gurdjieff: the transmission of a teaching · what was gurdjieff like? his studentsÕ views...

GURDJIEFFTHE TRANSMISSION

OF A TEACHING

j •i

A Collage Based on His Students’ Recollections

Editor : Chuck SherCover art : Bob Cornelis, bobcornelis.com

Graphic design : Attila Nagy, Santa Rosa, CA

©2015 INNER WORLD BOOKSPetaluma, CA

inner-world-books.com, [email protected] 978-0-9910773-2-8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii Notes on This Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv Chapter 1 • What was Gurdjieff Like? His Students’ Views. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 Character. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 “Nothing Escapes Him” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Presence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Level of Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Ways of Being . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Compassion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Enjoyment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12Chapter 2 • Gurdjieff ’s Effect on His Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Being Seen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Being Challenged . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Contradictions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 The Movements. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Inner Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 Objective Love . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24Chapter 3 • Aspects of the Gurdjieff Teaching . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Self-Observation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Consciousness. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 Three Centers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 Psychological Questions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Compassion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Identification and Considering . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 Remaining in Question. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Remorse of Conscience/Repairing the Past . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Inner Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Conscious Labor and Intentional Suffering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 Aim and Will . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 Man’s Place in the Cosmos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 “I Am” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59Chapter 4 • Initiation by Fire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 Why This Mode of Teaching? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 A Vignette . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Being Tested . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 The Zen Precedent. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Examples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Genuine Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 Enforced Separation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 Another Look at ‘Why?’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75Chapter 5 • Notes on the Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78Appendix • Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

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PREFACE

This book is based on excerpts from the recollections of the men and women who were direct students of G. I. Gurdjieff. It is not intended to be an introductory text to the Gurdjieff Work nor a comprehensive exposition of the ideas involved, but rather an attempt to vivify our perceptions of the man and his teaching.

All of the available published accounts by Gurdjieff ’s students were read as potential source material, and so this book is a gathering together of the col-lective understanding of these extraordinary people. We are greatly appre-ciative of the publishers of the sources quoted for providing the invaluable material they have made available to the interested public. Please see a com-plete listing of those sources in the Bibliography in the back of this book.

The Gurdjieff literature is a treasure trove of wisdom and inspiration to those of us interested in questions of the significance of human life on Earth. Of prime importance in that literature are Gurdjieff ’s own writings, P.D. Ouspensky’s “In Search of the Miraculous,” and Jeanne de Salzmann’s “The Reality of Being.” Those books are all easily available and widely-read—and consequently not included here.

The intent of this publication is to flesh out the portrait of Gurdjieff and his teaching, past what those prime sources convey. The two main cat-egories of excerpts included here are: a) Gurdjieff ’s own words, and b) the impressions his direct students had of the kind of person he was, how being his student personally affected them, and their understanding of the substance of his teaching.

In both cases, this gathering together of his students’ recollections orga-nizes much valuable material not available in the prime sources listed above. The quotes of Gurdjieff himself are, in almost every case, messages that are not to be found elsewhere, and invaluable to those of us who consider Mr. Gurdjieff to be one of the most advanced spiritual teachers our planet has been graced with.

His students’ assessment of what Mr. Gurdjieff was trying to impart to them, and their recounting of the various ways that this teaching was transmitted are, I believe, equally valuable to the current student of the ‘Fourth Way.’ This is a multi-dimensional path, and this book demon-strates the multi-pronged nature of how Mr. Gurdjieff passed on the wisdom he had attained.

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These quotes are bundled together with other passages on similar themes, giving a heightened effect to the reader—each facet of the theme being discussed shedding light on the other facets, creating a sum greater than the individual parts—an inner ‘critical mass,’ if you will.

To whatever extent is possible through the written word, the intent here is to bring to life what it must have felt like to be in Gurdjieff ’s presence, and the cleansing, illuminating effect of being the recipient of his ‘merci-less compassion.’

Again, the ‘multiplier’ effect of having these recollections gathered and compiled as they have been, means that the portrait drawn here of Mr. Gurdjieff and the depth of his teaching is something that could not have happened from simple exposure to the individual sources. In any case, that is our intent and the veracity of that claim can only be verified in the labora-tory of each reader’s own inner world. May our efforts here bear fruit inside each one of its readers.

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NOTES ON THIS BOOK

1. The passages of Gurdjieff speaking are written in italics. 2. Sometimes the writers quote Gurdjieff ’s unique version of English verbatim, but in other cases his words were paraphrased

to make more normal-sounding sentences.3. After the first excerpt from any given source, only the author’s

name and the page number are given. Where there are two or more books used as sources by the same author, an identifying word follows the author’s name. Complete sources used are listed in the

Appendix at the end of the book.4. The few editorial insertions of words necessary to clarify the

meaning of a passage are enclosed in brackets—[ ]. Words enclosed in parentheses are part of the original text quoted.5. Punctuation and spelling in these excerpts are as found in the original documents.

‘‘

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Chapter 1WHAT WAS GURDJIEFF LIKE?

HIS STUDENTS’ VIEWS(Passages of Gurdjieff speaking are written in non-bold italics.)

(As several students of his have noted, Gurdjieff lived his teaching—not just con-veying it in words. Thus the in-depth portrait presented here of his way of being in the world assumes far more than anecdotal significance to those of us drawn to his Work.)

j CHAR AC TER i

He was the only human being I have ever seen or known who was never involved in human stupidities, who was not led around by his physical drives, be they sex, hunger, or whatever… He was the most sen-sible, logical, interesting, benevolent, wise, course, gross, obscene, funny and all-around human being I have ever encountered in my life, or ever expect to run into. In fact, one is enough.”

Fritz Peters, “Balanced Man,” pp. 106, 24

When you enter, Mr. Gurdjieff greets you and makes you welcome, with a smile that has both sweetness and spirit-quality. You get a first im-pression of a nature of great kindness and sensitiveness. Later you learn that in him is combined strength and delicacy, simplicity and subtlety. That he is more awake than any one you have ever known.”

Maud Hoffman, “Taking Life’s Cure in Gurdjieff ’s School,” p. 55

He gave advice and reprimands, generally with lots of good will, frequently with humor, rarely with harshness. He was a gentleman. His tone was that of a grandfather, but a rather demanding grandfather.”

Pierre Schaeffer, “A Man of Merciless Compassion,” p. 423

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He said that any man had an obligation to keep any promise that was made truthfully and solemnly, as he had made that particular promise. ‘I not do this for her only,’ he said, ‘also do for sake of my soul.’ ”

Fritz Peters, “Boyhood with Gurdjieff,” p. 111

I recall his entry into the P.D. Ouspensky estate in Franklin Farms…He looked around the table and he saw the lords and the ladies, the people who were preeminent in Ouspensky’s work at that time. And he said, ‘Who is in the kitchen? Bring out the people who are in the kitchen doing the work’…I had the experience of meeting a number of spiritual characters around the world. But there was something very different about Mr. Gurdjieff. Absolutely no pretense. He was an authentic spiri-tual master.”

William Segal, “A Voice At The Border of Silence,” p. 42

George Gurdjeef seems to have the stuff in him of which our genuine prophets have been made. And when prejudice against him has cleared away, his vision of truth will be recognized as fundamental to the man men need.”

Frank Lloyd Wright, “Gurdjeef at Taliesin,” p. 68

At Cooper Union, New York, a medal was presented to the revolution-ary architect Frank Lloyd Wright. After his part in the ceremony was over, Wright asked the chairman’s permission to make an announce-ment. ‘The greatest man in the world,’ he said, ‘has recently died. His name was Gurdjieff.’”

Gorham Munson, “Black Sheep Philosophers,” p. 13

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j “NOTHING ESC APES HIM” i

Mr. Gurdjieff ’s most remarkable feature was the way he looked at you. From the very first meeting you felt that he could see right through you. You had the impression that you had been seen and that he knew you far better than you knew yourself.”

Rene Zuber, “Who are You, Monsieur Gurdjieff?,” p. 7

Gurdjieff listened attentively, and I felt that he was not so much fol-lowing my words as participating directly in the experience. I had never before had the same feeling of being understood better than I under-stood myself.”

John G. Bennett, “Witness,” p. 45

I was aware that Gurdjieff read my state across the crowded room, not once but a number of times… and my thoughts and feelings were inspected and put on one side. And throughout this experience a kind of timelessness invaded me.”

Dorothy Phillpotts, “Discovering Gurdjieff,” p. 189

As we rose to leave he [G.] got up too. He lifted his hands against his ribs. ‘It hurts,’ he said, ‘great suffering I have.’ I could only stand there looking at him. Before I could wish him well, he said, ‘I thank you. I wish for you all that you wish for me.’”

Dorothy Caruso, quoted in Margaret Anderson, “The Unknowable Gurdjieff,” p. 185

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In truth, D., one fault you have. Though you are known as a kind man, a good nature, and though everyone knows you do not wish to give of-fense, you do this unconsciously sometimes. It is a fault that spoils all life for you. You do not have considerateness for state of your surroundings… You must know what is the state of every man around you in the room. Man of course is most of the time asleep, but this makes it even more important that you be sensitive… I know what is the state of each man around me.”

Katheryn Hulme, “Undiscovered Country,” p. 17

He seemed to guess the best as well as the worst in us and, being an expert in such matters, he smiled. That smile was ironic and compas-sionate, but quite without indulgence. Nothing escaped him. We felt him always ready to act without pity towards the oppressors of our own selves which, without knowing it, we were. This can be truly called: love.”

Henri Tracol, “The Taste of Things That Are True,” p. 108

j PRESENCE i

I was struck by the impact of his force, very quiet, calm and con-trolled, yet almost frightening, but more than anything by the degree of his total presence, a presence which I felt extended to the tips of his fingers. It gave meaning to all his movements, which seemed so much more alive than ours. As alive as those of a cat or a tiger. I also felt

very strongly his vast generosity—a generosity which I would call superhuman.”

Henriette Lannes, “Inside a Question,” p. 1

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In his presence, although he was not a big man, he gave a massive impression of contained energy—leonine, alert, watching.”

Dr. William Welch, “What Happened in Between,” p. 134

It was enough to be in his presence—of course provided one was ready for it—to experience at once this presence itself as a source of under-standing, as a blazing hearth capable of reanimating in us an indepen-dent power of perception.”

Henri Tracol, “The Real Question Remains,” pp. 126-7

Gurdjieff didn’t teach. He was. His teaching flowed from that.” Louise March/Annabeth McCorkle, “The Gurdjieff Years: 1929—1949.

Recollections of Louise Goepfert March (Expanded Edition),” p. 130

j LE VEL OF BEING i

I was convinced that he had demonstrated in his dying what he has as-serted during his lifetime, that death is a successive separation—Rascu-arno—of the different constituents of the living man, each of which goes to the sphere to which its nature corresponds… His was a clean, decisive dying to which he gave his willing assent and for which he was fully pre-pared. There were no loose ends, no sense that any part of him remained attached to some unfinished experience. Each element had gone to its own appropriate place.”

Bennett, Witness, p. 222

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He never fumbled in his thoughts or his movements. The latter were always purposeful and made with the strictest economy of effort, like those of a cat, and his immense capacity for work was due to this ability of his never to waste energy. It was particularly noticeable that he had obtained complete mastery over his body.”

Kenneth Walker, “Venture With Ideas,” p. 153

It is evident that a man who acquires mastery over himself and his manifestations brings about a change in the state of his being… It im-plies [the] ability to remain unconcerned and untouched by the foibles and hysterical outbursts of others in general; to see beyond their inten-tions; to diagnose their instability and their inability to stand straight on their own feet; to gauge their inner emptiness.”

Irmis Popoff, “Gurdjieff,” p. 140

There are always beings higher than anyone we can know. I suppose I have met everyone of importance in England at least, and many in America, and I have never met anyone with even a small portion of Gurdjieff ’s being and understanding… I thank God every day of my life that I met Gurdjieff.”

A.R. Orage, quoted in C.S. Nott, “Further Teachings of Gurdjieff,” pp. 31, 52

Gurdjieff gives shocks, makes difficulties, plays roles both for his own development and for those around him. He is perfecting himself as we are trying to do and all his actions are practical. He lives the Teaching, while we talk about it.”

Nott, Further, p. 98

Dr. Welch, who came from America to attend him during his last days and was with him to the end, said, ‘He died like a king.’ ”

Rina Hands, “Diary of Madame Egout Pour Sweet,” p. 88

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Then for the first time, he let me see what he really is… as if he had torn off the masks behind which he is obliged to hide himself. His face was stamped with a charity that embraced the whole world. Transfixed, standing before him, I saw him with all my strength and I experienced a gratitude so deep, so sad, that he felt a need to calm me. With an unfor-gettable look he said, ‘God helps me.’ ”

Georgette Leblanc, quoted in Anderson, p. 149

You have seen that it is possible to be directly connected with the Great Accumulator of Energy that is the source of all miracles… Ever since I was young boy, I have known of the existence of this power and of the barriers that separate man from it, and I search until I found the way of break-ing through them. This is the greatest secret that man can discover about human nature.”


No one who worked closely with him could doubt that he possessed powers quite unknown to ordinary man… Yet he used his powers with the utmost restraint and never for his own personal benefit. Above all, they were never used for purposes of show or to increase his influence over people.”

John G. Bennett, “Talks on Beelzebub’s Tales,” p. 8

j WAYS OF BEING i

Always do only one thing at a time, that of the present moment… Man is always doing seven things at once; if he does as I say, even for one little thing, the other six will look after themselves.”

Zuber, p. 18

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I’m interested in everything, because it is necessary know all things for self in life.”

Peters, Boyhood, p. 95

When you do a thing… do it with the whole self. One thing at a time. Now I sit here and I eat. For me nothing exists in the world except this food, this table. I eat with the whole attention. So you must do—in every-thing. When you write a letter, do not at the same time think what will be the cost of laundering that shirt; when you compute laundering cost, do not think about the letter you must write. Everything has its time. To be able to do one thing at a time… this is the property of Man, not man in quotation marks.”

Hulme, p. 91

At the Prieuré, one of the small boys was misbehaving and would not obey. Gurdjieff was watching. He then went to him, took hold of him and said, “You must learn to obey your parents,’ turned him round and smacked him hard, and said, ‘This will be reminding factor.’ The little boy ran off crying and holding his behind, calling out, ‘Reminding factor, reminding factor!’ ”

Nott, Further, pp. 76-7

I never cook exact same dish twice. Always different.” A. L. Staveley, “Memories of Gurdjieff,” p. 63

I met him when he was outside the apartment late one evening, and we walked up the stairs together. He was very tired, and every step was an effort. Near the top of the stairs he turned around to me and said: ‘Too tired. Too tired for anything. Except to remember myself.’ ”

George Adie, from Joseph Azize, “George Aide,” p. 239

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When something unusual happened to him, ‘good’ or ‘bad,’ he would use the shock to break some small habit or to do something different. He told us often that when something not to our liking happened to us, or even something very unfortunate, we should always strive to turn it to our own advantage and not just submit passively and be carried away by our feelings.”


When I eat, I self-remember.” March/McCorkle, p. 33

Knopf, the publisher… had approached Gurdjieff, and rather unctu-ously announced that as the publisher of Ouspensky’s books and others of similar character he would be glad to publish Beelzebub’s Tales. Gurd-jieff listened and said, ‘Yes, perhaps. But certain things are necessary.’

‘And what are your conditions, Mr. Gurdjieff? I’m sure we can meet your requirements. What would you wish us to do?’‘Not conditions. One condition. One small thing.’‘And that is?’‘First clean house, your house, then perhaps can have my book!’”


You always think, think, think. I look.” Maurice Nicoll, “Psychological Commentaries on the

Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky” - Vol. 5, p. 1540

Someone would ask him a question at the table. He might say, ‘Wait a moment while I mobilize myself.’ ”

George Adie, from Azize, p. 239

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One day he had these Herald of Coming Good books that were written while I was at the Prieuré. He had them in Russian, English and Span-ish, cases of them, with him. I got the Russian cases and put them in the car and the next day we drove up to the Russian village and I took out a mass of them in my arms… At each cabin he knocked on the door, and said in Russian, ‘Will you please read this?’… He said, ‘We all have to go around with copies [of Beelzebub] and give them to the people on the streets of New York.’ ”

Martin Benson, “Martin Benson Speaks,” p. 242

j COMPASSION i

He interviewed us singly, in a room apart, about progress with the exercises… . Once, after a particularly barren confession, he nodded gravely and said, ‘It is not easy, Krokodeel… what we wish to do.’ ”

Hulme, p. 93

In his heart all dog and horse who associate with man wish become man. You look at dog or horse and you always see, in eyes, this sadness because know not possible for them, but even so, they wish. This very sad thing to wish for impossible… So you remember this important thing. Take good care of animals; always be kind.”


You notice all such people who come here are already old. Without me not have possibility die properly. Except me, such people not have family, and for future can only look towards death. If I help such people die in right way, this can be very important and very good thing. Someday you under-stand this better, but you still young.”

Fritz Peters, “Gurdjieff Remembered,” p. 93

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And his anger too when I told him about the concentration camps that had been uncovered in Germany after the Allies broke through… He had apparently not heard of those camps and ovens. As he listened, hunched over and motionless, his face darkened and a vein in his fore-head swelled and beat. I saw the wrath of God in that clouded coun-tenance, a righteous fury that seemed about to explode… Later inside Germany when I would see other things for which there was no name, I was to remember that look of holy wrath for man’s repetitive inhuman-ity to man. The memory would lift my own inner fury from subjective to something resembling objective anger.”

Hulme, pp. 213-4

In the year 1923, rats and mice had the run of the Prieuré… These rodents had ravaged our food reserves, even those earmarked for the live-stock and the hen-house, so we mounted a merciless war against them… As we were getting rid of a pile of old planks that lay on a pathway and on the ivy bordering it, one of us suddenly yelled, ‘Mice!’… Terrified, they tried to escape down the path. We raised our shovels and sticks, ready to strike. ‘Stop!’ shouted Mr. Gurdjieff. Our arms froze, and we remained im-mobile as statues. A mouse hesitantly emerged from the ivy, dragging her babies clinging to her sides. ‘Impossible,’ said Mr. Gurdjieff smiling. With a solemn movement, he added, ‘Motherhood.’ The mouse calmly crossed the path and disappeared into the bushes, bearing her precious burden.”

Tcheslaw Tchekhovitch, “Gurdjieff: A Master in Life,” pp. 89-90

[At Gurdjieff ’s Paris apartment] from the bottom of the [back] stairs to the top, there was a long procession of beggars, parasites, and the like. One had his bowl, another his tin plate, still another an old pot, all coming solemnly to receive a full ration of soup accompanied by some kind words. Mr. Gurdjieff himself served from enourmos cooking pots while asking after the health of everyone, not forgetting those who could not come because of illness… After Mr. Gurdjieff ’s death, an old woman came to the apartment about three weeks later. Overcome by the news that he was no longer there, she could only say, ‘And now, how shall I pay my rent?’ ”

Tchekhovitch, pp. 198-200

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He was invariably concerned with others, and considerate of them. He never failed, for example, to thank me and to apologize to me when I had to bring him coffee, half-asleep, at three o’clock in the morning. I knew instinctively that such consideration was something far more than ordinary, acquired courtesy. And, perhaps this was the clue, he was interested. Whenever I saw him, whenever he gave me an order, he was fully aware of me, completely concentrated on whatever words he said to me; his attention never wandered when I spoke to him. He always knew exactly what I was doing, what I had done. I think we must all have felt, certainly I did, when he was with any one of us, that we received his total attention. I can think of nothing more complimentary in human relations.”

Fritz Peters, “Boyhood With Gurdjieff,” p. 32

j ENJOYMENT i

Too much theorizing was tending to make the minds of [Ouspensky’s] London followers too rigid and our behavior too calculated and grim. We were in danger of acquiring the chapel-going faces of Plymouth Bretheren and we needed loosening up. If anyone was fitted to bring about this loosening process it was surely Gurdjieff… ‘It is necessary,’ Gurdjieff reminded us, ‘to know when to be serious and when to laugh.’ ”

Kenneth Walker, “Venture with Ideas,” p. 154

Many imagine these [ceremonial meals at Mr. G’s apartment] as oc-casions of serious philosophical discussion. Not at all! … Most of our time was spent in howls of laughter. G’s gift of mimicry and masterly comic timing infected everyone, young and old, of every nationality. He could point out situations and special characteristics in people with a wit that was sharp, but an attitude that was so warm and affectionate that although we all laughed in immediate recognition, it was with the person, not at them.”

Jessmin and Dushka Howarth, “It’s Up to Ourselves,” p. 450

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Life, to me, is a gift and a privilege, and perhaps the most important thing I learned from Gurdjieff was that there is nothing wrong with ‘hav-ing a good time’ by, first of all, just living to the hilt.”

Peters, Balanced, p. 35

Mr. Gurdjieff took a special delight in hearing [Mr.] de Salzmann tell stories. He laughed so hard that he finally had to say, ‘Salzmann, stop, stop! You’re killing us!’… No doubt those unacquainted with inner com-bat—the ‘Holy War’ that one must wage day in and day out with one-self—have not experienced these moments of grace and letting go, and so they keep a rigid, idealized, and false representation of self-mastery.”

Tchekhovitch, p. 176

Once, in a Movements class, Gurdjieff needed six words. He thought of ‘Father,’ ‘Mother,’ ‘Brother,’ ‘Sister,’ ‘Myself.’ He asked for the sixth word. Someone suggested ‘Idiot.’ He laughed and took it. Now there are people who are reading deep and profound meaning in it, and in its placing. They take all this too seriously. He was often having fun.”

Pauline de Dampierre, quoted in Ravi Ravindra, “Heart Without Measure,” p. 47

I learned to like life when I was a child, often simply because Gurdjieff managed to make it seem ridiculous and therefore amusing… Great human drama does not lose its dignity in the process, but is put into perspective.”


He laughed with me and said that it was a great pleasure to enjoy laughter with someone again—that one of the saddest aspects of his life was that his students were so impressed with him that they could never condescend to anything so low as laughter.”

Peters, Remembered, p. 87

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j BEING SEEN i

I knew he knew me and did not judge me for my pretensions, but ac-cepted, as I cannot myself, that I am what I am.”

Hands, p. 10

He was never deceived so it was next to impossible in his presence to go on deceiving oneself in the way that has become customary.”

Staveley, p. 71

Those who tried, and came to a place in themselves of clarity or to an inner flash of understanding, were struck by the invariable acknowledg-ment of that experience by Gurdjieff. A word of recognition, a sudden look of warmth or a muted ‘Bravo’ would bring one up short with the sense of the companionship of the search and the acknowledgment of effort. I never knew, among those who followed Gurdjieff, anyone who having had such an exchange did not treasure the moment or doubted its validity.”

William Welch, p. 125

Chapter 2GURDJIEFF’S EFFECT ON HIS

STUDENTS

(Chapter Two is intended to give the reader a sense of what it meant to be in Gurdjieff ’s presence as a student of his teaching, how he helped them find a way to approach being fully human, regardless of the circumstances.)

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I am attempting to convey what I received from G. Gurdjieff and in particular this extraordinary feeling emanating from him, this under-standing from his being, from his heart, as if he had an ‘ear’ that could ‘hear’ the movements of my feelings. He was like this with everyone. It was not sentimentality. His attention was an act of presence to another person, or persons.”

Solange Claustres, “Becoming Conscious with G.I. Gurdjieff,” p. 7

j BEING CHALLENGED i

If you were brave enough, desperate enough, alert enough—or even, on occasion, surprised enough—you might see a reflection of what he saw at that moment… that is, the human condition as it appeared in one atom of humanity—yourself.”

Staveley, p. 74

When you were in his presence you were actually plunged into the present moment and that present moment could really be anything. In no way could one safeguard oneself, there was no formula, no prefabri-cated attitude such as served well in ordinary life—nothing.”

Staveley, p. 68

He knew precisely what was needed to bring each one to the possibil-ity of recognizing one’s condition—here a sledgehammer, there a dagger that pierced the heart. It was up to you what happened after the point of recognition of a customary state was realized.”

Staveley, p. 63

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Mr. Gurdjieff says things to me about myself which hit me right in my feelings, in my essence, so that I can never forget them; and little by little the effect is to change something in me and give me more understanding of myself and other people; at the same time it is accompanied by a real-ization of how little I actually do understand. Mr. Ouspensky appeals to my mind and I’m never tired of listening to him. But this doesn’t change things in myself.”


Mr. Gurdjieff could play on any person’s false personality, his nerves, his emotions, in order to help him see what a fool and an imbecile he was. When one appreciated his effort, he was kind, magnanimous, explicit: he showed what was needed, where it was needed, why it was needed. If one failed to see, especially due to glasses tinted with vanity, self-love, and prejudice, he exposed one’s miserable condition so that all might see and learn.”

Popoff, p. 156

Remember, Personality has scarcely any right to exist here [the Prieuré].” Nicoll, Vol. 1, p. 238

These conditions were hard, yet my greatest distress was not to have known earlier this hard instruction. In the beginning it seemed heart-breaking to approach such truths at last and to have so few years left to give to them. But soon the fact that I was working within myself, with an unawakened part of my nature, supplied me with a new strange energy. From now on I would know how to use the time remaining to me—I pictured myself as a honeycomb with each cell waiting to be filled.”

Georgette Leblanc, quoted in Anderson, p. 137

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As always with Mr. Gurdjieff ’s stories, there was no way for one’s mind to label the inner experiences evoked, and to arrange them in a time-proven accustomed order. One was disturbed. Unfamiliar feelings were stirred, feelings that had no names and were related in a new way that left one uncertain and yet exhilarated.”

Staveley, p. 56

The weapon of the master is to unseat you. When the shock is well re-ceived, you cannot but be grateful. A whole length of wall has collapsed, and no amount of lecturing could have achieved that.”

Michel Conge, “Facing Mr. Gurdjieff,” p. 361

He was a danger. A real threat. A threat for one’s self-calming, a threat for the little regard one had of oneself, a threat for the comfortable repertoire where we generally live. But at the moment when this threat appeared, like a ditch to cross, a threshold to step over, one was helped to cross it by his presence itself. This threat was quickly followed with a sense of well-being. One had set aside the mask; one had sloughed off the weight of one’s images and one felt suddenly free.”

Michel de Salzmann, quoted in a transcript of “Georges Gurdjieff: A Documentary Film,” produced by Jean-Claude Lubtchansky, p. 14

Sometimes he tackled an attitude, a gesture or a word head on. What he said at that moment was not understood straight away. You received the shock, you couldn’t explain it, or understand it, but it was so true you could not argue, you were disarmed, the usual means of defense were rendered useless. I observed him helping each person individually, with a remark, an exercise, mercilessly hunting down certain aspects of the behavior of the personality, and at the same time giving out a warmth, stimulating our feelings. All this simultaneously, for everyone.”

Claustres, p. 26

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j CONTR ADIC TIONS i

We are so accustomed to expect stable meaning and unequivocal statements from wise men, that we find Gurdjieff hard to ‘take.’ He was well aware that the sense of satisfaction that overtakes man’s thinking apparatus that comes when he recognizes a formula that fits his mental patterns, is a barrier to any real understanding. All real truth appears to our minds under a guise of contradictions and antinomies. Beelzebub is a closed book to those who have not grasped this.”

John G. Bennett, “Gurdjieff: Making a New World,” p. 264

‘Thank you,’ he would intone with Levantine unction, when someone brought him hot coffee, ‘Thank you. You are so very kind,’ and after a pause, in a cooler tone, ‘sometimes.’ I must have heard him go through this seriocomic ritual a hundred times, yet it never failed to bring me up short, to take me by surprise, to remind me of man’s unreliability or of my own contradictions, of the ‘no’ that lurks behind our most enthusias-tic affirmations.”

William Welch, pp. 1218-9

Mr. Gurdjieff transgressed all these rules which express a kind of social hypocrisy rather than true delicacy of feeling.”

Zuber, p. 13

One day a paper was found in which Gurdjieff was speaking of a ‘law of nine.’ Maybe it became later the ‘law of seven.’ He did not want people to become fixed and rigid, claiming ‘This is this; this is what this means.’ He always wanted us to be bewildered about what was said, so that we would turn to what we understand truly, what we know ourselves, to be able to go further from that.”

Pauline de Dampierre, quoted in Ravindra, p. 47

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What perhaps could help us more is to be on guard against any conclusion… One could also find examples of this recalling his answers to some observation made by one of us: ‘Oh! That very good, very, very good. You have understood very well, continue, continue!…’ and so on. And it was a new risk that was being proposed, because, of course, it was sooner or later contradicted: ‘You! You understand nothing!. . .’ This teaching, and the way it was offered and lived, was much more a keeping of the question.”

Tracol, Real, pp. 157-8

Mr. Gurdjieff said, ‘Every stick has two ends. One is the growing end, and the other will beat you.’ ”

Louise Welch, “Meetings with Louise Welch in Toronto,” p. 178

While Gurdjieff, in an outer sense, seemed to me a prophet of doom and disaster and hopelessness, he nevertheless gave an effect of great en-couragement and hope. When I spoke of this paradox to him, he remind-ed me that he had often told me to look at things ‘upside down’ or ‘from the other side of the coin’ and this very paradox, this ‘stick with two ends,’ while a potentially dangerous thing was also a very useful tool—in that it could give stimulus of such an order that one sometimes found energy and strength to work against odds that seemed impossible.”


Through the fog which he himself [G.] creates around himself there are but few who can see and sense him—and of these few, all are alterna-tively drawn towards him and repelled, praising, damning, appreciating, cursing.”

Jean Toomer, “The Same Old Trick,” p. 33

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j THE MOVEMENTS i

It was on the floor of the movements hall that he became alive with the fire that burned in him; he rose magnificently before our very eyes, dictating movements, changing rhythms, spotting mistakes… never compromising, demanding more and more effort, playing no favorites, urging understanding… His gaze moved ablaze in all directions, and brought everyone’s thoughts, emotions, and movements into one single simple point of togetherness and effort.”

Popoff, p. 119

Those of the movements that have become mine in a sort of three-centered fashion have proved to be weapons which I use in my struggle against the downpull of inertia. There are movements that I do to relax, others that I do to overcome despondence or sadness; those that awaken and quicken my desire to move on, my desire to live and, best of all, those through which my body prays while the whole of me lauds the Lord for the help He saw fit to bring into my experience through the Teacher of Dancing, His extraordinary servant, George Ivanitch Gurdjieff.”

Popoff, p. 124

Gurdjieff affirms that work on the movements also serves for develop-ing man’s own ‘I’; that is, his ‘will.’ He comes to a stage where he is able to feel quite independent of his own body and, at the same time, in a state of mastery towards it. He is able to experience the feelings, even very refined feelings, that correspond to different gestures and sequences of movements and he can at the same time avoid being identified. All of this is of great value in the development of the will.”

Bennett, Making, p. 229

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It is extraordinary to see the real inner work that can develop during a Movements class when the strict discipline, on all planes, at all levels, is correctly applied: the discipline of thought, the discipline of each suc-cessive position, the discipline of searching for contact with all of oneself consciously, the discipline of carrying out inner exercises, the discipline of the continuous effort of attention to keep watch over it all.”

Claustres, p. 120

j INNER DE VELOPMENT i

What did Gurdjieff cure me of? Of imagination. He cured me of imag-ining my own life instead of living it.”

Rene Zuber, “Notebooks,” quoted in “Gurdjieff: Essays and Reflections on the Man and His Teaching,” edited by Needleman and Baker, p. 353

It was as if a magician had said: ‘Leave the form of a machine and as-sume your rightful form of a man.’ This was my first initiation; and Gurd-jieff ’s words the ritual that accompanied it. A mystery had taken place.”

C.S. Nott, “Teachings of Gurdjieff,” p. 85

Gurdjieff has buried a bone in his writings. We are like dogs who have the smell of the bone but cannot find it. If we are hungry enough, we shall go on scratching until we find the bone. And when we find the bone, we shall no longer be dogs, but men.”

A.R. Orage, quoted in Bennett, Talks, p. 10

In an exchange about Beelzebub’s Tales and what lays hidden in the book, Gurdjieff said, ‘I bury dog.’ ‘You buried the bone,’ someone ‘cor-rected’ him. ‘No,’ said Gurdjieff, ‘I bury whole dog.’ ”

Edwin Wolfe, “Further Episodes with Gurdjieff,” p 64

1 22 2

There was… the deepest inner satisfaction any of us had ever known— the ‘earned pearl,’ as Gurdjieff expressed it, that lay in the cen-ter of our being after each session of work. A work on the self that now went beyond the self. Gurdjieff had now given us a pledge to say each time before beginning the new exercise—that we would not use this for the self, but for all humanity. This ‘good-wishing-for-all’ vow, so deeply moving, in intent, had a tremendous effect upon me. For the first time in my life, I felt that I was truly doing something for humanity as I strove to make my own molecule of it more perfect.”

Hulme, pp. 112-3

The only direction is: to connect. Our role, the role of man, is to understand the laws that govern the universe in order not to transgress them and allow, if not assist in, the process of transmutation. Shun all that dissipates, go towards what unites; flee from what dilutes, seek what concentrates, shun what degrades energy. Every being, at its own level, should ‘incarnate’ the bridge between what is above and what is beneath itself. Man should find these three levels within himself. ‘Mr. Gurdjieff ’ came to bear witness, to remind, to make known, to prepare, to connect, to enable the link to be made.”

Conge, Facing, p. 355

Within a few hours of meeting Gurdjieff he had implanted in me something like a new organ of perception. He showed me I was living on the exterior and only ‘thinking’ about remembering myself. He gave me the taste of awareness of the whole of myself.”

Anonymous, “From Antiquity,” p. 27

I would say that he must have been in touch with something that most people are not in touch with. And he had a gift, a faculty, of making your time stop. Everything would stop. And one would have sort of a picture, a panoramic view of oneself.” William Segal, interview in Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. IV, No. 1, Fall 2000

Issue, p. 57

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Gurdjieff gave his pupils a means of developing potential. A step in the process was a conscientious scan of one’s false selves. One’s ‘real’ self is perceivable, he said, only when all the false ones are exposed and disdained. What then is left is one’s own essence. So, one must learn to recognize the false in order to find the real. One method of discovering the false is to play it, to play the role one thinks is the real self. ‘Play what you think you are and you will see how shallow is that role.’ ”

Paul Beekman Taylor, “What Did Gurdjieff Give to Me? What Did He Ask of Me?,” p. 28

Insisting on man’s nothingness, he never negated the human being; he attacked our masks and our nonsense, never our possibility of becom-ing what we really are. ‘He always,’ I heard one man say, ‘made you know that you were someone.’ He turned us to look, with eagerness and respect, for our essential selves… With him, we knew ourselves to be po-tentially different beings; we felt in ourselves the beating of great wings. And Gurdjieff loved and trusted, not us, but that possibility in us.”

D.M. Dooling, “The Key to a Teaching,” p. 7

One must take the emotions that come to one—of wonder, of thank-fulness, love of beauty—and bring out of them a strengthening of one’s wish to work… If one does not convert the experience of the rejoic-ing into a wish to be worthy of it then it is wasted…When we used to listen to Gurdjieff playing the little hand organ, somehow he produced in me—and many others felt the same—a longing to purify myself, far stronger than anything I could summon up. I just wanted to be right, to be what I should be.”

Bennett, Talks, p. 123

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j OBJEC TIVE LOVE i

Gurdjieff was gentle with my soul… Gurdjieff gave it courage. From his mysterious and conscious world he guided it with the kind of under-standing he called ‘objective love’—the ‘love of everything that breathes’; and ‘it’ responded with unlimited trust—the highest type of love there is, I think.”

Dorothy Caruso, quoted in Anderson, p. 192

Somehow Gurdjieff managed to touch each one in a deeply personal way, while remaining himself impersonal yet concerned, remote and curiously just. It seemed to correspond with each one’s sense of aspira-tion and at the same time with the recognition of one’s own nothingness on the scale of eternity.”


What I knew as a child, I am beginning to understand as an adult. Gurdjieff practiced love in a form that is unknown to almost everyone: without limits.”

Peters, Remembered, p.160

Unbounded love, neither left to chance nor without a price: a love of extreme exactness, born of this suffering at seeing us prisoners of our numerous misunderstandings, and attempting by all possible means to evoke in us the feeling of urgency, the thirst for return, for union, for communion with the essential.”

Tracol, Real, p. 133

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j SELF- OBSER VATION i

It has already been said that man in his ordinary state can do nothing. However, he can try to observe and notice what is actually in him. Only such observations can lead to real understanding, and understanding is the threshold of real doing.”

Tchekhovitch, p. 35

In this specific exercise what was important was to see oneself, to observe one’s mechanical, automatic, reactionary behavior without comment, and without making any attempt to change that behavior. ‘If change, then will never see reality. Will only see change. When begin to know self, then change will come, or can make change if wish—if such change desirable.’”


Chapter 3

ASPECTS OF THE GURDJIEFF TEACHING

(In Chapter Three, we give the reader a ‘fly on the wall’ point of view as Gurdjieff explained to his students how he saw man and his place in the cosmos, the struc-ture of man’s psyche that prevents him from seeing his situation objectively, and some ways to approach inner work to counteract the forces that keep us asleep. These examples are sometimes in Gurdjieff ’s own voice and sometimes in the voices of his students as they relay the effect of Gurdjieff ’s teaching on them over time. They are grouped by subject matter, so that the value inherent in one statement is amplified, augmented by the ones surrounding it.)

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‘Mr. Gurdjieff, Mr. King and I wish to ask you, please, a question about self-observation. . .We feel that there may be something wrong in the way we are doing self-observation. Are we wrong, Mr. Gurdjieff?’ ‘Never you do self-observation,’ he said forcefully. ‘You do mind-observation. Mind-observation you do. Can even make psychopath.’ ”

Edwin Wolfe, “Episodes with Gurdjieff,” p. 10

“Only the one who sees that he is imprisoned in himself has a chance of freedom; that is, if he really desires it and is intelligently prepared. One needs to think very carefully and see who is in prison and what the prison consists of.”

Tchekhovitch, p. 42

j CONSCIOUSNESS i

All these systems have had their influence on mankind at different periods of history. Faith, hope and love have all been tried. But if you were to ask me about this system, I would answer you by saying that it is based on consciousness. In this system that I teach the emphasis is not on faith, or hope, or love, but on consciousness. For this reason I begin by saying that Man is not yet conscious, although he believes he is.”

Nicoll, V. 3, p. 1003

He who realizes what war really is cannot but wish to desert. If Jews re-fused to participate in the killing and massacres [of WWI], it was because, not being blinded by patriotism, they were more aware, less enslaved by the general blindness, and so more free to act consciously… A conscious man refuses war. Mutual destruction is a manifestation of men who are asleep.”

Tchekhovitch, pp. 48-9

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The most important thing is to realize that we do not remember our-selves, and that for this reason we do not actually exist as individuals in our experience.”

Nicoll, V. 3, p. 786

Two things have no limit: the stupidity of man and the mercy of God.” Bennett, Witness, p. 307

The very first moment you have an opportunity to lose your attention—you will!”

Howarth, p. 465

[Priest’s Conclusion to Gurdjieff ’s Funeral Service] “Let us conclude with his own words: ‘O God Creator, and all you who are his helpers, may we always and in everything “remember ourselves,” because only by this can we be prevented from taking unconscious steps, which alone lead to evil.’ ”

Nott, Further, p. xvi

j THREE CENTERS i

(The Body)

He also said that in order to do the Movements as they should be done, we must learn to use our small muscles. We have three kinds of muscles—large, middle and small. Large we all use, but so do donkeys—middle ones we use sometimes a little, but small we use not at all. Cats use these. Movements must be like cat, not like elephant.”

Hands, p. 40

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I tell many times that all work must start with body; like I tell many times that if wish observe self must start from outside, by observing movements of body. Only much later can learn how observe emotional and mental centres.”

Peters, “Remembered,” p. 27

At the Prieuré Mr. G. gave very hard physical work, from 6 am to eve-ning…because it was very important to establish a relation between his pupils and their own bodies before anything else was possible. ‘Every-thing is body,’ he said.”

Christopher Fremantle, “On Attention,” p. 124

In the language of the body and the spiritual exercises that he taught us, the emphasis was…on receiving a vital force through the muscles and nerves and turning towards the awareness of self.”

Schaeffer, Merciless Compassion, p. 418

Now only your mind is awake; your heart and body are asleep. If you continue like this, soon your mind also will go to sleep, and you will never be able to think any new thoughts. You cannot awaken your own feelings, but you can awaken your body. If you can learn to master your body, you will begin to acquire Being… At present nothing obeys you—not your body, nor your feelings, nor your thoughts. You cannot start with thoughts, because you cannot yet separate yourself from your thoughts.”


(Emotional Center)

New knowledge and new understanding will come through the emotional centre and not through the mental centre.”

Anderson, p. 169

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You must feel, you must feel, your mind is a luxury. You must suffer remorse in your feelings.”


I was walking down the street towards him, having just done some-thing for him, thinking I had discharged myself pretty well. I was very pleased with myself, and was charging up to meet him, when he stopped me: ‘Young man! Where is your feeling?’”

George Adie, from Azize, p. 239

Mr. Gurdjieff had told us in Essentuki about real faith—not a dog-matic faith that must be held for fear of the tortures of hell. He said that faith is the knowledge of feeling, ‘knowledge of the heart.’ This knowl-edge burns like a bright light in the crises of life. During this journey we experienced the truth of what he said.”

Thomas and Olga de Hartmann, “Our Life with Mr. Gurdjieff,” p. 103

(Relation of Centers)

People not understand about learning. Think necessary talk all time, that learn through mind, through words. Not so. Many things can only learn with feeling, even from sensation.”


One of the secrets of his sustained energy seemed to be the distribu-tion of his efforts among the three main functions of man’s psychology, i.e. intellectual, emotional and instinctive activity. ‘When body work, mind rest,’ he remarked to me after driving for some hours.”

Gorham Munson, “The Awakening Twenties,” p. 271

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Once the head has remembered, let it go.” Jean Vaysse, “Toward Awakening,” p. viii

Feel in all the body; sense in all the body. Do often. Make a habit of it.” Hands, p. 76

In her third year at the Prieuré, Ethel [Merston]’s back had dislocat-ed… Then she began to put Gurdjieff ’s teaching of self-observation into practice, watching for the appearance of symptoms, the when and why… ‘It was therefore, I saw, a question of separating mind from body, for it is slow mind that worries, not the body: the worrying mind slows down the body which [then] goes out of gear in some weak spot… I did not try to stop the worry, but just to separate it from the body.’”

Mary Ellen Korman, “A Woman’s Work” (quoting Ethel Merston), p. 28

Never let the emotions lead you into self-forgetting… never lose Self with the mind.”

Hulme, p. 163

A man cannot remember himself because he tries to do so with his mind—at least, in the beginning. Self-remembering begins with self-sensing. It must be done through the instinctive-moving centre and the emotional centre… The wish to change, to be what one ought to be, must be in our emotional centre, and the ability to do in our body… For complete self-re-membering all the centres must work simultaneously and they must be ar-tificially stimulated; the mental centre from the outside, the other two from inside. You must distinguish between sensation, emotions and thoughts; and say to each sensation, emotion, and thought, ‘Remind me to remember you,’ and for this you must have an ‘I.’ And you must begin by separating inner things from outer, to separate ‘I’ from ‘It.’ It is similar to what I said about internal and external considering.”

Nott, Teachings, p. 37

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Men have their minds and women have their feelings more highly devel-oped. Either alone can give nothing. Think what you feel and feel what you think. Fusion of the two produces another force.”

Kenneth Walker, “A Study of Gurdjieff ’s Teaching,” p. 214

One twentieth of our energy goes to emotional and instinctive centres. Self-remembering is a lamp which must be kept alive by energy from these two centres.”

Walker, A Study, p. 213

G. always said that there were two supreme things in the Work-discipline—to remember oneself and to relax. The practice of relaxing, he taught us, begins with inner attention, so that Consciousness can be placed in each part of the Body. He said: ‘Begin with the small muscles of the face.’ ”

Nicoll, V. 3, p. 1087

Mr. Gurdjieff spoke about this ‘myself.’ He said ‘myself ’ is not my thought, not my feeling, not my body. It is all of these together—plus my atmosphere. Plus something else, something I don’t know, that is summed up in the question: Who am I?”

A.L. Staveley, “Themes,” p. 10

j PSYCHOLOGIC AL QUESTIONS i

(Approaching Wholeness)

Mr Gurdjieff used to say, ‘Let angels help you. Let devils help you.’ And sometimes he would add, ‘And between the two, may God keep you.’ ”

Michel Conge, “ Inner Octaves,” p. 128

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Man always have two hands—two sides of self—good and evil. One can destroy other. Must have aim to make both hands work together, must acquire third thing: thing that make peace between two hands, between impulse for good and impulse for evil. Man who all ‘good’ or man who all ‘bad’ is not whole man, is one-sided. Third thing is conscience.”


In most of world now, people only want happiness. Other things also

important: suffering also important because is also part of life, necessary part. Without suffering man cannot grow, but when you suffer, you think only of self, you feel sorry for self, wish not to suffer because this make you feel not comfortable, make you wish escape from thing that make you feel bad. When man suffer, he feel only self-pity. Not so if real man. Real man also sometimes feel happiness, real happiness; but when he also feel real suf-fering, he not try to stop this thing in self. He accept this because he know is proper to man. Must suffer to know truth about self; must learn suffer with will. When suffering come to man must make intentional suffering, must feel with all being; must wish with such suffering that it will help make conscious; help to understand.”


Gurdjieff seeks to teach his pupils to cast off their habits and so be-come more and more masters of themselves. All personal barriers must be broken down. If a man is proud, Gurdjieff humiliates him deliberately before all the other pupils. If he has a special affection or aversion, it has to be eradicated. There was for instance, a man in the institute who, when he entered, hated the sight of blood; he was at once set the task of slaughtering the animals for the stock-pot.”

C.E. Bechhofer Roberts, “The Forest Philosophers,” p. 13

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‘Never lie, play roles. Be something else than what you have habit of be-ing. Know what you not and can know what you are. Even God play roles. Playing roles teaches sincerity, changes attitudes.’ Gurdjieff ’s apparent contradictions confused me at the time. To not lie but to couch truth in lies took some time for me to reconcile.”

Paul Beekman Taylor, “Gurdjieff and the Children,” p. 26

(Character Traits)

We do not own ourselves and do not possess real pride of self. Pride of self is a big thing. As much as we must blame pride as it is ordinarily understood, so much do we need that real Pride which unhappily does not exist in us.”


‘How can we distinguish real pride from false? It is difficult to observe and discriminate in another; it is a hundred times more difficult to do so in ourselves.’ He paused and looked round and with a sly smile added sar-castically: ‘Thank heaven,’ I hear you say, ‘that we who are sitting here run no risk of confusing one with the other. The fact that we are here and have worked on ourselves shows, of course, that we are empty of false pride; so there is no need for us to look for it.’ Resuming his usual tone, he conclud-ed, ‘In any case you must try to learn to reason actively. You must make an exercise of it. Each must recall some occasion, past or present, of hurt pride; and each, with the participation of others, must reason about it.’”


I am going to tell you of a scene at the table with Mr. Gurdjieff. He sat down. We were all there together, he turned to me and said, ‘You under-stand what self-remembering means?’ I answered him. I said, ‘Maybe I don’t understand.’ He said, ‘Ah! Repeat so the others can hear.’ I repeated, ‘Maybe I don’t understand.’ He said: ‘From today you are my brother.’ I share that with you.”

George Adie, from Azize, p. 204.

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When you see that you are lazy, necessary find out what this laziness is. Because you already lazy for many years, can take even many years for you to find out what it is. Must ask yourself, whenever you see your own lazi-ness, ‘What is this laziness in me?’ If you ask this question seriously, and with concentration, is possible someday you will find answer. This impor-tant and very difficult work I give you now.”

Peters, Boyhood, pp. 163-4

It seems to me that one of his aims was to encourage the retention of a certain child-like naiveté in people. In his own writings he speaks of the necessity of ‘being able to preserve intact both the wolf and the sheep’ in one’s self. Roughly translated, this process, in my opinion, amounts to preserving ‘credulity’ (or ‘innocence’ or ‘naiveté’) at the same time as one acquires ‘experience’ (or ‘worldliness’ or ‘scepticism’).”

Peters, Remembered, p. 148-9

Is unfortunate weakness in people today; they ask advice but not wish help, wish only find what already want. They not listen words I say—I always say what I mean, my words always clear—but they not believe this, always look for other meaning, meaning which exist only in their imagination.”


Sincerity is difficult because of the thick crust that has grown over es-sence. Each year a man puts on a new dress, a new mask, one over the other. All this has gradually to be removed. It is like peeling off the skins of an onion. Until these masks are removed we cannot see ourselves.”


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On many occasions I heard him mock the seriousness of people, and remind them that it was essential for any well-rounded human being to ‘play.’ He used the word ‘play’ and pointed out the example of nature—all animals knew, as humans did not, the value of ‘playing’ every day.”


I remember the day when I arrived late for an appointment that he had given me. I galloped down the Avenue Carnot, bounded up his stairs four at a time, and started to stammer an excuse. But he simply let fall two words: ‘Never hurry.’ ” Zuber, Who, p. 3

If you are easy with people from weakness they will not respect you but take advantage of you—in dollar business and in other things. You must learn how to be… cunning. But for a good aim and in the right way.”

Nott, Teachings, pp. 116-7

When you come Prieuré first time you not yet spoiled, have not learn to lie to self. Already even then you can maybe lie to mother or father, but not to self. So you fortunate. But these people very unfortunate. Like you, when child, they learn lie to parents, but as they grow up also learn lie to self and once learn this is very difficult to change. Lying, like all other things, be-come habit for them. So when I say even ordinary thing, because they wish have reverence for their teacher—this reverence can be very bad thing, but is necessary for their good feeling—and because also wish not disturb their inside sleep, they find other meaning for what I say.”


Before you can help others, be of real use to others, you must know yourself and be able to help yourself. Now you are egoist, mind always on yourself. You must learn how to be egoist for good aim, then you will be able to be real altruist and help others.”


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He also spoke about the low status of American women compared with that in older countries, because the men had relinquished their re-sponsibility. He added, ‘If you are first your wife is second. But if your wife is first you must be zero, only then will your hens be safe.’”


(Mastering Emotions)

[Paraphrasing Gurdjieff] All existing emotions, all feelings, had pur-pose; there was a reason for their existence and a proper use for each one of them. But without consciousness or knowledge we use them blindly, compulsively and ignorantly, without any sort of control, producing the same effect in our emotional life as would have been produced, musically, by playing a pipe-organ as an animal might play it… simply at random.”


Sometimes necessary to have people round you that you dislike. If people always pleasant, you like them—no incentive for work. These women give you very good opportunity for work, and I, also, must make effort!”


Outside roses, inside thorns. Outside thorns, inside roses. . . Remember, ‘Outside thorns, inside roses,’ if we work. Disturbed feelings often point to habitual subjective patterns that need to become the subject of self-study.”

Michael Currer-Brings, quoted in James Opie, “Approaching Inner Work,” p. 37

You have dogs within you, you must become their master. If you find the animal that is within you, you can understand it. It is not a matter of scolding the animal, it is part of you. You must get to know its nature: it barks, it attacks; but if you understand it, and love it, it will be pleased to serve you, it will not have to be on the defensive, because it will feel loved and it will love you.”

Claustres, p. 129

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(Sex)

He said that sex, being basically the source of all energy and there-fore, potentially, the well-spring, for example, of art, had also become for most people nothing more than the most titillating diversion of the many forms of amusement known to modern man. Because of this, energy that could be used—and was destined to be used—for a serious, and high purpose, was simply wasted; thrown away in a frantic chase after pleasure.”


There was another follower of his, now long dead, who told me in all seriousness one day that Gurdjieff had never really said anything to him that he could call teaching. And he added, ‘I remember precisely the only words he ever said directly to me. He looked at me one day at a meeting and said, “Ah, you mister, too much you go five against one.” Now what could that have meant? Is that teaching?’… I recognized that the chief characteristic in this otherwise engaging, intelligent and admirable man was that he was a titillator, a masturbator. Behind his outward show of scholarly precision, clever words and insistence on verifiable facts and endless iconoclasm, there lurked a self-stroking dreamer, which marked his every manifestation.”


One of the misuses of sex that had arisen through bad training, the wrong type of education, and improper habits, was that it had become almost the only vital form of human communication. It was possible for people to ‘join actively’ in other ways than physically; to, as he put it, ‘touch each other’s essences,’ but human beings had lost this faculty many, many years—many centuries—ago.”


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j COMPASSION i

Wish can help, is like prayer when for other. When for self, prayer and wish no good; only work good for self. But when wish with heart for other, can help.”


Try to put yourself in the position of others—they have the same signifi-cance as you; they suffer as you do, and, like you, they will die. Only if you always try to sense this significance until it becomes a habit whenever your attention rests on anyone, only then will you be able to assimilate the good part of air and have a real ‘I.’ ”


You know this word ‘kindness?’… Never forget this word. Very good word and not exist in many languages… ‘Kind’ come from kin, like family, like same thing. Kindness mean to treat like self.”


I always work in cafes, dance halls, places where I see people, how they are; where I see those most drunk, most abnormal. Seeing them I can pro-duce impulse of love in me. From that I write my books.”

March/McCorkle, p. 25

The extraordinary man is just and indulgent to the weaknesses of others; and he depends on the resources of his own mind, which he has acquired by his own efforts.”

Nott. Teachings, p. 117

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When asked to define a proper, objectively moral love between people—one for another—he said that it would be necessary to develop oneself to such an extent that it would be possible to ‘know and under-stand enough to be able to aid someone else in doing something necessary for himself, even when that person was not conscious of the need, and might work against you;’ that only in this sense was love properly respon-sible and worthy of the name of real love.”


j IDENTIFICATION AND CONSIDERING i

G. once said: ‘A man should be able to turn round in himself.’ Now this means that he is stuck to nothing in himself. When we identify we stick to things and so cannot get free and cannot turn round.”

Nicoll, V. 3, p. 926

You must have experiences—even more perhaps than you can possibly imagine, both pleasant and unpleasant—but you must not let them make slaves of you. On the contrary you must use them in order to prepare a place in which you can be free.”

Bennett, Making, pp. 150-1

An ordinary man cannot choose, cannot sum up the situation quickly and impartially, for with him his external is his internal. It is necessary to work on oneself, to learn to be unbiased, to sort out and analyze each situ-ation as if one were another person; only then can one be just. To be just at the moment of action is a hundred times more valuable than to be just afterwards. And only when you can be really impartial as regards yourself will you be able to be impartial towards others.”


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It must be understood very clearly and established as a principle that you must not let yourselves become slaves to other people’s opinions; you must be free from those around you. And when you become free inside you will be free of them.”


Meslukin called me a fool. But why should I feel hurt? Actually, for me personally, I am not hurt—not because I have no pride or self-love; perhaps I have more than any of you; but perhaps it is my pride that does not allow me to feel that I have been insulted. I think about it, I reason about it. I say to myself: ‘If he called me a fool, does it follow that he is wise? Perhaps he is a fool himself. He acts like a child, and you cannot expect children to be wise. Perhaps someone has been talking to him about me and he has got foolish ideas. So much the worse for him. I know that in this case I am not a fool, so I am not offended. If a fool calls me a fool I am not hurt inwardly. On the other hand I may have been a fool. In this case I should thank him for letting me see that I behaved like a fool. In neither case am I hurt.”


I saw Gurdjieff at his cafe, and said that I was struggling to understand what he meant by ‘Real unchangeable I’; all I could find was a succession of different ‘I’s. He waved his hand towards the street… ‘Those people all look for taxi. Everyone can get on your taxi. But you are beginning to have own motor-car. You must not let people get on your taxi. This is real unchangeable ‘I’—to keep one’s own motor-car. Now, you have only taste, but one day you will have such ‘I,’ and when you know it has come, you will have such happiness as you cannot imagine.”


When Gurdjieff talks of external considering, he says that if I were unattached, I could be close to myself, but non-involved with myself. I would be free enough to see what is before me.”

Louise Welch, Toronto, p. 121

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In giving a certain exercise he said, ‘Treat your associations as another person. Say to them, ‘Let me do my work now and you shall have your play later.’ ”


You can never stop associations. As long as you breathe, there are associ-ations. These are automatic. Therefore, in this task, you must not try to stop them; let associations flow but not be active. With this other part of your mind you work at this new task, and this is active. Pretty soon you find you have the beginnings of a new kind of brain—a new one for this kind of mentation. And then, the other one becomes entirely passive. Very impor-tant that you know the body as a whole, for this work, very important.”

Hulme, pp. 93-4

j REMAINING IN QUESTION i

Question yourself always. Be Question.” Claustres, p. 127

We were not asked to accept anything. We were merely admonished against passing mechanical judgement; told to observe and to withhold opinions until we had sufficient facts… ‘Who does not doubt, has no place here with me,’ said Mr. Gurdjieff.”

Popoff, p. 151

Way you look, I know you already make judgement of these ladies; but remember what I tell before, necessary look all sides, all directions before make judgement. You not forget this.”


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What makes a man is his ability to question himself. And when some-one at Mr. Gurdjieff ’s table really did that in front of him, you would see him smile with a special kindness emanating from him, because an au-thentic question had arisen. Really, that is what sustained him the most.”

Michel de Salzmann, quoted in Segal, Silence, p. 46

j i

If man have real remorse for something he do that is not good, this can be valuable; but if only sorry and say will do same thing better in future is waste of time. This time is already gone forever, this part of your life is finished, you cannot live over again.”


It often happens that that which happens on earth comes from something that was done by a father or grandfather. The results converge on you, the son or grandson; it is you who have to regulate them. This is not an injus-tice, it is a very great honor for you…You are a link in the chain of your blood. Be proud of it, it is an honor to be this link. The more you are obliged to repair the past, the more you will have remorse of conscience.”

Lillian Firestone, “Learning the Forgotten Language of Children,” pp. 204-5

‘What shall I do?’ ‘You must help your father,’ Gurdjieff said. I thought he had not understood, that I had spoken too quickly; so I told him again that my father was dead. ‘I know. You tell already. But because of your father you are here. Have gratitude for this. You are your father and you owe to him. He is dead. Too late to repair for himself. You must repair for him. Help him.’ ‘But how can I help him when he’s dead? Where is he?’ ‘All around you. You must work on yourself. Remember what I tell—your “I”. And what you do for yourself you also do for me.’ ”


REMORSE OF CONSCIENCE/REPAIRING THE PAST

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It is the duty of man to prepare for the future at every moment of the present, and to right what has been done wrong. This is the law of destiny. Blessed be the prime source of all laws!”


You and your father and your grandfather all the way back to Adam are one. They exist in you. You have the possibility to free them, or the opposite. The idea of linear time is a great obstacle. It is closer to reality to think in cycles: the day and night, the seasons, heartbeat, breath. If time can be understood like that, in cycles, then I see that it is simply my turn. My parents exits through me; only now it is my opportunity to experience for them. It is my turn to try.”

Firestone, pp. 202-3

j INNER WORK i(Conditions needed)

I cannot develop you. I can create conditions in which you can develop yourselves.”

Anderson, p. 137

‘Every man must have a teacher. Even I, Gurdjieff, have my teacher.’ He would sometimes add, ‘I am never separated from my teacher, even now I am communicating with him.’”

Bennet, Making, p. 80

One day you will understand on your own that what you want someone else to give you now, all at once, would be of no use. Only what you under-stand through your efforts can become part of you.”

Tchekhovitch, p. 11

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One of the Aphorisms in the Study House at Fountainbleau read, ‘The worse the conditions the more productive the work, providing you work consciously.’ Gurdjieff would never be satisfied with the illusion of har-mony if the substance were lacking.”


(The function of exercises)

Exercises are given to us as a crutch, for the moment, to collect our attention—that it should become active in ourselves, able to wake us up more and more from our sleep.”

Lannes, Inside, p. 22

He said that there were various important exercises having to do with ‘self-remembering’ which was a very important aspect of his work. One of them was to conscientiously and with all one’s concentration, try to remember, as on a movie film, everything that one had done during each entire day. This was to be done every night before going to sleep. The most important thing in the exercise was not to let the attention wan-der—by association.”


Mr. Gurdjieff said, ‘Do the exercise each time as if it were the first time.’ He also said, ‘Do the exercise, and then… to Hell with it! A moment of work and then… learn to let it go.”

Michel Conge, quoted in Ricardo Guillon, “Record of a Search: Working with Michel Conge in France,” p. 24

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(Levels of teaching)

Gurdjieff, as a teacher of candidates for initiation… was constantly on the watch for those who had the potential for interpreting his mes-sage. He did not neglect those with small potential, but on the whole he taught them in a general way, whereas those who had great possibilities were subjected to the full force of his extraordinary powers.”


The Institute [at the Prieuré] was described by Gurdjieff as ‘a hatching place for eggs. It supplies the heat. Chicken inside must try to break shell, then help and individual teaching is possible. Until then only collective method.’ ”

Beryl Pogson, “Maurice Nicoll: A Portrait,” p. 89

(State needed for work)

Know that this house is of value only to those who have recognized their nothingness and believe it is possible to alter.”

Aphorism from Prieuré Study House, quoted in Walker, A Study, p. 210

Among the aphorisms in the Study House were… ‘You are here having realized the necessity of contending with yourself; then thank everyone who provides an opportunity.’”


This system promises nothing. But if a man works, he will get something. Let us say, he will receive leather with which to make shoes. But he must make the shoes himself, so that they fit him. They must be his own shoes—not borrowed shoes.”

Nicoll, V. 3. p. 1004

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(Modes of working)

Hope in my opinion is an evil thing, is why man is nearly not man any longer. Man must use what he has, not hope for what is not.”

Hulme, p. 135

Man have much to learn, and can learn from many unexpected places. Even dog can help. Man very weak, need help all time.”


One of the best means of awakening the wish to work on oneself is to always keep in mind that we can die at any moment.”

Claustres, pp. 127-8

God. . .is achieved not through activity but through cessation of activity. Cessation to the utmost limit of diet, breath and sex. These are the three pillars on which prayer is built. Each has to be trained and disciplined by restraint—there is no other way because they are all runaway horses. Only when the ground is cleared can true building commence. Only from that point can you begin to act consciously…At stages of the training temporary celibacy is as essential as fasting. . .but it would be stupid to make asceti-cism an end in itself. The fanatic who becomes a permanent celibate is like a musician who spends his life doing one exercise.”

Sir Paul Dukes, “On A Single Breath,” pp. 38-9

Man must always prepare for what he does, necessary at all times that he thinks what he does.”

Hulme, p. 172

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Man must at all times mathematically hear, mathematically understand, mathematically answer. Only this is life. Always he must be with his ‘I’… only then is he not man in quotation marks. No matter what he has in his surroundings—people, noise, alcohol—always he must mathematically un-derstand. Never lose the Self, even when drunk. He can be drunk but never can his ‘I’ be drunk.”

Hulme, p. 173

The mind is capable of functioning independently but unfortunately it also has the capacity of becoming identified with the moods and feelings, of becoming a mere reflection of the feelings. In the majority of those present, their mind does not even try to be independent, but is always merely a slave of their moods… It is true that to have a constant wish to separate one’s thoughts from one’s feelings is not easy, but the mind must always remem-ber this wish.”


Study; study everything. Know yourself, then humanity, then the planet. Study forty-eight hours a day.”

Anderson, p. 170

When we look at something—for example, some object, we will not look like monkeys with our all going out to object. We will not identify. We must try not live in the outer world.”

Hulme, p. 111

You can never know the subjective state of another… If, for example, she is angry with you, you say—‘She is not mad with me, her state is mad with me.’ Never reply with your interior.”

Hulme, p. 108

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‘Everything in the Work is related to everything else,’ I understood Mr. Gurdjieff to say one day. ‘Some people have worked giving all attention to the Law of Octaves, others to the Law of Otherwise, and so on. This is wrong. Here in America,’ he said motioning to us, ‘you have worked only with self-remembering—now you are candidates for the insane asylum. You must think of all aspects of the Work.”

Popoff, p. 131

(Goals of working)

De-hypnotize yourself, Tchekhovitch. Only then will you be able to help others.”

Tchekhovitch, p. 38

Conscience all have. But it is out of reach. It can only be brought into consciousness by the intensity of inner struggle. When conscience and con-sciousness are together, then you will not make such mistakes.”


But isn’t the world teeming with human actions? ‘Not so!’ says Gurd-jieff, ‘those are reactions.’ You slapped me on the cheek? Biff! I slap you on the cheek! To turn the other cheek, yes, that would be an action… ‘But you are not capable of it… Come and work according to my indica-tions and you will perhaps become capable of it.’ ”

Zuber, Notebooks, p. 352

The energy used in active inner work transforms itself immediately into new energy, but that which is spent in passive work is lost forever.”

Claustres, p. 128

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Better to say—I wish the result of this, my suffering, be my own, for Be-ing… This saying maybe you can take force from your animal and give it to Being… and you can do this for many things. For any denial of something that is a real slavery.”

Hulme, p. 102

You must make intentional contact between outer-world struggle and inner-world struggle; only then can you make data for the Third World of Man, sometimes called World of the Soul. Understand?… You have made this cigarette the Intentional Contact between the two struggles, and even by this small thing you will make data for the Third World, for the World of the Soul.”

Hulme, pp. 103-4

You know that in the gall bladder, for example, stones form as a result of crystallization from a saturated liquid. Psychic substances obey the same law and, having reached saturation, they crystallize, as salt does when the concentration is above a certain level.”

Tchekhovitch, p. 54

(Payment required)

So far you have come here [the Prieuré] as a trial. You have been given something. But if you come here to work, you must understand that noth-ing is given. If you wish to acquire something of your own, you must learn to steal. What I have to give cannot be paid for; it is priceless. Therefore, if you need it, you must steal it… At present you will have to take because you have nothing to give. Later you will be ready to give your last shirt to help the work—as I am ready to give mine.”

Bennett, Witness, pp. 97-8

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It is necessary to know how to sacrifice everything, including oneself. A price has to be paid for Knowledge. You yourself are this price.”

Claustres, p. 127

(Super-effort required)

Every living being must work in order to eat. It is a great law of nature. But the man who works only to feed himself is nothing but an animal. To work as a Christian requires a super-effort in order to consciously approach an aim that is beyond one’s reach.”


I cannot do anything except train my attention, and if I think that is not enough, I am a fool. To perfect one’s attention is to perfect oneself. I can still hear Mr. Gurdjieff ’s voice in my ears, ‘Never tire, day after day, practice, practice’—against all that wants to dream, to drift.”

Lannes, Inside, p. 18

No man had struggled more valiantly to carry out his obligations and to convert his five inherited talents into ten. The demands he made of others were as nothing in comparison with the demands he had always made of himself. Our efforts were but feeble gestures compared to his.”

Walker, Venture, p. 176

Not once will you do (your exercises)… not one hundred times will you do them… but one thousand and one times, you will do, and then perhaps something will happen. Now it is imagination, but sooner or later it will be fact, because your animal is law-able.”

Hulme, pp. 106-7

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Nature make many acorns, but possibility to become tree exist for only few acorns. Same with man—many men born, but only few grow. People think this waste, think Nature waste. Not so. Rest become fertilizer, go back into earth and create possibility for more acorns, more men, once in while more tree—more real man. Nature always give—but only give possibility. To become real oak, or real man, must make effort.”


One time we were asked to carry out arithmetical operations while using, in the place of numbers, sixteen feminine names. Instead of say-ing that 16 minus 12 equals 4, for example, we had to say Nina minus Adele gives Marie… When we were together at our tasks, one of us had to propose an arithmetical operation in time with a certain rhythm. On the following measure, the others were to respond, according to the proposed rule… The feminine names could just as well be replaced by colours, opera titles, various objects, gestures, or whatever… Generally speaking, we were severely put to the test, but the reward was worth the effort. All these mental gymnastics, created out of a fiendish ingenuity, fostered a high level of concentration, the end result being the libera-tion of an independent attention no longer subject to what Mr. Gurdjieff called ‘associative mechanisms.’ ”


I had crawled through a year of abstinence [from smoking]. . .at the end of that year I told him I believed I had conquered that slavery (which he sometimes called man’s ‘dogs’) and could now go on indefi-nitely. He nodded: ‘Yes, for you, this makes a source for force.’ He looked quite benevolent as he studied me; then he added in a casual voice: ‘But at the same time, any man can not smoke. You do not wish to do what any man can do?’ ‘Oh no, Mr. Gurdjieff. . .’ ‘Smoke then…’ He offered me one of his Russian cigarettes… He had attached me again to my ‘dog’ to be now its master, not its slave. He had set my feet on the harder path, the golden middle way between abstinence and excess.”

Hulme, pp. 104-5

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(Sacrificing the results of work)

If we did an exercise expecting a certain result, it was valueless. But, if we achieved a recognizable result, such as a feeling of genuine well-being, even though this was a proper, temporary, result, it did not in any sense mean that one had ‘achieved’ anything permanent. It could mean that some progress was being made but it was then necessary to work that much harder in order to make such ‘results’ a permanent part of oneself.”


We obeyed our teacher’s strict and frequent injunction—never to look for results, never to ‘philosophize’ about what we were doing, but simply to do—with faith.”

Hulme, p. 110

Gurdjieff always presented the idea of conscious labour as connected with service to the future, as the sower sows the seed in hope but unconcerned with who will reap the harvest… Conscious labours must always come under the requirement of acting without regard to the fruits of action.”

Bennett, Talks, pp. 128-9

CONSCIOUS L ABOR ANDINTENTIONAL SUFFERING

Past joys are as useless to man in the present as the snows of last year which leave no trace by which one can remember what they were. Only the imprints of conscious labor and intentional suffering are Real, and can be used for obtaining good.”

Anderson, p. 38

j i

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Our task is to die to this personality, which is a false thing, not our own; it may be necessary to melt it down in the fires of great suffering, but when this is done correctly, in its place will grow individuality; a man will become an individual, possessing real will and an ‘I.’ He will be himself.”


Gurdjieff in one of his lectures explained that intentional suffering means to expose oneself to painful situations in order to help others, es-pecially situations caused by the negative manifestations of those one is trying to help. Almost all the heroes of Beelzebub’s Tales are said to have undertaken partkdolgduty in order to acquire knowledge that would help mankind, especially future generations.”


‘What is war? It is the result of planetary influences’… In Beelzebub’s Tales this state of tension is given the name Solioonensius… According to Gurdjieff, it occurs upon all planets and is by no means characteristic of our earth alone. Dissatisfaction is no bad thing. Every imperfect being should be dissatisfied with his imperfection. On every planet where nor-mal conditions prevail, the advent of Solioonensius is awaited with the solemn expectation that it will arouse greater determination and greater efforts of conscious labour and intentional suffering.”


In the spiritual path, joy and suffering follow one another like the two feet and you come to a point of not minding which ‘foot’ is on the ground. You realize on the contrary that it is extremely uncomfortable hopping all the time on the joy foot.”


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You must make a task. Be mother. You die—you sacrifice for children. You do this exact and Work will come into life. You never do this before. Necessary learn sacrifice.”

Phillpotts, p. 202

I understood Mr. Gurdjieff to tell us once, at the Wellington, that all people who pray and believe in a finer, higher life release a great deal of energy when they pray… We should feel that we were charging ourselves with this energy thus released and accumulated by lofty aspirations from all directions of the Earth… so that it would help us grow into ‘men made in the image of God. And having done that,’ he added, ‘promise yourselves that you will pay back for the energy you have stolen, through conscious ef-forts and intentional suffering, when the time comes for you to pay.’”

Popoff, p. 146

After you assimilate what I am giving, you will be responsible for all your acts, even for your unconscious acts. Beginning then, you will take a posi-tion of responsibility. A record is kept for each. All you do is written in red or black in Angel Gabriel’s book. Not for everyone is this record kept, but only for those who have taken a position of responsibility. There is a Law of Sins; now you are subject to this Law. If you do not fulfill all your obliga-tions, you will pay. For every satisfaction, you must accept so much dissat-isfaction… if you do not so acquit yourself with this Law, you will pay.”

Hulme, p. 136

j AIM AND WILL i

Remember, remember, remember, remember why you are in the Work.” Nicoll, V. 2, p. 594

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The difference between an ordinary man and a conscious man is in the persistence of their aims. There are some people who maintain an aim for a week, or a month, or a year. They are relatively ephemeral, like insects. There are some whose major purpose animates them during their lifetime: they have attained human stature. Then there are the rare few whose aim is so intense and all-enbracing as to endure beyond the human span. These are immortal.”

Carl Zigrosser, “Gurdjieff,” p. 44

Gurdjieff never failed to make it clear that the possession of one’s own will is the mark of a real man. Consequently, the development of man should be conceived not in terms of knowledge and being only, but rather of the three elements of knowledge, being and will… People have not believed in the possibility of ‘will,’ the true possession of one’s own ‘I,’ and so they have not undertaken the work that leads to this with the persistence and intensity that is required. A careful reading of all the passages in Beelzebub’s Tales referring to the Omnipresent Okidanokh will convince the reader that Gurdjieff has a profound and startling under-standing of ‘will.’ ”


Many people set themselves difficult tasks and then, in despair of do-ing them, do nothing at all. Before starting to make an elephant effort we must learn to make that of a fly. Gurdjieff says, ‘If you can learn to bear one manifestation of one person, which irritates you, you will have learnt to make the effort of a fly.’ And this is a great deal.”

A.R. Orage, quoted in Nott, Further, p. 21

[Paraphrasing Mme. Ouspensky] In life men think they are moving somewhere, but this is an illusion. For all their activity they move no more than a squirrel in a wheel. . . Only the study of reactions can lead to results.”

Robert S. de Ropp, “Conversations with Madame Ouspensky,” p. 8

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You have nervous, restless movements which make people think you are a booby and have no authority over yourself. The first thing is to see these movements and stop them… Make this your aim, then afterwards perhaps you can gain attention. This is an example of doing. Everyone, when he begins in this work, wishes to do big things. If you start on big things you will never do anything. Start on small things first.”


Begin by loving plants and animals, then perhaps you will learn to love people.”


Everyone must have an aim. If you have not an aim, you are not a man. I will tell you a simple aim, to die an honourable death. Everyone can take this aim without any philosophising—not to perish like a dog”… As always, he suddenly turns the conversation to a joke, and in a minute the room is shaken with laughter.”

Bennett, Talks, pp. vii-viii

There are two kinds of doing—automatic and doing what you ‘wish.’ Take a small thing which you ‘wish’ to do and cannot do and make this your God. Let nothing interfere. If you ‘wish,’ you can. Without wishing you never ‘can.’ ‘Wish’ is the most powerful thing in the world.”

Walker, A Study, p. 216

‘I haven’t any aim,’ I said; ‘what should my aim be?’ He said, ‘Do you want to perish like a dog?’ I answered, ‘Of course not.’ He didn’t explain, he simply repeated what he had said before: ‘Remember your “I”.’ ”


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j MAN’S PLACE IN THE COSMOS i

Someone asked Gurdjieff if he would disclose his own ‘whim,’ and he said it was to live and teach so that there should be a new conception of God in the world, a change in the very meaning of the word.”

Philip Mairet, “A.R. Orage: A Memoir,” p. 105

The angels are pure, and there is no place for them to go. We on this earth are fallen angels, but we have a place to strive for, objectively and actively to come to.”

Benson, p. 138

God, misapplied, is the Devil. There is only one force in creation. Good and evil lie merely in its application.”

Dukes, p. 52

Man remains entrenched in his man-made, man-conceived world, and all that Gurdjieff did to try to awaken us to the absurdity of this attitude has been largely disregarded… To get beyond this, we need first of all to ask ourselves whether we are prepared to accept the doctrine of Recipro-cal Maintenance. For this turns upside down the idea that the world is made for man, and asserts, on the contrary, that man is made to serve the world. Note that it is not God, but the world around us that we serve by the Trogoautoegocrat… He does not simply offer us a system for im-proving ourselves, for bettering our lives, for overcoming the defects in our nature. He offers us, on the contrary, an entirely new outlook on life and a new understanding of the goal and purpose of human existence.”


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The real inconsistency comes from…the humanist doctrine of man’s ‘right’ to live a secure and happy life… Ever since man’s attitude towards life has been founded upon rights rather than obligations, we have lost touch with the sense and purpose of our existence. According to Gurd-jieff, it was not so before the last Epoch.”


Once he spoke of the ‘Inner God’ who can be the directive power in

all our actions. He said, ‘If you learn to obey Inner God, this is a thousand times better than the Ten Commandments, which only tell us how to live, but cannot help a man to work.”


He taught me to begin again. He said to me, ‘Come back to yourself, Octavian, and stop complaining’… In the language of the body and the spiritual exercises that he taught us, the emphasis was not on meditating on an image of what one would call God; it was on receiving a vital force through the muscles and the nerves, and turning towards the awareness of self that I just spoke about. At the same time, Gurdjieff vigorously rec-ommended attitudes of modesty, humility, and surrender to the ineffable power that encompasses the world.”

Schaeffer, “Merciless Compassion,” pp. 417-8

My host [G.] had begun to chant the Lord’s Prayer… From start to finish there was no stop, no hesitation, no halt for breath, no rise or fall in tone; it was one single sound, integral and self-contained, imparting to the prayer a meaning far deeper than the words themselves…Prayer is an art like music, or painting, or acting, or sculpture and at least as diffi-cult. Some spend a lifetime acquiring it…To pray is an art, and in art there is no final goal. There is always further to go. It is a voyage of unending discovery.”

Dukes, pp. 18, 25

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Gurdjieff was very concerned that we should understand that every-thing is not roses, roses in the higher world. I remember once saying to him: ‘It must be the hardest thing of all to be God,’ and he looked at me and said: ‘It is so.’”


Speaking of prayer,… Mr. Gurdjieff said, ‘Don’t bother about the saints.

Keep yourself always turned toward God.’” Conge, Octaves, p. 161

God can maintain the universe without help, through Himself. But He is good: He wishes beings to fulfill themselves in the universe, so that they can enjoy beatitude and become His children, capable of penetrating to an understanding of the Being that created the world.”

Henriette Lannes, “This Fundamental Quest,” p. 115

Behind Essence lies Real I, and behind Real I lies God.” Nicoll, V. 4, p. 1266

j “I AM” i

I made a resolve—to cease to utter the lie of saying I AM from time to time, as recommended by Mr. Gurdjieff. I would substitute on all occa-sions the words ‘I wish to be.’ One day soon after, however, when I was clearing the table and Mr. Gurdjieff was still sitting there, he suddenly asked me, ‘Sometimes inside you stop and say I AM?’ I told him what I was doing. He said this was not at all what was needed—I must go on saying I AM as I had been told to do and not look for anything, just say the words. Then he added, surprisingly, ‘But at end, perhaps something come!’”

Hands, p. 42

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One night, Mr. Gurdjieff was talking about self-awareness—how, in whatever we were doing, we should pause from time to time to say I, to say I not with the head alone, but with one’s whole mass. He lifted up his hand, looked at it and said, ‘It is like this, even my thumbnail say I.’ The extraordinary thing was that you could almost hear it doing so.”

Hands, p. 38

Mr. Gurdjieff spoke of a willingness to stand in the midst of our con-fusions and contradictions, returning again to ‘I am.’ We each need to develop our own relationship with this practice.”

Michael Currer-Briggs, in Opie, p. 74

When you pronounce the word ‘I’ you will have a purely subjective sen-sation in the head, the chest, the back according to the state you are in at the moment. I must not say ‘I’ merely mechanically, as a word, but I must note in myself its resonance. This means that in saying ‘I’ you must listen carefully to the inner sensation and watch so as never once to say the word ‘I’ automatically, no matter how often you say it.”

Staveley, Themes, p. 10

Good to go to a cabaret and see how people behave, and think very often to oneself, ‘I AM’. . . How work? Well, only by saying ‘I AM’ not less than once every hour. From this everything can come.”

John and Elizabeth Bennett, “Idiots in Paris—1949,” pp. 63, 65

If his aim was to teach men how to rise to the possibility of saying ‘I am,’ he never forgot that ‘Thou art’ and ‘He is’ complete the conjugation.”

P.L. Travers, “George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff,” p. 7

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‘I wish give real Christmas present. Imagine Christ. Somewhere in space is.’ Mr. Gurdjieff forms an oval with both his hands. ‘Make contact. Not to center, but to outside, periphery. Draw from there, draw in, I. Settle in you, Am. Do every day. Wish to become Christ. Become. Be.’”

March/McCorkle, p. 107

He turned his full attention towards me, which, I can tell you, was considerable, and said, ‘Is more important that you say ‘I am,’ than is that you breathe.’”

Dr. John Ritchie Lester, from Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. III, No. 2, Spring 2000 Issue, p. 44.

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j WHY THIS MODE OF TEACHING? i

He never sought to scandalize, but to make someone understand something by provoking a moment of sincerity which, quite often, could only be brought about through the reactions he aroused. He acted, play-ing a role designed to bring people face to face with themselves, their weaknesses, their slavery, and to help them inwardly to separate their au-tomatic reactions—born of an education he considered abnormal—from what was real in their being.”


Gurdjieff always played a role in front of newcomers… for the benefit of his pupils. This role was designed to show us what the essential reality of any man amounts to, in spite of appearances. If any good-natured souls like myself could not bear such a sight—never mind! One does not become adult without undergoing such trials.”

Zuber, Who, pp. 6-7

Chapter 4INITIATION BY FIRE

(The most easily misunderstood aspect of Gurdjieff ’s methods of teaching was his practice of periodically ‘giving shocks’ to his students, in one form or another, in order to shake up their internal world enough to allow a new direction to be embarked upon. We hope this chapter puts that practice in its proper perspec-tive—something done out of deep compassion, and ‘objective love,’ as has been the case with Zen masters and other spiritual teachers throughout history.)

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When he was cruel, he was cruel for a very good reason. He was doing something for the person to whom he was being cruel; trying to wake them up.”


Mrs. Nicoll told us once how she had spent a whole long day scrub-bing the floor of the theatre and he [G.] met her in the evening when she was feeling very sorry for herself and said: ‘You had nice day in Paris, yes?,’ with a gleam in his eyes. She burst out emphatically, ‘No, I’ve been scrubbing the floor all day’… She realized that Gurdjieff knew very well how she had been occupied, and was only trying to test her with his remark… Each time it was possible to forget that it was a well-laid trap and to fall headlong into it… The group were placed in circumstances where they would feel a loss of face, in order to force them back to rely on what was real in themselves, for it was only what was artificial, ac-quired, that could cause them suffering when it was attacked.”

Pogson, pp. 83-84

I see he holds up in front of me the hoop of every idiocy I can com-mit and I invariably jump through it. I resolve daily that I will keep my mouth shut and not be caught, but every day I am. There is this in it, though —I do begin to see my mechanical reactions a bit more clearly and without my usual misery over any glimpse of truth that arises.”

Hands, p. 49

I received an avalanche of shocks—not always unpleasant, far from it—and such a supply of energy that I did not know what to do with it all. But something was at work within me. He put us in conditions that turned us upside down. And that was a good thing! For how can we get out of the closed circuit we are in without being shaken up a bit? It’s impossible.”


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With more educated eyes, as our understanding stretched, we were to watch what Gurdjieff deliberately made for us to watch—pretensions and vanities sheared away from the pretentious and the self-proud, like wool off a sheep… in short, the human psyche stripped bare as only this master of the psyche could strip it.”

Hulme, p. 78

You have no connection to anything; things connect to you. You are their slave. Do you understand? It’s not you who relates to things, it’s they who relate to you, it’s they who command. Not very happy, eh? Excuse me. It’s impossible always to be polite. Absolutely impossible. If you want to say the truth you can’t always be polite.”

G.I. Gurdjieff, “Questions and Answers,” p. 276

To be genuinely open and receptive to Life, we must free ourselves of all systems that pin it down. Life’s natural mode is transition. Life is in-imical to permanence. Life is a constant surprise. So is the master—one never knows what he will do next.”

Karlfried Graf Dürckheim, “The Call For the Master,” pp. 62-3

He provoked in us a strong inner experience of feeling and sensation, which in life expresses itself as what some call ‘negative emotion,’ and then he strove to enable us to transform it by seeing it and reasoning about it. With some he aroused insult, anger, rage and so on, until the person could not help knowing this in himself. Others he loaded with praises—‘You alone truly understand what you know,’ ‘Only you can I trust’—until all their pride, ambition and self-esteem were loosened to the point where they could not help seeing their own worthlessness. Through seeing himself a man can awaken… and begin to acquire genu-ine responsibility.”

de Hartmann, p. 49

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A man must die to be changed. I wish you not to be Nonentity. So first I make you feel like nonentity. Only from there can you begin. It is nothing to know your nonentityness, you must experience it personally.”

Anderson, p. 31

He would storm at one or another of us, with an anger that was frightening to witness, but when it was all over no irritating sting would be left behind. He had attacked self-love and deceit in general wherever it happened to manifest itself… It was not with A. as an individual that he had been angry but with his action in allowing poison from him to pollute the room.”


What is that thing they always talk about—attention? I could almost answer that nobody, sitting in a quiet time, can come to attention… It takes a big shock so that you’re ready to receive it; that will put you into real attention… The Old Man [G.] was capable of giving us the shock.”

Benson, p. 78

All this that puzzled me in Gurdjieff ’s behavior and in his writing… served a purpose. This emotional disturbance in me… was deliberately provoked, both as a test and as a form of treatment. As a physician sometimes induces a violent reaction in his patient’s body, so did Gurd-jieff deliberately provoke a violent reaction in his followers’ souls… . The more I thought about this analogy between the physician’s treat-ment of the indifferent body and Gurdjieff ’s treatment of the indifferent soul the better it seemed to explain all that had previously puzzled and disturbed me.”


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Did he not tell us that he must destroy complacency? Is there a bet-ter way to do this than to rub people the wrong way? And when these people are your own followers, are you not sacrificing yourself in so do-ing, and are you not putting yourself in a bad light to help them in their efforts… Derision, misunderstanding, slander; the finger of scorn always pointing at him! These must be heaped upon him; no doubt he meant it to be so; it was his payment for his wish to be.”

Popoff, pp. 157-8

I believe that, for a few days, we caught a glimpse of the real Gurdjieff, and that all his strange and often repellent behavior was a screen to hide him from people who would otherwise have idolized his person instead of working for themselves.”


Gurdjieff was always giving shocks in order to make them use their critical faculty. To one young pupil he said, ‘Never believe anything you hear me say. Learn to discriminate between what must be taken literally and what metaphorically.’”


You see, father, what you make me do? You never shouted at your daugh-ter, so she has not had this experience, and all sorts of impressions are necessary for people. So now I am obliged to do it in your place.”

de Hartmann, p. 233

He manifested simply as he felt was necessary… in order to remain faithful to his vocation as a ‘spoilsport’—a hinderer of sleep.”


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Awakening implies a rupture in the thread of continuity, a change of levels, an interval between two completely different states. A shock is necessary to ensure the passage from one state to another. This shock could be brought about in all sorts of ways—by an abrupt change of attitude, by direct provocation or an unexpected smile, by a redoubling of exacting requirements or a sudden mollifying gesture… . [G.’s] refusal to meet our expectations of a ‘teaching’ couched in orderly terms and following a ‘rational’ sequence, was in itself a lesson. He had the art of eluding questions, only to offer a masterly answer, when we had already given up all hope of receiving any.”


j A VIGNE T TE i

On this man he carried out a sort of live autopsy. It began quite gently and continued so. Gurdjieff first started speaking to him about his fam-ily, inquiring how many children he had; then about his wife and that metal ribbon he wore in his buttonhole. He congratulated him and got him to talk about himself. Minute by minute, all his hesitations visably melted away, and, little by little, everything came out into broad daylight. He could have made him admit his most hidden aspirations; the man re-laxed without any apparent pressure, happy to be able at last to open his heart in confidence. We could see the weaknesses, the fetters, the good sides. He was a good father, ill at ease in his role as a flunky, and for once he could let go and relieve himself of all that weighed on his heart. There was nothing shocking about it, no more shocking than a surgeon remov-ing a tumor from his patient. We pitied him, but without any criticism; this poor fellow, half asleep, was in pain, and the conversation was doing him good. With what science, what art, Gurdjieff freed him from him-self; far better, and at all events much quicker, than any psychoanalyst could have done… He was capable of laying bare a man’s soul, of making him transparent without hurting him. At the end of the experience the man stood up and thanked him.”


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j BEING TESTED i

Gurdjieff, not wanting people to obey blindly, encouraged experimen-tation. To teach independence of thought he might tell someone to do something foolish, and then sit back and see whether they did it. Those who did were told next time to do something even more foolish. If need be, this would go on until they did see their foolishness for themselves.”

Korman, p. 17

One day, however, I decided I just had to speak to him. I had a very precise question, and spent the whole week going over the formula-tion until I knew it by heart… Finally I heard my voice formulating my question. Mr. Gurdjieff said, “Aaah…’ seemed to listen attentively, and then, as soon as I had finished, broke into a long discussion in Rus-sion with Mme. de Salzmann on what was obviously a different topic. Ten minutes later, he stopped and said, ‘Oh, Doctor, excuse! You spoke, I think, but I forget what you say.’ He seemed so apologetic that I mustered enough courage to repeat my little story, but the words seemed flat. He said, ‘Hm! Hm!’ and got up to go into the kitchen. In his absence, no one spoke. When he came back I still had the strength to say, ‘Monsieur, I asked you a question.’ ‘Ah!’ he said, ‘tell.’ And for the third time I told my now completely impoverished story. He said, ‘That remind me box matches. Yesterday bought matches, and today not know where put.’ I saw no connection. Seeing that my expression displayed neither disgust, nor irritation, nor weakness, he suddenly began to speak to me like a father. I had passed a test. And I can assure you that only if you had gone through that would you know what it costs.”

Conge, Octaves, p. 175

Being put on the spot is the best position to be in.” Benson, p. 84

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Gurdjieff then handed me his hat filled with chocolates and told me to pass them out… Always the good girl, I jumped up and began to thrust it at each of them in turn, so they could choose their favorite kind. Instantly Gurdjieff was on his feet shouting at me, but I couldn’t under-stand what he was saying… Then he shook his head sternly, pantomim-ing how he wanted it done. Holding an imaginary hat in front of him, he examined its contents gravely and chose a chocolate with great care. He presented it with exaggerated politeness to the nearest person… I was now being forced to make decisions for adults who probably would hate me for giving them the wrong chocolate… Twenty years later…I realized with a shock what he had wanted me to understand. Because I was des-perate to please others, I had always clung to the middle-of-the-road po-sition and assessed how the wind blew before making decisions. Gurd-jieff forced me to make my own choice. I, the waffler and pleaser, should not let others decide what they would take from me. I must choose what to give. Unpleasant as it was, I recognized myself and was grateful.”

Patty de Llosa, “The Practice of Presence,” pp. 33-4

‘You Swaggering Idiot, like turkey—turkey even swagger when no one there… Turkey cock think he a real peacock. Swaggering Idiot think he understand everything.’ Then Madame de Salzmann turned to me and asked, ‘You understand what he is saying?’ and I replied, ‘Yes, perfectly,’ feeling somehow lighter and much more free. Gurdjieff, nodding his head, observed, ‘I like this idiot.’ After a long pause, during which time he looked at me pretty closely, he said, ‘You excuse, Miss? I use you to prove a cosmo-logical principle. You not offended with me and for this I give you cadeau.’”

Phillpotts, p. 198

If, while you were being tested, you knew how to take hold of yourself, to ‘come to’ and understand with gratitude what was being revealed, he would stop cold. I remember one evening when he launched a stinging attack on one of my weak spots. I silenced my emotions… He abruptly stopped baiting me and, turning to Mme de Salzmann, simply remarked: ‘Doctor understand!’ And I was gratified with that deep look which goes right into your soul, after which he smiled and went on to something else.”


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The meals with Gurdjieff were a good example… An atmosphere at once pious and Rabelaisian, exotic and monastic, bantering and con-templative, was created by the obligation we were under to eat and drink more than was reasonable, to be on the lookout for so many traps, to take part in complicated rites and at the same time to pursue the ‘in-ner work’ which, though nothing had been said, was quite evidently expected…Eating and speaking became momentous acts and remarks exchanged across the table seemed like the stabs of a knife. Everyone, picked out by a searchlight, was caught in the very act of desertion and had to be brought back between bayonets.”

Pierre Schaeffer, “The Old Man and the Children of the Age,” pp. 17-18

j T H E Z E N P R E C E D E N T i

All Zen exercises share the same initial aim: to subvert the objective ego and its values and, by doing so, to pull from underneath our feet the ground that prevents us from making contact with the true ground of existence. This is where masters come in… Zen masters are unrelenting and harsh. If anything is fixed, it must be overthrown. If we lay claim to anything, that claim is rejected. If we cling to anything, it is torn from us. If we are proud of anything, it is held up to ridicule. Our illusions re-garding ourselves are stripped bare. When we think we know something, it is made to seem absurd. And there are no lengths—no lengths what-soever— to which a master will not go. He says and does things that we cannot begin to understand until we have grasped the lofty purpose that justifies it all: the senseless answer, the sudden onslaught, the well-aimed blow, the jarring shock, the punch in the face, the thump on the ear, the grating insult, the mocking laugh…It is precisely when the ground is pulled away and we plummet that we may suddenly sense a truth outside our normal way of seeing…That is why his actions often startle like bolts from the blue, why he speaks in riddles, why shock tactics are his tender-ness and nonsense his logic.”

Karlfried Graf Dürckheim, “Zen and Us,” pp. 75-76, 84

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j E X A M P L E S i

Only you… can repay me by work. But what you do? Before trip I give you task. Do you fulfill? No, you do just opposite. Never once I see you struggle with yourself. All the time you are occupied with your cheap animal.”


At dinner I had the misfortune—no, good fortune—to ask a ‘mental’ question. Thunderbolts fell. ‘Now you know your illness, your sickness. It is curiosity—American curiosity. Always you want to know more and more without understanding what already I have said to you. For that you will die Merde.’ Tears from me, of course. He asked, ‘You angry?’ I said, ‘No, it’s true.’ When he left, he said, ‘Tonight you were bitten by your flea. You be careful not to catch more fleas or you cannot sleep in your bed.’ ”

Solita Solano, quoted in Rob Baker’s, “No Harem: Gurdjieff and the Women of the Rope,” in the Gurdjieff International Review,

Vol.1, #2, Winter 1997/1998 Issue, p. 56

Standing in the hall in a little half circle was a group of women in work clothes. Facing them was Mr. Gurdjieff. Evidently they had made some serious mistake for he was shouting at them. His black eyes were flashing; his face and unshaved head were red with fury… In a flash Mr. Gurdjieff stopped everything. Totally. Gently he lowered his hands to his sides. With a smile and a soft wave of his hand, he dismissed the women… I was overwhelmed by what I had seen. I knew that Mr. Gurd-jieff had felt no anger or fury at all. This was indeed conscious acting.”

Wolfe, Episodes, p. 3

.

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Those who witnessed Gurdjieff ’s rages can understand what it means

to be exposed week after week to them. His entire body would shake, his face grow purple and a stream of vituperation would pour out. It cannot be said that the anger was uncontrollable, for Gurdjieff could turn it off in a moment—but it was unquestionably real… In Valya’s case, the final outcome was remarkable; for his ability to keep calm under stress has carried him through great difficulties… He is a worthy example of what Gurdjieff ’s training can achieve.”


‘Squeal, squeal!’ mocks Gurdjieff. But no one utters. The silence becomes colder… The silence is painful, rarified like the air at high altitudes. What could have been said, at a pinch, a little while ago, would now sound impossible. Everyone was more or less prepared for this. It is now too late. Gurdjieff is no longer mocking but disappointed… ‘Well, if this is how it is…’ From that day on there were no more questions or answers, but only ‘readings.’ As it might be a schoolmaster sick of his lazy pupils who, instead of inflicting the expected punishment, reads to them Round the World in Eighty Days.”

Schaeffer, Old Man (from Louis Pauwels’, “Gurdjieff,”) pp. 423, 427

‘For what you could be,’ he said more than once, ‘I have nothing but benevolence. But as you are I hate you—back to your grandmother!’ Mercilessly he showed us that ‘as we are.’ He held the mirror up and one was helplessly exposed in the flimsy combination of notions, preju-dices, fragments of conditioning…hypocrisy, pretentions, featherweight thoughts, and so on and on.”

Staveley, Memories, pp. 70-71

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Question: Don’t you have the feeling that Gurdjieff had the taste of power, that he abused the power he had over his disciples?

Pierre Schaeffer: No, absolutely not… Discontented disciples have blamed him for his abuse of power because at certain times Gurdjieff would say, ‘You shit!’ This was simply a lesson in humility given in a harsh way. I never saw Gurdjieff as a despot. I saw a good man who would not allow himself to misuse power. He could always distance himself from ‘imbeciles’ and people who didn’t want to work.”

Schaeffer, Merciless Compassion, p. 422

j GENUINE RESPONSES i

Lise returned with her shopping basket and was showered [by G.] with reproaches at her carelessness in locking the door. She listened quietly, put down her basket, reached up to the lintel over the door and got the key from its resting place there. She unlocked the door in silence, and in silence we sheepishly filed into the room.”

Staveley, Memories, p. 13

I heard Gurdjieff say that Orage had failed in his presentation of the teaching. He had placed too much emphasis on self-observation, which was only the first stage of the work… Many of those present [members of Orage’s group] accepted like sheep this derogation of Orage’s work. Their attitude became so unbearable that I blurted out to Gurdjieff, ‘If Orage made a mistake or did not know how to go on, it was your fault. He taught us what he learned from you, and you did not give him the additional material he needed.’ I was appalled at my impertinence. For a long moment I waited to be slain. ‘Bravo!’ Gurdjieff said, looking pleased, even approving… Always, I recalled, he seemed pleased at an essence response, something not learned and studied, but truly what one felt.”

Louise Welch, “Orage with Gurdjieff in America,” pp. 110-111

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My godmother had brought him [G.] a bowl of sugar lumps, which he liked to put in his mouth to sweeten his coffee as he drank it. But she had been unable to find the small square ones he liked, so these lumps were large rectangles. On seeing them, his shouts of outrage filled the room. Suddenly my godfather stood up and said in a quaking voice, ‘Mr. Gurdjieff, you cannot speak to my wife that way!’ Like a snuffed candle, Gurdjieff ’s rage disappeared instantly, as he quietly said ‘Bravo!’”

de Llosa, p. 30

j E N F O R C E D S E PA R AT I O N i

There was a comparatively small number of men whom he saw as possible independent sources for the development and transmission of the ideas and methods, that is, as potential initiates. With them Gurd-jieff was very demanding and, in every case, at a certain point, he made it impossible for them to continue to work with him. The best known case is that of Ouspensky himself… When I returned to Gurdjieff in 1948, I said to him that I felt that I had lost the best part of my life in the twenty-five years that I had been separated from him. He said: ‘No, it was necessary. Without this you would not be able to receive what I now can give you. You could not stay with me. Now you will be able to stay.”

Bennett, Making, pp. 234, 237

Gurdjieff took what he calls an oath before his own essence, an ir-revocable decision, on the night of the 6th of May 1928. He decided, ‘under the pretext of different worthy reasons, to remove from my eyesight all those who by this or that make my life too comfortable’… The visible outcome was the very difficult decision of sending away from the Prieuré many of his closest friends and pupils… It was not until much later that he revealed his own personal reasons for these traumatic actions. They were necessary to enable him to gain the bodily and mental energy for completing his task [Beelzebub’s Tales].”


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j A N OT H E R LO O K AT “ W H Y ”? i

The fact is that people do not realize that they themselves make the rods they are beaten with. They maintain, and naively allow to appear, a sort of illusion of themselves which inevitably makes them vulnerable. If I could be what I am… I would be invulnerable.”


At last, I began to understand something. Gurdjieff was making greater and greater demands upon me. Some were absurd and even impossible. It dawned upon me finally that I could and must learn to say ‘No.’ It was like a blinding light. The inability to say ‘No’ was my great-est weakness. He had stretched this weakness to [the]breaking point, without explaining why, or what he was doing. Of course he could not explain, or the task itself would have vanished.”


Ouspensky arranged a lecture on the Gobi Desert for Gurdjieff before the Geographical Society of Moscow. Gurdjieff discoursed long and authoritatively on the subject, and then toward the end he told of having discovered a small valley with precipitous sides which made the bottom impossible of access. The floor glittered with diamonds which the na-tives gathered by a novel method. They threw down lumps of meat, and trained vultures to retrieve the diamond-studded morsels. Many suspi-cious glances were exchanged by the savants; many of them rose and left. The whole lecture ended in a fiasco. Ouspensky afterwards asked Gurdjieff why he had introduced that story from the Arabian Nights with such disconcerting results. Gurdjieff replied that he had told the scholars many things and given them priceless information. When he saw that they did not appreciate what he had given, he deliberately took the priceless things away from them by introducing in a them a doubt about all he had said. With Gurdjieff it was important not only to note what he said but also to bear in mind why he said it.”

Carl Zigrosser, “Gurdjieff—Salzmann—Orage,” pp. 47-8

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Am I for or against Gurdjieff? Both, of course, as one is for and against God, for and against oneself, for and against one’s life… To struggle with Gurdjieff (and not against him) is to understand him, to know him, and, in the end, to love him. As for putting him on a pedestal, especially after his death, that is the most sinister trick that well-meaning Gurdjieffians could possibly play on him. That is to show true disrespect.”

Schaeffer, Old Man, pp. 21-22

After all, it is not so much his life as our own that matters. We don’t ask that he should be exemplary but prodigal. If he takes our money, it is because he needs it; if he wants our energy, the essential is for him to help us cultivate more, and it’s up to him to give us back a fair percent-age. In other words, it’s spiritual trading; supply and demand, a very different thing from beggarly devotion. It is more like the bracing atmo-sphere of the Old Testament, battles with fierce angels and an unscrupu-lous Jehovah.”

Schaeffer, Old Man, pp. 21-22

Mr. Gurdjieff was himself a shock for everybody because he intended that it should be so. He had to create the struggle, the friction between ‘yes and no’ which he knew would give us energy through a change in understanding, would teach us to ponder, to gain quick discernment, to find our way out of the mass of contradictions which he presented at first sight but which became logic itself when the effort was made to try to rise and see from…a higher dimension… This was priceless merchan-dise and could be had only through real efforts to work on oneself, to understand, to withstand, and to endure. Those who managed to exert such efforts came out the winners.”

Popoff, pp. 155-6

He was above all careful, I believe, never to let anyone lose an illusion about himself without showing him where to find the rock which would save him from drowning.”

Zuber, Notebooks, p. 353

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This is Gurdjieff. No blood or tears. A struggle with bare hands. No in-tellectual prestige, no committment, no emotion or reverence. You come because of your craving and your terror, and you will not be comforted, reassured or illuminated. You will only find a man who will make you understand what it means to be a man.”

Schaeffer, Old Man, p. 22

When one was facing him… in a state much closer to essence, then Mr. Gurdjieff could say whatever he wanted. In fact he took advantage of the moment to put you to the test; he would launch into terrible attacks, stab you, but it had no effect on you. I well recall such moments; and he would say” ‘Ah, ah!’… Then it was really a clean fight with him. But not with sheathed foils—with naked blades! And the very instant that one lost contact with one’s own essence, one was sliced in two by the sword. One felt the blade; it was awful. But one could not hold a grudge against him; that was the rule of the game. And what an interesting fight it was too! He used every possible means, just as in judo, sword-fighting or fencing, every way of wrong-footing you. And when you held good, when the inner balance was maintained, all you got was the onomano-peia: ‘Ah, ah!’ But that spoke volumes. You knew that the fight was over and that he would let you rest a while, the time you needed to gather strength for the next bout. And one loved him at that moment, one felt real gratitude. All the more so since one realized that he had arranged everything so that one could hold out.”

Conge, Facing, pp. 356-7

Obviously, the behavior of a man like Gurdjieff—as of so many others in the past—is incomprehensible for most people; it took several years of striving, of contact, and of, at last, untrammeled experience to begin to understand the goodness of behavior that was sometimes, apparently, insensitive, harsh, cruel, and which, in the last analysis, was nothing of the sort! This game goes way over our heads; coming from anyone else it would have been unexplainable and unacceptable; from him, no.”

Conge, Facing, pp. 357-8

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We have an ark, in which we can take refuge from the flood. The ‘teaching,’ based on ancient objective knowledge, is an ark; and in this ark are preserved the seeds of that from which a real culture, a real civili-zation could grow.”


We shall never become completely human until we need to be, by try-ing to create a great humanizing institution. As we create the Institute we become human ourselves, and by no other means is this possible.”

A.R. Orage, quoted in Paul Beekman Taylor, “Gurdjieff and Orage,” p. 79

We smoked and joked. I asked Gurdjieff certain questions about my-self. He said I did not deserve to know. I asked, ‘If I do not deserve, then who does?’ His reply was that nobody deserved. I asked, ‘Then for whom are you doing all this work?’ ‘I will live for coming generations,’ he said. ‘It is for them.’”

Toomer, p. 32

Let us not make the teaching into a new religion with Gurdjieff on its banner. He seems much greater to me for having known how to remain ‘the one who prepares the way’—equally indifferent to all praise or blame.”

Conge, Octaves, p. 170

Chapter 5

NOTES ON THE WORK

(In this final chapter, we endeavor to bring to light some questions of ongoing relevance to the efforts of people and institutions in the ‘Gurdjieff Work’—looked at from the perspective of Gurdjieff and his direct students.)

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When it is borne in mind that the degree of development possible in each centre differs with every individual and that their contents (impressions registered) are also different, we are forced to the obvious conclusion that each person’s approach to the work must be strictly individual.”

G.I. Gurdjieff, “Prospectus #1 for the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol.1, #1, Fall 1997 Issue, p.12

Gurdjieff ’s teaching has one wonderful advantage in that it includes different sides of the human psyche. For some people, movements, for example, are very necessary. For some people it is necessary to approach and to see the implications of the teaching through the mind. There are many different approaches in the Gurdjieff way, but always there’s a movement towards greater awareness.”

Segal, Silence, p. 44

From the first I noticed a difference between Gurdjieff ’s and Orage’s pupils on the one hand and Ouspensky’s on the other. In the Ouspensky group it was as if one were associated with a Russian secret society—the hush-hush and the precautions; pupils were constantly on the watch as to whom they spoke and what they said; as if the police might be expect-ed at any time. I missed the emotional freedom and mutual exchange of Gurdjieff ’s and Orage’s pupils… [At Ouspensky’s Franklin Farms in NJ, there was] the same feeling of constraint—people so busy trying to ‘remember to remember’ themselves that they forgot to be ‘themselves.’ ”

Nott, Further, pp. 104, 190

[Adie] told us once that in Paris someone had accused himself of be-ing merde, and Gurdjieff, who had himself used the word quite liberally, replied, ‘You are not tail of donkey, you are pupil of Mr. Gurdjieff.’ On this occasion Adie added, ‘And you are not tail of donkey, either, you are a second-generation pupil of Mr. Gurdjieff.”

Azize, p. 75

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[Paraphrasing Mme. Ouspensky] A man can approach the big world only by the realization of his nothingness. In so far as he is aware of his own smallness he is also aware of the bigness of the world. Immersed in his own affairs his world is limited to their extent… Self-remembering means to emerge from the small world into the large.”

de Ropp, p. 6

Personally receiving [Mr. Gurdjieff ’s] help, often when it was least ex-pected, evoked unforgettable impressions. However, he knew everyone’s limits and knew also that we could become too dependent on him. Work with others and work in daily life must also be involved. Even as he gath-ered students close to him, Mr. Gurdjieff presses us to work together. He also pushed some students back into life.”

Currer-Briggs, quoted in Opie, pp. 79-80

‘I will tell you the first commandment of God to man… There are many of them, perhaps twenty, but this is the first. “Let one hand wash the other.” It is very difficult for one hand to wash itself alone, but if one hand washes the other, both will be clean.’ Simple words, but so spoken that they pen-etrate to the root of the egoism present in each one of us. We look at one another with different eyes, understanding that we are helpless alone.”

Bennett, Talks, p. viii

When a teacher like Mr. Gurdjieff goes, he cannot be replaced. Those who remain cannot create the same conditions. We have only one hope—to make something together—what no one of us could do, per-haps a Group can. We no longer have a teacher, but we have the possibil-ity of a Group. Let us make this our chief aim for the future.”

Mme. de Salzmann, following Gurdjieff ’s death, quoted in Phillpotts, p. 232

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APPENDIX - BIBLIOGRAPHY

Anderson, Margaret, The Unknowable Gurdjieff. London: Penguin Books, 1973Anonymous, From Antiquity: A Grateful Tribute by a Pupil of G.I. Gurdjieff. Haslemere, Surry, UK: Phene Press, 1986Azize, Joseph and Adie, George, George Adie: A Gurdjieff Pupil in Australia. Cambridge, UK: Lighthouse Editions Ltd., 2007 Baker, Rob, No Harem: Gurdjieff and the Women of the Rope, in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol.1, No. 2, Winter 1997/1998 Issue Bennett, J.G., Gurdjieff: Making a New World. New York, San Francisco,

London: Harper Colophon Books, 1976 Bennett, J.G., Witness. Santa Fe, NM: Bennett Books, 1971Bennett, J.G., Talks on Beelzebub’s Tales. York Beach, ME: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1988Bennett, J.G. and Bennett, Elizabeth, Idiots in Paris—1949 New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1991Benson, Martin, Martin Benson Speaks. New Paltz, NY: Codhill Press Books, 2011Claustres, Solange, Becoming Conscious with G.I. Gurdjieff. Utrecht, The

Netherlands: Eureka Editions, www.eurekaeditions.com, 2005Conge, Michel, “Facing Mr. Gurdjieff,” in Needleman and Baker (editors),

Gurdjieff: Essays and Reflections on the Man and His Teaching. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1997Conge, Michel, Inner Octaves. Toronto: Dolmen Meadow Editions, 2007de Hartmann, Thomas and Olga, Our Life with Mr. Gurdjieff (Definitive

Edition). Sandpoint, ID: Morning Light Press, 2011 de Llosa, Patty, The Practice of Presence. Sandpoint, ID: Morning Light Press, 2006de Ropp, Robert S., Conversations with Madame Ouspensky. San Francisco: Far West Press, 1974 de Salzmann, Michel, from the transcript of “Georges Gurdieff: A Docu-

mentary Film,” produced by Jean-Claude Lubtchansky. Printed in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. IV, No. 2, Spring 2001 Issue

Dooling, D.M., The Key to a Teaching in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. VIII, No. 1, Fall 2004 IssueDukes, Sir Paul, On a Single Breath. Denville, NJ: Indications Press, 1996Dürckheim, Karlfried Graf, Zen and Us. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1961Dürckheim, Karlfried Graf, The Call For the Master. London: Penguin Books, 1993Firestone, Lillian, Learning the Forgotten Language of Children. New York, NY: Indications Press, 2008

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Fremantle, Christopher, On Attention. Denville, NJ: Indications Press, 1993Guillon, Ricardo, Record of a Search: Working with Michel Conge in

France. Toronto: Traditional Studies Press, 1993 Gurdjieff, G.I., “Prospectus #1 for the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol.1, No. 1, Fall 1997 IssueGurdjieff, G.I., “Questions and Answers,” in Needleman and Baker (editors), Gurdjieff: Essays and Reflections on the Man and His Teaching.

New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1997Hands, Rina, Diary of Madame Egout Pour Sweet. Aurora, OR: Two Rivers Press, 1991 Hoffman, Maud, “Taking Life’s Cure in Gurdjieff ’s School,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. I, No 4, Summer 1998 IssueHowarth, Jessmin and Dushka, It’s Up to Ourselves. New York: Gurdjieff Heritage Society, 2009Hulme, Kathryn, Undiscovered Country: A Spiritual Adventure. Boston/Toronto: Atlantic Monthly Press, 1967 Korman, Mary Ellen, A Woman’s Work. Fairfax, CA: Arete Communications, 2009Lannes, Henriette, Inside a Question. London: Paul H. Crompton Ltd., 2010Lannes, Henriette, This Fundamental Quest. San Francisco: Far West Institute, 2003Lester, Dr. John Ritchie, “Dr. John Ritchie Lester: 1919 - 1999” by David Kangas, in Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. III, No. 2,

Spring 2000 IssueMairet, Philip, A.R. Orage: A Memoir. New York: University Books, 1966March, Louise, and Annabeth McCorkle, The Gurdjieff Years: 1929 - 1949.

Expanded Edition. Utrecht, The Netherlands: Eureka Editions, www.eurekaeditions.com, 1990 Munson, Gorham, The Awakening Twenties. Baton Rouge, London: Louisiana State University Press, 1985Munson, Gorham, Black Sheep Philosophers: Gurdjieff, Orage & Ouspensky,

in TAT Journal #9. Wheeling, WV: TAT Foundation, 1980 Nicoll, Maurice, Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff

and Ouspensky (Five volumes). Utrecht, The Netherlands: Eureka Editions, www.eurekaeditions.com, 2011Nott, C.S., Teachings of Gurdjieff: A Pupil’s Journal. London: Arkana/Penguin Books Ltd., 1991Nott, C.S., Further Teachings of Gurdjieff. New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1984

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Opie, James, Approaching Inner Work: Michael Currer-Briggs on the Gurdjieff Teaching. Portland, OR: Gurdjieff Books and Music, 2011Peters, Fritz, Boyhood With Gurdjieff. Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1973Peters, Fritz, Balanced Man. London: Wildwood House, 1978Peters, Fritz, Gurdjieff Remembered. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1978Phillpotts, Dorothy, Discovering Gurdjieff. AuthorHouse UK, Ltd., 2008Pogson, Beryl, Maurice Nicoll: A Portrait. Utrecht, The Netherlands: Eu-

reka Editions, www.eurekaeditions.com, 1988Popoff, Irmis, Gurdjieff: His Work, On Myself… With Others… For the

Work. New York: Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1978Ravindra, Ravi, Heart Without Measure. Sandpoint, ID: Morning Light Press, 2004Roberts, C.E. Bechhofer, “The Forest Philosophers,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. I, No. 4, Summer 1998 IssueSchaeffer, Pierre, “A Man of Merciless Compassion,” in Needleman and

Baker (editors), Gurdjieff: Essays and Reflections on the Man and His Teaching. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1997

Schaeffer, Pierre, “The Old Man and the Children of the Age,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. IV, No. 1, Fall 2000 Issue

Schaeffer, Pierre, “The Old Man and the Children of the Age,” from Louis Pauwels’, Gurdjieff. New York: Samuel Weiser, 1972Segal, William - interview by Daniel Hess in Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. IV, No. 1, Fall 2000 IssueSegal, William - “A Voice at the Borders of Silence,” from the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. VII, No. 1, Fall 2003 IssueStaveley, A.L., Memories of Gurdjieff. Aurora, OR: Two Rivers Press, 1978Staveley, A.L., Themes, Vol. 1. Aurora, OR: Two Rivers Press, 1981 Taylor, Paul Beekman, “Gurdjieff and the Children,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Spring 2012Taylor, Paul Beekman, Gurdjieff and Orage: Brothers in Elysium. York Beach, ME: Weiser Books, 2001Taylor, Paul Beekman, “What Did Gurdjieff Give to Me? What Did He

Ask of Me?” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. VIII, No. 1, Fall 2004 issueTchekhovitch, Tcheslaw, Gurdjieff: A Master in Life. Toronto: Dolmen Meadow Editions, 1990Toomer, Jean, “The Same Old Trick,” in the Gurdjieff International Review,

Vol. IX, No. 1, Fall 2005 IssueTracol, Henri, The Taste for Things That Are True. Rockport, MA:

Element,Books Ltd. 1994Tracol, Henri, The Real Question Remains. Sandpoint, ID: Morning Light Press, Sandpoint, ID, 2009

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Travers, P.L., George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, Toronto: Traditional Studies Press, 1973Vaysse, Jean, Toward Awakening. London: Arkana/Penguin Books Ltd., 1991Walker, Kenneth, Venture with Ideas. New York, Samuel Weiser, Inc., 1996Walker, Kenneth, A Study of Gurdjieff ’s Teaching. London: Jonathan Cape, 1957Welch, Louise, Orage with Gurdjieff in America. Boston, London, Melbourne & Henley: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1982Welch, Louise, Meetings with Louise Welch in Toronto. Toronto: Traditional Studies Press, 2012Welch, William, What Happened in Between. New York: George Braziller, Inc., 1972Wolfe, Edwin, Episodes with Gurdjieff. Birmingham, AL: RMSG Press, 2002Wolfe, Edwin, “Further Episodes with Gurdjieff,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. VI, No. 1, Spring 2003 Issue Wright, Frank Lloyd, “Gurdjeef at Taliesin” in the Gurdjieff International

Review, Vol. VIII, No. 1, Fall 2004 IssueZigrosser, Carl, “Gurdjieff —Salzmann–Orage,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. VIII, No. 1, Fall 2004 IssueZigrosser, Carl, “Gurdjieff,” in the Gurdjieff International Review, Vol. VIII, No. 1, Fall 2004 Issue Zuber, Rene, Who Are You, Monsieur Gurdjieff? London: Arkana/Penguin Books, Ltd., 1988Zuber, Rene, “Notebooks,” in Needleman and Baker (editors), Gurdjieff: Essays and Reflections on the Man and His Teaching. New York: Continuum Publishing Co., 1997

(Copies of The Gurdjieff International Review are available for purchase at www.gurdjieff.org. Sources to check for the availabilty of the books listed above include the websites of Gurdjieff Books and Music, By the Way Books, and amazon.com, among others.)

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As Mme. de Salzmann wrote to Dr. Nicoll, “Clear and understandable, to me (your book) goes side-by-side with Ouspensky’s Fragments.”

Our 124-page book extracts the essential core ideas of Dr. Nicoll’s masterpiece and organizes them by topic, so that the reader gets a concentrated infusion of hiswisdom on numerous subjects relevant to man’s inner search.

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