Self-Remembering

At last! A masterpiece of 4th Way instruction. This book very clearly explains how to view the ordinary moments of your life as opportunities to allow one's Self to appear, rather than in imagination, or asleep. There are chapters on several interesting topics, including; 'Being Present', 'False Personality and Essence', 'Transforming Negative Emotions', 'Death', 'The Astral Body', 'Influence C', and many others, all written like a collection of thoughts from the author over a long period of time in an easily comprehensible way. Whenever I read some of this book I always come away feeling like I've been fed something really fine, I'm never confused as I am by the intellectualisms and far-fetched theories that I've come across in many other esoteric books. It's not confusing or overtly intellectual; just a very straightforward account of the efforts and results of The Work on the author over several years.

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.

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.

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 great and practical book. It's full of inconspicuous exercises for self-observation that have allowed me to see myself and my actions differently. I particularly found the chapter on Divided Attention to be of benefit. It is such a relief to bring spiritual practice into this moment! This is a book for people who don't wish to imagine themselves anymore.