Pittsburgh Philosophical Self-Inquiry Discussion Group

Activities

Discussion Meetings
Weekend Workshops
Special Events

Past Discussion Topics

Map & Directions to the Carnegie Library

Return to Self-Discovery Portal

Upcoming Events

Sunday, May 11: Insight Workshop at 1 PM.

Saturday, May 17: TAT Foundation Workday.

Monday, May 19: Discussion Group meets at the Carnegie Library 6-8 PM.

Sunday, May 25: Insight Workshop at 1 PM.

See Paean to Group Work below.

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What Can the PSI Group Do for You?

Pittsburgh, PA

The PSI group provides a non-dogmatic environment where people seeking to discover a true understanding of themselves and their place in the cosmos can work together. It encourages individual investigation and application of the teachings of people throughout history who have claimed successful discovery of the answer to the "Who am I?" question (see the Maximum Systems page for some examples). And it serves as a matrix where each individual's progress can be accelerated by helping and being helped.

Those who participate in the meetings find that they:

Become more self-aware.

Gain clarity and self-control.

Come to rely on their own authority.

Those who are willing to work on themselves find a structure for accelerating their progress, including:

Group retreats.
Recommended books.
People to talk with.
Weekend workshops.
Solitary retreats.

In addition to the local resources, there is a wider group of people to affiliate with, some of whom have found an ultimate answer and are motivated to help you do the same. (See the Background notes below.)

Perhaps most importantly, you will find friendship with others who see the goal of self-knowledge or self-definition as the highest goal of an individual's life -- and each individual's true calling and purpose.

Background

These meetings were started in 1997 by individual members of the TAT organization, which encourages but does not monitor or endorse its members' actions in the pursuit of self-realization. If you're interested in looking more deeply into what TAT has to offer, we suggest reading The Albigen Papers or The Direct-Mind Experience by Richard Rose, the founder of TAT.

Other writings of Richard Rose include a Meditation booklet, which offers advice on the beginning steps of a common-sense approach to self-inquiry, Energy Transmutation, Between-ness and Transmission, which gives Rose's perspective on the conservation and transmutation of energy needed for the spiritual search, and The Psychology of the Observer, which lays out an advanced method of self-inquiry "that is like holding a mirror up to the mind."

For more information on TAT, Richard Rose, and the threefold path he recommended for truth-seekers, see the Articles & Excerpts page on this site and check out the TAT Foundation site, which includes a monthly e-zine, the TAT Forum, with essays, poems, opinions and humor on seeking and finding answers to your deepest life-questions.

Paean to Group Work

Archimedes' lever

Invocation:
O healer of the gods,
Cure the earthbound humans
of their mortal status.
Monody:
The Real Self, being Nothing, weighs nothing,
while the illusory self is a heavy set of beliefs.
How can you remove the self
from blocking the view of Self?
As Archimedes discovered,
it takes a lever and a fulcrum
to move a seemingly immovable object.
The lever is relentless determination,
born of commitment.
The fulcrum is affliction to the self-beliefs,
provided by the law of the jungle.
To accelerate the process,
harness yourself to other selves
who are attempting to accomplish
the same Herculean task.
Expect the self to rebel
since the effort of self-inquiry is anti-self.
Chorus:
Onward self-inquiring soldiers
Heading in to war
With the foes of freedom
Masking what you are.

Monody:
Working closely with others will provide
plenty of irritation and afflictions to your pride.
which can be used to broaden your view
if you don't run away and hide.
Chorus ….
Monody:
If you persist to the point where you can see
there's nothing in it for the self,
the Self will take over
and finish the work for thee.
Chorus ….
Eulogy:
O ghost of self, you weren't all bad or all good
but a mixture of both, like all selves,
designed to function in a dream
of perfect imperfection.
Chorus:
Onward self-inquiring soldiers
Heading in to war
With the foes of freedom
Masking what you are.

See the April and May 2008 TAT Forums for opinions on the value of working with other seekers.