Emin (esoteric movement)

The Emin or The Emin Society is an esoteric movement based on the work of Raymond Armin, known to members as "Leo".[1] Originally, The Emin was named The Eminent Way[2] or The Way.[3] The movement arose in the 1970s in the wake of the New Age. The Template Network is a movement which offers activities inspired by the Emin philosophy.

History

The movement started in London in 1973.[4] It was first known as the Emin society and then Eminent Way, which was later abbreviated to "Emin". The organisation was not formally represented by the "Emin Foundation", it was a sub-vector of the emins work. In 1977 an Israeli branch emerged, and a center was established in a Tel Aviv neighborhood in 1980. In November 1978 Emin founder Armin travelled to the US to start the Church of the Emin Coils in Florida. By 1978 there were also groups in Canada and Australia.[2]

In Israel, Emin members established the village Ma'ale Tzviya[2] in 1986.

Raymond Armin (Leo)

Raymond Armin was born in London (1924) under the name Schirtenlieb (which he later changed to Armin), and did most of his schooling in London, living around the St. Johns Wood area. He started his working life as an apprentice tool maker at Borehamwood near London England. Armin did time in the R.A.F. as a quartermaster (His rank was staff sergeant) and whilst serving a year's WW2 assignment in India Armin was court martialled.[5] This came near the climax of WW2, and during this time he married Violet Burton from Waterloo, who eventually became known as Ruth within the Emin.

After the war Armin worked at various locations around the London areas, as manager of a furniture company based in Camden Town, London, and then as a market demonstrator. During the late 1940s and early 1950s, while still living in central London, he became father to four children, one of whom died soon after birth. He relocated in 1958 to Yorkshire to follow a new profession as a travelling salesman selling furniture polish, and then a few years later as an encyclopaedia salesman. In 1960 Armin moved to Nottingham, and moved back to London in 1965, where he worked as a civilian driver for the police and a guard for a security firm.

In 1968 Armin and his son John Armin decided to start a school based in cultural, occult, religious and esoteric values.[6] Eventually they met up with a group of people who were staying in London after travelling around the world 'looking for something', (they were first met by John Armin, an ambulance driver at the time). They formed into a group under the Armins' leadership, and all met regularly over the next two years, primarily at Leo's council flat in Hackney. At some point during this time span group member Deborah McKay joined Raymond and Violet Armin as a live-in companion, eventually becoming known in the Emin Society as 'Ethra'.

In 1972 the group began officially as 'The Emin Society' at which time Raymond Armin became known as 'Leo' and John Armin as 'Orman' within the society. In 1974 shortly after the Emin began to promote itself publicly Armin was discharged from bankruptcy.[5] The society opened various other administration processes and printing companies, including 'Emin Ten', 'Esoteric and occult productions' and 'Emin Ceremonies'. The society used many halls around the London areas, eventually occupying a small centre at Gospel Oak in London. The hierarchical structure of the Emin was dismantled in the Autumn of 1976 and was superseded by 'The Eminent Way' following the relocation to a larger centre at Hotham Road, Putney, London.

After the short-lived 'Church of the Emin Coils' venture in America, Armin returned to the UK to teach at the Putney centre once again.

In 1989 the Israeli Ministry of the Interior refused Armin (Leo) entry into Israel.[7]

At the end of the eighties Raymond Armin moved with his wife (Violet) to America, eventually both becoming American citizens. From 1995 until his death Armin lived in a waterfront retreat at Jensen Beach Florida.[8] Armin died in August 2002 from an aortic aneurysm. Violet Armin (Ruth) died in 2008 in her sleep.

The Emin was founded by members of the Armin family and a gathering of friends interested in Leo's work. Armin was born on 27 July 1924, and died in 2002.[9]

Philosophy

The Archives

Armin has left numerous lectures, written and recorded on audio and video tape. These include writings on psychology and personal development, theology, cosmology, history, meditation, and various practical personal development and perception exercises. Most, but not all, of these writings were written by Raymond Armin.

The Template

The Template is a philosophical concept, introduced by Armin in 1992. It describes the spiritual development of the non-physical body through a hierarchically structured system of 16 spheres. Every sphere, with a symbolic name like amethyst or ruby, represents a level of consciousness.[10]

Offshoots

The Template Network

The Template Network, is an affiliation of groups involved with the Emin philosophy.[11][12] It is an international network of independent groups, with interests including education, art, ecology, well-being, science and spirituality.[13] As of 2009 there were some 1700 people regularly engaged within these groups. There are groups in Australia, Brazil, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, the United Kingdom, and United States. In the UK some of the groups make use of buildings and facilities run by the Template Foundation. There are also several independent organisations and companies offering courses on a commercial basis, that draw on Emin concepts and practices. These include Blue Rose Wellness, an Emin/Template center of spiritual healing, located in Brier, Washington state, United States, and the Ruby Care Foundation, an Emin/Template charity group concerned with grief and loss management.

One premise held by Template Network groups is that creation is continuously evolving and that human life is part of that evolution. Another is that human life is an opportunity to consciously find one's own purpose within that evolution. Each individual is responsible for his or her own development and destiny.

Gemrod Foundation

In 1985, Emin established a centre in Leiden, Netherlands. In the 1990s it founded the "Gemrod Foundation", which organized esoteric workshops, e.g. courses on clairvoyance and aura reading.

See also

References

  1. ↑ Emin Website—Background. Retrieved 10-10-2013
  2. 1 2 3 Despair and Deliverance: Private Salvation in Contemporary Israel. Benjamin Beit-Hallahmi, pp. 17- ; ISBN 0-7914-0999-6 (1992). On Google books
  3. ↑ White - The Emin Unto Itself. Retrieved 10-10-2013
  4. ↑ Oxford Reference — Emin Foundation. Retrieved 19 October 2013
  5. 1 2 Raymond Armin Lecture 1974
  6. ↑ John Armin http://forum.davidicke.com/showpost.php?p=1059899643&postcount=22
  7. ↑ http://www.icsahome.com/articles/state-of-israel-report-csj-6-1
  8. ↑ homemetry.com Address/Property records 1592 Seahorse Pl Jensen Beach, FL 34957
  9. ↑ Leo died in 2002. ref www.emin.org
  10. ↑ J.H. van Splunter, Template (Dutch!)
  11. ↑ The Authors of the Emin Site. Retrieved 10-10-2013
    "This site has been compiled by a group of people from the international template network who have pursued the work and development of the Emin for many years, and who, together with others, steadfastly pioneer its way today."
  12. ↑ Template Network Germany—Who we are. Retrieved 10-10-2013 on web.archive.org
  13. ↑ Template Network. Retrieved 10-10-2013. (The Template Network website is maintained by the Template Foundation)

Books

Emin and Template publications

Various books have been published in limited editions. They include:

Books inspired by the Template

Books by outside observers

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