining what is in the view is only easy after the fact. Bringing unconscious patterns/gestalts/chief features up to scrutiny and finally seeing them is difficult. I feel if a seeker commits to rigorous self analysis, it will become easier and I have found that I find better ways to look at myself now than say five years ago. Also as a part of the viewer-versus-the-view paradigm is looking at the body, mind, feelings etc., to be in the view, and I am what “sees” all these things. I find this difficult as even though they are in the view and not me I still feel that what “I” am is dependent upon the body/mind for it’s existence. So in that way I find it difficult to define what I am not. [Level of difficulty: 8 out of 10]

• Defining what my current self definition is, is most tricky, but if it wasn’t, there would be a more direct path to Realisation. Thinking on this I feel that I am something that is dependent on the body/mind and will die when the body dies. I believe that there is a source, something that brings my body/mind existence to life, animates it. And to become enlightened I feel is to see/recognise that source. Right now, I feel that everything I know myself to be will perish at death, just like in the words of Alfred Pulyan, “nothing of you will remain”. [Level of difficulty: 10 out of 10]

I feel that definition has to be your “work in progress”. I can only define things in accordance with my current level of awareness. Self-inquiry is a process of probing the limits of my knowledge to find deeper meaning, more congruent definitions. I am probing for Perfect knowledge that transcends the colourings of my self and other selves. Definition is the tool used to find and dig into transcendent truths.

From MT:

It’s easy for me to keep self-remembering on my mind when I awake in the morning. But once life things start happening and the different little selves spring into action … then its a back and forth struggle all day long to keep my attention inward and focused. It’s difficult for me to withdraw attention from everyday activities of the psyche, from thought, feelings, imaginings, sensations…. Thank you to Vince L. who wrote this month about the most important thing to do in life: “The most important thing for someone to do in life is to contemplate the mystery of God.” It seems there is much debris that needs to be cleared before Real I is experienced. I find the practices of prayer, meditation and forgetting about myself as much as possible brings a certain inner stillness and sense of the presence of God within. Gregory Palamas advises that if we wish to maintain watchful stillness, then keep the eye of our soul turned within the deepest part of our body: “the heart”. This practice works well for me at the moment as my attention is focused so it does not wander off as much. The core of my being is the Divine Light, and the less of me and more of Thee that happens—then, I would think—the brighter and more accessible the Light becomes.

From Tyler K:

The practices aimed at self-definition that seem to come easiest to me are those of Douglas Harding or Douglas Harding adjacent practices (like those found in Dzogchen). I’ve also found that Jed McKenna’s “spiritual autolysis” fits with my predisposition and fondness of writing. I’d say those that have been most difficult for me are very specific types of meditation, like that taught by Culadasa (The Mind Illuminated). Whenever there are too many steps or a specific sequence of how things should go, I seem to get burnt out quickly and lose focus.

From Mark W:

The practice aimed at self-definition that comes easiest to me is a combination of meditation and journaling first thing in the morning. The sequence however, varies somewhat depending upon what my intuition seems to be working on. For example, if I had a dream, I might write about that or meditate on it and, either way, see what relevant insights or connections come up. Or I might start with an irritating question or concern that’s been bothering me. Another option is to first read through some favorite passages in a book, article or even a past journal entry and then write or meditate. One way or another, I typically write about beliefs I have about myself and my connections with others that are relevant to my search.

The irony is that the most difficult practice for me is to respond to a question asked of me by someone else regarding what beliefs I have about myself, especially if the question is broad, open-ended, and doesn’t ask about a specific kind or category of beliefs. I tend to freeze and draw a blank wall in response. And my reaction to answering this TAT Forum question is a renewed urgency to face whatever beliefs and feelings are behind that blank wall by using meditation and journaling in a more thorough manner than I have in the past. Now this seems like the perfect question or problem for me to work next.

From Art Ticknor:

I think the term “self-definition,” which I’ve never heard teachers other than Richard Rose use, is spot-on. To define, per Oxford Languages, means to “state or describe exactly the nature, scope, or meaning of” and to “mark out the boundary or limits of.” It’s the process we go through to find the truth of what we are.

The practice that was easiest, but not enjoyable, for me was meditation. Not being imaginative or inventive, I used the meditation strategy that Rose detailed in Psychology of the Observer. I never really got into another practice that he recommended, which is improving the intuition. I did practice celibacy for most of 25 years, which Rose felt was necessary for improving intuition, but I didn’t work seriously with any of the exercises he recommended. Don’t know why. In retrospect, that could have shortened my search. I think the intuitive process works with the entire database of our life-experience, and various exercises may produce results useful for the intuition process.

From Leena S:

I believe that the easiest parts of this work occur when it is time for that part of the work to occur. There may be some succession as to when things are supposed to happen, I do not know, but that which seemed unthinkable just months ago, occurs now, seems easy and unfolds almost automatically. A marked decrease in negative attitudes toward others or negative internal responses to daily incidents has become a more prevalent state. Another is a lingering desire to “pull back” from interactions with others and from any tasks at hand, as if moving from the position of a mechanical participant to that of being a witness. Rather than aloofness, it is more a sense of hovering interest; it still comes and goes but has become a more common state over time.

Maybe I’m not ready, but I sense very little if any traction in looking beyond my self, whatever that means. I have no sense or consciousness of an awareness, being, essence, nothingness, capital-s Self as my definition that so many authors, teachers and other seekers seem familiar with. If maybe I am familiar, then I don’t recognize that or haven’t linked those words to those states.

Next Month

The Reader Commentary question for the March TAT Forum:

Sarah J. asks: “In practice, how do you (or did you) deal with the problem of the need to overcome the ego where ego versus the ego always leads to the ego winning instead of losing? (And in this struggle, even losing can quickly turn into an egoic win.)”

How do you define “ego,” and how does (or did) it come into play on your path?

Please your responses by the 25th of February, 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?

Contemplative – by Rippl Merengő c. 1892. Thanks to Wikimedia Commons.

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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.

Notes from a 1982 Winter Intensive, part 5 (final)

> Jan 27: We began doing the numbers exercises¹ in the morning as well as in the evenings. [I think we did these most if not all evenings during the month.]

> Jan 28:

• • Just 3 days left … nothing dramatic yet, but I feel I’ve gotten the direction I came seeking

• • Rose: Study ways and means of success & all the factors that may impede success

> Jan 29:

• • Our situation is hopeless … except we can:

    • • Will to will
    • • Desire to desire

• • Everyone’s chief feature is sex until that’s overcome

> Jan 30, 1982—last day of the intensive.

• • I felt like a different person than the one who came to the intensive

• • My primary determination is now to fight my way out of ignorance and help others do the same

1 Richard Rose had put together a packet of sheets with mental exercises such as adding two numbers together, beginning with 2-digit numbers then moving to 3-digit ones, repeating long strings of digits, and answering occasional questions in the midst of the numbers exercises. We would split into pairs, with one person reading the exercises and the other person giving answers—each sum or repetitions had to be accurate before moving on—and then switch roles.

~ From Art Ticknor. Previous segment.

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.

January 2024:

As we start the new year, December donations brought us to just over 20% of our 2023 fundraising goal of $15,750. The bulk of that total came from monthly, recurring donations. A big thank you goes to those core supporters who are there for TAT month in and month out, as well as all of you who choose monthly supporting memberships in TAT. These steady commitments are greatly appreciated and very helpful for TAT’s long-term planning.

An additional $152 came from Amazon purchases in 2024. This is a simple, no-cost way to support TAT but does require remembering to visit the TAT website first and use the Amazon link on this page before you put items in your cart: https://tatfoundation.org/support-tat/. Almost any product is eligible. For example, someone purchased toothpaste on Amazon, and TAT received $0.25 on that purchase.

In 2024, expect to see less frequent, but more effective, reminders of fundraising goals. I think these monthly reminders are a bit like that inspiring quote you put on the refrigerator—it works for a few days and then you don’t notice it anymore.

Thanks to all of you for making TAT the extraordinary organization it is, and best wishes for the new year.

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. *

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