Talk:Fellowship of Friends/New Draft rewrite

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The Fellowship of Friends was founded in 1970 by Robert Earl Burton as a spiritual school based on the Fourth Way tradition, which is also referred to as "Esoteric Christianity". It is a different form of a Fourth Way school than the one presented by George Gurdjieff and Peter Ouspensky, and it currently incorporates other sources into its teaching. The Fellowship's task is enabling its members to awaken and develop a soul that can survive death and achieve independent, immortal existence in the universe. This task includes continuing and preserving the highest forms of beauty, knowledge, and culture; and using this task as a vehicle for, and the expression of, divine presence.^[1] As of 2007, the organization has approximately 2,000 members, about a third of which live around the organization's property in Northern California. The rest of its members live in North and South America, Europe and Asia. ^[2] The Fellowship of Friends is recognized by the state and federal governments as a non-profit religious organization. ^[3]

Contents 1 Beliefs and practices 1.1 Self-remembering 1.2 Sleep and awakening 1.3 Higher states of consciousness 1.4 C influence 1.5 Esoteric schools 1.6 The principle of payment 1.7 Exercises and disciplines 2 History 3 See also 4 References 4.1 Further reading 5 External links 5.1 Material produced by the Fellowship of Friends 5.2 Newspaper articles on the Fellowship of Friends 5.3 Criticism

[edit] Beliefs and practices

The Fellowship of Friends was founded as a school for spiritual development in the Fourth Way tradition, which as been transmitted in this century by George Gurdjieff, Peter Ouspensky and Rodney Collin. The organization believes that since the Fourth Way is based on individual verification and understanding, as well as on personal transmission, each teacher reinterprets it anew. The doctrines of the Fellowship of Friends are based on esoteric religious teachings about how to develop consciousness. These esoteric religious teachings include Sumerian and Egyptian texts, Greek philosophy (the schools of Pythagoras and Plato), the Old and New Testaments (including the Essenes and Gnostics) and certain Sufi and Buddhist teachings from the 9th to the 19th century.^[4] The pivotal teaching is the development of consciousness through the practice of being present. Different esoteric traditions have expressed this same teaching in different ways (e.g., the Sufis called it Divine Presence, the Philokalia describes it as Ceaseless Prayer); the Fellowship is currently studying these forms and using these terms interchangeably, as it is said that they all not only reflect the same aim but also show the hidden meaning of life on Earth.

[edit] Self-remembering

Self-remembering is a fundamental idea in the teaching of the Fellowship of Friends. It is a concept from the Fourth Way system, with roots in ancient traditions ^[5] According to the Fourth Way, no one is automatically aware of himself, no one is conscious of himself, no one ‘remembers’ himself. More consciousness can be attained through purposeful effort: the effort to remember oneself.

Self-remembering can also be described as the practice of bringing a sense of presence, or existence, into the moment; of being aware of oneself and one's surroundings simultaneously. This state of presence is understood to be the hidden meaning and purpose of life on Earth. ^[6]

[edit] Sleep and awakening

The organization follows the Fourth Way teaching that when self-remembering is not there, man only works in the level of the four lower centers (instinctive, moving, intellectual and emotional), in a state of "imagination" or "identification", also called simply "sleep"^[7] This state has also been called the “veil”, as in Rumi’s “When you cast aside the veil the dead become alive…”^[8] In this state, man is subject to the many I's, which is a term from the Fourth Way that is explained by P. D. Ouspensky when he says, “In reality there is no oneness in man and there is no controlling centre, no permanent 'I' or Ego. Every thought, every feeling, every sensation, every desire, every like and every dislike is an 'I'.”

The work, as practiced in the Fellowship of Friends, revolves around methods to gradually separate consciousness from the lower centers through various efforts of intentionality and controlled attention. [1] Some of these methods are based on "transformation", a Fourth Way idea referring to the potentiallity of suffering enabling to create a fuel which, when used correctly, can dispel imagination and evoke self-remembering. By refraining from expressing a negative emotion through effort, members can “transform” the emotion into presence.

Members of the Fellowship of Friends also use beautiful "impressions" created by art and culture to generate energy for self-remembering. Robert Burton said, "We talk about culture a fair amount, but its highest achievement is to lead to self-remembering. When we speak about art, we must remember it is a distant second to self-remembering, and we must use it as a medium to divide attention."[2]

[edit] Higher states of consciousness

According to Burton, consciousness is a wordless state of presence that is simultaneously aware of itself and what it observes and which remains hidden to the usual sense of self created by sensory input, movement, emotion, and thought. This consciousness resides above the realm of imagination and has a clarity of perception that is independent of normal human functions, called “lower centers”, in contrast to consciousness, referred to as “higher centers”. Robert Burton teaches that, through intensive work on self-remembering, control of “higher centers” can be achieved. The Fellowship of Friends stresses self-remembering as a way to prevent the usual functions – thoughts, movements, emotions, sensations - from obscuring the experience of consciousness itself. ^[9] In the Fellowship of Friends' teaching, all efforts revolve around one aim: to reach higher centers and experience higher states of consciousness.[3]

[edit] C influence

According to the Fourth Way system, there are three kinds of influences that affect man: Influences A (influences that are created and manifest in mechanical life, such us desire for money, family, health, and so on), Influences B (influences that had a conscious source but lost their connection with the source and manifest in mechanical life, like for example Yoga, the Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, the Tarot, etc.), and Influences C (influences that are conscious in their origin and action). According to the Fellowship of Friend's teaching, a certain number of individuals can awaken and escape with the direct help of C Influence^[10]

[edit] Esoteric schools

One of the central tenets of Robert Burton's teaching is that esoteric schools have existed since the dawn of humanity and that they all used the same system for awakening man from sleep, although the language they used to convey it may have been slightly different. The purpose of all these schools (ancient Egyptians, Jews, Hindus, Christians, Muslims, authors of the Tarot deck, Gothic architects and Sufi tradition) is said to have been to teach people how to be present and prolong presence with the ultimate aim of achieving a permanent state in one's higher centers. The system presented by Gurdjieff in the 20th century is said to be the first exoteric manifestation of such ancient knowledge that had previously been concealed in symbols, stories and poetic metaphors.

[edit] The principle of payment

As a part of work on oneself, the Fellowship of Friends teaching incorporates what P.D. Ouspensky refers to as “a most important principle in the work”: payment. To join the Fellowship, members are asked to pay a tithe on their gross monthly income. The membership donation is reduced for the first year to allow time for verifications to occur. Fees are paid from month to month and a member may leave at any time. To rejoin, a re-entry fee applies. [4].

[edit] Exercises and disciplines

The Fellowship of Friends is a practical, not theoretical School. Specific exercises are given to help members be more present to daily routines. Exercises are both internal and external in nature. In addition to tasks of no illegal drugs, violence, or smoking (after being a member for a year), many disciplines and exercises are offered to help members be more present. Many of these suggestions take the form of inconspicuous "voluntary suffering", (simple efforts to go against what is mechanically desired to produce a higher state). Members often share with one another their own personal exercises they have found to help them be more awake. [5]

A few exercises that have been used at different times in the Fellowship of Friends, are mentioned in Burton's book, "Self-Remembering". Two related exercises are the "looking" and "listening" exercises. In the "looking exercise", attention is shifted from one impression to another quickly, allowing enough time to take in the impression, but changing focus before imagination or identification can take hold. In the "listening exercise" attention is brought to sounds in the environment as a means of being present. ^[11] Author Robert Snow mentions past exercises about smoking (he says that it is an offense which can be punished with fines), not dyeing hair, not having mixed-breed pets, and not riding bicycles. He reports that the organization uses methods to control the lives of members, including diet and sex life.^[12] Burton says in his book, "People need symbols of identity for a while: movements, word exercises and so on. The Fourth Way carefully removes these symbols and forces one back to oneself, exactly where one belongs" and that "A newer student can speak to an older student concerning the rules, aims and exercises of the school, and one must do one's best to follow them".^[13]

[edit] History

Robert Burton, a former Bay Area elementary school teacher [6], attended a meeting led by Alex Horn. He reports that he immediately knew he had found what he had been seeking. Mr. Horn, who is said to have been a student of Lord Pentland [7], conducted a group based on the Gurdjieff-Ouspensky ideas that used theater as a form for work on oneself. Burton devoted himself to studying the Fourth Way and to participating in Mr. Horn’s group. After eighteen months he found it necessary to part from his teacher, realizing that Mr. Horn’s teaching methods were no longer serving his aim. [8]

On January 1, 1970, Robert Earl Burton founded the Fellowship of Friends. In 1971, the organization acquired 1,300 acres of land in Oregon House, California. The original intent of this land was to provide its membership with a retreat where they could realize their principles of self-development.[9]

Dr. Karl Werner, an eminent wine-maker, was introduced to the Fellowship of Friends and became interested in its philosophy. Upon visiting its retreat, he was struck by the wine making possibilities. Beginning in 1974, under his direction, a vineyard was planted and a winery was built. The winery has produced several award winning wines. The production of olives and olive oil has also been started in Oregon House with certain success. Apollo Olive Oil, an enterprise owned by members of the Fellowship of Friends, produces organic fruit and oil and sells their products in Sacramento and the surrounding area.[10]

Robert Burton states that he is guided by 44 angels who include Benjamin Franklin, Christ, and Plato.^{[14] [15] [16]} Burton, stating that he was receiving guidance from these angels, predicted that a world-wide depression would occur in February 1984, that an earthquake would swallow up most of California in 1998, and that most of the world would be destroyed by a nuclear holocaust in September 2006, but that the organization's headquarters would be spared. ^{[17] [18] [19]}.

Former members have criticized Burton for alleged sexual abuse, excessive control, and brainwashing, and large numbers have left the organization because of these concerns. ^[20]A former member, sued the leader of the organization, Robert Burton, in 1996 asking for $5 million in damages for these same reasons. ^[21] This case as well as another suit claiming sexual abuse were settled out of court on undisclosed terms. ^[22] The Fellowship of Friends' president stated in a newspaper article that one suit was dismissed and two others settled by the organization's insurance companies to save the costs of litigation. [11]

William Patrick Patterson claims that Robert Burton never had a genuine Fourth Way teacher, advising that his knowledge was gained from books and Alex Horn^[23] whom he considers a trickster and a "faux-Gurdjieffian". Therefore, Patterson does not consider Burton to be part of Gurdjieff's teaching lineage, and considers the Fellowship of Friends "a decided distortion" of the Fourth Way.^[24] Patterson, also criticizes Burton for promotional efforts of his school which he believes are contrary to Fourth Way teachings. ^[25]

[edit] See also

• The Fourth Way
• George Gurdjieff
• Peter Ouspensky
• Rodney Collin

[edit] References

[edit] Further reading

[edit] External links

[edit] Material produced by the Fellowship of Friends

• Official site

[edit] Newspaper articles on the Fellowship of Friends

• LA Times 1996 Article
• Various Sacramento Bee newspaper articles

[edit] Criticism

• Blog on Fellowship of Friends
• Information about the Fellowship of Friends from the Rick A. Ross Institute
• Freedom of Mind Steven Hassan's website
• Deadly Cults: The Crimes of True Believers by Robert L. Snow, Praeger Publishers, (November 30, 2003), ISBN-10: 0275980529, ISBN-13: 978-0275980528
• Taking With the Left Hand by William Patrick Patterson and Barbara C. Allen. ISBN 1-879-51410-9
• Cults and consequences: The definitive handbook (1988) by R. Andres & J.R. Lane, Commission on Cults and Missionaries, Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles.
• "Sex, Lies, and Grand Schemes of Thought in Closed Groups," Cultic Studies Journal (1997), Vol. 14, No. 1
• Sack, Ursula Hilde, Case Studies of Voluntary Defectors from Intensive Religious Groups, Ph.D. Dissertation, University of Southern California (1985)