Gurdjieff said that ‘Man’s possibilities are very great’ – however we suffer from vanity, pride and self-love to such an extent that our possibilities are virtually non-existent, as we are – that is in terms of reaching an improved state of ‘being’. In fact the gulf between knowledge and being is the crux of the problem. As in Alchemy, a purification is needed before the real work can begin – work towards a higher level of being. Fortunately, the Fourth Way is a practical method of developing being, and one that is available to any serious seeker.
To Be or Not to Be. There is a formula: Understanding = Knowledge + Being. (P.D. Ouspensky). Unfortunately, in the West, the concept of ‘being’ is at best misunderstood, or more usually simply unknown. A machine may have vast knowledge (AI for example), but cannot have ‘being’. ‘Being’ is uniquely Read more
This biographical drama is based on the book of the same name by G. I. Gurdjieff, first published in English in 1963. Although largely shot on location in Afghanistan there are a handful of English scenes one of which, most unusually, is set in a railway works. This was filmed Read more
The more you know yourself, the more you know your being. If you do not know yourself, you do not know your being. And if you remain on the same level of being you cannot get more knowledge. Begin with the possible; begin with one step. Try to do a Read more
What is meant by ‘identifying’ in The Fourth Way? The terms ‘identifying’ and ‘identification’ are commonly used in conversation, and have the following meanings according to the Oxford English Dictionary: a). identification – the action of identifying, or the fact of being identified. b). identify prove or recognize as being Read more
In the years preceding 1920, one of gurdjieff’s pupils, A.R. Orage, had formed a group of practicing psychologists to study psychoanalysis from all sides. This group, which included Dr. Maurice Nicoll – one of Jung’s foremost exponents, reached the conclusion that the need in psychology was not psychoanalysis but psycho-synthesis. In 1920, P.D. Ouspensky, Read more
There is an outer and inner sense to things, which are quite different. This may seem extraordinary, but it is true. The same thing seen outwardly is quite different when seen inwardly. Yet it is the same thing. Owing to this being the case, a great deal of confusion and Read more
Where is your focus? Bede Griffiths suggests a new journey: Western man has been turning outwards to the world of the senses for centuries and losing himself in outer space. He has to learn again to turn inwards and find his Self. He has to learn to explore not outer Read more