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Board of Trustees Meeting with Richard Kieninger, At Factory
Boardroom, November 16, 1975, 10:00 A.M. At the invitation of the Board
of Trustees, Richard Kieninger met with us at 10.00 A.M., November 16, 1975,
in the Factory Boardroom, to discuss matters of concern to the progress of
Stelle. Richard said he thinks The
Stelle Group is moving where we are supposed to go as best he can determine.
He said he has had enough discussion with various people in the group to feel
that what we need is information and not his presence, that the acceptance of
information might be a little easier for the group without his “enforcing”
it. He said that henceforth he will put any information he has for us in
writing instead of just talking about it. Relative to the information that he
has to teach, he will put this into a book. He said that even though he is
moving to Texas, he will remain available for consultation and will be no
further away than the telephone. He said he had thought that during the first
three months of the new administration, we would have many questions, but
there have been few. He doesn’t know that he would benefit the overall
program by remaining in the area. Richard said he would be
raising a great deal of money during the next ten years or so in order to
build Philadelphia. He said he had known that starting Philadelphia was one
of his responsibilities, and that there were two other areas. He said he
would not mention at present what those other two areas are, although they
will be useful and beneficial to all concerned. Relative to his planned
activities while in Texas, Richard mentioned the possibility of starting some
kind of manufacturing concern. He has seriously thought of starting another
school, mainly because he thinks he needs a not for-profit status in the next
few years, but he said that the school would not be intended to compete with
The Stelle Group. He said he doesn’t know how the U. S. Government can hold
together, but he thinks Texas will stick together regardless. Richard said he may try to get
back his membership so that he can clear his personal record and re-establish
a more effective working relationship with The Stelle Group. John Alexander
questioned him in regard to a statement of some years ago in which Richard
had said he would remain in his position as President of The Stelle Group
until 1980. Richard said that had been his expectation at that time, but
things got a little out of hand since then—he got precipitated out of the
situation. Walter asked Richard whether
he intends to write something to the membership relative to his leaving.
Richard answered that he would be writing an open letter to the membership. Richard expressed his concern
as to how he is going to know what is happening in Stelle while he is not
here. He said it would be helpful to receive some of the information that the
membership receives at meetings, including financial statements; but that he
had received nothing so far. Walter suggested that the simplest way to
correct that situation would be to correct his standing with the group. There
was some discussion of whether, if Richard could correct his standing with
the group and then moved to Texas, he could remain a member more than the six
months allowed under the existing by-law provisions. It was pointed out that
this would be possible provided Richard were involved in official business of
The Stelle Group. John Alexander asked Richard
for his feelings about education, specifically in the Stelle School. Richard
said that the two more criteria he had received were that children should (1)
read at the age of three and attend the school from age three to six, with a
one-to-one relationship with the parent being the best; (2) have a teacher
during that period to provide some information as to how the mother can be
most effective. He said that the other skills can be developed as you go
along-writing, etc. The intensity
of new material given to the child should be individual, but enough to
challenge the child. What exactly is in the material is less important than
the above tenets. Richard said that the negative reinforcement method of
teaching-utilizing fear of failure-was not desirable. He said that the
positive reinforcement method—pacing everything so that the child is always
succeeding—is a much better system. The matter was discussed as to
how the integrity of the Lemurian Philosophy can be maintained in Stelle.
Richard said that The Stelle Group was originally a school, and that Stelle
Industries, Inc. was a facility that could be used for teaching people practicality.
The community was a place where people could interact without too much
interference from outside. The Stelle Group as a school was able to impose a
discipline. When asked who established the discipline, Richard answered that
whoever was in charge established it. There was some discussion about the
present system by which the Trustees simply administer the desires of the
membership, although hopefully advising the membership of any information
they have that will help individuals arrive at the best decision when voting.
Jeanette asked whether we are supposed to be a school where everyone is a
student and falls under discipline. Richard said that we are to set up a
society but that the school is part of the situation too. How to hold to the
Lemurian Philosophy without diluting it under the present organizational
structure was discussed. Richard pointed out that there are some kinds of
things to be aware of, such as individuals who bring a teaching to Stelle and
hope to convert us. But it was generally recognized that people will make the
right decision in upholding the Lemurian Philosophy here at Stelle. This led into a discussion of
the benefit of having Emissaries here to help define the right direction.
Richard said he doesn’t think the group is ready for Citizenship Training,
for the reasons stated in his letter of May 31, 1974. He said he is concerned
with a certain rigidity in the group that mostly derives from hangovers from
our present civilization. He said the group seems to be very unsure as to
what constitutes loving another person—what are the bounds of that and it
always seems safer to do nothing than to do something. People are going to
have to loosen up, he said, and say, “This is really my family—all of the
people here.” He said there also needs to be some way for people to feel more
welcome when they come into the group. He said that in many ways we have
evolved ourselves but have not evolved a society. He said that individual
homes are a very sound part of the plan, but that this should not limit us in
reaching out to other people. He said the closeness he is speaking of, the
feeling of family with out neighbors, would probably operate only within a
specific neighborhood (neighborhoods have been defined in the past as consisting
of approximately 3,000 persons) with the people we meet daily. He said the
goal is human happiness, productivity, and Egoic advancement. Malcolm asked Richard what he
considered to be the ideal as to marital relationships. Richard said the
ideal is healthy, happy individuals and healthy, happy marriages. Walter said
that Richard had explained to him an integrated system of social interaction
which was related to Richard by a Brother named James some years ago in
Chicago. Richard said that he did not wish to explain the system again, but
that he would write a book discussing the topic in general; he said Walter
could relate to the other trustees the content of their discussion the day
before. Walter reported as follows:[1] “Richard and I discussed the
relative lack of effectiveness of the present social system, in that the real
rate of true marriages, or “balanced polar couplings,” is very low. Richard
estimated that only one in every five marriages even works out to be marginally
effective; this he attributed to the way in which we raise our children and
our general consciousness with regard to human sexuality. He stated that in
order to correct the situation, it will be necessary to rethink and
restructure our attitudes toward social interaction. Richard said that we
should try to reverse the proportions to the point where four out of five
marriages would he true balanced polar couplings; but to do so will require
us to move gradually toward a system where relationships are based on a
loving, caring attitude rather than one which is essentially exploitive as in
the present society. When I asked further questions as to how specifically
Richard thought we might more effectively raise our children, he said that a
Brother named James had spent about two days with him in Chicago sometime
during 1959 and had informed him of a system which had been used successfully
in Lemuria and ancient Egypt. James did not tell Richard how we should
structure our social system in Stelle or the Nation of God; he simply outlined
a system which had produced a high percentage of balanced polar couplings,
and therefore stable homes in which to raise children, during previous
civilizations. “Richard went on to say that
children were instructed from birth in the essentials of learning how to
express affection and nurture non-exploitive relationships which would be to
the benefit of all parties concerned. Children were not made to wear clothing,
and they were not enjoined from sexual expression of affection for one
another. It was not uncommon, for instance, for children four or five years
old to learn about sexual intercourse with other children of similar age; but
this comparative freedom was tempered by a system of strict discipline based
on the following: 1.
A loving, caring attitude coupled with the
development of a sense of responsibility for other people as well as for
oneself. 2.
Strict age groupings. These groupings were not
specified, but a ten year old boy, for instance, was not permitted to
interact with a four year old girl due to obvious physical discrepancies.
Once a child reached puberty, he was not permitted to interrelate with
pre-pubescent children. 3.
Instruction in birth control. No one who was
unmarried was permitted by the rules of society to bear a child. Abortion was
employed in the rare instances when it became necessary, or an adoptive
family was found. “After attaining adulthood, a
man or woman could become involved only with other adults. There were no
restrictions imposed by the society on relations of any sort by consenting
adults, except as they related to marriage and children. Here again the
relative freedom was tempered by a disciplined system. 1.
No couple was permitted to declare their state of
marriage and be officially recognized by the State as married until they had
lived together for at least three years as an initial test of their
compatibility. During this period expert counseling services were available
to everyone. 2.
Marriages so declared were recognized to be
officially contracted unions between man, woman, and State, and could only be
dissolved given the consent of the State. 3.
Childbearing was allowed only after an officially
recognized marriage had been contracted. Unmarried couples, even though they
might be living together, were not permitted to have children. “The result of this freedom
combined with disciplines which related to the chief concern of the society,
namely the welfare of children who would become future Citizens, was that a
very high percentage of the official marriages were also true marriages, or
balanced polar couplings. This meant that homelife was quite stable. The
children were raised in such a way that they were capable of creating
balanced polar couplings; therefore, a highly refined state of civilization
was maintained. There was a strong sense of commitment to nurture one’s
marriage as true balanced polar coupling due to the recognized importance of
maintaining a stable home for the rearing of children. Every effort was made
by married couples to resolve differences and advance within a lifetime in
such a manner that a balanced polar coupling could be maintained. For
example, if a man were required to upgrade his education in order to further
his career, then his wife was also required to undertake such training. In
the instances where couples were not able to maintain balanced polar
couplings, divorce was permitted. In these cases, the woman frequently
returned to live with her family. Families were often quite extended, so that
aunts, grandmothers, etc., lived
within the same household; when this was not the case, relatives tended to
live in close proximity to one another. In this manner, children of divorced
parents experienced life in a setting which afforded examples of balanced
polar couplings and strong male and female figures. The parents shared the
responsibility for the children, and every effort was made to see that such
children were not socially or culturally deprived. “Single people were never made
to feel compelled to marry in order to gain social acceptance; it was
considered far better to have fewer marriages than to have marriage forced by
society on individuals who were not inclined toward marriage. Homosexuality
was not forbidden, and if a man or woman wished to establish a relationship
with another individual, that was considered to be strictly the business of
the individuals involved. Richard understood this to be a rarity, however,
since homosexuality is not in harmony with fourth plane attraction. “With regard to adultery,
James said that this had existed in every society, and that the Jews had
finally thought of a word for it. He said that it was fruitless to forbid
adultery, because some persons felt compelled to experience relationships
outside of an existing marriage, but that this practice tended to detract
from the maintenance of a balanced polar coupling. “The central theme of the
system Richard presented was that if a society allows individuals to develop
into balanced, happy human beings, then balanced polar couplings will
naturally develop, because this is part of God’s plan. Balanced polar
couplings cannot be created or enforced by society, but good marriages are
based on such relationships, and the stable homes which result are the
foundation of civilization.” This concludes Walter’s summary. Richard went on to say that he
had avoided presenting the information which had been passed on to him by
James because he had not yet fully integrated it into his personality. He
said that he felt as though he had each of his legs firmly planted in a different
culture. He also said that the ramifications would be staggering if his
information were to become known as representative of the official thinking
of The Stelle Group, and that he had hoped to delay its presentation until we
no longer had to worry about interference from local governments. Richard said that he felt that
the surfacing of this information would not cause very many immediate changes
in the behavior of members of The Stelle Group, but that the strain of
integrating these ideas into our thinking may eventually cause a period of
difficult social adjustment. He stated that to fully integrate the
information into our consciousness may take as long as five or six
generations (150 to 200 years). He said that we had to start sometime,
however. Jeanette asked whether Richard still wanted to work
on his Stelle assignment from the Brotherhoods, since he had expressed
several times that he had hoped the Brothers would remove him from this
assignment, and couldn’t he resign if he really wanted out of the situation.
Richard said that he couldn’t resign just by saying as an incarnate
individual that he didn’t want to do the job any more, because his commitment
was on an Egoic level and part of an agreement made prior to incarnating. He
affirmed that he does wish to continue working on the Brotherhoods’ Plan,
although he will be working on some other aspects of it at present. Malcolm asked Richard if a
resolution had been reached relative to his request for a tour of Stelle.
Walter reported that he had related to Richard how each of the trustees felt
about this request as expressed during the trustees’ meeting on the previous
Tuesday: Kurt Raillard and John Alexander had felt that a
tour would be appropriate and that under the circumstances we should respond
affirmatively. Malcolm had stated that he felt a tour would be inappropriate
given Richard’s expelled status and the trustees’ duty to uphold decisions
made by the only judicial system we have in Stelle. Jeanette had said that
she didn’t know about a tour, but that she did feel it was essential to meet
with Richard as he was our only contact with the Brotherhoods, and that this
meeting should occur prior to his departure for Texas. Walter had stated that
he felt a tour was inappropriate in light of Richard’s expulsion, but that he
felt a meeting in the board room on Sunday with Richard would be all right,
because we could meet with anyone in the board room on official business of
The Stelle Group or Stelle Industries, Inc. Malcolm had stated that he did
not favor meeting with Richard in Stelle due to the expulsion. Walter moved
that we meet with Richard in Stelle on Sunday in the board room, then tell
him how we felt about the tour, and let him make the final decision as to
whether he thought the tour would be appropriate. John, Kurt, and Walter
voted for this motion. It was also agreed that we would inform the membership
at Saturday’s meeting of Richard’s request and the fact of our meeting with
him on Sunday morning. Richard then said that he did not want to put the
trustees on the spot, that he would like a tour, but that he would pass for
now given the circumstances. The meeting adjourned. Secretary APPROVED ______________________________ President |
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