Life Is Real Only Then When I Am
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Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson
Author: George Ivanovich Gurdjieff
language: en
Publisher: Library of Alexandria
Release Date:
AMONG ALL the convictions formed in my “common presence” during my responsible, peculiarly composed life, there is one unshakable conviction that people—whatever the degree of development of their understanding and whatever the form taken by the factors present in their individuality for engendering all kinds of ideals—always and everywhere on the Earth feel the imperative need, on beginning anything new, to pronounce aloud, or if not aloud at least mentally, that particular invocation understandable to even the most ignorant person, which has been formulated in different ways in different epochs, and in our day is expressed in the following words “In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Amen.” That is why I now also, in setting forth on this venture quite new for me, namely authorship, begin by pronouncing this invocation, and pronounce it not only aloud but even very distinctly and, as the ancient Toulousites used to say, with a “fully manifested intonation”—of course only to the extent permitted by data already formed in my whole presence and thoroughly rooted in it for such a manifestation, data, by the way, which are generally formed in man’s nature during his preparatory years, and which later, during his responsible life, determine the character and vivifyingness of such an intonation. Having begun thus, I can now be quite at ease and should even, according to contemporary notions of “religious morality,” be completely assured that from now on everything in this new venture of mine will proceed, as is said, “like a pianola.” In any case, this is the way I have begun, and how the rest will go I can only say, as the blind man put it, “we shall see.” First and foremost, I shall place my hand, moreover the right one, which— although at the moment it is slightly injured due to an accident that recently befell me—is nevertheless really my own, and has never once failed me in all my life, on my heart, of course also my own—but on the constancy or inconstancy of this part of my whole I see no need to expatiate here—and frankly confess that I myself have not the slightest wish to write, but am constrained to do so by circumstances quite independent of me, though whether these circumstances arose accidentally or were created intentionally by extraneous forces I do not yet know I only know that these circumstances bid me write not just some trifle for reading oneself to sleep, but thick and weighty tomes.
In Search of Being
Author: Georges Ivanovitch Gurdjieff
language: en
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Release Date: 2012
Are we able to say that life is governed by a group of conscious people? Where are they? Who are they? We see exactly the opposite: that life is governed by those who are the least conscious, by those who are most asleep. Provocative ideas such as these have attracted generations of thoughtful people to the methods of self-study and inner work devised by Gurdjieff, one of the most radical spiritual teachers of modern times. According to Gurdjieff, the wars raging at this very moment are nothing more than millions of sleeping people trying to annihilate millions of other sleeping people. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such as thing as progress and evolution as long as humanity remains asleep. Two hundred conscious people could change the whole of life on the earth, Gurdjieff says. If we want to become those conscious people, we must learn how to change ourselves. With the help of self-knowledge and an understanding of our relation to the universe, we can awaken to a higher level of being--if we wish to change ourselves. All of Gurdjieff's fundamental principles and methods of transforming the intellect, emotions, and body, in the system known as the Fourth Way, are presented in this book in his own clear, precise words preserved by his closest pupils. Arranged in an orderly sequence of passages drawn from two primary source books--P. D. Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous, and Views from the Real World, recorded and arranged by Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann--this material is an indispensable introduction for those determined to undertake the efforts and practices necessary for awakening consciousness. All the basic concepts and methods are covered, including: * man is "asleep" * we have no unified "I" * the need for self-knowledge * functions of the human "machine" * states of consciousness * levels of being * three centers: moving, emotional, and thinking * personality and essence * the possibility of self-development * self-observation * remembering oneself * conscious evolution * the law of three forces * the ray of creation * the law of octaves * the Enneagram, a universal symbol * the variety of spiritual ways * esoteric Christianity * working in groups * the necessity of schools
The Reality of Being
Author: Jeanne de Salzmann
language: en
Publisher: Shambhala Publications
Release Date: 2011-12-06
An important book on liberating ourselves from the state of “waking sleep” in which we live our lives, as taught by one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the 20th century As the closest pupil of the charismatic spiritual master G. I. Gurdjieff (1866–1949), Jeanne de Salzmann was charged with carrying on his teachings of spiritual transformation. Known as the Fourth Way or “The Work,” Gurdjieff’s system was based on teachings of the East that he adapted for modern life in the West. Now, some twenty years after de Salzmann's death, the notebooks that she filled with her insights over a forty-year period (and intended to publish) have been translated and edited by a small group of her family and followers. The result is this long-awaited guide to Gurdjieff's teaching, describing the routes to be traveled and the landmarks encountered along the way. Organized according to themes, the chapters touch on all the important concepts and practices of the Work, including: • Awakening from the sleep of identification with the ordinary level of being • Self-observation and self-remembering • Conscious effort and voluntary suffering • Understanding symbolic concepts like the Enneagram • The Gurdjieff Movements, bodily exercises that provide training in Presence and the awareness of subtle energies • The necessity of a "school," meaning the collective practice of the teaching in a group Madame de Salzmann brings to the Work her own strong, direct language and personal journey in learning to live that knowledge of a higher level of being, which, she insists, “you have to see for yourself” on a level beyond theory and concept. De Salzmann consistently refused to discuss the teaching in terms of ideas, for this Fourth Way is to be experienced, not simply thought or believed.