P.D. OUSPENSKY-PART II-

P.D. Ouspensky broke from Gurdjieff for the last time in 1924....and returned, as it were, to what he had attempted, at least in his 'imagination' and 'outlook' to what he had started in 1921 in London....his ambivalence towards Gurdjieff is mentioned in his book,IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS and is brought forth more fully, an, perhaps, forcibly in the video/dvd by that same name.... Whether or not his separating the man, Gurdjieff from the teachings and considering these as the most important, is a rationalization to justify the anxiety and struggle, as well as the dilemma and perhaps impasse and blockage he had reached, you will have to decide for yourselves if you do.......in many of us there comes a point of intense anxiety and uncertainty to accept certain things and a great struggle to find some balance, especially when conflicting and highly emotional positions and topics arise and confront us....I could give a number of such things from my own experiences in life, certainly, many of which can expose our weaknesses, embarrass us, or show sides of us that are 'evil', 'corrupt', and all manner of ills that we tend to ignore or suppress...many from early childhood or from things of our own doing..... At any rate , here is what I conclude for the moment on O's break with G....... The LONLINESS & SHOCK of this BREAK-leaving an emotional attachment to the TEACHER & THE WORK and becoming an 'OUTSIDER'-no long seated beside the MASTER,THE TEACHER,and seeing others in the CIRCLE receiving the 'ENERGIES' while isolating onesself and undergoing a different kind of suffering.....this was part of what Ouspensky was undergoing, I feel and think, and this began in Essentuki where he saw himself 'slipping away' from the Work...a sort of test by Gurdjieff at the time, which becomes evident when most of the other followers of G stilled continued to associate with him despite his dismissal of 'work' when he stopped the efforts.....if we look at the 'stop exercise' we can see that this was, this apparent break that affected Ouspensky more than the others, was just this....a 'stop' which would end when the Master said the words to 'move' or 'recover' or whatever....you would have to know what this means by actual practice of this sort of exercise to understand what I am saying here. AND,of course, O'S WORK HAD TO TAKE A MUCH DIFFERENT COURSE....but not as he claimed at the time, along the same lines or in the same direction as GURDJIEFF'S.....Ouspensky thought he was 'saving' the system, the work,the Fourth Way, the Teachings from the destructive Path he thought or felt or sensed that Gurdjieff was taking...in other words, 'a higher' road....Consequently,Ouspensky reached a point when he had to renounce all the teachings, the system, the work,etc. and remain 'alone with the alone'...to borrow a phrase from Krishnamurti,so to speak..... Ouspensky was not the only one to end up at a chasm, an impass, an obstacle, and the like and we all do this, like it or not, admit it or not......REALITY ERECTS A WALL BETWEEN US AND IT....and GURDJIEFF knew that we need to enter REALITY & BEING if we want to be immortal...TO BE......

JACOB NEEDLEMAN

In the current issue of PARABOLA MAGAZINE, JACOB NEEDLEMAN has an interesting article and he continues to mention GURDJIEFF and his teachings which have influenced him, as many may know or realize, and in his book, which I recently bought to examine his points and considerations of such, WHAT IS GOD?, I found several interesting things, although I did not think the title other than asking a question on this 'philosophical' question suitable, in that, one tries to make God into an Object, rather than a BEING....subject/object notions are,old ways of thinking that are still with us, and,though some of us still continue to think and feel in this way, others want to avoid such considerations if possible, and,of course, they usually aren't possible...due to the level(s) of understanding and experience,etc. To ask,Who is God? has been asked by some and also Where is God? another important question with serious implications for those who neither believe or disbelieve in the usual manner of contemporary persons who take up such notions..... Needleman is well-known as a writer and author,whose books I have not read much of but whose wrestling with both religious and philosophical and even'Gnosti-Occult' ideas I can sympathize with and appreciate certainly, since, as he mentions in this book, he came to the ideas of Gurdjieff in the same way and at the same time i did in 1957...but he was led to the book by P.D. Ouspensky: THE SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, while I was led to the book by P.D. OUSPENSKY, as I have said before: THE FOURTH WAY, published also the a same year.... Like Needleman, I also became aware of the writings of D. T. Suzuki in the fifties while at UNH...for one thing, one of my pscyhology professors had been in Japan and talked a lot about Zen Buddhism from that standpoint and had written, if I recall, some articles in the various Psych Journals of the Day...and in my history of Religion classes, Asian Art Class, and some of my philosophy classes, I came across both Zen and Susuki....and later to the more popular writings on such, such as those of "The Beat Generation" to which I belonged along with everyone else at that time....but I mention all this nopt to compare myself to Needleman who is a proficient and outstanding writer,scholar, etc. but to give an indication that everyone, sooner or lated, has to confront certain 'cherished' notions they may hold in and about life and to ask further questions before they eventually die...

THE GURDJIEFF JOURNAL:BOOK REVIEW of THE REALITY OF BEING by Jeanne De Salzmann

In Volume 14, issue 2, number 54, of THE GURDJIEFF JOURNAL a book review(written by Dick Myers) of the late Jeanne De Salzmann appears,which I read and which prompted me to purchase the book entitle THE REALITY BEING, published by Shambala Publications and which consists of 312 pages........ In the review,Myers mentions in footnote #5(all notes appear at the end of the article(s)) that she made visits to Rene Guenon and to Karfried Graf von Durckhiem as well as attended Krishnamurti's summer gatherings in Switzerland..... The implications of this tend to imply that she was facing some problems and had some reasons to look outside the Gurdjieff teachings and work, perhaps, even though she was the oldest living pupil/'associate','heir' of his works at the time...... After reading the book I do not find it difficult to see why she did so for several reasons that I will discuss at another time....but for those who are familiar with these three significant figures and their writings, it is not difficult to fathom why she might have done so.....there are several indications in her REALITY OF BEING that would tend to show reflections of this......but they do not seem to be reasons that would in any way, shape, or manner distort the actual methods and teachings of Gurdjieff or the Fourth Way, but, if anything, give them an impetus which might escape those who are advocates of these three persons....about which much can be said....

IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS,FRAGMENTS OF AN UNKNOWN TEACHING DVD

IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, FRAGMENTS OF AN UNKNOWN TEACHING, is a DVD, in black and white, based the book with the same title(s) by P.D.Ouspensky and is produced by Fairway Films,PTY.Ltd, Sydney, Australia. I watched and re-watched i several times, in between listening sessions of the music of Gurdjieff, for several reasons. The actors were superb(though you could not hear what they said or spoke, as the entire thing was narrated in English by a convincing speaker. The editing was excellent but what interested me the most was the various footage, archival, of events in Russia,etc. during that time, WWI & The Russian Revolution and 'Ouspensky's' comments. For those who have seen the video MEETINGS WITH REMARKABLE MEN and admired the portrayal of Gurdjieff in that,I can only say, that as 'enjoyable' as that movie in its interpretation was(leaving aside its obvious ommissions) that the actor in IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS, who portrayed Gurdjieff seemed more closely to resemble him,except for the eyes of Gurdjieff which few can duplicate or attempt to duplicate This actor did not, of course, really fill Gurdjieff's presence. The film was narrated by the 'P.D.Ouspensky', a voice-over, but the film reflected several important things and omitted a lot of necessary information and left one wondering why Ouspenksy broke with Gurdjieff which seemed so 'abrupt'(Ishall give my own interpretation of why this happened, which is slight different from that of others who have commented on this...but,again it is my own speculation.... Still the film is important and so is the book,itself, only even more so! It needs to be carefully read.....as do all of Ouspensky's works....that stimulate the intellectual center

THE MUSIC OF GURDJIEFF-HARMONIC DEVELOPMENT

'HARMONIC DEVELOPMENT' describes the 1948-1949 recordings of G.I.GURDJIEFF playing the Harmonium, a much forgotten and neglected instrument these days. Aside from his playing certain 'tunes', his actual voice is also heard during these special sessions that set up certain 'vibes' in their listeners...to give such a modern twist for contemporary persons who claim to like 'music'.... I spent all weekend listening to to these recordings,some similar ones selected from this group apparently but redone differently, and a CD, featuring a singer and a piano player, of GURDJIEFF'S HYMNS & PRAYERS. Hearing the voices of people now long dead can be an experience in itself.....different from watching old movies of long dead actors, however,unless we knew them personally. I sometimes listen to recorded phone calls with deceased friends and associates that I have when I have time and inclination).However, I wish these recordings had been available to be before now but, even so, they will, after long sessions listening to them,convey impresssions and focus vibrations which are part of the Science of Harmonics. Of particular interest to me were the 'thumpings' or'beats' Gurdjieff did or gave at teh end of some of the pieces on the wood of the Harmonium with his hand(s). These 'struck a chord' with me because the pattern, the rhythm, is one I tend to do when beating my palms or drumming on wood, tables, or other surfaces. This gave me pause to reflect on why I have done this since a child until now at certain times. Some claim that Gurdjieff is giving or was giving, as he is now dead, a message or a 'code' but I suspect it was done to wake up the listeneers, the group,the audience, those 'present',etc. from their 'journey' from the atmosphere created by him,etc. and to re-enforce the vibrations apart from the instrument-that the vibrations of this sort are not needed to create the rhythms or vibrations found in ourselves and in the Universe...that an instrument only serves to focus and channel them or make them audible and so on.....but that is my own speculation... GURDJIEFF'S LAUGHTER, and also that of those with him,and his voice give a different aspect to the teachings as read from the books he wrote or,for that matter, from that of books others have written in an attempt to explain, expound, or elucidate the Work in some way, even their personal accounts and reactions to such....... You sense that all these are present in Gurdjieff, that is, the teachings and wisdom he brought are all in him: experienced by him, are alive in him rather than imagined or fantasized like those of others.....but this is difficult to express or explain and has to be intuitively grasped when in the process of listening to his voice.....which makes one wish he had read ALL AND EVERYTHING himself and had it recorded with his own voice.....too bad there are not any hidden recordings of such somewhere.... When I thought of all this I had not as yet listened to the orchestral music of 1923-1924 called 'ORIENTAL SUITE' because I wished to let the Harmonium Musice make an impact on me,an impression/influence of some kind and to resonate in my centers in hopes that any of them will awaken and become aware even if only briefly......

JEANNE DE SALZMANN

JEANNE DE SALZMANN lived to be 100 years old,dying in Paris in 1990. She was one of the closest persons to the late Gurdjieff and was given the tasks on his death bed to continue and carry on THE WORK of THE FOURTH WAY, as it was also called by most. RECENTLY a compilation of her notebooks has been published,the title of which is: THE REALITY OF BEING, The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff,published by Shamballa, 2010. I obtained a copy of this and have begun reading it, along with listening to various music CD's of Gurdjieff's music,which is another important topic, little understood by most,especially those who know nothing of his abilities and even by some of his followers. Her son, Michael,said to be the son of Gurdjieff hasa also written or has under his name a book but which I have not yet obtained, as I wish to concentrate on Madame De Salzmann's work first. Despite a recent critical article on the book, which I shall discuss or comment on later, I find the book most interesting and informative as well as useful...her experiences and statements about such clarify a few things for me and will,no doubt, do the same for others who have sought to understand,learn, know, and feel more about the Teachings of Gurdjieff which await those who can really understand and follow his work,even though he is dead....something he thought possible and stated as much.....so there is hope that his mission,or at least one of them, TO UNITE THE WISDOM OF THE EAST WITH THE SCIENCE/TECHNOLOGY OF THE WEST, will be accomplished, and signs are,in some places, it is being attempted despite some obvious setbacks. To date, there are four Gurdjieff Centers that she established: New York, Paris,London & Caracas,Venezuela which may still be operating and carrying on the Work, but as I do not have any contact with them(as yet) I do not know their exact status...but there are others who in groups or independently attempt to utilize the Teachings and methods in some way or what they consider to be such........

GURDJIEFF & SECRET TIBETAN TEACHINGS

Gurdjieff's travels in Central Asia and in particular to Tibet have a fascination for many and they often have problems in reconciling this BUDDHIST TRADTION with ESOTERIC CHRISTIANITY which G is supposed to have taught under both 'banners' so to speak......Again, I find some 'shamanistic' aspects or those of 'original' Taoism possibly in G's methods and teachings which will require some elaboration to make a bit clearer than merely stating this. For those who have read or heard about MADAME ALEXANDRA DAVID-NEEL and her travels to Tibet & China, I suggest you consult her book entitled,THE SECRET ORAL TEACHINGS IN TIBETAN BUDDHIST SECTS to see how what she states there references to some of Gurdjieff's teachings, at least along a certain line that will become evident to those who have delved a bit further in the such things.......