radiant mind course

• discover the “Ultimate Medicine”– the final goal of allhuman endeavors

• access the full transformative power of Asia’s spiritualwisdom in a Western form

• experience nondual presence in your daily life throughworkshops, dialogues, telephone contemplations,readings and individual coaching sessions

We invite you to explore this innovative experientialeight month course in which you will...

Endorsed By:

Ken Wilber, Integral InstituteRobert Thurman, Tibetan Scholar, President of Tibet House in NYIsaac Shapiro, International Advaita teacherJohn Welwood, Author, Toward a Psychology of AwakeningLama Palden Drolma, Founder, Sukhasiddhi FoundationAllan Combs, Author, The Radiance of BeingChuck Hillig - Author, series of enlightening booksStuart Sovatsky, President, Association of Transpersonal Psychology

“Peter Fenner has been working hard for many years on translating essential Dharmateachings into a modern secular language and format, and his course is an innova-tive and creative distillation that offers useful exercises for integrating the teachingsinto everyday life.” —John Welwood Author, Toward a Psychology of Awakening

“Radiant Mind is a brilliant postmodern implementation of Buddhist nondual wisdom.Peter Fenner has taken the refined deconstructive practices that have liberated ten ofthousands of Asian contemplatives and adapted them for effective Western use. Thiscourse brings the ultimately liberating experience of selfless engagement within thereach of Western spiritual discoverers. I highly recommend it.” —Robert Thurman,Tibetan Scholar, President of Tibet House in New York

© Copyright 2004 by Peter Fenner. All rights reserved.

The unconditioned mind is the most powerful healing agent in existence:In Buddhism it is called “the ultimate medicine”......................................................

You will access a state of consciousness in which it is impossible to createlack or deficiency............................................................................................................

The unconditioned mind activates natural self-healing mechanismsdeep within you..............................................................................................................

The Radiant Mind Course is delivered at the results level: you do nothingmore and nothing less than what is needed for you to become more andmore familiar with the unconditioned mind.............................................................

Unlike many paths and therapies, the Radiant Mind course doesn’tassume that anything is wrong or missing with you ...............................................

This Course is based upon the embodied presence of nondual masters...............

The Course is called Radiant Mind but you talk a lot about theunconditioned mind. What’s the difference between them?..................................

Why do you focus on the unconditioned mind rather than changebeliefs and behavior?.....................................................................................................

Experience a transcendence that enhances your aliveness andengagement in physical life!.........................................................................................

The experience of the unconditioned mind is a unique and identifiablestate that means you can learn when you are and are not in this state..................

Structure of the course at a glance...............................................................................

Over the duration of the Course you will have numerous opportunitiesto enter and rest in the space of unconditioned awareness.....................................

Three dynamic workshops give you a unique opportunity to workdirectly with Peter..........................................................................................................

Twelve transformational essays to ground you in the distinctions andpractices of the Course................................................................................................

Hands-on practices through 48 experiential exercises designed to leadyou directly to the unconditioned mind ..................................................................

You will be assigned a coach to guide you in learning to meditate, or toenhance or reinvigorate your existing practice so that it points moredirectly to unconditioned mind..................................................................................

Koan practice—questions that let you enter the infinite expanse ofunconditioned awareness by dismantling fixed ideas about who you areand what you’re doing ...............................................................................................

We Structured This 8-Month Course to Have TheGreatest Experiential Impact on Your Life

The Unconditioned Mind —The UltimateGoal of All Human Endeavors

CONTENTS

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Individual sessions personalize the Course material and make it 100%relevant to your life .....................................................................................................

Conference calls every two weeks create experiential continuity betweenthe workshops and reinforce your experience of community................................

You will join a warm community of like-minded people who supporteach other in a very natural and non-egocentric way.............................................

Discussion forum and nondual therapy: you will have access to arestricted area of the Radiant Mind web site that contains additionalresources and a bulletin board....................................................................................

Why design the Course over an eight-month period of time? .............................

Why does the Course take eight months when the unconditioned mindis always present?.........................................................................................................

Instruction is directed towards your immediate experience, whichmakes it more relevant and powerful for you..........................................................

The high level of interactivity in the course translates into high retentionfor participants—this means you learn to rest in the unconditioned mindwith more depth, clarity and duration......................................................................

This Course is for anyone who wants to learn the effortless way of nondualpresence, and therapists can gain great benefits for their practice.......................

This Course is non-confrontational so you don’t need to worry aboutbeing embarrassed by the teacher in front of a group............................................

Five obstacles that keep you identified with your conditioned existenceand prevent you from experiencing the freedom of the unconditioned mind....

Whether you’re an experienced meditator, or a beginner, this Coursewill help you create a contemplative practice that points directly to theunconditioned mind.....................................................................................................

By enhancing the quality of your experience in this and every moment,you predispose yourself to more bliss and contentment in the future.................

You’ll learn how to release fixations by simply observing their presencein real time ....................................................................................................................

Intimate yet detached: discover desirelessness as one of the most effectiveways to de-condition your experience and open you to new levels of intimacy......

Feel complete with the past and fearless of the future...........................................

Learn a new way of listening called “pure listening” that relieves peopleof the burden of heavy emotions and negative thoughts.......................................

Experience natural release: the practice of non-interference that transformsconflict into harmony by “letting things be just as they are”................................

Learn to radiate an inner peace that soothes and nourishes others......................

Outline of The Dynamic Content That Will Lead Youto Experience The Unconditioned Mind

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Is Peter Fenner Qualified to Transmit and TeachYou About Unconditioned Presence?

Why is a teacher’s presence important?...................................................................

Experiencing Peter in a workshop or experiencing Peter’s work directly..........

Just because teachers can rest in the unconditioned mind doesn’t meanthey can teach this to others.......................................................................................

Peter says, “This course is not just another intellectual project!”.........................

Peter’s reasons for creating the Radiant Mind Course...........................................

Where did Peter get the material for this course?...................................................

The Radiant Mind course links you directly into a lineage of illustriousspiritual masters going back to the Buddha............................................................

As a post-monastic, Peter integrated Eastern wisdom with Westernpsychological practices: The result is the Radiant Mind Course.........................

The scholarly side of Peter—the solid theoretical underpinnings of theexperiential Radiant Mind Course............................................................................

I’ve done the spiritual group thing and feel I’m past that stage, is thiscourse for me or will I be wasting my time?............................................................

The Radiant Mind course is not culturally specific nor is it part of aspiritual tradition ........................................................................................................

Not everyone qualifies for taking this Course! Check to see if you qualify........

Tuition for the Course..................................................................................................

Dates and registration form for the Course.............................................................

Lift an oppressive weight from your spiritual path by releasing theperpetual need to know and be busy.........................................................................

Work with natural koans to allow your fixed ideas about who you are andwhat you’re doing dissolve into the infinite expanse of unconditioned awareness.......

Learn the art of deconstructive conversations a way to dismantleconceptuality.................................................................................................................

Broaden the river of life—learn to expand your capacity to remain presentand fully functional in the face of intensely pleasurable and unpleasant experiences.......

Explore and enjoy the natural side effects of resting in the unconditionedmind: healing-bliss, joy and rapture..........................................................................

You will learn to work with “checking questions” so you can verify, for your-self and others, the quality and purity of the unconditioned mind experience........

Dance in the paradoxes of nondual logic that lead you directly into theunconditioned mind and release the energy that’s tied up in the imperativethat you need to be logical and rational...................................................................

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1Contact: Jerry 800-627-1455 [email protected]

Whether you realize it or not, the unconditioned mind is the ultimate goal of all human endeavors. Why? Because when you rest in the unconditioned mind, there

is absolutely nothing more that you need. There’s nowhere furtherto go. It’s the only experience that is totally satisfying. The RadiantMind Course directs you to the experience of the unconditionedmind as a way of transcending suffering by healing the psychologi-cal wounds of the past and giving you the innate confidence andcourage to embrace an ultimately unknown future.

The experience of the unconditioned mind is a very precise experience. It’sthe only experience that is totally open and without any structure. This is why it’ssometimes called “contentless wisdom.” This experience is the ultimate aim ofall nondual spiritual traditions and has been called by many names, includingenlightenment, liberation, buddha-nature, egolessness, pure awareness, ournatural condition, and pure being.

The experience of the unconditioned mind can be measured in terms of itspurity, depth and duration. By purity, we mean the extent to which the experi-ence is completely unstructured and free of labels and interpretations. By thedepth of the experience, we mean the extent to which the unconditioned per-vades or infuses our conditioned existence. By duration, we mean how long wecan rest in that state.

The Radiant Mind Course has been developed for the specific purpose ofincreasing your capacity to rest in the experience of nondual presence. As oneparticipant said; “[The course] made available to me an experience that seemedvery elusive before I met Peter, which I had no way of even evaluating. WhatPeter offered is a way of experiencing this, sustaining it, and deepening it inpractice with himself and others. The course also allowed me to get a very clearsense of the criteria for discovering what it is and what it isn’t. Now I’m in aposition to continue cultivating it.”

The unconditioned mind is the most powerful healing agent inexistence: In Buddhism it is called “the ultimate medicine”

In Buddhism the unconditioned mind is called, “the ultimate medicine.”Why? As a healing agent, nothing will ever surpass it, since no amount of re-search or innovation will ever discover anything as powerful as the uncondi-tioned mind. When you rest in the unconditioned mind nothing—absolutelynothing—is missing. It doesn’t matter if you’ve just lost a million dollars or aresuffering a terminal illness and only have a few weeks to live. If you are rooted in

The unconditioned mind—the ultimate goal of all

human endeavors

As the darkness ofthe night, even wereit to last a thousandyears, could notconceal the risingsun, so countless agesof conflict andsuffering cannotconceal the innateradiance of mind.

Tilopa (988-1069 CE)

“The experience ofthe unconditionedmind can be mea-

sured in terms of itspurity, depth and

duration.”


the unconditioned mind, nothing is missing! There’s nothing more you need. If a life-saving cure comes along, this is well and good, but if it doesn’t, it makes no differ-ence. If you suddenly recover lost wealth, well and good. But, if you are resting inthe unconditioned mind, you don’t need a cent of it. You are complete and contentwith exactly what you have. The experience of the unconditioned mind is not at alldependent upon your conditions. Everyone has access to it. It’s an experience thatsets you free no matter where you are or what you’re experiencing.

You will access a state of consciousness in which itis impossible to create lack or deficiency

The experience of the unconditioned mind heals you in two different ways.First, it relieves you of the need to “fix things up” by offering you a profoundexperience of clarity and contentment—an experience of being in total harmonywith yourself and the world. In Buddhism this is called “going beyond loss orgain.” In this state of consciousness everything is present exactly as it is, and youfind it impossible to construe that anything is missing. You’ve moved beyond thefamiliar cycle of having problems and finding solutions. There’s nothing toremove and nothing to hang on to. The experience is “priceless,” not becauseyou’re attached to its value or reality, but because nothing in the realm of condi-tioned experiences can increase or enhance your fulfillment.

The unconditioned mind activates naturalself-healing mechanisms deep within you

The other way in which awareness of the unconditioned mind heals is byrestructuring your thought-patterns so that you become more available to theexperience of happiness and freedom. Every mind touched by the awareness ofits unconditioned nature moves closer to the experience of real freedom andliberation. The experience attenuates the need to have fixed ideas about yourselfand others. You become less reactive and defensive—and hence better able torelease your fears and insecurities. In this way, the effects of the experiencepercolate through the layers of your conditioned experiences long after you’vefinished resting in the awareness itself.

The Yoga Tradition of Buddhism describes this process as the “transforma-tion of the structural foundations of our being.” Through contact with an un-stained stream of pure being, the energies and mechanisms that condition yourpresent and future experience lose their power to distort your experience andthereby to cause suffering. Other nondual traditions describe how the experienceof the unconditioned mind infuses the conditioned body-mind like a sweetperfume or a soothing breeze.

No matter how your healing unfolds, the more time you spend resting in theexperience of nondual presence, the more familiar you become with your primor-dial, invincible nature. When opportunities arise to let go of your preoccupationsand daily concerns, you find yourself moving effortlessly and without resistanceinto a more open and accepting way of being.

Friends! The mind islike an obstinatecamel. If you holdonto it, it wants toescape, but if you let itloose it just sits there.If you relax into yournatural condition thisis the genuineexperience of naturalfreedom.

Longchenpa, 14th

century TibetanDzogchen master

“Every mind touchedby the awareness ofits unconditioned

nature moves closerto the experience of

real freedom andliberation.”


The Radiant Mind Course is delivered at the results level: you donothing more and nothing less than what is needed for you tobecome more and more familiar with the unconditioned mind

The Radiant Mind Course combines the most advanced principles of Asia’snondual contemplative traditions and the finely honed skills of Western psychol-ogy. It blends the liberating power of nondual wisdom with intimacy and focuseson outcomes that we find in Western counseling and therapy. It is genuinelynondual, but not in the naive sense of rigidly proclaiming that there’s nothingyou can do to abide in the unconditioned mind. While it’s true that the uncondi-tioned mind stands outside all causes and conditions, the Course correctly recog-nizes that when we’re confused or suffering, “doing nothing” often simplydoesn’t make sense. It rarely transports us to the experience of nondual presence.

Radiant Mind is not about mechanically completing a set of exercises orreading a set of essays. It’s about doing nothing more and nothing less than whatis required to rest confidently in the radiance of your being. The Course ad-dresses this challenge through a set of core processes that dissolve through theirvery application, leading you into an experience of spontaneously arising nondualpresence.

You will see shortly that the Course has a sophisticated structure, in whicheverything you do is linked to the experience of nondual awareness. You willwork at both the conditioned and unconditioned levels of experience. But every-thing you do is always in the service of cultivating the unconditioned mind. TheCourse has an absolutely clear focus. It is structured in a way that reveals yourown attachment or aversion to structure, and let’s you release this.

As Peter tells participants “The aim of the Course is to bring you to the end of thespiritual path—to a place where there’s nowhere further to go—an awareness that can’tbe enhanced or degraded. In different ways, everything that we do gives people an oppor-tunity to enjoy this state. The aim isn’t to keep you busy. We don’t feed your fixationsabout “getting it done” or “doing it right”. Some of the processes in the course are simplyexcuses for you to share with others the space of nondual awareness! Radiant Mind is nota Course! It’s a structure for you to engage with over several months, that will lead youinto the unconditioned mind on dozens of occasions, and help make this a more constantexperience in your life.”

Unlike many paths and therapies, the Radiant Mind coursedoesn’t assume that anything is wrong or missing with you ...

In contrast to many workshops and Courses, which assume that your inneror outer reality must change in order for you to achieve real fulfillment, theRadiant Mind Course dissolves your habitual tendency to construct that some-thing is wrong or missing.

The experience of the unconditioned mind takes you outside the cycle ofreactive responses and emotions by connecting you with the nature of your mindas pure unstructured awareness. You are at home with yourself in a totally natu-ral and uncontrived way. When you rest in this experience, you connect inti-

“...the unconditionedmind infuses the

conditioned body-mind like a sweet

perfume or a sooth-ing breeze”

Nothing can obstructthis teaching, whichis as all-embracingand ungraspable asspace, no trace ofwhich can ever befound, crystallized,isolated, divided,tested or analyzed.

Subhuti, a discipleof the Buddha


mately with everything within and around you, yet you’re beyond being dis-turbed in any way. In the Vajrayana tradition of Buddhism this experience iscalled invincibility, or indestructibility.

At the same time, we acknowledge that the circumstances of your inner andouter life can make you more or less predisposed toward the experience of un-conditioned presence. Consequently, therapy and counseling can complementthe Radiant Mind course.

This Course is based upon the embodiedpresence of nondual masters

The Radiant Mind course content is inspired by the example of masters andsages from nondual spiritual traditions. These traditions are mainly found inIndia and Asia. They include various traditions of Mahayana Buddhism: Zen,Dzogchen, Mahamudra and Madhyamaka. Outside of Buddhism, nonduality isfound in the Advaita form of Hinduism and Chinese Taoism.

The masters in these traditions show that what we all strive for—a state ofreal and lasting fulfillment—is achievable. Furthermore, through their teachingsand relationships they provide a model for how to manage our own evolutionand make a powerful healing contribution to others.

The Radiant Mind Course uses the embodied presence of nondual mastersas a model for creating a new paradigm for an experiential Course. This para-digm is based on the healing power of the unconditioned mind, rather than ongiving advice, making recommendations, or proffering interpretations. This is notto say these have no place in other practices. They do. But they aren’t the mostessential ingredients here. The most essential ingredient is the introduction andcultivation of an awareness of the unconditioned mind and the effect that has onour experience of our everyday life.

The Course is called Radiant Mind but you talk a lot about theunconditioned mind. What’s the difference between them?

In the Course we talk about the conditioned body-mind, the unconditionedmind and radiant mind. The conditioned body-mind is the conceptual mind thatthinks, gets confused, has preferences and experiences pleasure and pain. It’s themind that creates our problems. It’s the mind that both creates and searches for away out of our difficulties.

The unconditioned mind is pure, unlimited awareness, beyond all ego-identification. In different traditions it has been called, nondual presence, the Self,witness consciousness, non-self, pure awareness, buddha-nature, emptiness, no-mind, contentless wisdom, and natural mind.

The Radiant Mind arises when the unconditioned mind radiates through thetotality of our conditioned existence, bringing peace, wisdom and love to every-thing we experience. When the unconditioned refracts through and perfumes theflavor and quality of our everyday existence we experience the radiant mind. Inthe nondual Dzogchen tradition the experience of radiance (dang) is likened to

All activities—thegraceful, heroic,terrifying,compassionate,furious, and peaceful—and all (emotions)—passion, anger, greed,pride, and envy—are,without exception,perfect and puremanifestations of self-illuminating wisdom.

Sahajayoginichinta,8th century femalemaster


way that transparent light (the unconditioned) refracts through a prism (theradiant mind) bringing forth and illuminating the infinite richness and diversityof the conditioned or manifest universe. When you live in the radiant mind youexperience yourself as a unique human being, and at the same time you rest in aunified expanse of unconditioned-bliss-awareness.

Why do you focus on the unconditioned mindrather than change beliefs and behavior?

In this Course you will cultivate the experience of radiant mind. Mostpeople are very aware of their conditioning. If anything, we are excessivelyconcerned with “getting what we want” and “looking good”. Most people areunaware of the unconditioned mind. Even if people know about the uncondi-tioned mind, and have experienced it, they still find it difficult to infuse theirlives with the liberating power of nondual presence. So the focus of the RadiantMind Course is to give you access to the unconditioned mind in the midst ofyour conditioned existence. The Course guides you through a set of carefullypresented interventions and processes that reveal the unconditioned nature ofyour mind, without needing to drastically change your lifestyle or who you are.

CONDITIONEDBODY-MIND

UNCONDITIONEDMIND

RADIANTMIND

This Course

CONDITIONED MIND

Ongoingly completeBeyond pain and

pleasureHere and now

InvincibleBeyond creation and

destructionBeyond improvement

or degradationContentless

TranspersonalTrans-cultural

UNCONDITIONED MIND

Natural ReleaseDeconstruction

KoansContemplationHealing-bliss

Reconditioning

TRANSITIONSuccess/FailurePleasure/Pain

Ignorance/KnowledgeLoss/Gain

Freedom/BondageStruggle/Relief

Past/FutureForwards/Backwards

Easy/Difficult

This Course

“When the uncondi-tioned refracts

through and per-fumes the flavor andquality of our every-

day existence weexperience theradiant mind.”


The Radiant Mind Course gives you the techniques and experiences that areneeded in order to expand your awareness so it includes the experience of theunconditioned dimension of your existence. The course helps you to make thetransition from being mainly preoccupied with what you want and don’t want, toexperiencing life free from the constraints of your habits and limited preferences.

On some spiritual paths, the unconditioned mind is cultivated with verylittle reference to our conditioned existence. The unconditioned is experiencedonly in deep states of solitary meditation. There is little overlap between theconditioned and unconditioned dimensions of being.

In the Radiant Mind Course we reveal the unconditioned mind, in the midstof our conditioning. You will cultivate the experience of nondual presence in anatural way, that doesn’t require you to avoid or retreat from the complexities ofdaily life. You become aware of the unconditioned mind in a way that it naturallyreveals the radiance of your being.

Experience a transcendence that enhances youraliveness and engagement in physical life!

There are different types of nondual approaches. Mahayana Buddhism is theinspiration behind this Course. In this tradition the experience of the uncondi-tioned mind is cultivated in the midst of your everyday experiences. It’s anexperience of “embodied transcendence.” It isn’t an experience of being “spaced-out,” “up in the clouds” or “disconnected from other people.” The wisdom ofMahayana Buddhism deeply penetrates the complexities of the human dramaand permeates all structures of relationship. At the very same time that thisinsight lets you transcend the slightest traces of human suffering, it expands yourcapacity to identify and release other people’s suffering.

The experience of the unconditioned mind in this Course isn’t disconnectedfrom our bodies, feelings, network of relationships and physical environment.The Course gives you an experience of “radiant mind:” an experience in whichunconditioned presence exists simultaneously with it’s working on an experien-tial level, working to cultivate the nondual awareness in the midst of your every-day life. In the Radiant Mind Course, the unconditioned mind is experiencedthrough and within the structures of our finite, personal existence.

In the Radiant Mind Course the structure of your personality reveals thetranspersonal nature of being itself. There is absolutely no effort, struggle, orneed to escape who you are, since this is your unique expression of transcen-dence. Every aspect and dimension of your experience is an exquisite expressionof freedom and transcendence. In this way, the Radiant Mind Course closes thetraditional rift between physical embodiment and spiritual transcendence. Thisintegrated approach removes the possibility of producing spiritual experiencesthat put you at risk.

Unconditioned presence isn’t an experience at all, in the ordinary sense ofthe word, but merely an ever-present awareness of a level of consciousness that isalready complete and natural. It doesn’t fall into the realm of the so-calledspiritual experiences that have been known to leave unprepared seekers open todamaging experiences.

The sublime purity oftranscendent insight isidentical with thenatural spontaneouspurity of the countlessconfigurations thatpresent themselves asthe universe in all itsmultidimensionality.

Buddha, PerfectWisdom Scripture

“There is absolutelyno effort, struggle, orneed to escape whoyou are, since this isyour unique expres-

sion of transcen-dence. Every aspectand dimension of

your experience is anexquisite expression

of freedom andtranscendence.”


The experience of the unconditioned mind is aunique and identifiable state that means you can

learn when you are and are not in this state

The unconditioned mind is a state of consciousness that contains, yet goesbeyond all forms or structures of experience. It’s sometimes called the sourceconsciousness because it’s “that” from which everything appears to arise andreturn.

The unconditioned mind is called “contentless wisdom” because it’s anawareness that’s completely open, unstructured, and without content. Becausethis awareness is so precise and identifiable, you can know for certain that, whenyou rest in the unconditioned mind, you’re enjoying the same experience as thegreat masters and sages who talk about self-knowledge, egolessness, pure aware-ness, or perfect wisdom. To this extent this Course communicates the very sameawareness that is at the heart of the direct introduction and pointing out instruc-tions of Dzogchen, the whispered lineage of Zen, and the transmission of self-knowledge in Advaita Vedanta.

One participant commenting on changes he has seen after taking the Coursesaid, “I’d say that I have a deeper and broader understanding of the uncondi-tioned mind now. I’m much more aware of when I’m identified with my condi-tioning, and when I’m not identified with it, because [I] realize that there isnothing missing and [I] am resting in just what is. I feel that difference in every-day life. [I’m] much more aware and mindful of when I’m identifying with myconditioning and with the unconditioned mind.”

Since effort—whichcreates causes andeffects, whetherpositive or negative—is unnecessary,immerse yourself ingenuine being, restingnaturally with nothingneeding to be done.

Longchenpa, 14th


“...when you rest inthe unconditioned

mind, you’re enjoyingthe same experienceas the great masters

and sages.”


The Radiant Mind Course is designed to be incorporated into yourdaily life in order to maximize the benefits of your time and energy.The primary focus of the Course is to help you experience the liberat-

ing power of the unconditioned mind in your daily life.

The Course is based on a very comprehensive set of transformational tools.The various components of the Course are carefully designed to work synergisti-cally and accommodate the preferred learning style of all participants. We knowwhat does and does not work, which sequences and combinations work, andwhich don’t.

The Course begins with a three-day workshop. We meet again for a mid-Course and a completing workshop. 80% of the Course is implemented in thecontext of your daily life. The phone calls can be taken in the privacy of your ownhome, or when you are on the road. The exercises are integrated into your dailycommitments. This is radically different from most spiritual retreat Courses thatextract you from your everyday life. The result is a high impact total life-immer-sion learning situation! The many forms of interaction and learning range ofpractices allow you to emphasize the forms that work best for you and fit moresmoothly into your daily life.

As one participant says; “The Course was supportive, it was perplexing, wasintense at times, really helpful, reassuring, empowering, expanding and refin-ing... I tend to want to move on to other things at a point and the [variety ofactivities] kept me focused over that 8-month period.”

“The many forms ofinteraction and

learning range ofpractices allow you toemphasize the forms

that work best for youand fit more smoothly

into your daily life.”

STRUCTURE OF THE COURSE

A set of proprietary essays distributed every two or three weeks

48 specially designed experiential projects

Designing (or enhancing) a contemplative practice

Koan practice

30 min telephone conversation every 2 weeks with a Radiant Mind coach

A one hour conference call every two weeks with Peter in a small group

Ongoing internet discussion forum for participants

Eight months

We structured this8-month Course to have

the greatest experientialimpact on your life

Opening workshop Mid-course workshop Completing workshop


In commenting on the various components of the course another participantsaid; “[Peter] is an exceptional facilitator and compassionate and knowledgeableteacher and leader. The Course material is exceptionally good and relevant towestern thinkers; the weekend sessions and the phone interaction are revelatoryand unique ... highest marks!”

Over the duration of the Course you will have numerous opportunitiesto enter and rest in the space of unconditioned awareness

The Radiant Mind Course fully acknowledges the challenges and difficultiesfor people to engage in profound psycho-spiritual work in the midst of dailywork and domestic activities. This is one of the reasons behind creating so manydifferent modalities through which to deliver the Course. Not only do thesevarious modalities combine synergistically, they create many intersectionsthrough which to connect with the unconditioned mind, at home, at work, andon the road.

The many modes of communication: real-time and asynchronous, individualand group, in person, by phone and on-line, create frequent opportunities toexplore and experience nondual presence. Over the duration of the Course youwill have numerous opportunities to enter and rest in the space of unconditionedawareness.

We don’t expect you to engage in each modality with the same level ofapplication. The relatively adaptable structure of the Course lets you createroutines and practices that are optimized to your needs.

Three dynamic workshops give you a uniqueopportunity to work directly with Peter

There are three three-day workshops: one at the beginning of the Course,another half way through, and a final completing workshop. These workshopsare offered in San Francisco.

In the opening workshop you will:

• Create a sense of community with other participants and develop acommon focus. Such supportive collaborative communities haveproven beneficial in the acceleration of learning and awareness.

• Be guided to the experience of the nature of the unconditioned mind.We consider that it is exceedingly important to have a clear andexperiential understanding of the unconditioned mind.

• Gain a direct experience of the liberating effect of deconstructingconceptuality through Peter’s unique skills.

“The Course materialis exceptionally good

and relevant towestern thinkers; theweekend sessions andthe phone interaction

are revelatory andunique ... highest

marks!”


In the mid-Course workshop you will:

• Deepen your familiarity with the unconditioned mind by buildingupon what you have explored and experienced over the few monthsof practice.

• Continue to gain skills in resting in the unconditioned mind andsharing this with others. Be supported and support others’ experiences.

• Be given opportunities to facilitate this work under Peter’s guidance,especially in opening up the space of natural contemplation—thestate of quite contemplative space in which you are fully connectedwith everyone around you.

In the completing workshop you will:

• Continue to enhance your ability to introduce others to the uncondi-tioned mind, especially using the more proactive deconstructivemethods. Peter teaches in second half of the Course.

• Be able to invite partners, friends, relatives, etc. on the third day inorder for them to experience Peter and other’s (possibly yourself)facilitating this work.

• Create opportunities and structures with other participants, and inyour daily life, for continuing to cultivate the unconditioned mindbeyond the completion of the Course.

12 transformational essays to ground you in thedistinctions and practices of the Course

Every two or three weeks you will receive a very focused essay writtenspecifically for this Course. The essays introduce you to the distinctions andpractices that you’ll work with over the next weeks. These transformationalreadings directly open up new possibilities for living fully in the moment andresting in the unconditioned mind. They also give you a set of reference materialsthrough which you can refresh your experience of the unconditioned mind. Thethemes of the essays follow the curriculum of the Course.

Hands-on practices through 48 experiential exercisesdesigned to lead you directly to the unconditioned mind

Every two or three weeks you will also receive a set of experiential exercisesto complete over the next weeks. There are 48 exercises. Some are designed todeepen your understanding of your conditioning (desires, needs, preferences,and so on). Other exercises work on your fixations and patterns, and make yourmind more pliant and receptive to nondual presence. Another set will lead you

To dialog about theuncreated reality isjust to play withwords. Yet from thiscoherent, playfuldialog, lighteningbolts flash forth asspiritual intuition—totally insubstantial,not coming into beingeven for an instant,yet diamond sharpand clear.


“These transforma-tional readings

directly open upnew possibilities for

living fully in themoment...”


directly into the unconditioned mind and help you to refine the experience. Manyof the exercises will be completed with Course participants, partners, colleaguesand friends.

As one participant said, “[The Course has] concrete tools, a whole lot ofexercises and practices offered over a long enough period of time so that you cantranslate it into daily life’s ordinary situations—we practice it in discrete daily lifesituations and interactions. There are tools and practices here that reallywork...I’m amazed that there actually are tools to learn what I learned.” Anotheradded, “The many different exercises were all methods to show us our obstacles,the blocks, and any concepts that would keep us from the unconditioned mind.”

You will be assigned a coach to guide you in learning tomeditate, or to enhance or reinvigorate your existing practice

so that it points more directly to unconditioned mind

This course is designed for people with varying degrees of experience inmeditation or contemplation, from beginners through to teachers of meditation.If you are new to contemplation, we can help you design a contemplative prac-tice—one that suits your lifestyle and commitments. It isn’t a requirement thatyou meditate to do the course, but people find that a contemplative practicesupports their participation.

In the course we will introduce a simple contemplative practice called “sim-ply sitting.” This practice will allow you to:

• Increase your capacity to be present to what is, without attachmentor aversion.

• Connect with your conditioning and be more accepting of yourstrengths and vulnerabilities.

• Better understand the consequences of what you do and don’t do.

• Directly experience the unconditioned mind.

Your practice of “simply sitting” will be empowered and strengthened by“shared meditation” in which you meditate “on the phone” with other people.You will learn how to deconstruct other people’s identification with the contentof their thinking process during the practice of “shared meditation”. The practiceof contemplation continues throughout the course.

One participant found that, “the contemplative practice created an effortlessradiance that rippled positively into all of life and supported a natural emergenceof compassion and understanding for the human condition ... making way for thepossibility of wisdom and well-being.”

The Great Teaching... is easy to enterfor those with sharpfaculties and quickwits and broadpenetration whodon’t use theirintellectualbrilliance to try tocomprehend it!

Yuanwu, ChineseZen master

“I’m amazed thatthere actually are

tools to learn what Ilearned.”

“the contemplativepractice created aneffortless radiance

that rippled positivelyinto all of life..”


If you’re an experienced meditator, we will help you to refine, enhance orreinvigorate your practice, so that it leads more directly to the experience of theunconditioned mind. If you wish you’ll also be supported in exploring how youcan share your meditative experience with others. The practice we introduce isvery simple and doesn’t conflict with other practices.

Koan practice—questions that let you enter the infiniteexpanse of unconditioned awareness by dismantling fixed

ideas about who you are and what you’re doing

Koan practice is usually associated with Zen Buddhism, but there are alsonatural koans that arise in the journey from a structured (knowing) to an unstruc-tured (not knowing) state of consciousness. These are questions like: “What isthis?” “Where am I?” “Am I moving forwards or backwards?” “Am I moving atall?” “Is there something special I should be doing?” “Who am I?” These ques-tions are all koans because each one of them is a key that can unlock the concep-tual mind and take us into the unconditioned mind.

In the second semester of the Course you will explore how natural koans canbe used to enter and stabilize the experience of unstructured awareness. You’lllearn how to place your mind on these questions in a way that lets your thoughtsdissolve into the infinite expanse of unconditioned awareness.

Individual sessions personalize the Course materialand make it 100% relevant to your life

The most effective form of spiritual instruction meets the student on theirown turf—in the context of the challenges they are experiencing in the reality oftheir lives. Every second week you will have a private 30-minute session withyour coach. In these sessions you’ll receive personalized and focused coaching onthe issues you’re dealing with in daily life and in the practices of the Course. Theindividual sessions give you opportunities to work with concerns of a morepersonal nature. The coach will track these concerns and help you move past anystubborn fixations.

Any misunderstandings or misapplication of the exercises can be addressedin these individual sessions. The coach may also ask “checking” questions todetermine the depth of your experience of the unconditioned mind. This person-alized feedback is very powerful. In some of these calls you will gain skills insharing or facilitating this work through role-playing.

Conference calls every two weeks createexperiential continuity between the workshops

and reinforce your experience of community

Every two weeks you will also participate in a conference call with othermembers of your learning group. Peter will participate in all of these calls. Theconference calls are made through a toll-free hub using the highest quality tele-phone technology available. These calls give you an opportunity to:

To realize theinexpressible truth,do not manipulatemind or body butsimply open intotransparency withrelaxed, naturalgrace—intellect atease in silence, limbsat rest in stillness likehollow bamboos.

Tilopa, 10thcentury Indianyogi

Grasp this paradoxmy sons anddaughters! There isnot so much as amote of dust uponwhich to meditate,but it is crucial tosustain unwaveringattention withpresence of mind.

Shabkar, a Tibetanmaster

Show me nothing?Zen koan

“The individualsessions give you

opportunities to workwith concerns of a

more personalnature.”

Koans can unlockthe conceptual mindand take us into the

unconditioned mind.


• Continue the work we opened up in the workshops that reinforcesthe application in daily life.

• Clarify questions and queries that arise in the experiential exercises.

• Create a shared and nourishing contemplative environment.

• Experience the unconditioned mind in a globally dispersed setting.

• Give you opportunities to explore nondual deconstruction.

When two or more people who have received training in nondual awarenesslink together through high-quality, hands-free telephony, they create a morpho-genic field. The boundary between yourself and others dissolves. People entereach other’s mind streams and gently reveal and dismantle each other’s ego-fixations. You participate in a contemplative dialogue that is neither individualnor localizable and that works in the here and now to gently deconstruct theconditioned mind.

In the same way that nondual spiritual inquiry deconstructs our fixed ego-centric point of reference, the technology of telecommunications automaticallydeconstructs the experience of distance and physical location. Paradoxically, thetechnologies of the “information age” provide an ideal conduit for transmittingand sharing the information-free experience of the unconditioned mind. Theycan support the cultivation of very subtle levels of nondual awareness withoutthe conditional limitations of location and distance. Radiant Mind is at theforefront in using telecommunications to directly sharpen, deepen and enhanceyour experience of nondual wisdom.

One participant described the conference calls as having “that quality Iwould call ‘communion through silence’—a quality that was so intimate that thedistinction between self and others became really questionable.”

Another participant said that the telephone work with Peter and in the smallgroups had “a really magical quality. The contentless element always enteredinto the calls. Though they would have speech and questions and answers—backand forth—they would usually go to a speechless and thoughtless place... Thequality that I treasured about these calls was present in all varieties of them.”

Another participant said; “[The conference] calls kept us in touch with eachother—it was our regular meeting—there was this ongoing movement that kepteverything very alive and very present... Peter worked with us exactly as he didin the workshops.”

You will join a warm community of like-minded people whosupport each other in a very natural and non-egocentric way

By enrolling in the Radiant Mind Course you will join a community ofmature people who bring a wealth of spiritual and life experiences to the course,together with a common intention to deepen their experience of nondual pres-

To perpetually talkand think about “it”only leads you furtheraway from harmonywith the primordialreality.

Nagarjuna, 2nd

century Buddhistphilosopher

When two or morepeople link together

through high-quality,hands-free telephony,

they create amorphogenic field

People enter eachother’s mind streamsand gently reveal and

dismantle eachother’s ego-fixations

“...the telephonework with Peter had

“a really magicalquality. The

contentless elementalways entered into

the calls”


ence. By the end of the opening workshop participants have created a wonder-fully warm, relaxed and natural sense of community and partnership.

Unlike some communities, there’s no pressure to conform, since, with ouremphasis on the unconditioned mind, there is nothing to conform to! Yet, at thesame time, the course is experienced as a precious opportunity to share in thelineage of nondual wisdom that has flourished in India and Asia and which isnow streaming into America. The Course itself becomes a laboratory, or trainingground, for seeing how the experience of nonduality shapes and influences ourpersonal relationships.

As one participant says; “I made new friends—a couple of really good newfriends, and deepened relationship with somebody that I knew already. Itchanged my life in terms of my work—the language I use and the presence Ibring when I‘m teaching... I enjoy an intimacy with a broader number of peoplethat I can take to my relations across the board. The feedback I’ve had from myfamily and friends—who actually don’t know what I’ve been doing—is thatpeople really appreciating the silence, and space, and the quality of peacefulnessthat I am embodying—for which they, and I, are grateful.

Discussion forum and nondual therapy: you will haveaccess to a restricted area of the Radiant Mind web sitethat contains additional resources and a bulletin board

As a course participant you will have access to a restricted area of the RadiantMind web site. Copies of the course essays and exercises will be posted to thisarea. This is where you will share your debriefings and experiences of the exerciseswith others in the course. This is where you will find a discussion forum, addi-tional resources, recommended books, and links to relevant web sites, etc.

There will also be a discussion area set aside for participants who are profes-sional caregivers such as therapists and psychologists so that you can exploreissues and experiences that arise in the application of nondual methods andperspectives in therapeutic relationships.

Why design the course over an eight-month period of time?

Before answering this question, ask yourself: How many weekend orweeklong retreats have you attended where you experienced the loosening ofyour conditioning? Where you felt the vital support of a community of like-hearted people? Perhaps you opened up emotionally like you never hadbefore. Maybe you experienced a transcendent state that left you awestruckand excited. Perhaps you had some or all of these experiences only to have allof them fade and subside in the subsequent days after the retreat. You know,where the “real” world of your everyday life takes over, and you feel likewhat you experienced at the retreat was a dream and your daily life was therude awakening from that dream.

Most committed seekers, in one form or another, have experienced this letdown. There is nothing wrong with these retreats or their teachers, they’re doinga great job of helping us become acquainted with the unconditioned mind. Andthere is nothing wrong with the let down afterwards, it is an expression of our

“there’s no pressureto conform, since,

with our emphasis onthe unconditioned

mind, there is nothingto conform to!”

“a precious opportu-nity to share in thelineage of nondual

wisdom that hasflourished in India

and Asia and which isnow streaming into

America.”

“It changed my life interms of my work—the language I useand the presence I

bring when I‘mteaching... I enjoy an

intimacy with abroader number of

people”


conditioned existence. What regularly happens is that after experiencing anexpansion, and then returning to the demands of everyday life, people’s habitsand conditioning takes over, once again, and the freedom of nondual presence isunavailable. In this contracted state people can even invalidate the experience ofexpanded awareness. This is why it is also important to work at the conditionedlevel by changing the circumstances of our lives so that your relationships, workand lifestyle support the cultivation of the unconditioned mind. In the course,especially in the individual sessions, you will be guided in making the changesneeded to support your spiritual path.

In commenting on the transformation of daily life as the field of practice oneparticipant said that she, “liked the way [the Course] really did become a part ofevery aspect of my life. The many interactions with people became a chance forhomework... Most of the Courses that I’m used to taking now are the workshopvariety—short and intense workshops—or weekend retreats. This one lasted along time. I liked that about it. It really did blend in with my life.”

Why does the course take eight months when the unconditioned mind is always present?

Even though the unconditioned mind is timeless and unceasing, mostpeople require time to experience what is beyond conditioning. It might seemparadoxical, but there is a cultivation process that helps us to experience what is“always already” available to us. The Course works at two different levels—theconditioned and the unconditioned. We introduce a set of concepts and practicesthat work at the conditioned level of being and another set that are more explic-itly focused on revealing the unconditioned mind.

It takes time to let go of our habits and our need to project into the future. Ittakes time to increase our capacity to rest in objectless awareness. Peter says, “Thespiritual path is essentially a lifelong path—a path of gaining more and morefamiliarity with the unconditioned mind, so that we can continue to abide in thisstate even in the midst of strange, disturbing and threatening experiences. Theideal is to be able to both live and die while presencing the unconditioned mind!By working quite intensely over an 8- month period, we are able to make a verysignificant advance in people’s capacity to presence the unconditioned mind.”

Becoming aware of the conditioned and unconditioned mind over an eight-month period affords the opportunity of the unconditioned mind to be presentwithin conditioned existence; it allows the unconditioned mind to deepen andbecome more stable where it counts the most—your daily life. There is no artifi-cial spiritual retreat environment to go to and from, to get pumped up and thenlet down... it all happens in daily life. This is truly the cutting edge of psycho-spiritual instruction.

Instruction is directed towards your immediate experience,which makes it more relevant and powerful for you

Whatever is coming up for you during the weekend workshops is what isused for instruction. Whatever comes up for you in private calls or group interac-tions is what is used to instruct and learn. Why? Because whatever is coming up

If your mind issettled—abiding in theunified state of theunmoving, ultimatedimension of being—then everything isspontaneously andautomatically fulfilledwithout any changeor transformation.

Longchenpa, 14th


“By working quiteintensely over an 8-

month period, we areable to make a very

significant advance inpeople’s capacity topresence the uncon-

ditioned mind.”


in the present is a window to the unconditioned mind. Whatever is arising in thepresent moment is usually representative of deep structured beliefs that play outin other aspects of your life. What is happening now, is always the most relevantexperience. In fact it’s the only experience we can ever really work with. Workingwith present time expressions of these deep structured beliefs as they live withinyou is much more powerful and transformational than processing your stories ortalking about what you may or may not do in the future. The focus of the Courseis always to improve the quality of the present moment. This is the way wechange the future.

Most forms of therapy and psycho-spiritual instruction encourage people toconstruct stories and interpretations, but in the Radiant Mind Course the creationof meaning becomes less significant. You will experience, first-hand, how yourattachment to stories blocks access to the unconditioned. The unconditionedmind is neither meaningful, nor meaningless. It just is. Instead of making every-thing meaningful, we can just be with “what is,” without needing to understandor interpret it. Rather than superimposing some meaning fabricated by ourminds, we can gently enter a space of unconditioned presence.

The high level of interactivity in the Course translates into highretention for participants—this means you learn to rest in the

unconditioned mind with more depth, clarity and duration

A study conducted by the National Training Institute, reports that the threehighest modes of learning are discussion group, practice by doing, and teachingothers/immediate use. These are the bulk of the Radiant Mind Course! Forcenturies, the challenge for spiritual teachers who rest in the unconditioned mindhas been how to convey their knowledge and experience to their students. TheRadiant Mind Course is answering this challenge. The interactive structure of theCourse helps participants to have an experiential understanding of the uncondi-tioned mind. Such understanding is then effortlessly and naturally expressed intheir daily life in an uncontrived way.

This Course is for anyone who wants to learn theeffortless way of nondual presence, and therapists

can gain great benefits for their practice

We use the context of teaching others as a powerful method of learning.Many people get the mistaken impression that this Course may be designed fortherapists who will use what they learn to work with their clients. There is acomponent of the Course that teaches participants to teach others what they arelearning. This doesn’t mean you have to be a therapist to teach others what youlearn. This means you can teach family members or friends what you havelearned through example and specific techniques. Even if you have no desire toteach others, the orientation towards sharing it with, and teaching, others is apowerful modality of learning and serves its purpose in developing your ownunderstanding and practice of the Course content.

“The focus of theCourse is always to

improve the quality ofthe present moment.

This is the way wechange the future.”

“The course is verygentle and your

participation in allaspects is voluntary.”

“The Course andworkshops have

“transformationalgradient” that allowsyou to find your ownproximity or distance

from the corenondual experience. “


This course is non-confrontational so you don’t need to worryabout being embarrassed by the teacher in front of a group

Some potential participants have expressed concerns about whether Peteruses confrontational methods in the Course. When reading about Peter usingdeconstructive conversations they can mistakenly interpret these conversa-tions as confrontational ego bashing and imagine themselves potentiallybeing embarrassed or even put into a humiliating position.

In fact, the opposite is the case. Peter is highly respectful. The Course isvery gentle and your participation in all aspects is voluntary. Whether youspeak up or not is your choice. Nobody forces you to do anything you don’twant to do, nor is there any belief you must espouse. The course and work-shops have “transformational gradient” that allows you to find your ownproximity or distance from the core nondual experience.

Rather than employing force, Peter actually does the opposite: He createsthe space of unconditional acceptance for participants to express whatever isgoing on with them in the present. Once these present time concerns are onthe table, he guides participants to deconstruct their own expressions of theirconditioning. Peter acts as a catalyst via questions and gentle guidance andthe participants end up deconstructing their own conceptuality or fixations.

“Peter creates thespace of uncondi-

tional acceptance forparticipants to

express whatever isgoing on with them

in the present.”


T he Course begins where you are: by helping you todevelop a profile of your relationship to, andexperience of, the unconditioned mind. Everyone

has a different familiarity with the unconditioned mind, andpeople use different names for the same experience. Per-haps you are quite familiar with the experience, and arelooking to make your experience deeper, clearer and morecontinuous. Perhaps you had an experience some years ago,and wish to recover the experience, and create the condi-tions in your life that make it more accessible. Perhaps the

experience is available to you on retreats or in mediation, but not when you’reinteracting with people. Maybe it is easy for you to experience real peace andserenity, but more difficult to breakthrough to a pure experience of nondualpresence. Alternatively, your experience of the unconditioned mind may be verypure, but also very fragile. Or, maybe you’ve heard about the unconditionedmind for years, but still haven’t had an anchoring experience.

In order get to get to know you and address your specific needs we’ll helpyou explore the history and contours of your experience of the unconditionedmind, particularly in terms of the purity, depth and duration of your experience.

Five obstacles that keep you identified with yourconditioned existence and prevent you from experiencing

the freedom of the unconditioned mind

Next you will actively explore what hinders you in accessing the uncondi-tioned mind. For example, you’ll identify the behaviors that keep you busy. Indoing so you’ll also open up the possibility of simply being present to what is,without needing to move incessantly towards a self-prescribed goal. You willbecome a skillful observer of how you create and recreate fixed points of reference.You will explore the experience of living from a more open and fluid identity.

Through his work in the course, one participant he said that he was able to“just be without effort in a state in which nothing needs to be done. Just the otherday I was really surprised—there was nothing I needed to do. It occurred to meto do some pleasant distracting things like reading or taking a nap—but Ithought I don’t really need to do that. And so I just sat there—without boredom,without restlessness – feeling strangely content for quite a long time.”

Don’t keep searchingfor the truth, just letgo of your opinions.

Buddha

Outline of the dynamiccontent that will leadyou to experience theunconditioned mind


When you are deeply identified with your conditioned way of being—initialaccess to the unconditioned mind can be obscure and obstructed. The most com-mon psychological phenomena that hinder access to the unconditioned mind are:

• Attachment to suffering

• The habitual need to be doing something

• The need to know what is happening and where we are

• The need to create meaning

• Fearful projections about the unconditioned mind

In observing what blocks access to the unconditioned mind you will alsorealize that paradoxically there is nothing to block the experience!

Whether you’re an experienced meditator, or a beginner,this Course will help you create a contemplative practice

that points directly to the unconditioned mind

Even though awareness of the unconditioned mind potentially exists con-tinuously—within and throughout every experience—at least initially it can beeasier to presence the unconditioned when we are in a quiet, contemplativemood. The capacity to feel at home and comfortable with contemplative experi-ence is an important part of this Course.

Contemplation covers a wide range of practices and experiences. It includesdeeply inspecting the nature of your experience, going beyond identification withthoughts and feelings, and sharing your inner peace and clarity with others. Youcan contemplate with your eyes open or closed, by yourself or in a group. Youcan be in a state of contemplation even when you are relating with other people.

For participants who are new to contemplation, a coach will help you todesign and maintain a regular contemplative practice that is suited to yourlifestyle and commitments. You will learn how to anticipate the obstacles thatmay arise, and gain support for your practice from your family and co-partici-pants in the Course.

If you’re already an experienced meditator this Module will give you theopportunity to identify where your contemplation has become sporadic, flat,uninspired, habitual or obligatory. You will design ways to reinvigorate and en-hance your practice. We can also help you design and implement opportunities toshare your experience in meditation with communities that are important to you.

The development and refinement of a contemplative practice will continuein the background throughout the Course. We will offer ongoing guidance andcoaching in this area.

“We can help youdesign and imple-

ment opportunities toshare your experience

in meditation withcommunities that are

important to you.”


By enhancing the quality of your experience in this and every moment,you predispose yourself to more bliss and contentment in the future

This module offers various exercises that will root you more deeply in theimmediacy of the moment. The practices will connect you with feelings andthoughts as they arise and transpire. You will become more interested in increas-ing the quality of the present moment, rather than processing problems. You’lllearn how to cut through your stories about what should have happened, or whatmight happen, and let go of what is missing in the present moment.

Your attention will be directed to the felt-quality of your experience in thepresent moment. The most significant question for you is whether or not you aresuffering right now. This Course will increase your awareness of what is happen-ing in the here-and-now and show you how to increase the quality of your expe-rience by transcending the projections that throw you into the past and future.

You will also engage the paradox that the here and now is all there ever is.You don’t have to do anything to be in the here and now. You can never be any-where else! Yet, you keep struggling to be where you already are!

You’ll learn how to release fixations by simplyobserving their presence in real time

This Module gives you the vital skill of observing the presence of attachmentand aversion, as they arise in real-time. Observing your fixations can be as simpleas seeing what is in front of you. Once we know how to recognize them, fixationsbecome apparent just as effortlessly as the sights and sounds that present them-selves to your senses. We offer you a simple set of lenses through which to ob-serve your own and other’s fixations. You will explore your attachment to, andrejection of different feelings and sensations, and different thoughts, beliefs andvalues.

Fixations also manifest in your body and nervous system. They determinewhere you move and how you hold your body. Your preferences draw you intosome situations, and hold you there, and repel you from others. In this courseyou learn how to:

• Use your own body as a sensitive instrument for detecting thepresence of cognitive, emotional and behavioral reactions

.• Feel the presence of fixations by tuning into the movement of subtle

energies in your body.

• Read the physical expression of moods and emotions such asembarrassment, pride, fear, excitement and boredom.

Real awareness ofnow is better than anyfuture enlightenment.

Hogen Yamahata,contemporary Zenmaster


Intimate yet detached: discover desirelessness as one ofthe most effective ways to de-condition your experience

and open you to new levels of intimacy

Desirelessness is one of the most effective ways to de-condition your experi-ence. Far from being boring or bland, the experience of desirelessness opens youto far deeper levels of intimacy, trust and confidence than can be built upon onattraction and aversion. In Hinduism this is called the practice of desire-lessaction (nishkama-karma). We prefer to speak about discovering the place in yourexperience that is free of strong desire and learning to acknowledge and respectthis place as a powerful source for effective action. In this Module we createopportunities for you to discover a desireless way of being and explore what it’slike to speak and act from this experience.

As one participant said, “[I’m] more spacious both at work and in my inti-mate relationships – what is happening is more okay than ever. I’m more at easewith what is in myself, both when I react from habit and when I respond from thechoice of unity. I don’t space out as much; I enjoy the living of this life more.”

Feel complete with the past and fearless of the future

In order for you to rest in the unconditioned mind and remain fully open tothe ever-changing modulations of the here-and-now, you need to be free of theburdens of guilt, regret, worry and anxiety. You need to be complete with the pastand fearless about the future. You need to live in a state of on-going completion,in which the past lives in the past, and not in the present.

When an action is complete, you’re free to move on and fully encounter thenext moment. In this way you keep the present moment fresh and alive. Youdon’t need to go back and rectify situations where you have left yourself orothers incomplete. At the end of each day there’s nothing to process or mull over.

There are different ways to achieve completion and be in the here and now.In this Module you will complete various exercises that will root you moredeeply in the immediacy of the moment.

You learn how to:

• Transcend your conditioning by connecting with the unconditionedmind.

• Clean up the past, in the present.

• Discover a desireless way of being.

• Tune into the future consequences of your actions as you’re doingthem, and adjust your actions accordingly.

• Design your conversations so that you remain complete in thepresent moment.

Silence is not turningoff the tap ofcommunication butturning it full on.

Ramana Maharshi

Thoughts are nodifferent fromultimate reality, sodon’t find fault withthem. Remain atease. Whateverarises, whateveroccurs, don’t grasp—release it on the spot.

Niguma, 11th

century Indianfemale master

Student: Babaji, Imeditate and practicekriya yoga, but stillI’m suffering. Whatelse can I do!

Swami HaidakhanBaba: Tell the truthfaster.


Learn a new way of listening called “pure listening” that relievespeople of the burden of heavy emotions and negative thoughts

When you listen through a screen of judgments and assessments you distortthe natural flow of peoples’ experience. Pure listening is a quality of being thatyour nondual presence will bring to your interpersonal relationships. It’s a typeof listening that neither adds to nor takes away from what is being communi-cated. This listening is pure because you hear without any interference. In purelistening there’s no static. You “get things” exactly as they are. When you listenwith this purity, you “listen from nothing.” You’re like a clear mirror, receivingexactly what is communicated—nothing more and nothing less.

When you listen from nothing, you hear everything. You are in an equal andintimate contact with yourself and the people with whom you are in communication.

Communication arises as a beautifully coordinated display of non-manipu-lative speaking and listening. This is the only form of communication that cantake you beyond your conditioned identity, into an experience of the uncondi-tioned mind.

In this Module, you develop the skill of pure listening in two phases. In thefirst phase you learn how to listen in silence, without judging and assessing—youjust listen. You will complete a set of exercises designed to refine your listeningby filtering out the tendencies to positively and negatively judge what people aresaying or doing. In the second phase you learn how to introduce speech fromyour own side. You learn how to listen and speak from nothing.

One participant commenting on this aspect of the course said, “It’s had aprofound effect on my comfort around silence in daily life situations. It lets mefind silence within the conversations I have in my life, with my family...”

Another participant said of Peter, “He demonstrates the power of stillnessand of non-action in interactions with people. This reinforced something that Iwas already developing, a type of listening attitude that holds a conversationwithin the container of still awareness.”

Experience natural release: the practice of non-interference thattransforms conflict into harmony by “letting things be just as they are”

When you let things be, as they are, contracted emotions can often dissipatemore quickly than if you meddle and interfere. The ability to let things be, withoutjudgment or reflection, is an important component of nondual presence. It is ahighly respectful and expeditious way of working with people. You simply createspace around a problem, let it run its course and dissipate of its own accord.

In nature everything moves through a natural cycle of growth and dissolu-tion. This is also true of feelings and emotions. In this course you’ll learn to tuneinto the points where problems and heavy emotions begin to dissolve on theirown. By recognizing this process you can assist others in returning to a point ofequilibrium and balance. You’ll recognize the seed of harmony that lies at theheart of every conflict. In many Asian spiritual traditions healing occurs through

“In pure listeningthere’s no static. You“get things” exactlyas they are. You’relike a clear mirror,receiving exactly

what is communi-cated—nothing more

and nothing less.”

“Communicationarises as a beautifully

coordinated display ofnon-manipulative

speaking andlistening.”

“In this course you’lllearn to tune into thepoints where prob-

lems and heavyemotions begin to

dissolve on their own.You’ll recognize the

seed of harmony thatlies at the heart of

every conflict.”


the practice of non-interference. This Module introduces you to the power ofnon-interference: the practice of just letting things be.

In this Module you’ll also learn a process called “natural release.” Thisprocess releases conflict at a deep, inner level. It mirrors the intra-psychic pro-cess that happens in the minds of nondual yogis. The procedure introduces youto undifferentiated awareness by blending the energy of attraction and aversionthat’s embedded in the structure of your emotional reactions. The procedure alsocreates pathways within the conditioned mind that make the release of reactiveemotions easier in the future.

Learn to radiate an inner peace that soothes and nourishes others

One of the greatest things you can offer others is the experience of your owngrounding serenity. This is particularly precious when people are agitated ordistressed. When you’re unperturbed and totally at ease you radiate an innerpeace and composure that soothes and nourishes.

In this Module you will explore the practice of serenity inside and outside ofyour meditation practice. You’ll work with friends, partners and clients to leadthem to a state of deep calm and acceptance by de-energizing the thinking pro-cess. You’ll learn how to calibrate the level of cognitive input you provide as youskillfully introduce people to inner peace.

The time-honored wisdom of Asia’s contemplative traditions recommendsthat initial access to the unconditioned mind can be greatly enhanced by slowingyour thinking down so that you feel peaceful and serene. You don’t need toeliminate thoughts in order to feel calm and relaxed. This Module will show youhow to discover the point where thoughts can move through your awarenesswithout producing any disturbance.

The most direct and effective way to slow down your thinking is to giveyourself nothing to think about! This is logical. If you have nothing to think aboutyou have fewer thoughts. And thinking about nothing also reveals the uncondi-tioned mind.

Lift an oppressive weight from your spiritual path byreleasing the perpetual need to know and be busy

There are two types of not knowing. There’s the situation when you don’tknow what can be known, for example, a foreign language. And there’s thesituation where you don’t know because you’re in a space where there is nothingto know. And this is the unconditioned mind. The first type of not knowingproduces feelings of frustration and inadequacy. Sometimes we can rectify thesituation, through education and study, but still you need to put in time and effort.

The second type of not knowing is liberating because it frees you from theneed to know anything more, or less, than what you do know. You are fulfilled,integrated and complete. Nothing needs to be worked out, thought through, oracted on. There’s nothing you need to do. The experience of the unconditioned

“You’ll work withfriends, partners andclients to lead them

to a state of deepcalm and acceptanceby de-energizing the

thinking process.”

Gazing with sheerawareness into sheerawareness, habitual,abstract structuresmelt into the fruitfulspringtime ofbuddhahood.

Tilopa, 10th centuryIndian yogi


mind is the same as the not knowing. No one has ever “known” the uncondi-tioned mind. It has no structure: no shape or color. No matter how much mentaleffort or philosophical skill you apply to the task, you’ll never be able to under-stand or interpret the experience of unstructured awareness. In this Module youincrease your capacity for “not knowing.”

Work with natural koans to allow your fixed ideas aboutwho you are and what you’re doing dissolve into the

infinite expanse of unconditioned awareness

This Module introduces you to natural koans—the questions that arisespontaneously by participating in this Course. You will learn how to leveragetheir capacity to reveal the unconditioned mind. Your contemplative practice willalso be extended to include a dimension of koan work. You’ll be guided in thiswork, through to the completion of the Course.

Koan practice is usually associated with formal Zen Buddhist practice. Butkoans arise naturally in your mind when your experience of the conditionedmind expands to include unconditioned awareness. When your familiar points ofreference dissolve, questions arise such as: What is this? Where am I? Am I mov-ing forwards or backwards? Am I moving at all? Is there something special Ishould be doing? Who am I? These questions are all koans because each one ofthem is a key that can unlock the conceptual mind, and take you into the un-known.

In the Effortless Way of Nondual Presence, you use these naturally arisingkoans as tools for deconstructing your habitual ways of thinking. The silencesthat punctuate this Course often give birth to a gentle cascade of natural koans.By letting your thoughts ride on these koan-type questions, fixed ideas aboutwho you are, and what you are doing, can dissolve into the infinite expanse ofunconditioned awareness.

Learn the art of deconstructive conversations ...a way to dismantle conceptuality

Deconstructive conversations dismantle the foundations of your conceptualconstructions, and thereby allow you to experience the unstructured mind. Theypenetrate the seeming reality of feelings, emotions and sensations in a way thatdissolves their existence. A unique feature of the Radiant Mind Course is the useof conversations that directly reveal the unconditioned mind. These conversa-tions are rarely encountered in daily discourse. We call them deconstructiveconversations. They can be spoken and silent.

This Module takes you inside the structure of deconstructive conversations.We begin by introducing you to the traditional methods for deconstructing rigidbeliefs and frozen emotions. You will have an opportunity to introduce them inyour own practice. You will then explore how they can be adapted for use inhelping others. You will learn how to identify the core concept on which anemotional construction is built. Having identified the core concept, you will learnhow to inquire into the existence of the reality behind the concept, and dissolvethe painful feelings associated with fixed ways of thinking. You will understand

Empty yourself moreand more until finallyyou reach no action.Where there is noaction, nothing is leftundone.

Dao De Jing

“The silences thatpunctuate this coursegive birth to a gentle

cascade of naturalkoans.”

Dear friends, youcannot understandPerfect Wisdombecause there isabsolutely nothing tounderstand. You arenot lacking inrefinement ofintellect. There issimply nothing towhich the intellectcan be applied.


“At an even moreradical level you’ll

experience that youhave never suffered

and never will! Whatwe call suffering is acase of mistakenly

identifying theunconditioned!”


the wisdom of the Buddhist Heart Sutra, when it says, “there is no suffering.”You’ll experience how suffering dissolves when it’s examined by the mind thatrests in un-conditionality. At an even more radical level you’ll experience thatyou have never suffered and never will! What we call suffering is a case of mis-takenly identifying the unconditioned!

A participant expressed his appreciation for Peter’s skills in verbaldeconstruction this way, “Peter is able to very gently and precisely expose thecontradictions in a person’s fixated view of himself in the world—and watchinghim at work doing this was really wonderful, and what he was able to give uswere the rudiments of this, the basic materials...”

Broaden the river of life—learn to expand your capacity toremain present and fully functional in the face ofintensely pleasurable and unpleasant experiences

This Module creates a focused opportunity to observe how you attempt toavoid or dilute different experiences of pain and pleasure. You will expand yourcapacity to remain present and functional in the face of intensely pleasurable andunpleasant experiences. You will be given guidance and opportunities to assistthose around you—friends, partners, and clients—to expand their capacity toexperience pleasure and pain, without resistance.

In nondual traditions the nature of the spiritual path changes from one ofavoiding suffering and pursuing pleasure to one of expanding your capacity tobe present to everything that human life can produce—open to the full force andrichness of your conditioned existence. You progressively increase your capacityto receive all experiences without fear or addiction. You don’t automatically try toavoid difficult situations and seek out agreeable ones. You become more tolerant andmore accepting. You discover how to face life with more balance and equanimity.

You accept that suffering still happens for us at this point on your path. Youcut through the fantasy that something is wrong when you suffer. You stopmaking a problem out of having problems! You accept the basic structure andpatterns of your experience, your life circumstances, not in a defeatist way, butwith dignity and grace. You welcome “what is” as a gateway to the uncondi-tioned mind.

Explore and enjoy the natural side effects of resting in theunconditioned mind: healing-bliss, joy and rapture

This Module gives you an opportunity to explore the landscape and tonalityof healing-bliss in your own and others’ experience. You will distinguish differenttypes of bliss. You’ll learn to support people’s immersion in healing-bliss, workwith any attachment to these experiences, and smoothly move them into totalopenness.

In Sanskrit there are many words for bliss. Most of them have a spiritualassociation. Why? It’s very simple. In a culture that practices yoga and medita-tion there is a lot of bliss around.

Suffering is ourgreatest teacherbecause it invariablyreveals the nature ofour attachment andaversion.

Lama ThubtenYeshe, 20th centuryTibetan master

If you expect your lifeto be up and down,your mind will bemuch more peaceful.

Lama ThubtenYeshe, 20th centuryTibetan master

“Peter is able to verygently and precisely

expose the contradic-tions in a person’s

fixated view ofhimself in the world—and watching him atwork doing this wasreally wonderful.”

“You progressivelyincrease your capacityto receive all experi-ences without fear or

addiction. Youwelcome ‘what is’ as a

gateway to theunconditioned mind.”


The Radiant Mind Course also produces experiences of deep bliss, joy andrapture. They arise in the slipstream of the unconditioned mind. They occur likeclockwork when your thinking slows down, and you move into more subtlestates of consciousness. These experiences can be profoundly healing, especiallyfor people who deprive themselves of pleasure. They are medicine for the mindand the soul. They soothe your mind and repair the damage done to your ner-vous system by pain and trauma. We recognized their healing power and letpeople rest in these experiences for as long as they arise.

You will learn to work with “checking questions” so you canverify, for yourself and others, the quality and purity of

the unconditioned mind experience

The quality and purity of the unconditioned experience can be verified byasking “checking questions.” You can direct these questions to yourself, and toothers. Normally you only ask these questions when someone is in a fairly openand spacious state of being. These questions reveal whether a person is resting ina structured or unstructured state. An example of a “checking question” is: Canyou enhance this experience? If you discover the presence of conceptual residueswithin the experience of the unconditioned mind, you may choose to go one stepfurther, into the fully unconditioned state or enjoy the feeling of peace and seren-ity that arises when your thoughts dissolve.

In this Module you will learn to detect residual conceptual structures anddissolve these using checking questions.

Dance in the paradoxes of nondual logic that lead you directly intothe unconditioned mind and release the energy that’s tied up inthe imperative that you need to be logical and rational

This Module will teach you how to dance in the paradoxical logic of nondualawareness. Many people think that this can’t be taught, but it can be. You willlearn how to use paradox as a springboard for entering the unconditioned mind.You’ll become confident in knowing when (and when not) to use paradox andcontradiction.

In the West we have a long-standing habit of being very earnest and seriousabout our psychological and spiritual development. We feel compelled to com-municate without any hint of inconsistency or inner contradiction. This habitcomes from our Greek philosophical heritage.

In contrast, Eastern sages move fluidly and confidently in the paradoxicaldomain without any trace of self-consciousness or distress. They know, from theirexperience, that paradox and contradiction are inevitable when we enter thespace of unconditioned awareness. As such they welcome paradox because itpoints to the reality that cannot be captured by our thoughts.

If you let go of your need for conceptual consistency these paradoxicalthought-forms can lead you directly into the unconditioned mind. They can alsoproduce an explosion of hilarity and laughter that shatters the seriousness andreleases the energy that gets tied up in maintaining a rigid image of self and others.

Experiences of deepbliss, joy and rapturearise like clockwork inthe slipstream of theunconditioned mind.

Experiences of blisssoothe your mind and

repair the damagedone to your nervoussystem by pain and

trauma.

“The dance ofnondual dialogue

produces explosionsof hilarity and

laughter that canshatter our pretenceof seriousness and

knowledge.”

When you look for ityou become furtherfrom it, when you seekit you turn from it allthe more.

Linji, 9th centuryChinese Zenmaster


Is Peter Fenner qualifiedto transmit and teach you

about unconditionedpresence?

As a prospective participant of the Radiant Mind course, you want to know whether Peter has experienced the unconditioned mind states he talks about. This is important

because you want to know if the teacher of a Course on uncondi-tioned mind is genuinely familiar with this state, and whether she orhe knows a variety of paths for accessing this experience. You wantto be taught by a teacher who can teach from a state of nondualpresence if he is offering you an eight-month course called RadiantMind: The Effortless Way Of Nondual Presence.

In the past people would usually experience Peter in an evening or weekendworkshop before signing up for the Radiant Mind Course. They would have anopportunity to personally meet him, experience his presence, and watch the wayhe works with people in the here and now. They may have had an opportunityto directly engage their beliefs and experience with Peter’s methods ofdeconstructing all frames of reference. Such personal contact has lead manypeople to enroll in the Radiant Mind Course.

So the question is: What can we say in this booklet to convey the quality ofhis understanding of unconditional presence? What can we do that will give youan exposure to Peter that parallels meeting him in person?

First off we recommend that you check out the sample dialogues on theRadiant Mind website. These dialogues give you an idea of how Peter intro-duces people to the unconditioned mind by dismantling fixations and how heuses silence and a special type of listening to induce an experience of naturalmeditation.

Second, you can also learn something from what others say about Peterand his work. One participant put it this way, “His ability to be in the uncon-ditioned mind and to sit with what is—he walks his talk so fully he transmitsit so effortlessly that I feel that I got continuously – in contact with him everytime in the group....that I dropped into it – I got it – the transmission was sofull.” Another course participant says, “Invariably my work with Peter bringsme back to me—where I continue to tap into and further develop my essenceand being, living my life with more joy, peace, and prosperity. Peter not onlytalks the talk of this work, but he also walks the walk, providing me with aliving example of the work we do together.”

Finally, if it comes to a point in your decision making process where youfeel you need to talk to Peter via phone to see if he is the person you can work

“Without doing what wedidn’t need to do, wewouldn’t realize that wedidn’t need to do it!”

Peter Fenner

“...he transmits it soeffortlessly that I feel

that I got continu-ously – in contact

with him every timein the group....that Idropped into it – I

got it – the transmis-sion was so full.”


with, then this can be arranged. Or if you would like to meet him when he istraveling in North America, then this can also be arranged. But we ask that thisrequest be reserved for people who are seriously considering taking the course.

Why is a teacher’s presence important?

If spiritual students wanted to learn strength, it would behoove them to bewith a spiritual teacher who will embody the strength they want to learn. Thatmakes sense, doesn’t it? The same is true for students who want to learn toexperience the unconditioned mind in a deeper way: it behooves them to be witha spiritual teacher who deeply embodies an unconditional mind presence thatthey want to experience.

Peter’s unconditional presence resonates with the participants and is anexperiential component of the Course. It is instrumental in participants identifying,learning and deepening the experience of the unconditioned mind. This sameresonating dynamic is seen in everyday life with our interactions with people. Theexpression that one’s “enthusiasm is infectious”, points to this dynamic.

There is something that goes on that is deeper than just modeling a teacher’sbehavior. The embodied qualities of the teacher wash over the participants tostrike the same chord within them. One participant put it this way: “This uncon-ditioned mind—this pure spacious awareness—Peter is an embodiment of that.Just that silence—that is what it’s all about. It’s kind of like a guitar string. If youhave a piano in a room where there is a guitar—that guitar string will start vi-brating to the same frequency as the note that was struck on the piano.... Sittingwith Peter—this resonance was happening with me.”

Experiencing Peter in a workshopor experiencing Peter’s work directly

If you have an opportunity to see Peter at an evening dialogue or workshopthis would certainly help you determine if you are interested in working with himover a longer period of time. To see him in action, deconstructing the differentsystems of belief and interpretation, is often impressive to longtime spiritual stu-dents, therapists and seekers. He operates on his feet, without a fixed agenda,sometimes engaging participants in highly dynamic and challenging dialogues andat other times inviting people to rest deeply in the serenity of pure awareness.

In sharing her experience of Peter, one Course participant said; “What I lovedabout Peter was the kind of freedom he was playing with—the energetic of theunconditioned mind. Sometimes there was structure and sometimes not. Theunpredictability of what he teaches—the style—was disconcerting in some waysand also really fun. He’s modeling nondualism. I really enjoyed that about him.”

Peter’s use of silence is innovative and exacting. Peter can be in a deeplyintimate, yet silent conversation with a number of people at the same time. He isable to sense how people are responding differently to his work, and stay con-nected with a wide range of responses—excitement, elation, confusion, anger—atthe same time. In this silent communication, your own momentum about whatshould be happening when sitting with Peter is brought forth and exposed for

“Peter can be in adeeply intimate, yet

silent conversation witha number of people at

the same time.”


what it is—presuppositions about how to get somewhere with a default non-acceptance of what is happening now.

The effects experienced by working with Peter by long-term seekers areoften subtle. Many seekers have pronounced and well developed notions aboutwhere they are going and what they have to do to get there. These idealisticnotions have been shaped, indulged and fortified by many teachings that makeprescriptive pronouncements about what seekers need to do or not do, how theyneeded to be or not be.

Even when presented with an open demonstration of positionlessness,seekers tend to interrupt such a demonstration as either confirming or rejectingtheir own practices and beliefs. People misinterpret such non-prescriptive dem-onstrations from their demand-laden cognitive context. Either way, people easilyinternalize injunctions about what they should and shouldn’t do. Peter runsagainst that grain of these prescriptions. In fact Peter’s non-prescriptiveness is thecontext or space that draws out the internalized prescriptions in students.

Peter gives people the opportunity to experience what is outside the endlessloop of chasing one’s tail. At some intuitive level people understand that whatPeter is doing is fresh and authentic.

Just because teachers can rest in the unconditionedmind doesn’t mean they can teach this to others

The awareness skills required to abide in the unconditioned mind are not thesame skills that are required to teach someone else how to do this. It’s necessaryto be familiar with the territory in order to explain it to students, yet familiarityalone doesn’t mean a teacher has the skills to explain it in a way that is useful tothe student.

Often teachers forget how frustrating it is to break free of conditioned exist-ence since they have not experienced that frustration in many years. Some teach-ers end up speaking past their students because they are speaking from an un-conditioned mind and the student is listening from a conditioned mind. Theyend up talking past each other. It is like a teacher who speaks French trying toteach a student who understands only English.

Peter understands this challenge. He will meet you at the level in which youcome to the Course. He speaks in a way you can understand. He’ll use the con-text of your own conditioning as a means for you to experience first hand theconditioned and unconditioned mind. He’ll connect deeply with your condi-tioned experience. At the same time, he’ll ease you out of your identificationwith your thoughts and feelings.

One participant described it this way, “[Peter] doesn’t give people what theywant—what they think they want. He stays with the unconditioned anddeconstructs people’s questions... And they have a confused look on their faceand then they have a “poof!” as they drop into the unconditioned.”

“At some intuitivelevel people under-

stand that what Peteris doing is fresh and

authentic.”

“Peter will meetyou at the level in

which you come tothe Course. He speaks

in a way you canunderstand”


In short, Peter is pioneering innovative methods to teach you and others todirectly experience what the nondual sages have been talking about for centuries.So he not only will teach you from a position of having direct experience withunconditioned mind, but he is on the cutting edge of instructional technologies.

Peter says, “This Course is not just another intellectual project!”

There’s a reason why Peter designed the Course to give you an experientialunderstanding of whatever concepts he introduces. He knows a common sourceof inefficiency and confusion in the psycho-spiritual instructions is the lack ofestablishing experiential anchors with the student.

For example, a teacher might talk about the unconditioned mind, or pureawareness or egolessness, but until and unless you have an experiential under-standing of what the teacher means, any cultivation that occurs will simply occuron the idea level. The unconditioned mind gets relegated to being just anotherideal you put in the box of ideals to be attained.

Peter is extremely careful that the concepts and models about unconditionedmind he uses are not made into something, are not made into an ideal that youneed to attain. If he senses that you are making the unconditioned mind intosomething, he will help you deconstruct this as it arises. In fact, Peter is the onlyone we know of who deconstructs his own Course at the end of the Course!

Peter is very meticulous in giving you an experiential understanding ofthe various concepts he introduces. For example, he introduces you to theconcept of deconstructive conversations through a set of exercises that let youexplore these conversations in interactive dialogs with Peter, other partici-pants, and internal dialogs with yourself. You will have an experiential under-standing of deconstructive contemplations that you can use to work throughyour conditioning.

One participant commented on the experiential understanding she gainedsaying: “The essence of [the unconditioned mind] is communicated not in ideas;it’s a direct transmission that we get in sitting with Peter over periods of time inwhich you gradually relax into the recognition of it... There is a gradual confirma-tion of the experience from Peter and also from sharing it with others and youbegin to realize that yes, you know what it is—and you know what it isn’t, too.”

Peter’s reasons for creating the Radiant Mind Course

As a Westerner, who has received tremendous personal benefits fromnondual teachings masters, Peter is committed sharing the timeless wisdom ofIndia, Tibet and Asia in forms that are fully compatible with a contemporary,urban lifestyle. The Radiant Mind Course will:

Abiding nowhere yeteverywhere, the totalityof the universe is yourvery sphere ofconsciousness.

Sosan Zenji, 3rd

Patriarch of Zen


• Introduce you to the experience of contentless awareness thatdissolves all need and transcends all fears and fantasies.

• Show you how to recognize this experience and consciouslyparticipate in the lineage of contentless wisdom that has streamedthrough India and Asia and now entered America.

• Teach you how to remain in this experience by observing how youmove out of it by making it into “something” which can then be lostand gained. This stage also includes showing you how to create theconditions in your personal and working life that support theexperience of unconditioned mind.

Where did Peter get the material for this course?

This Radiant Mind Course is a direct result of Peter Fenner’s wide andvaried personal and professional history. This course has been developed as adirect result of his international teaching over the last fifteen years. He combinedthe best theories and practices of the East and West when he created the RadiantMind Course. As you will see, Peter has a strong background in both theory andpractice. Both are necessary elements for creating an effective Course about theunconditioned mind.

A Zen teacher from Germany wrote: “Peter has a unique capacity for observ-ing and dismantling the conditioned mind. His work is a consistent and authen-tic synthesis of his immersion in the Buddhist Madhyamika and Dzogchentraditions, combined with his study of Western psychotherapy and depth psy-chology. His years of formal training have allowed him to integrate the experien-tial heart of these traditions and teach without any need to refer to them. Hisyears of contemplative training as a Buddhist monk have brought him a deepinner stillness and utmost respect for the people with whom he works. Forgoingany fixed method or predetermined structure, he fully engages himself in hiscontemplative dialogues—with warmth, and a seriousness of intent that is juxta-posed with humor and absurdity. The foremost source, though, that accounts forthe quality of his work, is his own extraordinary presence.”

The Radiant Mind Course links you directly into a lineage ofillustrious spiritual masters going back to the Buddha

Peter’s work is firmly rooted in a timeless spiritual lineage that in our erabegan with the profound awakening of the Buddha in India 2,500 years ago. InIndia this lineage was maintained and reenergized by great sages such asNagarjuna, Saraha, Manjushrimitra and Tilopa. In Tibet it was transmitted andadapted to new cultural realities by philosophy-yogis such as Padmasambhava,Marpa, Gampopa, and Longchenpa. In China this wisdom was discovered andtransmitted by sages such as Lao Tzu, Chuang Tzu, Bodhidharma, and Hui Neng.

“Peter’s years offormal training have

allowed him tointegrate the experi-ential heart of thesetraditions and teachwithout any need to

refer to them.”


Sometimes this wisdom is handed down from a physical teacher to a stu-dent, like a baton in a relay race. At other times, it is discovered afresh, indepen-dently of any direct contact with earlier masters or traditions. The experience ofnondual presence has been tapped into by mystics, philosophers, shamans andcontemplatives in all cultures when, at a certain point in their deep reflections onthe nature of reality and who they are, they arrive at a point where they directlyexperience that the state of real completion is actually nothing, and that they—the person experiencing this—doesn’t exist either.

Peter has discovered this lineage of contentless awareness as a result of overforty years of intense spiritual and philosophical searching, combined with theteachings and blessings of highly realized Tibetan and Indian masters.

In 1974 Peter had the good fortune to meet the Tibetan lama Thubten Yeshe,the first Tibetan lama to visit Australia. Lama Yeshe accepted him as his student,and in 1978 he was ordained in India as a monk. He practiced as an ordainedmonk for nine years. His other teachers include Lama Thubten Zopa Rinpoche,Geshe Thubten Loden, Geshe Lhundup Sopa Rinpoche, Geshe Ngawang LegdenRinpoche, Geshe Tashibum, Geshe Trinley, Namkhai Norbu Rinpoche and SogyalRinpoche. He has also received teachings and transmissions from H.H. the DalaiLama and the late Song Rinpoche.

As a post-monastic, Peter integrated Eastern wisdom with Westernpsychological practices: The result is the Radiant Mind Course

After nine years as a celibate monk, Peter handed back his ordination. As apost-monastic he embarked on an intensive exploration of Western forms ofhealing and therapy. In 1986 he began offering adaptations of Mahayana wisdomto mental health professionals. His workshops integrated Buddhist nondualwisdom with an understanding of group dynamics. He subsequently foundedthe Center for Timeless Wisdom (www.wisdom.org), a Californian nonprofitorganization, which offers contemplative dialogues and retreats in Australia,USA, Europe and Israel.

In response to requests from the many mental health professionals whoattended his workshops, Peter has taught the principles and practices for anondual psychotherapy. He also offers individual counseling sessions to clientsin many countries.

In 1998 he teamed up with Dr. Jean-Marc Mantel (President of the Associa-tion Internationale de Psychiatrie Spirituelle) to organize the first-ever conferencefocusing on the contribution of nondual spiritual experience to psychotherapy.This took place at Mt. Madonna, California. The Center for Timeless Wisdomcontinues to sponsor an annual conference on Nondual Wisdom and Psycho-therapy, with the additional support of graduate schools such as Saybrook Insti-tute, California Institute of Integral Studies, JFK University, the Association ofTranspersonal Psychology and the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology.

No matter when orwhere someoneawakens to the truth,“this” is the reality thatthey experience.

Sosan Zenji, 3rd

Patriarch of Zen


The scholarly side of Peter—the solid theoreticalunderpinnings of the experiential Radiant Mind Course

Peter is an accomplished scholar and author as well. In 1983 he completed aPh.D. in the philosophical psychology of the Madhyamika school of MahayanaBuddhism. His books below demonstrate his scholarship. Peter is quick to warnprospective participants that these books are highly intellectual and are not at allindicative of the experiential nature of the Radiant Mind Course. Peter’s booksinclude The Ontology of the Middle Way (Kluwer, 1990), Reasoning into Reality(Wisdom Publications, 1994), Essential Wisdom Teachings (with Penny Fenner,Nicolas-Hays, 2001) and The Edge of Certainty: Paradoxes on the Buddhist Path(Nicolas-Hays, 2002). Even though these books emphasize philosophical theoryand are directed at professionals, browsing them can help you feel secure that Peterhas done his homework and the models and frameworks he utilizes in his experi-ential Course are some of the most advanced models in the nondual traditions.

His psychological essays have appeared in journals such as the Journal ofContemplative Psychotherapy, Revision, Journal of the International Association forSpiritual Psychiatry, Psychologia (Tokyo), and 3e millenaire. Besides offering experi-ential workshops, Peter has given presentations of his work at Institutions suchas Stanford Medical School, Columbia University, Saybrook College, Institute ofTranspersonal Psychology, University of Hawaii and California Institute ofIntegral Studies.

I’ve done the spiritual group thing and feel I’m past that stage,is this course for me or will I be wasting my time?

Many experienced seekers have reached a level of sophistication and haveadvanced to a point where they want the essence of a teaching and don’t want towaste time with group rituals or traditions. They’re not looking for anothergroup to join but are still truly interested in the essence or core of spiritualnondual teachings.

Peter says, “The Radiant Mind Course brings to bare the core teachings ofnondual traditions (Buddhism, Advaita, Zen, Taoism) into American culture freeof Asian spiritual motifs, rituals, trappings, and specialized language. Therefore,the Radiant Mind course dispenses with the doctrines and rituals that can attachto spiritual traditions, and goes straight to the heart of their liberating intention.It mirrors the direct and unencumbered teachings of the greatest nondual mastersand sages, who transcend the religious structures of their times and speak di-rectly to the hearts and minds of their disciples.”

The Radiant Mind Course challenges the conventional belief that peopleneed to be “on the path.” The Course works at the “result level.” In RadiantMind there’s no need to take time out from worldly commitments or go intolong-term retreat. The Course begins by giving people a direct experience of theultimate goal of Buddhism. We do this as effortlessly and efficiently as possible.We then focus on creating the conditions that allow this experience to arise natu-rally in people’s daily lives.

“Peter is quick towarn prospective

participants that hisbooks are highly

intellectual and arenot at all indicative of

the experientialnature of the Radiant

Mind Course.”

“the Radiant MindCourse dispenses

with the doctrinesand rituals that canattach to spiritual

traditions, and goesstraight to the heart

of their liberatingintention.”


In other words, the Radiant Mind Course is a perfect fit for people ready towork experientially with the pure essence that lays at the core of all teachings andwho know the value of doing so. And there are no obligations to become a mem-ber of an organization!

The Radiant Mind Course is not culturally specific noris it part of a spiritual tradition

Often people see Peter’s Buddhist background and assume the RadiantMind Course is just for Buddhists. The fact is, the Radiant Mind Course is non-denominational and people come from all paths and many religions. Since theCourse deals with, as Peter says, the “heart of liberating intention” of all spiritualtraditions, it should not conflict with what you are taught in the tradition youmight follow. For example, in Israel he presents his work in a totally undilutedform to quite large groups, many of whom are observant Jews. Peter doesn’treject systems of belief or practice, though he does invite people to observe theirrelationship to their thoughts and actions. Only, a small percentage of his stu-dents are “practicing Buddhists.”

Not everyone qualifies for taking this Course!Check to see if you qualify

The truth is the Radiant Mind Course is not for everyone. The people wehave observed who have thrived in the course are people who exhibited some ofthe qualities listed below (not necessarily all). The Course should suit you ifsome of the following apply. You:

• Have some meditative experience.

• Have outgrown your tradition or community and still want to takeyour practice deeper.

• Have experienced the unconditioned mind and want to deepen thisexperience.

• Have a desire to go beyond the mind but are frustrated through yourtrying.

• Can sit with strong emotions without trying to immediately relieve them.

• Have become disillusioned with seeking all together.

• Can tolerate a fair degree of not knowing, uncertainty, and ambiguity.

• Are an experienced meditator and want to go deeper into thenondual.

• Are well versed in spiritual theory and want the direct experience.

“the Radiant MindCourse is non-

denominational andpeople come from all

paths and manyreligions.”


People we found who have not thrived in the course are people who:

• Suffer from or are in the middle of severe emotional or psychologicalproblems.

• Are unwilling to accept personal feedback without getting deep intodefensiveness.

• Are very attached to their theories and stories.

• Have ongoing dramas that get expressed as anger and blame.

We understand that we all experience emotional and mental crisis in ourlives at some point or another and are not making judgments about people whomay not be ready. We simply have found that it can be frustrating for somepeople to work at the level of manifesting the end-results of the spiritual path. Ifyou are unsure as to whether you are ready, please make arrangements to speakto Peter personally so you can both decide if this Course is a good fit for you.

How to register for the course

If you need to talk to Peter before registering, please contact Jerry at 800-627-1455 to arrange a time. Otherwise, simply fill out the registration form onthe next page, and decide which tuition payment schedule you want to use,and send in the deposit. Dates and cities are listed on the registration form.After receiving your registration you will be contacted with further instruc-tions. We look forward to working with you!

Tuition

Course Tuition Fees:

$2250 (in one installment) or $2750 (in two installments)

• a limited number of partial scholarships are available• register early as there are a limited number of places

A word about the tuition: Some people, when seeing the tuition amount,don’t initially recognize the tremendous value they will be receive for theirpayment. So we feel compelled to remind them they will getting two coachingsessions each month with a Radiant Mind Coach, and two conference calls withPeter each month. Professional coaching and conference calls like this couldcost at a minimum $300 a month. So that’s $2400 in services there. Plus three 3-day workshops at $400 each. That’s $1200. Between the two that’s $3600. Not tomention the support participants receive from other participants as they col-laborate in working through exercises over the phone and in a private onlineforum. And the fact that all of these components feed and support each other ispriceless in terms of deepening your experience of the unconditioned mind sothat it can infuse and transform every aspect of your life.

Radiant Mind PO Box 9121 Asheville, NC 28815, USATel: 800-627-1455 / 828-299-7942 [email protected] • www.radiantmind.net


Radiant Mind 2006 USA Registration

General Information (Please print legibly)

Name _________________________________________________ ❒ Male ❒ Female

Address _______________________________________________________________

Phone Day ____________________________________________ ❒ Preferred

Evening _________________________________________ ❒ Preferred

FAX ____________________________________________

Email _______________________________________________________________

Occupation_______________________________________________________________

Professional Qualifications___________________________________________________

Intention of payment schedule

❒ I intend to pay the full fee in one payment of $2,250 before commencement of the Opening Workshop.

❒ I intend to pay the fee in two installments of $1,375, the first before commencement of the Opening

Workshop and the second before the commencement of the Midcourse Workshop.

Where I intend participate in the workshop components of the course

Can you choose to attend in a different city if one of the dates below are not convenient. For example, if youcan attend the SF opening workshop but can’t attend the midcourse workshop in SF on those dates listed,you can attend the NY workshop and then attend the completing workshop in SF.

Opening Workshop San Francisco ❒ (February 11 - 13) New York ❒ (February 4 - 6)

Midcourse Workshop San Francisco ❒ (June 10-12) New York ❒ (June 3 - 5)

Completing Workshop San Francisco ❒ (November 11 - 13) New York ❒ (November 4 - 6)

Deposit

❒ $500 Included with this completed registration form.

Form of payment

❒ Check or money order (please make the check out to Peter Fenner)

❒ Online via PayPal

http://www.radiantmind.net/paypal.htm


Practice and Retreat Experience

If you have participated in other Timeless Wisdom or Nondual Therapy programs, please indicatethose below:

______________________________________________________________________________________

Please provide a brief summary of your past and present psychological, spiritual, meditative practiceand experience:

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Health/Special Needs or Requests## # # # # # # # # # # # # # (Please answer all questions carefully and completely)

Do you have any current medical or mental health difficulties of which we should be aware? ❒ Yes ❒ No

If yes, please specify

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you currently taking any medication? ❒ Yes ❒ No If yes, please specify_________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Have you had any major difficulties in retreats or personal development programs ? ❒ Yes ❒ No If yes,please specify:

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Are you in therapy? ❒ Yes ❒ No (If yes, please be sure to discuss your intention to participated in this course with

your therapist and obtain a note from your therapist that indicates her or his knowledge of your participation.)

I have discussed this course with my therapist. ❒ Yes ❒ No

I am including a note that she/he knows of my intention to participate. ❒ Yes ❒ No

Please list any other special needs or requests. ___________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Any other comments?________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________________

Please Sign ________________________________________ Date__________________

We will confirm your reservation and provide additional information upon receiving this form. Pleasereturn this form, with your deposit to: Radiant Mind PO Box 9121, Asheville, NC 28815

radiant mind course

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