First and most importantly I want to be very, very, clear that Robert was not expelled due to a vie for power amongst the Adepti of our Order, nor because we did not "like" the way Robert was running it. Robert Zink was expelled because he was victimizing the students who joined our Order through the illegal activities of theft, credit-card fraud, and inappropriate sexual advances to the female members of the Order. These activities became so gross and so often (daily) that as an Order (Outer and Inner) we were forced to take extreme measures. This was not a decision that was made lightly, and it was made as a last resort when all other attempts to help him reform (attempts we had been making for years) failed. After his expulsion I received a sea of e-mails from other Order members, current students, and ex-members who were quite thankful and exclaimed "What took you so long?!"
For those of you who were wondering what took us so long, the truth of the matter is that as an Order and especially as a Body of Adepti, being of a Rosicrucian lineage...we debated for a long time whether or not it was the proper and right thing as a Rosicrucian to do. Rosicrucian values teach love and forgiveness...does kicking out the "head" of the Order represent those ideals? It was only after seeing the intense pain, and suffering that was being caused to our members, and through much contemplation, and contact with spiritual guides that we realized something very important....as Adepti we are the servants, we serve our students just as the Shepard serves his flock. It is our duty to protect them, to guide them, to teach them, and above all not to break the spiritual trust of a student who is seeking the Truth in the mysteries. Above all, this is our utmost goal...the protection and care of our students, not the support of one man who has dedicated the better part of his esoteric career taking advantage of them.
Secondly, I would like to make it known that Robert was not the "founder" of our Order. Although he may have been appointed Chief and held that title for many years, he did not start the Order. The Order was started by a group of individuals, who after seeing a time of intense growth within their group decided to vote on a Chief after a round of testing. Robert was voted in as Chief, along with two other Chiefs (three in all) and as such he was voted out and expelled when he failed for over twenty years to fulfill his duties as a spiritual leader.
Thirdly, I would like to point out that throughout the history of our Order, the culture, presence and current was created by the group of people who worked very diligently to make this Order grow and thrive despite Robert's continued efforts to sabotage it...not by Robert himself. Nonetheless a Golden Dawn Order does not belong to one person, it belongs to all people. It is meant to be founded for the betterment of people, not for the ego-stroking of one person. The things that are built throughout time are built by the people...for the people. It sounds very American of me to say this, but a spiritual tradition who serves only one person is a cult not a service to the Divine or to the seeker of Light.
Lastly, we have not changed the workings of the Order thus far because it is the Order that we love, an Order that was created by the blood, sweat, and tears of many, many people with the markings of all these people's efforts. For as long as I have been around I have not seen Robert put one cent into the Order, nay he has spent many years instead draining Temple funds, scaring away our students by charging gas, snacks, and little league parties on thier credit cards without permission. Every Temple, every tool, every Power Week has been accomplished because of the sheer will and dedication of the members, and it is to the members that the Order shall go.
We may in the near future decide to change courses, but as I stated on another blog, our current efforts are focused on making sure that our students stay protected. As of now Robert is still attempting to use the EOGD name to gain access to people's credit card information and use it for unauthorized purchases via his website. We are currently working to put a stop to this, everything else is inconsequential.
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"Rosicrucian values teach love and forgiveness...does kicking out the "head" of the Order represent those ideals?"
ReplyDeleteYe gods, yes.
"Remember that unbalanced force is evil; that unbalanced severity is but cruelty and oppression; but that also unbalanced mercy is but weakness which would allow and abet Evil."
You displayed unbalanced mercy towards that man and those who willfully supported him for YEARS. Yes, I was a member of said order, yes I left too along with a bunch of other people for exactly that: you cannot claim to be a spiritual organization and provide spiritual advancement while you continue to condone, aid, and abide unethical and immoral activities within said organization.
This isn't rocket science. I can't believe you're actually defending what was a lapse in judgment, reason, and basic humanity towards others AS a Rosicrucian.
You can love and forgive a person, and still stop them from harming others, as you've apparently figured out now.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your response Andrea. I think it is important for the community to hear from people who've had experiences in this situation. Its obvious that you had some very real and direct contact with Robert's unpleasantries and that you are still bearing the scars from it. Now that you have had some time away from the situation I do hope that your healing will continue. LVX
ReplyDeleteThanks for this well written letter, soror. I also find it absurd when I read all the great things that Robert did for our order. I can look at most of them and know with great certainty that he had little or nothing to do with them. Take "Power Week" for example. I have personally put more time and energy into the two Power Weeks we have hosted here in Chicago than Robert Zink has over the last 15 some years the order has been hosting them. His sole purpose is to attend these events, sell his products, and furthermore demand any leftover money that may have been gained, to line his own pockets, that would benefit the hosting temple.
ReplyDeleteOff the top of my head, another bogus claim is that Robert Zink is responsible for the grade materials and teachings of the order. Aside from his voice recordings, he has absolutely nothing to do with the grade materials, at least as they exist today.
What is most important for people to know, which you have stated here as well, is that this order is what it is because of the hard work of the entire adept body with the exception of Robert Zink who has held back this order for far too many years. The vast majority of adepti of the EOGD give far more than they recieve. Robert was quite the opposite: he took so much from everyone (not just financially) and gave next to nothing in return.
It is unfortunate that it took years to get Robert removed from the EOGD.
ReplyDeleteIn a way I can see why it took so long.The order was like a kind of dysfunctional family whose members are spread out all over the place and certain members knew their was this giant elephant in the room but weren't exactly sure how to make it go away.The creation of the board of directors within the inner order was the first step and needed for legitimacy so that it would not be as Nick put it "a rebellion".Voting Robert out was the right thing to do.Voting rights within G.D. orders will be what will free them from ego obsessed people and allow them to grow.It's the best thing to happen to the G.D. in a 100 years.
As a former member I can vouch for the validity of the hard working members of the order who gave so much of their time and energy to a tradition that is truly beautiful.My leaving the order had less to do with Robert and more to do with the fact I wasn't a particularly good magician.Some people are more magically inclined and I am not.That said I have great friends who are still in the order and I have no regrets..
Link to the original, please?
ReplyDeleteWow Andrea, I am impressed by your ignorance. Here you state that you were once a member of said order and left because of the indiscrepencies...and yet you throw hatred at the ones who finally took this man down. I find it interesting that you are being so judgmental. It is quite obvious that when you were around this order you saw a lot of things, and yet you ran away leaving the mess for others to clean up. If you are so brave, and strong in your self-righteousness, why didn't you stick around and put in the work to take this man down? Maybe the reason it took so long for this to happen is because of all the cowards who were afraid to stand up to him. Instead of fighting for what is right, they just kept leaving...because it was easier to let someone else deal with it. You knew when you were in the order that these things were going on and YOU did nothing...don't judge those who had enough gumption to pick up where you left off.
ReplyDeleteAs horrible as things were, continuing with the game of toss the ball, where we are throwing around negativity to any one, Robert Zink Included, I feel is just another dam we are building that withholds the Light from flowing through us. Correct me Soror FSO if Im wrong, but I feel that this letter was written to clear things up and thats all. Not to further cast stones. Im sure every one of us has needles in our eyes and our own faults that we as magicians (past or present) are striving to work with. Robert Zinks lesson was a very public one, and even though there is a lot of pain, he is still human travelling his path as we all are. I forgive Robert Zink for the things that were done (for I too have my own personal experiences with him over the years) and wish him nothing but Love, Light and that the compassion of Shekinah surround him, and heal him in everyway. LVX
ReplyDeleteGREAT blog Soror!
ReplyDeleteMade some very good points. Especially that an order belongs to its members and that Robert did not create it. So many wonderful adepti did the thinking, the teaching, the development of materials, the classes. Robert surrounded himself with intelligent people but bullied them and treated them like dirt. I saw this in action. The order was made of these intelligent people. If anyone owns it, it is them. A particularly unsung heroine in this was Robert's then wife, Raphaela, who did so much hard work for him. I saw her work so damn hard and all he did was make constant demands and cheat on her. I never once heard him thank her or offer to do something in her place, This taught me who that man truly was. Not any of his CDs or regurgitation of self help books.
As Anthony Robbins says "most people fail in life because they major in minor things". Robert majored in the minor skills of the con artist, the liar, the cheat, the stealer of others' ideas. He talked the talk but walked a very different walk.
I always thought that if he had actually LIVED the spiritual principles he spent so much time just preaching about, what a great man he could have been!
Maybe he will learn in the next life...?
I am so glad the EOGD has set its house in order. It has so much greatness potential.
LVX
I remember coming to POWER WEEK and RZ turned up 3 days into the event and I would just like to say that it was you JC who made the biggest impression on me that week, and others.
ReplyDeleteI often have had the thought was I a coward for leaving should I have stayed and fought, and I did speak out many times, and it broke me to leave but when like me, you did speak out you were pushed out, so saying people are cowards and should have stayed and fought it how could I when in the end the group I was working with dew to RZ turn on you. He would have never let me move up to get into a position to change things or have a say.
And nowhere in any spiritual text does it say be a doormat let people rip the piss out of you NO where. So for people in the outer order it was imposable, You in the inner order showed you had a strength together and I respect that I know it can't of been easy to get him out and I have prayed for you all even himself. I wish you all every sucsses but think before you judge others harshly for walking away. It wasn't an easy decision not at all. For me.
In LVX
It's very interesting to see the breadth of comments that have been posted in response to this blog. It really represents the multitude of difficulties and uneasy positions people have been put in. I do not think that anyone should judge another person for either staying or leaving. I think every person who stayed or left did so because they felt it was the best thing to do at that time. Its important to respect that each person is in a different space and that each person had their own experience to draw upon that affected their ultimate decision.
ReplyDeleteMy next statement is not in anyway a statement of defense, but is based on personal experience. The above post by an anonymous reader highlights one of the number one uses of fear by Robert, and I would daresay be quite a temptation for anyone who comes into a position of power in the Golden Dawn. That is the dangling of grade materials, officer positions, special teachings etc over one's head in exchange for something else. Although some people may think the contrary the fact is that most Adepts spent years buffering PDR's reactions, and manipulations so that people would not have to deal with his deficiencies. As I stated before, this Order grew not because of him, but in spite of him. Thus in the end, although the illusion of holding back grade materials, etc was often used by Robert to gain something from someone, in privateI never actually saw it happen. He even tried to hold back my Adepthood because he didn't like that I was dating an Adept (who later on became my husband)...but that lasted about a month.
Robert's games have always been smoke and mirrors, and just like in his days as a show magician in Las Vegas, its a game he sure is good at.
Soror FSO,
ReplyDeleteThanks for your post. I was an adept who also left not too long ago. During my time in the Order, I was always a little reluctant to get to close to RZ. He could be a lot of fun and really add zeal to a ritual, etc, but something just did not feel right. However, I would look at most of the adepts and say they are great examples of really good people, so everything must be ok. The adepts were the ones who supported the temples by giving their time to organize classes, teach students. The adepts were also the ones who kept ALL the temples open and running with money from their own pockets. They also paid for RZ's plane tickets, and other financial needs he had periodically.
I also agree with the others that Raphaela was one of the kindest adepts who perhaps suffered the most from his actions. I was very proud of her when she finally left him after he cheated on her so many times.
As I got closer to the Inner Order, I became aware that RZ did not approve of something in my personal life. I honestly thought I could talk to him since he was our Chief and he would be a reasonable man. I was wrong and somehow incurred his wraith although I did nothing at all wrong and had only been a supportive and reliable adept. When I brought this to the attention of another Chief, he did listen and try to console me but it became apparent that nothing was going to change in the Order to prevent these kinds of things from happening again. That is when I left. I am still amazed that so many of you became empowered enough to try to bring about positive change. I have to ask what took you so long ;)? I hope you can now focus on the Great Work and really give all the students the support and training they really need. I hope everyone (including RZ), can heal and grow in the near future. Good luck to all of you.
Sheta...sorry for the delay, I'm sure you've seen it already but since you asked here is the link.
ReplyDeletehttp://nick-farrell.blogspot.com/
Thank you for information...
ReplyDelete