Editing Fellowship of Friends (section)

==Beliefs and doctrine==
The organization was founded in 1970 by Robert Earl Burton as a [[Fourth Way]] group based on the teachings of early 20th century Russian philosophers [[George Gurdjieff]] (d. 1949) and his disciple [[P. D. Ouspensky|Peter Ouspensky]], but presently incorporates additional [[Western esotericism|esoteric beliefs]] not directly connected with the Fourth Way system.{{ r | LAT_1996-11-04 }}<ref>{{cite web | url=http://livingpresence.com/the-tradition-of-schools/ | title=The Tradition of Schools – Living Presence | date=9 June 2017 }}</ref>

Members believe that most people normally exist in a state of "waking sleep," and that the way to a higher consciousness is through self-awareness, a positive attitude, and engagement in the fine arts.{{ r | LAT_1996-11-04 | NYT_2022-06-16 }}

Burton considers one of his roles as a conduit for teaching ideas communicated to him by 44 beings he calls angels, who are the immortal spirits of men who have achieved awakening, including [[Abraham Lincoln]], [[Johann Sebastian Bach]], Jesus Christ, [[Leonardo da Vinci]], [[Plato]], and [[Walt Whitman]].{{ r | LAT_1996-11-04 | NYT_2022-06-16 }}

This mission is twofold: to create the seed of a new civilization after the catastrophic doom that Burton has predicted since the early days of the organization, though the dates have been changed as each prediction has not been fulfilled, and to create consciousness in the members of the organization.

It is unrelated to the [[Society of friends|"Society of Friends" (aka Quakers)]], a religious group founded in the 1600s in the [[Midlands|English Midlands]] and any similarities are purely coincidental.