TAT stands for Truth and Transmission."
Established by Richard Rose to encourage seekers to help each other. A dynamic organization with members who can help at the deepest level."

 

"I desire the Truth. We come together in pursuit of the Truth"

 

http://tatfoundation.org/index.htm

 

TAT Foundation Open House 4/12/08 - 4/13/08 Notes & Quotes

 

Presentations below are mostly paraphrased, reconstructed from notes and memory

What is TAT? An introductory talk by Michael Casari (Sat 4/12)

 

Mike Casari recommended a story of Rose's personal letters with the history of TAT's beginnings:
Peace to the Wanderer: The Philosophy and Friendship of Richard Rose by Robert J. Martin
A 40-year story covering Richard Rose's early years unfolds through Martin's pen
which is available here: http://www.searchwithin.org (http://www.searchwithin.org/download/peace_to_the_wanderer.pdf)

 

TAT is like an umbrella group, a "friendly circle" with no head and no tail.
Small groups get together and meet people of like mind who are looking for Truth.

 

Everyone has something to teach.

 

There may be 1-2 or 3-4 people on the same level you can work with and maybe 1-2 on a level above or below you as well.

 

People come from all over (north, south, west some from WV, MD, DC, Canada, CO, OH, FL, Etc)

 

"I desire the Truth. We come together in pursuit of the Truth" - Mike Casari mentioned this mantra that Rose once asked everyone to say together to build rapport.

TAT gives new viewpoints we may have not got otherwise.
Even critical viewpoints that we may not agree with but may be useful for us at that time.

 

TAT is not money oriented - "You can spend $40 on a strong weekend at McDonald's...and I have." - Mike Casari
(Note $40 was registration fee for the event in April 2008)

 

When Rose made a commitment to help others (he spent his life searching and found lots of frauds and charlatans and determined to help anyone if he ever found anything) he had his spiritual experience within two years of that commitment.

 

The Albigen Papers (by Richard Rose) is a distillation of his system (Albigen System) of retreating from untruth.

 

TAT is an opportunity to discover and learn from friends on the path.

 

The following was from an audio tape of Richard Rose played during the meeting:
Paraphrasing Rose: You can't go anywhere unless you help.
Rose told about how he did Yoga exercises and repeated 'OM' and how that did nothing for him. He was around 20-30 and was griping for a teacher (that
wasn't a phoney).
He wasn't better than others and he was obliged to help.
You CAN do something, may be as simple as loaning a book to someone who has interest (not throwing it away or wasting it)
Group could get together when not working and read a book a month and discuss it honestly together.

 

That message was consistent throughout 35 years of teaching.

 

Mike read more from Rose's personal letters about how Rose found a rare book by Eliphas Levi in his travels to LA and how incredible it is not where we can just go to the internet and order just about any book we wish (and how back then Rose would travel all over for spiritual/esoteric books). Such a change from Rose's time.

 

There is an advantage to meeting (at least) once a month face to face.
You can sit in rapport.
You can have a confrontation session.
You can talk in real time.
You can swap books.

 

Rose said to join a group and help that group to function. "If you can't inspire yourself,  find someone else to inspire."

 

When you move up on the ladder you help pull someone else up from below (but at the same time get nudged up).

 

Focus of TAT is to keep it going (pass it on) the vision of Richard Rose.
See Grand Work of the TAT Society http://www.searchwithin.org/download/grand_work_tat.pdf

 

"All is within. But all effort must eventually become group work.the Sangha." - Richard Rose, from Peace to the Wanderer

 

Realizing a Delusion, by Mike Conners

 

We're not satisfied with the status quo.

 

"What would really satisfy me?"

 

Enlightenment is the realization of ultimate Truth. It is I am That, in Advaita terms, the omnipresent eternal Reality.

Omni Present Truth means everywhere.

 

Looking at anything deeply enough - it is Absolute.

 

Absolute is the "being of everything" -- We are the Absolute.

 

There is nothing other than the Absolute.

 

Realizing and Understanding are different.

 

We realize something different than I am that (which is why we're unsatisfied).

 

'I understand but don't realize it!' Quote from a story about a friend of Mike Conners.
He was looking for power or some idea of enlightenment that would give him power.

 

If we look for something other than Truth we'll probably find it.

 

You can't believe anyone or anything read -- have to do it yourself.

 

You have to wake up (surrender/accept/see the Truth).

 

Realize the delusion. You have to see the lies (THE lie that we are separate).

 

At the beginning, we're inside looking out at the world, then imagination and socialization come in with such thoughts as:
I am the thinker/doer/actor.
If I don't do it it won't happen.
Idea of being separate souls.

 

It's a persistent hypnotic suggestion - pervades media.

 

Mike Conners went on to tell about how some athletes become 'in the zone' when practicing their sport/practice. Music players also disappear in favor of the music sometimes in a similar 'in the zone' way. This is a state of non-doing; you're watching all of this happen.

 

Lots of struggle leads to surrender...or we think we have to keep struggling but really we could just surrender. Surrendering may mean struggling. Who's doing the action?

 

The struggle is the struggle to keep hold to the I-delusion.

 

Benjamin Libet (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Libet) did experiments on reaction and when we notice when we decide - conclusions, actions occur .3 of a second before we're aware we chose them.

 

We have to wake up from delusion.

 

We have to search for Truth.

 

Let go of I, not perfecting I
(Better person sounds good but you won't get there by doing good works).
Going to TAT meetings or taking pilgrimages or won't do it.

 

Mike Conners related how he overheard some young people talking about religion and spirituality. They said something like "life is about creating yourself." Which all sounds very good but Mike Conners said this is the delusion. We don't know who we are but layer creation over creation and pretend to perfect some imaginary self.

 

Mike Conners told about how when you look closely at something there isn't anything there just waves, like its all space and space is the real substance. He mentioned how even quantum physicists will say its all vibrating space (or strings) but they don't identify themselves as That.

 

Combine the following:
Surrendering, letting go with
Self Inquiry + confrontation with others ("What is this 'I', me, personality, thoughts, actions, etc") with
Remembering childhood traumas -- which are how our personalities (false self) develops.

 

Meditation is called 'selling water by the river.'

 

There can be a gradual letting go of the false self/personality.

 

The erosion is accented by a daily practice.

 

Meditation 2x a day for 15mins is better than 2x a year going to a meeting.

 

Spontaneous thinking is real thinking.

 

'Getting' jokes/remembering someone's name both examples of automatic 'thought'

 

The mind has thoughts, when thoughts ease, we remember 'OH', then it repeats or the mind quiets down to the subtle levels of consciousness, into awareness.

 

Your Strategy, by Art Ticknor

 

Art Ticknor told about William Samuel and his history.

 

You're here because of hunger you haven't been able to satisfy.

 

Art Ticknor emphasized feeling the longing. Why do you meditate? Etc?

 

We all have some default strategy whether we're conscious of it or not for seeking what we want.

 

Becoming conscious of that strategy goes toward awakening.

 

Finding words for what you want may help.

 

Take time to really consider: What do you want out of life?

 

When are you going to get serious?

 

Everyone looks for eternal survival in a state of equanimity (not the "roller coaster" of life).

 

God loves you, Love is Identity, God is Love, God is All (if true = knowing the self = knowing God).

 

Going within is expanding the view, the view is not the viewer.

 

Whatever is in the view is not the self.

 

Focus quote:
"People think focus means saying yes to the thing you've got to focus on. But that's not what it means at all. It means saying no to the hundred other good ideas that there are. You have to pick carefully." - Steve Jobs

 

Life is brief and then you die.

 

Art Ticknor talked about his path and how it was a gradual erosion or like a resistor that was burnt out. [See http://www.selfdiscoveryportal.com/author.htm]

 

The Business of Seeking, by Shawn Nevins

 

Shawn Nevins read an excerpt from The One-Straw Revolution: An Introduction to Natural Farming by Masanobu Fukuoka. It was a book about farming in accord with nature but in it the author tells about his spiritual experience and way of life.

 

Shawn talked about the three marks or characteristics of existence (from Buddhism):
1) Unsatisfying (dukka)
2) Impermanent (anicca)
3) No permanent self (anatta)
[see http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/various/wheel186.html]

 

Good to Great by Jim Collins was also talked about. There are many examples in the book like the hedgehog concept, that a company (or person striving spiritually) success by doing one thing and doing it well.
[See here: http://www.seomoz.org/blog/applying-jim-collins-good-to-great-asking-the-tough-questions for a summary of the books concepts.]

 

Jacob's Ladder: A Direct Going Within, by Paul Constant (Sun 4/13)

 

Going within - employ whatever necessary.

 

Paul talked about Consciousness and Awareness (from Robert Cergol's definitions)

 

Consciousness is personal and temporary.

 

Awareness is impersonal and timeless.

 

The ego is: I am (separate)
a belief that we're some thing.

 

Paul Constant talked about Eckhart Tolle's new book A New Earth. Tolle talks about the ego. We constantly try to build to this ego or we attack others (which brings us up). We fear what diminishes us and run from that.

 

The term 'conscious,' e.g. used in the Christian religion as in 'having a conscious' is not true consciousness but the part of ourselves which is like the umpire that Richard Rose talked about in the Physiology of the Observer -- the part that manages the urges or competing voices within us to preserve the organism.

 

The umpire is concerned (mostly) with the body. It is point C in Jacob's Ladder (fig. 1).

 

 

What is intuition? - No rationalization in the mind, a direct-knowing.

 

Paul Constant gave examples of intuition:
When you know someone is going to call you and then they do. Or when you know someone is at the door...
When you think of something and the other person starts talking about it right then...(were those thoughts picked up/received?)

 

Our tools are reason and intuition.
They may be sharpened by watching tv about the spiritual search, reading books, etc, keeping your head on the topic.

 

Going up the ladder, the mind studies the mind and becomes the process observer (point E in Jacob's Ladder).

 

Perception is inaccurate (or incomplete, animals have more perceptive ability than humans).

 

DNA hardwiring -- we're hardwired to perceive a certain way.

 

Moods can affect perception. (Temporarily viewing the world with different colored glasses)

 

Our states of mind can affect perception. (Viewing the world through our default perceptive backed by our convictions).

 

Holograms appear to be outside and substantial but are really a projection of illusion.

 

The mind realm is viewable but not the core part of yourself. (What views it?)

 

Point F in Jacob's Ladder is the Individual Consciousness of Awareness.
It is watching the mind with awareness (awareness watching awareness).

 

True awareness is not from the mind.

 

Awareness is not mind - it is between the mind or space between thoughts.

 

Paul read a poem from Kabir:
A drop
Melting into the sea,
Everyone can see.
But the sea
Absorbed
In a drop--
A rare one
can follow!

 

Nothing individual survives, nothing of the individual becomes.

 

When individuality is subtracted, all that remains is Real.

 

Place between thought and no thought is where miracles exist.

 

The invisible current in Jacob's Ladder is a feeling (reflected in your being).

 

No one size fits all prescription for Self-realization.

 

Retreat from error, subtracting false sense of you. You're left with the Real.

 

It's a retreat from falseness, an erosion of ignorance.

 

Common occurrences in those who have realized prior to realization.

 

There may be a tremendous fear or battle about the death of the individuality.

 

Extreme tension or monumental despair/Dark night of the soul

 

Surrender is praying for help and acknowledging personal lack of control.

 

Surrender is not coasting.

 

You have to 'fight like hell but not give a damn'.

 

Be thankful for even small help.

 

Getting serious. Are you really serious?

 

A lifelong commitment.

 

Extreme frustration to know.

 

Anger on the path - Why Truth can't simply reveal itself?

 

Weeping when reading spiritual books.

 

Decided don't want to die without knowing who you are without absolute certainty.

 

Paul had some diagrams one of which is attached as a picture explaining our personal relationship to the universe and the impersonal awareness. (Fig 2. Attached)

 

 

Paul gave some encouragement: Doubt everything that has been said this weekend except your ability to see.

 

The meeting was officially concluded with a rapport sitting in silence.