TAT Fall Workshop 2013
Silence
Friday - Sunday, Aug. 30 - Sept. 1
Session Details
Friday Evening
The Sound of Silence led by Leesa Williams. An evening session for transitioning from the work-a-day marketplace to a retreat weekend. Leesa will lead exercises and a group discussion that will aid in tuning into silence...
Saturday Morning Keynote Session
The role of silence on the journey around Mt. Woo-Woo - Bob Harwood
"At the age of twenty, I became consumed with a wide range of existential questions. Is there a God? What is the meaning of life? What is a subatomic particle? What could explain the observer paradoxes in modern physics? In an effort to answer these kinds of questions, I spent ten years studying philosophy and science and doing a lot of thinking. During those ten years I never found a single answer. At the age of thirty, I discovered Zen, and I spent the next ten years reading Zen books and thinking about koans and enlightenment. During those ten years, I added a lot of questions to my list, but I never found a single answer. At the age of forty, my optimism waned and I began to feel like a rat in a trap. I worried that I might die without ever learning anything important. Fortunately, some business problems put me under a lot of stress, and in an effort to acquire some peace of mind, I started doing a simple breath awareness exercise…."
~ Bob Harwood, from Silence Ends the Search
Bob Harwood sometimes humorously refers to himself as an existential dumbass. This is because he stumbled around for twenty years searching for truth without learning anything important. At the age of forty he began meditating to alleviate business stress, and subsequently had a mind-boggling kensho experience. He then became a spiritual fanatic, and devoured everything he could find about mystical experiences and non-dual spiritual traditions. He joined a Zen group, went on silent retreats, helped build a large retreat facility, and had many more experiences and realizations. For ten years Bob wrote a newspaper column about non-duality, and subsequently authored a book, A Path to Christ-Consciousness, Non-Conceptual Awareness Practice as a Doorway to the Infinite. His personal search for truth came to an end in 1999, and he then published a spiritual autobiography, Pouring Concrete, A Zen Path to the Kingdom of God. Today he operates a rental management business, and enjoys ballroom dancing, mountain climbing, investing in the stock market, and corresponding with people about non-duality. He is currently working on two new books, Attending the Actual and Financial Enlightenment, Awakening to the Way of Money.
Saturday Workshops
Three workshops that everyone can experience:
Listening to Doubt - Bob Cergol
Listening to doubt—the off switch for the noise-making auto-pilot program you were born with and have been living under your entire existence.
Bob's essays are published in the TAT Forum. Visit the Forum
Archive for a complete list of his writings.
Learning to Trust the Body - Bob Harwood
Including an explanation of how Zen koans are used, and how the same contemplative approach can be used for finding answers to questions about everyday life.
Bob's poetry and essays are published in the TAT Forum. Visit the Forum
Archive for a complete list of his writings.
Being With Silence - Paul Constant
Sitting in silence with a group of spiritual seekers provides an atmosphere that enhances the ability to withdrawal from the mind—to temporarily break persistent thought patterns. Likewise, being alone in silence during meditation provides a clearer perspective on the mind. This session will combine the two approaches: participants can use the group energy during the workshop as a segue to developing a daily meditation practice for remaining on the path long after the TAT weekend is over.
You may want to bring a zafu and zabuton if this is more comfortable for you than sitting on a chair.
Paul's audio recordings are available in the TAT Foundation Audio Center, and a sampling of
his essays are published in the TAT Forum Archive.
Sunday Workshops
Workshops (continued)
The three concurrent workshops from Saturday continue in breakout session #3. Groups will rotate to their final workshop.
Feedback to participants - Monitored by Mike Gegenheimer
Session leaders and participants provide observations and comments to each participant—the goal being to help each self-inquirer see what may be blocking self-knowing.
