Gurdjieff

via albigen.net

G. I. Gurdjieff

It's impossible to encapsulate Gurdjieff's system in a few words, but in brief the aim of the system is to achieve consciousness, unity of being, and will.

(RR regarded G. as the most astute psychologist of the 20th century but expressed doubts about some aspects of his persona.)

Gurdjieff referred to his system as a fourth way, i.e., a process beyond the 3 traditional ways of spiritual development, which are the fakir, the monk and the yogi. The fourth way consists of working in the world rather than retreating from it, and is based on understanding rather than belief and obedience. The first 3 ways correspond to three aspects of man taken separately: the physical body, the emotions and the intellect, while the fourth way attempts to balance all human functions.

Gurdjieff explained man's state as robot-like or mechanical (affirmed by RR) and said that the phrase "know yourself" begins with knowing the machine. This includes knowing one's functions and how they operate, the energies they use, and from a psychological perspective knowing the various "I's" (or egos) that act individualistically in the name of a currently non-existent whole.

The study of the machine begins with its pathologies, chiefly negative emotions. The first years of study in a Gurdjieff group consists in the recognition and observation of negative emotions, the inability of man to remember himself, one's lack of will, and the absence of a conscious aim in one's life. Lack of will is proven to oneself by observing mechanical manifestations such as compulsive talking, compulsive movements, general negativity, worrying about one's impression on other people ("considering"), the alternation of "I's" in one's personality, the wandering of one's attention, and the constant stream of distracting thoughts in the mind.

Consciousness, by definition, cannot be arrived at unconsciously. The natural impulse is downward, i.e., mechanical living, and conscious effort and intent is needed to raise one's scope of consciousness.
Energy - Alchemy

G. was very scientific in his approach, and produced detailed diagrams that represent the alchemy of energies that fuel the three-story human factory (diagram is reproduced below). For the uninitiated, the 3 floors correspond with specific locations in the body (lower body, chest, and head). Food arrives in the lower body, combines with existing matter there, and undergoes an upward cycle of transmutation. A second "food" which is air combines with matter and energy in the chest. A third "food" is comprised of impressions, which are perceptions such as those arriving via the senses; this food enters the head (brain) and is likewise transmuted into higher energies.