Fellowship Of Friends/Fourth Way School/Living Presence Discussion – Page 192 November 8, 2021
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Fellowship of Friends - Living Presence Discussion 
It looks like the behaviour here is just like in the cult. You won’t talk to me because you didn’t agree with me 15 years ago, as if disagreeing were a cause for no dialog. The same basic posts addressing the fellowship without exploring the fact that cults are microcosms of society and societies themselves are other forms of cult life, but instead of manipulating the emotional realm, as in cult, corporations manipulate the instinctive realm, dominating people through the need to make a living.
You might have stayed in the cult! You’re no different here. Since I imagine you’ll ban me again for this post, that’ll just prove my point. LOL.
Have any of you gone to those doors and protested in these fifteen years?
1, 2 ~ Elena on November 9, 2021
I don’t know who the “you” is/are that you are addressing, but I can tell you that many of those posting here were not posting 15 years ago, and the current discussion moderator was not moderating when you were “banned.” Many of those posting, including me, live faraway from the Oregon House compound. For us, the pen is more practical than the picket line. My efforts are more to alert prospective students, rather than to convince current members to leave the Fellowship of Friends. I have seen your posts here and always thought they were good ones. I welcome you back.
~ ~ ~
I am very impressed with the new Revelations podcast!
https://www.sfgate.com/sf-culture/article/revelations-podcast-explores-fellowship-of-friends-16565228.php?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm
I feel like the collective blog should pitch in and send Jennings Brown a congratulatory bottle of champagne or suitable gift for completing and releasing an audio portrait of FOF in all it’s wonder, wierdness, perversity and callousness.
Thanks for that Golden Veil. I definitely deserved banning! I was suffering from post cult syndrome and was taking so much space here because I had nowhere else to hold on to, after 16 years in the cult.
I’m glad the blog is still alive and a journalist is interested in the subject.
It all feels rather shy though, doesn’t it?
Cults are ever so effective because they manipulate people’s emotional realm, disempowering them to the point of committing suicide. The Fellowship wasn’t that extreme and Robert’s grossness was in a different direction, but there were already some people pretty caught up in the madness by the time I left. It’s sad that we haven’t been able to really affect it in all these years.
Rich (last page 191, #97), the Fellowship of Friends cemetery is only a few acres. Scarcely big enough for even a mausoleum on a scale suitable for “The Brightest Light in Two Billion Years”. (Important question for readers: is that a grandiose enough title, considering The Absolute has come to visit Burton, not once, but twice in recent years, and even “performed an act of humility” for Burton? Maybe I should up it to ‘Thirteen Billion Years’? Or just plain, ‘Ever’?)
And I’d guess the entire Apollo property would hardly suffice for the accompanying theme park his grieving followers would spend the rest of their lives and fortunes to bring into being, as their final tribute to the only goddess in a man’s body they are ever likely to meet.
But you’re right, that would be the end of the main chapter.
However, Burton clings to the theory is that he and a few of his anointed flying monkeys will continue to infest our solar system for eons (until it implodes as a prelude to the next Big Bang). Fortunately, as a public service, I have just spent some time creatively imagining the “Galactic Pest & Spiritual Vermin Control” into existence…
____________
No offence, but I had no idea that picketing outside the gates of Apollo had been so successful, or indeed, made any difference at all. Evidence otherwise welcome.
On the contrary, based on what I’ve come to realize in the last fifteen years, is that actually such actions make the lines between ‘us’ and ‘them’ clearer and stronger to those enmeshed in Burton’s fantasy. That their cognitive dissonance becomes more pronounced (and normalized within the narrative). That such actions actually give Burton and his enablers more ammunition for their cause, not less, and solidifies, not loosens, their hold on the laity. That goes for the existence and contents of this blog, and very probably, the ‘Revelations’ podcasts, as well, IMHO.
But… I’m told by some who have contacted me afterwards, the arguments made here can make a difference to someone who is already prepared and open to hear them and digest them. In those cases, it was their own noble efforts to disentangle themselves, and their own heartfelt desire for alternative points of view, that allowed them to reach that place.
In the meantime, I’m certain some of these efforts serve as a warning to seekers: look elsewhere! I think the podcasts send this extremely effective message. Thank you, Jennings Brown, and the entire team behind you!
Also, I believe that humor and mockery have a place here as well, and are a viable way of communicating information and food for thought, though more indirectly.
All just my opinions, of course.
Ames,
I’ve seen the architect drawings for a lavish Pepto bismol colored nauseoleum with a diamond crusted donation box on the front door that emits a mocking laugh and says, “Sucker” when you drop a 100 dollar bill into it.
Less than 100 and it squirts sperm all over your face and says “Be Present”. If you give no money at all then as you walk away a trap door opens under you and you drop into a small underground room that contains an Iron and an ironing board and a sack of his underwear. If you iron 44 crotchless boxers and fold them all neatly a door opens and you regain your freedom.
I’ll add my thanks here to Jennings Brown and associates for their good works – a public service shedding light on dark places.
Re: picketing the compound, I agree with Ames… from personal experience, back when I lived at “Renaissance” Dorota Star owned a house and property just behind the FOF garden … (a garden as I recall, which kept growing in size and production under Robbie Lichtenburg’s sp? green thumb). After Dorota left the school she regularly made visible efforts to “raise hell” out there on her property demonstrating her anger and outraging at Burden and the organization supporting him.
At the time, while living inside the “Renaissance” bubble and as a “dyed in the wool true believer” of the lies, I know myself and others of a similar mindset only grew more convinced of our own ‘righteousness’ as Dorota’s protestations continued. I’m pretty sure the same sort of mindset yet persists inside the FOF and certain types of actions will only make the “faithful” more so.
(Wonder whatever happened to Dorota and Robbie?)
As for blind obedience to a blundering oracle, some are unable and will never see the follow-ship of fools for what it is – all frivolous folly designed to fleece the flock in support of the so-called “goddess” masquerading as a man.
A phrase comes to mind: ‘let the dead bury the dead.’
Diegoriverassquaretrouserleg (#7),
that is an absolutely revolting mind worm you’ve released into unsuspecting readers’ brains! An impartial observer would think you had just escaped from years of being trapped in some deranged madman’s sex cult, which totally warped your psyche. Oh, wait…
Diegoriverassquaretrouserleg (#7),
Jennings Brown says that some of the high muckety–mucks in the Fellowship have given themselves permission to monitor this blog. One assumes they are making notes, and that your latest fund–raising ideas for the Nausoleum are already being taken into serious consideration by the appropriate committee.
I myself previously took thought to this matter on page 159, #77, about half–way down:
https://tinyurl.com/zrtb6ap8
… and I’m sure that some on the committee are poaching some of my best ideas and claiming them as their own.
I am privy to the minutes of their last meeting, mailed to me by my inside source:
• Our aim is to produce the Eighth (and Final) Wonder of the World.
• This structure will be known as the εύπιστος
• The formal name of the committee will be changed to, “The Artemesia Society”. The Research Octave has determined that this was the name of the 4th-century BC builder of the original Mausoleum, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and that she built it in memory of her husband, the Carian prince Mausolus. Of course, her name is a derivative of the goddess Artemis, which has seven letters in it.
• The name, “Mausolus” has eight letters in it. Separate sub–committees will be formed to formulate esoteric meanings for both names (with the help of the Research Octave), and these meanings will be transmitted to the laity in due course.
• We will not be consulting Robert about these meanings. We will not permit speculation about why we would not consult Robert about these meanings, nor will we permit speculation about why we are not permitting such speculations. Refer injudicious inquiries to the “No Gossip Exercise” monitors, who will be taking names. The first inquiry will incur a fine of $100, a second inquiry or follow up to the first inquiry, by the same student, will incur a leave of absence (to not exceed one year), and a $1,000 re–entry fee.
• We will be looking into wholesale sources of the following materials:
– lavender–colored marble (minimum of 10,000 tons)
– fuschia–colored marble (minimum of 10,000 tons)
– pink marble (minimum of 10,000 tons)
– gold lamé silk (minimum of 20,000 square yards)
– lavender silk (minimum of 20,000 square yards)
– fuschia silk (minimum of 20,000 square yards)
• The next meeting will be on November 27th, after the Lead Architect has received further inspirations from Leonardo, as interpreted by Robert, and in turn re–mystified by Dorian.
https://nypost.com/2021/11/09/sex-rituals-and-fine-wines-inside-alleged-cali-cult-the-fellowship-of-friends/
#4 Nevasayneva
I agree. I just finished listening to Act VI. The whole series is an admirable piece of work, and I’m amazed at what Jennings Brown managed to do. It also must have required a lot of time editing and putting together. If someone wants to send him a bottle of champagne, I’ll chip in.
I also found it disturbing from the point of view of one who was a member for 27 years. Jennings Brown found out things very quickly that I didn’t know in all that time, and some of which I did not know until I listened to the series. Yes, Elena (#1,2) I was aware of your picketing but I didn’t know what it was about and didn’t find out because Robert forbade us to talk to you.
For me it is particularly disorientating, as one who takes pride in being rational, to realise that I isolated a whole structure of beliefs from critical analysis. I also didn’t enquire further on the rare occasions when someone claimed an injustice. Yet on that score, even if only peripherally, I am guilty.
At least I left when Robert claimed that the Absolute had visited him in the rose garden for a cup of tea or whatever (did the Absolute suck Robert’s dick or did I misunderstand?). How anyone could stay after that is hard to understand.
Re 44th way.
We were all in the dark to one extent or another while in FOF. The editing of the Jennings Brown podcast is amazing.
Although as per podcast FOF may say – move along move along, nothing to see here, few current FOF members or ex-FOF members will have heard the legal opinions of Ford Greene or Moira Penza (Act V)
Moira Penza Act V
“There is no law against being a cult. The law is against using force, fraud or coercion to have someone engage in specific sex acts”
If I had been mixed up in any force, fraud or coercion, I certainly would not like to find myself across a table from someone like Moira Penza.
On the last page (191) of this blog, I wrote about Dorian Matei (leading Fellowship of Friends minister, luminary, and Burton’s anointed successor), and the incident in Brown’s Valley on July 26th. A witness that not only saw the whole thing, but stopped to help, said that the driver of the Fellowship of Friends vehicle pulled out and struck Sherri and Mike Tomak on their two motorcycles, and that they were both severely injured. I was told soon after (by a usually very reliable source) that the lady had died, but that was incorrect, and I apologized here as soon as I found out.
On November 8th, Sherri Tomak’s sister announced that Sherri had died. Mike is still recovering from the head injuries and broken leg that he sustained.
There are many more details, for those interested, on the invaluable ‘Robert Earl Burton Blog’, link on the Blogroll at the top right of this page. Apparently, there is a lawsuit pending…
Who is liable when someone is injured in a car accident? It depends upon who is considered at fault – and the percentage of fault. Did the couple riding motorcycles have the right of way? Once the fault / percentage of fault is determined, here who’s liable for the accident.
1. The owner of the vehicle that caused the accident – their auto insurance would be primary. 2. The driver of the vehicle; if they have their own auto insurance policy on another car – that insurance could come into play once funds run out on the vehicle in the collision’s insurance. 3. If the driver of the vehicle caused the accident during the course of work, their employer would be liable (whether or not the employer owns the car).
The employer will have the “deep pockets” that could best cover a bodily injury liability claim that resulted in death. Does anyone know who the owner is of the vehicle Dorian was driving? Does anyone know if Dorian was on a work related trip at the time of the accident? If the vehicle was used for a work related trip or is owned by the Fellowship of Friends, the liability portion of the Fellowship of Friends business policy would come into play in a lawsuit.
But if Dorian is out of the picture who will check Robert’s zipper?
#16 Shard of oblivion
Hahahaha that is hilarious!
Is that Guinevere playing guitar?
How many times has he done that though, I mean, walked onto the podium with his zipper undone, it’s happened a lot!
and what’s that weird thing he always does regurgitating phlegm or is it come he sucks back up into his mouth? Weird, pervy, mofos the pair of them.
uncle bob really losing it
forgetting to zipper after peeing
or whatever; plenty of
whatever on the list
Maybe The Absolute performed an Act of Humility on Burton just before the meeting.
Cult Accused of Using Followers as ‘Human Shields’
Belarus House, CA-The scene is replayed time and time again: whenever Robert E Burton travels outside his Northern Californian gated compound known as “Apollo”, he is flanked by six or eight cute young men, ready, willing and paid to relinquish their personal integrity, agency, and sexual orientation in order to shield their aging authoritarian leader’s fragile ego from the slings and arrows of criticism and scrutiny.
Even at the exclusive meetings within his compound, in an effort to keep the ruse in play that Burton is an “highly evolved being” free from the bounds of morality and reason, he is always seen with those whose specific job it is to make sure he finishes his sentences, wipes his chin, and that his zipper is pulled up.
Human Rights Watch, an organization dedicated to exposing exploitation and abuse by authoritarian regimes like the Fellowship of Friends, has recently sent a letter informing the cult that the use of human shields is forbidden by Protocol I of the Geneva Conventions, but to no avail; the authoritarian cult continues to use its status as a religious organization to recruit and traffic destitute young men from ailing foreign countries to the US with promises of endless blow jobs, nice shoes, and long hours of grueling work shoveling camel dung under the wistful shade of palm and olive trees that help his followers to feel more at home, as long as they “voluntarily” donate their time, energy and precious bodily fluids in support of Burton’s grandiosity and insatiable sexual appetite.
“If our dear leader were to be exposed to the raw truth about the mountain of pain he has caused the thousands of ex-members who suffer in shamed silence, it would extinguish him,” said Dorian the minder, “our job as underlings is to sit, stay, and roll over to make him feel special and condone his predatory behavior no matter what.”
“No one is complaining,” said one cult elder named Greg, “and if they did, I’d show them the door. It’s always open.”
Made it to the Times.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/robert-earl-burton-californian-guru-devoted-to-finer-things-in-life-accused-of-sex-assaults-2g2l7gd3q
It would be interesting to know whether the Times article will cause any in the London Centre to leave. One of the things about being in a peripheral centre is being further away from, and so less aware of, what is really going on. Of course there might be a new media exercise…
44th way, this is complete “bollocks”. The London center is one of the oldest centers in the fellowship, and some members of the center have been in the fellowship for decades. They know what’s going on. The fellowship is not a growing organization. It is shrinking. The whole idea that this blog might serve to warn would new students who are also young heterosexual men is a far fetched. I think very few people are joining the fellowship. These days, so many superb teachings are widely available online, and people can get an idea of teacher’s approach by watching their videos. Many teachers are offering online meetings, no commitment whatsoever. I think that the age of reclusive spiritual organizations is over, save for a few small organizations such as the FOF.
I correct myself: MANY members of the London center have been in the FOF for decades. And there are quite a few Eastern Europeans in the center too. They know.
Have you listened to this interview with Jennings Brown?
“… Revelations, discusses life on the lavish compound of the Fellowship of Friends leading up to their doomsday date, why people cling to their prophecies when they don’t come true, allegations of sexual assault against the group’s leader, and the orgy that was compared to a trip to the DMV.”
Excerpt from the description of the podcast Trust Me: Cults, Extreme Belief, and the Abuse of Power, episode 51, “Jennings Brown: Investigating the Fellowship of Friends” Hosted by ditzy ex-cult members Lola Blanc and Meagan Elizabeth.
The actual interview with Jennings Brown starts at 7:10 minutes into the ditzy girls podcast. You might want to jump ahead to that point!
https://podcasts.apple.com/jo/podcast/51-jennings-brown-investigating-the-fellowship-of-friends/id1534370789?i=1000539341638
I don’t know if I am the only one fascinated by this podcast? “Quoth the raven, never more, never more” it is a bit Southern Gothic transplanted to Sierra Nevada foothills. I guess REB is from the south. Hard to get away from ones roots.
One of the scary things about listening to the podcast is even though I left more than 12 -13 years ago, how little it has all changed.
It seems unchanged. Same people saying the same things.
26. Nevasayneva
Both Burton and Dorian have developed a really bad (and transparent) habit of making the ordinary and mundane come out sounding profound and inspired.
Both of them are actors, liars, and (at the least) sociopaths.
But then, why change a winning game? The Fellowsheepers lap it up constantly, and then beg (and pay) for more.
24. Nevasayneva
You wrote: “MANY members of the London center have been in the FOF for decades. And there are quite a few Eastern Europeans in the center too. They know.”
What exactly is it that you think that they know? That Robert is a sexual predator, or that Robert is not and never has been a conscious being? If it’s the latter, it’s hard to understand why they would continue to pay their monthly dues.
Re Man Number Zero
Re
“ You wrote: “MANY members of the London center have been in the FOF for decades. And there are quite a few Eastern Europeans in the center too. They know.”
I did not write that, that was written by “laughoutloud”
I am sure there are people who know and people who don’t know. The ones who don’t know are exercising what Marlene in the podcast described as “willful blindness”.
Yes, I meant that many know the dry facts, but probably have different perspectives and attitudes about it.
You have to wonder how many people, both formerly-important old-timers, and the younger generation mainly from Russia and Eastern Europe, understand the depth of the scam perpetrated by Robert Burton: pretending that the Fellowship is an “esoteric school” with a “conscious teacher” helping people around the world to become “conscious beings” so they may go to “Paradise;” while in actuality the Fellowship and its structure of “centers” is, and has always been, primarily engaged in recruiting sex partners for Burton, shipping them off to Apollo (or wherever Burton wants to meet them), and of course raising untold tens of millions of dollars over the years to satisfy Burton’s insatiable appetite for sex and bodily fluids, and also his various spending addictions.
It was never about the “4th Way.” That was, and still is, merely the bait.
Does Girard know? How about Linda? Kevin, Benjamin, Nicholas S? Helga, Mark L (Marcus), Greg H (current FF president)? And then there was Abraham Goldman. And Dorian. And Asaf had to have known everything. And a whole ton of ex-bigshots, and center directors, some still in the Fellowship, some gone, some dead. How many buried in the cemetery knew everything, yet said nothing?
I know it’s just my POV, but to me this is the most important thing to know about Burton and the Fellowship of Friends.
A fake school, a fake teacher, a fake teaching, a fake 4th Way lineage, and many fake promises.
Insider ~ November 19, 2021
If the Fellowship of Friends is “A fake school, a fake teacher, a fake teaching, a fake 4th Way lineage, and many fake promises.” then it follows that the students are fake as well.
It doesn’t take long to see that the Fellowship of Friends is not a “Fourth Way” Gurdjieffian school, it’s something else. Some are “seekers” and “find the school,” and are soon convinced that “the School” is what they have been missing their entire lives. As has been said before, prospective students are often attentively “love bombed” – and then assigned various tasks or practices. Probably the only real practices common to Gurdjieff and Burton though is a certain form of hypnosis, a kind of charismatic seduction – and the money con and practice of sex with students. Members are so busy learning the student act they don’t have time to think about Burton’s crass sexual whims, and if they ever do, they indulge in denial and turn a blind eye; cognitive dissonance.
Never mind whether or not the FOF is a “fake school”, which begs the question…is there such an entity as a “real school”, other than your local university, that is?
Clearly the FOF is a FAKE RELIGION whose belief in a “higher power” is used to justify taking in vast sums of money, avoid paying taxes, sexually exploit male followers, and to protect and enrich the predator in chief.
I somehow missed these podcast back in 2019. They seem to have no connection with Jennings’s and contain a wealth of historical information, detail and psychological insight.
There are two parts, links are below. I found them to be a chilling and good companion and introduction to Jennings series.
Hard to believe I was involved in this horror show. Burton is a truly sick, perverted fuck. Many of the gory details are out there now for people to find and yet and still, only the surface has been scratched,
Largely the crimes of the early years are documented now and available here and there in the public domain for anyone with a mind to find them and piece them together, but Burton refined his strategies of abuse and got better and better at it, he also perfected ways of isolating himself from prosecution and litigation whilst the predation escalated.
He continues today largely unimpeded, financially supported by the naive and needy and enabled by the knowing and willingly complicit.
Fifty years of lies, abuse, manipulation and madness, predation, greed addiction, coercion and intimidation……….
“I am the brightest light since Jesus Christ” – Burton
Buyer beware.
and if you haven’t listened to Jennings’ excellent podcast series, you can find the six episodes here on spotify
Seems I had the wrong link to episode two, apologies ! I think I have it now.
ha ha uncle bob jumps on
the bandwagon after
john lennon and lots
before
Thanks, Diego, that is a good find that I wasn’t aware of either, and I agree is a perfect introduction to the ‘Revelations’ podcasts.
Thanks also to ‘mannumbernine’ and ‘Jomo Piñata’ for alerting us to those two newspaper articles. The more publicity, the better, IMO.
Anxious readers will be glad to know that further details have been forthcoming about the parrot featured in the ‘Revelations’ podcasts. In a stunning breakthrough, a trusted source has reached out to provide me with a photo of the actual bird, which I wish I could share with readers. Oh well, I’ll just have to do my poor best with inadequate words.
Picture an avian with noticeably bowed shoulders and a sad, forlorn expression, and with a cynical glint in its eye. At the time of the portrait, it quite obviously has a heavy load on its mind. One feels that this is a parrot that has stared into the Abyss, and the Abyss has responded by glaring back and baring a plethora of sharp teeth all the way down. This is a parrot that has seen it all, has been beaten down by circumstances, and has concluded that there is no hope in this rotten, corrupt and unfair world.
It appears to be a hybrid Macaw especially bred for the pet trade, the type called a Harlequin. Most of these crosses are between the Green-winged Macaw and the Blue and Gold Macaw. Which is to say, for those out there who appreciate the details, Ara chloropterus x Ara ararauna.
Harlequin macaws are vividly colored, which is probably what caught Burton’s avaricious and impulsive eye, and they are usually a good choice for a pet, owing to their intelligence, curiosity, and pleasant dispositions. But, they are rather large birds, and require a great deal of care. And they can be very loud! Faithful recorders of the habitat around them, I would imagine that constant and vociferous reminders of Burton’s sadism and depravities is what led to its banishment from his realm.
Now, being a hybrid with F1 vigor, it is probable that this particular parrot was even more intelligent and empathic, even more perspicacious and sensitive than the parents, who themselves by nature excelled in all these areas, and it is legitimate to surmise that the !!!!>>>scenes<<>>sounds<<<!!!! that it heard during its unfortunate association with Burton were beyond the Pale, and likely caused considerable distress or even some kind of a breakdown. It must have been as hellish for the bird as it was for Burton’s human victims, in fact more so, since the torture of being forced to observe such ruthless and deliberate cruelty was repeated day after day, week after month after year, and there must have seemed there was no hope of escape.
So, my suggestion is, that Jennings Brown does at some point does return to Oregon House, after duly preparing himself by consulting with those who have gone before, qualified parrot interviewers who have practical, verified experience in the art. I propose that he arranges to have some long and meaningful discussions with this parrot, perhaps over a period of several days or a week.
It may take a while for Jennings to gain its trust, but I think the results would be well worth it—provided that reliving the horrors of the past do not further traumatize the unfortunate creature. With that in mind, it might be a wise precaution to gather together a multidisciplinary team, to include a mental health professional well versed in parrot psychology, a vet to calm or sedate the bird if the replaying of fraught scenes proves too stressful, and of course, someone fluent in Macawese, to help elucidate the subtle nuances and colloquialisms of a foreign language that are so difficult to adequately express in translation.
Fortunately, this noble exile is obviously familiar with, if not fluent in, the English language, so if Jennings is able to establish a rapport, and the bird comes to feel free to fully express itself and share its uninhibited recollections, we can expect more significant Revelations in the future. And think of the joy and release from mental anguish the parrot will probably experience, as it finally unburdens its sorrows into the sympathetic ear of one who understands!
Surely, only good can come from such a venture!
To forestall the inevitable questions…
• No, I have no idea if any member of the psittacines has ever been shown to have standing as a witness in a court of law here in the U.S., despite their well–earned reputation as strict adherents to the standards of ‘the whole truth and nothing but the truth’.
• And no, I am fairly certain that none have ever passed the California Bar exam—though that would be easy to do if any such intelligent and worthy member was so inclined, IMO. It is just that, as far as I know, not a single one has ever been recorded as expressing a desire to join the legal profession in any capacity, not even as a court recorder (at which trade, of course, they would naturally excel).
And surely that is a testament to the commendable natural good sense and unimpeachable virtue of parrots everywhere.
Readers of this blog, alert, intelligent and sensitive all, will no doubt be wondering, “O.K., this is all very well, but what about this parrot’s future? If Jennings does follow through and interview the bird, is it to then be abandoned and forgotten, cast aside like one of Burton’s victims when he tires of him?”
This is an excellent question, and I suggest that, between us, we try to come up with a solution. Naturally it would behoove Jennings to ask the avian itself for ideas, rather than outsiders imposing themselves without a full understanding of is POV and history.
What would be its ideal way forward? Perhaps a fund set up by concerned readers to buy its freedom and independence? In that case, how would it maintain itself? Would it need a manager or agent to interface with the world and buy nuts? Would it like to develop a career, be able to earn a living? Perhaps starting with the easy ‘low–hanging fruit’, i.e., raising the quality of commentary and opinions on the cable television shows? Or would that be insufficiently challenging?
#38 AmesGilbert says about the parrot “One feels that this is a parrot that has stared into the Abyss, and the Abyss has responded by glaring back and baring a plethora of sharp teeth all the way down.”
Associative thinking (so mechanical, I know) has me recalling this photo of Nietzsche’s cat . . .
https://imgur.com/a/5a36VGX
Oh! The life of a parrot:
#23 laughoutloud
“44th way, this is complete “bollocks”.”
#30 laughoutloud
“Yes, I meant that many know the dry facts, but probably have different perspectives and attitudes about it.”
This is a question that I muse over in my book, without coming to a definite conclusion. Yes, I was a member for over two decades; yes, at one point I was a Centre Director. That doesn’t mean that I was clearly aware of the abuse. I knew that Burton was a homosexual: that is nothing to remark on. I knew he had a sex life, that also is nothing to remark on, of itself. I did not know that his entourage were all heterosexual, nor did I know that religious visas were obtained for them solely to feed Burton’s lust. Even after leaving, it did not at first dawn on me that these so-called consensual arrangements were actually abuse of power. Bear in mind also that we are now all much more sensitised to these issues because of the Harvey Weintein case and others. It is within my adult lifetime that rape within marriage has been made legally a crime in the UK: perceptions change.
I was aware that Burton had a sex life around the time that the ‘sex exercise’ was rescinded, and it did seem paradoxical (to say the least) that Burton was allowed to have sex while other homosexuals were not, although that rule was also rescinded about that time. (It reminded me of what someone told me many, many years before, that Leon MacLaren, leader of the SES, did not impose any exercise or rule that he did not follow himself.)
To leave the school, one’s understanding – of such information as one has – must be such that it destroys one’s belief that the Teacher is actually what he claims to be, that is, a ‘Conscious Being’ (whatever that is).
What did you know then that you see differently now?
#32 Golden Veil
“It doesn’t take long to see that the Fellowship of Friends is not a “Fourth Way” Gurdjieffian school, it’s something else.”
#33 WhaleRider
“Never mind whether or not the FOF is a “fake school”, which begs the question…is there such an entity as a “real school”…”
Indeed. Because we (I assume I speak for all here) swallowed so much nonsense in order to pursue our dream of becoming ‘Conscious Beings’ (and/or ‘immortal at the scale of the solar system’), it seems to me important to look at the underpinnings of the Fourth Way belief system.
If we had not been inclined to believe what we (inaccurately) called ‘B-influence,’ we would not have been attracted to the Fourth Way in the first place.
In post 43, 44thWay writes:
“To leave the school, one’s understanding – of such information as one has – must be such that it destroys one’s belief that the Teacher is actually what he claims to be, that is, a ‘Conscious Being’ (whatever that is).”
For some members it seems that no information would be sufficient to destroy their belief in Burton as a Conscious Being. For example, in post 31 Insider gives a list of people who must surely know that Burton is a predator (“Does Girard know? How about Linda? Kevin, Benjamin, Nicholas S? Helga, Mark L (Marcus), Greg H (current FF president)? And then there was Abraham Goldman. And Dorian. And Asaf had to have known everything.”)
Based on what he writes in his books, Girard for one does still seem to believe that Burton is a Conscious Being. I don’t know about the other people on Insider’s list; possibly some or all of them also believe this.
So it seems to be possible to simultaneously believe “Burton is a sexual predator” and “Burton is a Conscious Being”. Burton’s defenders have occasionally posted hints to the blog on how they reconcile these two beliefs, for example “The Lower cannot judge the Higher” or “Conscious Beings are not bound by the rules that apply to the rest of us.”
#44 Man Number Zero
Another reason why analysis of what the Fourth Way is for (and whether it is credible) is important. Why would it be ok for a ‘higher’ or ‘more conscious’ being to inflict harm on another?
Post hoc ergo propter hoc: Because The Fellowship of Friends is a “Real School,” one should eventually graduate; like in any other school. But, The Fellowship of Friends never graduates anyone in fifty years!
Ye shall know them by their fruits.
Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit;
but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit,
neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit
is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Matthew 7:16-20
King James Version
The Fellowship of Friends; a real school? My Asso.
Robert Earl Burton the brightest light since Jesus Christ? My Asso.
Part of an email sent after listening to the podcast:
“Jennings,
Many thanks for telling the story… is it too much to hope that it will lead to further scrutiny, some form of belated ‘justice’ and an end to this long, sordid episode…?”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Link to an article dated 11/04/1996:
https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1996-11-04-mn-61189-story.html
To answer my own rhetorical question rhetorically, I suppose it is too much to hope that public scrutiny will change the modus operandi of Burden and the Felatio-ship of Fools.
“Press” reports of the abuse of trust, (“breach of fiduciary responsibilities” I think it’s referred to in quasi-legalese), the physical, emotional, ‘spiritual’ rape which so many experience – for nearing the half-century mark! It’s all a known fact, although a little-known fact… it’s already out there in the public domain…. I do appreciate what Jennings et. al. produced… but I’ll add, bringing a different reportage format doesn’t change the situation. Graduation only occurs through dropping out… speaking personally, in my case the FOF was really a ‘school’ for nascent cynics – not as advertised but ya live and learn.
I’m reminded of a song: “Outside of a small circle of friends”
Giving thanks…
Ton2u, in #47, above, you provide a link to the November 4th 1996 LA Times article. Thanks, and it brings up a point I think would bear some further research, should Jennings Brown or some other intrepid explorer ever feel up to it. Which is, why do some people that have escaped, return?
Here’s the quote from the article, headlined, Trouble Taints a Cerebral Sanctuary, by Jenifer Warren
I actually talked to this lady around the time she left (over the Troy Buzbee scandal), and we certainly agreed that Burton, if he was sincere in his ridiculous claim that he was a “goddess in a man’s body”, would surely be more than usually empathic to women in general and women in the Fellowship of Friends specifically. But, we both recognized at the time, he is not. Far from it, he is a noted misogynist, and unless they are of immediate use, that is, able to give him lots of money or willing use their powers and influence to advance his selfish aims, he often treats his female followers with open contempt and cruelty.
Yet, despite this, she did rejoin, and AFAIK, is still a member and still living in Oregon House.
Another example from that time that I have personal knowledge of is a lady who not only left and then rejoined, but when I met with her once by chance, tried to persuade me to rejoin as well, adding as a final inducement, “I know that Robert would forgive you”.
!!!!
Words failed me then and now.
A decade later, she had left again, and AFAIK, is still living in Oregon House.
The number of people who have left and then rejoined is probably in the many dozens. What is going on? There must be some serious psychological issues to study, maybe even a PhD in it for someone. And in parallel, what is happening within the membership when the stray sheep returns to the fold? I remember a couple of times feeling very glad, even vindicated in some subtle way, when I heard someone had returned. It bolstered my belief system, for sure.
If Jennings can find the answers, I for one would be glad to support a call to name the phenomenon, “Jennings Syndrome” or something similar, in honor of his discoveries.
It’s no mystery why a person may rejoin a cult IMO, given how addictive the dopamine hit is being subjected to “love bombing”.
It’s the same reason people relapse on drugs and alcohol despite the damage it causes.
On the other hand, there is a condition known as “battered person/woman syndrome”, whereby a person is rendered passive and dependent by not only repeated violence, but emotional abuse as well, coupled with a poor support system outside the abusive relationship.
Now that Dorian Mattei must turn his mind to more pressing things other than churning out massive mountains of meaningless mush and collecting the $$$ on behalf of Burton and the organization, I wonder if there is not a sense of despair amongst the members of the Fellowship of Friends. I mean, Burton is in his dotage, Dorian is in serious trouble, Sasha makes even less sense than Dorian, and any insider is going to have his or hands full if they tried to take over and instill some direction to the lives of the sheep.
What to do, what to do? the cry goes up.
I bet I’m not the only one who has come up with the answer.
Send a team to Israel and negotiate the return of Asaf Braverman!
Yup, offer Asaf the imperial purple, and the future throne. He’s had years of practice, he knows the place, he knows the politics, he has the words down pat. Not for him the iPad that seems surgically implanted on Dorian’s arm, he is the master of extemporaneous bullshit and projection of certainty. And he has the great advantage of being well spoken, and speaking English fluently. Plus, I’m sure his wife would very much welcome coming home to the U.S.
There would have to be, ahem, certain adjustments within the Fellowship, to be sure. But no impediments that a few well–chosen words and surgically precise actions by the powers–that–be could not overcome.
Of course, Dorian relinquishes his present role as anointed successor to ‘spend more time with his family’, maybe back in Romania (after justice is done and he has paid his dues), Sasha gets to return to something more suited to his abilities, like taking out the garbage, Rowena gets to open a new center in say, the slums of Rio, and Linda gets to clean the floors in an orphanage of her choice. Plus, a dozen of the rest, you know and we know who you are! All centers of rebellion or trouble out of the way, whoosh! A clean sweep and an auspicious start for the next Emperor of Oregon House.
And I’m sure there would be great rejoicing amongst the majority of the flock!
It’s probably just a meaningless coincidence, but it is of interest that a certain M@ri0 F@ntoni, who left the Fellowship in 2016 to become of one Asaf’s key supporters and technical advisors, recently rejoined the Fellowship.
“…one of Asaf’s key supporters…
Re Ames Nov 26 – people rejoining.
I don’t think a large number of people who leave rejoin later. Nobody has stats on that. But I think of all the people who I knew who left in the 20 years I was in. Most left. A very small number rejoined and some who rejoined left again.
For some people if you leave you leave. There is processing that happens for many many years and many processes help with that including the blog.
I suppose if you want what FOF offers, you rejoin. If you don’t, you don’t.
Let’s remember it’s a cult and if you’re a member, you’re a cult member. If you choose to stay, you’re choosing to stay in a cult, choosing to be a cult member, choosing to pay money to enable a predator and sadistic abuser.
People leave the organisation but if they’ve been in for any length of time then Burton will be living in their head rent free. The work of leaving begins after you disengage with the physical structure and the cult members. You have to learn to think again assuming you ever did.
Some people don’t make it and rejoin the cult. They are choosing to rejoin a destructive cult. Most of the current members are beyond help, are crystallized in the hive mind and content with Bob’s fairy stories. It’s not about consciousness or awakening for them and probably never was. It’s a lifestyle issue, nice clothes, nice people, nice cars, nice impressions, nice presence, nice imaginary story. They feel safe in the nice place.
It doesn’t occur that any and everyone in the organisation is being abused, not just the obvious abuse of the male sperm donors, of which at any one time there are upwards of 200. It’s a self serving calculation people make based on fear, prior trauma, vanity and delusion. For many abuse is an acceptable constant. They have accepted Bob’s twisted narrative and he lives in their heads rent free in the master bedroom.
“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.”
–Will Rogers
Jomo, that is hilarious! So apt. I haven’t laughed that much in a long, long time. Thanks!
I did a search, and there are dozens of images of parrots that include the quote, and even ones featuring Harlequin Macaws, but in happier circumstances.
Revealed: ex-members of Amy Coney Barrett faith group tell of trauma and sexual abuse
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/oct/21/amy-coney-barrett-people-of-praise-trauma-abuse
““The basic premise of everything at the People of Praise was that the devil controlled everything outside of the community, and you were ‘walking out from under the umbrella of protection’ if you ever left,” said one former member who called herself Esther, who had to join the group as a child but then left the organization. “I was OK with it being in a tiny little corner of Indiana, because a lot of weird stuff happens in tiny little corners in this country. But it’s just unfathomable to me – I can’t even explain just how unfathomable it is – that you would have a supreme court justice who is a card-carrying member of this community.”
Tiny little corner of California?
there’s a lot in this flowing around in FOF,
secretive, some dating back to gurdjieff’s
era and before….buyer BEWARE
further………………
“Satan spelled backwards is Santa” – Robert Burton
“Santa spelled backwards is Satan.”
~Robert Burton
Please send all your Christmas gifts for the Teacher early this year due to delayed delivery times as a result of the pandemic that to date has killed 5.35 million life people world wide and C-influence neglected to warn anyone about via license plates and street signs.
asinine moi spelled backwards is, O I’m insane. Dorian dear, ? kcid ym ees u nac, reppiz ym s’woh- Burton
Dorian, Let me get the big magnifying glass Robert.
ha ha the only thing uncle bob has in common with
the great painter is a failed effort at writing backwards
Coming to a Greek theater near you:
The Cultrix
Picture taking the red ‘sly man’s pill’ and waking up to the dystopian reality that you have been plugged into an imaginary world of glittery gold plated clocks, lush gardens, sprawling vineyards, marble statues, fine art, fine dining, constant classical music playing, where everyone is told who they are and what to do, wears nice clothes, smiles all the time, drinks wine, and seems so happy, keeping everyone passive and distracted…
…blissfully unaware that behind the scenes they are secretly being used as an abundant energy resource to fuel their mechanical overlord’s lust, harvesting their raw sex energy and then flushed down the drain when they are spent.
Welcome to my world.
There is, understandably, a lot of talk on here about the evils of R.E.B and the illusory nature of the FoF cult, and also a fair amount of humorous satire, but very little challenging of the underlying claims of the Fourth Way itself (except, in passing, Whalerider at #33). In the Amazon reviews of my book, ‘Cyrus’ writes that all would have been well for me had I joined a genuine Fourth Way school, such as “the Foundation or one of JG Bennett’s groups.” I note that ‘Cyrus’ does not attempt to address any of my criticisms of the Fourth Way doctrine as found in Ouspensky or Gurdjieff.
I suggest, I hope to provoke some discussion, that those of us who merely reject R.E.B without questioning the roots of the Fourth Way (and allied trades) are leaving ourselves open to being sucked into something else just as bad.
>67/44thWay
applause
humm, every 4th way school claims to be the real
#67 44thway I agree with your assessment. The 4thway is flawed. I ended up not just rejecting the 4thway but all religions that rely on revelations from a higher power to provide the justification for their practices. The critical error in my opinion is accepting that there are higher minds whose truths we cannot question, stated by Ouspensky explicitly. There are of course wise men whose words we can learn from but that is different from being asked to accept the words of prophets without question.
I happen to be reading the easy introductory book Albert Einstein wrote in 1917 titled Relativity. Part of the joke for me of course is the simple minded way that word is used in the fellowship. But the deeper pleasure is how Einstein is at great pains to introduce his ideas to those who haven’t the mathematical background to follow all the intricacies. Such a contrast with the obscurantism to be found in all organised religions.
g ‘hydrogens’ are hard to fathom; collin’s
take on the periodic table overlaid with
the law of octaves makes sense
Cult Introduces ‘New’ Path to Enlightenment
Nut House, CA~In a spectacular announcement that has shaken the entire Gurdjieff-Ouspensky 4th Way ecosphere to its core, a Northern California cult leader has apparently said ‘no way to the 4th Way’ and has instituted their own take on human evolution which they have named…wait for it…. “The 5th Way”.
When asked what the “The 5th Way” entails and how does it differ from “The 4th Way”, self-proclaimed wise guy Robert E Burton stated, “If you have to ask that question, then you must leave.”
Critics are quick to point out that this “new” approach to so-called, “enlightenment” through the combination of unquestioned adherence to the cult leader’s authority, the various physical sexual positions that the cult leader demands from his male followers, and mind bending extrapolation of his follower’s intellects into ethereal and unverifiable realms of “paradise after death” all mimic the first three ways and are nothing “new” in terms of how cults manipulate their followers to remain trapped and eventually compromise their personal finances and integrity in order to remain “the chosen ones” or “us and not them”.
In short, as with all self-serving cults, it boils down to “my way or the highway” no matter what trite answers to the mysteries of the universe they promote.
#67 44th Way
Some assumptions about the 4th Way bear close scrutiny.
Burton neither understands nor taught the 4th Way. If you are or were ever in the Fellowship then you were never in a fourth way school nor were you studying the fourth way. These terms if you still use them are some of the remnants of a linguistic hypnosis that you inculcated. The language of the fourth way was a key component in your feeling separate, special and different. Best if you drop this as soon as you are able along with terms such as C influence, man number 5,6,7, nine lifetimes, 44 angels etc. and the rest of the puerile legacy of Burtonbollocks. “Free your mind your ass will follow” – Bootsy Collins.
Ouspensky codified the 4th Way after studying with Gurdjieff for a couple of years. Gurdjieff referred to his own teaching as a, “compendium of methods”. The notion that you could somehow study all the traditional ways at once in a kind of shortcut is a stupid one. Each of the three traditional ways have as a root a complex science, which individually takes years and years to practice and assimilate. They can’t be gutted, blended and offered up as a low-cal dogs dinner with any hope or expectation of results. Burton taught how to lay a dining table nicely. Does anyone recall twelve conscious beings, the FOF closing it’s doors when it reaches a membership of 10,000? All complete and utter self soothing bollocks along with the rest of Burtons endless stream of self serving lies. Ouspensky’s was a distillation of Gurdjieff’s ideas and methods, Burton’s was a simplistic and foolish attempt to distill the distillation. Burton is now insane and teaches the Psycho Way a method for abusing others while dividing attention in two.
Ouspensky roundly and unequivocally renounced the 4th Way late in his life, “We tried it and found that it didn’t work” Bennett after Ouspensky’s death organised intensives stretching over a few months at Sherbourne House. They were repeated for a few years and abandoned. He confided in the middle of one of these intensives to one of his close associates, “I have no idea what I am doing.”
74/squaretrouserleg
The second and third paragraphs of your post are the best and I agree with most of them. The first, however, is imbued with the “authenticist” or “lineage” argument: if you were in the fellowship, you never really got the “authentic” fourth way.
Not that it really makes much difference, but I don’t think we should concede this argument to the invalidators who use it. There is an ideology called “the Fourth Way.” There can be no question that it was incorporated into every detail of the way we lived our lives. That’s enough to say we encountered “the Fourth Way,” because there is no “authentic” “Fourth Way,” nor could there be.
The idea of an “authentic” “Fourth Way” is a myth promulgated mostly by “lineage” advocates who which to establish their ideology and practices are “genuine” and others are “ersatz.” It’s an authoritarian jockeying-for-primacy tool. As between persons “on the Fourth Way,” there can be no disagreements. If you disagree, you do not understand. Disagree with my claim to lineage primacy and authenticity? You poor ignorant, deluded soul. You are mired in delusion, and assuredly not “on the Fourth Way,” even though you utter aphorisms of Ouspensky, Collin, Nicoll continuously “in your sleep.”
If you encountered the Fellowship, you encountered the Fourth Way. A person who contends otherwise has his own set of illusions. As your post rightly points out, “we tried it and it didn’t work.” A few of its fragments seem to conform rather closely to experience, but that only helps to make it effective bait in the hands of “school” recruiters. The rest of it is a map of territory which does not exist and which you must take on faith, despite blithe assertions that “you must not believe what you have not verified” and “he who does not have a critical mind etc.” to the contrary.
To think critically implicates the ability to call bullshit by its true name. Try doing that in the context of “organized Work” and see how far it gets you.
‘entertainment made by cults’
no mention of FOF, not well-knowable for general public
Must be hard for Fellowsheepers to make entertainment when they can’t smile, laugh, gesticulate, dance, swear, or speak above a whisper. However, I wonder how many porn videos were made in Burton’s bedroom.
#67 44th Way
Okay, I will take the side of G’s teaching. Let’s keep it simple and discuss only one idea at a time.
Rich – re periodic table. Mendeleev’s periodic table of elements enabled him to make (mostly) correct predictions about previously undiscovered elements. Rodney Collin merely uses the science of his day – incompletely understood – to bolster the fantastical theories allegedly transmitted to him by Ouspensky after the latter’s death, while Collin was driving over London Bridge (preface to Theory of Eternal Life). It is not possible to make testable predictions from Collin’s theories, nor do they have any obvious practical applications. Collin’s take on the endocrine glands is stuck in the 1950s and gives no hint of the many additional hormones that have been discovered since, whereas one would expect higher mind to at least be able to hint at gaps in present knowledge. Collin didn’t know about quantum mechanics, a favourite of more recent mystical obscurantists, otherwise he’d no doubt have done some hand-waving around that subject too. Yet quantum physics was developed in the early 20th century. If Ouspensky really had communicated with Collin from the Other Side then it appears that Ouspensky was behind the times as well,
#77 Insider
Rumors suggest that it was several or many
“Cult members and victims of abuse are often emotionally bonded to the relationship, unable to see the harm that is being done to them. After a while, the magnitude of the deception conspires with their own psychological protections against pain and disappointment. This causes them to avoid seeing the truth.” Dr. Bandy X Lee
Jomo @ 75
“To think critically implicates the ability to call bullshit by its true name. Try doing that in the context of ‘organized Work’ and see how far it gets you.”
Of course not all ‘organized work’ is created equally – “context is everything.” Sometime prior to physically leaving the FOF version of ‘organized work’ – a year or more prior – I had already left… I hung on for as long as I did because of emotional attachments formed over the years therein.
As related previously in these pages, leaving was the most difficult thing I’ve done in this life, the decision didn’t come easily – the actual circumstances of exiting and adjusting to life outside the cult, with no social support, I can say with hindsight that I barely made it out alive.
I wrote an exit letter to Burton explaining why I was leaving, I don’t remember all it contained but the gist was that the flaw in the day-to-day organizational operation of the FOF was that there was (is) no semblance of a democratic process. I objected to (among other things), the dictatorial direction of the organization. I suggested that although a more inclusive decision-making process may be “messy” and present certain organizational challenges, it would help the members to feel more a part of the program and direction of the “ark”
I gave the letter to my then-wife M, she passed it along to Burton. I was still in contact with M for some time after physically leaving the FOF – she remained a member. I subsequently heard from her that Burton’s only comment to her about the letter was that I didn’t understand “the system.”
To your point, in so many (more) words, in my own way I called “bullshit” on Burton’s “organized work” by challenging his way of thinking about the organization… I did this with the naive hope of changing his mind and attitude toward members and their participation… how far did it get me? It did manage to get me out of the confines of the cult, it opened a door to whole new possibilities.
A Fish Story.
There once was an octopus, a very sneaky one, who lived out of sight in the darkened recesses of a cave at the bottom of a bay.
For a time the octopus thrived contently in this murky realm, for when a curious little fish happened to swim into the dimly lit cave, the little creature would become disoriented and swim right into the grasp of the octopus, who had expertly camouflaged itself to appear like an inconspicuous cave rock.
And so the octopus became quite lazy at venturing out of the cave to hunt like others; it was fine just patiently waiting in the stealthy shadows for its meal to deliver itself from the vast bounty of the sea.
A wise, old, grumpy fish with a fishhook stuck on its upper lip and who lived on a nearby reef became concerned about the safety of its young brethren and began spreading the word among the school of little fish to avoid the cave, if they “wanted to one day grow up to be big fish.”
Soon the hungry octopus noticed the dwindling food supply in the cave and concocted a devious plan: it swam to the mouth of the cave and immediately expelled a huge cloud of black ink toward a school of naive, little fish blissfully grazing near the cave.
“Hey! Look over here!”, said the octopus in its best little fishy voice, “It’s called water! Come swim in the water! But you have to hurry up, it only lasts for a few moments.”
The little fish were awestruck and confused. They had never seen such blinding darkness during the day.
At first the school of curious little fish swam in circles around the billowing dark ink cloud at the mouth of the cave, and then darted in, believing they had discovered something new.
“Hooray!” one little fish could be heard in the darkness, “I’m swimming in water!”
Suddenly the carnivorous octopus snatched the misguided little fish, drew back deep into the cave, and devoured it whole.
“Where have you taken our friend?” asked one of the tiny fish, as the black ink cloud dissipated.
“To fish paradise,” came the soothing voice of the octopus from the darkness of the cave, “a far away place of no return that you cannot see, free of worry or concern. That’s why you’ll never see your fish friend again.”
“That sounds nice,” said one little fish.
“I can take you there also, little fish,” cooed the octopus, “if you gather some of your fish friends who never heard of water either, present them to me here each day, and then teach them to swim in the water when it magically appears. I’ll select a lucky little fish for fish paradise in the darkness of the water, and I promise to take you there, too…eventually.”
The little fish swam off and began dutifully luring unsuspecting fish to the mouth of the cave each day, eager to show his new friends his discovery of water and share the promise of fish paradise without worry or concern.
Over time this made the octopus very happy indeed, but not so for this little fish. For all its efforts, the little fish longed to be taken to paradise like the other lucky fish and was developing a bad reputation when one of his new fish friends disappeared each day in the darkness without a trace, causing him to swim farther and farther to find new friends.
Then one day the little fish, who by now had an ego growing bigger than his fins, bragged to the wise, grumpy ‘old school’ fish with the fishhook in his lip about his discovery of water and the promise of a fish paradise without worries or concerns.
The wise old fish laughed and said, “If you want to know the true meaning of water AND paradise, then follow me.”
The wise old fish swam to the shoreline with the little fish close behind and instructed him to leap up into the place he cannot see, which the little fish did.
Once up on land, it took no time at all for the gasping little fish to flop right back into the water, grateful to return alive.
“What the hell was that?” asked the little fish. “It certainly didn’t feel like paradise to me! I was starting to black out.”
“Now you understand, my little friend, that octopus was full of bullsharkshit. You’ve been swimming in the paradise of water all your life,” said the wise old fish, “as far as fish are concerned, the lack of water…is death.”
Although this YouTube review, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sf1ie6negTw, has limited added value to anyone who has listened to the “Revelations” podcast series about the Fellowship, it is of note that the reviewer considers Revelations to be a candidate for the best podcast of 2021.
Thanks #82 Insider
I hope the Revelations podcast is a winner and that it and the Fellowship get the attention they rightfully deserve.
Sad to hear those institutionalised old fogeys whacking on about the Gods and poetic beauty,
“Have you ever thought that the God’s wanted a reporter here on the eve of the prediction ?” Says one idiot convinced that Geoffrey Chaucer and Abraham Lincoln have arranged for Jennings Brown to be on hand to witness the fall of California and report favorably on the event. Have you thought that you’ve become a demented buffoon? is my question to you.
He’s parroting the vain, absurd delusions he’s absorbed from Robert Burton, it’s Bobspeak and is characteristic of the true believers of the Fellowship’s inner circle. He’s blissfully unaware that after decades of membership and work on himself he is by now, like so many of them, a psychotic liar who’s convinced he has a working relationship with Socrates and Queen Elizabeth the 1st of England.
“No one lives with this kind of poetry, It’s filled with beauty in every corner, it’s a reflection of our teacher” Says a female version of Uncle Bob, who waxes lyrical about the gauche, decaying, ghastly imitation of taste that passes for proof of genius in Uncle Bob’s Nouveau riche Neverland compound. A chimp on acid in an antiques mall would do a better job at amassing the, “fine impressions” the cult members will enjoy with smug self satisfaction post armageddon and would only require a banana or two in payment.
83. diego…
Yes, Nick and Judy (and John B and Greg and Peter and Marcus and even Burton) thought they could blind Jennings with fancy receptions in the gardens, unlimited quantities of the best wine, Shakespeare at night in the Theatron, plus all the “uncreated light” and wisdom emanating from Burton and his minions of “conscious” followers floating about Apollo in an endless state of bliss.
But Jennings was not to be blinded by the external show. He never forgot the deep secrets that were being hidden by all the glitter and finery. He knew it was all a fraud despite the “beauty in every corner.”
Oprahdaily.com
The twenty five best podcasts of 2021
1 of 25
Revelations
Jennings Brown’s previous podcast, The Gateway: Teal Swan, told the story of one woman’s passionate following and examined whether it was, in fact, a toxic cult. In Spotify’s six-part Revelations, Brown investigates the Fellowship of Friends, a California cult (and until 2015, a winery!), and the multiple sexual assault allegations against its founder, Robert Earl Burton.
Speaking with nearly 100 current and former members and paying visits to Apollo, the Fellowship’s compound, Brown’s own revelations include uncovering a possible sex trafficking operation. Ultimately, believers’ blind devotion to the morally questionable Burton is as fascinating as it is bone-chilling.
p.s. link to Oprah Daily here.
https://www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/g34979377/best-podcasts-2021/
Gay Porn Cult Star Claims to Speak with the Dead
House of Horrors, CA – Lawyers in the civil law suit on Friday sought to undermine the credibility of gay porn cult star Stormy Burton, at his fraud trial, by challenging his belief in paranormal activity and professed ability to speak with dead people.
Burton had been described in testimony as a sexual predator, fraudster, and spiritual charlatan in a documentary-style podcast, “Spooky Revelations”, where former members and others still mired in his gay porn cult describe the paranormal activity and delusional beliefs on which his porn cult is based that has over the years lead to several failed apocalyptic predictions.
In five hours of cross-examining, lawyers tried to undercut Burton’s claim of sainthood and substantiate an heir’s accusation that he had embezzled nearly $300,000 from a rich follower who had recently passed, after he claimed “she told him the money was his,” speaking to him months after her death.
When lawyers asked, “How do you speak with the dead?”
“I don’t know, it just happens sometimes,” the elderly porn cult leader answered, adding that he used “license plates” and “street signs” and sometimes recorded the conversations in his head.
Burton also said he considered himself a “medium” who could communicate with nonliving spirits, and said “yes” when lawyers asked if he had experienced “poltergeist phenomenon,” but refused to elaborate due to the intimate nature of the encounters he has with his fawning male followers.
The Fellowship of Friends appears to be in the process of rebranding its image as a spiritual school. It’s likely that this strategy, which is implemented through new website design, was instigated by the exposure of the cult’s dark underpinnings in the dramatic and critically acclaimed Revelations podcast on Spotify. The former website image of https://fellowshipoffriends.com/ and https://livingpresence.com/ expressed elitism and opulence. Images of Robert Earl Burton were prominent and his role as a teacher reverently promoted.
Probably with the aim to recast the cult’s identity, the websites now present a more corporate, almost austere, look. The rich colors are absent and have been replaced with a black and white theme and an image of international flags as the key image on the Home page of each website. Robert Earl Burton’s presence is greatly diminished and he is presented more as a founder than teacher. There is only one book on the Publications page, Robert Earl Burton’s Awakening (2016) and that book appears to be the only book available on Amazon. Fifty Years With Angels (2017) is now listed as out-of-print.
Addendum to post 88:
Although only Awakening is currently featured under Publications on the Fellowship of Friends website, there are actually two books by Robert Earl Burton ~ Awakening and Self-Remembering ~ in pride of place on the Recommended Reading page of the Living Presence website. They are included with books by Fourth Way luminaries Gurdjieff, Ouspensky and Collin.
https://livingpresence.com/recommended-reading/
Fellowship of Friends members enjoy being dominated by an ignorant, vengeful, malignant, pathologically aberrant, neurologically decaying, diseased, lying conman, buffoon, serial criminal doofus, delusional sexual predator and molester because it somehow makes them feel special.
Hi, I’m looking for someone that can help me. My partner has been following Patrizio Paoletti for 10 years and I’m about 90% sure he’s a hausnamusen. We attended a 3 day webinar together and my partner doesn’t see anything I see in his ego, aggression, exploitation, darkness, etc. I see all the forums about him were removed, minus some traces of his malbehavior. I’m looking for answers…or even just for guidance.
Dear Confused:
What exactly are you confused about? If you want guidance, I recommend listening to your inner voice.
#91 Confused
You say you’re 90% sure he’s a hasnamuss. Just like Burton, if it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, looks like a duck and behaves like a duck, it’s probably a duck.
I had not heard of Paoletti before. I checked out some Youtube clips, most of which are in Italian, a language I don’t speak. He strikes me as a New Age snake oil salesman pitching pseudo spirituality.
Good Luck
Heaven’s Gate Survivors to Share New Details in ’20/20′ Special
Diane Sawyer unravels mysteries behind cult with interviews with
survivors who share stories for the first time
March 3, 2022 Rolling Stone Althea Legaspi, Reporter
In 1997, 39 members of the Heaven’s Gate cult were found dead by suicide in their Rancho Santa Fe, California, home, which they dubbed “The Monastery.” Central to the group’s belief was that they would go to heaven on a UFO. On March 11, a two-hour 20/20 special looks to unravel the mysteries surrounding the chilling, ritualistic mass suicide and what would lead people to follow its bizarre principles.
During The Cult Next Door: The Mystery and Madness of Heaven’s Gate special, Diane Sawyer interviews two survivors who share their stories for the first time. She also speaks with Rio DiAngelo, a member who left the group before the tragedy to serve as a messenger. She first spoke with DiAngelo in an exclusive interview in 1997. Family members who were left behind also share their stories.
In a trailer for the special, interviewees discuss some of the rules of the cult, which included how members were to dress, brush their teeth, and even use the toilet. “They didn’t have any free will,” one person says. They also practiced celibacy, and castration was employed.
The members who died in the largest mass suicide in America came from all walks of life and ranged in age from 26 to 72. They were drawn in by Marshall Applewhite, the compelling leader who co-founded the group with Bonnie Nettles (Nettles died of cancer in 1985). Known as Do and Ti, the two bonded over religious beliefs which soon morphed into a belief that they were of a higher level than others and that they could reach the “Next Level” by rejecting their human forms and becoming extraterrestrial beings who would ascend to heaven via UFO, and they recruited followers.
The Cult Next Door: The Mystery and Madness of Heaven’s Gate features never-before-seen footage including home movies, as well as newly released audiotapes. It airs on 20/20 March 11 from 9:01–11:00 p.m. ET on ABC and will stream the next day via Hulu.
More at:
https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/the-cult-next-door-the-mystery-and-madness-of-heavens-gate-20-20-special-1315704/
‘The Cult Next Door: The Mystery and Madness of Heaven’s Gate’
The extraordinary Diane Sawyer Event Special premieres
Friday night, March 11 at 9|8c on ABC 20/20 2 hours
Preview: 2:37:
https://abcnews.go.com/2020/video/cult-door-mystery-madness-heavens-gate-83216312
Sawyer explores the Heaven’s Gate cult and the shocking discovery
of the largest mass suicide on American soil 25 years later.
US Embargo on Exporting Russian Sperm Creates Cult Crisis
Russian Doll House, CA~>/I> The recent invasion of Ukraine and subsequent travel restrictions placed upon Russians has severely impacted the futures market of Russian sperm for a Northern California Gay Sex Cult, known as the Fellowship of Friends, who rely heavily upon the high sperm count of young Russian males to feed the insatiable appetite of the cult leader, Robert E Burton, causing him to overtax his domestic sources and prompting his followers to develop new supply chains to entangle unsuspecting young males from other third world countries like Central America.
Burton has also required his followers to call his recent recruiting effort exclusively as a “Special Spiritual Operation” and will immediately expel any follower who uses any other term to refer to his newest international sex trafficking exploit.
Despite recent revelations of what goes on beneath the cult’s gilded veneer of dinners and concerts, critics warn that Burton is unlikely to withdraw his misuse of “higher forces” and will undoubtedly double down in his efforts to secure complete male dominance over the lives of his followers.
The Fellowsheep are now recruiting in disguise at Trump Rallies using secret higher centers knowledge of Robert Burton plainly and openly in public. Must be desperate…….”See sheep surrender”.
97. diegoriverassquaretrouserleg – March 14, 2022
Perfect.
Yes, this is exactly what Robert Earl Burton does. It’s the sort of blatant malarkey the Fellowship of Friends students embrace, pretend to embrace, or just purely indulge the old fellow for, who has been spouting such nonsense for decades.
Re: 97
Think about how stupid, gullible, suggestible the average person is – now consider that 50 % of people are even more ignorant than the average… wee humans have a very big problem… an epic epidemic.
96. WhaleRider.
Wow. How did you know?
Robert Burton is actively organizing the relocation of his followers living in Russia to Mexico City, since they do not need a visa to enter Mexico. So far, some 20 followers have made the move, or are in the process of doing so. To accommodate them in Mexico City, at least 2 new so-called “teaching houses” have been opened.
Will Burton travel to Mexico City in the near future? Stay tuned.
98
re: the “epic epidemic” referred to above – corona virus may be the least of it… the epidemic referred to is one of ignorance… primary vectors seem to be “social” media, the internet in general, self-serving politicians, media pollution spewing from Fox “News” and the like… etc.
Feeding darker forces of the human condition can only lead to degeneration of humanity.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Political_ponerology
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