Category: Uncategorized

New this Week: 7/28/2026

 I received news that Bart Marshall passed away yesterday from pneumonia.  He had remarried and moved to Mexico a few years ago. 

For me, Bart was a memorable part of my years at the Self Knowledge Symposium, and he brought an extra spark to the Friday night meetings at Augie Turak’s house. 

I got to know him much better in his later post-enlightenment years, filming him for a documentary and speaking at some of his Raleigh Self Inquiry Group meetings.  He helped a lot of people along the way.

He was featured in episode 20 of my podcast: “Ultimate Between-ness“

New this Week: 7/24/2026

Here’s a quick update on what’s new at SpiritualTeachers.org and elsewhere.

Events
David Scoma is giving an online talk on Saturday, July 25th at 2 pm ET. Titled “Meet Your Mind,” this is a very rare event that I encourage you to attend. David is so under-the-radar that he won’t even let me list him on spiritualteachers.org. You’ll need to register for his free Patreon account to get more information about the talk or to view the recording.

The TAT Foundation’s August meeting is titled “The Return Home,” and features two of my favorite speakers: Paul Rezendes and Bob Fergeson.  It’s happening 8/21 to 8/23 near Charlestown, WV, about one hour west of Washington D.C. “’Home’ is one of the most evocative of all words with which to portray the spiritual search.  And the ‘return’ home points to yet another feeling, familiar, that we somehow lost our way to a place we’ve been before.” To find out more, visit The Return Home. I hope to see you there. 

New Books
I’m happy to share that the TAT Foundation Press has two new books.  1) Beyond Mind, Beyond Death II, a new anthology of the best essays, poems, quotes, and humor from 10 years of the TAT Forum magazine.  It’s a beautiful book and an outstanding collection of a wide variety of spiritual voices.  2) a German-language edition of Bob Fergeson’s The Listening Attention (Lauschende Aufmerksamkeit). Please show your support by purchasing a copy and leaving a review on Amazon.  Thanks!

Podcast
Stayed tuned, I’m working on an interview with a long-time student and friend of Bernadette Roberts.    

Quote That I’m Pondering
“And you’re, what, a petty thief with delusions of standing?  Sad, little king of a sad, little hill.”  River Tam from the tv series Firefly

Wishing you all the best,
Shawn

New this Week: 10/26/2025

This is a quick note to let you know what’s new at SpiritualTeachers.org and elsewhere.

Letters of Transmission: a Talk on Enlightenment
A couple of weeks ago, I was a guest speaker at the Center for Sacred Sciences in Eugene, OR and gave what some think is my best talk ever.  It’s now available on YouTube, and I highly recommended taking an hour to watch it: https://youtu.be/ZZeaE3GSqn8 . It’s as close as I’ve come to answering “what is enlightenment?” and distilling key principles for the search.

New Podcast Episode
The latest episode is a listener-inspired question and answer session.  If you’d like to hear more of these, send your questions to me using the contact form.

Upcoming TAT Foundation Meeting
 The November TAT meeting is titled Existence and will be at the Claymont Mansion near Washington DC  There will be several roundtable discussions as well as breakout sessions on the theme of Existence.  

Quote That I’m Pondering
“What’s your secret?” Joel Morewood asked Franklin Merrell-Wolff: “A tendency to drive to the root,” was Merrell-Wolff’s answer.    

In Case You Missed It…
I’ve channeled some creative energy into spiritual t-shirt designs—some with Philo Sophie King’s input. The latest one’s a personal favorite. Think of it as a wearable koan. You want one of these. You really do. Take a look.

Lastly, if you’re on the West Coast, our TAT West group meets twice a month in the San Francisco Bay Area. These meetings are like mini-retreats, focused on subtracting illusion and discovering what’s real. If you’re close enough to drive, you’re close enough to come.

Wishing you all the best,
Shawn