"The Work" a "Fourth Way School" Visitor Comments

"I stumbled onto your Web site regarding the Everyman Theater etc. It certainly took me back memory lane! My first wife and I were members from 1973 until about March 1974. My brother-in-law stayed after we left, and he suffered a broken arm as part of the group's 'therapy'. My first wife and I both worked, attended college, and participated in the so-called theater, but Alex became more and more abusive. I guess even though I was only a youngster of 22 I must have had enough selfesteem to leave! Alex wanted every cent I made, at the same time he wouldn't let us sleep, so we could go to work. Sleep deprivation was part of their method. I see Alex passed away, and I guess Sharon is still a money magnet."

"It seems like another lifetime, but I spent a short period with Alex Horn's group in San Francisco. Alex effectively forced me out of his 'school' by insisting that I admit to being a homosexual, and I only realized much later that his real interest was in simply getting rid of me. I complicated his life by being a former student of his former student, Robert Burton at the Fellowship of Friends. In retrospect it all seems a bit silly, but the accusation, in front of fifty people, completely floored me! I knew that I was heterosexual, not a complicated kind of self-knowledge, but the power of the group was extraordinary. I also experienced Sharon Gans in the process, and found myself wishing, even in those days of not allowing negative thoughts, that she would just remove herself from the picture. She offended me deeply with her arrogance. What is most outrageous about all of these characters is their willful abuse of what seems to have been an authentic historical teaching. Anyhow, I managed to separate myself from all of this. But afterwards longing for the kind of internationality that this work had come to offer. And this is certainly one of the central problems of this kind of orthodoxy. There's a very strong logic operating here and for those who know how to use it, it's money in the bank!"

"I tried to find the name of this group for a long time. Sharon Gans avoided serious detection through elusive names. In effect, something that doesn't have a name doesn't exist. How can it be critiqued if it can't even be referred to? Very clever on her part. I knew of the Odyssey Study Group, because that's how my former boyfriend's checks were made out. After we moved in together I knew it was a destructive group. My partner had been in the group for 7 years by the time he met me. He would get phone calls at odd hours. I suspect that he did the same. It was monitoring of the victims, by the victims. I wasn't allowed to know their names. Books were covered in paper and hidden in drawers. Early morning classes and late afternoon classes. A weekend a month away with no explanation. The group decided I was a danger, so they stepped up his involvement. It goes on and on. Our relationship ended."

"Thank you so much for putting up information on Sharon Gans, Alex Horn and Robert Klein. I was involved in the 'school' in San Francisco back in 1978, for about a year before the Chronicle published its expose and they packed up and left town. I refused to go with them. While I understood intellectually I had had a 'cult' experience, it took me almost ten years until I started doing any actual healing work around it. My best friend unfortunately is still reeling emotionally after more than 20 years and hasn't been able to address a lot of the abuse experienced."

"Thank you so much for this web site. I needed it years ago when I was still in the group. Sharon verbally lacerated me and then I was asked to leave. All because I asked too many questions. This was painful for many years and I kept silent, because it seemed that I was lost. However, since then I have experienced genuine healing and recovered."

"Much of my life was hell because of Sharon Gans, Alex Horn and Robert Klein. The 'cult,' as I like to call it, often kept 'members' up all night in 'meetings.' I spent much of my childhood sleeping on the floor in hallways within their 24th and Mission Street 'Theater' in San Francisco. I remember not having enough food or clean clothes, because the theater expected so much from its members, which included my parents, through work and money."

"My parents were both members of 'The Theater of All Possibilities'. I spent much of my childhood in the hell known as 'The School'. Sharon Gans, Alex Horn and Robert Klein influenced my parents, who beat me. I was beaten on a daily basis, locked in closets, emotionally abused and told I was 'worthless.' I had to help sell tickets for their plays. I had no childhood because of these people."

"I have a close friend whose spouse has been involved with this group for many years. What has all this lead to? After years at the school and its classes it led to divorce. Sharon Gans is manipulating people and has destroyed families. Some Gans 'students' have left their families and loved ones for their 'teacher.' I don't understand how she can get away with all of this."

"I'd like to say thank you for making this information available to the public. A close friend of mine was a member of this group for many years, without my knowledge. As the years passed I saw her become more and more damaged emotionally, financially, and spiritually. She was a shadow of her former self. Since leaving, she has told me all about her experience, and I was shocked and appalled at the treatment she received. This group victimized her in a most unconscionable way and I am so glad that at last they are being exposed. Their covert activities have kept them in the dark for too long."

"I am so grateful that you have put this information out there for the world to read. I am a former student of the Gans group. Though the esoteric ideas rang true, the essence of the group always felt wrong and controlling. Sharon seemed creepy, manipulative, and dangerous. After 7 years I was able to extract myself. I am happy that I found the strength to believe in my instincts and leave. I wish I had encountered your web site years ago. Thank you for posting all of this information."