Images of Essence: The Standing Now is a contemplative meditation in words and pictures conveying an achingly beautiful reminder of our quest for light, love, truth, and being. Its harmony of sight and sound remind us of our true home. See the Mystic Missal site for a selection of sample pages and for ordering. A beautiful present for yourself, a loved one, a friend.

Beyond Mind, Beyond Death, a book of favorite essays, poems and humor from the "TAT Forum" magazine aimed at providing seekers with an ongoing source of encouragement and inspiration. The selections represent views of a diverse set of people who have introspected the mind and gained perspective into our essential nature and being. A companion on the journey to self-realization, this "desert island" book is now available at Amazon.com.

The TAT Foundation is a nonprofit organization formed in 1973 to encourage people to work together in a non-dogmatic search for truth about their existence.

In Images of Essence each photo by Nostalgia West photographer Bob Fergeson and accompanying poem by mystic poet Shawn Nevins builds a crescendo of introspective silence ... one at a time, leading us beyond time. Dr. Ron Masa, founder of The University of Yourself, says: "It's like Rumi with a Nikon."

In 2000 the TAT Foundation began publishing a monthly online magazine, the TAT Forum, as part of its web site. Beyond Mind, Beyond Death contains selections written by TAT members, by other readers, and from various teachers that TAT members have been in contact with over the years such as Douglas Harding, Franklin Merrell-Wolff and Bernadette Roberts, along with sprinklings of wisdom from modern and more distant historical figures such as Al-Ghazali, Nisargadatta Maharaj and Huang-Po. Terrific video trailer.

 

The Celibate Seeker: An Exploration of Celibacy as a Modern Spiritual Practice, by Shawn Nevins. This booklet examines celibacy as a practical discipline for those on a spiritual search, and surveys a number of ordinary men and women to discover the benefits they derive and their advice to others. Discover how celibacy affects intuition and energy, how it reveals the habits of our mind, and is a natural state for anyone involved in intense effort. Hear from those currently practicing, former practitioners, and those who have struggled mightily with what Gandhi called "the highest goal." The Celibate Seeker on Amazon.

The Perennial Way: New English Versions of Yoga Sutras, Dhammapada, Heart Sutra, Ashtavakra Gita, Faith Mind Sutra, and Tao Te Ching, by Bart Marshall. These insightful new versions are presented without commentary ... clear and poetic, yet intensely faithful to the language and nuance of the originals, they invite direct communication with the masters, and vibrate with a revelatory self-evidence that resonates in the mind and heart long after reading. "His translations not only interpret ancient mystical writings, but transmit their essential power to utterly alter and redefine our lives." ~ Bruce Joel Rubin. Video trailer. The Perennial Way on Amazon.

The Celibate Seeker, The Perennial Way, The Listening Attention and Solid Ground of Being were the next set of books published by TAT Press and friends. As the author of the The Celibate Seeker, Shawn Nevins, says in his Introduction: "Success is proportional to energy applied to an endeavor. This holds true whether you are climbing Mount Everest, seeking a spiritual realization, or growing potatoes. A tremendous amount of our energy is spent trying to get sexual partners, having sex, and managing the myriad after effects of sex. If we redirected the energy devoted to sex to another pursuit, that pursuit would benefit."

In his Introduction to The Perennial Way, Bart Marshall tells the reader what to expect: "In the verses that follow, Patanjali, Buddha, Lao Tsu, and other great masters of the Way speak with resonant authority on man's deepest questions, and offer explicit instructions for how an earnest seeker of Truth should conduct his or her search and life."

 

The Listening Attention, by Bob Fergeson. "In the spiritual search, the quest for true self-definition, we soon come to the realization that our best efforts, and even our very selves, are mechanical and reactive. No matter how subtle or astute our meditation may be, we will never realize nirvana by using yet another facet of samsara. A different level of seeing is needed, a pure awareness that is not itself a product of the world or mind, but primary to the reaction pattern we call ourselves." This is a simple and profound teaching on finding the gateway to within. Read more about the book and order it at the above link or at The Listening Attention on Amazon.

Solid Ground of Being: A Personal Story of the Impersonal, by Art Ticknor. Illusions, delusions, or faulty beliefs prevent us from seeing clearly and acknowledging what we truly are ... beyond personality and even beyond individuality. In sharing the simple facts of his life experience, Art Ticknor takes us on an extraordinary journey. With a natural storyteller's voice and conversational style that draws the reader in and pulls us gently along, he conveys his view that the journey beyond the mind, to the solid ground of being, will bring full satisfaction to life. Solid Ground of Being on Amazon.

Bob Fergeson introduces The Listening Attention with a description of the characteristics of a gateway to within, which reconnects us to the pure awareness that is "outside of time and space, beyond circumstance, yet aware of them as well as itself."

Where is the solid ground of being? "Very close. Closer than you can imagine. The treasure house is not across the globe, across the street, or even across the room." Art Ticknor begins Solid Ground of Being with the statement: "For many years I believed myself to be something solid standing on something solid," and ends with the admonition: "Don't be afraid." Why? Because the journey we're on takes us Home. See the author page on this site for more background, bookseller links, and reader feedback.

 

At Home with the Inner Self, by Jim Burns. Jim was the only living acquaintance whom Richard Rose spoke of as having "made the trip." At Home with the Inner Self consists of transcripts from informal talks recorded in 1984 and 1985. Out of print for several years, new to this third edition is an interview conducted in 2006 as well as photographic images that evoke the graceful dissolution of the urban landscape that Jim calls home. "... There is a fountain-spring of endless guidance and information within every human being." At Home With The Inner Self on Amazon.

A Handyman's Common Sense Guide to Spiritual Seeking, by David W. Weimer. "I use the handyman frame for this guide because it's from my life. It exemplifies my doing my own thing, as opposed to working for someone else, doing what they want me to do. I was my own boss. I was also making a career out of becoming self-reliant. As a handyman painter I did things every day that I didn't know how to do; I was competent in plumbing, carpentry, painting, electrical, etc., and was able to handle whatever my customers needed done because of my growing experience. I provided for my family. I can't express how competent and proud I feel. A carpet store owner told me once, 'Being your own boss works on your head.' A handyman is the embodiment of practical competence, processing solid 'how to' knowledge gained by doing. What better framework for exemplifying my version of Truth seeking?" A Handyman's Common Sense Guide to Spiritual Seeking on Amazon.

As a diagnosed schizophrenic, Jim Burns is a man tortured by his outer self for much of his life, yet truly "at home with the inner self." His illness gives him unique insight into psychology and the impetus to study the mind as, truly, his life depended on it. Perhaps his greatest gift is leaving clues for other seekers looking for inner truth. An example of this is his statement that: "The key to the whole process [of finding answers within] lies in the fact that there is a fountain-spring of endless guidance and information within every human being. One only has to learn to get out of its way, to let the consciousness generate in a stilled and quiet mind.