Self-Remembering [Paperback]

Robert Earl Burton (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

This teacher of the Fourth Way Tradition shows how self-remembering, similar to Buddhist mindfulness and Orthodox non-attachment, relates to every aspect of the student's life and work. This book gives Burton's students an accurate transmission of his teaching on the core idea of self-remembering. Unique in the spiritual literature, this book is destined to become a classic. Glossary.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Red Wheel / Weiser (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0877288445
• ISBN-13: 978-0877288442
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,175,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 81 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars An Important Message In Pretentious Form From a Creepy Guy, July 29, 2004

By 

Poogy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Self-Remembering (Paperback)

Most of the most positive reviews of this book come from members of the Fellowship of Friends, the cult (and I use the term advisedly) Mr. Burton founded based on some of the ideas of Gurdjieff, and therefore they hype the book in glowing terms as may be expected of a devoted follower who imagines he is rather clever by anonymously shilling his master's book. As a former member, and someone who knew Mr. Burton better than I wish I did, I'll resist the temptation to offer insights into how Mr. Burton's personal habits contributed to there being so many more former members than members; suffice it to say that he's at best a very peculiar man, and while possibly a remarkable teacher, he's also as close to being truly evil--or at least without any discernable conscience--as any person I have encountered, raising the interesting question of whether a "spiritual" methodology may be said to "work" if its practitioners remain, or even become, sociopathic, paranoid, and absurdly self-aggrandizing, as is the case with Mr. Burton. (And don't be too quick to roll your eyes over my use of the word "evil" until you've done your research about the author of this book; he's got quite a history.)

The book itself is a collection of Burton's thoughts and one-liners he's been recycling for many years--decades--strung together, divided into chapers, and sold as a book. Other than putting the one-sentence aphorisms into the form of paragraphs, no attempt has been made to actually write a book, to explain anything, to offer a coherent teaching; this is like flashcards about self-remembering in book format.

Nevertheless, the book does emphasize the most critical aspect of the Gurdjieff teachings -- perhaps the most critical aspect of spiritual development -- the need to be present, as Gurdjieff put it, "always and everywhere." Since the significance of this cannot be overemphasized, if the reader gains from the book some greater motivation to actually practice, the book will be among the reader's most valuable purchases. Mr. Burton's inclination to present his limited insights in stilted language, with pretenses of being a scholar, may reflect his insecurites about his own humble origins, limited formal education, and inability to write a real book, as opposed to a series of aphorisms edited by his disciples, but that doesn't mean there's nothing to be gained from reading it.

There is little truly original in the book, and it is filled with restatements of observations made by historical figures Mr. Burton admires. It also is filled with observations and musings that, while perhaps true on some level and seemingly Zen-like, are trivial, fortune-cookie assertions, notwithstanding that the author may consider them really heavy. (Those who spent time around Burton may recall hearing him repeat, on countless occasions over many years, the assertion that "the universe is a limitless omnidirectional void," which appears again in this book. Is this profound? Is it even accurate? Is the universe a "void" notwithstanding the existence of a trillion stars, not to mention dark matter, etc.?) The fact is, Mr. Burton is simply not a particularly erudite or articulate man, although the reader may imagine otherwise based on the pretentious writing style. (Check out the first page; if you are attracted to the idea of copying out "To be present where one is is the simple story of one's life" and pasting it on your bathroom mirror, this book's for you, since there are plenty more where that came from.)

I find the huckstering attempts of this Arkansas-born (his middle name is Earl), San Jose State-educated, son of a butcher to sound like an 18th Century gentleman in spats and top hat a little off-putting myself, but perhaps other readers may like to join in the spirit of the book and imagine themselves reading what Ouspensky quaintly called esoterica, being related by the New Yorker magazine mascot. The message, if not the messenger, is well worth it. (By the way, check out Mr. Burton's absurdly blantant copying of the cover of a popular edition of P.D. Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous, a bona fide classic of the Gurdjieff literature. That ought to tell you something about Mr. Burton's rip-off methods.)

An update to this review:
Mr. Burton has radically reinvented his teaching in the past couple of years, which now is unintelligible gibberish instead of merely distorted posturing about Gurdjieff's work. When I say "gibberish," I'm not exaggerating. The man is quite mad. He no longer speaks of Gurdjieff or Ouspensky at all, and his "teaching" is incoherent mumblings about signs and symbols he sees everywhere. I urge any prospective buyer of this book to spend a few minutes reading about the author and his cult on a blog easily located through a web search. Self-remembering may be a wonderful tool (I think so), but there are many other books out there with the same message from people who aren't nuts, and even care about their disciples.

20 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars A Message Undistilled, January 21, 2007

By 

Sahaja - See all my reviews

This review is from: Self-Remembering (Paperback)

I found this book a meandering mess of Gurdjieffian posing. This book lacks direction and it's central point seems only to be that the writer has a huge ego and needed to publish something in order to set himself up as a teacher. After reading this, I am left feeling as though I've been invited to a banguet but were only given cotten candy to eat. I hate to be negative, but I also hate to be fleeced. Save your money and get one of the many books written by men and women in true Fourth Way schools.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a seminal text, October 31, 2004

By 

Ben Bennett "Ben Bennett" (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Self-Remembering (Paperback)

The author has palpably failed to understand the teaching of self-remembering, which suggests that he has not received the transmission. Thus his branch of fourth way teaching must be regarded as moribund. It is be hoped that researchers with potential will find their way to a genuine teacher. Aside from that the book is doctrinaire Ouspensky, and does not cover any new ground. Those who wish to read about this subject would be better advised to look in Nicoll's "Commentaries" or "The Fourth Way".