GURDJIEFF

GURDJIEFF
BY LOUIS PAUWELS

GEORGE INVANOVITCH GURDJIEFF

GEORGE INVANOVITCH GURDJIEFF
by P.L.TRAVERS

IDIOTS IN PARIS

IDIOTS IN PARIS
WE ARE ALL SOME KIND OF IDIOT

Wednesday, January 9, 2013

JOHN PENTLAND

JOHN PENTLAND-His name escaped me for many years but eventually it cropped up,shining through the various clouds of gathered writings on THE FOURTH WAY. Ignored by me in my search, I had overlooked his name and contributions to keep 'THE TEACHINGS OF GURDJIEFF' working for us through the efforts and filters of others.                                                                                                             What are 'THE TEACHINGS OF GURDJIEFF'? AND, why did so many people flock around and under his 'tents', attempt  THE MOVEMENTS',  and undergo  'ORDEALS OF SELF-OBSERVATON/SELF-REMEMBRANCE' ?                                                                                                                                   Certainly the "IDEAS' that GURDJIEFF presented did not come out of a vacuum,though some might insist or suggest they came out of  THE VOID!                                                                                                                                                        People,drenched in theories, vain imaginings, as well as fetid lusts,desires, and commands of others,need to dry off and find time for 'themselves' !                                                                                                                     At any rate, whether or not they realize this or acknowledge this, they owe JOHN PENTLAND a DEBT OF GRATITUDE even if they never met him and if they have met some of his 'pupils','students', 'associates' etc. they should also acknowledge their efforts and work when possible.                                                      

Friday, January 4, 2013

THOMAS & OLGA DE HARTMANN

The book, "OUR LIFE WITH MR. GURDJIEFF" by THOMAS & OLGA DE HARTMANN, is the New Revised and Expanded Edition of 1983 which I began to read in 1985, which, at that time, was read by me to find out more about Mr.Gurdjieff and his life and methods and I read it in the ordinary way one does such things and also found some things of interest. I began to re-read it in 2011 and again in 2012 and now in 2013 have again revisited this for several reasons which I hope to make clear here if possible.                            

Many readers of this find it an interesting account of things, no doubt, if they are somewhat interested in 'ideas' and the 'work',etc. and Mr. Gurdjieff while others simply find it a biographical account of a time long ago and of two persons associated with Mr. Gurdjieff and thereby will probably not look further and also not examine this work in more intense detail and scrutiny, and certainly not in the way I approach such materials now. So those who come to this blog are urged to begin reading this work if they have not already done so and those who have read it, are urged to look at my comments on this work and also respond if they wish to my conclusions, suggestions, and notions,etc. For this, I immensely thank them for doing this, well in advance of any comments thus far.                                                                                                                                       The book gives us a glimpse of life in Russia and the areas in which the DE HARTMANNs traveled with Mr. Gurdjieff and also of the ordeals these 'aristocraticall educated and talented' persons had to undergo and survive and, of course, never be able to return to their previous life, which vanished with the Bolsheviks, a group that eventually became better known as, and controllers of, so-called 'communism', at least in Russia. In fact, the group that came out of Russia with Mr. Gurdjieff experienced somewhat similar 'ordeals' and a few, like Mr. Ouspenksy,  have written some accounts here and there,while others did not..These experiences were prior to World War II, and during and before and after World War I, the effects of which we still can feel in some instances and the decisions made during those times are still being felt and 'payed for' in some ways, even if the present generations in their 'historical-hysterical' bliss of ignorance do not.

 In reading any of these accounts or any account of adventure, ordeal, trial, and other difficult, unusual, weird, or otherwise experiences of people who have written rather well of such, there are two or three ways to read these and not the usual ones. First, most of us read such on a 'mental' or 'intellectual' basis or, if not, on an 'emotional/devotional' basis, looking for thrills, romance, excitement, etc. as a change of pace from our ordinary life, that is, if we read and not succumb to 'the hypnotic powers' of the 'BoobTube' or  the 'MONITOR'  and the internet and other cultural diversions of modern day gadgetry.    Few of us read anything with our bodies,however, although our bodies are present, no doubt, in either a chair, bed, couch, floor, seat, etc. somewhere, maybe in a library, a school, an office, a lunchroom,etc. or any place we can 'snatch a read' and hardly as an actual undertaking to read for a specific and intense experience with our three machines: the body(physical), the mind (mental) or the emotions(feelings) and never 'sensing' with our nerves and arteries,etc. or kinetic positions what is being described for us to absorb in such accounts. We may feel sex urges if the material calls or evokes such in an erotic fashion or anger over some description of things or even anxiety over a situation a hero or heroine has to resolve, but seldom do we go beyond that and make those micro, minimal, miniscule movements, those tensions, those contractions, etc. that underlie our bodies and which only a sharp observer can detect in us. Sherlock Holmes would often use such and so would Houdini in some instances to read the 'body language' which a powerful account can make manifest if it really affects and impresses and influences you. That is the kind of reading all these things needs and I hope to emphasize this as I discuss the various books in this blog that I have planned.




THOMAS & OLGA DE HARTMANN

'OUT LIFE WITH MR. GURDJIEFF' by THOMAS & OLGA DE HARTMANN,

Thursday, January 3, 2013

"A MESSAGE FROM 'G':('GARCIA'-'GURDJIEFF')"

I begin this post with reference to a story I had to read a few times in various reading classes, from perhaps elementary school, in high school, and in college and which I had forgotten until lately when reading Mr. Bennett's remarkable and informative and revealing book entitled: WITNESS,THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN BENNETT, and recalled this long forgotten story  read long, long ago, and so with 'apologies' to the original author  of  A MESSAGE FROM GARCIA, which I have taken liberties to append MR. GURDJIEFF'S NAME, both under the letter, 'G', I will attempt to show somewhat why I thought along these lines.                                                                                                                                                    The old saying of, 'IF YOU MEET THE BUDDHA ON THE WAY, KILL (SLAY) HIM" comes to mind especially to those who feel Mr. Gurdjieff received some of his concepts, methods, practices, etc. from BUDDHISM and from esoteric, obscure Sects that may or may not relate to DHYANA, CHAN, ZEN, TANTRA,etc. all, from India,China, Tibet, Mongolia, even Japan,etc. based on their understandings of the latter, what experience they may or may not have, their feelings and sentiments and emotions about these 'teachings',whether external or internal, and a host of other associations, of course.                                                THUS, the 'suggestion'-'command': "TO KILL THE MESSENGER BUT KEEP THE MESSAGE" seems descriptive of the many persons who encounter or embrace or whatever the messages or 'revelations' etc. of any of this 'WORK'.                                                                                                                                                                                                   So we face a dilemma of sorts, a conflict perhaps, a resistance, a friction,etc. when we attempt to see where we might go from here. We must ask some 'soul-searching' questions perhaps, that is, if we do have a 'soul' rather than a fantastic, imaginative assumption of such..                                                                                 IS THE MESSAGE MORE IMPORTANT THAN THE MESSENGER???????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!                                                                                                                              Should we 'believe' 'BRINGERS OF GOOD NEWS' ? Or, should we believe 'BRINGERS OF BAD NEWS' or believe both or simply ignore such?  In some cases, peoples and groups and other power possessors have killed or slain, tortured or imprisoned such messengers who often came as both 'saints' and 'devils',. 'inventors' or 'charlatans' and the like. We can all select and choose those that seem to appear more significant to us personally and not rely on scholars and pundits and others who are 'experts' to do this for us.

We already have innumerable 'messages', real or imaginary, to 'decipher', to 'decode' that challenge and tax our limited brains(three), our intelligence, our instincts, our emotions, etc. which in our ignorance and meager experiences seem to come from 'other worlds', 'other spheres', other beings' etc.,many of whom we place on pedestals and revere or idolize long after they have died in some way and cling like drowning persons from capsized and sinking ships to the flotsam and jetsam of their doctrines which some of us have shattered to nearly microscopic bits...even electrons, in our frenzy to survive.                                                                  

EVEN THE TEN COMMANDMENTS ARE 'MESSAGES' interpreted as 'LAWS & COMMANDS' from 'HIGHER SOURCES'-'HIGHER POWERS'.                                                                                    


WHY DO WE ASSUME  THAT GURDJIEFF'S AIM WAS 'HIGHER POWER' SANCTIONED OR IMPELLED & NOT MERELY HIS OWN SELF-MANDATED AIM, HIS OWN SELF-APPOINTED AIM? That is, if anyone seriously thinks this is the case or even thinks otherwise.                                                                    
                                                                                                                                                                                     To understand why I have written this,such as it is, one has to examine the reasons that MR. OUSPENKSY gave concerning his 'BREAK'( a series of various ruptures of lesser or greater degree and scale) with MR. GURDJIEFF that finally split or cleaved in two their previous efforts and relation(ships). To some extent,the various splits and breaks that have been recorded and 'explained' for nearly  all the 'top' followers and advocates of the WORK, THE IDEAS, THE SYSTEM, THE METHODS, ETC. follow this pattern. Some cling to the message and reject the messenger, while others revere and accept the messenger but either reject the message originally brought or alter it beyond all recognition and/or substitute their own fantasies, etc. for the original, or otherwise counterfeit it or claim it is theirs and not that of the original messengers,etc.                                                 For now, I shall leave this discussion and perhaps return to it after mulling over what its implications, if any, have for me personally.