Fellowship Of Friends/Fourth Way School/Living Presence Discussion – Page 196 December 23, 2023
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Fellowship of Friends - Living Presence Discussion 
“SSS
SLATER SLATER SCHULMAN LLP
ATTORNEYS AT LAW
MEDIA ADVISORY
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 4, 2023
CONTACT: MACKENZIE JOHNSON
(310) 341-2086
MJOHNSON@SSSFIRM.COM
FORMER MALE MEMBERS OF THE FELLOWSHIP OF FRIENDS, A HIGH CONTROL GROUP (A.K.A. CULT) LED BY ROBERT EARL BURTON, FILE LAWSUIT ALLEGING SEXUAL ASSAULT
Marysville, CA – A lawsuit has been filed against the Fellowship of Friends and Robert Earl Burton by 6 men alleging sexual assault by Burton, the founder of the religious organization based in Oregon House, California.
The plaintiffs, represented by Slater Slater Schulman LLP, have come forward to seek justice and accountability for the alleged acts of sexual assault they endured while members of the Fellowship of Friends. The suit alleges that the organization functions as a cult and that, since 1971, Burton has abused his position of power to sexually harass, molest, and assault young male members of his organization.
Additional survivors of sexual misconduct perpetrated by Robert Earl Burton are encouraged to come forward by calling (310) 341-2086.
Slater Slater Schulman LLP is a prominent full-service law firm with over 40 years of experience representing survivors of catastrophic and traumatic events. Our nationally renowned attorneys are committed to ensuring the best results for our clients through persistence and zealous representation. Learn more at sssfirm.com.”
From #100 on the previous page 195, it is worth highlighting the following paragraph in that letter…
“The deal with the new California statute tolling the statute of limitations on sexual assault is, it’s complicated. There were some prior amendments to the statute which left sexual assault victims high and dry, so they were trying to fix that problem. => => If the assault(s) happened between 2009 and 2019, the plaintiffs can bring suit until 2026. <= <= If the assaults happened at ANY time, AND there was a coverup of the incident or prior incidents of this nature, the plaintiffs have until the end of 2023 to commence the suit.”
It seems like the present suit covers a certain class of victims, and the case will proceed on behalf of the individual plaintiffs that have come forward by December 31st, but the law in California also still leaves room for some other victims of Burton’s predations to file suit until 2026.
In my layman’s opinion, it could be that the present pioneering case turns out to be fruitful and educational, in that there are bound to be lessons learned and precedents set. Then a later, second wave of lawsuits could use this accumulated experience to ensure an even better chance of success.
Recommended reading for any potential plaintiff or victim:
California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.16
Do a search on the internet!
https://cult-report.com/2023/12/20/lawsuit-filed-against-yuba-county-cult-fellowship-of-friends/
A recently-settled case involving only one man, and over 40 years ago. This is the same firm representing the plaintiffs currently suing the Fellowship of Friends and Robert Earl Burton (Post #1 above). From a @SSSLawFirm Tweet:
Slater Slater Schulman
@SSSLawFirm
In a case against the Anaheim Union High School District, a settlement of $2,400,000 has been reached for a man who was sexually abused by his high school photography teacher on one occasion in the early 1980s. This case underscores the importance of accountability and safety within educational institutions. It also exemplifies our firm’s dedication to ensuring that justice delayed is not justice denied.
11:41 AM · Dec 12, 2023
Is the aim to get a nice chunk of money?
or to stop the fraudulent activities?
or both
or what exactly…?
“Their civil complaint seeks damages for 15 alleged violations, including gender violence, human trafficking, sexual assault and battery, and intentional infliction of emotional distress.”
“The plaintiffs are also asking for a trial by jury.”
Insider, #5 above, thanks for the uplifting news. Hopefully, not only Burton will be cleaned out, but likewise all the board members, past and present, with the rare exceptions like Samuel Sanders, those who protested and were kicked out. There were and are no innocent board members, IMO.
I myself sent a thick oversized brown envelope with every letter and document I could lay my hands on at the time to every single board member at that time (November 1994). The enclosed cover letter was individually addressed to each board member, signed by me and put in the Lodge mailboxes. So there is no excuse for them to not know what was happening, from the moment they received these packages. Not to mention, I also left 120 similar packages to those who I trusted had some remains of common sense and open minds, and I would guess that though most were likely tossed, that also some were passed on.
Of course, the majority of board members must have known exactly what was going on, at least from the time that Miles Barth left, and in many cases, years before.
However, I do also know that Girard Haven and assorted helpers were combing through the Lodge letter boxes in those times, and I personally saw them extract letters that I suppose they assumed were ‘dangerous’, and Girard admitted to me then and there that this was his/their purpose, “to prevent the spread of malicious gossip and preclude unnecessary negativity”. Big of them, and very unselfish! So, they may have intercepted quite a few, including those I sent to the (I believe, twelve) board members. Most of the packages I sent to other individuals were through U.S.P.S., so I would assume that those did indeed reach the intended recipients. I also sent the packages to every Center Director in the U.S.A., so again, no excuses. And I sent the package to some of the wealthier benefactors whose addresses I could find. One of them had given an extra $50,000 a year for many years, and I’m glad to say she did leave.
(November 1994) “no excuse for them to not know what was happening, from the moment they received these packages.”
By early 1997, When joining FOF, no-one, no-one at all, not even “close friends” commented what had happened just two years earlier… (and they knew it all).
Ten years observing…
Proud Old students adoring REB, happily bringing new naive members to the sacrifice concert halls..
men, women and children too
When the obvious repulsion could not hold anymore and got expressed openly, the proud Old students pulled the carpet off. Then the horrific abyss followed…
Handy marriages and handy divorces all around
a variety mix of horror possibilities
Indeed, “intentional infliction of emotional distress” that has lasted for years and years to come not only for the one given member but for the descendants as well…
How wise it would had been to be told:
Hey, this place is really a big crime factory…
If I were you…
Instead the words were:
“It is your Play and I am not responsible for your Karma”
One life will not be enough to make amends…
And one will have to live it again… Oh horror
Crossroads # 6 – As this is a civil action, if the plaintiffs win or if this is settled out of court, there will be a large payout – a large part of which will go to SSS. There will be negotiations on the terms of a settlement that would satisfy the plaintiffs. If the FOF’s insurers are liable, they will pretty much call the shots. If the FOF is not covered by insurance, the board will make the decisions. I would guess that raising a large sum would be difficult for the FOF. This will be their negotiating stance – settle for what we can pay you, or we can go to court and you can be awarded an amount that we cannot pay you.
No law enforcement agency has brought criminal charges against Burton or the FOF. It might be that the initial 5 plaintiffs had enough of waiting for Burton to be brought to account and so started this civil action.
If the main interest of the original 5 plaintiffs is justice then their priority might be seeing it go to trial.
Asking for a jury trial would ensure more publicity so the FOF can’t continue to conduct it’s activities as before or even to protect Burton anymore.
One would expect other people to join the action as plaintiffs. Some will add valuable testimony and having reliable plaintiffs from more recent years will help to show the extent of the institutional complicity in Burton’s abuse.
Will people come forwards just because they want a share in the money? Will some want to become plaintiffs who might been part of the system of abuse themselves.
To my mind, this is the trickiest part of it. What is the standing of people who became enablers and facilitators themselves and contributed to the sexual abuse of other young men for years?
I would be interested to hear opinions on this.
Magdalena,
I would be so pleased if the main aim is ‘justice’ rather than ‘payout’, because that would more likely bring the scam to a screaming halt. If both are simultaneously achieved—fine by me! “Settling” in previous lawsuits did not bring ‘justice’, in my opinion. I can’t blame the plaintiffs in those cases, but I wish it had been otherwise, and that the sorry saga of Burton and the Fellowship of Friends was entirely in our rear view mirrors.
You say, “This will be their negotiating stance – settle for what we can pay you, or we can go to court and you can be awarded an amount that we cannot pay you”. The latter possibility would at least clean all the defendants out, whereas a settlement would leave them far too much, plus the usual “the suit was withdrawn, which means we won” coping that the FoF honchos and enablers used before to calm the laity. I mean, if the defendants cannot pay the full amount of any award for damages, that does not mean that absolve them from paying any of it, am I right?
On the subject of those plaintiffs who were at one time accomplices, that is an incredibly difficult minefield to negotiate.
I personally believe that people can change, because I did. I was fully immersed in the FoF belief bubble, and then for one reason or another, I escaped. Until near the end of my sojourn, I did little to help those who were victimized by Burton. It took a conversation with a psychologist in the Fellowship (and who is still a member in the London center!) to demonstrate, in detail and with examples, that the power imbalance between Burton and his victims was so great that it could only be called force and coercion and abuse, especially when the victims’ friends and relations were actively working against victims’ interests at the same time.
I had never looked at it that way before, and that was the tipping point for me. But until that point, I was an accomplice, albeit passively. I learned later that some other followers looked up to me as an ‘older student’, which means my passive acceptance helped them accept and normalize the prevailing conditions as well.
Because I believe that people can change, and do, I must perforce accept that anyone who has claimed to change has indeed done so, unless there is clear evidence of deception. I’m pretty sure that the Slater lawyers will closely examine the plaintiffs’ histories, especially if they were at some time active enablers and active participants in the scam. Hopefully, the lawyers will be able to see any weaknesses and account for them. And, remember, even the worst enablers were still in the bubble, still under the ether, still encouraged by their friends and relations to act as they did. If their consciences woke up at some later time, and they recognized that, and they felt true remorse, and they are trying to atone for the damage they caused—I fully support them. I must, because I have had to follow those same steps myself.
I have learned that we all can be induced to become part of the apparatus of corruption for trivial reasons and, let’s face it, rather paltry rewards. To be regarded as a Big Deal in the Fellowship of Friends? To gain a position of authority on the whim of the God–Emperor of Oregon House? To be anointed as a “future conscious being”, in a long list of failures, by Robert Earl Burton?
I have learned that the peer group exerts tremendous pressures on behavior and helps set moral norms. Burton may lead the way and set the shining example, but he would be nothing without the enablers who support him unconditionally. Some may realize their situation and leave, but others are anxiously waiting to take their place, and the scam goes on and on. Unfortunately, the dominant narrative within the Fellowship of Friends is one where the moral universe has been turned upside down. I hope this lawsuit finally brings the chain of pain to an end.
BTW, it is my understanding that another five plaintiffs came forward before the deadline, so that makes eleven altogether.
Thank you Ames, I feel Peace
I am reminded that although much attention has been paid to the plight of the vulnerable and naive men Robert Earl Burton has directly victimized over the last five decades and more, and rightly so, it is important to remember that there were also many, many ladies who were hurt and abused more indirectly. A large number of the men were in relationships, had girlfriends, wives, and even children. All their partners suffered one way or another. The men often took out their anger and shame on their partners, even to the extent of physical abuse.
Burton did abuse women directly, though not physically. If they were in the way of his lust, he shamed them and belittled them, and flaunted his power over their menfolk. But when they had money or something else he needed, he was attentive, flattering and charming. In many ways, especially in the earlier days, the coterie of mature, upper middle class ladies, such as Sheila Grunwaldt and Anna Gold provided a very effective camouflage and credibility, not to mention they took much trouble to educate “the hick from Arkansaw” and provide a veneer of civilization.
I really hope that at least one of the plaintiffs that have stepped forward is a woman, and that as she tells her story, knows that in some way she is representing thousands of women who have suffered great harms over the decades, including beatings, divorces, ruined relationships, broken families, shame and heartache.
I also hope that the lawyers have taken into consideration the potential flight risk of Burton and the more important minions. I could easily imagine his followers spiriting him off to Mexico, and arranging for his lifestyle to continue much as now in some luxurious villa somewhere.
Not kidding.
Burton used to say, “Everybody gets what they want” and it may just be possible before he dies that he gets what he wants in a synthetic Orange Jumpsuit with velcro fasteners, (no designer labels) being f—-d up the a-s 24 hrs a day and roughed up at the same time. I’m told he likes that, likes the violence and sadism. He won’t like the food but will get used to it. He’ll need to do his own laundry along with that of several hundred others and he’ll have to clean his own cell and toilet, but the sex will be fantastic for him. So let’s be free of feminine dominance and think positively. It’s a happy ending for a sick psycho and obviously what Leonardo da Vinci had in mind for him all along.
What 196/13. Ames Gilbert – January 3, 2024 writes is quite poignant as regards the extensive damage to peoples beyond the most immediate victims (the plaintiffs and company). That, yes, women were certainly harmed in manners Ames mentioned. I bore witness to many examples. Yet, beyond what Ames stated, there is the sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) that went beyond the boys to their other partners. So, I repost this:
“[195]30. Just the Facts Ma’am – October 14, 2023
Given that Robert Earl Burton is a possible source of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) because of his sexual lifestyle, could this happen to him (and the Fellowship of Friends)?:
Houston pastor ordered to pay $2.45M after found liable for spreading genital herpes
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/houston-area-pastor-ordered-to-pay-2-45m-for-transmitting-genital-herpes
”
As an example: There is a certain segment of the population that, due to genetic conditions, are almost totally immune to HIV/AIDS. These people could carry the disease and transmit it to others, and not fall ill themselves. There may be some men, sexual partners with Robert Earl Burton (REB), who got HIV/AIDS; and possibly died. REB’s immunity in this regard is not know. But, there are many other STDs. These may be less lethal than HIV/AIDS but still possibly deadly. Women can be more vulnerable to these and can contract them from partners who are having sex with REB. This could have epidemic proportions in the Fellowship of Friends (FoF) community and beyond.
“A word to the wise is sufficient”
Titus Maccius Plautus (254 BC – 184 BC)
Another by same:
“Nothing is more wretched than the mind of a man conscious of guilt.”
Diego,
AFAIK, in the U.S. one does not normally risk being sentenced to jail in a civil lawsuit. Over here, civil lawsuits usually involve money damages, injunctions, declaratory relief or other relief. However, a judge in a civil proceeding can order a party or non-party to jail for disobeying a court order or for contempt. Neither of which is likely to arise, since I would guess that part of Burton’s defense is going to be some kind of “harmless, sick, frail old man” schtick, especially if he appears in front of a jury. Barring that, Burton need not worry about jail, so no orange jumpsuit. Though, frankly, an orange jumpsuit would be considerably less loud than some of the hundreds of tasteless outfits he has donned over the years, IMO.
N.B., I’m about as far as you can get from being a lawyer, so add truckloads of salt to any past, present, or future opinions I may spout about this matter on the blog!
P.S., apparently the number of plaintiffs in the lawsuit has just risen to twelve. Yay!
It’s been a long while since I heard the rumors, left the FOF and plunged into real life. No regrets. Recently, I ran into a couple of articles in the national media about the Heinous Old Blob. I was elated with the idea of a trial by a jury of his peers. There is certain justice in him facing a prison sentence handed down courtesy of the very “life” people he selectively victimized, ordured and looked down his nose at.
Just the Facts Ma’am,
thanks for highlighting that very important point about sexually transmitted diseases.
Another poster reported they had previously heard Burton claim that, ‘as an angel in the form of a man’, it was impossible for him to contract or transmit STDs. This was in response to a follower’s question on the subject, and was Burton’s justification for not taking any precautions, such as using condoms or testing for STDs.
And, another poster has claimed that the Oregon House area has a noticeable incidence of STDs, enough to attract the attention of Yuba County health authorities.
I will add to the list of the ways that Burton’s edicts affect both men and women. One that comes to mind is the most malicious and injurious of all—abortions. A major, ghastly crime against women, but also their partners. I don’t know when the edict against having children started, but it was in full effect when I joined. And those who became pregnant were told to get abortions. Supposedly because “it is not the right time, dear, children born now will not be on the Ark”, which words were spoken by Burton in my presence to a woman in New York. Enforcers, such as Frances Thompson, were tasked by Burton to pass on the edict, as well as Burton himself.
I would guess that Center Directors were also told to report any suspicious swellings or even gossip about possible pregnancies, but I don’t know that. I do know that ‘someone’ had to have told Burton about the woman in the New York center. ‘Ton’ has reported on previous pages how his wife became pregnant, had an abortion on Burton’s request, and how that destroyed their marriage. He left, and his wife stayed in the Fellowship.
And then also add Burton’s demands for couples to give up their children! The sheer cruelty! The broken hearts and emotional devastation! Guinevere Mueller/Helga Barth would be a typical example of that.
Then there are the arranged marriages, of at least two types. Those on Burton’s whim, for unguessable reasons apart from exhibiting his power to control lives, and those of convenience, to facilitate Green Cards for his favorites, such as Asaf Braverman and so many others.
Burton is a truly evil, deranged, out of control manipulator, rotten and corrupted to the core, who has left a trail of wreckage for over five decades, and is as far from being an angel as one can get.
#16 Ames Gilbert
Hi Ames, yes am aware of that, though thanks for the clarification here, but this won’t stop with the twelve who have come forward. There are as you know, literally hundreds more who may now be emboldened, many of whom were sex trafficked. I’m thinking of unfortunates such as, “Golden hands” Burtons’ name reframe for a student from Russia chosen specifically because his small hands made him perfect for the role of anally fisting Burton. He was shipped out to the FOF compound for the sole purpose of doing just that on a daily basis. I believe he was given the time slot just before lunch, which helps explain why Burton would appear followed closely behind by one of his sex slaves carrying a velvet cushion like a mediaeval page.
So it’s possible, that ICE or the FBI may now obtain the evidence in testimony that they couldn’t find years ago when they raided the Oregon House compound. You never know, its possible now, though the Russians living as they do in a highly sexually repressive society may be scared to come forward. We’ll see! It’s this possibility I was fantasizing about.
Going from 6 to 12 will spark a numerology festival for Burton. We’ve gone from world 6 to world 12 in a brief space of time. Perhaps we’ll reach 96 in a few months and someone will shout BIngo!. Who knows, perhaps even the Absolute will pay another visit and perform another act of humility on Bob. Btw. I believe “act of humility” may refer to urination or defecation upon him in Bobspeak. So first time round, the Absolute, which is another term for God or the absolute principle underlying everything visited Bob and urinated in his mouth or took a dump on him. He’s been insane for years.
#15 Just the facts M’am and #17 Ames Gilbert
One of my Fellowhip student friends told me long ago that he asked Burton whether he wasn’t concerned about catching STD’s from unprotected sex.
His response apparently was, “I have a cosmic condom”
Although the peak is past, you can still see them…
https://time.com/6551735/quadrantid-meteor-shower-peak-2024/
Open letter to current members of the Board of Directors of the Fellowship of Friends:
As we all know, many of you are in big trouble. No need to pretend otherwise, or to imagine that the intelligence, cleverness and “high level of being” of you, other Fellowship members, or the Fellowship’s legal team, will save you. You know very well what can, and is bound, to happen to you.
If you are lucky enough not to be named as a defendant in one of three lawsuits that have already been filed with the Yuba County Superior Court, or in any of the cases to follow, you will most likely be involved in any criminal investigations and actions that could be undertaken by any number of Federal, State and County agencies. I’m thinking specifically of the IRS; one or more of the three entities within the Department of Homeland Security that deal with immigration matters; the Yuba County Tax Collector relating to the Fellowship’s multi-decade partial property tax exemption; etc.
For now, there is one, and only one, right action for you to take:
YOU MUST RELIEVE ROBERT BURTON OF ANY AND ALL DUTIES. YOU MUST TERMINATE HIS EMPLOYMENT, AND FORBID HIM FROM COMING ONTO THE FELLOWSHIP PROPERTY. YOU MUST PREVENT HIM FROM MAKING ANY FURTHER FINANCIAL DECISIONS, INCLUDING THE BUYING AND SELLING OF FELLOWSHJIP ASSETS. YOU MUST DO ALL OF THIS IMMEDIATELY.
It is obvious and apparent that Burton’s successor is ready and willing to assume Burton’s duties. Of course, I am referring to Dorian Matei, although he most certainly has his own legal issues and questionable past that will follow him for a long time, including a conviction of vehicular manslaughter, his own “green card” marriage, Fellowship involvement and influence in acquiring his current home and property, and the possible illegal use of “Burton Boys” labor in his private businesses.
But, regardless or Matei’s future legal entanglements, BURTON HAS TO GO, AND THE SOONER THE BETTER, at least for some of you who are not already neck-deep in all the corruption.
STOP THIS CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE NOW!!
Errata: “…regardless **of** Matei’s future…”
Pandora’s Box
Hey! just remember Interpol…
Thanks for taking the time and trouble to write to members of the Board, Insider. I’m sure that there have been some extra emergency meetings since they learned about the lawsuit, and more sure that they and the FoF lawyers are coming up with all sorts of schemes to try to avert disaster. I’m surest of all that they will not follow your advice to fire Burton. Firstly, they were chosen by Burton because they are so easily governed by him, rather than the other way round. And the second, following from the first, even if they decided to fire him, who would even dare tell him so? And how would they enforce it? How would they deal with the inevitable backlash from the laity? You who have promised to obey Beloved Teacher unconditionally now dare sanction a living God who has the unqualified support of eighty–one, count them, eighty one angels?
They might ‘compromise’ and send him away to a villa in Mexico or Italy, all expenses paid, and arrange for a rotating roster of young men who float in and out to service him, all expenses paid. That would also place him out of reach of the subpoenas and following consequences of the lawsuits. Dorian Mattei could take over, full time, taking care to regularly “consult” with Burton long–distance and pass on the usual pearls of wisdom, heavily modified with Dorian’s ‘conscious’ interpretations. But that is as far as they would go, IMO.
I actually think that Burton and the honchos believe they truly are under the protection of the gods and are basically untouchable. And maybe they are. I mean, the ‘boys’ are noted for their reckless behavior over decades, get into all sorts of accidents, and walk away unscathed.
The latest example: what happened after Dorian Mattei killed someone, and severely injured another, when he pulled out in front of the two motorcyclists in Brown’s Valley? The State of California, decided to go after him. And what was the punishment? A year of unsupervised probation. That’s it. They didn’t even lift his license! No wonder these people feel invulnerable!
Alexandr Shalapanov, another of Burton’s favorites and a ‘future conscious being’ is right now in the process of negotiating with state over another traffic infraction, and no doubt the state will let him off with the same lightest of taps on the wrist.
“One reason that narcissists and sociopaths are so successful is because healthy people can’t wrap their minds around the fact that people like this exist.”
diegoriverassquaretrouserleg:
Very true, in my experience. Since persons displaying sociopathic behavior can on the one hand hide behind their persona as a pillar of a community and yet on the other hand act as a predatory agent of suffering and harm to vulnerable, disenfranchised individuals…it takes an entire village to reveal their gaslighting and selfish motives. In healthy persons, the humble left hand of conscience isn’t forced to slavishly obscure what the grandiose right hand is doing out of view…both hands are on the table.
Humanity is always compromised when a small cadre of falsely entitled people unjustly “thrive” at the expense of others.
That is why it is imperative one honestly examine and objectively scrutinize the perp’s overall behavior separate from the perp’s spoken words and demeanor, and the appropriate venue for that can occur during public cross examination in a court of law where the truth and facts matter.
It is high time to turn up the heat, drain the victim pool, and level the playing field at court where we are all treated as equals under the law.
This is the fate of delusional humans who believe and convince others they can fly to the sun with wings of wax. Eventually, the truth cries out. We’ll see whose idea of raising “consciousness” prevails.
Justice, Freedom, and Equality…worth fighting for.
I have no idea how many letters of protest or disagreement to the Board of the Fellowship of Friends have ever been written, but by far the most important, IMHO, is the ‘David Springfield” letter that briefly came into the public domain as a result of a lawsuit against Abraham Goldman (the now deceased main Fellowship lawyer of many years), becoming part of the public record. A contributor called, “Black Marker” published it on this blog, but the U.S. moderator had to take it down when threatened by said Abraham Goldman with proceedings under the U.S. DMCA laws. By that time, it was too late, and the letter was widely distributed.
I decided this very morning to do a search for this letter, and found that many former repositories, like Rick Ross’ site, no longer hosted it. I assume that the Fellowship of Friends lawyers have been busy over the years with threats, and it was probably easier to acquiesce than to fight it.
I did find a copy at Wikileaks, which although it does not carry the text on the main page, does provide a download link, here:
https://www.wikileaks.org/wiki/Censored_Fellowship_of_Friends_cult_letter_from_former_legal_council_David_Springfield,_2009
Just go to DOWNLOAD, and click on ‘File’, ‘Torrent’, or ‘Magnet’, whatever suits you best. This is the version that “Black Marker” posted on this blog, and wherein he/she did a little bit to anonymize the names. The version I downloaded (and posted instructions on this blog about how to download from the Sacramento court website during the 24 hours it was available to the public had the full, unedited names and David Springfields full signature.
What is important about this letter is that David Springfield clearly states the numerous possible and actual crimes that the Fellowship Board of Directors are themselves committing and are themselves covering up. And what the possible future holds if they continue business as usual. Note that David Springfield (a.k.a. David Lubbers) also documented how he and Abraham were illegally removed from the Board by an illegal secret vote, and how he was misled, lied to and threatened by Board members.
This warning letter to the Board in 2007 shows exactly how little governance, due diligence, and care for members of the Fellowship of Friends the Board of Directors actually took at that time and previously. It is difficult for me to imagine that they have changed much since then, except to try to cover their asses more effectively in the intervening years.
The letter, and the total history of the Board, dominated and directed by Burton from its inception, is a classic example of how immorally and reprehensibly sick an absolute dictator can become when he is given unfettered freedom to act as he pleases without any accountability whatsoever, and how this corruption spreads to infect and literally de–moralize everyone in the Fellowship of Friends.
See also,
https://web.archive.org/web/20230319025317/https://robertearlburton.blogspot.com/2007/11/lawyer-abandons-ship.html
One of REB mottos: “There is no justice on earth”
lest we forget……..
“Anna” wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog, February 21, 2009:
[Reposting from March 1, 2007, “Inner circle facts” wrote:]
Are you ready for some brutal facts?
Who would like to know how its really happening in his bad room? OK folks,fasten your sit belts,the Kansas going Bye Bye…
Did you know that usual orgies are formed from 4 to 6 student?.Usually two of them are SIMULTANEOUSLY entering Burton’s anus.Third person is laying on his back while Mr.Burton is providing him an oral sex while two from both sides are subject to the masturbation by MR.Burton with his two hands.
Some time there is one more student who’s role is to hold Burton’s testicles in his mouth during the whole time.Prior to all, by Burton’s request Viagra pills are shared and swallowed between all members of the orgy which are constantly provided by Mr.G.
Some time you can hear Burton’s words during the sexual activities “How incredible! We are getting closer, aren’t we?”
Some of them are asked to suck his nipples and his toes. All sperm gets swallowed by Mr.Burton at the end of the act. But that is not all yet.
There are two students who had the most terrifying and most humiliating role to play (in my opinion).They have to enter with their hands by their elbows into the Burton’s anus.(Looking for Consciousness perhaps)..both students are Russians.One of them had left the school and the other has been “shipped” back to Russia for disobedience.
And now get this:
Beside those depraved scenes there is another one which going to shake you all:
There is another act that Burton is preforming with a specific student of his own “inner circle”.This act of Humiliation is performed in his bath room while Burton is laying down and 3 students are urinating right on him!
And on the next morning,like nothing happened Mr.Burton is leading the meeting on Love?
How cynical indeed!
“Prior to all, by Burton’s request Viagra pills are shared and swallowed between all members of the orgy which are constantly provided by Mr.G”
Who is the mysterious Mr.G? I have a pretty good idea.
I’m thinking of having some bumper stickers made they would be around $7 if anyone’s interested.
Can’t make my mind up yet.
Fellowship of Friends, Home of the Golden Shower
or
Fellowship of Friends Where God goes to take a dump
any takers?
Thanks very much, Tim!
Though your website was taken down, the archived copies are still a tremendous resource, and anyone who wants to know more about the “David Springfield letter” of 2007 should go and look at the link you provided and read everything on that page.
One irony is, the Fellowship of Friends goons may have gotten Google to take down your site because the FoF claimed that posting Dorian Mattei’s musings on achieving “consciousness” were private and copyrighted, the archived version still has that very text and the commentary accompanying it, for anyone curious about the matter. Why Mattei’s word salad should be of any actual value to the laity in the Church of Robert Burton, I have no idea; they are just words, unverifiable and unactionable, mere propaganda. And that the Fellowship of Friends should be so frightened of them being publicized and discussed, vividly illustrates how shallow and obsequious and scared the reigning authorities are of having any light shone upon Robert Earl Burton’s decades–long scam.
testing
Re: Crossroads @ # 6
As a litigant in the case I had to do some soul searching regarding motivation for getting involved before agreeing to sign on. For me personally it’s not about getting paid, and with the passage of time I feel I’ve achieved a degree of closure and peace which makes and notions of revenge or retribution a non factor…. in fact the process of opening old wounds gives me pain and no pleasure or satisfaction.
Back when I was a FoF member part of Burton’s cover-up effort involved directing his boy toys to maintain secrecy about his bedroom antics – and of course while in the cult and directly under his spell I was loathe to go against any request by “the teacher.”
So when asked to get involved in this lawsuit I figured that remaining silent would be continuing to keep Burton’s secret and only further help to aid/abet the scam.
I rationalize my involvement as an act of citizenship, a gesture and hopefully and act of public service, an effort to help expose the cult for what it is, what it does to people, by offering my story for evidence in the case. If my truth can in some small way help bring an end to the decades long scam that’s been perpetrated on the unsuspecting, the naive, the idealistic, then my involvement might bring some sort of satisfaction.
Re: ton2u @ # 36
Beautiful. Clear, concise, heartfelt. Beautiful. Thank
you.
Ton2u, thank you very much for coming forward to expose Burton’s crimes. I know that your testimony will be powerful and damning in any courtroom. And when you and your wife went through your personal hell all those years ago, the Board of the Fellowship of Friends of that time knew and condoned his actions, so they were responsible too, both in the deed and the coverup, and in the justifications for their actions and non–actions, so I hope true justice is served in their case, as well as Burton himself.
Over many years, you have taken considerable trouble to inform the readers of this blog of these crimes, and have updated us on your life and adventures after the Fellowship, and thank you for all those efforts, too.
I can well understand how participating in this lawsuit opens up old wounds, and I commend you for being willing to do so, in order to finally bring this disgusting fraud to an end. That is, and will be, a considerable sacrifice of your time and energy and well–being, and I salute you.
I wish you a safe journey through this mess, and hope that you can experience a lasting peace and resolution when all has been said and done. Please reach out if you need help and encouragement; I am sure that all good–hearted people will do their best to support you in any way they can.
Thanks for the supportive words Ames, and for the years of contributing your voice here helping to expose the FoF for what it is.
That first reply to this blog was 2006…
Today, fed by divine algorithm:
Thanks for the link Crossroads. I had a visceral reaction in the scene at the beginning when the cult leader kisses his young female “mark” on the lips…
I distinctly remember being told that men like burton kiss men on the lips in the FOF because it is “non-formatory and very European”.
Strange…in my travels in Europe during the last 15 years, I do not recall ever seeing men kiss each other on the lips, only air kisses cheek to cheek and among close friends and relatives…and in France at least, the custom is for parents to do the cheek to cheek kisses with their grown up kids, because I was informed, “only lovers kiss each other on the lips”.
Also noticeable is when the cult leader says, “I never tell anyone what to do…I am not their dictator or their controller.”
Yes and on the other hand, his followers refer to him as “father”…a role model, who leads by example.
Additionally, in viewing the beginning scenes addressing the failed doomsday prediction, which came and went with no further comment or rationalization, likely due to the revelations of the cult leader’s criminal sexual misconduct with underage girls, it made me wonder…
…in a cult that promises immortality, does experiencing the aftermath of a doomsday prediction which is destined to fail and for which they had been preparing for years unconsciously function for followers as a symbolic “life after death”?
Is that why the followers in this cult seemed to be joyously celebrating when the world didn’t come to a horrific end, despite being stuck in the body and on the planet of which they so fervently despise?
In my opinion, a large factor in Burton’s success has been his ability to isolate his followers’ thinking processes from connections with the external/reference environment. This is actually a sound strategy (if you are a control freak). However, I myself believe that Burton does not have the intellectual chops to recognize and exploit this as a formal strategy. Rather than clever, he is cunning, and I think he stumbled upon this strategy through a process of trial and error. He did so by testing the limits of his authority over the laity through a continual series of small experiments (usually in the form of general ‘exercises’), that gradually became larger and more far reaching as he realized that most of the laity willingly gave up their power to the father figure. My point being, this process of isolation drove the group insane. Any society that operates without reference to external stimuli (the real world), falls into a destructive cycle of false internal dialogues. These corrupt internal narratives eventually destroy the cohesion of the group and defeat its sense of purpose.
I’m told he no longer has the energy or the intellectual capacity to even pretend concern, or work out what his followers need to hear from him to maintain their self deception. He has long relied on interpreters and hagiographers, from Girard Haven to Linda Kaplan, from Gilbert Moore to Dorian Mattei, to provide explanations and justifications for his outrageous behavior, their efforts always backed by the fabricated authority of first 44, then later, 81 angels. Now he is reduced to an animal state. His always gargantuan appetites remain, but since he has and never had intrinsic conscience, in the final stages all the pretense of finer feelings, never more than superficial affectations designed to lull the laity at best, have disappeared. What is revealed about his private life in these lawsuits is what he IS. And what he said and says to persuade victims to comply with his sexual proclivities is what he TRULY thinks.
There is some good that comes out of this mess, which is that his followers can no longer pretend to be puzzled by Burton’s callousness and sadism.
The thing is, it has always been that way, from the moment he gaslighted Bonita Guido into thinking that he was some kind of superior being, over five decades ago.
That was a fork in the road, IMHO.
The other path would have been if he had suggested forming a study group, where he and she (and later others) could discuss and experiment and learn, as equals, exploring and discovering new things together. Burton’s massive ego, however, could never conceive such a choice; his personal narrative has always been that he is something special, exceptional, and this basic illusion has been fed without conditions or limits for the majority of his adult life.
Robert/Bonita: They were (maybe) on drugs and she was a stripper…
Talking about sweet little kisses in the mouth…
Yes, that is quite something uh? = PTSD
The hidden art collection… key point.
Problem now is: will there be a next, an Earl?
42. Ames Gilbert – January 22, 2024
A+ for astute analysis regarding how Robert Earl Burton most likely instigated one of the most enduring and personally lucrative financial con / sexual abusive “spiritual” leaderships of all time.
Well, thanks, Golden Veil! I don’t consider that to be any kind of serious analysis—don’t you have to have a PhD in some social ‘science’ from Harvard or Yale to be able to do those?
Rather, I think of my efforts as more like drive–by shootings. I don’t have a specific target in mind, I just aim at the general neighborhood and hope the !crack! disturbs someone’s slumber.
Martha Stout, author of “The Sociopath Next Door”, outlines what is in her opinion one key differences between a genuine sociopath (sometimes called psychopath/anti-social personality disorder) and someone with narcissistic personality disorder. There is overlap, of course, since every sociopath is a narcissist, but not every narcissist is a sociopath.
She draws attention to one critical aspect of the sociopathic behavior that is distinguished from pure narcissistic behavior, and that is what she calls “the pity play”.
The pity play is basically a pattern of behavior in which a sociopath, especially when he or she is caught, tries to get the pity of their audience with performances devoid of genuine emotion. And it is often very effective, even with very intelligent people.
You can bet that Burton is doing this right now, as those awful life people and ungrateful former students (they forget how much I did for them…) scheme and conspire to bring him untold grief—him, the brightest light in 2,000 years! I remember reading in an issue of the “Via Del Sol” publication (early 1970s), Burton proclaiming that his cruel destiny was to be “crucified”. And ever since, his almost daily wailing about his decades ongoing “tennis injury”, not to mention his immense psychological suffering on behalf of his ‘students’, his superhuman efforts to drag them towards ‘consciousness’, the necessity for his ‘tough love’ and how all those decisions every day on their behalf so drained him. Even his record of 100% failure of prophecies he blames on the angels ‘wanting to humiliate him’. Fat chance! He has never felt humiliated in the slightest, because he has no conscience, therefore no possibility of shame; he doesn’t even have enough self awareness to be cognizant of actual humiliation when he is openly exposed as a con artist, a charlatan, and a fraud.
BTW, I think Dr. Stout’s book is essential reading if one wants to get a good basic introduction to sociopathy. My paperback edition is 218 easily readable pages, and the part on the “pity play” starts on p. 106.
Burton’s legacy if and when the truth is finally and fully brought into the light of day will be to go down in history as the most prolific and enduring sex abuser in the history of the United States. 54 years of daily abuse lies and manipulation. No hyperbole here and no exaggeration and he’s still going strong while enablers figure out how to protect him, hide his addiction and feed him fresh meat.
Burton is a virus. He infects others and gives them permission to mimic and imitate him
Robert Burton is a consummate narcissist who constantly engages in reckless conduct that puts his followers at risk. He will always put his own interests and gratifying his own obsessive compulsive desires ahead of everything else including the interests of the fellowship and the students who enable him. He is like a nine year old kid always pushing the glass towards the edge of the table , defying his parents to stop him from doing it. It’s a means of self- assertion and Dominance over other people. He’s a very petty individual, addicted to predation, who will always put his interests and personal gratification ahead of the well being and welfare of others.
Linda Kaplan’s 600 page tome, The Seeds of the Divine Beginning, though 597 pages overlong, covers only the first two years of her membership in the Fellowship of Friends! She has been a devoted follower of Robert Earl Burton for over five decades, so at that rate, if her opportunistic admirers and oleaginous sycophants (not to mention her own considerable vanity) continue to press her for the rest of her recollections, we can expect, in due course, another twenty–four or so doorstops similar to the first.
I expect that she will wish to devote a whole volume to celebrate Burton’s absolute and unequivocal rejection of conscience. Think of the weight that must have been lifted from Linda’s mind when that became known! Being one of the major centers of the Fellowship informal information network (a.k.a., intentional gossip) from the very beginning, and moreover appointing herself as policewoman and oft times enforcer, desperately attempting to ingratiate herself with the prison warden, Robert Earl Burton, might have been a heavy load at times.
Be that as it may, the far reaching strands of her web would have kept her abreast of every juicy tidbit, the more scurrilous the better, for over fifty years.
In short, she knew exactly how and when and who and in what quantity Burton preyed upon vulnerable men, and she knew it well before the majority of the laity (those not directly involved) knew it.
Knowing this and not acting on that knowledge might have caused some initial discomfort, but to be told by Burton that her latent conscience was “just a collection of I’s”, and that she should disregard such, must have have come as very welcome news. Folks who didn’t know better trusted her, sought her counsel and guidance. They asked questions, and she belittled them and their concerns, all the time knowing that reasons for concern were real and legitimate. Yup, the how and why she wholeheartedly adopted Burton’s entire outlook and philosophy to replace her own surely merits an entire volume, maybe two, of explanations and justifications.
https://www.livingpresencenorthamerica.com/ – new website with content from the private Facebook page, A Fourth Way School.
#51 ck This is a link to, The Church of Bob aka The Fellowship of Friends a California doomsday cult which is not nor ever was a Fourth Way School
“Victimhood comes from the inside.
No one can make you a victim but you.
We become victims not because of what happens to us
but when we choose to hold on to our victimization.
We develop a victim’s mind –
a way of thinking and being
that is rigid, blaming, pessimistic,
stuck in the past, unforgiving, punitive,
and without healthy limits or boundaries.
We become our own jailors when we choose
the confines of the victim’s mind.”
“Our painful experiences
may leave us feeling like victims of fate.
However, they are actually a gift.
Painful experiences give us the opportunity
to learn, grow and develop resilience.
Learning to cope with difficult circumstances
and challenging situations
can make us wiser, stronger and more compassionate.
We can use our experiences to inform our decisions,
build a better future and even inspire others.
Our painful experiences don’t have to define us,
but can empower us to lead more meaningful
and satisfying lives.”
“Suffering is universal.
But victimhood is optional.”
Dr. Edith Eva Eger, Hungarian Psychologist
Auschwitz Holocaust survivor
Born: September 29, 1927
LAWN SCULPTURES FOR SALE
Pozer House, CA~Now you can be the envy of all your neighbors by owning a somewhat diminutive marble copy of Michelangelo’s statue of David, complete with furrowed brow, ripply muscles, exposed genitalia, AND contribute to the legal defense fund for the rape factory of an aging sexual predator!
“The optics of a courageous boy armed with the naked truth challenging a large foe with an inflated ego no longer works for us,” claims Cult President Greg Hooklineandsinker. “Stones symbolize laws, like for Moses, and we don’t think the law applies to us.”
Also for sale is a seemingly irrelevant bronze statue of Poseidon, depicted spearfishing small fry with his trident in order to feed his voracious appetite, slated to be removed since the cataclysmic earthquake that was predicted to make their Northern California compound beachfront property never happened.
AP’s recent post reminds me of the Netflix series ‘Beef’. Alota good stuff in that show! Like where unforgiving and punitive get ya.
Asaf Braverman, leader of the ‘BePeriod©’ endeavor, has just published his latest advert for his organization, titled “The Staircase and the Way”™.
He and his followers apparently traveled to Cambodia, and using the abandoned city of Angkor Wat and the magnificent temple there as a background, Braverman spoke of the open fields, then the stairs leading to the temple, and the first platform, as analogous to seeking, then finding a path, then leading to the Way. No doubt a compelling peroration. This is pretty much the same scenario as Burton and various luminaries in the Fellowship of Friends, including Braverman himself for many years, used when traveling to various ‘wonders of the world’, such as the Pyramids in Egypt. Cheap parlor tricks.
Readers of this blog will already know of Asaf Braverman, his two decades learning the ropes of how to run a spiritual scam from his master, Robert Earl Burton, and how he founded his own spin–off, BePeriod™.
What may be new, is not his quite open claim that he has founded a School™, but the implications, that he is a worthy guide to aspirants who follow him, that is, he is “conscious™”. He has been very coy about using this actual word, but there is no doubt that his followers have caught on. They are led to presume he is at least a Man Number Five™.
The central focus of BePeriod™ is another bastardized version of the Fourth Way™, after all.
Braverman has applied some trappings, such as his ‘Discovery©’, after years of searching, of the “Calendrical System™©”, which he uses extensively. Shades of “The Sequence™” and other guff he and Burton cobbled together as New, Improved, Fresh, Discoveries©, when Braverman was Burton’s right–hand man and anointed successor for many years.
I have recommended for nigh on thirty years:
DON’T WALK, RUN from the Fellowship of Friends and the great fraud, Robert Earl Burton!
And the same applies to the organization Beperiod and the whole Ark in Time network, run by Asaf Braverman.
Maybe Braverman missed using the Fourth Way terminology, maybe he got hooked on the information in the ‘Work Books’, just like I and countless thousands of others, and wants to return to those roots—or maybe he thinks it is the most efficient lure to bring in new followers, it really doesn’t matter. He was and is hopelessly compromised. Why? Because:
EVERYTHING HE KNOWS, HE LEARNED FROM BURTON
And further note that Burton abandoned even the superficial study of the Fourth Way, for over a dozen years, until the diminishing numbers of people attracted to the pure worship of Burton necessitated a change in marketing. Back came the lure, the claim to represent a new form of the Fourth Way, with Burton depicted as being in direct lineage from Gurdjieff.
What philosophical underpinning filled that gap of twelve years? Burton and Asaf worked together to fabricate a whole new system and cosmology, invented out of whole cloth. For example, fairy tales about cavemen from 150 centuries ago leaving message for Burton and Braverman to interpret. The infamous numerology, such as the interpretation of the number of prehistoric rhino poops drawn by artists in the caves of Lascaux, on and on. They invented ’The Sequence’, the ‘Thirty Work I’s’ and much more.
Every ounce of authority Asaf Braverman projects is based on Burton lending him that authority within the Fellowship of Friends, and on him believing the delusion that somehow he earned that authority through his own efforts and verifications. And now he’s ‘conscious’, whatever that means. It’s a total mind fuck, but it does work, and earns him a very lucrative income.
If you are a ‘seeker’ doing due diligence on Asaf Braverman, heed this warning: his presentation is just a veneer. He has learned from a master how to run a group of sheep. His methods may vary, the outward delivery may be different, but the impulse, the bed–rock NEED or, more accurately, COMPULSION to collect followers is exactly the same. How could it be different? He cannot just suddenly turn round after twenty (!) years, and somehow shrug off the corrupting influences he was immersed in for so long, and which he supported wholeheartedly, and which he used to his immense personal advantage the entire time. Anyone who looks at just the slick pitch on the BePeriod website will have no clue to this history, it has been almost totally excised from his biography. One can hardly blame him, but this is just another lie by omission. But a very convenient lie!
Remember, he was not just some average follower who came to his senses, he was the most important leader for years, he was seduced and groomed and anointed and used by the corrupt charlatan Burton for two decades, and he in turn used others. And he didn’t ‘come to his senses’ and leave, he was ejected as part of a power play by rivals in the Fellowship of ‘Friends’. He only separated from the Fellowship a few years ago. And note well, he did not go into retreat to digest his experiences or change in any way. I’m not saying that there wasn’t turmoil, but the fact that the ‘online school’ he founded seven or eight years ago, with the knowledge and support of those in power, whilst still within the Fellowship of Friends, and the fact that he did not miss a beat after he left, has not changed one iota in the meantime, and has continued without pause, speaks volumes, IMHO.
So, same advice:
DON’T WALK, RUN from Beperiod.com and Asaf Braverman!
#56 Braverman was always a jumped up little prick. I wonder whether he’s read the user manual for his giant bow tie, and figured out how to make it light up and spin? Pretentious, arrogant little clown
Asaf Braverman is often described as a “right hand man” of Robert Burton, a position now prominently filled by Dorian Matei, who apparently is also a skilled baker at his Artisan Lavinia bakery. But wasn’t Braverman’s Fellowship of Friends role (apart from being close at hand to Burton in meetings, etc.) also as a content provider or technical web master for the many websites created to draw in new members to the Fellowship of Friends? Wasn’t he asked to remove his BePeriod© website – or leave the Fellowship?
It appears that Braverman has an extensive support staff at his current Fourth Way school, BePeriod, as evidenced by his five-part documentary on Gurdjieff, Seeker of Truth (2022) which may be seen at his domain ggurdjieff.com. Under the ggurdjieff.com website About tab, below “The School Behind this Website”, numerous personnel are listed as assisting him to create the documentary, for which Braverman is listed as the sole screenwriter.
https://ggurdjieff.com/about/
Braverman’s aims and teaching philosophy is spelled out in detail on the same website under the tab Gurdjieff, under Groups, in the section titled “Group Work in BePeriod” in which he describes his desire to invigorate Gurdjieff’s teaching and depart from the “conservatism” of most Gurdjieff groups, which often focus on the Gurdjieff literature and teaching the movements. This is where his Fellowship of Friends roots with Robert Earl Burton are most evident, in the section “Second Line of Work in Gurdjieff Groups, The Benefit of Collective Experience.”
https://ggurdjieff.com/group/
By virtue of the plethora of online revealings of his role at the cult, Braverman is more transparent than ever on the BePeriod website under the About tab where he describes his participation as a member of the inner circle of the Fellowship of Friends and Robert Earl Burton, saying that he “gradually became his [REB’s] right hand man, handling issues that ranged from teaching to human relations and from logistics to finances.” and that eventually, he was charged with giving “content and structure” to Burton’s “teaching events.”
https://beperiod.com/en/asaf-braverman/
It is only natural that given his extensive experience with the Fellowship of Friends, Braverman would start his own school. But did his tenure as Burton’s right hand man end in 2007 when he had to leave the US for immigration reasons (or was it actually another reason?), or did he return and take up his right hand man role again and leave only later, as directed by Robert Earl Burton, when he wouldn’t take down his BePeriod website?
Golden Veil, thank you for your comment. I can see that I jumped to some unwarranted conclusions, which were based on the last time I visited Asaf Braverman’s website, six or more months ago. There have been very many changes since then, and thank you for pointing some of them out. Braverman has also added another two episodes to his documentary since I last looked. The documentary being a ‘task for the school’, thus legitimizing (in a circular way) his claim that his group is a genuine Fourth Way school—whatever that is.
I can also see that I’m being a bit too judgmental, as well. Obviously I’m not privy to any of the details of his organization, but from what I can see, he is not doing any grievous harm, and he is certainly as entitled as anyone to introduce what is known of the Fourth Way to those interested.
I have previously posited that joining the Fellowship of Friends for a couple of years would probably not do any harm—provided, and this is a big proviso—that that person thoroughly prepared him or her self, and did not have ANY contact whatsoever with Burton or those of his “inner circle”. I don’t think a student would learn very much deep about the Fourth Way, but he or she would learn the vocabulary and some basics, like the idea of self–remembering, that could prove useful. Such a person would have to be aware of the pressures of ‘group think’, though, and that would prove to be rather difficult, I would imagine. I certainly wouldn’t have been able to avoid such, in fact I know I would have drunk deeply and welcomed being part of an interesting group of people, because I did. So I would suggest that an explorer leave after two years, and spend at least a year outside, re–evaluating and digesting the experience.
There lies the danger, IMHO. Braverman pays a lot of attention to the work that a group can do together, and I certainly understand the appeal and the theory behind it. BUT, I don’t know how he is qualified to help prevent groupthink, and I don’t know how he is qualified to divert either infatuation or fear. After all, that is the main glue that binds the laity in the Fellowship together, and he is actively encouraging the formation of the communal spirit, separate from the individual spirits. Have you heard of anyone or any technique able to successfully to deal with those problems? It all went bad in the Fellowship, because Burton was and is corrupt. And he became corrupt because he is inherently corruptible. And the longer he has been in the game, the more corrupt he has become. What, exactly, stops Braverman following the same path? He already has people looking up to him, that is inherent in such a teacher–student relationship. A decent and experienced and aware person would be already and continuously be trying to point out the dangers to the group. So the question is, is Asaf Braverman aware and able to point out the dangers to himself and his followers?
I’m pretty cynical, and inclined to answer, “no”. I just can’t see how Braverman can throw off his twenty years of experience as a major power in the Fellowship of Friends and start anew. As I said in my post, he wasn’t on the periphery, he was CENTRAL to the scam for a very long time. I don’t know if you’ve seen him in any of those videos that were commonly distributed at the time, but in the ones I’ve seen, there is no sign of any discomfort, there is no sign of objections to the scheme, there is no sign of any gap whatsoever between him and Burton. On the contrary, it is evident he is thoroughly enjoying himself and his position and his closeness and intimate relationship to Burton.
All of which is not to preclude that he might have changed. Again, from my extremely limited viewpoint and only through second–hand knowledge, there is no evidence that he ever had an “on the road to Damascus” moment, but I am open to the possibility.
Thanks again for (very kindly) helping me look deeper!
I’ve never met this guy Asaf but from just a few seconds of watching and listening to his schtick, ‘pretentious, arrogant little clown” seems spot on.
As you correctly noted, Ames, it is parlor tricks all…’Calendrical whuddeva’, ‘Bodytypes’ CoG,.and on and on. There is some truth in anything posited. How you choose to slice and dice it and distribute the weight is up for grabs.
I’m sure many reading this will disagree but it makes no difference if you hook up with this smurfs group, the fof, scientology, the mormons, the catholic church, buddhists, whatever. They are all worse than useless. It is IMPOSSIBLE to stay out of ‘group think’. If you think you can you are still in it.
There is no revealed knowledge. No secret ‘spiritual’ technology. You have to figure this stuff out on your own…there is no other way!
Think for yourself…ask me how.
I wholeheartedly agree with the last paragraph of Yesri’s post #60. “No secret ‘spiritual’ technology”. This cuts to the essence of the problem that cults and religions have brought to the project of knowing about this stupendous world we find ourselves in.
Asaf = Ass of Burton
I distinctly remember attending a smallish size formal dinner with Roert Earl Burton (REB) where Asaf sat next to him on his left and I was across the table from them.
I was less than six feet away. This was 20 plus years ago.
Every time REBs left hand disappeaed below the table and moved to his left, Asaf had an uncomfortable look on his face as REB was fondling his crotch.
This was likely going on for years. When REBs left hand was not holding the fork, he was forking with Asaf. This is what could be called the Fellowship of Friends (FoF) version of the Fork Way (Fourth Way).
To compensate for the alienation I felt growing up in the 1970’s with an alcoholic father and parents who divorced, I paid a heavy price attempting to fulfill my need to belong by joining a fourth way cult, burning my bridges, and subjecting myself to a sexual predator and his enablers.
When I left, I was right back where I started, alienated from my family and friends, and now shunned by the cult.
I was presented with the option to join MB’s new group, but I declined, believing, like burton, it was the role in life I assigned myself that would contribute to my “awakening”.
40 years later, after truly “abandoning the system”, the one factor that helped me reintegrate into society in a productive manner unlike burton was to assign myself a role that placed myself as an equal to others instead of “above” anyone, no matter what that other person’s mental status or life circumstance happened to be.
Jeez, WonderingWhosWatching, isn’t it amazing that such behavior became normalized? BTW, you have the advantage (!?) of me and Yesri and John in that you actually knew Asaf Braverman in the FoF, so you can provide extra context and keep me honest.
On one one of the videos I mentioned, all about Burton and a group on a visit to Egypt, (I think it was taken on an intra–Egypt flight), the cameraman turns back to record the three people in the row behind him. So there was Burton by the window, some poor schmuck in the middle, and Asaf Braverman on the other side, towards the aisle. During the entire time (about 15 minutes of video, IIRC), Burton is openly caressing the thigh of the pale, blond haired victim in the middle, very near his crotch, while Asaf, totally composed and unconcerned, refers to a computer printout of various sayings that include numbers. Asaf reads out one at a time, then pauses so Burton can interpret. This is back in the day when “The Sequence” and pervasive numerology were the fashion, so all the interpretation is along the lines of the ‘four wordless breaths’, or ‘six, twice three, signifying my gratitude to the angels for this gift beside me’, or whatever random association came to his diseased mind. The camera pans around from time to time, and we can see that every space in the aisle and nearby seats is packed with followers, all of whom are hanging onto every word. No shock, not even a raised eyebrow, amongst the lot of them. Meaning, this is all normalized.
From time to time over the last decades, I pruned stuff from my FoF days. First, I threw away my notes from those times as I referred to and used them in this blog, followed by journals and photos and such. I finally ditched whatever was left, including those videos, in a last box of miscellaneous stuff, which I sent to Jennings. So this is just from memory. But it was very apparent from those videos that Burton and Braverman were twin souls, entranced with each other, and that sex with Burton was normalized within the laity. And it seems to me very likely that Burton and Braverman were also sexually involved with each other, maybe for years. And also, when one considers that Braverman went along with not one, but two marriages arranged by Burton, the first solely to get Braverman his Green Card (as mentioned in the David Springfield letter to the Board, above), and the second (bigamous) marriage to Ainsley P., after being instructed by Burton to start courting her—at the age of 13—one gets a good idea of just how infatuated and obedient and entwined Braverman was with Burton for so many years.
Straight out of the tyrants handbook, and true Trumpian tricks, as soon as you stop kissing the ring and sucking the dick you find yourself at the cosmic ‘back of the line’ under the bus.
Me too, Whalerider (for the most part).
Still there is something inherently solitary about the whole program and as you start to ‘get’ the ‘big picture’ you begin to understand why.
There’s an old poker saying:
”If you can’t identify the sucker at the poker table, then the sucker might be you.”
Another words, if fourth way cult followers believe “the lower cannot see the higher”, (a rule in the sociopath’s playbook that apparently Linda K somehow skirted as she claims in her book), then followers are therefore tacitly being indoctrinated to inoculate self-proclaimed cult leaders from scrutiny through ‘verifabrication” and only be on the lookout for others “below” themselves in the hierarchy of their delusional system, thereby enhancing the ego with an “us and them” thought pattern, reinforcing and cementing the unconscious need to shield the ego by projecting one’s weaknesses onto others (often through stereotypes and name-calling)…simply put: humans more readily “see” or recognize their own weaknesses in others rather than in themselves.
So if an individual refuses or is unwilling to accept their weaknesses, that their ego is just as vulnerable to being duped as the other persons they believe are “not me”, then then that individual is in for a “rude awakening” when the cards are finally laid out on the table and the truth is revealed by the player who is holding all the cards.
That’s what was revealed to me in burton’s bedroom.
The news of a fatal incident in Egypt had just came in inundating the room, at Apollo D’Oro one morning.
There were back and forth and Robert asked Linda
“Dear, shall we cancel the event?” (big event, in Egypt)
Silence in the room,
then Linda announced:
beloved teacher, the show must go on…
Asaf the “Intellectual”
who came to give a hand to his teacher
right when the teacher had started to decline…
His savior, (from Israel) who arrived when the time of wine and roses, of palms trees and of great expectations and revelations, and of sex energy waves non stop. Everybody seemed to love it!
Yup, Yesri and John (60 and 61).
My view is that, at some point, there has to be an end to exploring for its own sake, and ‘searching for the miraculous’. Then it is time to actually put all that one has accumulated to use. And that is an individual decision, and individual work from then on. Which means, living life as it is. No more imagination, no looking for some thing or some one to save one from reality. Accepting the givens (fate, genetics, upbringing). Accepting the consequences of one’s previous actions and every action from now on. Not shrinking from action. Accepting risks. No end to the learning, no end to the digesting, no end to the insights, no end to making connections, no end to friendships old and new. Just acceptance of what is, and always being grateful for the amazing gift of this life.
Found on the Wayback Machine
“Cult Survivor” wrote on the Fellowship of Friends Discussion blog,
November 12, 2018:
GEMS OF FOF HISTORY
“Here [referring to video above which now has a broken link] are the first 4 minutes of a meeting led by Robert on October 30th, 2016, 9 days after the expulsion of Asaf from the Fellowship of Friends. Robert mentions that Asaf is “going from bad to worse”, that “he is controlled by the lower self” and that “he is going to the end of the Ray of Creation”. Robert also comments on a picture he received of a tombstone with the name “Pierce”, which is the last name of Asaf’s wife indicating that it is a “sign from C Influence”, implying that her departure from the FoF with Asaf is a sinister fact (he also stated a few months later that the death from cancer of Denise, the wife of a person in Italy named Fabrizio that left the FoF to join “Asaf’s school”, occurred because “she was involved in a nasty play” and sent her a personal message inviting her to rejoin the FoF “in order to be saved”). At the end of the video Robert notes the coincidence that the angel that was supposed to wake Asaf up was Abraham Lincoln, the same “secret messenger” that was supposed to wake Miles (Barth) up, and ends saying that “when you talk about as many things as I do you don’t even have thoughts about getting them all right”.
NOTE: Asaf was very close to Robert during the 18 years he was in the Fellowship of Friends — he was part of the “triumvirate” with Dorian and Alexandr (Sasha) and was the dean of the Fellowship of Friends until June 2016, 4 months before his expulsion”
and if you suggest to someone in the FOF that they are a member of a cult, their eyes glaze over and they give a smug condescending look communicating both pity and superiority implying that you not they are one of the lost souls at the back of the line of creation
https://archive.org/details/TheEsotericHistoryArchive_
781/page/n1/mode/2up
Report of Site Visit to Fellowship of Friends Compound by Citizenship and Immigration Services Fraud Officers, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, United States Department of Homeland Security, on April 13, 2007
From the synopsis
“It was alleged that the FOF was bringing aliens to the United States on religious (R-1) visas for sexual exploitation. Investigation to date has revealed that the aliens who have been petitioned for by the FOF to enter on R1 visas have been employed by the FOF in menial non-religious jobs for extremely low wages”
Diego in #69 you mentioned the video of the meeting after Asaf left, has a broken link. By chance I copied a bit of that video, so this bit at least can still be “enjoyed”
DRSTL
Thanx for re-posting that
BTW…LUV your name…it makes me chuckle every time i see it. So sad i missed out on that phase of fof ‘evolution’🤣😂🤣😂🤣
If FOF cult followers can be compared to dogs, then it’s only fair that the FOF cult leader be compared to a dog, given the fact that cult leaders need their followers more than their followers need them.
Now my Chihuahua-Dachshund mix named “Chicklet” is for the most part, a very sweet little dog. She is very affectionate toward me, will readily jump into my lap for petting only when invited, sleeps on the bed each night (and sometimes even under the covers, which I have to confess, is quite nice on cold nights) and spins in circles of joy when I come home after a day of errands.
Of course, I also take care of her basics needs of food, medicine, and safe shelter at my own expense, just like a faithful cult follower does for their great leader, and in return she provides me with constant companionship.
But my dog also has one characteristic that requires my constant vigilance on our daily walks.
When she encounters other dogs, especially dogs that bark at her, friendly or not, she completely loses control of herself and flies into a psychotic rage.
I have to literally haul her up into my arms and hold her in order to prevent her from snapping at her perceived competitor, to the great relief of other dog owners.
She is a rescue dog of uncertain past, so it’s unclear if she was traumatized early on or if she is just acting out as a result of her breed, or both. I have helped her cope by rewarding her for not overreacting when in my arms and she stays relatively calm, but if left to her own devices, she cannot control herself.
So as I was putting on her harness this morning, the thought occurred to me…some dogs, due to an uncontrollable aspect of their nature, just need to be restrained by responsible caretakers no matter what…to prevent them from harming other dogs.
The same can be said of burton.
Most of the little I know about Asaf Braverman’s career in the Fellowship of Friend is courtesy of Joe Average, who in July, 2008, gave us more details about Asaf and his rise to prominence in this post:
http://tinyurl.com/8eyfboc
(page 41, comment 173 of this blog)
IMHO, essential reading for anyone doing due diligence on Asaf Braverman. And there is yet more information about Asaf on the same page, and if you are really curious, look through the many other pages of this blog…
From what I can see, his trajectory has been:
Born into wealth, military conscript in Israel’s IDF, immediately joined FoF, various talents (like superb memory) recognized, put on salary, became, in his own words, “Burton’s right–hand man”, Burton arranged fraudulent marriage to get Green Card, invented “The Sequence”, “Thirty Work I’s”, supported and expanded on Burton’, at some point anointed “future conscious being” and Burton’s successor, second marriage while still married to the first wife, refused re–entry to U.S. after second honeymoon in Israel because bigamy, fooled around for several years—all expenses paid by the Fellowship of Friends, finally allowed back in to U.S. after big legal efforts by FoF and rich family, resumed top position in local FoF hierarchy, started BePeriod website in 2012, with approval of FoF authorities, attracted too many followers and made Burton jealous, given ultimatum, and after twenty years in FoF, decided to go start his own venture, taking some of Burton’s followers with him, further hysterical denunciations (a ‘Play of Crime’) by Burton and Dorian Mattei, moved back to Israel, lives in family ‘compound’ in Tel Aviv with wife and two kids.
If that is correct, then he has never had a real job, he has had others support him his whole life, and now he is living off his present followers. He simply does not know how else to make a living, he learned from one of the best spiritual scam artists of the age, so it’s all working out very well for him. In other words, he’s a professional GRIFTER, just like Burton, Dorian Mattei, and the main long–term FoF honchos.
Crossroads, you quote Linda Kaplan/Tussolo as saying, “The show must go on”.
Indeed it must! Separate from the individual followers, the organization has a life and purpose of it’s own. It has its own body in time. It wants to survive. Followers like Linda Kaplan and Greg Holman and Ethan Harris act like antibodies to protect the system (and themselves, as cells in the body).
Edit: in the post above, “and expanded on Burton’ “ should be, “expanded on Burton’s obsessions with numerology, signs and omens“.
Also, WordPress rejected my first attempt at posting that comment (too many links?), so it may re–appear later as a duplicate. Sorry about that.
________________________________
If there are still folks doing due diligence and wanting to know more about Asaf Braverman, or really, any ‘seekers’ still looking for answers outside themselves, I posted a list of questions I thought worth asking of any prospective teacher or guru, at:
http://tinyurl.com/mjuskna3
(page 156, comment 196 of this blog)
The first two questions are very germane to the posts above:
Some questions to ask before making a commitment to a ‘spiritual teacher’ or ‘teaching’—
QUESTIONS TO THE TEACHER
Mechanics and set–up of group/school:
• When and what was your last paying job?
Do you rely completely or partially on the contributions of your students to pay your personal expenses?
The rest of the questions are at the link above.
First of all, maybe some of us have met, I have never posted on this blog or any other blog connected with FOF before, although I had registered some time ago. I was part of the cult for about twelve years, and I got the notice to be part of the lawsuit. Since then I have been reading the last few posts, and seeing all the damages that hundreds of people have suffered over time, I include myself among the hundreds, and I take responsibility for it.
I lived in that place we call Apollo, and Artemis, Renasainse and blah.
I worked in harvest, orchard palms, apollodoro gallery, outside in and had lots of experiences of all kinds with students, from center director, traveling teacher, translator, center founder.
It was precisely in Apollodoro where I met ASAF, just recently arrived, he and I, same age, same body types, but different paths and searches.
he was already inside RB’s circle, always in his winescellard, and teaching diners.
Robert was about to start his teaching meetings, it was hard to see him without having to pay lots of money, or pay lots of time to attend his events.
With Asaf we had a good relationship, he did Pizza as a form of work some nights to justify his stipend, and I did 5 jobs to pay my living.
As time went by, Robert began to call me to his circle of young Enlightened ones (that’s how he saw it at that time), who were more awake than the others and that’s why he called us all for dinners and trips in search of palm trees and signs of 44s in anything he came across.
I could see and experience first hand what was happening, without knowing it at the beginning, that THE TEACHER did not want my evolved consciousness, only my sexual energy.
Rupertone
I joined in 1976 and moved to ‘the farm’ within months and lived and worked building the vineyard for almost 4 yrs.The exact same dynamic was in place then. It is mind boggling and one of the most jaw dropping things i’ve ever learned about human nature.
How is it possible to work toe to toe, shoulder to shoulder, day after day after day struggling with all your might to be present and expand your knowledge and awareness and be blind to what is actually going on with the people around you?
Around 2 yrs. in I was being considered to move into what was then called the ‘Blake Cottage’ and was pleased as punch to have ‘remembered myself’ enough to deserve the merit of promotion. I mentioned it to a friend who lived there and he said “be careful it’s not what you think”. I probably figured i’d have to make many more efforts to accomplish my unattainable aim. That was as close to anyone telling me what was going on. The move to hotel sucknfuck never happened so i’ve stayed a sleeping machine ever since.
I was subsquently groomed by an ‘older student’ who backed off when i rebuked him. He was a pretty nice guy…gay and probably lonely…not a piece of shit sociopath…uh…i mean the ‘Teacher’
They say hindsight is 20/20. I don’t know about that but to watch through the long years and read and hear of the same crap happening over and over again…the ever changing soon to be #5 right hand man, entrance into ‘the inner circle’ (jerk), the divining of the divine through glimpses of random numbers and on and on, over and over…
It’s just laughable.
Certainly not any indication of higher learning. Maybe it’s a cult.
196/74. Ames Gilbert:
“Linda Kaplan/Tussolo”
For the record, you are referring to:
Linda Lee Kaplan
(prior last names: Rockwood, Tulisso)
I have not read
The Seeds of the Divine Beginning
by Linda L. Kaplan
but can say that she was in the first 20
members of Fellowship of Friends,
joined around age 22 and is now around 75;
50+ years is a loooong time.
See Harold Wirk drawing c. 1979:
…..also…
“…that THE TEACHER didn’t care about my evolved consciousness, but only wanted my sexual energy.”…could be re-worded to — ‘it turned him on to dominate me sexually, he didn’t give a rat’s ass about how it might affect me’
A re-frame that might more accurately reflect the reality of the situation.
I know…splittin hairs…tomato tomatoe…
so after being at events, dinners, winecelard, a few trips looking for palm tree coconuts to create the new I don’t know what oasis or desert or ark or something, going to shopings watching the Guru buying pillows and sheets, suits, and other expensive useless junk, at night, when we returned to the hotel rooms, I knew that a roommate was requested to go do something.
Meanwhile, and against the rules, with another travel companion we went out for a drink in a bar in San Francisco with a rebellious companion, a situation for which we were reprimanded for the will of the master, the lower centers, sexual energy and other stupidities.
we only had 20.
Then, one night after a dinner of a select group of “young and important young people” the master called me to his TV room to talk personally with me. Finally he understood that I was not an ordinary young man, but a higher being.
How stupid!! the many selves, the false personality, the centers of gravity, the body types, it was all garbage.
First we talked and I told him that he reminded me of my grandfather ….. hahaha, he got angry, and started talking to me about the lower centers and that I had to let the will of the master “influence C” prevail, and he kissed me on the mouth …… tremendous shock, then he told me not to worry, that he was only with young eterosexuals.
not to let my lower centers come between our higher centers.
As I disagreed and was completely displeased, I left despite his displeasure.
There began my life as an outcast, no more dinners or anything else, outside the inner circle of my friends and co-workers.
#76 and #80 Rupertone and #77 and 79 Yesri
Thank you both. Same schtick for decades. Lies. manipulation, the power imbalance. Bob the knob polisher, the nymphogay predator, cruising for another shag.
From Ames a while back:
“No more imagination, no looking for some thing or some one to save you from reality……”
Tho i agree with what you wrote…but what!?! No more imagination!!!
Dude, what have you been smokin and can i buy some from ya?
Awww, forget it. I’m already having a hard time getting off the couch and taking action.
Sorry, that has been rattling around in my ‘imagination’ for a few days.
From the wayback machine where one can still access the Robert Earl Burton Blogspot. You’ll need a link to a blogspot page on the Wayback machine, once there, scroll down and there is a comprehensive category or heading list in the left hand margin using bthe headings you may access most of the surviving content. This comes from the heading conscience.
https://web.archive.org/web/20230319015233/https://
robertearlburton.blogspot.com/search/label/conscience
Here we have a succulent example of Malignant Narcisism and how it functions in the FOF as a psychotic contagion. Burton’s psychosis is mimic’ed or imitated by the inner circle of the FOF. It is absorbed by those who are themselves same spectrum narcisists to varying degrees.
They gleefully operate in a predatory and sadistic way towards “lower” students if they choose to or are directed to, in this way they display or prove their higher understanding and being to one another and the degree to which they have inculcated his madness is displayed to the arch-parasite Burton. The abject lack of empathy or compassion which Burton has taught and expects from them is an indication within the bubble of the Fellowship of higher being and proof of freedom from the limitations of conscience and is worn like a badge of honor.
In this episode, Asaf Braverman and Linda Kaplan show their true colors.
Burton wanted Steven Miltons property, it was close to the Fellowship compound. Steven’s crime was to close his eyes while Burton was speaking and thus fail to maintain left eye contact! Not that Burton himself noticed. But the Gestapo did and they informed on him a crime for which he was expelled from the fellowship after 30 faithful years and later forced to sell his property to the FOF. Steven is legally blind
“For instance ~………………….
Asaf and Robert Burton were leading an afternoon outdoor tea/meeting at Steven D.’s residence, in Oregon House. As Fellowship of Friends members know, having left-eye eye contact with Robert Burton during these events is important; so wearing sunglasses on a bright sunny summer afternoon is not really an option – even for a person who is legally blind with an eye disease. After this meeting, S. Milton was called by Linda T., the then president of Fellowship of Friends, who related this: After the meeting Asaf told Robert that S. Milton was ‘closing his eyes too much during the meeting.’ [And, thereby, disrespecting Robert.] Robert replied, ‘Have Linda T. call S. Milton for a two month leave-of-absence.’
Linda T. called S. Milton to convey the above and that: S. Milton ‘was serving the wrong master.’ That is, not serving Robert as Robert saw fit. S. Milton was given a leave-of-absence, told to leave Oregon House in 48 hours, and made homeless. S. Milton was instructed that they were to have no contact with any Fellowship of Friends members, except for Linda T., for two months. S. Milton was legally blind, could not drive, had no transportation available and lived in a very rural located home that had only Fellowship of Friends members living there – and these facts were things they all were aware of.
S. Milton was a member of Fellowship of Friends for 30 years and served the Fellowship of Friends, and Robert Burton, above and beyond the call of duty.
Later, after the leave-of-absence, S. Milton was compelled to sell property they owned in Oregon House, if they wanted to continue being a Fellowship of Friends member, and, to basically, effectively, spend the proceeds on going to meetings with Robert Burton.
This was not the first example of abusing the blind (or crippled) in Fellowship of Friends. About 10 years earlier, similar, as to the above, happened to G. A. So, it is a pattern that probably continues.”
If you are physically challenged or disabled as a member of the FOF you are regarded as a “Bad impression” something which spoils the aesthetic harmony of the ghastly kitsch antiques that Burton has obsessively purchased and hoarded and which fill his nouveau riche palace to the brim. As such you are literally viewed as lower than a clock. Ask Girard Haven how that goes. It is close to impossible for healthy people to comprehend that people like Burton actually exist, people without conscience. Not the conscience of cultural programming but the conscience that Gurdjieff called “the representative of God” the functioning of higher emotion, something Burton never had and never understood, the absence of which he wove into his teaching as if the lack of it were an accomplishment and proof of his establishment in a higher order of magnificence.
Diego (69 above), you mention “Cult Survivor”, who also posted under the name, “Artemis 44” from time to time.
He helped Asaf Braverman set up the BePeriod site, attending to technical details (he had an engineering degree). When Braverman split, he left the Fellowship with him, and helped BePeriod grow. After a while, he grew dissatisfied with his role, and they parted. A while later, he started commenting on this blog. He had few good things to say about Asaf, and none about Burton.
I and my wife met him and his wife in Grass Valley for dinner once, and we both enjoyed their company. We didn’t stay in contact, but still, I was rather surprised when they both rejoined the Fellowship 18 months later. And then he had a major stroke and died.
But I want to point out that one of the services he provided to readers of this blog was a breakdown of Asaf Braverman’s setup, his methodology, and his income. He was certainly privy to the details, he helped Asaf in many capacities for a long time. At that time, he estimated that BePeriod was bringing in a cool $250k a year gross income. Even allowing for payments to website techies, cinematographers, travel and other expenses, he probably lives very well. And if he and his family are based, as someone I trust told me, in a house on his parent’s Tel Aviv compound, he probably doesn’t even pay much or any rent.
Yesri, you wrote 82 above), “Tho i agree with what you wrote…but what!?! No more imagination!!! Dude, what have you been smokin and can i buy some from ya?”
Of course I was referring to the uninformed imagination a seeker might have when looking for a teacher, guru, ‘school’ or group. “I’m looking for a bearded and emaciated ascetic who will touch my forehead and impart enlightenment”, or, “I’m looking for a commune where peace and understanding reign, and winged pink sparkling ponies frolic in the fields”, or, “I’m looking for a Fourth Way School where everyone speaks Gurdjieffese, everyone is present most of the time, and those further along the Way will impart sufficient wisdom and help that I can follow in their footsteps and also become Conscious”.
Creative imagination, or connecting with one’s Muse, that’s a whole ‘nother thing.
I find the whole “looking burton only in the left eye” practice in the cult intriguing, especially as a method for hypnotic trance induction…does anyone happen to recall if burton looks exclusively in the left eye of his followers?
Are followers required as an “exercise” to look at each other in the left eye exclusively or be “photographed”?
And if the left side of an individual is so symbolically important, why don’t cult followers shake with their left hands?
86. WhaleRider. From nearly the very beginning, the flock was, indeed, supposed to look at each other with the left eye, the “essence eye.” This practice extended to hugging each other with each person’s left side in contact with the other’s left side. That also put the 2 left eyes in close contact with each other, as the hugging maneuver unfolded.
Ames
Oops… ok gotcha…i miss imagined what kind of imagination you were talking about.
I try to be amusing…does that count? Or is that False Personality?
(are you sposta capitalize false personality?)
Luv to talk more but gotta go feed the ponies…(boy are they hard to round up)
Insider:
Thanks for that. I do remember in my day some discussion about how the left or non-dominant side of a right handed person might be more symbolically aligned with their so-called “essence” and the right side might be more aligned with the so-called “false personality”.
But I understood that idea as symbolic and not in used the literal sense. From what I gather, burton has taken this idea to the extreme and turned it into a loyalty test.
These many years later, I now understand the cult’s mystifying use of the word “essence” translates into the child-like, primary processes i.e. gullible part of human nature and nothing more…the part that would likely be most vulnerable to ideas of reference and the magical thinking of cult indoctrination.
And by the same token, anything resembling critical thinking or secondary processes gets labeled and dismissed in the cult as “false personality”.
So at the time I never stopped to think how the left vs. right idea might apply to a left-handed person…the idea of left vs. right corresponding literally to essence vs. personality now seems biased toward right handed individuals, who from what I understand, make up 90% of the population. Isn’t burton right handed?
Regarding left vs. right…”handedness appears to be related to differences between the right and left halves (hemispheres) of the brain. The right hemisphere controls movement on the left side of the body, while the left hemisphere controls movement on the right side of the body.”
This includes the eyes, one is more dominate than the other, and each is associated with the opposite hemisphere of the brain, but do not correspond to handedness. (In fact, I happened to be right handed, and left eye dominate.)
Also…
“The left hemisphere {of the brain} was shown to be logical, analytic, quantitative, rational and verbal, whereas the right hemisphere was revealed to be conceptual, holistic, intuitive, imaginative and non-verbal.”
“In right handers, the left hemisphere controls the dominant right hand, whereas the situation is reversed in left-handers. Most people also have left hemisphere dominance for language, but this is more often reversed in left-handers.”
So in fact the cult’s “left vs. right-essence vs. personality” theory would not apply to left handers…it would be in reverse; you look them in the right eye.
In summary though, cult’s practice of overemphasizing the left eye or right hemisphere of the brain (in right handed people, that is)…does fall in line with the cult’s promotion of…wait for it…intuitive…non-verbal…conceptual…
imagination.
A most fascinating book on the brain hemisperes that i cannot more highly recommend is ‘The Master and his Emissary’ by Iain McGilchrist. The introduction by McGilchrist alone will blow you’re mind. It is a masterpiece of science/psychology/philosophy imho.
…..your mind…not you are mind…because you’re not.
Also recommended:
Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain®
by Betty Edwards. Website:
https://www.drawright.com/band-horizon
“Most people have a dominant eye that corresponds to their dominant hand. For example, if you are left-handed, you are more likely to have a dominant left eye. Right-handed people can also have a dominant left eye, but it is not as common.”
“Approximately 70% of the population are right-eye dominant {biased} and 29% left-eye dominant.”
To determine which eye is dominate:
“Step 1. Extend your arms out in front of your body, wrists flexed upward, {fingers pointing upward}. Put your hands together, making a triangle with your index fingers & thumbs. Then move your hands together a bit more, overlapping your fingers and thumbs to make the triangle smaller – about 2 inches across.
Step 2. Keeping both eyes open and arms extended, raise your arms and look through the triangle at a small object across the room. Then close your left eye. If you can still see the object through the triangle, then you are right eye dominant. If not, you are left eye dominant. The eye you used to site the object through the triangle is your dominant eye!”
“Right and left visual information cross to opposite sides {hemispheres} of the brain.”
“The dominant eye has more neural connections to the {corresponding opposite hemisphere of the} brain than the other eye does.”
AND, interestingly:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636876/
“Hemispheric {brain} lateralization is one of the subjects that give us many clues for better recognition of the brain functions. Negative emotions are more related to the right hemisphere {left eye in most right handed people}.
It became clear that evoking emotions does not occur in both hemispheres symmetrically. Research history shows three principles about lateralization of emotions: 1- They are better recognized by the right hemisphere {visual cues by the left eye in most right handed people} 2- controlling emotions expression and its related behavior is done by the right hemisphere, {expressed through the left eye and left side in most right handed people} 3-The right hemisphere is responsible for negative feelings {left eye/ left side in most right handed people} and the left hemisphere for the positive ones {the right eye, right side in right handed people}.
Another group that studied asymmetric feature of the face concluded that negative feelings are related to the right hemisphere {left side of the face in right handed people} and positive feelings to both hemispheres.” {which may be why it is healthier to look a loved one in both eyes to evoke positive feelings, rather than just the left!!)
So the FOF theory that the left or “essence” side of a person is more “positive” or linked to more “positive emotions” is false. It is linked to the “imaginative”, “conceptual” right hemisphere of the brain, i.e. the more gullible, less rational side of us.
Now here is where it gets really interesting, IMO, another study found that…
“We observed that 6-month-old infants showed a wider tendency for left gaze preference towards objects and faces…{and} Domestic dogs…demonstrated a left gaze bias towards human faces.
Our findings suggest that face…sensitive gaze asymmetry is more widespread in the animal kingdom than previously recognized, is not constrained by attentional or scanning bias {seen in human adults}, and could be shaped by experience to develop adaptive behavioral significance.”
In other words these studies suggest that domestic animals and human infants instinctively scan and monitor the left side of the face, including the left eye, in order to gauge the emotional state of their owners and adult caregivers to adapt and calibrate their behavior.
So that is why, IMHO, burton is “instinctively” monitoring the left side of his followers’ faces and eyes, scanning for any negative emotions toward him with his left eye and by overemphasizing the left eye (in right handed people) seeking to reinforce greater control of negative emotions and feelings…most likely towards him and others in the cult.
I would bet the farm that a follower who did harbor negative emotions or feelings towards burton or other followers would find it difficult to maintain left eye contact exclusively with their left eye without momentarily looking away, betraying how they really feel…in other words, a left eye loyalty test.
It is apparent (to me at least) that with all this asymmetrical left eye-right brain hemisphere reinforcement there is an underlying fear based effort to downplay or inhibit the left hemisphere of the brain, and in turn, compromise a follower’s rational, logical, secondary thought processes…which might cause a follower to confront their delusional, superstitious beliefs and differently about the situation in which they have placed themselves. A follower might have a passing critical or “negative” thought but through cult indoctrination lack the motivational “negative” emotion upon which to act.
Not to mention the fact that by simply staring or fixing the gaze on any object, whether that is someone else’s left or right eye, or a spot on the wall, or a movie screen, is a precursor to entering a hypnotic trance state.
Just the Facts, Ma’am, thanks for the correction. Yes, much–married Linda was the eighteenth to join, April 1971. Fifty–three years! That’s a long time to inhabit the bubble. And an excellent testimonial for the efficiency of Burton’s methods. “I’ve been trying for fifty–three years, and I’m still running to stay in place!”
She was told from the get–go by Burton that “women cannot become conscious” in his ‘school’. In fact, that women are a ‘lower cosmos’. In that case, why did she stay? Why did any woman stay, for that matter? Do the women that stay like being treated as doormats, or worse?
Questions to ponder.
And men, why do they put up with this? These assertions by Burton about women are just that, assertions, no different from his tens of thousands of other assertions. Pretty much all unsupported by any evidence. But that particular assertion is rather important! So, your partner is doomed to fail, unless they stick around for several more (theoretical) lifetimes or play the part of Elizabeth I? And if you stick around, you support a patriarchal view of society, and become accustomed and indoctrinated, gradually conforming to Burton’s views of women and their place.
Not to mention, Burton’s methods, if they work at all (they don’t) are so slow, so tedious, and so shallow. A mile wide of glitz and “impressions” and spiritual artifacts, and received ‘wisdom’, but just one molecule deep. And on top of that, so incredibly expensive.
Linda Kaplan is a public figure, well known to anyone who has been in the Fellowship of Friends, and a great example of what happens when one unquestioningly supports Burton over time. Sorry, Linda, nothing personal, but from now on I’m going to use you as the perfect illustration of the distinguishing characteristics and fate of a long–time follower of Burton. Actually, rather than being offended, I’m sure you’ll wear my remarks as a badge of honor, so win–win all around!
Interesting article on ”Toxic Positivity” and how the “non-expression of negative emotions” can be deployed to gaslight others by an individual(s) displaying narcissistic, controlling behavior.
Great examples of toxic positivity in the FOF: “The play is written” and “the lower self expresses negative emotion and must be overridden by the higher self”.
By repressing negative emotions, along with denying “negative” or critical thoughts, a long term FOF follower would lack the motivation to make any substantial changes in their circumstances or cult relationship to limit the harm being done to them, IMHO. A long term follower would likely join in on perpetuating the harm done to others (for example by omission of certain information to new unsuspecting recruits) especially if the long term follower was rewarded with attention and status, as in the case of Linda whatever her name is now.
https://www.newsweek.com/how-toxic-positivity-ruin-relationships-what-do-mental-health-toxic-relationships-1711318
#84 Ames Gilbert
I knew him vaguely, and was equally surprised to hear that he re-joined FOF, a destructive cult, especially after he seemed to reject it and express his rejection coherently along with his understanding that it was indeed a destructive cult.
He’s one of several people I knew who rejoined the cult. Mind boggling to me. I came to understand that a very small percentage of the FOF population is actually sincerely interested in, “awakening” most are there for the nice impressions, the nice well dressed people, the sex energy and the Margheritas.
There was a period recently when the FOF, starving for cash, tried to reach out and lovebomb some of the wealthier former members and coax them into rejoining. The pervading thinking seems to have been that they had made a foolish but forgiveable mistake in leaving but that they would be welcomed with open arms if they just returned and began making donations again. The hubris is off the scale and impenetrable. I heard this information from a friend who left the cult because they actually were and are interested in awakening and came to the firm and obvious conclusion that this was an impossibility within the confines of the cult and Bob’s psychosis,
I once invited a friend to a Satsang with Adyashanti in the Bay Area. He was for a time for me a revelation as to the nature of consciousness and awakening. After what was for me a riveting exposition, I asked what she felt and she responded that she didn’t like the impressions.
The FOF markets itself as a school of consciousness and awakening. It’s actually a playschool for chumps imo or maybe even chimps.
p.s. Re the above ” I came to understand that a very small percentage of the FOF population is actually sincerely interested in, “awakening” most are there for the nice impressions, the nice well dressed people, the sex energy and the Margheritas.
I forgot to add, and the blowjobs. Sorry was in a hurry. Should read, “most are there for the nice impressions, the nice well dressed people, the sex energy, the margheritas and the blowjobs” unless of course they’re one of Bob’s paid prosititutes in which case we should add the cash or perks for group sex.
“I came to understand that a very few small percentage of the population is actually sincerely interested in, “awakening” most are there for the nice impressions, the nice well dressed people, the sex energy, the Margheritas and the blow jobs, unless they’re one of Bob’s paid male prostitutes in which case we shoud add the cash or perks for group sex”
O.k. that’s better.
WhaleRider: regarding your recent posts on the psycho-physical-dynamics of left/right handedness/hemispheres of brain/eyes, etc; your research and time is very appreciated.
Ames, at 196/94 and elsewhere: Yes, women were, and likely still are, second class citizens in pursuit of awakening in the scope of the Fellowship of Friends (FoF), and in the view of Robert Earl Burton (REB), that makes one wonder why would women spend their almost entire lives there; like Linda Kaplan/Rockwood/Tulisso?
Then there is the FoF/REB idea of “Feminine Dominance,” which is not a Fourth Way concept (check the extant literature) but one confabulated to serve certain ends desired by REB. FoF/REB treat that on the scale of negative emotions and false personality, which are true work ideas of the Fourth Way. Feminine Dominance in FoF/REB can also be associated with the, so called, ‘negative’ influence that conscience can have (as has been mentioned on this blog frequently) and therefore needs to be worked against; like one would work against negative emotions and false personality. I did not buy that in my days in FoF.
Does/did Feminine Dominance have anything to do with gender bias in FoF/REB?
The unexamined life is not worth living.
~ Socrates
#98 Associated Press
Did you know that when the idea of feminine dominance was introduced by Burton it came in under the heading “Female Domination” Men needed to resist Fenmale domination in oder not to become one of the biological masses.. It was later watered down and reframed as feminine dominance to give it a quasi psychological meaning..But in Burton’s view Men needed to resist Female Domination because women who are a lower cosmos in his twisted view wanted men for their sperm to make babies whereas a mans destiny was to transmute his sexual energy into an astral body.
Burton tries to swallow a litre of sperm on his birthday. A former sex partner of Burton told me that after anal sex, Burton would suck the sperm out of his condom . ( apparently the gold alchemy angel in a mans body likes the taste of sperm mixed with his own faeces and lubricant) and told him. ” I woiuld not waste a drop”. He’s fu—ng insane. Totally sick.
Reports from the ground in Oregon House, California:
Apparently the place is swarming with young recruits to the Fellowship of Friends, men and women both, coming from around the world, but especially Europe. Why? Well, it turns out that Dorian Mattei is the attraction. I’m told that he has almost completely taken over the ‘teaching’, the fund–raising, and so on. Meaning, he has stepped into Burton’s shoes.
Now, admittedly I’m biased, but having listened to samples of Dorian’s word salads since he became anointed as a ‘future conscious being’, I cannot see the appeal. He has never had anything meaningful to say, just a bunch of vague anodyne generalizations tossed together with some Fourth Way word dressing to add morsels of flavor. But the young ‘uns are apparently flocking to hear those generalizations. I suppose that if Mattei generates a white noise mishmash, then listeners can make anything they like of his words, and extract/invent whatever meaning they wish?
Here’s a sample I posted (blog page 159, comment #49):
http://tinyurl.com/v5nknj9a
… which is actually more coherent than most (maybe edited before reaching me?)
Anyway, great tidings for the flock, there is a new God–Emperor of Oregon House™!
No doubt the God–Emperor Emeritus™ is devoting his remaining facilities to planning another Supersexual™ masterpiece this coming Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14th. And no doubt various minions are scurrying to make arrangements and schedule the victims. There will have to be some kind of traffic control, covering vehicle parking, changing rooms, cleaning supplies, recovery rooms, energy boosters and, of course, Viagra in abundance, courtesy ever–helpful Fellowship doctors. Probably a hundred followers involved in this endeavor, all told.
Hey, sexual records are there to be broken! Apparently, Burton didn’t attain his goal of having sex with 100 men last time, maybe he will succeed this time. After all, Burton’s motto must be something like, “Nothing succeeds like excess”.
To offset this, I’m told that the gatehouse has a long list of followers who are behind in their ‘teaching payments’. Most are probably on their way out. The rule is something like six weeks late, can’t enter the property; ten to twelve weeks late, you’re out.
BTW, any news on what Girard Haven thinks about this latest addition to the pantheon of Verified Conscious Beings™?
….after reading the transcript of Dorian’s meeting…
Oh for fuck’s sake!
Can someone please explain to me how this is any different than mormonism or scientology? Burton is like if Joseph Smith and L. Ron Hubbard had a butt baby and he shat out a ‘non-duality’ spouting David Miscaviage.
(though apparently the non- duality only extends to dues paying members. Don’t know how he circles that square in his mind. Maybe Diego can help me out here, having the sqaure trouser legs n all.)
“Paul Mackenzie: Kenyan cult leader charged with 191 murders
A cult leader in Kenya has been charged with murder after more than 400 bodies were found buried in shallow graves in a remote forest in the east of the country.
Survivors and victims’ families have said Paul Mackenzie urged followers to fast in order to “go see Jesus”.
He and 29 others pleaded not guilty in a court in the coastal town of Malindi.
Mackenzie has already been charged with committing acts of terror, child cruelty and torture, which he denied. . .” ~ BBC:
https://bbc.com/news/world-africa-68214749
Quote – “But it gets worse: since the archons had created humans in the first place, they had created humans to be extremely susceptible to their influence, and to be almost unable to resist it. Only the divine spark from Heaven, which had slipped into creation despite the archons’ intentions, gave people any kind of a chance of resisting the archons’ temptations. But only a few people – the Gnostics – were even aware of that divine presence within themselves, and even for them it was a tremendous ordeal to act in accordance with that presence rather than the wishes of the archons. Most people were just the puppets of the archons. Thus, the normal, default state of humans was literal demonic possession.”
…gnosticismexplained.org/archons
https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/health-wellness/2024/02/08/sex-narcissists-warning-signs-relationship/72519581007/#
Thanks to Whalerider, above, for the U.S. News article on narcissism. The money quote:
“Because narcissists lack empathy, they also tend to see sex as transactional, Durvasula says, and have less qualms about engaging in casual sex and one-night stands. They also will be more likely to manipulate new romantic partners into having sex sooner in the relationship than they may want to.”
Multiply the words ’transactional’, ‘less qualms’, and ‘manipulate’ by several negative orders of magnitude, and they would still remain inadequate to describe the actual imbalance between Burton and his pets. It’s hard to think of a more unequal setup, when one looks more closely at the power dynamics.
And as for the word, ‘relationship’, I>vis–a–visBurton, words fail me entirely.
What is the true nature of the relationship between a pet rat and its owner? The owner may be proud of the rat, may teach the rat tricks, let it run up and down his arm, he may show off the rat to his acquaintances.
On another level, he may feed the rat—or forget to feed the rat; either way, few consequences. And the owner may at some point decide the rat is not worth the bother, and decide to decant the (totally unprepared) rat into the (extremely hostile) countryside, to take its chances with coyotes and owls. Or sell it to someone who needs food for his pet boa—or even drown it in in a bucket. It is his to do as he pleases.
Yet, my example still fails to encompass the utter disdain, the total underlying contempt, the complete lack of valuation of Burton for his toys, or care for their fate once he tires of them. Not to mention, his vindictive rage should a rat escape.
Burton specializes in turning those young men who trust him into prostitutes, dresses them like dolls, according to his whims, has them perform sex acts with each other, gives them drugs to simulate desire, tells them who to marry and who not to marry, continually demeans them sexually and psychologically, and tells them that they are chosen by angels to service him—he controls every aspect of their lives. And persuades them that they are special and all this use and abuse will advance their spiritual evolution. Then finally, when he is tiring of them, he orders them to recruit and train their replacements…
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