22 Nov 2006
Introducing Dame Brenda, Knights Templar
Dame Brenda Brett grew up in London, one of two children born to parents who both worked for a prominent Labour Party newspaper for many years. During the air raids of World War II, Brenda was sent to live with complete strangers in the suburbs, out of harms way, only seeing her parents once during the ordeal. She was allotted one loaf of bread and one pot of jam per week during this period, which continued for over a year. Perhaps in what portended the future, Brenda spent much of this time along the Thames, befriending the circus people.
Later in life she married, had two children, worked for the British government, and involved herself in Labour Party politics, working along side Neil Kinnock and others.
In June 1982, Dame Brenda Brett was knighted into the Sovereign and Military Order of the Knights Templar by Count Fernando Campello Pinto Pereira de Sousa Fontes, Prince Regent and the Order’s international Grand Master at Warwick Castle in England in recognition of her services to spiritual and humanitarian causes.
In 1977 Dame Brenda was the co-producer of the International Youth Festival of Hope for Mankind: a ten day event which was sponsored by the Ockenden Venture (now Ockenden International), an international refugee organization, for 10,000 resident youth plus daily visitors on an 85 acre site in Haslemere, England. The festival encompassed a conference designed to discuss the problems facing the world to seek solutions in the traditional and alternative areas of thought. Brenda was the joint editor of the film, “Children of Hope”, which was a documentary of the discussions and activities. In order to organize the event, Brenda lived in the refugee community with Tibetans, Vietnamese and refugees from many nations.
In early 1978, Dame Brenda flew to the United States to become part of the core team of seven people who produced the World Symposium on Humanity, an 8 day event which happened in 20 cities around the world simultaneously from April 7-14, 1979. The main events were at major conference centers in Los Angeles, Toronto, and London. The purpose of the symposium was to bring together the greatest minds of our time to discuss the future of planet Earth. Dame Brenda was the Executive Director of the London event which presented 150 speakers and workshop leaders as well as internationally known entertainers. She was responsible for coordinating the organization in Europe, Scandinavia and Australia.
Throughout her life, Dame Brenda has traveled extensively in Europe and Scandinavia and since 1978 in America and Canada. In 1980 she established residence in the United States and has visited most of the 50 states. During her travels she studied alchemy (practical laboratory work as well as theory), astrology, astronomy, Qabalah and the study of the cycles at Paracelsus College, esoteric wisdom with the Lucis Trust Arcane School in New York, Neuro-linguistic Programming (a certified NLP Practitioner), hypnosis (a certified hypnotherapist), meditation and psychic development, The Sedona Method, transpersonal gestalt, and many other spiritual studies and disciplines.
Brenda shared a keen interest in emerging technology and new media, including her studies of computer graphics, 3D modeling, film animation, and design for broadcasting.
In the 1990s she returned to England where she continued her practice and was the director of a hospital radio charity which delivered inspiration to the aged and terminally ill. During this time she produced several acclaimed guided meditation tapes, including the popular Rose Garden Meditation, and operated the Flowing Gold Variety Club — an ongoing social networking organisation.
Brenda was an avid dancer, who loved pop music as well as the classics. One of her favorite pop stars was Madonna. She claimed, accurately, to be able to “…out bop anyone” at Smollensky’s on the Strand, London! Even for a woman in her seventies, she was eternally youthful. In the words of Alan, her first husband, “Others grow old; you do not…”On April 17, 2003, Dame Brenda went on to meet her angels after a short but courageous battle against cancer. She was beloved by many who knew her, from ordinary folks to celebrities, and everyone in between. Learn more about Dame Brenda’s Guided Meditation
Memories of Brenda
Brenda Brett was a shining example of goodness, grace and intelligence and she was a truly beautiful person. We shared the World Symposium (1979) after it happened when we first met in Washington DC a year later. I am writing this now as my dear friend and brother Ed Elkin shared with me this morning about this tribute to Brenda and I felt I had to share my thoughts also. She was a kind, loving and generous person who had grace and style and a great sense of humor. We always talked a lot and enjoyed sharing. She was in London and working hard with many of you. I was in Pasadena with the group there—a group of us worked for 6 months to bring an entourage from Northern California to LA for the event and we are still connected after all of these years. It was a pivotal turning point event for many of us – an amazing experience-the first and only of its kind. Strange the satellite went out the day before so we were all involved in each location, but not connected as we had planned. Brenda, Ron Klein, Ed Elkin (Maui) Guru Raj Singh and Datar Singh.and the folks in Toronto also shared when we all met together again about a year later.
Brenda and I stayed in touch and spent a lot of time together when she moved to the Bay Area. Then we visited her years later when she was back in London and had a lovely visit. Can you imagine how much easier it would have been if all the networking we did in those days was on Facebook and the Internet? Not sure how we did it before but we did. Its astounding how much has changed.
But my admiration, friendship and love for Brenda has continued over all of this time. I send to each of you my best wishes and blessings for a great year ahead and life full of adventures, and with the spirit and knowing that there is great connection in love and humanity that lasts over time and beyond.
Love and light
Stevanne Auerbach, PhD
Aka
Butterfly lady
Dr Toy
Networker
Stevanne Auerbach
August 23rd, 2011 at 7:29 ampermalink
Guided today, Aug. 22, 2011 to see what had been written about Brenda and was happily surprised to find this Sojournalist listing and comments.
As some of you may remember, I was the Consulting Synergist on the World Symposium Team, basically spending 3 months based in London with Brenda, and then going on to Toronto and finally
to LA and Pasadena just before our April event.
The time is etched in my memory as one of the happiest and most satisfying eras in my life. I loved Brenda thoroughly and encouraged her to marry the younger man she loved which she did.
The energy and glow of the World Symposium lives on in the hearts and minds of many . I’ve been living on Maui now for over 22 years,. and invite contacts from any of you reading this who knew Brenda. My phone is 760-884-7036 with an
e-mail at and a website at
if you care to know more about me.
When I was living in Escondido, CA I often attended a spiritualist church which gave messages from those who had “passed over” . One such message clearly came from Brenda whose energy, intelligence, and charisma shall always be with those of us fortunate enough to have met her.
God Bless you, Dame Brenda, wherever you are. Thanks and
mahalo nui loa for your presence among us. ALOHA.
Ed Jor-El Elkin
August 23rd, 2011 at 2:37 ampermalink
I knew Brenda around the late 90`s, she was a source of inspriration to me as i was going through a very hard time. She always had a supportive word and time to talk and listen..
I was deeply saddened to hear of her passing, from our world, but happy for those that will benefit from on her wealth of knowledge and wisdom in the next plain of existence.
It was a pleasure knowing you Brenda..
Love always
Alan xx
Alan Hutton
April 6th, 2011 at 12:07 pmpermalink
I lived and worked with Brenda on the world symposium in 1979. There was a calling that went out to all who heard (it calls us still ) and I like all the other friends came from every continent on earth,from every country to help. We came …and we knew each other,as if we had spent a thousand lifetimes together. I knew you and you knew me. Your soul was open and filled with divine lightness. You were beautiful to behold. There were saints, sinners and singers. Every person had been born to the awakening. And we came by strange and mysterious paths to this gathering on earth and leant our souls light to the whole that it could be born in universal love, light and brotherhood. We came in response to our personal meditation and paths to help initiate and be of service to the universal consciousness transforming earth.What love was planted. What humble dear people you are high or low you were there and here now!
And dear Brenda, and Malcolm, Issabel, Stephen, Quuddus, Margaret, Joyce,Barbara…May you (any missing names are etched in the true reality…unending)… all your names are here in my heart…thankyou..thankyou for then and thankyou to all the beautiful lines of love and joy threading through all of us now. To all the bountiful light filled love filled projects.you initiated..to the ineffable that is best seen when we love all ,when we see the best in all beings and so it is…to you all …bravo am raising my cup to you all …x
supapon Blue Mountains Australia
supapon
January 6th, 2009 at 4:15 ampermalink
Quuddus what a wonderful joy to here your voice here in honouring our dear dear friend Brenda.
There can only be one emerald green sufi with such a mad dance of the soul …much much love ,supapon.
Baraka, blessings,love and joy may the light that is you be unfailing on your path.
supapon
January 6th, 2009 at 3:37 ampermalink
I worked with Brenda on the World Symposium on Humanity in 79 as an assistant busybody, going to Paris as a PR person, coordinating the sufi part of the symposium, arranging for a press conference for Ram Dass after he was blocked from enetering the UK, and generally causing more trouble than I was worth, even sleeping on her floor in her bedroom one night. We had a great team, lots of folks, and she and Malcolm’s 2-person shared management team was the inspiration for my futuristic utopian Sharing Futures, Ltd. model of a more fair and balanced world to come. I did not know of her passing. She was initiated into the sufi order by my sheikh Joyce Rabia Purcell, MBE that summer and received the sufi name Sayyida. She attended the sufi camp in the alps that summer also, where Pir Vilayat Khan did his month long retreat talks. I know her kids and miss them and hope all is well. Brenda will live on as a fairy godmother of the Sharing Futures model. I can still see her reading my intial 20 page draft at the Galstonbury fair that summer, and we lived in the same house owned by Margaret Rogers in Gidea Park, Romford, Sussex. That was where she met her future husband before moving to America. I was there then. That house is where the original white light inspirations for Sharing Futures, Ltd., began, based on Brenda example. Blessing.
Jim Quddus Cumming, M.S., M.A.
November 16th, 2007 at 9:29 ampermalink
I too have just read here of Brenda’s passing. I had left London returning to New Zealand in 1996 and kept in touch with her by sending birthday wishes till loosing her new address.
I too knew Brenda through the Flowing Gold Club and experienced some guided healing from her … amazing and positive effects are still with me.
I am in awe to read about her history, so much I didn’t know. We did have conversations about alchemy that helped embed it into my core beliefs.
Brenda was a woman who has made a great and lasting impact on my life and having read the above there is so much more I would have loved to connect with her about.
Brenda was always open and welcoming and generous of herself, her time and her knowledge. I love my copy of the Rose Garden Meditation and feel priviledged to have personally known her and shared a friendship.
Love, Angela
Angela Doudney
April 26th, 2007 at 12:50 ampermalink
I only just heard that Brenda had passed on, I got to know her pretty well during the flowing gold club era, where she was an inspiration and a catalyst for so much good communication and activity. Petaltone Essences had their first public outings during these sessions.
I did work with her on producing a guided meditation entitled ‘World Leaders’ which was to be a tape at one stage, featuring the unique and excellent idea of visualising our leaders coming to their senses and doing it ‘right’ for a change…a powerful idea indeed.
I’ll have a look and see if i can find a copy of that tape.
meanwhile to all her friends I met and shared with I offer my joy at having had the honour of being her friend,
blessings
david eastoe
David Eastoe
March 19th, 2007 at 4:18 ampermalink