Customer Reviews

Self-Remembering

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

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.

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.

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".

This book contains a bunch of quotes from R. Burton, in which he basically repeats what he read in Gourgjieff and Ouspensky books, with some distortions. It lacks depth and direction. Very disappointing book, one of the worst 4th Way books out there. Don't waste your time and money - go to the source.

Though this book seems like a nice collection of quotes related to the art of the being present, it does not bring any meaningful teaching on its own. In fact, this book was really done by one of Robert Burton's devoted student who did the research on her own while the cult leader Robert Burton was sexually abusing his students. Over the lifetime of the cult, it is well-known that Robert Burton had sex with well over 1000 heterosexual men against their will claiming it is a necessary step towards enlightment. This delusional man sees himself as a Goddess in a man's body and leaves a luxurious lifestyle while he pumps all the money he can from his followers. Though a charismatic leader with naive followers, his intellectual abilities are quite limited. Now at 70, he organizes frequent group sex with men. If you are curious to meet a psychopath, make sure to join his cult.

Review from the Nederlandse Bibliotheek Centrale:

The Fellowship of Friends is a worldwide philosophical community and school, founded in 1970 by Burton and following the tradition of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky that is called the "Fourth Way." Burton has a brilliant and stimulating vision that evokes all kinds of experimenting with the "machine," with one's ego structure: "The soul, like any pearl, must be created by transforming irritation. Voluntary suffering can serve this purpose." Try sitting in an uncomfortable way - for example, on a cassette - for fifteen minutes; then try something else. Turn your heater down. Create friction. Avoid self-pity. Hide your suffering. Burton stresses educating and disciplining the emotions and being permanently alert - i.e., self-remembering. "What one gains, all gain," he says as he explains personal transformation for his group of pupils. In an equally compelling way, he describes "Influence C" - conscious, immaterial beings who assist man. An extensive glossary describes the specific terminology of the Fourth Way.

-- Peter den Haring

This is a book of quotes by the Author arranged by subject and bound together as a book. When I read the description I thought it was a series of Talks like Ouspensky's "Fourth Way" or "The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution". In this book Burton focuses on the main tenant of the Fourth Way which is the practice of "Self-Remembering". Burton seems well read as he quotes many famous authors who one gets the impression that Burton believes are beyond men numbers 1, 2 and 3 especially Goethe. At times one wonders if Burton is speaking beyond his experience. A very curious quote in the book is "After many years of teaching, I have tired of the novelty of the system except for self remembering."

I've read many 4th Way books over the years and this one, along with Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous and The Fourth Way, seems the most intelligent of them all. The whole system is about being a conscious being, which is attained by remembering oneself always and everywhere and transforming negative emotions. Most other 4th Way books seem to go off at tangents at times into relatively unimportant issues with their wiseacring but this book continually focuses on the most important point: remember yourself now! The author never deviates or introduces superfluous ideas in order to appear wise and he introduces many other people from throughout history who have something important to say on awakening.

It's interesting to read the negative reviews of this book by people criticizing the author. All this expression of negativity in the form of unconstructive criticism is probably a result of identification, or sleep, which is exactly the opposite of self-remembering. When reading this book it's very clear that the author has no negativity but seems to come entirely from his 'higher centers', that is, one gets the impression that he is being the words, not just talking about them. The author and the negative reviewers are complete opposites!

This is a very beautiful and simple book which says more than most of the other 4th Way books put together. Highly recommended for seekers of the Truth. Brilliant.

i came in contact with the school, just when a one month war started, and without intending it, after the war was over my interest in the school was over.
i already did my research about Robert and came with so many negative conclusions...but that was back then.

this book was purchased when i was still in the school (3 years ago) and no urge to read it was present.

only recently i finished reading it...not only i decided to put all my negativity aside, but also with curiosity to see what it has.
i was lucky to have been exposed to vipassana before starting to read this book, because it taught me how to see things as they are.

so, no matter how the book was written, who wrote it, you can still find that it has something to offer, if nothing, just while reading it, using it as a reminder to be present.

the book has so many nice quotes, simple language and short chapters each devoted to a particular subject in the work.

you have an appendix in the end with the terms used and their meaning.

it is also nice to start reading couple of chapters in the 4th way book, to get more established into the work behind this school.

Being intimately familiar with the writings of Mr. Gurdjieff and Mr. Ouspensky, I can say that Robert Burton's teaching is a direct extension of everything those two men practiced and taught. Also, as a 25-year student of Robert Burton's, I know that nothing is easier to misunderstand than a teacher and a school. Mr. Burton's book, Self-Remembering, is a pure encapsulation of how he teaches and how he himself works, and the fact that self-remembering is the hub of practicing the Fourth Way. But, more importantly, this book offers readers an emotional--not just an intellectual--handle for determining whether they see something unique in the idea of self-remembering, and in the idea that an individual cannot work or evolve alone; that a school is necessary for establishing a correct foundation of knowledge, methods, and guidance. Readers may also want to keep in mind that this book was not written originally for publication, but for Mr. Burton's students. It was not intended to persuade anyone of anything, but rather to convey the understanding of a conscious teacher to his students, largely as a reminder to them of how to re-connect emotionally to their own need to make efforts to actually awaken.