Conscious Cylinder.

One exercise that Mr. Gurdjieff gave Mr. Bennett

was to draw an imaginary circle around himself

on the floor, and to not let any energy out of it.

Designed to keep your emanations contained.

Gurdjieff International Review

Check out this website I found at gurdjieff.org

http://www.gurdjieff.org/
He was the master of course, cut through all the bull and fakery,
and delivered a truly profound and realistic approach to the
Fourth Way Work for the modern age.

Don't jump to conclusions

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "Always look at all sides before make judgement".

Growth

Fritz Peters book "Boyhood with Gurdjieff" is

a classic of not only Gurdjieff literature, but

also shows master at work. Gurdjieff was not

always "soft" and forgiving with him, but pushed

him to grow pyschologically, he made him work.

He knew something about growth over the easy life.

To teach children

Mr. Gurdjieff said that not only must your

child go to school, but you must teach him

also, after school. Make lessons, perhaps how

to make money, be resouceful, do things to

develop the childs character. Especially now,

the children have a lot available to them,

Pc's, Laptops, Smartphones, tv, dvd, many ways to hide.

Mr. Bonbon

Mr. Gurdjieff often gave children sweets,

he carried a pocketful of them.

He loved the delight on their faces to receive

such a treat.

Especially after the war in Europe they were

a rarity. He became known as

"Monsieur Bonbon"

not spoiled yet

Awakened men love animals and children.

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "They clean, not spoiled yet"

Jesus said, "Suffer the children to come unto me".

Bad poetry

The work is only real and only becomes real when

efforts are made. All else is talk.

Thomas de Hartman, and pianist for Mr. Gurdjieff's music,

was once at a picnic with Mr. G, and started speaking emotionally

about the flowers, the sky, the surroundings.

Mr. Gurdjieff cut him off.

"Now is time eat, not make bad poetry".

Rasputin was merde

Gurdjieff said "Rasputin was merde".

He likely had a developed ability to heal,

but was corrupted, drunken and out of control.

He had this role to bring down the Russian monarchy

and to plunge Russia into revolution by opening the

doors of destruction. To be followed by Stalin.

It would likely have happened anyway even without him.

Light

Mr. Gurdjieff was a Doctor, and in many ways he followed

the "old" Doctor's oath, to give of himself unsparingly for

his students. Even in his eighties, he would often rise in the

early hours to go to the markets to pick the food for the coming

days meals. Lunch with his pupils, then a nap in the afternoon,

an evening meal, followed by readings or dances, then to bed.

All in his apartment in Paris. He kept the shutters mostly closed

to keep the energy of his students contained. They would often

emerge after hours under the electric light of the apartment to a

Paris full of daylight, or in the depths of darkness, having completely

lost track of the time of day. But they had his "light".

What a story, if you think about it...

One can see that with the turmoil of the Russian Revolution,

Mr. Gurdjieff could not have stayed in Russia for too long.

 

He could not have perhaps operated in the same way, with the

same freedoms under Stalin, as he would be able to in Paris

and Fontainbleau.

 

Lenin said that the long term plan had never included "The people"

being in control. Gurdjieff "had" to go to France.

The Laws of Manu, as reported by Mr. Ouspensky stated that

for a school to exist, there needs to be political stability.

 

Mr. Gurdjieff existed through the first half of the twentieth century,

WWI, Russian Revolution and the overthrow of the Tzar,

His father was killed in the Armenian genocide,

The Great Depression, WWII, he outlasted them all, even for another

four years after the war. He brought his work to it all.

To give...

The work is more than just sitting and speaking

words, action is required. There is a time to receive,

especially at the beginning of the journey, then gradually,

one day one realizes, that it is now time to give.

To awaken

To awaken, a person must possess an exceptional drive.

It takes a huge amount of work, to surmount the false self.

And suffering and pain, but the reward is far beyond the price.

Never give up your journey, for money, a man, a woman,

a place, a thing, a possession, and you will get it all in the end.

Just a thank you

Just a thank you, we hope you enjoy our blog.

Thanks for following, we will follow you shortly.

"Trying to throw my arms around the world" U2 :)

Run down

Sometimes, one attracts periods of difficulty.

In the 1930's, a student visiting Mr. Gurdjieff at his hotel in New York,

noticed his clothes looked shabby, he was trailing cigarette ash on his

clothing, for a period, he even had no pupils, or very few.

They noted "Things seemed to be running down" for Gurdjieff.

Also, he did not seem to be fighting it, but accepted this as a phase.

He had made the initial huge efforts to introduce the Fourth Way to the west,

but any process does eventually reach a moment of pause.

Sacrifice

Mr. Gurdjieff said "Sacrifice is necessary, something important in the moment

must be sacrificed". We believe this is a concept he actually borrowed from the original

Physician's oath, to sacrifice ones comfort, for the sake of helping others (one's patients).

For Gurdjieff, this was a constant practice. Super efforts, going beyond one's little self to

become a new man. Note, this does not necessarily mean huge efforts of strength or endurance.

But perhaps sometimes, just to be kind.

Real powers

It is said that Mr. Gurdjieff had tremendous powers of healing,

he knew the tricks of clairvoyance, magic, carnival sideshow acts.

His real powers he laid aside to serve, it was what he had to give up

to evolve.

The Law of wearing out

We heard a wonderful tape of Mr. Gurdjieff's pupil John Bennett talking once,

he called the Law of Octaves, the Law of wearing out.

Very good, everything wears out, even our sun.

Our socks, our love, our cars, our life.

At least at this level.

Between two stools

Every momentum runs down.

You start a new project, it is exciting, you are enthusiastic,

there is a lot of energy, connections with people, new events.

A year later? The energy is lower, people are angry at each other,

the bills are arriving, fatigue may set in.

This is all natural, in the work, when one backs off a bit, and no longer

makes as much effort as at the beginning, this was referred to by

Mr. Gurdjieff as being between two stools, 100% commitment is required

to grow.

Friction

The necessity of a group.

Groups provide one thing at least, friction.

Otherwise, we are so designed, that we will make every effort,

and often very subtlety, to make our lives as comfortable as possible.

 

You cannot always do this when forced to work with others, especially,

people that are markedly different from ourselves.

They do not generally allow ourselves to create a quiet life for ourselves.

But, tend to provide: "abrasion".

R.M. Bucke

Dr. R. M. Bucke was a friend of Walt Whitman's, Whitman was the American Poet

who revolutionized the format of classical poetry, into a newer modern form.

One that was more active and alive, sensuous and passionate.

Dr. Bucke wrote the book Cosmic Consciousness, wherein he attempted to

classify some enlightened beings. He noted that many of the men he studied

had achieved their awakening during the springtime.

Sweat will run down your heels.

Mr. Gurdjieff said that in making a real effort to grow,

it can be so hard, that "Sweat will run down your heels".

He also said:"This work requires a lot of electricity".

(Energy of effort)

Grow slowly

Patience is the mother of will.

Mr. Gurdjieff

Prostitutes eye lashes

During the war, and pre war years, there was a swelling of the ranks

of the "Ladies of the night", for which Paris is well renowned.

 

They would wear false eyelashes to attract the sailors and soldiers on leave,

and other customers walking by on the streets, this prompted a boom in demand for

false eyelashes, Mr. Gurdjieff, ever mindful of the need to make money,

started a small business with a couple of his female students making false eyelashes.

 

The Fourth Way is ever practical.

Hard worker

Mr. Gurdjieff worked very hard for his students, often working all day

in Paris, making business deals, earning money for his institute.

He would then drive back to the Chateau du Prieure where his Institute

was in Fontainbleau, where he would go straight into teaching as circumstances

arose. Dinner, then perfomances and teaching of the Sacred Dances he found

in his travels late into the night.

Our will is weak.

Mr. Gurdjieff said that to change, one does not have developed will,

one needs external help. Groups, and higher levels of evolved men.

My father

When Mr. Gurdjieff was asked about advice on raising children,

he responded by directing the person to read the two chapters

in his book: "My Father" and "My First Tutor".

David Icke

http://tiny.cc/nsukd

This is the link to part three, because it includes a shot of the

then president of the USA, George Bush, wearing a listening device

while conducting a press conference, just in case he might get stumped by a question.

 

David Icke - Beyond the cutting edge

Very good video lecture on Youtube.

 

This is a blog post linking to some video (unverified)

on Gurdjieff.

 

Evolution Revolution

He appeared in the west, at the transition from the end of the

Edwardian age, (or the age of the Tsars), just as Europe was gearing up

for a first world war of industrialized and mechanized slaughter,

and the overthrow of the Romanoff dynasty and the Russian Revolution.

He brought a different kind of revolution, the evolution of self.

Fourth Generation

Mr. Gurdjieff said once that the work, the impulse of his energy,

would dissappear by the Fourth Generation. A generation is

averaged at twenty five years, next year, or this year, is the one hundredth

anniversary of the beginning of his teaching in Russia. Some books have

that year as 1911, and his first student, an englishman.

You may hate me for saying this..

Mr. Gurdjieff ensured that male energies and female energies were

kept separate in a healthy way. In his study house, the ladies sat together,

the men sat together. In the steam bath that was built on the grounds,

the sexes took separate turnes at using the room.

He knew the roles that nature requires, he said "is neccessary be man inside".

Then woman will know her role.

He said the work is already in women, but women lack the one thing that a man

has, which is aspiration.

Practical sexuality

Mr. Gurdjieff's Chateau was about thirty or so miles from Paris in Fontainbleau.

He realized or someone mentioned, that a number of his younger male pupils who often were working

physically hard in the long days of preparing the grounds, building work, and all the activities

involved in starting his institute, were starting to become a bit "starved" of female company.

He immediately pulled out a large roll of money, and gave it to the group with instructions to

go to Paris and "take care of business" (our paraphrase, but you know what we mean).

As soon as possible.

The writer observed that he was always immensly practical in such matters.

At some point.

At some point, you think you are working,

it is an illusion of the machine, it's job is to keep us under it's

control. When you lose that illusion, you become nothing.

Then you will start on the path of real growth.

But, preparation is neccessary.

Systems

The Fourth way is a system, in fact all ways to consciousness are "systems",

even those that present themeselves as non systems. Our lives tend to be a cycle,

from the day to day, week to week, etc.

The only way out is systematic small efforts to grow.

Insults

At Mr. Gurdjieff's institute in the 1920's, he had a group working in the forest.

The man that Mr. Gurdjieff had placed in charge of the men had a rather fiery way

of giving instructions and one of the younger men was starting to become rather annoyed at the

way he was being spoken to. He was becoming irritated and reactive.

 

Mr. Gurdjieff was always aware of how work was proceeding, and in speaking with the group

leader and asking how his students were doing, he learned that the young student was

starting to be angry and was answering back when given instructions.

 

 Mr Gurdjieff said,

"Next time he starts to do this, insult him".

Group work

Group work is important, one of the reasons is that you will meet people

that you might never meet in the ordinary circumstances in your life.

We tend to form our social groups around people we are comfortable with,

match our social status, or financial demographic, have similiar interests

and needs. In a group, a fourth way group, the teacher will make sure that

no one gets too comfortable. This makes friction, helps us grow and not go to sleep.

Small aims.

Aims, making a small aim every day, something that "stretches" you a little,

is the way to grow. Otherwise, the months go by, and nothing happens.

Mr. Ouspensky said that we start with large aims, and end up with an aim

that will fit in your pocket. This is a big secret.