Gurdjieff International Review Gurdjieff International Review Welcome to the Gurdjieff International Review—a source of informed essays and commentary on the history, writings, and teachings of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff. Mr. Gurdjieff was an extraordinary man, a master in the truest sense. His teachings speak “There do exist enquiring minds, to our most essential questions: Who am I? which long for the truth of the Why am I here? What is the purpose of life, and heart, seek it, strive to solve the of human life in particular? As a young man, problems set by life, try to Gurdjieff relentlessly pursued these questions penetrate to the essence of things and became convinced that practical answers and phenomena and to penetrate lay within ancient traditions. Through many into themselves. If a man reasons years of searching and practice he discovered and thinks soundly, no matter answers and then set about putting what he had which path he follows in solving learned into a form understandable to the these problems, he must Western world. Gurdjieff maintained that, inevitably arrive back at himself, owing to the abnormal conditions of modern and begin with the solution of the life, we no longer function in a harmonious problem of what he is himself and way. He taught that in order to become what his place is in the world harmonious, we must develop new around him.” faculties—or actualize latent potentialities—through “work on oneself.” He G. I. Gurdjieff presented his teachings and ideas in three forms: writings, music, and movements which “Gurdjieff gave me many new correspond to our intellect, emotions, and ideas I did not know before, and physical body. he gave a system I did not know before. About schools I did know, Excerpts from the Talks and for I had been travelling and Writings looking for schools for 10 years. He had an extraordinary system, of G. I. Gurdjieff and quite new. Some separate fragments of it could be found These selected excerpts on philosophy, religion, elsewhere, but not connected and science, and psychology are drawn from key put together like they are in this passages of Gurdjieff’s writings and notes on system.” his talks. P. D. Ouspensky Gurdjieff, G. I. file:///D|/Temp/eBooks/Word%20Doc.%20books/The%20Fourth%20Way/gurdjieff/G.htm (1 of 4) [23/05/05 9:37:15] Gurdjieff International Review by Michel de Salzmann “I beg myself as well as my readers not to mistake understanding for attainment; Dr. de Salzmann provides an informed and and not to imagine, on the thoughtful synopsis of Gurdjieff’s life, writings strength of their realization of and influence as “an incomparable ‘awakener’ certain truths, that they possess of men” and spiritual teacher who “left behind them, or still less, that they can him a school embodying a specific use them. Our being, in which methodology for the development of alone truth is possessed, is still a consciousness… The Gurdjieff teaching has long way behind our emerged … as one of the most penetrating understanding.” spiritual teachings of modern times.” A. R. Orage Gurdjieff: The Man and the Literature “Gurdjieff was a danger. A real threat. A threat for one’s self- Gurdjieff's biographer James Moore provides a calming, a threat for the little sensitive and discerning guide to Gurdjieff's life regard one had of oneself, a and the classics of the Gurdjieff literature in threat for the comfortable English. This essay was originally published repertoire where we generally in Resurgence No. 96, January–February 1983 live. But at the moment when this (Bideford, England) and is reproduced with the threat appeared, like a ditch to kind permission of the editor, Satish Kumar, cross, a threshold to step over, and of the author. one was helped to cross it by his presence itself.” George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff Michel de Salzmann (1877–1949) by P. L. Travers Copyright © 2001 Travers—author of the Mary Poppins Gurdjieff Electronic Publishing books—combines a historical account of Gurdjieff’s search and teaching with a pupil’s March 20, 2002 personal impressions of “this man whose life has the air of authentic myth.” She emphasizes that Gurdjieff “had come not to bring peace but a special kind of inner warfare and that his mission in life was to destroy men’s complacency and make them aware of their limitations. Only by such means, by what he called ‘conscious labours and intentional sufferings,’ was it possible to bring about their inner development. The Work, as his method came to be called, had, as it very soon appeared, been only too accurately named.” Gurdjieff: The Unknown Man by Kenneth Walker file:///D|/Temp/eBooks/Word%20Doc.%20books/The%20Fourth%20Way/gurdjieff/G.htm (2 of 4) [23/05/05 9:37:15] Gurdjieff International Review Dr. Walker’s vivid account, particularly of his first visit to Gurdjieff’s Paris apartment in the late 1940s, is distinguished by his keenly trained powers of observation as a physician. “Gurdjieff used to say that a man revealed himself most clearly in his reactions to sexuality and to money. I could add yet another signpost to a man’s personality, namely, his reaction to Gurdjieff himself. Many reactions were possible, but it was impossible to be indifferent to him or to forget that he was there… Whatever he was, he was something on a much bigger scale than one had ever seen before, or is ever likely to see again.” Gurdjieff Observed by Roger Lipsey Drawing on excerpts from the lesser known but “unexpectedly rich secondary literature,” Lipsey assembles a vivid composite portrait of Gurdjieff and the ontological challenge he presented to everyone around him. In so doing, he provides an excellent introductory survey of the anecdotal literature about Gurdjieff. G. I. Gurdjieff and His School by Jacob Needleman Professor Needleman surveys those aspects of Gurdjieff’s “life and teaching that are of signal importance for anyone approaching this influential spiritual teacher for the first time.” He traces how Gurdjieff’s influence is becoming a factor in contemporary civilization and describes the international activities of The Gurdjieff Foundation. An Introduction to the Writings of G. I. Gurdjieff by J. Walter Driscoll This synopsis is drawn from the author’s Gurdjieff: a Reading Guide. It briefly sketches the contents and publication history of file:///D|/Temp/eBooks/Word%20Doc.%20books/The%20Fourth%20Way/gurdjieff/G.htm (3 of 4) [23/05/05 9:37:15] Gurdjieff International Review Gurdjieff’s writings and the notes that have been published of his talks. All and Everything by G. I. Gurdjieff In these first two pages of Gurdjieff’s All and Everything, the author concisely describes the scope and purpose of his writings which were “All written according to entirely new principles of logical reasoning.” People Who Hunger and Thirst for Truth Gurdjieff discusses the obstacles and deceptions faced by anyone in search of inner truth and spiritual guidance. First published in Views from the Real World: Early Talks of Gurdjieff, pp. 50–51, 56–58, New York: Dutton, London: Routledge & Kegan. Gurdjieff’s Aphorisms Gurdjieff’s aphorisms as inscribed in a special script above the walls of the Study House of the Chateau du Prieuré at Fontainebleau in which Gurdjieff established his Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man. file:///D|/Temp/eBooks/Word%20Doc.%20books/The%20Fourth%20Way/gurdjieff/G.htm (4 of 4) [23/05/05 9:37:15] Editor's Note Gurdjieff International Review Publisher’s Note May 1, 2002 Welcome to the Gurdjieff International Review. Our latest printed issue on Movements and Sacred Dances (Vol. V No. 1, Spring 2002) has been mailed to our subscribers in early April. Copies are available via our online store. Greg Loy This webpage © 2002 Gurdjieff Electronic Publishing Revision: May 1, 2002 file:///D|/Temp/eBooks/Word%20Doc.%20books/The%20Fourth%20Way/gurdjieff/note.htm [23/05/05 9:38:32] Gurdjieff International Review Gurdjieff International Review Spring 2002 Issue, Vol. V No. 1 A “Teacher of Dancing” Guest Editorial by Ellen Dooling Draper Although we have been gathering articles about movements “When one’s body revolts since we established the Gurdjieff International Review in 1996, against work, fatigue soon sets this is the first time we have provided coverage of this vital in; then one must not rest for it aspect of Gurdjieff’s teaching. The views expressed in this would be a victory for the body. collection are those of the individual authors and do not When the body desires to rest, necessarily reflect the views of any specific organization. Our don’t; when the mind knows it guest editor, Ellen Dooling Draper, is a member of the Gurdjieff ought to rest, do so, but one must Foundation of New York and a previous editor with Parabola know and distinguish language of Magazine. body and mind, and be honest.” Part I: Gurdjieff on Movements G. I. Gurdjieff by G. I. Gurdjieff “What exactly are these movements? This question can really be answered only from Gurdjieff wrote sparingly about movements. The following direct experience of practice of excerpts taken from Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson, the movements.” Meetings with Remarkable Men and Views from the Real World are reprinted by the kind permission of Triangle Editions, Inc. Henri Thomasson Part II: Historical Perspective “Occasionally there were public performances. Gurdjieff, in one Descriptions of the practice and performance of Gurdjieff’s of his irrepressible freaks, would Movements during his lifetime, between 1920 and 1949. dress everyone up in Turkish costume. This just had to be file:///D|/Temp/eBooks/Word%20Doc.%20books/The%20Fourth%20Way/gurdjieff/cover.5-1.htm (1 of 5) [23/05/05 9:38:34] Gurdjieff International Review Gurdjieff’s Temple Dances borne.” by John G.