This was my first encounter with Gurdjieff, and though I certainly recommend his own writings as well, this book has served as a perfect introduction for many people in the last half century. It is thus easier and faster, but also, in another sense, far more difficult than the traditionally recognized methods of self-development. Probably one of the best summaries of the whole of Gurdjieff's teachings, and also a nice map of the whole 'generally accepted' story of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's work. If you know how to look you may find a third of this in all our culture’s most sacred texts but all of those came out from what we have still in our day not yet buried over (the primordial spring of perennial wisdom teachings from great school behind and within not yet awakened present man form: this work). And I originally picked it up after discovering what I described as the most important book I have ever read, P.

Subatomic particles, radiation (the craze to label every new thing a "this ray" and "that ray") and relativity were cutting edge science at the time and seemed to open up a previously unsuspected invisible realm.Great care is taken throughout the book to characterize the master-pupil relationship between Gurdjieff and his circle. I've met a leader like that and I've seen him stay alone, because his teachings were more an opportunity to sexually abuse his followers . Simon Farnaby, who most recently fronted Channel 4’s hit documentary The King Under the Car Park, will turn miracle hunter and fulfil his childhood dream of coming face to face with a superhero. In these pages you will learn the way of the fakir, the monk, and the yogi, and, with a little luck, something about your own impermanent "I. Ci sono invece altre cose che mi sono suonate più familiari perché le conosco dallo Yoga, come i benefici delle tecniche di respirazione; il fatto che l'uomo è composto da tanti piccoli sé e non conosce il vero Sé finché non elimina il superfluo e l'inutile (l'ho spiegato proprio grossolanamente!

That is, they like to imagine they've contacted the "real" inner work--as opposed to those fools who imagine any other traditions can lead to awakening. The fascinating details of the structure of Gurdjieff groups that appear in this portion of Ouspensky’s book are more understandable when it is seen that human evolution requires extraordinary conditions of individual and collective effort, conditions which go against the grain of every known psychological, religious, or social organization. A synopsis by Jacob Needleman originally presented at the 1980 national meetings of the American Academy of Religion. If you're into this sort of thing, this book will likely take a position of strong influence on your perception from here on. The "my fourth way group is more esoteric/Gurdjieffian/cooler than your fourth way group" dynamic is out of control.Past a certain stage, evolution is not and cannot be automatic, mechanical; it requires special work and conscious discipline. Northamptonshire: Turnstone, 1972, ISBN 0-85500-004-X (HC); New York: Knopf, 1973; York Beach: Weiser, 2000, ISBN 1-57863-164-5. Man is a machine which reacts blindly to external forces and, this being so, he h

Ouspensky’s decision to leave his teacher, poignantly but tersely described toward the very end of the book, has this same ambiguity in the most extreme degree. Tina Flintoff said: “Simon is a unique talent and has a genuine passion for this subject – I’m really looking forward to seeing how he engages with some of the world’s most extraordinary people. To those interested in esoteric traditions, this book should be considered an account of one man's crash course in the teachings that underlie the others.However, I get the feeling that he came to be under the spell of Gurdjieff and perhaps lacked much ability to step outside of the work to question the bigger picture and the personal motivations of the master, for I sense that there are omissions. He met Gurdjieff in Moscow in 1915, and was associated with the ideas and practices originating with Gurdjieff from then on.