TAT November 2018 Spiritual Retreat
Forgetting & Remembering
Friday through Sunday
November 16-18, 2018
at the Claymont Society Mansion, WV
Photo: Wikimedia Commons
"One of the most dangerous forms of human error is forgetting what one is trying to achieve."
~ Paul Nitze
"Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting....
Not in entire forgetfulness....
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home"
~ William Wordsworth, Ode on Intimations of Immortality
"The self forgets itself | as a frantic dog in a glass temple | barks himself to death; | as a lion, seeing a form in the well, | leaps on the image; | as a rutting elephant sticks his tusk | in a crystal boulder. | The monkey has his fistful of sweets | and won't let go. So | from house to house | he gibbers. | Kabir says, parrot-on-a-pole: | who has caught you?."
~ Kabir (15th century)
Meet our workshop session leaders:
Anima Pundeer: Are you sleepwalking through life?
In June of 2004, Anima Pundeer had an experience where she realized her All-ness and One-ness.... She finally knew Freedom. She feels immense gratitude for all the help and guidance she got from her fellow seekers. She feels she couldn't have made this journey without her Guru and her friends—and the only way she feels she can help anyone is by sharing her own struggles and obstacles.
Anima is highlighted in the documentary film Meetings with Remarkable Women. She is a super busy mother of two who lives with her family in Houston, Texas. When she has spare moments, she weeds her vegetable patch.
Bob Cergol: How do you define yourself?
Bob Cergol was 19 when he met Richard Rose in 1972 and soon after attended the April 1973 meeting at Rose's house in Benwood, WV where TAT was conceived as an organization. He lived with Rose at his house in Benwood, WV, on Rose's farm, and in the local area on and off over many years. Twenty years later, after living in isolation for a year in a cabin he built on Rose's farm, and feeling his spiritual path had run its course, he moved away to pursue a secular life. He married and started a family, but soon gravitated back to the path, participating in group work with other TAT members. That group work led to a series of events that triggered a spiritual realization that for Bob was an absolute, and final answer to the existential questions he had been asking for all those years. Listen to his story in an August 2016 podcast interview on SpiritualTeachers.org.
Over the past decade, Bob has delivered a number of poignant presentations during TAT events and has authored numerous TAT Forum essays that were ultimately published in Beyond Mind, Beyond Death, a TAT Foundation Press book. Bob currently lives with his wife and works in the Information Technology field. One daughter is graduated from college and the other is attending college.
Art Ticknor: What's your strategy?
Art Ticknor worked first hand with numerous psychological and philosophical systems during years of intensive research. Twenty-six years of effort toward self-definition paid off in 2004, when the final nail was driven into the ego's coffin during an intense Realization. Art is the author of the books Beyond Relativity and Solid Ground of Being, invaluable guides on the quest for self knowledge.
Art currently lives the life of a modern day mystic and is involved in the Gainsville Florida-based Philosophical Self-Inquiry Discussion Group. For more information, visit Self-Discovery Portal.
Additionally, during the weekend there will be a Silent Rapport Sitting, Group Meditation Sessions, a Panel Discussion and Small-Group Interactive Sessions.
The registration deadline for TAT's November Spiritual Retreat Weekend is Sunday, November 11th.
|
Weekend Schedule 
Friday, November 16, 2018
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Let's check how the mind works. From what I have noticed, mind is either regurgitating some past event or is busy planning the next moment. Then I find it constantly jumping with or without "my" consent....
I've heard people mention an awareness that that they and others tell stories to themselves about their lives, indicating a recognition that they and most others do not see themselves or the world around them with clarity and objectivity. The capacity to remember and the tendency to forget is heavily weighted by matters of self-acceptance, self-esteem, and self-comparison. These "tales of our lives" are works-in-progress, written from selective memory, and having an actively unfolding plot-line that serves the authors' selfish purposes. This workshop will be an exploration of the real-world things we do to define ourselves, in the world and to ourselves.
Let's explore want, fast and slow thinking, conceptual beliefs and feeling-beliefs, forward and retrospective commitment, guidelines you live by, yardsticks you use to measure performance, satisfaction and dissatisfaction, forgetting and remembering, temporal vs. eternal concerns, and all sorts of conflicts and complaints.
Sunday, November 18, 2018 
|
Are you sleepwalking through life? by Anima PundeerLocation and Facilities
The event is being held at the Claymont Society Mansion near Charles Town in the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. The mansion's historical ambience mixes perfectly with 350 private acres of forests and farmland. Sleeping accommodations include a mixture of single and double beds in 12 rooms and 6 shared bathrooms. Claymont provides towels and bed linens for overnight guests (guests make and strip their own beds). During the registration process, we will do our best to accommodate room preferences, but all mansion guests should expect to share sleeping quarters and bathrooms with other participants. On-site camping is available in the lawn area near the mansion.
The Claymont Society Mansion is located at 577 Claymont Mansion Road, Charles Town, WV 25414 [GPS coordinates: N39.26740, W77.90390]. Claymont is 50 miles/60 minutes from the Dulles International Airport near Washington D.C. Travel directions to Claymont Mansion.
Costs
The November Spiritual Retreat fees per person for TAT members are as follows:
- $130 for members, which includes meeting registration and overnight lodging on Friday and Saturday in the Claymont Mansion, or
- $80 for members who arrange alternative lodging; this includes meeting registration and on-site camping if desired. Camping is informal—no hook-ups or restrooms.
The non-member fees per person are:
- $180 for non-members, which includes meeting registration and overnight lodging on Friday and Saturday in the Claymont Mansion, or
- $120 for non-members who arrange alternative lodging; this includes meeting registration and on-site camping if desired. Camping is informal—no hook-ups or restrooms.
Full-time students should contact for information on discounted registration fees.
Use PayPal to pay
with these credit cards (PayPal account not necessary).
PayPal is "fast, free and secure" and allows payment by credit card or electronic withdrawal from
a bank account. Checks (in U.S. dollars, drawn on a U.S. bank) or
money orders (domestic only) made payable to the TAT Foundation are also accepted if
received by the registration deadline.
Support TAT by becoming a Regular, Sustaining, or Lifetime Member.
Visit our membership page for information
about TAT memberships.
* The TAT Foundation hosts four public events each year. Registration fees vary depending on the event location. Because we are an all-volunteer organization, please allow up to 5 business days before receiving confirmation of your payment. See our membership overview or email if you have questions about registration fees.
Space is limited, so registration is required. The deadline for registration is Sunday, November 11th. Upon receipt of your registration, you will receive information on the location, facilities, and meals. You may cancel your registration on or before November 11th and receive a refund, minus the PayPal transaction fee. Cancellations after November 11th will not be refunded. Because ADA-compliant facilities are limited, persons with a disability should contact before registering.
Meals
Meals are potluck style for Saturday and Sunday continental breakfasts, Saturday and Sunday lunches, and Saturday dinner. We ask that each event participant bring 2 items, totaling about $15. A good rule of thumb is to bring enough food to serve 7 people with each item. All meals are included for non-members. Sorry, we cannot reduce fees for those who prefer to bring their own food. TAT will provide coffee and tea.
Lodging
For those who register using the alternative (off-site) lodging option, the following overnight accommodations are located near the Claymont Society Mansion:
- Americas Best Value Inn, 807 Willow Spring Dr, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-2041
- Carriage Inn Bed & Breakfast, 417 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV (800) 867-9830
- Hampton Inn and Suites, 157 Pimlico Drive, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-2200
- Holiday Inn Express Hotel Ranson, 681 Flowing Springs Road, Ranson, WV (304) 725-1330
- Northgate Inn, 106 Jefferson Terrace Rd, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-1402
- The Inn at Charles, 750 Hollywood Drive, Charles Town, WV (304) 885-5800
- Towne House Motor Lodge, 642 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-8441
- Turf Motel, 741 East Washington Street, Charles Town, WV (304) 725-2081
|
For more information... email:
|
What is the TAT Foundation?
A group encouraging people to think rather than believe. A group determined to help people find ways and means to answer their deepest philosophical questions. A gathering of friends who are not afraid to be honest with one another. An island of hope and sanity (or at least the hope for sanity!). Last, but not least, TAT is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit educational organization chartered in 1973.