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TAT Forum

September 2021

Convictions & Concerns

TAT members share their personal convictions and/or concerns

Beyond Self-Esteem

[The spiritual path] has two distinct stages, or two distinct phases.

[As I was considering that], an image came to me: the image of the mountain I had grown up by. The shape of the mountain is like this … [draws a mountain with two sections, one long and one high]. And while I was thinking about the path having two distinct phases, it struck me that there was something like this [gestures to the mountain]. And I would say that this phase [the long part of the mountain], for me, I would call it the psychological phase. And I would say that this part here [the high part of the mountain], was the spiritual phase.

I should tell you that this [psychological] phase probably took about 30 years. I was always reading stuff and trying out everything and anything. And when I was going from the psychological phase to the spiritual phase, I remembered something that I had read by Saint Teresa of Avila; she was a Spanish mystic from about 500 years ago. She had been a spiritual director in her convent for many years. There were lots of nuns, so she had a lot of experience with this. And towards the end of her life somebody said to her, “What was the biggest problem you encountered as a spiritual director?” And what she said was, “Trying to get people past their self-esteem.” That self-esteem was the problem; getting them out of the mode of self-esteem.

I remember reading that, and then thinking about self-esteem. “So, what is self-esteem?” “Where do I get my self-esteem from?” And I came up with a list of 100 characteristics. [I thought], “Tess is high on the list for this one, and low on the list for that one, or medium on that list.” So I'm looking at that and I'm thinking, “Well, that's all in the relative world. That's all to do with, you know, judgment and comparison and so on.” And I thought, “Okay, so Teresa is saying that this is the sticking point ... well there must be some alternative ... [how] else can i judge myself?”

So I started thinking about the intrinsic value of a person. My first question had been, “On what authority do I have my self-esteem?” And I would also notice that if I'm in one set of company I might feel pretty high self-esteem. And in another company, low self-esteem. But we all operate like that. So then I started to think, “What is the intrinsic value of a person?”

And at some stage I remembered something my mother used to say to us as children. My mother had nine children, and she would say something like, “You're all God's gift to me. All of my children; you're God's gift.” So the idea came into my head: “I'm God's own child. My parents considered me a gift from God." So if I'm a gift from God, isn't that quite a different thing from my self-esteem program?

Sometime around then, I was sitting in front of my jewelry box one day. And there were some things in it I was looking at: “There's a gold ring, and there's a gold bracelet, and there's the gold brooch.” And the thought struck me: "The value of each of those things is in the fact that they're gold, not that they’re a ring, or whatever." And then I thought, ”The value is in the goldness rather than the thingness.” And this opened ... do you get what I'm saying there? So this opened my mentality about self, my self-esteem thing, to being so that the intrinsic value is in the divinity, or the godliness. After that, I had a kind of a new paradigm with which to look at the world. And of course, if I'm God's child, everybody else is God's child, too....

Editor's note: Thanks to Brett S. for recommending this video and for transcribing the opening section of Tess's talk. He also mentioned the TAT YouTube channel. Please email your impressions/questions—and suggestions for additions to the TAT YouTube channel—to the .

 

TAT Foundation News

It's all about "ladder work" – helping and being helped

Downloadable/rental versions of the Mister Rose video and of April TAT talks Remembering Your True Desire (details).

Local Group News

Update for the Amsterdam, NL Self-Inquiry Group:
The group is not holding meetings currently, but email for information.

Update from the Central New Jersey Group:
In a change from our regular meeting format, our group invited a guest to work with us on the topic of “poems which inspire us.” Our guest, Abhay D, had each member read their poem, and helped the member inquire more deeply into themselves, through follow-up questions. A productive meeting!
      Some of the poems shared: “Friendship” by Richard Rose; “If,” Rudyard Kipling; “Nirvana Shatakam,” Shankara; “O me! O Life!” by Walt Whitman; “A Psalm of Life,” Longfellow.
      Abhay shared poems “How I became a Warrior” by Jeff Foster and also some amazing poems written by his own hand. Thank you Abhay!
      We hold regular Zoom meetings on Friday evenings. ~ Contact: www.facebook.com/groups/429437321740752.

Update from the Central Ohio Non-Duality Group:
The Columbus, Ohio self-inquiry group, now known as the Central Ohio Non-Duality Group, has continued to meet virtually on Tuesday evenings at 6:30PM during the Coronavirus pandemic. Please email one of the people's names below if you wish to get a link to the meeting. Meeting format involves discussion of topics of interest to seekers and often bridges from the concerns, questions and interests of the core members in attendance into the topic which we intend to discuss. We look forward to the easing of restrictions to the point where we feel comfortable meeting again in person. ~ For further information, contact , , or . We're also on Facebook.

Update from the Dublin, Ireland self-inquiry group:
We meet every second Wednesday on Zoom. We are working using two different approaches. The first is the standard confrontation approach of people giving an update on what was coming for them in the previous period, in terms of their path. The second is the distribution of a piece in advance for reflection. We will continue in this vein for the time being, using either a general update or a piece for reflection shared in advance. ~ Contact for more information.

Update from the email self-inquiry groups:
The Women's Online Confrontation (WOC) group consists of weekly reports where participants can include:
     > What is on your mind?
     > Any projects that you want to be held accountable for?
     > Responses to a selected excerpt (in the previous report).
     > Comments/responses/questions for other participants.
     A philosophical/spiritual excerpt with two or three questions is included in each report. Based on what we share, participants ask questions to help get clarity about our thinking. The intention is to help each other see our underlying beliefs about who we are.
     One rule we try to adhere to is not to give advice or solve problems. The number of participants, to make it work efficiently, is between 4 and 7 including the leader.
We had two new folks join in February, resulting in two men's groups with 8 participants in each. They (the weekly exchanges, not the participants :-) function like slow-motion self-inquiry confrontation meetings, which has its pros and cons. We alternate by asking each other questions one week then answering them the following week. We're currently trying to keep it to each of us asking just one question to each participant--switching from a shotgun to a rifle approach. Participants provide brief updates of highlights from the previous week and optional updates on progress toward objectives that they use the reports for accountability on.
Both the women's and the men's email groups welcome serious participants. ~ Contact or for more information.

   TAT Press publishes Anima's and Art's book: Always Right Behind You: Parables & Poems of Love & Completion.

Update from the Gainesville, FL self-inquiry group: The Alachua County library reopened its meeting rooms on July 5th, and we were the first group to meet after the reopening. We decided to change our meeting day from Sunday to Saturday, at the same time as previously (2 to 4 PM). Our first meeting was on July 10th, and subsequent meetings are scheduled for alternate Saturdays with an occasional extra week between meetings due to holidays or the TAT meeting schedule and our group's associated retreats. ~ Email or for more information.    TAT Press publishes three of Art's books: Solid Ground of Being: A Personal Story of the Impersonal, Beyond Relativity: Transcending the Split Between Knower & Known and Sense of Self: The Source of All Existential Suffering?

Update from Galway, Ireland: Tess Hughes is starting a women's group on Wednesday evenings, 7pm Dublin time, using Zoom. It will begin mid September. Sessions last 90-120 minutes usually. Anyone who's interested in joining can contact .    TAT Press publishes Tess's easy to read, profound This Above All, the story of her journey of Self-Discovery.

Update from the newly listed GMT Support Group for Seekers:
We meet every Sunday gmt 17.30, live on Google Meet. Rapport and confrontation, talk and exchange. Someone mostly brings a theme, like a text, poem or whatever to set the mood. Then 10 minutes of silent rapport after which everyone gets their turn on the "hot seat" for 10-15 minutes—the group listens to what the person has to say about the theme then asks friendly questions—depending on how many participants we are. The questioning is aimed at providing material for self-inquiry. There have been sessions in which we just chatted, but that is more the exception. ~ Contact

Update from the Greensburg, PA self-inquiry group:
I am meeting every Saturday morning with three of my former Greensburg SIG group participants who are into non-dualist paths, such as Adyashanti and Mooji. There is also another participant, a professional psychologist who is interested in eastern philosphy and who wasn't in my SIG group but makes a great addition to our proceedings. These fellows are sincere seekers. We spend our time discussing our respective paths and comparing notes. Our new venue is a place called the White Rabbit Cafe in Greensburg. I'm hoping that the lull here has ended and that we're ready to be more dynamic again.
~ Contact if interested in local self-inquiry meetings.

An update from the self-inquiry group in Houston, TX:
The backyard patio meetings are now moved to Zoom meetings, which take place at 4 pm on Saturdays. There are 3 active and inspired participants right now. Topics vary from Mr. Rose's writings to "What is on your mind?" ~ Contact for more information.

"Ignoramuses Anonymous" blog
Ignoramuses Anonymous is for seekers to explore questions together…a fellowship of seekers for whom ignorance of the absolute truth had become a major problem. It started as a blog for Pittsburgh PSI meeting members back in 2009. Welcoming discussion on the path.
To get notices of new posts, you can subscribe by RSS feed or by email.

   See the 2020/11/28 post: Four-day isolation retreat at TAT Center, with photos and YouTube clips.

Update from the Lynchburg, VA self-inquiry group:
We have been meeting on Thursday evenings from 7pm—8:30pm, online, via zoom. Norio Kushi, Paul Rezendes, and Bob Harwood are consistent guests. We've also had some other interesting characters show up from time to time. Topics come from readings or questions brought up by our members. These are sent out, along with the zoom invitation each week. Recently we posted some "considerations" for joining our group:
** Try to frame your comments as questions to Norio, Paul, or Bob. Draw these questions from you own experience rather than generalities. Maintain attention and discussion on the question rather than philosophical musings.
** Question other participants, in the spirit of group-assisted self inquiry, but without attempting to lead them to any particular conclusion or bring attention to yourself.
**Allow for and attend to the silence and the space that is always present. When you aren't speaking, see that as your role—to hold that space.
**Question, in yourself, the use of personal story-telling and quoting others—though sometimes both are helpful and appropriate.
**Consider the way in which you are listening. Does it have a quality of acquisitiveness or openness?
**Continue to question your own intention for coming to this meeting and let that guide any comments/questions/discussion.
~ Please contact or if you're interested in being on the email list.

Update from the New York City self-inquiry group:
The New York City Self-Inquiry group meets by Zoom every Monday from 6-8 PM EST. The link is https://us02web.zoom.us/j/3098361863?pwd=anY5OFlMT0pNMld6VXJDb0Z2SjY0UT09. For those joining by phone, the number is +1 929 205 6099 US (New York), with Meeting ID: 309 836 1863, and Passcode: 895478. More details, as well as our weekly discussion topics, are available on our MeetUp page (link above) and via email at .

Update from the recently listed Online Video Confrontation Group:
The Monday Night Online Confrontation Group is going strong with a core group of participants and room for a few more. Now meeting at 7:30 pm EST (previously at 7 pm), using the online video conference platform from Zoom. The goal of the group is to practice confrontation/group self-inquiry. ~ If you're interested, email or .

   Isaac and AJ interviewed Art Ticknor on their Plant Cunning Podcast series, where they "invite herbalists, ethnobotanists, farmers, mages, fungi experts, community organizers and all kinds of other interesting people to the microphone to share their wisdom and experiences with us": Self Realization with Art Ticknor.

Update from the Portland, OR self-inquiry group:
A small group of us meet most Sundays at a coffee shop. The format for our meetings is to give each person 20 minutes or so to talk about whatever is coming up for them in their practice and to answer questions from the others. ~ Email for more information.

Update from the Raleigh, NC Triangle Inquiry Group:
The group is starting up again after a hiatus, now with Zoom online meetings. ~ Email for details.

Update for the Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill area TAT Center:
Bob Fergeson spent a year as resident teacher before returning to Colorado in March. Mark Wintgens continues as our chief-seeker in residence and invaluable caretaker. He is looking forward to hosting retreats and meetings for local group members as well as all TAT seekers. And TAT is looking forward to the possibility of hosting the August 2021 TAT meeting at the Center. ~ Email for information about the TAT Center.

Update from the Richmond Self Inquiry Group:
There isn't a Richmond self inquiry group at the moment…it never really got off the ground. I'm considering a few different approaches for round three, but it'll be at least a few months away before that takes form. ~ Email for information about future meetings and events.

Update from the San Francisco Bay area self-inquiry group:
See the Shawn Nevins interview by Iain McNay of Conscious.tv, kicking off the publication of Shawn's book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment. ~ Email for information about upcoming meetings and events.

   TAT Press publishes Shawn's Images of Essence: The Standing Now, which features his poems with photos by Bob Fergeson, The Celibate Seeker: An Exploration of Celibacy as a Modern Spiritual Practice, Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment, and Hydroglyphics: Reflections on the Sacred, which features his poems with photos by Phaedra Greenwood.

Update from the Washington DC Area Self-Inquiry Discussion Group:
[This group was previously listed as the Rockville, MD self-inquiry group.] We've been meeting monthly at Rockville, MD Memorial Library. While the library is closed for public health reasons, we're participating more in a weekly online book club. Forum readers are welcome to participate. ~ For more information, please email or see the website http://firstknowthyself.org/virtual/.

Members-Only Area

A password-protected section of the website is available for TAT members. The area contains information on product discounts for members as well as a substantial amount of helpful and historical information, including audio recordings, Newsletter archives, Retrospect archives, policies, conference proceedings, business meeting notes, photographs, and suggestions for ways to help.

TAT's August 2019 Workshop was titled Beyond Mindfulness: Meditation and the Path Within and included three guest speakers who each led separate workshops. The following audio recordings are now available in the members-only website area:

• "Mindfulness. Is it just another spiritual buzzword?" with Bob Cergol,
• "The Path of Direct Sensory Perception" with Bob Harwood, and
• "The Art of Mindfulness is the Passion for Truth" with Paul Rezendes.

TAT's June 2019 Spiritual Retreat Weekend was titled Between You and the Infinite. The following audio recordings are now available in the members-only website area:

• "Coming Home (aka The End of Seeking)" by Don Oakley, and
• "What's in the Way?" by Eshwar Segobind.

TAT's April 2019 Spiritual Retreat Weekend was titled Once in a Lifetime is Now. The following audio recordings are now available in the members-only website area:

• "Recognizing the Human Dilemma" by Norio Kushi,
• "Strategies for Self-Realization" by Bart Marshall,
• Untitled session by Paul Hedderman, and
• "A Session in the Now" by Paul Rezendes.

TAT's August 2018 Workshop was titled Beyond Imagination and included three guest speakers who each led separate workshops. The following audio recordings are now available in the members-only website area:

• "Nurturing What We Are" with Jenny Clarke,
• "The Art of Seeing" with Norio Kushi, and
• "Seeing Through Imaginary Traps" with Shawn Pethel.

Please us if you have questions. (Look here for info on TAT membership.)

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Your Contributions to TAT News

TAT founder Richard Rose believed that working with others accelerates our retreat from untruth. He also felt that such efforts were most effective when applied with discernment, meaning working with others on the rungs of the ladder closest to our own. The TAT News section is for TAT members to communicate about work they've been doing with or for other members and friends. Please your "ladder work" news.

 

Humor

"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

We enjoy presenting humor here from TAT members and friends. Please your written or graphic creations. Exact sources are necessary for other submissions, since we need to make sure they're either in the public domain or that we have permission to use them.

 

Inspiration & Irritation

Irritation moves us; inspiration provides a direction

Please your thoughts on the above items.

 

Reader Commentary

Encouraging interactive readership among TAT members and friends

The Reader Commentary question for September refers to the article on The Mind: Friend or Foe? in last month's Convictions & Concerns section and is:

What are your thoughts / feeling on this: Is your mind a friend or a foe in your search for self-definition?

Responses follow:

From Kevin S:
I would say the mind is a necessary, if problematic, partner in the process. First of all—it’s not going anywhere. Although there are those who claim they can stop thinking whenever they want (Bob Harwood makes that claim), I would say that is the rare exception. The vast majority of humankind is locked in a perpetual dance with the mind whether we are doing this work of waking up or not. I think it’s more of a question of what is the nature of our relationship with the mind, or thoughts. Ultimately that relationship will evolve.

One way of looking at it is like a twist on that Zen saying, “First there is a mountain, then there is no mountain, then there is.” The first mountain is where we identify completely with the mind—we think that is who or what we are. As we begin to observe it, at some point we recognize that it is a process that is arising, (again borrowing from the Zen lexicon) “as itself so,” and infinitely interconnected to everything else. There is no mountain. There is no other. I speculate at this point—not having experienced more than glimpses of non-dual consciousness. So, the mind is still functioning, but as part of a larger, smoothly interwoven reality. And finally, when the mind comes consciously back on line, and once again there is a mountain, it is seen for what it is.

Our relationship with the mind as it goes through this process may vary depending on our temperament and the methods we are thereby drawn to. Though often it may seem that we are fighting with the mind—in the end—we have no choice but to work with it in some capacity. So, friend or foe? Push or pull? Two sides of the same coin.

From Norio Kushi:
The narrative “The Mind: Friend or Foe” is an interesting story and like most stories is pure imagination ;-). Nothing wrong with stories and imagination. Let’s curl up with a good novel or movie—they have their place and value.

The question assumes there is such a thing as a mind, an imaginary container owned by an imaginary self. Something that doesn’t exist can have no agency and therefore has no capacity to be friend or foe.

This is the magic of languaging—creating and playing in a world of contrasts where ideas like friend and foe exist. The mischief we as humans fall into is when there’s a lack of discernment between the linguistically-created imaginary world and the actual.

From Sunil Vidyarthi:
Asking mind to consider whether it is a friend or foe immediately creates duality. So one of the two goes looking for ways the other can prevent you from seeing the truth. An honest search reveals that pretty much everything including some of your spiritual work is in the way. Something in what appears to be a seamless mind knows it is itself an entirely made up concept to describe the happenings in the brain.

Neuroscientists have simulated many experiences you take to be real.

But who sees that? You do. But it, seemingly another, loves its vrittis (Patanjali’s word for mental habits) and has a grand story called the ego that will not let you forget that the illusion is real.

From Patrick K:
This is a very important topic. In my experience I have to create a conducive lifestyle. I dropped watching TV recently and this has been beneficial. So distractions like TV or all the other forms of entertainment media are like food for the mind. The mind carries forward what it liked in the past; it will carry forward a desire for that in the future, appetites/craving. How does one go about developing an innocent, peaceful, more natural mind? Just stop feeding it junk. Follow the longing to “obey the lord in thought, word and deed”. I fall short all the time but I hope it's getting better. I can only try to get on track with that.

Keep feeding it esoteric material; throwing spanners into the mind cogs to disrupt the usual patterns. The more peaceful, natural and innocent the mind is, the more it can be an ally in this work. And will even provide the answers to show you how to get beyond it! When you look at the machinery that is going on, it is quite incredible; the more I consider it, it is absolutely mind boggling. To “really” appreciate this, sitting in quiet meditation is much more enthralling than any worldly contrived entertainment (although I do have a weakness for music). But just to get into a position where you can actually pull some levers to support your own truth unfolding. Again one of the greatest pieces of advice I ever got was from Roses' books, “Back away from the foolish, back away from untruth”.

A possible exercise: Contrast your mind with the mind of someone who you intuit is an enlightened being. Try and intuit the gap between that person and that quality of your own mentality. Long and pray to close that gap.

Moods and states of mind must be watched continuously. Look to pull the rug from under these because they are pulling the rug from under us, hindering how we see clearly. Watch how the thoughts are shaped by the current mood. Stay with the “I am that I am” as distinct from “I am as I am” to see the type of spell of the mood you are under.

From From Richard G, former Pittsburgh SIG member:
The question: “Is your mind a friend or foe in search for self-definition?

Neither, but I like the question! The dichotomous question itself reflects the divisiveness of our thinking. People, through their thinking, tend to divide reality into categories, i.e., subject/object. In other words, there is a separation or division of “I” and an object, i.e., one in relation to another. For example, I (subject) read a question (object).

One thing in relation to another: is this the only reality or perspective? Is there another perspective that transcends the subject/object perspective? If so, can we lose, remove, or transcend the boundary between the self and Self or where there seem to be two awarenesses? Why do our minds strongly resist the recognition or remembrance of who we are?

While I was reading Beyond Relativity: Transcending the Split Between Knower & Known by Art Ticknor) I found some quotes that are apropos, provide clarity, and answer the questions.

“The mind doesn’t need to be broken. We just have to lose, momentarily, once, Our identification with the mind.” (p. 243)

“What you really are knows itself. The problem is only at the mind level. So enlightenment is really the mind’s becoming consciously aware of what you are.” (p. 161)

“Enlightenment is the mind’s becoming consciously aware of its source … of what You are.” (p. 163)

“That’s good … also the clue as to where to find the umbilical cord that takes you home. From the mind’s view there are two awarenesses … the one we’re looking out from and the one that’s conscious of the outward-looking one. Intuitively, though, you don’t feel like two “things” or two different awarenesses, do you? But the mind sees two awarenesses within (plus the billions of other awarenessses outside).” (p. 92)

In conclusion from Beyond Relativity:

"The clue is that we know that we’re conscious or aware. The mind somehow perceives awareness. It gets momentary glimpses of awareness by some ability to look back at itself.” (p. 118)

"The solution only comes when you get beyond the mind.” (p. 107)

"You already ARE beyond experience. The mind can’t help but reflect the truth of BEING. When the “mirror” by which you know that your conscious lines up to reflect the light coming from the SELF, it breaks your hypnotic attraction to the mind’s movement ... and you recognize yourself.” (p. 281)

The “how to” would be using self-inquiry, self-enquiry, and/or koans. These practices take the practitioner to the vey limits of what their minds can know and experience. However, “You’ll know nothing for sure until you know the knower.” (p. 51) [Text bolding by Richard - Ed.]

From BH:
The mind has been my main paradigm for understanding the world. It’s a foe in the sense that part of its design is to make me believe “I” can live forever as well as to reinforce the sense of individuality. I’m not mad at the mind about that because it just seems to be evolutionarily / biologically programmed to do that. The mind is just doing its job! I see my job as seeing that fact and taking the power away from the programming. I am not clear on the mechanism that makes me attached to my thoughts, but if that’s the mind, I’d say that’s a foe too.

On the other hand, the mind was a friend because it “failed” me—in the sense that its analyses & understanding of my life were making me deeply unhappy. The fact that my mind was making me feel bad then led me (the mind?) to seek out fixes. The “fix this problem” mission—after the other attempts ran their course—eventually put me in front of the ideas of “spirituality” or “Enlightenment” AND allowed me to be open to teachers like Richard Rose and Nisargadatta and Art Ticknor in the first place. I don’t think I would have found them or been open to the idea that I am not my mind at all without first believing and wanting to change the mind’s self-referential stories.

The mind is a friend also in that another of its jobs is to be a problem-solving tool. If I am careful, I believe it can be of some help in the process of figuring out the questions I want to answer. One example is the mind helped me do some critical experiments on whether I am the thinker/doer/decider (and based on the evidence it was provided to analyze, it concluded pretty definitively that I’m not!). That helped open me to the idea that “I” am not in control at all. I’m working with that idea as one of the best ones I’ve got at the moment and it appears to have been very fruitful for me because the mind processing has opened me up a lot and led to further insight and inspiration (and more useful analysis). Using that mind-based conclusion as my yardstick has been helpful in seeing through stories I previously believed, so I can at least thank my “friend,” the mind, for that :)

From Art Ticknor:
What do we mean when we use the term "the mind"?

I think of "my mind" as where I witness streams of images such as the moving picture of trees, shrubs, birds, etc., outside my window as I sit here at the computer, worded thoughts about those images, memories related to them, and feelings about them ... and where I also witness pieces of mental processes such as decision-making, analytical reasoning, and intuitive functioning.

I think of "the mind" as this dimension of relative existence encompassing "my mind" and the apparent minds of "other things" and our connectivity. Using the Egyptian Aten symbol with the sun as the source of all and rays ending in individual hands, each hand would represent an individual mind while the totality of rays and hands would represent what I think of as "the mind."

Friend or foe ... that brings into question "of whom or what?" The problem being that to answer the first question, we need to first answer the second one: Who or what are we? Until that's accomplished, we need to focus on that. But how?

We operate in a paradigm—or series of paradigms—of beliefs about what we are, some of which we're not consciously aware of. Life challenges these beliefs, loosening our illusory certainties. If we're not satisfied with the pace of disillusionment, we can try sticking our oars in the water to pick up the pace.

Based on my life-experience, when we're at a point of surrender, the mind opens to the extent that illusory beliefs about what we are have lost their hold on our view.

From Brian M:
After reading what Colm wrote in his article I realised I had a similar experience in the last few weeks. I was looking for a car registration certificate in a folder that I was certain it would be there. After searching through the folder thoroughly many times I believed that I must have mistakenly thrown it out in the trash as I could not think of anywhere it could be, though there was doubt about this that I would carelessly throw out this important document.

I re-checked the folder a few days later. Still no sign of it. I searched online on how I can get a replacement. Accepting it was lost forever I printed out the form, filled it in, visited the Garda station to get it signed and stamped, visited the post office to post this form off for a replacement.

Two or three days later, I think in the morning while in bed, a thought came to check a blue folder in the attic. Later that day I found the blue folder and there was the car registration certificate.

Honestly this was a nice surprise as I was resigned to paying up for a new car registration certificate. I felt really pleased my mind had come up with this data.

I remember attending an talk where the teacher said thoughts are disgusting. For a while I began to see a lot of my thoughts as disgusting and out of place. There may be a point to that when thoughts go astray and seem a bit odd or egoic though I have to re-consider, as Colm did, that the mind can be of help, too. There is balance there.

From Anima Pundeer:
The unexamined mind is man’s biggest enemy, whether it is for self-definition or living a regular life. Driven by the underlying desires and fears, the mind becomes the master of man’s actions. One has to start by asking if you have this mind or mind has you? Am I my mind?

I have found that ALL my problems arise in my mind and ALL the solutions also are found in the same place. The only way to make the mind our friend is by understanding its nature. How it works. It is studying the mind with the mind. The very basic facts I discovered about my mind were that...

• Mind is the CPU of my body.
• The mind is really like a monkey that loves to move constantly, loves distractions.
• Swings between past reveries and future anxieties.
• Judges constantly which is understandable if you exist in duality. There will always be good/bad, I-like/dislike, hot/cold.
• Identifies much faster with perceived negative traits than with positive ones.
• Thinking is mostly reactive unless it is intentional.

Mind is a powerful tool. When used with intention it can resolve all problems. It is your biggest and most important friend in your path of Self-Realization. And yet, in the end, the mind is the bridge that needs to be crossed.

From Eddie T:
Often our minds are looked upon as a maladaptive entity which we must get rid of. This notion runs particularly rampant in some spiritual circles but just as equally rears its head in many different facets of society. At the heart of our minds is the notion that ego must be gotten rid of because the belief is it is the source of all our troubles. Ego seems to get a bad rap and sometimes its well-deserved, but at other times the bad rap does not fit at all. As I hope to demonstrate ego and in turn mind is neither good nor bad, but before I do that, let’s try and get an idea of what I mean by the term ego....

See Eddie's complete response in this month's Inspiration & Irritation section.

From Gus R:
A better question might be: Without an ego, where does your mind want to go?

Within a lot of spiritual communities these days, you'd come up against a brick wall if you stated that your mind could pursue a spiritual path. Maybe it is because few differentiate between mind and ego. My cat has a mind as do possibly most if not all living things, but I have an extra mental layer, like a sugary seductive icing on an otherwise very bland cake. It is this icing that makes humans alive with something special, a color and dimension found nowhere else in nature, and maybe a form of entertainment that the projecting Absolute could never have experienced on it's own.

I use a short awkward word, calling it ego. It's purpose seems, innocently enough, to seek confirmation of its own existence. In the grand scheme of evolution, the ego seems to be the greatest of survivors, a true warrior even at the cost of its body, its environment and its own mind, so anxious even greedy (which only ego could be) to confirm its "self." But mind is always present, and may not always be a handmaiden serving ego, for example while preoccupied with problem solving, while dreaming, receiving hunches and insights, intuition, moods and feelings—drawing upon far greater assets than what ego pretends to possess.

As a result, many esoteric teachings suggest we pursue the heart, located a foot-and-a-half away, a safe distance from the seat of ego to pursue these other more "spiritual" influences. And how we pursue the heart may be the key to mind redirecting it's own functioning, realizing a capacity to become more than it is, to become Other. No small feat, first to unalign mind from ego, then to transcend itself.

The highest, genuine spiritual teachings I have found seek to establish a sound mind, body and ego as the vehicles for travel in the mundane dimensions for the mundane part of the seeker. Both in the highest teachings and increasingly through one's own experience, it is found that our mind is in an exceedingly difficult position to do anything on its own initiative, primarily due to being overwhelmed by distractions and by forgetfulness from accomplishing anything.

I have found that the hallmark of a genuine spiritual teaching agrees that nothing can be done by the individual mind, unless the mind becomes less individualized. In this superior form of evolution, the mind can exceed itself, but only by directing the only asset it may have, it's attention, through being directed by an intention to something far more meaningful and subtle than the ego with which it is otherwise attached. This can only take place by the mind's response through its own more subtle vehicle, the law of commitment, even as it comes under other less obvious laws.

And here is where the paradox comes in. As one progresses, what some teachings call spiritual maturity, there results an improved discernment and an ability to simultaneously strive while being able to surrender. Some call this latter Between-ness, some call it Grace, but the common factor is non-self-ness which can be characterized by a self-less vector, whose intensity is contributed by intention, pointed away from self, and a direction assigned by some longing, if only there is a complete surrendering to that longing. This vector is both the intention of a seeker and an innocence of a child. If indeed a response to a calling from without, some authors term this as love.

From Dan G:
This reminds me of G. I. Gurdjieff’s man #4, who isn’t seeking with instinct, emotion, or intellect alone, but all aspects of the mind. The remembering mechanism is one I could use to remember who I am. Each of these seekers [i.e., man #1, #2, and #3 in Gurdjieff's model; we all start at the #1 level and then decreasing numbers of us progress to higher levels - Ed.] has a blind spot, trusting their tool too much, and maybe there is a border of the mind around headlessness or the black wall or the doubt sensation that is a step forward from here.

From Paul C:
Before diving into the question, it seems like a good idea to first define for ourselves what is meant by "mind." We can start with the dictionary, which defines it as: (1) the element, part, substance, or process that reasons, thinks, feels, wills, perceives, or judges or (2) the totality of conscious and unconscious mental processes and activities. But what is your own definition and experience of mind? Is it a concrete aspect of your being, or is it a collection of your ever-changing attributes? Where are the boundaries in you between body, mind, and spirit? It is tremendously beneficial to study ourselves and develop our own definition before deciding if the mind is a friend or foe in our search.

We have all experienced the benefits of applying our energy and focusing our mind on a difficult problem or endeavor. In many cases, a focused mind is a great tool for unleashing creativity and accomplishment. It is also a magnificent doubt machine, which is handy when evaluating spiritual teachers and spiritual systems. And a healthy balance of productive thinking and feeling-sense—which are key features of the mind—are far more powerful when combined, in contrast to using either of these alone.

Unfortunately, the mind also has an amazing capacity for self-delusion. We can construct elaborate rationalizations and beliefs for justifying our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors. Sadly, we will easily outwit ourselves if we don't remain on our toes by continuously using discernment and relentlessly watching our mind. Tragically, the mind can become our worst foe if we allow our addictions to descend into self-destruction, or the destruction of our relationships.

In conclusion, much wisdom comes from looking within ourselves in an attempt to uncover our inner obstacles and advantageous tools. We have to discover for ourselves how the mind can be both friend and foe. In fact, isn't this the very process of self-definition?

From Shawn Nevins:
Ironically, I just emailed someone [Alfred] Pulyan's comment that:

The body dies and is dissipated. The mind is one with it at all times and is therefore also dissipated. Nothing of you remains. There is no survival or reincarnation or ‘immortal soul,’ [or] ‘conscious entity.'

Which reminds me of these lines from Caddyshack:

So I jump ship in Hong Kong and make my way over to Tibet, and I get on as a looper at a course over in the Himalayas. A looper, you know, a caddy, a looper, a jock. So, I tell them I’m a pro jock, and who do you think they give me? The Dalai Lama himself. Twelfth son of the Lama. The flowing robes, the grace, bald… striking.

So, I’m on the first tee with him. I give him the driver. He hauls off and whacks one—big hitter, the Lama—long, into a ten-thousand foot crevasse, right at the base of this glacier. Do you know what the Lama says? Gunga galunga… gunga, gunga-galunga.

So we finish eighteen and he’s gonna stiff me. And I say, “Hey, Lama, hey, how about a little something, you know, for the effort, you know.” And he says, “Oh, uh, there won’t be any money, but when you die, on your deathbed, you will receive total consciousness.”

So I got that goin’ for me, which is nice.

Yeah, so we've got that going for us. Despite which story we choose regarding the mind, friend or foe, the story happened, is happening, and will end. We can create another story about that ending, calling it "total consciousness" or "nothing of you remains." Which further reminds me, we just talked about the "Chasms of the Mind" in the August issue of the Forum—what a tangled web we weave.

Mind: friend or foe? "I am an army standing against myself, and for the dust of my flourishes, I cannot see my Lord." (From The Books of the Relative by Richard Rose.)

We're a dream. And the mind knows it....

*

Editor's comment: TAT Foundation Press publishes Shawn's Hydroglyphics: Reflections on the Sacred with photos by Phaedra Greenwood, Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment, and The Celibate Seeker. He also authors the SpiritualTeachers.org website featuring recommendations of teachers, movies and books along with The Journals of Spiritual Discovery podcasts.

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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.

Core Albigen System Principles (in no particular order) Part 1 of 3: 1. Law of the Reverse Vector. Retreating from error, backing away from untruth, an erosion of ignorance, a system of becoming. “The Law of the Reversed Vector states that you cannot approach the Truth. You must become (a vector), but you cannot learn the absolute Truth. We must back into the Truth by backing away from untruth.” ~ Richard Rose, The Albigen Papers “You are basically a vector. You are what you do. Every man is what he does.” ~ Richard Rose, from a 1977 lecture in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania “This whole process is a retreat from error, not a planting of a postulation and then massing all of our forces to prove that postulation. It is taking zero, and building from zero. When we ask ourselves, ‘Who am I?’ we are taking an initial step. We do not begin by saying I am this or that.” ~ Richard Rose, Psychology of the Observer “…if you train yourself to avoid the untrue, to reject and reject and reject as you find stuff absurd, you can only go in the opposite direction. Your intuition [is] going to be skilled or directed or trained to move into a computation that is valid as opposed to something that you’d just like to believe because you’re tired.” ~ Richard Rose, from a 1977 lecture titled Zen and Common Sense at Kent State University “We find that there is only one way, and that is to first build of ourselves a very determined person—a vector. We cut off tangential dissipaters of energy and ball up this energy for the work ahead.” ~ Richard Rose, The Albigen Papers See the complete part 1 (5 principles)

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 2021: "Foiled again!" one might say, but despite changing our planned August meeting at the Center to a September virtual event, there was good news from the TAT Center. A small informal gathering occurred on August 14 with around 14 people in attendance. Additionally, the week prior to that there were several people who attended a week-long residential retreat. So there's good things happening at the Center despite delays in holding our formal meetings there. If you're so inspired, send a little cash to support the Center using the donate button below and help keep it all happening. We're at 3% of our goal for the year, so we've got quite a gap to bridge. However, that total doesn't count several individuals who've generously donated towards specific items at the Center such as a riding mower and a PA system for the meeting room.   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. * In friendship, Shawn Nevins on behalf of the TAT Trustees

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