DC Area Self-Knowledge and Nonduality

Deep Conversations at Bethesda Library --

Mon, Aug 3 · 6:00 PM EDT

Connie Morella (Bethesda) Library, 7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD, US

**August 3: "**So it may be that in the end, Self-realization is all a matter of destiny, yet it does appear that yearning and intent might play a role. Again, observation teaches us that it's in the area of one's greatest interest and activity that providence is most visible—that opportunities materialize, coincidences occur, revelation happens. Einstein had no epiphanies about cubism. Picasso none about math."
-- Bart Marshall

Question: What is your own greatest interest and activity focused on?
Self-Realization? Comfort? Becoming wealthy? Personal growth? Fame? Admiration? Something else?

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“I am struck with how rare it is to find a few good friends on the path. It is easy to find people who simply want to sit and be entertained by teachers, or who want to sit and entertain by playing the role of teacher. In other words, the quest for affirmation often outweighs the quest for truth.
Yet you may have one or two good friends, and definitely have one or two waiting to be discovered. Find them; be thankful.”
— Shawn Nevins

'What will make me happy in life?' ... 'Am I my thoughts?' ... 'What is Enlightenment?' ... We meet every week to ask questions like these in the pursuit of Self-Knowledge and Truth.

We are interested in topics like: Zen, stoicism, spirituality, psychology, mindfulness, Nisargadatta, non-violent communication, Socrates, existential philosophy, Alan Watts, taoism, Eckhart Tolle, meditation, Ramana Maharshi, etc. But we are not affiliated with any dogma, philosophy, or religion.

Our goal each meeting is to serve as mirrors for one another using question-based inquiry in a safe environment. In a session, every participant takes turns discussing the week's question or topic, and the group asks reflective questions without any agenda besides trying to understand the person's beliefs.

A few other guiding principles of our group:

• No one is obligated to share
• Be honest with yourself and others
• Do not try to convince others to believe or think as you do
• Keep the focus on the person being questioned

We meet at the Bethesda Library every Monday. The library is a 5 minute walk from the Bethesda Metro on the Red Line, approx 25 minute Metro ride from Metro Center and Gallery Place stations. The library has a a parking lot with metered parking for $1/hour.

*** WE WILL BE IN MEETING ROOM 3 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED ----- THE MEETING ROOM IS IN THE BACK OF THE LIBRARY ***

Please contact us with any questions!

Deep Conversations at Bethesda Library

Mon, Aug 10 · 6:00 PM EDT

Connie Morella (Bethesda) Library, 7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD, US

“I am struck with how rare it is to find a few good friends on the path. It is easy to find people who simply want to sit and be entertained by teachers, or who want to sit and entertain by playing the role of teacher. In other words, the quest for affirmation often outweighs the quest for truth.
Yet you may have one or two good friends, and definitely have one or two waiting to be discovered. Find them; be thankful.”
— Shawn Nevins

'What will make me happy in life?' ... 'Am I my thoughts?' ... 'What is Enlightenment?' ... We meet every week to ask questions like these in the pursuit of Self-Knowledge and Truth.

We are interested in topics like: Zen, stoicism, spirituality, psychology, mindfulness, Nisargadatta, non-violent communication, Socrates, existential philosophy, Alan Watts, taoism, Eckhart Tolle, meditation, Ramana Maharshi, etc. But we are not affiliated with any dogma, philosophy, or religion.

Our goal each meeting is to serve as mirrors for one another using question-based inquiry in a safe environment. In a session, every participant takes turns discussing the week's question or topic, and the group asks reflective questions without any agenda besides trying to understand the person's beliefs.

A few other guiding principles of our group:

• No one is obligated to share
• Be honest with yourself and others
• Do not try to convince others to believe or think as you do
• Keep the focus on the person being questioned

We meet at the Bethesda Library every Monday. The library is a 5 minute walk from the Bethesda Metro on the Red Line, approx 25 minute Metro ride from Metro Center and Gallery Place stations. The library has a a parking lot with metered parking for $1/hour.

*** WE WILL BE IN MEETING ROOM 3 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED ----- THE MEETING ROOM IS IN THE BACK OF THE LIBRARY ***

Please contact us with any questions!

Deep Conversations at Bethesda Library

Mon, Aug 17 · 6:00 PM EDT

Connie Morella (Bethesda) Library, 7400 Arlington Rd, Bethesda, MD, US

“I am struck with how rare it is to find a few good friends on the path. It is easy to find people who simply want to sit and be entertained by teachers, or who want to sit and entertain by playing the role of teacher. In other words, the quest for affirmation often outweighs the quest for truth.
Yet you may have one or two good friends, and definitely have one or two waiting to be discovered. Find them; be thankful.”
— Shawn Nevins

'What will make me happy in life?' ... 'Am I my thoughts?' ... 'What is Enlightenment?' ... We meet every week to ask questions like these in the pursuit of Self-Knowledge and Truth.

We are interested in topics like: Zen, stoicism, spirituality, psychology, mindfulness, Nisargadatta, non-violent communication, Socrates, existential philosophy, Alan Watts, taoism, Eckhart Tolle, meditation, Ramana Maharshi, etc. But we are not affiliated with any dogma, philosophy, or religion.

Our goal each meeting is to serve as mirrors for one another using question-based inquiry in a safe environment. In a session, every participant takes turns discussing the week's question or topic, and the group asks reflective questions without any agenda besides trying to understand the person's beliefs.

A few other guiding principles of our group:

• No one is obligated to share
• Be honest with yourself and others
• Do not try to convince others to believe or think as you do
• Keep the focus on the person being questioned

We meet at the Bethesda Library every Monday. The library is a 5 minute walk from the Bethesda Metro on the Red Line, approx 25 minute Metro ride from Metro Center and Gallery Place stations. The library has a a parking lot with metered parking for $1/hour.

*** WE WILL BE IN MEETING ROOM 3 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED ----- THE MEETING ROOM IS IN THE BACK OF THE LIBRARY ***

Please contact us with any questions!

Weekend Spirituality Retreat [Aug 21-23]

Fri, Aug 21 · 5:00 PM EDT

Claymont Society Mansion, 667 Huyett Rd, Charles Town, WV, US

Me (Benjy) and a few other group members will be going to this weekend retreat about 1.5 hours from DC near Harpers Ferry. It's $235 (less for members) which includes meals and lodging for the weekend. Scholarships are offered if needed.

This retreat will feature talks and a chance to interact directly with awakened people (self-reported awakened obviously), other serious spiritual seekers, group inquiry like we do on Mondays, and other interactive activities. It's not like seeing Eckhart Tolle talk to 1,000 people in a theater, it is a much more personal setting, usually 30-40 participants.

Check out the schedule and list of speakers below. You can also use the registration link to learn more about TAT Foundation, the group putting on the retreat and retreats like this for over 50 years. This is a talk recorded at a past TAT weekend.

***To register, you have to use this link***: https://tatfoundation.org/events/2026/06/24/august-2026-tat-meeting/

The Return Home
“There’s a vibrant longing that leads us back to consciousness of awareness. It’s reflected in our dissatisfaction, in our desire for unity, completion, wholeness, love, eternality….

“We try to fulfill the vibrant longing ‘out there.’ But its message is that an internal home is the place of completion, of eternality without conflict. When the excitement and adventure of traveling wears thin, it becomes more and more apparent to the weary traveler that fulfillment doesn’t lie over the next hill or around the next bend. As an old hymn intones: ‘Come Home, come Home, ye who are weary, come Home.’”
~ Art Ticknor

“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.

This immersive weekend retreat is designed to awaken deeper insight, cultivate authentic connection, and ignite true transformation. Whether you are taking your first steps on the path of self-inquiry or seeking renewed clarity, this gathering offers a rare opportunity to explore life’s deepest questions in an atmosphere of support and sincerity.

Featured presenters:
Paul Rezendes has a particularly compelling life story: leader of two notorious motorcycle gangs, becomes yoga teacher, spiritually awakens, then lives that awakening through his work as a renowned wildlife tracker, teacher, and photographer. Paul points definitively to the conundrum of the self, the seeker, getting in the way of what is sought. Paul is the author of The Wild Within. See Paul’s video from the April 2019 TAT retreat: “A Session in the Now.”

Bob Fergeson is a teacher, writer, photographer, and avid mountaineer. In the winter of 2000, while skiing in the backcountry of Colorado, Bob found what he sought. In his own words, “something happened to me that answered my questions as to who I am and my relationship to life and death, the questions that had somehow haunted me—consciously or not—for most of my adult life.” He is featured in the film Mountain High: Touching the Void. Bob is also the author of The Listening Attention, a simple and profound teaching on finding the gateway to within. He is the co-author of the beautiful book of poetry and photographs, Images of Essence. See Bob’s talk from the April 2011 TAT retreat. See Bob’s Listening Attention website.

Weekend Schedule

Friday Aug 21

• 5:00–7:00 PM — Setup and Arrivals
• 7:00–7:15 PM — Welcome / Opening Session
• 7:15–8:30 PM — Breakout Groups – “Nostalgia & Home”
• 8:30 PM–? — Free Time

Sat Aug 22

• 7:30 to 8:00 AM – Optional group meditation with Paul Constant
• 8:00 to 9:00 AM – Potluck continental breakfast and open discussion
• 9:00 to 9:15 AM – Break
• 9:15 to 9:30 AM – Welcome with Jonathan P.
• 9:30 to 10:30 AM – a session with Paul Rezendes
• 10:30 to 10:45 AM – Break
• 10:45 to 11:30 AM – Q & A with Paul Rezendes
• 11:30 to 12:00 PM – Break
• 12:00 to 1:15 PM – Potluck Lunch
• 1:15 to 3:15 PM – Group Inquiry: Through honest, open dialogue, we help one another clarify our understanding by turning away from untruths. Thus we turn from the illusion of life to Reality. Such questioning is at the core of Richard Rose’s Albigen System. Led by Paul Constant, Shawn Nevins, Mike Gegenheimer, and Bob Fergeson (if a 4th group is needed).
• 3:15 to 3:30 PM – Free Time/Discussion
• 3:30 to 4:30 PM – a session with Bob Fergeson
• 4:30 to 4:45 PM – Break
• 4:45 to 5:15 PM – Q & A with Bob Fergeson
• 5:15 to 5:30 PM – Break
• 5:30 to 7:00 PM – Potluck Dinner
• 7:00 to 8:15 PM – “Speed Inquiry” session with _________________
• 8:15 to 8:30 PM – Break
• 8:30 to 9:00 PM – The Journey Home through Douglas Harding experiments

Sun Aug 23

• 7:30 to 8:00 AM – Optional Silent Rapport Sitting with Mike Gegenheimer and Shawn Nevins.
• 8:00 to 9:00 AM – Potluck continental breakfast and open discussion
• 9:00 to 9:15 AM – Break
• 9:15 to 11:30 AM – ________ TBD
• 11:30 – 11:45 AM – Break
• 11:45 AM to Noon – Meeting wrap-up & feedback for future meetings
• Noon to 2:00 PM – Potluck Lunch/Open Discussion/Adjourn Meeting