"Why should I take your course when I can get lots of information from a book? I respect your organization and the time and effort you have put forth to develop a training program. However, I firmly believe you cannot charge a fee for religion. If you were offering an educational degree recognized in college or university, that, of course, would be a different story. As it is, I disagree with your methods, if not your motives. Best of luck to you in any case. May the Lord and Lady be with you."

We replied: "Many thanks for your message. We respect your point of view, but would just like to mention some points you may not have considered: You say you can get the same information for less in book format, but the whole point of the course is that it is not just about information - you become a member of a worldwide community who meet, sometimes physically at workshops, retreats and summercamps, sometimes through the Internet group NOBOD, sometimes through the monthly Touchstone Open Forum, and hopefully sometimes in the Inner World too.

The course is experiential more than informational, and can take you on an experiential journey that a book cannot, because you can always skip and peek with a book. Being in diaologue with an on-line mentor is also something which a book cannot provide. So, although a book can provide information, it cannot provide you with these relationships: with an Order, with a spiritual community, with a mentor.

It would be great if all this could be provided for free, but the world isn't like that and all these things cost money to set up and maintain. Each year, for example, students receive over 60 lessons, together with audio-cassettes and a monthly copy of the magazine Touchstone. So in terms of value for money, we do not feel that the course is too expensive for what is provided. While I understand that many people feel that money and spirituality are incompatible, this is really an idea that comes from the dualism of Christianity which puts money, dirt, the Earth, sex and the body, matter and the Feminine on one side of the fence, and Spirit, mind, purity and Good on the other side. Finally, you may be interested to know that our course is now accredited with Westbrook University, so that students can allocate credits earned through taking our course towards their degree (Bachelor's, Masters, or Doctoral level programmes are available - see course info for more details)."