Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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52 of 61 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
Most of the 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.)
Nevertheless, the book itself is to be commended for emphasizing 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 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 a disciple.
For similar reasons, there is little truly original in the book, and it is filled with restatements of observations made by historical figures Mr. Burton rightfully 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. (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 Arkansas-born (his middle name is Earl), San Jose State-educated, son of a butcher's huckstering attempts 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. 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 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 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.
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19 of 24 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not a seminal text, October 31, 2004
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".
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14 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
A Message Undistilled, January 21, 2007
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.
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