Richard Rose

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Richard Rose in 1974
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Richard Rose in 1974

Richard Rose (March 14, 1917 - July 6, 2005) was an American mystic, esoteric philosopher, author, poet, and investigator of paranormal phenomena. An observer of human psychology, human weakness and human potential, Richard Rose challenged authority in psychology, psychiatry, religion, academia, the legal system, and the New Age movement at a time when such criticism was not popular. His criticism highlighted group-think, dogmatism, financial motives, emotional appeals, and reliance on questionable authorities. He published a number of books and spoke widely in universities and other venues across the country during the 1970s and 1980s. Rose called his system the "retreat from untruth," the examination of personal belief systems and lifestyles, discarding what one finds to be false on a case-by-case basis. He combined this skeptical approach with his belief that truth does exist and can be found for oneself with sufficient application of effort.

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[edit] Teachings

The very area in which Rose worked is considered esotericism and his direct, iconoclastic approach would never attract a popular movement in the way some Eastern gurus did during his era. Rather than presenting a concept-structure or a specific practice upon which such a movement could be based, he advocated personal immersion into available methods and religious styles, while always applying what he called the "respectful doubt." However, he attracted sub-rosa a network of thinkers and researchers, and his ideas and methods continue to filter into esoteric circles.

It would be difficult to separate the character and lifestyle of the man from the methods he used. Rather than approaching spirituality as a way to find peace or enhance one's life, which he would call "utilitarian," he advocated total dedication to a search for truth in spite of the personal consequences. In his interactions with the public and his students, his deeply personal approach would lay bare the illusions and falsehoods that human beings typically hide within themselves. This is one reason he was often called a Zen master, even though he was highly critical of mainstream Zen. A scientist by education, he came from humble roots. His works were based on a lifetime of experience and research, as reflected in this quote by Joseph Chilton Pearce: "Rose is a no-nonsense West Virginian who wants nothing more from life than to somehow pass on the cataclysmic spiritual experience, the Enlightenment that blind-sided him when he was a young man."

Rose spoke during a time when Eastern gurus were popular and could have presented himself as one because of his insight into mysticism. However, this would be contrary to all his principles and his convictions about the essence of man. He would never prescribe a specific practice, saying that each person's case was unique, and he encouraged his students to immerse themselves in the methods which appealed to their intuition. Consequently, his followers obtained an understanding of a wide number of esoteric groups and methods, which they were able to bring back and share among themselves.

He cautioned against the error of postulating what truth should be and then trying to move toward it. His working definition of truth was "a condition from which all untruth has been removed." He used the phrases "retreat from error" and "reverse vector" to describe the process of moving away from the most obviously false, the "garbage," which would clarify the thinking and intuition to a point where more subtle untruth could be evaluated. But this was not skepticism for skepticism's sake, for at the basis of his approach were the discoveries and insights obtained in his early years.

In his early lectures he often related his findings on paranormal phenomena, stemming from his investigations into Spiritualism. There was always a purpose-driven aspect of his teaching, insisting that a life of activity is meaningless as long as the identity of the actor is not known. He published The Albigen Papers, which he called a guidebook for seekers, and a book on his theories about the transmutation of energy from the body through the mind up to what he called the "spiritual quantum," anticipating some of the theories now coming forward on the mind as a force-field. He produced a pamphlet on a method of meditation, the dispassionate review of past traumatic events, as a way to overcome psychological problems and to understand the ego. His slim volume Psychology of the Observer encapsulated his views on the structure of mind-processes and the internal ascent from a personal, conflicted view of the world to a more Universal perspective [1]. He was an able hypnotist, occasionally giving demonstrations, and said that understanding hypnotism was a key to understanding the mechanics of the mind. (His criticism of spiritual and New Age movements often included references to their use of self-hypnotic methods.)

He worked closely with groups, beginning with university students and professional people, mostly in the Northeast (Pennsylvania, Ohio, Massachusetts, Maryland, West Virginia). Over time, as the students graduated and entered professional lives, groups were also established in Colorado, California, North Carolina, Florida, and Maine. After he was hospitalized with Alzheimer's in the mid 1990s, many of the organizations fizzled, but some thrived, notably the Self-Knowledge Symposium at universities in North Carolina.

Rose believed that progress on one's spiritual path was linked to one's efforts at helping others. He coined the terms "Law of the Ladder" and "Ladder Work" to describe different levels he observed among those seeking truth. He also believed that one could only effectively help, or be helped by, others who were on the same or adjacent rungs of the ladder. He coined the term "Contractor's Law" to describe the "extra-proportional returns" realized when a group of people combine their efforts in any endeavor.

Rose's writings were typically brief and to the point, as by far the majority of his teachings were disseminated in person. However, an extensive evaluation of his system was documented in 1990 in a dissertation by John Kent, PhD, as referenced below.

[edit] Biography

From the time he was a child, Richard Rose had one overriding goal — to find God. He pursued his goal with determination until, at the age of 30, a cataclysmic event produced an unexpected and previously unimagined revelation. During the years of searching he became angry at the lack of integrity and knowledge he perceived among people purporting to be spiritual teachers, and he made a vow that if he ever found anything, he would help others who were looking for answers. After his breakthrough, he dedicated his life to fulfill that vow, writing half a dozen books, giving hundreds of talks around the country, making himself available for help through correspondence and in person, and providing a place where seekers could meet or spend uninterrupted time by themselves.

Richard Rose was born in Benwood, West Virginia, USA. He was a religious child and entered a Catholic pre-seminary in Butler, Pennsylvania, at age 12. He later recounted his delight at the prospect of living with monks and nuns who he believed had direct connections to God. He became disillusioned, though, with the teachers and with their insistence that he accept what they taught on blind faith. He left the seminary at age 17, still looking for God but having decided to do so through science.

He studied chemistry and physics in college but then became disillusioned with the possibility of finding God or Truth through science. He began a journey around the U.S., parlaying his science skills into a series of jobs involving projects such as the development of the nuclear submarine at Babcock & Wilcox in Alliance, Ohio, the pioneering work with streptomycin at the National Jewish Medical & Research Center in Denver, and metallurgical testing for Martin Aircraft in Baltimore.

While living in Baltimore, his older brother James was killed when a German U-boat torpedoed the Merchant Marine vessel he was sailing on. His death provided a huge shock to Rose, who contrasted his brother's selfless attitude to his own spiritual ego.

Rose was working as a waiter at a tennis club in Seattle in the spring of 1947 when another blow to the ego provided the apparent catalyst for his self-realization. Several months later, he wrote a description of what had occurred in The Three Books of the Absolute,.

A few years later he married and raised a family, which he supported as a painting contractor and by raising cattle on the family farm. He worked with people who were interested in parapsychological phenomena such as ESP and hypnosis, but said he never come across anyone working to answer questions about the nature of the mind and reality. It was in this period that he compiled his first book, The Albigen Papers, outlining his philosophy. Then in 1972 he was invited to give a talk at the Theosophical Society in Pittsburgh. Two students from the University of Pittsburgh attended, and they were inspired to start a group at the university to apply Rose's teaching.

In 1973, Rose and a handful of students set up the TAT Foundation — "a circle of friends with no head" — to promote their efforts to reach out to others. The Pittsburgh group spawned groups at other northeastern universities and even a couple of western locations (Denver and Los Angeles). Rose made his farm available for group gatherings and individual retreats, and students built two large buildings for meetings as well as cabins for individual use. The following two decades saw hundreds of people inspired to launch their own spiritual searches.

As his work with groups expanded, Rose continued to write and publish such books as The Direct-Mind Experience, Psychology of the Observer, and Transmutation of Energy. His public lectures also continued until the early 1990's, when he started to show signs of deterioration that eventually revealed Alzheimer's disease.

A series of photos and other biographical details (family life, etc) appears on the Richard Rose Teachings website referenced in the External Links section below.

[edit] Influence

The esoteric teacher Gurdjieff spoke about a conscious circle of humanity whose influence is not known to the general public, but which filters down through other people in the field of interest. Somewhat like Gurdjieff, Rose advocated a very personal commitment. His lectures were widely attended by the public, many of whom benefited from his influence but couldn't commit to weekly meetings, etc. This becomes more understandable with an explanation of Rose's methods. Due to his uncompromising commitment to truth, his Zen-like method of confrontation, his recommendation of a celibate lifestyle, and his unorthodox attitude toward social and political sacred cows, only the most determined individuals would stay with him for long. However, this produced the further result that he attracted a committed group of thinkers and researchers.

Although Rose's books were available in bookstores for two decades, he never seriously attempted to commercialize his writings, which he would disparage as "eating on the altar." Consequently he was somewhat obscure until his followers discovered the capabilities of the internet for widely disseminating ideas in a not-for-profit manner. Members of the TAT Foundation, the current umbrella organization, are spread throughout the country where they have their own study groups, which people attend without becoming actual members of the umbrella group.

[edit] Related material

As a result of his research, Rose had a number of authors to recommend as well as to disparage. Those he most highly recommended were the Indian guru Ramana Maharshi, the ancient Zen master Huang Po, the Christian mystics St. John of the Cross and Teresa of Avila, the above-mentioned George Gurdjieff, and the researchers Paul Brunton and Richard Bucke. Rose had a high regard for Alfred Pulyan, an obscure Zen master from Connecticut, whose writings are available on the internet. Pulyan indicated to Rose a method of Transmission, referred to in ancient Zen literature. Some of Richard Rose's followers have published material on the web, congruent with his philosophy, these relating to Advaita Vedanta philosophy, Nisargadatta Maharaj, Franklin Merrell-Wolff, and Douglas Harding.

[edit] Publications

[edit] Works by Rose

[edit] About Rose and his teachings

  • After the Absolute: Real Life Adventures With a Backwoods Buddha by David Gold, 2002 ISBN 0-595-23994-3
  • Richard Rose's Psychology of the Observer: The Path to Reality Through the Self by John Kent, PhD, 1990, dissertation.

[edit] External links

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