Questioning

Book Review: Georgi Ivanovitch Gurdjieff — The Man, The Teaching, His Mission

Link to Parabola Magazine Review.

When I was young and very dissatisfied with the world, and with myself, I was drawn to G.I. Gurdjieff’s  All & Everything, or Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson. The book was not like anything I had read before, in content, style or language. It was in a way, peculiar. And in some sections nearly incomprehensible. But it deeply struck something in me. There was presented a vast perspective of the universe that shook my preconceptions of history and humankind. Although it  presented an unflattering picture of us humans and starkly pointed out our shortcomings, it was also playful, often hilarious, and very moving. An attitude of impartial love comes through. This began my interest in Gurdjieff’s teaching.

 As I read more and became involved in the teaching I was surprised to find so many people that said they could not get through the book. “It was too hard.” “Too strange.” Too...whatever.  To me it is endlessly fascinating, invigorating, and is infused with humor and a palpable feeling of care and love.

For many years I was a voracious reader and gobbled up any and all books by and about Gurdjieff and his teaching. Many were valuable and excellent in many ways. But none struck nearly as deeply as did All & Everything.

 I was excited when I learned that William Patrick Patterson was releasing Georgi Ivanovitch Gurdjieff: The Man, The Teaching, His Mission because I knew Mr. Patterson has long practise of the teaching and had done extensive research into unpublished accounts and memoirs about Gurdjieff and would likely add both new material and incorporate the various reportings of Gurdjieff and his teaching in new, intriguing, and enlightening ways.

The new book greatly exceeds what I had hoped. My experience in reading this book comes close, though in a different way, to that original experience of reading All & Everything. It is also seemingly much more straightforward than All & Everything but much depth is there to be plumbed for those who wish to dive deeper. Mr. Patterson’s book gives a chronological reporting of Gurdjieff’s life but more importantly it connects seemingly disparate events and experiences into a whole that greatly exceeds the parts. There is information here, yes. But for me, it is an emotional experience to read this book. The teachings of Gurdjieff, presented through the experiences of those who were drawn toward his ideas, and through the inevitable life difficulties, trials, and tribulations we all face, shines with a caring and a love for all humanity.

 

I highly recommend Georgi Ivanovitch Gurdjieff: The Man, The Teaching, His Mission to those interested in a spiritual teaching that faces the stark reality of our situation in such a comprehensive and caring way.

This is a book for grown-ups. Those open to the truth and willing to work for what matters. Who will take the challenge?

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What Secrets Are in the Body?

Some time ago I had the opportunity to attend a four day workshop exploring the F.M. Alexander Technique, which is an approach to understanding the body from the inside by learning to consciously experience movement.

During one of the sessions I was being ‘experientially instructed’ on how to stand up  from sitting in a chair and how to sit down. It’s amazing how much goes into such a “simple” movement. At one point a rush of energy went through my body. There was a feeling that something had been released. The energy was so strong that I passed out for the first time in my life. The instructors were concerned, but I felt great. Something was different.

Soon after I went to a wedding in which I had a supporting role. I had always been very nervous in such situations. But something had changed, I could now be (somewhat) present in my body, there was no nervousness, I was able to play the role, and be aware of much more of the event.

The body is a mysterious creation. The Gurdjieff Work is the only spiritual practise that I know of that gives awareness of and through the body a major significance.

An extremely good blog about the Alexander technique can be found here.

Gurdjieff's Reciprocal Maintenance (part two)

 What is the meaning of life?  “Why do we exist?” “What is our place?” Gurdjieff’s question was “What is the sense and significance of life on earth and human life in particular?“

My guess is that most people would fall into one of three camps regarding this question.

#1. Scientific Attitude: There is no meaning to the question. Life is an accidental valueless occurrence.

#2. Religious Attitude: God made the world and we are here to serve and worship an all-powerful God.

#3. Mainstream Attitude: I don’t care about such questions. I’m just trying to get by, make a living, have a little fun.

As I grew up something seemed wrong with the world and with me. It seemed that if one really believed #1 was true, what would motivate one to do anything? On the other hand, it didn’t make sense to believe #2 either. How could an all-powerful God be reconciled with the suffering and state of the world? So, like countless others, I drifted toward the third attitude. But not with any comfort.

When first coming across Gurdjieff’s answer it struck me as a revelation. Everything is connected. Everything supports everything else. Why would humans not also have a purpose?

Gurdjieff calls it Reciprocal Maintenance. There is a universal exchange of energies. On all levels. On all scales. What does this mean for us?

(to be continued)

  

Gurdjieff's Reciprocal Maintenance (part one)

 
 At the news about the Gulf oil spill, my daughter, who lived in New Orleans for six years (including Katrina), cried out, “What is wrong with us!?”

Wouldn’t most people just say it’s a tragically unfortunate accident, or blame BP or the government, someone? Are there some, the truly callous, who consider fouling our own nest and killing untold plants and animals just the cost of doing business? I don't know.

A real question. “What is wrong with us!?” Not them, us.

Gurdjieff asserts that we, as a species, are lop-sided in our development. It's easy to see that our technological expertise, our rationality, far, far outstrips our understanding, our emotional development, our being.

But is there more to this? Is something wrong with us?

I find it surprising that I give more and more credence to historical-spiritual points of view that say that long ago something happened to the human race, something that led to our current state of affairs.

I never understood the doctrine of original sin. How could that make any sense? It still seems a little crazy to me. But could it come from an intuition that has some basis in fact?

As I wrote in a another post Gurdjieff gives a different perspective in his great mythology All & Everything. He says that for certain reasons early in our history the Higher Powers implanted a something in Mankind to make us see reality upside down… later, the something was removed, but its effect still continues in us.

How is one to take this? Crazy talk? Purely symbolic? How could one possibly verify?

But isn't it a fact that something is wrong with us?

There are many trains of thought that could leave from this station. The one I want to follow is this: One of the main problems of humanity is that we don’t know our place in the world.

We don’t know why we exist. We don’t understand our role. We don’t have a clue about our place in the reciprocal maintenance of all and everything.

(to be continued)

Gurdjieff & 3-D

I’ve seen two of the recent 3-D movies and they reminded me of something. I don’t see in 3-D very often, almost never! I wonder if some of the thrill of 3-D in these movies is that seeing in three dimensions is a rare occurrence in our everyday life and the in-your-face aspect of the 3-D scenes really brings our attention to dimensionality. How soon will it be that the novelty wears off, and we don’t see the 3-D of 3-D movies?

When I interrogate my experience I realize I mostly see in zero dimensions, because I’m taken by the inner chatter that we laughingly call thinking. When my attention is pulled by something outside of me, when there is a single object focused on, I see in one dimension and at best I see in two dimensions.

Only when I have the experience of being present to my own body and present to what is outside of me, in other words, only when I remember myself, does the third dimension appear. To paraphrase Gurdjieff, everything becomes more vivid. In Gurdjieff’s terminology I move from the 2^nd state of consciousness, waking state, to the third state of consciousness, self-remembering.

Right now, am I aware of my body, and the screen, and the space between?

Am I in 3-D?

 For a much deeper look at what is behind this see the Present at the Creation essay at the Gurdjieff-Legacy website.

 

Paradigm Shift

What is my point of view? 

Does it change? Why and how? 

The aim of this blog is to explore 

"the water I swim in", to see why 

I think, feel, sense and behave 

the way I do. And to work to open 

to new possibilities, to expand my horizons.....

A shift started in me when reading these words 

which stated the aim of the book I was about to begin:

"To destroy, mercilessly, without any compromises whatsoever, in the mentation and 

feelings of the reader, the beliefs and views, by centuries rooted in him, about everything existing in the world"

G.I. Gurdjieff,  All & Everything