Fellowship Of Friends/Fourth Way School/Living Presence Discussion – Page 193 March 20, 2022
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Fellowship of Friends - Living Presence Discussion 
In regards to Russian members of the Fellowship of Friends accepting Robert’s loans to find refuge in Mexico, to my mind comes the idea Double Jeopardy… yes, there is the one that refers to the Fifth Amendment in the US Constitution but on the other hand, the danger of being spiritually annihilated plus other real life dangers…
General Glen VanHerck, of the North American Aerospace Defense Command and United States Northern Command, has declared, couple of days ago, that Mexico is the biggest operations base for the Russian espionage.
USA attorney general in the administrations of Presidents GWB and DT, William Barr along with current United States ambassador to Mexico. Kenneth Salazar have made definitive statements as well.
Even though Mexican President is the second in the world in citizens approval, and the fact that traditionally Mexico has been refuge and has open doors for immigrants of the world with very little restrictions, the reality is that Mexico is part of the North Command.
1. crossroads
Imagine the debt owed by the Russian refugees to Robert Burton. Whatever funds did not come from the Fellowship directly to cover air fare, housing costs in Mexico City, plus expenses for 6 months, came from a massive fundraising campaign that is ongoing. And how will Robert exact his pound of flesh from these young Russian men? Well, Burton will be heading down to Mexico City on Easter Sunday, April 17. Get ready, boys. Line up at the Hilton Hotel, Reforma to make the first installment on your debt, understanding that the debt will never be repaid in full, and regular installments will be expected whenever and wherever Burton demands.
“Esoteric” School Seeks to Double Student Debt in 2022
Poor House, CA~In a move that has garnered the praise of right wing, conservative congress members in the Republican Party, Robber E Burton, the literal headmaster of a similar sex party cult in Northern California (claiming to be “the one and only, really real, super fun” school of “special spiritual operations”) has decided yet again to raise his membership donation fees beyond the reach of most people, charge his students to clean up his mess, recruit destitute young men wishing to escape countries whose currency has been recently been devalued to nearly nothing, and make unforgiving loans with compounding interest to his destitute students that they cannot possibly repay in six lifetimes.
Already Burton has had great success in promoting slavish student indebtedness by liberally plying his students with alcohol, then encouraging his unsuspecting, glassy-eyed students to max out all their credit cards by purchasing over-priced, shiny material objects during hyped-up consciousness fund raising auctions, or to pay the exorbitant tuition fees he charges his students to attend his symposium dinners, during which he repeats the same tired quotes from other people way smarter than him between gulps of wine and diatribes about overcoming so-called “feminine dominance.”
Over the last five or so decades, Burton has promised his perpetual students who aren’t permitted to graduate that they won’t have to worry about paying back their credit cards after the impending apocalypse wipes out civilization, an ongoing future event which he has failed to accurately predict on several occasions, causing many of his students to eventually file for bankruptcy or commit suicide when reality sets in.
When one young male student who wished to remain anonymous in order to prevent his parents from discovering his regrettable fate prostituting himself was asked how much money he currently owes after being trafficked from his mother country and provided new Ferragamo shoes to wear, he sheepishly replied, “da, teacher tells us being in debt is higher state.”
(Happy April Fool’s Day!)
Coming this summer, a book about the Alex Horn/Sharon Gans cult:
“We were invisible. We had to be. We took an oath of absolute secrecy. We never even told our immediate families who we were. We went about our lives in New York City. Just like you. We were your accountants, money managers, lawyers, executive recruiters, doctors. We owned your child’s private school and sold you your brownstone. But you’d never guess our secret lives, how we lived in a kind of silent terror and fervor. There were hundreds of us.”
Right under the noses of neighbors, clients, spouses, children, and friends, a secret society, simply called School—a cult of snared Manhattan professionals—has been led by the charismatic, sociopathic and dangerous leader Sharon Gans for decades. Spencer Schneider was recruited in the eighties and he stayed for more than twenty-three years as his life disintegrated, his self-esteem eroded, and he lined the pockets of Gans and her cult.
Cult members met twice weekly, though they never acknowledged one another outside of meetings or gatherings. In the name of inner development, they endured the horrors of mental, sexual, and physical abuse, forced labor, arranged marriages, swindled inheritances and savings, and systematic terrorizing. Some of them broke the law. All for Gans.
“During those years,” Schneider writes, “my world was School. That’s what it’s like when you’re in a cult, even one that preys on and caters to New York’s educated elite. This is my story of how I got entangled in School and how I got out.”
At its core, Manhattan Cult Story is a cautionary tale of how hundreds of well-educated, savvy, and prosperous New Yorkers became fervent followers of a brilliant but demented cult leader who posed as a teacher of ancient knowledge. It’s about double-lives, the power of group psychology, and how easy it is to be radicalized—all too relevant in today’s atmosphere of conspiracy and ideologue worship.”
https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Manhattan-Cult-Story/Spencer-Schneider/9781950994557
Gans died in 2021. More about the Horn/Gans group here: https://nypost.com/2019/11/11/inside-the-alleged-cult-that-has-been-quietly-operating-in-ny-for-decades/
From an essay written about Gurdjieff. Seems very applicable to RB and the FOF:
Gurdjieff made some telling observations on another subject “Black magic does not in any way mean magic of evil…. No one ever does anything for the sake of evil, in the interests of evil. Everyone always does everything in the interests of good as he understands it…. Black magic may be quite altruistic, may strive after the good of humanity…. But what can be called black magic has always one definite characteristic. This characteristic is the tendency to use people for some, even the best of aims, without their knowledge and understanding, either by producing in them faith and infatuation or by acting upon them through fear.
“But it must be remembered in this connection that a ‘black magician’, whether good or evil [sic], has at all events been at a school. He has learned something, has heard something, knows something. He is simply a ‘half-educated man’ who has either been turned out of a school or who has himself left a school having decided that he already knows enough, that he does not want to be in subordination any longer, and that he can work independently and even direct the work of others. All ‘work’ of this kind can produce only subjective results, that is to say, it can only increase deception and increase sleep instead of decreasing them. Nevertheless something can be learned from a ‘black magician’ although in the wrong way. He can sometimes by accident even tell the truth”.
More fun with Alex Horn and Sharon Gans: https://www.cultvaultpodcast.com/podcast/episode/320a879e/161-author-esther-friedman-part-1-sharon-gans-esoteric-school-odyssey-study-group
Hi,
My name is Alfred Baez.
I am a sociologist and researcher of religious cults/sects.
I flipped through this blog a few years back, and I see that there is a very small number of posters here. I have hardly seen any new participants. My question, if anyone agrees to answer: What is the purpose of this blog?
Leave a legacy? Take revenge? Get support? Take out frustration?
Thanks
Al
@8/Alfred Baez
For what it’s worth, my understanding is that originally, the blog’s purpose was simply to discuss the organization known as the Fellowship of Friends, a so-called neutral space being provided for such discussion. A few years afterwards, its purpose included trying to warn others and prevent them from joining this cult — and to get a petition signed whereby Robert Burton might be indicted legally as a sexual predator. Though that petition failed, anyone was and still is at liberty to share their experiences inside the FoF, including getting support or venting their frustration as well. I’m sure there are individuals wanting to leave a legacy of sorts, too. Many already have.
https://animamrecro.wordpress.com/2006/04/16/fellowship-of-friends-a-cult-for-intellectuals/#comments
8. “Alfred Baez”
If you don’t mind, please share some links to your writings or studies of cults. I don’t find you from a Google search. Thanks very much.
fofblogmoderator:
I’m intrigued, too…has this poster named “AB” posted here before under a different name or are they new? Are you still welcoming brand new participants?
Or is AB’s agenda here to dissemble, distract or take out their frustration that this blog still exists?
(It might be helpful to let us know when “someone” shows up out of the great blue yonder.)
8. Intrigued – April 10, 2022
A paragraph at the top of each page of the discussion is a pretty concise description of stated purpose:
Here, you can share your thoughts, your stories, your own experiences as a former member of the FOF. If you are considering becoming a member, you are invited to read the discussion to better know the organization you are considering joining; we welcome your questions. Participants in the discussion may post under their own name, or anonymously.
~ ~ ~
Some have described the experience of being a participant here as though we are sharing experiences and thoughts while sitting around a campfire. Whether you are a current member, former member or completely new to the Fellowship of Friends, along with reading the discussion, to learn more, I suggest you listen to the excellent recent podcast Revelations created by investigative journalist Jennings Brown after his three year study of the cult. The first episode is linked at the top of the page.
The continued discussion here could be especially relevant to spiritual seekers doing online research while considering becoming members of the Fellowship of Friends.
6. Beelzebob – April 3, 2022
I agree! That essay is very apt!
8. “Whoever you are”
You left off a key reason why people post on this blog: to further the real awakening of Fellowship members who are already beginning to see massive contradictions between Robert Burton’s words and his actions, who are gradually coming to realize that Burton, not only is no longer their “teacher,” but is not a “teacher” at all and never has been. He is, rather, a very clever, psychopathic predator and con man.
I was certainly helped immensely to see this thanks to the blog.
It sounds like you could use a little awakening.
Must blogs have a purpose? Can’t they just be a bunch of people conversing with each other and spitting watermelon seeds into the campfire?
#15 Jomo Piñata, Indeed. The Gurdjieffian obsession with aim and effort can linger for a while after leaving the school. IMHO there is a sweet wisdom in having no purpose at all.
Testicle Tanning Takes Off in Cult
Glass House, CA~ Due the dwindling sperm count seen in American males and recent travel ban on Russian nationals known for high sperm counts, Robert E Burton, the anti-puritanical leader of a Northern California Camel Cult, has instituted a new “ball walking” exercise for his male followers that is likely to raise more eyebrows than consciousness.
“Testicle tanning”, which theoretically raises the sperm count by exposing the testicles to UV light was recently highlighted on Fox News by Tucker Carlson, and has caught Burton’s not-so-divided attention, who has been unsatisfied with the amount of sperm his overworked, gaunt American male followers have been producing during his late night wine cellar symposiums.
In an effort to also “work against” so-called, “feminine dominance” Burton is now requiring his vineyard workers to go “ball walking” by unzipping their pants and unabashedly dangling their scrotums in the bright sun while slavishly working in the vineyard…without the use of UV blocking sunscreen.
The new exercise has sent several young men to the emergency room with severely sunburnt balls, as they tried to outdo each other as young males and fanatical cult followers typically do attempting to please their peerless leader.
“I miss my Russian dolls”, he was recently quoted as saying as he was getting tucked into bed, “they just keep coming and coming, one after another.”
“For once,” said one of Burton’s female followers who have historically been discriminated against in the cult, “I’m sooo glad I’m a woman.”
#11 (WR) The person who posted under the name “Intrigued” appears to be a new participant. New participants are welcome and the only posts I don’t put through are spam oriented
Dear flog moderator,
Many thanks for your continuing support here.
‘Blog’
8. Intrigued:
I’ve known a fair number of university professor sociologists. None would ever use the aggressive and challenging tone you used when talking to potential research subjects. If you are surprised at your reception here realize current members of the Fellowship drop by from time to time pretending to be something else, but really attempting to throw dust into our metaphoric eyes. And their attempts are usually laughably pathetic.
So as Insider mentioned above, if you wish to be regarded as a sociologist doing research, please provide some reason for us to do so.
20. invictus maneo
Maybe “Intrigued” merely identifies as a sociologist, and therefore everyone else has to go along with it. Makes sense to me.
Hi I am not a current or former member but have been fascinated with FOF after finding out about the Alex Horne/Sharon Gans groups via various articles. I am confused about a few things. At what point did REB abandon fourth way teaching and what motivated this break? Was it easier to manipulate people if he was the only seer or visionary? Also were or are the key figures who are set to replace REB, such as Dorian Matei, Asaf Braverman and the Sacha guy in sexual relationships with REB? What do you think motives them given that they seem to have seen behind the curtain more than others? Like they must know more of the truth than the poor guys who believe they are having sex with a guru. Why keep having a relationship with him then?
#22 Is a new participant
22. Tobbers
“Also were or are the key figures who are set to replace REB, such as Dorian Matei, Asaf Braverman and the Sacha guy in sexual relationships with REB? What do you think motives them given that they seem to have seen behind the curtain more than others? Like they must know more of the truth than the poor guys who believe they are having sex with a guru. Why keep having a relationship with him then?”
Remembering that Asaf left Burton 6 years ago to do his own guru thing, they all are/were major beneficiaries of the Burton scam. Large salaries, expense accounts, world travel, free food and entertainment everywhere at Apollo, jewelry, the (imagined) envy of all the commoners. They (and many others) know everything, are fully complicit, and are knowingly reaping the benefits. In short, they are well-paid prostitutes.
Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain:
This quotation is from Étienne de La Boétie in 1548:
“Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break in pieces.“
“The Deep End is an upcoming docuseries—based on the Gizmodo podcast The Gateway—that follows Teal Swan, a self-proclaimed spiritual leader, her tantalizing self-help empire, and those who follow it devoutly.
“Teal Swan is an internet guru who rose to fame for her self-help videos on YouTube, which cover topics ranging from shame, spirit plants, and even cryptocurrency. Her soothing tone and spiritual ideology allowed her to capture the attention of 1.25 million subscribers. The Deep End follows Swan’s rise to prominence, the goings-ons at her spiritual retreat center in Costa Rica, her loyal followers, and the private investigator working to determine the truth of Swan’s organization.”
The Gizmodo podcast, The Gateway, referred to above, was hosted by Jennings Brown. Jennings then hosted Revelations, the recent 6-part podcast about the Fellowship, after meeting Teal Swan’s husband, and former FF member, in Costa Rica.
Can we now look forward to a docuseries on the Fellowship of Friends?
At the center of a cult….the end stage of delusion…a place of darkness, of no return.
How does that sound?
David Guido, a very early student of the Fellowship of Friends, passed away at the age of 86 in March 2022. This was confirmed by his wife with whom I recently spoke over the phone. He suffered heart failure.
Is there a way to repair the damage?
Hello friends,
Thanks to Joey Virgo for the information about David Guido. It’s been a few years since I posted here but when I heard his name it brought back strong memories.
I met David in about 1972 when joined the FOF. David was married at the time to Bonita, the first person to land in Burton’s spiderweb. I liked both of them.
I remember David as a big, kind man. He had a beard and smoked a pipe. He was a deep thinker, and like to practice an intellectual exercise called “pondering.” I believe this technique was discussed by Gurdjieff in Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson.
David said pondering meant keeping a certain idea on your mind for an extended period to develop insight about it. I remember David talking about doing this with the concept of “the ray of creation.” Pretty heady stuff!
David was not a big talker at meetings, but when he did speak his comments were thoughtful and got attention.
I’m glad to hear David had a long life and I hope it was a filled with much happiness. But no matter how long we live our death is painful to those who love us, and I would like to express sincere condolences to his wife and family.
Tempus Fugit
Mario Fantoni suffered a stroke today (June 1) and has passed away.
More revolting Douchebaggery, The cycle of abuse in Burton’s ideal society, the Fellowship of Friends……
“There’s this cycle of abuse that goes on…… Something I wasn’t really expecting….With the podcast I interviewed a number of the men who were allegedly abused. After 3 years I thought I had got to the core of this rotten onion and then children who were raised in the Fellowship started reaching out and they said that those men, because they were in the inner circle and they had power, that then they abused these children.” – Jennings Brown, (producer of the podcast series “Revelations” interviewed in the podcast, “A little bit culty”
https://www.alittlebitculty.com/season-4/episode8-jennings
p.s. FOF as a subject in the podcast begins earnestly around 49 minutes and if you go straight to it you may have to sit through a couple of ads. There’s also a second episode here….
https://www.alittlebitculty.com/season-4/episode9-jennings-part2
Abuse of power by “the clergy”
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/woman-buoyed-by-support-after-viral-pastor-confrontation/ar-AAY4QfX?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnb7Kz
The Seven Deadly Sins
The seven deadly sins, also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins, is a grouping and classification of vices within Christian teachings, although they are not mentioned in the Bible. Behaviours or habits are classified under this category if they directly give rise to other immoralities… and are considered contrary to the seven heavenly virtues.* [Wikipedia]
According to the standard list, they are:
Greed ~ REB (check)
Gluttony
Wrath ~ REB (check)
Pride
Envy ~ REB (check)
Sloth
Lust ~ REB (check)
~ ~ ~
Bingo! Did I miss anything?
29. Joey Virgo
Thanks for letting us know. I remember David Guido. The FoF of the early-mid 1970s sure seemed like a very different experience than whatever it mutated into, many years later. Whatever it is now, is not even a shell of its former self. For the older members who are still (still!) members, they stay out of habit, a delusion that they are in a special place of presence, and perhaps because they have no where else to go. For REB and some of the core members involved in governance, the power and flow of donations are hard to give up.
In “The Case of P.D. Ouspensky,” by Marie Seton, Marie writes:
One day he said: “I have become dependent on the comfort, the luxury. I can’t give it up.”
Today NYT relating a story about FOF members and Google company:
“The Cult in Google” by Kevin Lloyd appears on media.com.
Huh.
Fellowship cult members dutifully “…working registration desks, taking photographs, playing music, providing massages and serving wine.”
What could possibly go wrong?
Re whale rider comment on The NY Times article, yeah that’s what I thought as well
Fellowship cult members dutifully “…working registration desks, taking photographs, playing music, providing massages and serving wine.”
The guy who called them out is going to make a tonne of money on this
https://images.app.goo.gl/xSkvMdZwhy4P6YeX9
When I left the FOF I pretty much processed that experience myself. Also when you leave you may or may not think it was or is a cult. Anyway it is a somewhat high control – high expectations environments. You are dealing with the Gods! Are you not going to put your best foot forward??
For those who have escaped or are trying to escape a high control high expectations environment here is is a website that shows you are not alone
http://Www.igotout.org
At Axios today.
https://www.axios.com/2022/06/22/fellowship-ai-lamda-google-god-cult
“The Fellowship is a tiny California sect based in the Sierra Nevada foothills that has run a winery, invested in antiques and espouses spiritual awakening through exposure to the fine arts. Its founder has also faced allegations of sexual abuse.”
It’s a tawdry, pretentious, failed doomsday cult.
Another podcast about the Fellowship. Jennings Brown, producer of “Revelations” last year, is being interviewed by “Ross and Carrie.”
If you can’t get to the Spotify version, Ross and Carrie have their own website: ohnopodcast.com. The Jennings interview is there.
I have added his date of 2006 to list of dates predicted for the Apocalypse in Wikipedia. Can anyone give me an exact date and a source for this date ?
42, Will Johnson
Burton lying away in 1979
https://robertearlburton.blogspot.com/2018/01/robert-earl-burtons-2018-prophecies.html
“I was only three days off in the prediction of my crystallization, which over a period of ten years is quite good, and I consider that prediction accurate. If a depression occurs in 1984, if California falls in 1998, if Armageddon occurs in 2006, then I was correct. All of which means, I am correct regarding the other information I have been speaking about.
Actually, most of what I speak about is facts.”
– Robert Earl Burton, June 11, 1979
Obviously “facts” above relates to the alternative facts that underpin Burton’s alternate reality. He’s been lying and working his fantasy in a 50 year long, ongoing and successful grift. Lying about Earthquakes and armageddon, scaring the crap out of chumps who stock up on dried beans again in a desperate attempt to show compliance.
He always comes back after a failure with, “C Influence tricked me or a variation on the “I am a dupe like you” from his King Dupe repertoire.
The post apocalyptic dust settles and those for whom the cognitive dissonance can no longer be avoided or bypassed finally pack up and get out of Dodge. Those who remain simply double down on the dissonance and FOF becomes once again a smaller more fanatical bunch of zealots and mugs. The trouble makers who rubbed the gum from their eyes are shed and the ever faithful remain and pay good money for deception/ It’s like watching Tucker on Fox. They get a buzz, don’t matter if anythings true or not, it’s all about my state.
There was another one in 2018, A rerun of “Fall of California”
and I believe there’s now a new one set for 2025 or maybe 2026
“We are preparing for a non-electrical age. We could perpetuate electricity, but it is not the wish of higher forces to retain that advancement.” – Burton in the 80’s selling conspiracies and snake oil.Hes a liar plain and simple is entirely untethered now.
If anyone has the stomach to be reminded of the relentless assault on sanity and truth they endured, take a look here.
https://robertearlburton.blogspot.com/search?q=armageddon
Scroll down to, “Robert Burton’s 1980’s thoughts on Armageddon”.
Can’t recall any intervening conversations with the fairies that Burton might have had before 2018. Perhaps someone here can clarify or fill in any blanks for Will Johnson
The failed Oct 21, 2018 “prediction” was particularly hard on old Burton. To refresh some memories, California was to “fall” (once again) early that morning, like 4-5am. It was a Sunday, and a meeting was scheduled for 10:30am. A day or two before the 21st, Burton announced that the meeting would be cancelled if the omen came to pass, figuring that not too many people would be putting on their “meeting attire” and paying $50-$100 when California had just gone under water.
Unless we were too asleep to notice, nothing happened early in the morning on Oct 21. The meeting was held as usual. But there was one interesting change. Normally, there would be a row of seats on the stage facing the flock, the middle one for Burton, and 2-3 seats on either side of him. That arrangement was still in place. However, there was a second row of 6-7 seats, also on the stage, right behind Burton. Those seats were filled by members of Burton’s harem, who entered stage right in an exceedingly solemn procession. It seemed to me that Burton was so shaken by another failed prediction, that he needed to demonstrate to the flock that he still had considerable support and “backing” (as the harem was covering his back).
Burton began the meeting by admitting that the latest prediction did not happen. (Thanks, Bob, for clarifying; wouldn’t have gotten that without you.) But Burton was not finished. Right there, he made yet another prediction: that the event would happen within the next hour, during the meeting. He asked everyone to look around the room for the nearest exit. He reminded everyone that we have the whole rest of the day for the prediction to materialize. (What an optimist!)
Then, a little later in the meeting, he made one final, desperate attempt to salvage something from this humiliating situation. A football game was scheduled for later that day in the San Francisco Bay Area between the San Francisco team and a team from Los Angeles. He predicted that the long-hoped-for earthquake would occur during the game, which would be fitting and ideal, since the fall of California would kill so much of the population of Los Angeles and San Francisco.
When Burton and the harem had returned to the friendly confines of the Galleria, Burton shared with his intimates just how pissed off he was at “the gods” who denied him yet another predicted disaster.
How a Religious Sect Landed Google in a Lawsuit
A video producer claims he was fired after he complained that an obscure group based in the Sierra foothills dominated a business unit at Google.
This sounds very similar to the Kelly Services (W.H.) thing (mentioned in the NYT article) all over again; this time with Peter Lubbers as the central character. This, the Google thing, has been going on for possibly decade, or more, that I know about. Geezzzs, how mechanical is that? In the Kelly Services episode, it lead to a lawsuit, the, likely, demise of that business unit/location of Kelly, and possibly the unemployability for the main culprit(s). (Think about how you can explain away the loss of a job due to possible criminal activity!) Have to go self-employed somehow. These activities in the employment world gets gossip spreading like wildfire, too. It also leaves companies and persons open to civil and criminal legal exposure. (Which Peter Lubbers should know about since his brother, the infamous David (Lubbers) Springfield lawyer – now disgraced (See my next post showing a review of David Springfield as a lawyer.)) Many of the, mostly unqualified, employees at Kelly went on to do a similar thing at this Google episode.
Imagine that over 20 years how many former, and/or current, employees of Alphabet/Google*, as well as prospective employees that were rejected, could constitute a “class,” in legal terms, that produces a class action lawsuit over this, alleged, criminality?
How is this behaviour any different than organized crime (Mafia) creating jobs for people (typically construction) that are “No Show” jobs? Main difference here is conditions are velvet gloved – “Oh!, it was all a play orchestrated by ‘C Influence!'” – compared with having a gun held to your head or a requirement that you should pay for “protection.”
* Wikipedia description:
Alphabet Inc. is an American multinational technology conglomerate holding company headquartered in Mountain View, California. It was created through a restructuring of Google on October 2, 2015, and became the parent company of Google and several former Google subsidiaries. Alphabet is the world’s third-largest technology company by revenue and one of the world’s most valuable companies. It is one of the Big Five American information technology companies, alongside Amazon, Apple, Meta[FaceBook] and Microsoft.
Then there is the money laundering that goes on in The Fellowship of Friends; not to mention human sex trafficking (wink, wink, religious workers)!
This post should follow my prior one that commented on the How a Religious Sect Landed Google in a Lawsuit; page 193/37. In particular,
about David (Lubbers) Springfield, lawyer, who is Peter Lubbers’ brother. And, I quote from:
https://reviews.birdeye.com/david-springfield-386286272
“CLCon BirdEye
5 years ago
HORRID! The Real David Springfield is really Jurrie Bouwie Lubbers and is married to Anjela Kasper Nova and both on the lamb after being disbarred from the California State Bar for pillaging the Client Trust, latest Tracking finds they have been in Canada , Dubai, and outside Marysville California at the bizarre Friends of the Fourth way cult named #Appollo . Several of us had been in court for up to 20 appearances with then attorney David Springfield and he promised reciprocity on a Civil suit and then GHOSTED DISAPPEARED leaving some clients so Hopeless that they took their own lives and he also bankrupted and severely disadvantaged others by the proved fact that Springfield never returned ANY documents or moving records to his clients. Furthering matters horribly …… most us had our computers wiped but only to those matters or files related to David Springfield and his legal representation. Very convenient as Springfield had always bragged his brother worked for Google directly. Its a travesty those injured by Springfield. If you know of his whereabouts there is a meeting of his wronged clients meeting regularly in So Cal and you can reach out to both The Yuba County Sheriffs , Sutter Sherrifs and Yolo County Sheriffs as well Riverside County where Springfield is a wanted person o[f] interest. His wife seems to be alive and well even thriving on Facebook and Instagram under Anjela Kasper -Nova posting Glamorous photos of herself in Dubai. sad stuff really, we’ve lost all our money and legal rights on her fraudulent husband and they are off in Kite Beach Dubai or hiding in their so called Church. sad and disgusted by these Shameless Scammers.”
Those predictions from the 1980s are sobering. I was particularly taken with this one, which both expresses the supreme narcissism that Burton inhabits, but also provides a neat excuse for the complete failure of any of his predictions to be fulfilled.
“From one angle, Armageddon, the supreme battle at the end of the world, is only being postponed until we are prepared.” Robert Earl Burton
more bs from uncle bob
50. Rich
Yes, more bs, but just what the flock wants and is willing to pay dearly for.
Just what does the flock want? (Attention would be cult leaders: This could be the best career advice you will ever receive.)
–The flock wants to be part of a flock. The flock membership card confers identity, albeit a group identity.
–The flock wants to be led by someone who projects confidence and certainty, who has answers and explanations for everything, and who never says “I don’t know” or “I made a mistake.”
–The flock wants to feel special, unique, blessed, even though they themselves have never risen above the level of flock-behavior and flock-think. Despite this, they want to believe that THE FLOCK itself is special and, e.g., will be “going to paradise” en masse.
–The flock does not want individuality, power or responsibility. They are quite content with giving all of this to their flock leader.
–The flock wants to deny the reality, existence or possibility of their own immortal Self, and attribute all such notions to someone else.
–The flock sees itself perpetually on a lower level than the flock leader, and they are supremely content with that position.
Mihai explains Burton’s sick seduction routine. Burton is a Douchebag number 8 who has been refining and perfecting his game of molestation and rape for 50 years. He gets a lot of help from his enablers, procurers and proceresses.
.
I have just noticed that an edit was made on 22 May 2022 to the Fellowship of Friends wiki page by an editor named Timtraveler. The following sentence was removed ” In 2021 The Fellowship of Friends was the subject of a podcast by Jennings Brown. [11] ” and the reference to the spotify link was also removed. The reason for the removal was cited as “Previous description was not accurate, and misleading”. I know wiki has rules about the way information is presented, so I am wondering about a formula that might be more likely to remain on line. Any suggestions? I wondered if
Jennings Brown an independent reporter created a series of Podcasts on the Revelations site hosted by Spotify that are the result of an extensive investigation into the Fellowship of Friends.
might fare better?
53. John Harmer
The May 22nd edit was to clarify the name of the REB blog.
The “Revelations” podcast citation was deleted in a June 20th edit, with no reason cited. I’d suggest that the editor who posted the original “Revelations” citation repeat the edit, adding for credibility that it’s a Blumhouse Television and Vespucci Production.
#54 Tim Campian. OK, I have reposted the link and slightly rephrased the text in the criticisms paragraph. Thanks for your accurate reading of the edit history in wikipedia.
Here’s the current state of the FoF wiki entry:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fellowship_of_Friends#Criticisms
John, thanks for monitoring and editing the Fellowship Wikipedia page.
I just clicked on the Fellowship of Friends Wikipedia article by accident. It reads very well now. By the way, I was actually looking for this discussion but it no longer comes up in my search engine results (Duck Duck Go search engine) on Chrome, Safari or Firefox. It used to come up as one of the first results by simply typing Fellowship of Friends – but now it doesn’t even come up by searching Fellowship of Friends Discussion. This seems very odd to me. Does anyone have any thoughts about what the problem could be? Could it just be the current format of the rather lengthy title, Fellowship Of Friends/Fourth Way School/Living Presence Discussion? Is it just an issue on my computers? If this is a common issue I see it as a real problem because one of the aims of this discussion is to inform prospective students who may be researching the “The School” / cult about experiences of former members.
55. John Harmer – July 18, 2022.
About the Wikipedia article, it reads very well, but I noticed a minor error that could bear correction. I know that there are various editors involved but I am wondering John, if you could make a correction. I think that regarding this discussion, where it says “It has passed through a number of editors and platforms, …” It would be more accurate to say moderators rather than editors – but I think that there may have been only two, the Sheik and the present moderator.
Overall, I’m very impressed with the Wikipedia article. Very concise and well written! The notices at top could be removed, possibly.
#57 moderators it is, ’tis done.
The Fellowship of Friends – Art, Beauty, and Abuse
1,530 views Oct 21, 2021
Cult Wine Tasting & Fellowship of Friends Updates
431 views Dec 3, 2021
The Fellowship of Friends: A Cult of Gentlemen
Dangerous Ideas S01E01
12,127 views Aug 4, 2017
Sun newspaper today from the U.k., a Murdoch Tabloid
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/19367843/google-cult-leader-robert-earl-burton-warning/
59. Thanks diego.
How fitting for this article to come out on the eve of Apollo’s annual 2-night ballet festival. Hopefully Burton will “be present” to the ballet, and not slip into “negative imagination” about the possible consequences of this latest unwanted exposure.
Breaking news: Bob has a twin brother who works in a chip shop.
seems like is going viral…
Paraphrasing from a daily card by: Love, Robert…
“be clever, influence C will take advantage of your naivete”
“Cult Adjusts to ‘No Spitting’ Exercise”
Burtonia House, CA-Although being instructed for decades to swallow the “Sly Man’s Pill” even when it’s rammed down your throat, a metaphor for “turning lemons into lemonade and selling it for a tidy profit without informing the IRS”, ardent followers of the less obscure Northern Californian Camel Cult, run by the infamous sexual predator, Robert E Burton, are now scrambling to find toothpaste and mouthwash that they can swallow to avoid violating the new “No Spitting Exercise”.
One clever long time follower stated, “I always use baking soda to brush my teeth anyway, because when you swallow it, the baking soda also acts as an antacid which helps silence my gut reactions after dining with the Teacher.”
One ex-follower was quick to point out that Burton, whose sexual exploits with his male followers over many years have been meticulously documented, may have other nefarious reasons for instigating the new exercise. Often members of his entourage were spotted “abruptly exiting from his residence and expectorating an unknown substance into the potted plants”.
It’s also well known that unless followers “suck it up” and swallow everything “hook, line, and sinker” they are asked to leave the cult.
https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/0c0be9c1-4e10-4a94-8b37-83ca8dc874e8
Robert Burton and the Fellowship of Friends are as worried and defensive as I have ever known. Without any doubt, it is related to the flood of revelations, articles and podcasts during the past year.
Recently, the Fellowship bought the domains robertearlburton dot org, com and net, and also robertearlburtonandthefellowshipoffriends dot org and net. They are trying to hog any search engine results that would otherwise be negative towards Burton and the Fellowship.
This act of desperation (really a declaration of war), ordered either by the Board of Directors, or possibly by Burton himself (on advice from his close handlers), indicates that the Fellowship is in its death throes. It will not be continuing for very much longer. All of its leadership and “older students” know this very well, and they have lost all sense of rationality and spiritual purpose.
The average age of the members living in and near Oregon House is around, if not over, 70. There is a virtual army of retired members who have nothing better to do with their little remaining time, referring to their own few remaining years, and also to the Fellowship’s certain demise, as soon as Burton has one more heart attack.
A deep Galleria inner circle member confided in me that Burton’s plans for the Fellowship, the community, and the absurd “new civilization” fable, only took into account Burton’s own lifetime. He has never planned for any continuation beyond that. This “counter-offensive” being undertaken by the Fellowship leadership and high-ranking operatives is meant to keep Burton safe from lawsuits and persecution for his few remaining months or years (in the same way that the armed “militia” keeps Burton physically safe).
Burton is certainly not concerned about the potential loss of new members from the recent revelations. Almost no one is joining anyway, and donations are now so low for the first couple of years (actually, zero for those who catch Burton’s attention, if you know what I mean), as to have no impact on Fellowship finances.
Whatever we, the ex- and non-members, are doing, visibly or quietly, is having a cumulative effect. Burton is showing himself to be deeply worried about being publicly humiliated, not to mention losing his boys, toys, and personal retirement home called Apollo.
Cult Cranks Up the Juice
Zap House, CA~In keeping with his cult’s stated purpose: to shock his followers into the present by any means possible, no matter how lurid or morally bankrupt, cult leader Robert E Burton has now jacked up the voltage of his cherished sadistic role.
Bored members of the Fellowship of Friends are now asked to deploy the tasers they have been recently issued to shock the living daylights out of any member caught daydreaming, staring hopelessly off into space, burping during dinners, for being late with mandatory donations or blowjobs, or making any disparaging comments about anyone or anything including the weather.
“We had no choice, really, given all the shocking exposure of the cult in the media these days and revelations made on recent podcasts, or the documentaries in the works. Our older members were getting emotionally numb and prone to napping. And now that Robert has completely emerged from the closet, nothing was shocking to them anymore,” stated one incredibly bored member. “He could give someone a blowjob in the middle of 5th Avenue in broad daylight and still not lose any members.”
“Lately Robert keeps telling everyone how awake they are too, and so we were forced to employ enhanced spiritual advancement techniques to remind them when they start to doze off” said another insanely bored member, “the tasers were Robert’s idea. He loves to see people squirm.”
Expert(s) say:
“Once there is a contract with the narcissist,
one becomes the narcissist.
What do the narcissist want? Fantasy.
What happens when Reality manifests blatantly?
Fantasy brakes and narcissist destroys, as a frustrated and enraged 18 month old child that has been abused/neglected, and ultimately chained up in a dark cave at the very core of the self. Now, the fantasy will have to re-emerge for survival”
Cult Leader’s Head Searched for Classified Information
Apollo-Largo, CA~Agents of reason have recently searched Cult Leader Donald Burton’s delusional brain for classified information of secret esoteric knowledge rightfully belonging to mankind’s elite inner circle but have found only old, worn out boxes of borrowed phrases from those much smarter than him, phrases he can’t even remember anymore without the help of his enablers to prompt him.
To borrow a phrase from Descartes, Burton apparently says to himself and his followers, “I think I am awake, therefore I am” and they believe him, dutifully ignoring all evidence to the contrary. It appears “the brightest light in 2000 years” is in reality just a flicker of hopes, wishes and dreams.
Additionally, his sprawling empire of fraud and deceit spanning decades that he claims to be “priceless” has been deemed to be grossly over-valued and overrated. Far from being “the greatest one and only true school of human evolution”, his criminal enterprise has been exposed for trafficking destitute young males from struggling foreign nations to feed his unquenchable sexual appetite.
A visit to the cult leader’s creepy residence and you will hear his oppressive collection of antique clocks all ticking in unison to mark the time when this rape factory will finally be shut down.
A review on Yelp is a goldmine of information on the Oregon House-based Fellowship of Friends cult. See the Yelp review posted by former Fellowship of Friends member Charles S. on August 14, 2019 immediately below.
~ ~ ~
Yelp doesn’t allow less than one star for a review, and Yelp doesn’t allow objective criticism of any organization, no matter how vile or corrupt, in case some SJW reading it might get his or her feelings hurt and become “triggered.” Yelp also does not care whether an organization is a cult, whether members of such an organization are risking their sanity as well as their lives or not — so long as sensitive SJWs’ feelings aren’t hurt while reading the review.
So, because my original review of the Fellowship of Friends, posted in April of 2018 , a review which never made light of the physical and sexual violence described going on at the Fellowship of Friends compound, as Yelp viciously, falsely, and stupidly emailed me today was in fact the case, contrary to all fact, Yelp deleted my original review after having had it up for more than 13 months, with 13 thumbs-up votes from other readers. I have been forced to replace my review with a new one in the hopes of avoiding Yelp’s Communistic censorship and not making any criminals reading this review cry. Yelp is, of course, on the side of criminals and corruption when it comes to protecting any deviant’s “feelings.” Equality is its own morality for Yelp.
I was a member of this organization 36 years ago for six years when it was near its infancy. It began in 1970 and continues to this day — fifty years later. I’ve been aware of its “esoteric” (hidden or hiding) activities ever since I left. That the leader of this organization is an individual you don’t want your male children or male partners around is a given. Many legal cases against him have been settled out of court and with gag orders attached. This claim is verifiable. For one, see this link: https://robertearlburton.blogspot.com/2019/01/81-stories-of-robert-earl-burtons-abuses.html
Whoever you are, do do your due diligence and research the hell out of this organization and its leader on the Internet and in old and current newspapers before you make any decision to join this group and play follow-the-leader with a man who has no respect for you or your feelings, but highly values your money just as the U.S. government does its citizens: pay or get out.
This organization is a pseudo-spiritual group of pseudo-psychological self-development based, in part, on the dubious but clearly distorted teachings of Russian mystic G. I. Gurdjieff and science fiction writer Peter D. Ouspensky, the L. Ron Hubbard of modern, esoteric Christianity. It’s also one of the most expensive cults in the world you’ll ever encounter. I worked three jobs just to afford the fees and paid $5,000 a year when I was a member. It had an entirely alluring surface-front but a slavish, nefarious underbelly, not unlike most cults of the past or present, and it still does.
That being said, you can grasp that there are many individuals still in this organization, elderly men and women who have been members now for five decades and are grandparents too. That they remain inside a nefarious operation as if trapped and don’t even try to leave is a major symptom of their mental and moral enslavement to the mind-control and material seductions offered by this group: wine, theater, and music, with all the pretentious attitudes of ones who feel they have created a “culture.” Instead of finding truth like a truth seeker and a true sense of belonging, should you join, you will find perversion, group-think, domination, corruption, conformity, and vanity, and like an air-borne infection, hypocrisy runs this organization from the bottom to the top — no pun intended. Far from Christian, esoteric or otherwise, the Fellowship of Friends is an organization that only a Beelzebub could envy.
I hope no Satanists or devil worshippers, sexual predators or pedos were hurt or injured in their reading of this review.
~ ~ ~
I notice that Robert Earl Burton is a popular name. Could it be because the initials make up REB which is an acronym that can mean rebel? From Miriam Webster Dictionary:
History and Etymology for reb Noun (1) short for rebel Noun (2) Yiddish, from Hebrew rabbī my master, rabbi
Rebel Teacher?
The Fellowship of Friends does not appear to be very inclusive. Aside from a very few African American members, the cult membership is very white.
“The Fellowship of Friends… being on their compound I felt like I was in a David Lynch film… I mean it was truly one of the strangest worlds I have been in…”
~ Jennings Brown
Extract from the beginning of interview:
“Teal Swan, The Fellowship of Friends, and what makes a good cult? with Jennings Brown” on Head on Fire, July 12, 2022
Jennings Brown relates one particular evening where he felt he was “love bombed” by the Fellowship of Friends “high ranking members” and could have been sucked into joining the cult – but says, ” Thank God I knew all the bad stuff going into it.” See part beginning at 21:50.
To support or not to support –
Fellowship of friends members in Oregon House (and the wwworld) who have accomplished certain level of entrepreneurship and that are active in the market, specifically the ones around the FOF headquarters-they go around making business and selling their merchandise and public relations (PR) etc; the question, is “separate the business from the owner” as in “separate the teaching from the teacher” concept and contribute to their success as if nothing is in the equation?
From businessinsider.com:
Former President Donald Trump shared a post on his Truth Social account on Friday, declaring him as “second” only to Jesus.
The post by Truth Social user @austinnegrete said: “Jesus is the Greatest. President @realDonaldTrump is the second greatest.”
It accompanied an image of a painting of Jesus by artist Dan Wilson.
Trump “ReTruthed,” or reposted, the Jesus comparison to his 4.1 million Truth Social followers.
___________________________________
No wonder Burton is so obsessed with and hates Trump so much. Understandable, of course. Even the “brightest light in 2000 years” shouldn’t have to tolerate someone else trying to muscle in on Burton’s territory.
Mihai describes from first hand experience Burtons’ compulsion, greed and sexual addiction, the facade of enlightenment and the characteristic “grooming” that is the hallmark of a sex offender.
Mihai was deep in the FOF culture of crime. He was one of the first rank enablers who took their slice of the pie. He abused the trust of the the general membership just as Burton did. He enjoyed the power, life style, money and sex that came with the position he carved out for himself. I don’t think it is OK and that because he moved on he is absolved. He has committed terrible crimes against that part of members that was genuine and seeking for wholeness. So now he is some woke guy in Grass Valley using his charisma to make a living as a therapist. There are plenty of others who fall into that category – the vainglorious and greedy, the corrupt and the opportunistic. Burton could never have done what he did without their complicity. To a significant extent Burton is the product of these people’s connivance. They are criminals.
193/78 Magdalena
I agree with your observation and statement here regarding Mihai Algiu. I could not have said better. Thank you.
Totally
New Book Details Life in Male Dominated Cult
Utah House, CA Women tend to fare poorly in pseudo-religious cults, especially in cults created by gay men. Throughout history, male prophets have claimed divine authority to write laws that perpetuate male power and shunt women aside as intellectual inferiors or evil temptresses who threaten male glory through so-called “feminine dominance”.
Nowhere on our continent does a faith based on male supremacy loom larger than in one tiny polyamorous cult in Northern California called the Fellowship of Friends, whose leader, Robert E Burton, mimics the original teachings of the libidinous founder of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Joseph Smith, only with a twist.
Central to both men’s theology was the doctrine that all male devotees were on the road to godhood,” Bailey Renton writes in her meticulously researched new book, “The Sex Colony.”
She goes on, “In both patriarchal systems, a woman could only enter heaven as an appendage to a man, yet a man could take as many women to the eternal kingdom as he pleased. However, in the Fellowship’s theology, men enter paradise only after Burton has satisfied himself with as many young men as he wantonly desires, dutifully recruited and trafficked by his devotees, which according to her research is and continues to be quite extensive and unrelenting.
Unsurprisingly, young destitute men from third world countries find Burton’s spiritual evolutionary sales pitch very attractive as the lessor of two evils, given the dire circumstances in which they find themselves, only to lose themselves in Burton’s complex delusional system.
“This book is an exploration of the parallels in the two cults — the isolation and the indoctrination — in an effort to explain the impulses that drove thousands of women over generations, to join or remain within these two novel American pseudo-religious cults based on male supremacy and female servitude,” Renton writes.
She reveals in her book that Burton, after 14 years of sexually exploiting one young man who later suffered from psychotic episodes, claimed he had an alcohol-fueled vision telling him that he needed to seduce an untold number of heterosexual young men to maintain his self-proclaimed godhood. After which he incorporated extraterrestrial disembodied spirits into his teachings who spoke exclusively to him, and then blamed “the Absolute” for both his failed doomsday predictions and the seduction of an underage boy and his father.
One former fellowship member told Renton that a “streak of insanity and sociopathic personality disorders haunted the Fellowship,” the result of decades of cognitive dissonance in his ardent follower’s minds having to juggle between Burton’s inane words and gross misdeeds.
Over the years, it has become increasingly difficult if not impossible for Burton’s followers to distinguish between his “divine” revelations and his mental derangement.
Most of Renton’s polyamorous sources insisted on anonymity, reflecting a culture ruled by secrecy and fear. But unlike in the Mormon cult, Burton never married anyone and his victims are relegated to the status of “immigrant concubine,” with few legal rights.
Whether any of Burton’s male followers truly believe his teachings or are only “converted below the belt” — as one woman who fled the cult suggests — is impossible to tease out, since none of Burton’s male followers appear to be gay and follow his example.
Why does Robert Burton allow women to join and remain in his Fellowship of Friends cult, considering that, in Burton’s view, they have zero evolutionary possibilities, and are of no use to him sexually?
1. There are not enough men to be cooks, dishwashers, housekeepers, tailors, gardeners, and laundry maids.
2. He keeps women close who have a lot of money, and who enjoy spending it on gifts for him.
3. It’s the husband Burton wants, and he’s willing to keep the wife around to reduce the possibility of both wife and boy toy leaving Burton.
4. Women make babies, which grow up in no time to be potential members of Burton’s Fellowship and personal harem. I’ve seen Burton beginning the grooming process when the boy will still an infant.
5. (A big one) He gives lots of attention to young, attractive women with U.S. citizenship, as future “green card” marriage prospects for his foreign boys.
6. Although Burton prefers male doctors, he will make use of a female doctor to write prescriptions for his (rumored) drug habits. See the Mihai Algiu video link above (post 78), and check out Part 5. (Note: ALL doctors receive preferential seating at Burton’s meetings and dining events, and have for many years/decades. Ever wonder why?)
A conscious school, if such a thing exists, would take an honest look at itself.
A recent issue (#90) of The Gurdjieff Journal features two long articles. One is taken from a book by called “Manhattan Cult Story: My Unbelievable True Story of Sex, Crimes, Chaos, and Survival,” by Spencer Schneider, a 23-year student in Sharon Gans’s group in New York City. A Kindle version is available on Amazon for $1.99.
The second article is about the Burton and the Fellowship, and extensively quotes from the “Revelations” podcasts by Jennings Brown that came out a year ago.
In Brown’s interview with Judith, she reveals the secret of living happily with Burton’s crimes and “horrors.” And she should know, living in Italy for so many years, and sending countless young boys to Apollo for Burton’s consumption. For her “service,” Judith has been rewarded with a succession of paying writing/editing projects, all promoting Burton and the ongoing cult.
From “Revelations” and The Gurdjieff Journal:
Judith Grace, an FOF member for 43 years, poet, and editor of Burton’s autobiography, “Fifty Years with Angels,” told Brown, “It just makes you feel like the way life is supposed to be. It’s all so extremely poetic. No one lives with this kind of poetry in their life in a mindset that’s undistracted. Because it is in a way a monastery. Exclusive…It’s [the Galleria] filled with beauty in every corner. Eighteenth century furniture, paintings, beautiful tapestries and marble statues. It’s a reflection of our teacher.” Brown says that Judith Grace acknowledges “In the Fellowship, it’s a hologram. You look at it this way, and it looks like a…horror. Let’s say a ‘Fellini’ movie. And you have to choose in your mind the way you want to see life. It’s really not taking much intelligence to see the negative of life.”
Anybody know what happened to Thomas Fenn? Another victim of Burton’s sex addiction and sadistic obsession? Is he safe somewhere?
As hundreds of Fellowsheepers internally struggle to justify spending (wasting) their time and money attending events led by an increasingly decrepit Robert Burton, who can barely see or hear, and is almost totally incoherent, speaking barely above a whisper, the most common sorry excuse for continuing to submit to this virtual torture, is that “I go for the state.”
I think, for a great number of Fellowsheepers, being at a “meeting” is the only time of the week or month that they can be somewhat calm and quiet for an hour. No wonder they take it as an experience of “higher consciousness!”
It is a perverse testament to Burton’s skill at brainwashing that a “state” that is experienceable at all times, would be interpreted as the highest level of consciousness anywhere in the world, and higher than anywhere in the entire universe save “Paradise.”
The bigger the lie, the more readily people will believe it.
(Burton, you certainly have chutzpah!)
But in the end, Burton just gives the flock what they want and are willing to pay for. He gives them Paradise and Eternal Life , the cost being to attend a meeting now and then, and to wash a few dishes every week. Such a bargain.
The need to show commitment by participating or get kicked out. The “state” is fear.
Cult Forms New Political Party
Florida House, CA~In an effort to subvert constructive criticism and grant their self-proclaimed leader, Robert E Burton, absolute immunity from fears of prosecution, followers of an infamous Northern California cult have formed the “Me First Party” and put forth Burton as their candidate for “Supreme Ruler of the Universe”, whose slogan is “Make me great and glorious again and again.”
As one true believer put it, “Theocracy is fragile and must be protected, even at our own expense.”
In a strong theocracy, fully indoctrinated people –followers – choose to let others govern them to the greatest extent possible by delegating their power and responsibility to one single representative acting out of his own self-interest and claiming to have an exclusive relationship with the Absolute.
Scholars have long proposed that causes of theocratic backsliding include lack of public support for delusional beliefs, economic security and lack of social tensions, inclusive politics, and lack of external influence from great power politics experienced by the populace during wars and revolutions. Without the state of fear, theocracy simply fails.
“There is a great storm coming,” said another follower, echoing the beliefs of their Q-Anon leaning cult leader. “You should be afraid, like us. You are either with us or against us. There is no room for public discussion or spirited debate. To be truly free, all self-empowerment must be destroyed.”
A stroll through Burton’s shiny, glittering temple of debauchery on the grounds of Apollo gives new meaning to the adage, “silence is golden”, bought and paid for through the censorship of his followers.
For anyone following or curious about the lawsuit against Google, and involving the Fellowship (beginning with post #37 above), it has been settled. This from the NY Times:
Dec. 19, 2022
A former video producer for Google has settled a lawsuit that claimed he was fired after he complained that a religious sect had gained a foothold inside a business unit of the company.
Kevin Lloyd, 34, said in the suit that he had been fired after complaining that the Fellowship of Friends, a religious organization based in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains, dominated a business unit called Google Developer Studios, which makes videos showcasing the company’s technologies.
The suit claimed that the leader of the business unit — Peter Lubbers, a longtime member of the Fellowship of Friends — hired many of the religious group’s members onto the team as contractors, helped some advance to full-time positions and gave work to many others when staffing company conferences and parties.
Google confirmed on Monday that the suit had been resolved. It also confirmed that Mr. Lubbers was no longer employed by Google, though it declined to explain his departure. Mr. Lubbers could not immediately be reached for comment.
Read to whole NYT news:
The funeral service for Robert Taylor took place this past Saturday (Jan 7). You can view the event here:
https://www.elysiansociety.org/in-memory/robert-taylor/
What I found most bizarre was that Dorian Matei put himself (with Rowena’s blessing, I’m sure) in charge of the proceedings. He opened the service like he was leading a meeting. Besides all the Robert Burton imitations (speaking too softly, nervously smiling and looking around the room, etc.), Dorian began by lecturing the audience (and the entire Fellowship) about death, how special it is, how we live our whole life for this moment, etc., etc., barf, barf. Dorian Matei is a little man with limited experience in life, who thinks he can fool the masses with flowery talk, like repeatedly using words such as “extraordinary,” which, coincidently, was one of Robert Taylor’s favorite words.
After Dorian, thankfully, ended his 10-minute monologue, and after the “normal” part of the funeral service ended, he got up again, and rambled on for another 5-10 minutes. This time, his low level of understanding must have been apparent to everyone, as the energy in the room sank lower and lower the more he droned on, having no clue where he was going, or how to end. (Hey Dorian, some friendly advice: When you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.)
I guess Dorian thinks that the majority of Fellowsheepers can no longer tell the difference between “indirect knowledge” (i.e., words) and “direct knowledge” (i.e., experience), or, shall we say, between bullshitting and sincerity. Unfortunately, he may be right. If so, he just propelled himself far ahead of anyone else in the Fellowship’s “conscious being” derby, clearly ready right now to take the reins post-Burton.
And like a relay race, one psychopath hands the baton to the next one.
This article about another cult sums up very succinctly how some of us ended up in it and how we came to leave:
View at Medium.com
I watched the service for RT, having known him personally years ago.
Sadly, IMO, he departed from his senses when he joined the cult and spent his precious time above ground employing that truly memorable voice of his (that I’m shocked nobody mentioned) recruiting unsuspecting European victims for burton’s rape factory.
And OMG, can’t the FOF afford to pay for a professional violin player for such a solemn occasion? I bet RT was spinning in his urn!!! If music be the food of love, dear god, please stop!!! (Not to worry, unless it was leeched out of him, I remember RT had a wry sense of humor.) Or maybe that’s part of the cult indoctrination these days, if you can “separate” from that extraordinarily bad violin performance (and camerawork), you can “separate” from and swallow just about anything?
You’re so right, Insider. Round and round he goes, where he stops nobody knows! I got news for Dorian…the heir, apparently…call it what you will, “time does not enter” a HYPNOTIC TRANCE STATE, whether you wear a wristwatch or not, and neither does critical thinking, which I gather was the effect he was after by droning on and on in monotones, devoid of any humanity, as he spun his monologue like he stood there and spun his wedding ring, pontificating to the faithful about “the moment”.
If he were in front of me, I’d say, how dare you rank a lifetime of kind acts toward others, gestures of pure love, and gifts to one another as less valuable than an individual’s brief “moments” of manufactured hyper-vigilance?!! How narcissistic is that? The only reason your cult and cult leader place such high value upon your followers pursuing a hypnotic trance state that you refer to as “being present” is because in a hypnotic trance state an individual is more suggestible and in turn, through repetition, can more easily fall sway to cult indoctrination. FYI, trance states happen not only when your eyes are closed, but can spontaneously occur with eyes fixed upon an object or person. (Look into my left eye…sound familiar?). With enough repetition and peer pressure, a person can made to believe the implausible, the very essence of groupthink.
Dorian, weren’t you up there to honor the dead, not the living? RT did not gift you anything, IMO, you took something from him. You spun his presence and focused the lens upon you in order to feed your cult’s inflated idea of itself, leaving no space for grief, a very human part of our existence! Your empty ceremony spoke to a state of non-existence, really, of non-feeling, of non-thinking…colorful and visually enticing, but vapid.
Insider, did you happen to notice Dorian didn’t leave his little handy hand habits at the door…unless he borrows from burton’s playbook and claims all his unconscious behavior is conscious…or maybe c-influence made his fingers do that.
I wonder if the Dorian meister made a mental note of those followers who followed along, removing their wristwatches, and those who refused to conform, marked, soon to be kicked out.
Talk about bad acting and unfamiliar la la landscapes!!! I’d wager a plot of withered vines Dorian read Rowena’s cultspeak eulogy beforehand so he could upstage her by using surprisingly similar words first and then only to trash method actors at the end. WTF? Isn’t method acting the whole point of the FOF? Be the words? The play’s the thing! And yes, methinks the lady doth speak too much!
Ironically the most poignant part of the service, IMO, was the borrowed poetry of a non-member, TS Elliot. Go figure.
That video of Robert Taylor’s memorial was a difficult watch. I never knew this Dorian fellow, I left before he arrived, but his delivery was so weird. Almost any group of humans anywhere on earth would do a better job of standing still to remember a departed friend than this. It felt like everything being said was to brazen out a lie about what death really is.
That certainly was a bizarre moment during the funeral ceremony when Dorian asked everyone to remove their wrist watch. What in hell could he possibly have been trying to do? Give everyone a deep understanding of death?
Curiously, but probably not accidentally, this would have been a stunt that Robert Taylor himself employed. RT liked to use all manner of “shocks” (supposedly) to wake up the masses.
But, as is so obvious, Dorian was not interested in waking up anyone, or in teaching anything. It was all about control: seeing how many people would jump when he gave the command.
Mind control: Burton’s game; Dorian’s game.
Two really sick individuals.
Heard it through the grapevine that yet another young man has been devastated by a sexual relationship with Robert Earl Burton, leader of the Fellowship of Friends (FoF). This person is from outside U.S.A., has parents in FoF, and they are getting counselling/therapy. The young man has told his parents to leave FoF or never hear from him again. He would travel to Oregon House/Apollo periodically. I do not know the name of the person. Anyone know more about this?
Insider, you say (# 95, above), “It was all about control: seeing how many people would jump when he gave the command.”
This.
From Martha Stout’s book, The Sociopath Next Door:
“…Imagine not having conscience, none at all, no feelings of guilt or remorse no matter what you do, no limiting sense of concern for the well-being of strangers, friends, or even family members. No struggles with shame. Pretend that the concept of responsibility is unknown to you, except as a burden others seem to accept without question, like gullible fools. Since everyone simply assumes that conscience is universal among human beings, hiding the fact that you are conscience–free is nearly effortless. So completely outside of their personal experience that they seldom even guess at your condition. Your strange advantage over the majority of people, who are kept in line by their consciences, will most likely remain undiscovered.
When it’s expedient, you doctor the accounting and shred the evidence, you stab your employees and your clients (or your constituency) in the back, marry for money, tell lethal premeditated lies to people who trust you, attempt to ruin colleagues who are powerful or eloquent, and simply steamroll over groups who are dependent and voiceless.
Making people jump means you have power – or this is the way you see it – and bullying provides you with an adrenaline rush. It’s fun. You quietly lie to your boss’s boss, cry some crocodile tears, or sabotage a coworker’s project, or gaslight a patient (or a child), bait people with promises, or provide a little misinformation that will never be traced back to you. If you slip up, you may be caught and punished by the system. But you will never be confronted by your conscience, because you have no conscience. If you decide to kill, the only difficulties will be the external ones. Nothing inside you will ever protest.”
Robert and Rowena Taylor were at my prospective student meetings in San Francisco in 1981. I spent a lot of time with Robert for the next six months or so, until I moved away. Both were always in king of clubs character, but for me it was jarring – I couldn’t suspend disbelief and see the character as a real person. He spent a lot of time teaching me about how the king of clubs is a predator that can easily take us out of the Fellowship if we don’t control it. At the time there were tasks not to smile and not to exercise. I never saw either smile, but once he picked me up to go to a meeting with his gym bag and trainers on the car seat. He said he only exercised discreetly and this could be permissible. It was quite an experience to spend time with such an accomplished actor.
Now I find it interesting that a king of clubs, an alpha predator, spent almost his entire life in a zoo with no bars away from which he could have walked at any time.
New Cult App Helps Spot Lower Self
Cultpertino, CA~Try this exercise-how far away is your smart phone from you right now?
If you are reading this, its likely pointed at your face at the moment, and if you are like most life people these days, your smart phone is your faithful companion, never a few inches away from your hands or facade for more than a few nanoseconds.
Who needs a wristwatch anyway? Your smart phone, which is getting smarter every day while you dumb down, is always there, in the moment “watching” and listening, and constantly tracking the time for you!
As we become increasingly more dependent upon machines, like for example to remember for us all our friends’ email addresses and phone numbers, you will soon be required to use this handy App, developed by those whom you delegate responsibility for your spiritual evolution, to alert you through your ever present smart phone whenever your Satanic Lower Self rears its ugly head through something you (not me) say in conversation or write in a text or email, or when you laugh out loud or show your teeth when you smile. Now how smart is that?
Once you download the new “ApolloBot” App, your Inner Steward will be relieved of its censorship duties and be free to direct your attention toward making more money for the cult, which at this very moment needs more money to throw into the bottomless pit of our dear leader’s insatiable desires.
Think of it-what a joy to have your Lower Self literally photographed by your smart phone when you say or write such obvious phrases like, “That doesn’t feel right to me”, or “How could this possibly help me evolve”, or better yet, “That is just plain gross!” Immediately the CultBot App on your smart phone will mechanically snap a selfie of you in that particular moment of lapse in your work and then automatically send the photograph of your weakness to an authority figure to help keep you in your place below them.
It will even photograph you for reading something you shouldn’t be reading, and you know what I’m talking about!
Just send your mandatory donation of $99.99 RIGHT NOW through the link on elysiansociety.org and you will be in subservient awe of the no money back guaranteed results that you can easily verifabricate for your little self, TODAY!
Act NOW or forever be doomed like everyone else on the planet.
92. 44thWay – January 10, 2023
I see that Robert Baker, known as Silver Ra, the Spiritual Activities Director of the Rudra Center for Enlightened Awareness in Denton, Texas and referenced often in the podcast by Heidi Thompson is described as “Embraces & shares the transformative life teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff.”
https://www.rudracenter.org/classes/disentangled-adventurer/
In the podcast, Thompson relates (at 27:40) that even though she initially researched the Deer Tribe Metis Medicine Society and found criticism online that it was a “sex cult” – she still felt compelled to become involved with the group. She not only became a practitioner, she became an assistant instructor, going so far as to bring her own mother into the group’s secret weird Quodoushka sexual workshops.
A classic story of a vulnerability and cognitive dissonance.
Saturday’s New Moon Closest in Over 1,000 Years
Lunatic House, CA~FOF Cult Followers will note Robert has accurately predicted this weekend the moon will be absent from the night sky, as it rises and sets with the sun with its shaded side facing our planet during the day.
As you all know, this is what’s typically known as a new moon, but be advised: this month’s new moon also happens to be the closest to Earth since the year 992!
And even though the new moon will not be visible tonight, Robert reminds us it is still there, thirsty as ever, and will never be satisfied, even after Armageddon.
Followers are required to don their tin foil hats from dusk until dawn this evening and think only positive thoughts about your current dire financial and slavish circumstances in order to prevent that bad, bad moon from distorting reality, sucking up the precious juices of your soul, and robbing you of living such an active and fulfilling life in Robert’s servitude.
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