Category: Uncategorized

New this Week: 11/1/2021

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

Podcast
The Induction Series continues with “To Think of Time,” a selection from Walt Whitman’s 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. If you listen and allow the words to work their magic you may feel the expansion and uplifting that Whitman strives to transmit as the covering of self slips from the Self. As always, the podcast is free. I am asking one favor during the Induction Series, however. Please leave a review of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment on Amazon. If we can get 100 ratings/reviews, it will really help the book get noticed. We’re at 56 so far!

Events
There is both a free, informal one-day event at the TAT Center in North Carolina on November 6 and a November 20 TAT Virtual Gathering featuring a variety of sessions.  The list of speakers hasn’t been published yet, but I assure you it will be well worth your time. 

T-Shirts
Just in time for Christmas, there are now several “Life is… Poetry in Motion” t-shirt designs available for purchase featuring an image inspired by Bob Fergeson. There are long sleeve, short sleeve, and V-neck styles, as well as organic cotton. Check them out at the SpiritualTeachers.org Store.

Quote That I’m Pondering
[Thanks to a reader for sending this quote]
“The silence is one and without it the words could not have been heard. It is always there – at the back of the words. Shift your attention from the words to silence and you will hear it.” ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj

Wishing you all the best,
Shawn

New this Week: 10/9/2021

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

Podcast
The Induction Series continues with Spiritual Poetry: Seeker and Finder, a selection from the TAT Foundation publication Beyond Mind, Beyond Death.  The reading juxtaposes the heartfelt experience of both seeker and finder, while revealing the Essence which flows through both. As always, the podcast is free. I am asking one favor during the Induction Series, however. Please leave a review of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment on Amazon. If we can get 100 ratings/reviews, it will really help the book get noticed. We’re at 54 so far!

Events
There is both a free, informal one-day event at the TAT Center in North Carolina on November 6 and a November 20 TAT Virtual Gathering featuring a variety of sessions.  The list of speakers hasn’t been published yet, but I assure you it will be well worth your time. 
On October 20, 8:00pm Eastern Time, I’ll be leading a session for the Pittsburgh Self Inquiry Group. They meet via Zoom so check it out!

New Book
I just finished Bart Marshall’s Becoming Vulnerable to Grace: Strategies for Self-Realization. While Bart’s views on Covid and other matters may or may not be in agreement with yours, his chapter on Self-Inquiry is fantastic and his “Eightfold Way of the Spiritual Warrior” has the potential to become a roadmap for many.  

Quote That I’m Pondering
[Bruce Springsteen asked about his friend George Theiss, who was his last surviving bandmate from his first group]
Q: This is a hard question to answer without making you feel self-conscious, but do you feel you understand why it is that you became famous and he didn’t?
A: Well, there’s a lot of reasons, you know? There’s some luck involved, there’s some choice of path. George was married very, very young — 18 or 19, I believe — and became a father very young, so he had a lot of responsibilities. And then it comes down to also writing; your ability to write is essential in how you progress. I really studied and perfected my writing skills very, very intensely. But it’s just different paths, really. I don’t really have an explanation as to why life takes someone one way or someone the other. I mean, I was a one-track mind before anything else — before work, girls, I was always just: music, music, music, music, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. And that had a lot to do with it.

Wishing you all the best,
Shawn

New this Week: 9/4/2021

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

Podcast
The Induction Series continues with a selection from Nisargadatta Maharaj’s I Am That titled “The Realization of Nisargadatta.”  In this excerpt Nisargadatta clearly and, as always, succinctly describes his spiritual realization. Listen to my reading of The Realization of Nisargadatta — another example of a work infused with the “living word” of its author.  As always, the podcast is free. I am asking one favor during the Induction Series, however. Please leave a review of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment on Amazon. If we can get 100 ratings/reviews, it will really help the book get noticed. We’re at 48 so far!

Event
The August TAT gathering at the TAT Center was rescheduled and is now a September 11-12 Virtual Gathering.  Still titled “Love, Friendship, and the Return Home,” it features  Art Ticknor, Anima Pundeer, Norio Kushi, and Mike Gegenheimer.  For those who couldn’t travel to the originally planned August event in North Carolina, now’s your chance. See the full schedule. 

New Book from TAT Press
The Kindle version of Always Right Behind You: Parables & Poems of Love & Completion by Anima Pundeer and Art Ticknor is now available.  This is the first book from Anima, and its no-nonsense approach to spiritual seeking shines through.  Combined with Art’s insights, I find the feminine/masculine and East/West perspectives particularly intriguing.

Quote That I’m Pondering
“Summer settles like a bee on clover – golden, busy, here then gone.”
A single line that equally encapsulates all of life.  From This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.  When you find a quote that stops your mind in its tracks, do all you can to give it space to work its magic.

Wishing you all the best,
Shawn

New this Week: 8/1/2021

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

Podcast
The Induction Series continues with a selection from Alfred Pulyan titled “The
Penny that Blots out the Sun.” Pulyan was a little-known Zen teacher based in Connecticut and active in the 1950s through his death in 1966. Like so many authentic teachers, he labored in relative obscurity, yet his words and deeds continue to affect many. Listen to my reading of The Penny that Blots out the Sun — another example of a work infused with the “living word” of its author.  As always, the podcast is free. I am asking one favor during the Induction Series, however. Please leave a review of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment on Amazon. If we can get 100 ratings/reviews, it will really help the book get noticed. We’re up to 46 so far!

Event
The August TAT gathering is… not virtual!  It’s a live, on-the-ground gathering at the TAT Center titled “Love, Friendship, and the Return Home” Join other seekers on August 13-15 for what is bound to be a moving weekend of insightful talks, small group dialogue, and panel discussions. As well as the magic of meeting in person. See the full schedule. 

New Book from TAT Press
Always Right Behind You: Parables & Poems of Love & Completion by Anima Pundeer and Art Ticknor is now available in paperback.  The kindle version is taking a bit longer, but I’ll let you know when it’s available. Anima and Art have created a masterful work, combining their feminine/masculine and East/West perspectives to provide the reader a wide-ranging journey into the spiritual search and enlightenment.

Quote That I’m Pondering
“As death draws near, I feel the same uncomfortable transition I experienced when I was a teenager at Brantwood Camp in Peterborough, New Hampshire, packing up to go home after a grand summer. I’m not sure what awaits me when I get home, but this has certainly been an exciting experience. I had a loving family. I had a great job at the newspaper. I met fascinating people, and I saw myriad worldwide wonders. It’s been full of fun and laughter, too, a really good time. I just wish I could stay a little longer. ” ~ from “I just learned I only have months to live. This is what I want to say” by Jack Thomas in The Boston Globe.

Wishing you all the best,
Shawn