Work for Next Meeting

Challenge

Whenever you notice yourself being drawn into a collective belief, place a hand on your head. Ask yourself what you would choose from within, and notice what you feel.

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Under the Influence

Reflections on the Challenge

Notice when you are carried away with an activity beyond the point you meant to stop. Raise an open palm in a ‘halt’ gesture. Consider what is driving you, and any feelings that arise.

• Experience

  L had noticed several occasions when an activity had continued beyond its usefulness. Twice, prolonged morning planning had prompted him to raise his open palm; he recognised fear of missing out, guilt and duty as driving him, accompanied by frustration. Often, he had noticed himself reading the papers for too long. He made the gesture and stopped, recognising that habit had been driving him and feeling relief. These experiences had led him to connect the challenge with diminishing returns and with temperance: something initially worthwhile could become a hindrance when continued beyond its useful point.

• Responses

  T picked up on L’s repeated fear of missing out, suggesting that becoming absorbed in something could remove awareness of time and surrender agency over how it was being spent. In particular, when reading someone else’s writing, she questioned who was “calling the shots”: whether one continued to follow the writer’s concentrated focus or retained sovereignty over one’s own time and attention.

• Experience

  T had found stopping particularly difficult in relation to her art. She recognised a longstanding attachment to unfinished pictures and other works she had made, which she had been reluctant to let go of because they felt incomplete, because she loved them, or because she wanted to protect those that had reached a conclusion. She realised that letting go of these objects could feel like letting go of, and losing, part of herself.

  In particular, she considered a Painting for Life which she had worked on for several years but had not touched for about a year. Although she had never felt it was complete, she wondered whether the time had come to look at it afresh and decide whether to let it go.

• Responses

  L related T’s attachment to unfinished work to his own experience of having recently completed a piece of music. Although he could imagine continuing to revise and reshape it, he had decided to let it go into the world and move on. He suggested that there might be several satisfactory ways of completing a work, and that attachment and perfectionism could otherwise prevent an artist from recognising that a work had reached its end.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 34

• Passage

  As regards the causes which bring forth this same action of this cosmic law, they are for each planet different and always flow from and depend upon what is called the ‘common cosmic Harmonious-Movement’; moreover, frequently for your planet Earth, what is called the ‘center-of-gravity-of-causes’ is the ‘periodic tension’ of the sun of its system, which tension proceeds in its turn thanks to the influence upon this sun of a neighboring solar system, which exists under the name of ‘Baleaooto.’

• Discussion

  T connected the “common cosmic Harmonious-Movement” with the movement of the Solar System within the Milky Way, suggesting a recurring pattern of systems moving within larger systems. L similarly reflected on Gurdjieff’s image of cosmic bodies “falling”, relating this to orbital movement in which momentum prevents a body from falling into what it circles.

• Passage

  ... among the number of chief evils which flow from the conditions of ordinary being-existence established by them themselves, specially when in the presences of every terrestrial three-brained being, there began to become predominant the ‘evil-inner-God’ of theirs I mentioned, named there self-calming, then it occurred that in them under the influence of the action of Solioonensius, instead of the desire and striving for a speedier self-perfection a something began to arise such as they themselves characterize by the words ‘need of freedom,’ which chiefly serves the cause of the arising there of these same grievous processes of theirs similar to this last ‘Bolshevism.’

• Discussion

  L understood the “need of freedom” as a displacement outwards of something that properly required inner work: instead of striving for self-development, people could seek freedom by trying to change others or external conditions. T similarly saw blame directed at systems and structures as a possible projection outwards, observing that turning inwards required work. L connected this with the discipline of creative work, while T emphasised retaining “sovereignty of the moment” by choosing what to do in each moment.

Who’s in Charge Here?

Reflections on the Challenge

Whenever you are asked to do something you would rather not do, if you choose to comply, bring your hands together in a Namaste gesture, then perform the action willingly.

• Experiences

  T had initially declined a friend’s suggestion that they eat at a restaurant after she had finished a tiring day at the studio, preferring to go home. When she remembered the challenge, she made the Namaste gesture and agreed to go. Although she tried to act willingly, she had continued to feel resistance, as though she were directing herself along the wrong path. She recognised that her physical tiredness and need to recover had contributed to this resistance.

  When a co-working space had begun requiring bookings a day in advance, L had found the new arrangement inconvenient. He made the Namaste gesture, accepted the change and began booking ahead as requested.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  My personal significance and their notions about all my qualities and merits also changed for their individuality; I suddenly became for all ‘important’ and ‘wise,’ ‘extraordinary’ and ‘interesting,’ and so on and so forth; that is, the possessor of all kinds of abnormal being-qualities thought out by themselves.

• Discussion

  N saw this as an object lesson in how rapidly attitudes could change once someone had been recognised by a figure of authority. Beelzebub had previously struggled to obtain even a permit, but was suddenly treated almost like royalty.

  T described this as the opposite of an individual awakening: the community had collectively changed its perception of someone it had previously considered unimportant. She suggested that Beelzebub had acquired a borrowed prestige through his association with the Emperor, while the Emperor’s own status similarly depended upon a shared belief in his importance.

• Passage

  As each word of every such terrestrial ‘czar’ can have and often does have serious consequences not only for the beings of that community of whom he is czar, but also for the beings of other communities, therefore each word must be thought out from every side.

  Well, for this, around these emperors or czars who become such by hereditary rights or by election, there are many specialists from among the ordinary three-brained beings there, in order that they may prompt them as to what they must do and say in every circumstance; and these promptings and directions must be carried out in such a way that the strangers may not notice that their emperor or czar manifests not from his own but from others’ initiative.

• Discussion

  L saw the modern use of a teleprompter as an equivalent of the prompting described in the extract, enabling leaders to proceed through successive meetings delivering prepared and often formulaic speeches. T added that the words might now be supplied by speechwriters or AI.

  J suggested that political decisions made by those in authority often derived from their advisers or subordinates. He saw a parallel within the individual, who might similarly have different inner advisers influencing action.

  T connected this with the image of the body politic and asked who supplied its will, just as one might ask who drove the individual carriage. L similarly observed that the same automatic processes could operate collectively and personally: despite his apparent authority, the Emperor had little freedom and was himself a puppet. T described him as a cipher.

• Passage

  I personally at least would not under any conditions be in the skin of such a terrestrial emperor or czar, and would neither wish it for my very worst enemy nor for the enemy of my nearest.

• Discussion

  J questioned whether Beelzebub was entirely fair in portraying the position of emperor or czar as wholly undesirable, observing that such a position also brought compensations.

  N asked whether Beelzebub’s judgement applied specifically to the Russian czar or to monarchy more generally. J understood Russia as an extreme example of a condition that could also arise elsewhere. T suggested that the ruler described had become a mascot rather than a true leader, leaving the system fragile and ossified.

Shrugging It Off

Reflections on the Challenge

When you meet brashness or rudeness, notice how you feel. Shrug; ask yourself what you are assuming, and what may be lacking in you.

• Experiences

  N described dealing with a difficult business associate who repeatedly obstructed an administrative process before making a dismissive remark about him. Remembering the month’s challenge, he paused to observe his immediate reaction rather than responding automatically. This created a gap between the provocation and his response, allowing him to remain inwardly aware instead of reacting mechanically.

  L described eating in a quiet café when a nearby group began talking loudly and conducting a call on speakerphone. He recognised this as an instance of rudeness, shrugged, and asked himself what might be lacking in him. Rather than feeling annoyed, he realised he had no desire to challenge their behaviour, choosing instead to let the incident pass.

  T described arriving late at a market and meeting a stallholder who appeared reluctant to serve her. She questioned her assumptions, considering that his apparent brusqueness might have reflected the practicalities of packing away at the end of the day rather than personal rudeness. She realised how her assumptions had coloured her initial perception of the encounter.

• Responses

  L suggested that the stallholder in T’s account may simply have been preparing to close for the day when an unexpected customer arrived, creating a conflict between wanting to serve her and wanting to finish work.

  N agreed, adding that the stallholder may have been tired after a hot morning and simply eager to complete the day’s work. T recognised that she had expected the same enthusiasm she had encountered at another stall, and that this expectation had coloured her perception.

  N observed that none of the three experiences resulted in an automatic reaction. Instead, each person paused and allowed the situation to unfold without responding mechanically.

  L wondered whether the challenge lay not only in avoiding automatic reactions but also in finding a considered, conscious response. T agreed that there was a difference between conscious action and simply remaining passive.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 34

• Passage

  he himself began—of course quite without the participation of, as it is called, his ‘personal-subjective-initiative,’ but guided only by automatic habit acquired by him, thanks to the doing of always one and the same thing—to subjugate all my separate spiritualized parts and all the self-manifestations of my common presence, taking it as it were under the directive of his own ‘I.’

  From this moment, I had, in the sense of my ‘outer manifestations,’ as our esteemed Mullah Nassr Eddin would say, to ‘dance in everything to his tune.’

• Discussion

  N noted Gurdjieff’s distinction between outer manifestations and inner manifestations, suggesting that although outwardly one may have to “dance to another’s tune”, one’s inner life can remain free and aware.

  T connected this with the previous month’s challenge, observing that the outward response to rudeness could differ from what was taking place inwardly.

  L agreed, relating the passage to the earlier discussion about automatic behaviour. He suggested that, like a puppet whose movements are directed by strings, a person may outwardly conform to the expectations of others while remaining inwardly free.

• Passage

  ...In the hall every movement, every step I made, even to the blinking of my eyelids, were seen in advance, and prompted to me by this important general.

  However, in spite of all the absurdity of this procedure, if one takes into account that the perfection of a being depends on the quality and quantity of his inner experiencings, then objective justice demands that due must be given for this to your favorites, that on that day they compelled me, of course, unconsciously, to undergo and to feel perhaps more than I had undergone and felt during all the centuries of my personal sojourn there among them.

  However that may be, I must yet say that having agreed to this ‘famous presentation’ for the purpose of observation and investigation of the peculiar and such a ‘contorted’ psyche of your favorites, and after all the ‘great agitation’ which I had lived through on that day, I finally breathed freely only in the carriage of the train after my tormentors, particularly that important general, had left me alone by myself.

  In the course of the whole of that day, I was so occupied with the fulfillment of all the innumerable foolish manipulations required from me and which fatigued me in view of my declining years, that I did not even notice what the unfortunate Emperor there looked like or how he manifested himself in this comedy.

• Discussion

  N noted that, although the experience caused Beelzebub considerable agitation, it also enriched his inner experiencings. He suggested that difficult situations need not be wasted but can become opportunities for self-observation and learning.

  T contrasted becoming caught up in the “stormy waters” of events with remaining aware of something deeper. She also observed that Beelzebub became so absorbed in fulfilling the expected role that he scarcely noticed the Emperor himself.

  L was struck by Gurdjieff’s use of the phrase objective justice, seeing it as an expression of gratitude towards the mechanical people who had unintentionally provided the conditions for such valuable inner experiencings.

  N suggested that objective justice meant accepting even unpleasant experiences as having a value beyond one’s personal likes and dislikes. Rather than condemning those around him, Beelzebub accepted the situation and was grateful for what it enabled him to experience.

  L added that this conscious acceptance reconciled the opposing forces at work: although constrained by outward demands, Beelzebub willingly underwent the experience and found value in it.

  N illustrated this with his own experience of meeting Prince Philip after completing the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. Looking back, he realised that his youthful disappointment arose from expecting an ordinary conversation, whereas the formal occasion required everyone, including the Duke, to fulfil a prescribed role. T agreed that the machinery of such institutions depends on people carrying out their roles rather than acting simply as private individuals.

• Passage

  This gradual acquiring of the habit of judging the merits of beings according to the outer ephemeral appearance in all other beings, developed and continued to develop their imagination, which became strengthened about this, that just in this consists the acquisition of ‘being-individuality,’ and all began subjectively to strive only for this.

  That is why at the present time, all of them from the very beginning of their arising gradually lose from their common presences even the ‘taste’ and ‘desire’ for what is called ‘objective-being-Being.’

• Discussion

  N suggested that Gurdjieff was contrasting outward appearance with objective-being-Being, observing that people often place their trust in appearances rather than in genuine being.

  T linked this to the passage’s description of outer ephemeral values, suggesting that the pursuit of individuality can become distorted when it is based primarily on external appearance rather than inner development.

Chinese Whispers

Reflections on the Challenge

Each time you go out through your front door, be aware of your legs and notice how you feel about going. Hold your intention in mind.
When you return, recall it, and consider whether it was fulfilled.

• Experiences

  L had remembered, on some occasions, his intention when leaving home and later reflected on whether it had been fulfilled. On other occasions he had remained aware of his legs while going out. The challenge had also helped him keep in mind Gurdjieff's idea of the octave, particularly the need to remain conscious both at the beginning of an undertaking and as it approached completion.

  N had set out with a clear intention for an afternoon excursion. He spent time browsing for books and enjoyed lunch before returning home. On the journey back he encountered large crowds of football supporters and became aware of his reactions to the atmosphere and behaviour of the crowd.

• Responses

  Responidng to L, N said that returning home could create a false sense of safety, leading to a loss of concentration when the final stage of a task still remained unfinished.

  T said that to painting, completion itself could become a difficulty.

  N added that he had become more aware of impulses that diverted him from completing tasks and had found it necessary either to consciously maintain direction or consciously set tasks aside for later completion.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  On the third morning, looking by chance out of the window of my lodging into the street I saw there quite an unusual commotion; everyone was cleaning, everywhere there was sweeping, many of what are called the ‘gendarmerie’ and ‘police’ were walking up and down.

  To my question as to what caused all this, our Ahoon explained to me that on that day, in our street, the arrival of a very important general of that community was expected.

  On this same day, in the afternoon, while I was sitting at home and talking with one of my new acquaintances, the concierge of the house came running in to me, agitated and bewildered, and stammering exclaimed: ‘Hi… s, his… Ex… Exce… ce… ce… lency!’ But he did not have time to finish before His Excellency himself entered. As soon as the unfortunate concierge saw him appear, he appeared as if struck dumb by lightning, and then, having pulled himself together, he hurriedly, as it is said there, ‘backed’ out of the room.

• Discussion

  T noted how dramatically the arrival of an authority figure affected the behaviour of everyone around them, observing how the servant seemed to make himself smaller in the presence of status.

  L connected the scene with thresholds and entrances, pointing out that the arrival itself involved a conscious crossing into a new situation.

  N suggested that powerful figures could evoke exaggerated responses because people projected significance onto them. He compared this with modern experiences of meeting famous or influential people, where reality often differed from expectation.

  Later, T suggested that authority figures often appeared larger than life because of what others projected onto them rather than because of their actual physical presence.

• Passage

  But His Noble Excellency himself, with a very friendly smile, although with a shade of what is called ‘hauteur’ ... came towards me, at the same time examining with great curiosity the ‘antiques’ which were in my room, and, shaking me in a special way by the wrist, sat down in my favorite armchair.

  ...Having said this, he suddenly stood up and approaching what is called a china figure of old Chinese workmanship which stood in a corner of my room, he exclaimed with impulsive rapture which thrilled his whole presence: ‘How charming!… Where did you get this marvel of ancient wisdom…?’

  And not ceasing to look at the said figure and giving himself up to the feeling of his rapture, or, more strictly speaking, with all his feelings coursing together through him, he further continued:

  ‘I myself am very much interested in all ancient art, but chiefly in Chinese, and that is why, of the five rooms given up to my collection, three are filled with productions of ancient Chinese work alone.’

• Discussion

  T observed that the official appeared as captivated by the Chinese artefacts as the servant had previously been captivated by him, suggesting a parallel between fascination with authority and fascination with objects.

  L noted the phrase describing “all his feelings coursing together through him,” seeing this as an unusually strong description of emotional involvement.

  N suggested that the attraction towards ancient Chinese art reflected a perception of wisdom and mystery associated with older traditions and cultures.

  T added that Chinese art seemed to possess a different quality of beauty, one which appeared to emerge from a different way of seeing the world.

• Passage

  During this conversation he suddenly and hastily took his watch from his pocket, automatically looked at it, stood up quickly and, once on his feet, said:

  "How vexing! I am obliged to interrupt our chat, interesting to the highest degree, as I must hurry home where doubtless the great friend of my youth and his charming wife are already waiting for me..."

  "And as regards the instructions I am required to give you, about which I had come to you, I will send my adjutant this very day, and he will explain everything to you, and no worse than I perhaps would."

  After this, with fussy self-importance, he left me.

  And indeed, on the evening of the very same day, as His Noble Excellency had promised me, one of his adjutants came to my house who was still, as is said there, a "young man" ... This adjutant of his who came had the very marked specific type of a terrestrial three-brained being whom in recent times among your favorites one has often come across, and who is very well defined by the words mama's and papa's darling.

  ... a little later it became clear to his being-rumination that I belonged neither to his own caste nor to a higher one, but appeared to be one of those beings who according to the abnormal understanding of the beings of that community are considered little higher than what are called ‘savages,’

• Discussion

  T questioned whether a genuine conversation had taken place at all, observing that the official seemed absorbed in his own concerns and barely acknowledged the person in front of him.

  T noted that the young adjutant appeared shaped more by privilege and upbringing than by experience, while N suggested that he seemed full of borrowed attitudes rather than anything genuinely his own.

  L observed that the passage presented successive layers of hierarchy: each level appeared subordinate to one authority while simultaneously acting superior towards another.

  Later, T suggested that these displays of importance functioned as a way of controlling others through expectation and social convention. N agreed, observing that many people appeared to live through inherited assumptions and roles rather than authentic experience.

Hand on the Tiller

Reflections on the Challenge

When you notice a situation in a group going off course, cup one ear. Sense your feeling and your part in it.

• Experiences

  L had noticed several instances where, in his view, groups had gone off course. He cited the cover of a Quaker publication supporting Palestine Action as one such moment, observing a perceived contradiction between the group’s pacifist origins and its current stance. He had also reflected on the Artemis mission, feeling that political considerations had overridden adequate preparation.

  T had attended a wake for a fellow artist, held in a venue associated with his life. During the gathering, she had found herself repeatedly cupping her ear in order to hear conversations over loud music, though at the time she had not connected this with the challenge. The following day, she recognised the coincidence and reflected on it. She had observed that, during the wake, conversations had repeatedly moved away from the shared reality of the artist’s death. Although all present were affected by the loss, discussion had drifted towards personal topics, avoiding the immediacy of grief. She had recognised this as an instance of a group going off course, and became aware of the tension between the collective situation and the tendency to turn aside from it. In recalling the event, she had also become more conscious of her own unfinished relationship with the deceased and her response to his absence.

  N had observed changes within his workplace which he felt had been implemented without discussion. He had sensed that the direction of the work might be going off course, particularly in relation to areas he believed could lead to future difficulties. He had raised his concerns with colleagues and engaged in discussion, while also noticing his own position within the situation. Although he had considered leaving, he had decided to remain and observe how matters developed, attempting to make his perspective effective within the group while monitoring whether the direction would prove satisfactory.

  J had described a situation involving collaborators on a project, where feedback passed between individuals had led to a sudden tension within the group. He had recognised that the situation could easily have gone off course at that moment. In handling the exchange, he had become aware of the need for a measured and diplomatic response, and of his own part in how the situation unfolded.

• Responses

  N responded to T’s account of the wake by noting how deeply she had been affected by the loss, and recognising the significance of the situation she described. He also reflected on L’s observation that groups can lose their way, agreeing that organisations may drift from their original purpose unless there is a conscious effort to maintain direction.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  I still hoped for and patiently awaited that time when eventually the corresponding conditions would give me the possibility of actualizing my fundamental aim, namely, the possibility of proceeding with the ‘elucidatory experiments’ on the psyche of the terrestrial beings en masse. But when it became definitely clear to me that here in this community under the existing conditions of reciprocal relationships it would be impossible for me to succeed in this ... I decided to remain there no longer, but to depart, in order to seek suitable conditions for my said aim, to some other European community.

• Discussion

  N drew attention to the phrase “corresponding conditions”, seeing it as central to the passage. He said that Beelzebub recognised that an aim could not be actualised merely by force of will; the right conditions had to exist, otherwise effort would come up against obstacles that could not be overcome directly.

  L linked this to the stages of a process: an idea meets delays and resistance before it can pass into actuality. He suggested that Beelzebub had not abandoned his aim, but had recognised that a different time or place might be needed.

  T noticed that once Beelzebub had decided to leave, others responded by wanting him to stay. She saw this as another barrier, but also as something that may have opened a new possibility: his decision had activated a response in others.

  L suggested that Beelzebub’s decision to leave was met by resistance from others who wished him to stay, and that his eventual response involved a form of compromise, delaying his departure rather than abandoning his aim.

  J observed that the passage concerned the relation between an aim and circumstances. He said that one might agree about the aim, but still have to contend with the circumstances, because these become the real barrier.

The Unbearable Lightness of Self-Calming

Reflections on the Challenge

When you notice something that feels hollow or charlatan-like, bow your head for a moment, ask what is absent, and observe your feeling without criticism.

• Experiences

  L had noticed a news report that the rebranded W H Smith stores (with the made-up name TG Jones) were struggling, which recalled an earlier instance of inauthenticity a year before, when the new name was adopted. He had also observed growing inauthenticity in YouTube videos, which often included fake voices and content. This led to feelings of emptiness, sadness, and frustration. Later, in a Japanese restaurant, the waitresses - who appeared to be Japanese - were not, and could not read the Japanese words on the wallpaper. These apparently Japanese words themselves turned out to be fake. He had felt a sense of resignation.

  N had observed several instances of fabricated or misleading content, particularly in AI-generated YouTube videos presenting invented stories about well-known figures. He had recognised these as lacking any basis in reality, which led him to question the misuse of information and the ease with which falsehoods could be presented convincingly. He had also noticed examples of distortion within political discourse, where statements appeared disconnected from truth and were used to promote particular agendas. In one such moment, he had paused and bowed his head, reflecting on the extent to which truth seemed to be disregarded, and experiencing a sense of concern at this tendency.

  J had encountered a talk at a society meeting which he experienced as markedly hollow. The speaker, a senior diplomat, had presented ideas that appeared contradictory, yet seemed fully believed within his own frame of reference. J had recognised this as an instance of hollowness not merely performed, but sincerely held. He had felt a sense of disillusionment, particularly in contrast to expectations of greater depth or integrity in such a context.

• Responses

  T responded to J’s account by expressing surprise that such hollowness could appear in contexts assumed to carry authority and integrity. She questioned whether charlatanism might extend even to the highest levels, and noted the tendency to expect it in some domains but not others. J clarified that the example concerned a diplomatic context rather than the military itself. He reflected on a tendency for people to invest authority in certain figures or systems, treating their statements as unquestionable, and suggested this arose from a search for certainty.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  But when several participants of this Trusteeship accidentally learned that the initiative for many useful measures had issued from me—some foreign doctor or other, not even a European—then every kind of habitual, as it is called ‘intrigue’ and ‘protest’ arose against the proposals coming from me, and also against the head of the Trusteeship himself...

  They happened to be among the leaders of this Trusteeship, in consequence of the fact that in the presences of the hereditary power-possessing beings of that period there had again already become finally fixed and had become the inviolable part of their essence always the same ‘inner overlord’ of theirs, maleficent for the terrestrial three-brained beings, named by them 'self-calming,’ which by itself became for those unfortunates the sense and aim of their existence. And therefore in order not to make any being-effort at all, they insisted that these learned physicians should also unfailingly take part in this important institution of great social significance.

• Discussion

  N observed that institutions often fragmented into factions, with competing positions emerging quickly. He noted that the original aim could then be lost as opposing sides formed and pulled in different directions.

  J noted that “self-calming” becoming “the sense and aim” pointed to a wider tendency to mistake a means for an end. He suggested that practices intended to serve a purpose could become ends in themselves, leading to a form of inner passivity. L emphasised that the Gurdjieff Work required effort, and that an orientation towards calming oneself made such effort less likely. He linked this to tendencies that discouraged active engagement or responsibility. T suggested that avoiding thought or decision could lead to passivity, where individuals became followers rather than thinking for themselves. She contrasted this with the necessity of making conscious choices in practice.

Dissuasion

Reflections on the Challenge

Once a day, when you switch on an electric light, clench your teeth and notice how you feel about a current bureaucratic obstacle.

• Experiences

  T had switched on her studio light, clenched her teeth, and brought to mind difficulties with community group administration. She had felt frustration at handling more than her share of organisational work, particularly when invoices were incorrect and routine processes lacked order and smoothness. On another occasion, turning on the light had reminded her of the car service appointment system. After clenching her teeth, she had reflected on repeated phone calls, unanswered messages, and contradictory automated responses. Being told she was first in the queue and then diverted to voicemail, and later missing return calls while working, had heightened her sense of bureaucratic confusion. She had observed how digital systems appeared to multiply inefficiency rather than resolve it.

  N had encountered repeated medical and administrative complications during a family member’s hospitalisation. After an urgent call suggesting possible deterioration, he had tried to arrange further care but had met procedural obstacles and delays. Long waiting times, repeated tests, and persistent follow-up calls had heightened his sense of institutional rigidity and confusion. During these episodes he had remembered the challenge and clenched his teeth, observing his anxiety and frustration in the face of impersonal systems. He had also applied the practice while dealing with Land Registry delays, when documents he had already submitted were reported missing. Again, he had clenched his teeth and noted his irritation at administrative inefficiency.

  L had frequently encountered bureaucratic loops while attempting to arrange a car service. Phoning the number provided had led either to an engaged tone or to an automated message directing him to a website. The website, in turn, no longer allowed bookings and redirected him back to the same phone number. After several days he had eventually reached a person, only to be told there was no record of an existing service agreement, requiring him to bring documentation with him. During these episodes he had remembered the challenge and clenched his teeth, observing his frustration and sense of circularity. He had also noticed similar “Kafkaesque” frustrations described by others, showing how prevalent such loops are.

• Responses

  Responding to N and L, T observed that systems intended to increase efficiency often required the customer to undertake excessive labour. She noted that when records were missing or services untraceable, individuals were forced to search for their own “evidence” in a virtual environment where tangible accountability seemed absent. She connected this to her own experience of doing work that institutions should have managed.

  N agreed that identification systems were frequently inconsistent, with individuals never quite sure how they were recorded. He described the frustration of having to repeat information or correct errors within prescription services and local authority processes. He remarked that when administrative mistakes could not be removed from a system, it felt like a persistent “black mark” attached to one’s identity. L suggested that a decline in administrative continuity and responsibility had become more noticeable over time. He contrasted earlier experiences of attentive service with present-day fragmentation, where responsibility seemed diffused across systems and personnel. He proposed that such dysfunction reflected a broader pattern of automatic behaviour.

  T described how repeated non-communication had left her with a feeling of deadness and dread, as though her existence were unacknowledged within the virtual loop. The absence of human reciprocity had intensified the impact more than the practical inconvenience itself. N added that direct human contact could sometimes cut through bureaucratic inertia. He noted that speaking to a specific individual, establishing rapport, and following up personally often proved more effective than remaining within automated channels. He suggested that while systems were designed to minimise human intervention, responsibility ultimately still rested with someone.

  L concluded that the underlying issue was a lack of conscious attention. Whether paper-based or digital, systems functioned mechanically when attention was absent; the essential difference lay not in the technology but in the quality of presence brought to it.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  In one department I had to sign a certain paper; in another to answer questions having nothing to do with chemistry; while in a third it was explained to me and I was advised how I must manage with the equipment of the laboratory so as not to be poisoned, and so on and so forth.

  It turned out as I later elucidated, that I had been, without at all suspecting it at the time, with an official among whose obligations was that of dissuading from this intention those who wished to set up chemical laboratories.

  But the most amusing of all was that, for obtaining this permit it was necessary in turn to apply to those official servants who had not even the remotest notion of what in general a laboratory was.

• Discussion

  L pointed to the figure of the official whose job was “dissuading from this intention”, suggesting that organised resistance appears precisely when someone genuinely tries to do something. T agreed that bureaucracy could be seen as friction: the extra effort required once one commits to an aim “with heart and mind and soul”. She treated bureaucratic obstruction as an outer expression of inner resistance, where additional intentional effort is demanded.

  N said that rules and red tape were part of modern life, and that one needed both will and humour to meet them. He emphasised that ignoring systems could “bite back”, so the task was to clear a way through without unnecessary emotional investment.

  L proposed that the underlying cause was automaticity, whether expressed through old paperwork or modern screens. T agreed that the decisive factor was not the medium but the likelihood of something real arising from direct human reciprocity. L said that conscious attention was required to escape the loop — without it, systems become mechanical irrespective of whether they are paper-based or digital.

Automatic-Habit

Reflections on the Challenge

The first time you notice the sun this month, be aware of any thought; thereafter, recall what you thought about the last time, deliberately try to think of something different, and if you succeed, make a Eureka gesture and notice how you feel afterwards.

• Experiences

  L described several occasions during the month when he noticed the sun and worked with the challenge. About a week after the meeting, during a cloudy period, he noticed the sun appearing while writing his morning journal. As this was the first instance, there was no previous occasion to recall. On the next clear day, he saw the sun and remembered that earlier moment and deliberately thought of something different, making the Eureka gesture. He noted a feeling of increased energy and a sense of promise. A few days later, while using a virtual reality environment, he again noticed the "sun". He recalled the previous instance, made the gesture, and felt anticipation connected with his creative work. Another day, on his way back from an art session, he noticed the sun once more, remembered the virtual reality occasion, and repeated the Eureka gesture. He observed that the challenge required sustained continuity of attention, both in recalling previous instances and in consciously registering what he was doing at the time.

  T described an instance that occurred while she was waiting at a railway station in the late afternoon. As the setting sun shone along the railway lines and illuminated the railings and ramp where she was standing, she recalled her earlier thought on first seeing the sun blazing across the scene. That earlier thought had arisen from something she had recently read: that the Sun, in relation to other stars, is a yellow dwarf. She noted that this felt ego-crushing, particularly given her human inability to look directly at it. On this occasion, she deliberately thought something different. She reflected that although she loved to see the Sun, it exerted power over her physical being, as it was too bright and blinding to look at without damaging the very sight through which she perceived the world. She then made the Eureka gesture.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  And they did not know this, as I later understood, simply because no one had ever applied to them for this permit, and on this account these unfortunate beings had not acquired the customary for them what is called ‘automatic-habit’ for the manifestation of such a ‘being-duty’ as theirs of this kind.

• Discussion

  T suggested that people entered bureaucratic roles in order to earn a living and, in doing so, gradually lost their own sense of agency. She described this as a process by which individuals became increasingly automatic, almost zombie-like.

Bolshevism and Other Stories

Reflections on the Challenge

When you realise you are walking, bring to mind a creative project you are engaged in, and briefly alter your gait with a swagger or tacking motion. Notice how close it is to your heart, then relax your walk into what feels natural.

• Experiences

  L had become aware that he was walking along a road, and deliberately altered his gait from side to side. He brought to mind a creative musical project he was working on and sensed it lay very close to his heart. He then turned his attention to a second creative project – developing a web-based application – and noticed that, although it also felt close to his heart, it drew him away from the act of composing itself. Having observed this distinction, he allowed his walking to return to what felt natural.

  T described two occasions during the month when, while walking, she had remembered the challenge. On the first, she was walking towards the studio in order to work alone and without distraction. She had brought to mind her creative project of regular daily work there. While remembering this, she swayed her hips as she walked, before resuming a normal forward walk. On another occasion, she was walking to get somewhere on time and had remembered the challenge while aware of a list of tasks that needed to be completed beforehand. She recalled that her daily Pomodoro of composing was the third item on that list. She tacked back and forth across the pavement several times, and it started to feel like a dance. As she did so, the stress of the to-do list eased, and she sensed her composing practice as a kind of lighthouse beacon she was steadily moving towards, despite the other demands along the way.

  J described one occasion during the month when he had deliberately altered his walk while thinking about his creative projects. He had noticed that adopting a swagger-like movement brought with it a heightened sense of personal ownership of the work – a feeling of “this is my project” – he disliked this feeling of 'self importance' which stood out clearly to him as different from his usual engagement with the creative process.

• Responses

  L observed that J seemed to relate to his creative work with sincerity rather than self-identification, and suggested that this might have made the swagger element of the challenge feel unnecessary or ill-fitting for him. J agreed with this characterisation, adding that altering his gait had introduced a sense of self-consciousness and grandiosity. He felt that concentrating on changing his walk had reduced his ability to concentrate on his creative project, fragmenting rather than strengthening his focus. L replied that such interruption could itself be valuable, suggesting that breaking habitual movement might also interrupt habitual patterns of thought. He added that even creative work, while not habitual in content, could become absorbing in a way that risked a comfortable loss of awareness.

  T emphasised that the challenge was not intended to assess the creative project itself, but to bring thinking, feeling, and moving together in the present moment. She noted that the moving centre is often neglected, and that deliberately altering movement could counter its tendency to operate unconsciously.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  ... the majority of them carried in themselves the germ of that ‘particular-functioning-of-their-common-presences’ which had already long before been habitually arising in your favorites owing to a certain combination of two independent causes coming from outside.

  The first of these causes is a common cosmic law which exists under the name of ‘Solioonensius,’ and the second is a sharp deterioration of the conditions of the usual being-existence of the beings on some part or other of the surface of this planet of yours.

• Discussion

  L pointed out that this second cause was readily recognisable, referring to the way social and organisational conditions often degrade over time. He suggested that deterioration was treated here not as accidental, but as something with its own momentum.

  T added that such deterioration could make escapism more understandable, as people seek relief from constricting or dehumanising conditions.

• Passage

  ... the totality of these manifestations among the beings of the large community was this time called there ‘Bolshevism.’

  ... I touched upon this question in this place only to give you a representation of the already particularly abnormal conditions of being-existence among which my activities among the beings of this large community flowed at this period

• Discussion

  T drew attention to the wording of the passage, noting that Gurdjieff first referred to a “large community” and then stated that it was “this time called there ‘Bolshevism’.” She observed that the emphasis lay on how a name was applied to the community as a whole, rather than on any detailed explanation at this point.

The Wisdom of the Crows

Reflections on the Challenge

When you see or hear a bird, does it touch your feelings? What aspect of yourself might the bird express? Let your hands lift like wings.

• Experiences

  T had noticed the challenge several times during the month and recorded brief notes near the end. While walking through quiet gardens at sunset, she had heard birds singing from an unseen perch above her. Remembering the challenge, she had gently lifted and moved her hands at the wrists, which brought a feeling of enjoyment, gladness, and connectedness through listening. She had felt a wish to share the experience, though she had been alone. On another occasion, at a leafy overground station, she had heard intense twittering from hedges and trees without seeing the birds. She had again moved her hands by her sides and sensed the wrists as if they were the pinions of wings. This had brought an awareness of the contrast between the impossibility of flight for her and the natural reality of flight for birds. She had become aware of different birds through their distinct sounds – robins, parakeets, crows, magpies, gulls – and later seen a robin hopping among foliage and feeding. Moving her hands had felt like an imitation of flight, linking her wrists and fingers to the beating of wings and feathers.

  L had found that it took about a week after the meeting before the challenge began to register. On first hearing a repetitive bird song whose source he could not identify, he had raised his hands and noticed a feeling of slight self-consciousness. Later, hearing seagulls calling in the evening, he had felt their sounds echo his own thoughts about finishing the day and returning home. On another occasion at sunset, he had seen a dark bird flying in a straight, purposeful line, which had evoked for him a sense of purposeful freedom. A further repetitive bird call at sunset had brought an association with uncertainty. A few days later, seeing dozens of birds together had stirred a feeling of determined mobilisation. Throughout these moments, he had observed how each encounter evoked a distinct emotional quality in himself, linking the bird’s presence with his own inner state.

  N had come to the challenge later in the month and noticed that encounters with birds immediately evoked personal associations. During a long walk in the park, he had seen many magpies and recognised in them a quality he also saw in himself – a tendency to gather and store things, particularly information, for its own sake. Seeing the magpies together had brought this aspect of himself into clearer awareness. He had reflected on how different birds seemed to mirror different inner qualities, and how noticing them in daily life deepened his sense of connection and enjoyment. These moments had drawn his attention to the way encounters with birds could illuminate patterns within himself rather than remaining abstract ideas.

• Responses

  Responding to N, L noted the long human tradition of associating birds with wisdom and meaning, suggesting that N’s instinctive associations were not idiosyncratic but echoed something ancient. He pointed out that birds had long been taken as carriers of knowledge, reinforcing N’s experience of recognising qualities in himself through the birds he encountered.

  N followed up T's question, “Where is your song?”, and suggested that many people’s voices become constrained through upbringing and education. He felt that this suppression could distance a person from their authentic expression, making T’s experience of loss and longing for voice particularly significant. L appreciated the poetic quality of her description, and linked her experience to the broader question of creative expression. He suggested that just as birds sing according to their nature, the question for a human being becomes where their own genuine creative expression lies.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  “And it is thanks to this lack of foresight in these German beings that the scandalous misfortune for the poor Russians came about—that is to say, it is owing to the fact that the feathers of the crows are dyed by nature ... a genuine black, which, even with these aniline dyes invented by themselves, cannot possibly be dyed any other color owing to the said vile imperfection of these dyes—that these poor Russian ‘crows’ cannot therefore possibly become peacocks. And what is worst of all, having ceased to be crows and not yet having become peacocks, they willy-nilly turn into the bird turkey, which expresses ideally, as has been formulated by our dear teacher, ‘Half-with-a-quarter-plus-three-quarters.’

• Discussion

  L took the passage as a warning against trying to become something other than what one is, by taking the image of the crow as pointing to the necessity of remaining true to one’s own nature, rather than imitating an idealised form from elsewhere.

  N responded to the description of the turkey by noting the recognisable physicality of the “strut”. He remarked that this exaggerated, lifted gait could still be seen in military marching, and that it appeared oddly laughable — an outward display that did not correspond to inner reality.

Birds of a Feather

Reflections on the Challenge

When you express an opinion, listen to the sound of your own voice. Does it ring true, as if from the heart? Consider on what experience it is based.

• Experiences

  L had worked earnestly with the challenge and noticed that his voice changed not when he was being insincere, but when he spoke from the heart. In today’s climate, he felt it difficult to speak openly unless with someone deeply trusted. His observation was that the voice itself revealed this tension — becoming different precisely when sincerity was present.

  J reflected that his tone differed according to how deeply his emotions were engaged. When speaking from conviction, he aimed to express genuine feeling rather than detached commentary. He noted the importance of pausing before speaking — ensuring his words conveyed sincerity rather than cleverness. In practice, however, he found that when offering what he believed to be genuine advice, his tone hardly changed; the real work lay in maintaining that inner check before opening his mouth.

  N had found the challenge revealing, recognising that his voice changed noticeably when he spoke without real knowledge or conviction. As a lawyer, he was accustomed to projecting a certain tone in court — persuasive but not wholly authentic. He saw that this professional habit could carry a subtle falseness, detectable in the voice itself. At moments he could hear the difference: a faint echo of self-awareness reminding him that he was speaking beyond his true understanding.

• Responses

  L responded to J by noting that his account illustrated Gurdjieff’s Law of Three in action. The initial impulse to speak formed the affirming force; the awareness of slipping into wiseacring became the denying; and the conscious decision to speak sincerely was the reconciling. Turning to N’s experience, L likened the lawyer’s performative voice to a necessary role within an adversarial process — affirming and denying forces awaiting reconciliation in the judge’s discernment.

  T picked up on N’s remarks, recalling the courtroom oath “to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth,” and asked whether this applied equally to lawyers.

  N replied that advocates were indeed bound by strict duties to the court, though not all upheld them. He reflected that even outside legal settings, people’s voices often betrayed when they strayed beyond real knowledge. This, he said, showed the emotional centre intruding into intellectual speech — a covering of uncertainty with feeling.

  L quipped that such composure was rare among politicians, provoking comments that many leaders spoke entirely “from the head,” lacking heart.

  J then returned to L’s point, agreeing that the threefold process applied, but adding that awareness should ideally arise before speech — the mind engaging before the mouth. He compared courtroom or public presentation to chairing a meeting or compering an event: one must address the audience sincerely, even when not emotionally involved. Sincerity, he suggested, depended on conscious awareness of one’s audience, not on emotional intensity.

  N agreed, observing that in advocacy, as in ordinary conversation, truth could blur when the wish to protect or persuade became dominant.

  L concluded by distinguishing the Law of Three at the moment of speech from the broader Law of Seven, which governed the unfolding of any event. Speaking or chairing, he said, followed a seven-stage rhythm: preparation, opening, climax, and resolution — each with its own energy.

  T observed that once others were involved, the dynamic became less controllable; new forces entered from outside.

  L expanded that these influences — whether from people or the “numinous nature of reality” — could appear as coincidences or interruptions, from neighbours’ music to unexpected alarms. Such moments, he said, illustrated how processes at different scales interweave within the pattern of sevenfoldness.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  ... the people who represent the very “Tzimus” of contemporary European civilization, namely, those who arise and dwell on the continent Europe, must infallibly be called peacocks, that is, the birds who have the most beautiful and most gorgeous exterior, while the people who dwell on other continents must be called crows, that is, the most good-for-nothing and dirty of all birds.

  ...for those contemporary people who, on the contrary, appear on “God’s Earth” on any continent and obtain their further “stuffing” under the conditions arising and reigning on the continent Europe, no better “comparison” can be found than the bird turkey.

  “‘This latter bird, more than all other birds, expresses a something which is neither fish, flesh, fowl, nor good red herring, but which represents in itself, as is said, “a-half-with-a-quarter-plus-three-quarters.”

• Discussion

  J reflected on the curious phrase “a-half-with-a-quarter-plus-three-quarters,” seeing it as Gurdjieff’s caricature of pretension—people or nations puffing themselves up to appear more than they are.

  N added that the three birds suggest stages of aspiration: the coarse crow seeking refinement, the turkey striving toward the peacock’s brilliance. He compared this to peoples or individuals borrowing the manners of a “higher type” while lacking its substance—a pattern still visible in modern life.

Group Therapy

Reflections on the Challenge

When you encounter an official statement that feels inauthentic, hold your nose, and inwardly rephrase a true version.

• Experiences

  T said the challenge had presented itself almost daily. The incident that struck her most was hearing the Prime Minister extol England’s breakfasts and pubs while presiding over their decline through taxation and closures. She instinctively held her nose, inwardly rephrasing a truer version that would never have been spoken publicly. Later, recalling the imprisonment of a woman for an impulsive tweet and contrasting it with leniency in other cases, she again felt the need to restrain her thoughts — aware that even honesty might risk censure.

  L noted several occasions to practise the challenge. Hearing the Prime Minister declare, “We will never surrender our flag,” he inwardly rephrased it as an admission of regret over leaving the EU. The same day, an email from a software company announced “new payment plans to better serve your needs,” which he translated as a blunt demand for higher fees to retain essential features. Later, watching Sir Geoffrey Hinton warn that AI would destroy the world, he again held his nose, reimagining the lament as something more personal — perhaps resentment that ChatGPT had disrupted his relationship.

• Responses

  L, replying to T, said that a “white lie” may spring from kindness, and thus not "smell", yet in politics the same impulse can become deliberate deceit. There was a spectrum of lying, which stretched to lying to oneself — when identification replaces the inner observer, and inauthenticity becomes habitual.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  And thanks to this, day by day, instead of improving the conditions for a speedy realization of the aim which has been set as a basis for my dear Fatherland, there only increases among the separate members of our Trusteeship all kinds of misunderstandings, personal considerations, gossip, intrigue, plots, and so on and so forth.

  During recent times I have thought and consulted much to find some way out of this sorrowful situation, until I nearly fell ill and was compelled to go to Egypt for rest. But alas, even there my black thoughts give me no peace, for my present spiritual unbalance leaves me no rest.

• Discussion

  J said the passage evoked the United Nations of today, where noble aims are undermined by factional tension and rivalry. L agreed, going further by suggesting the Governor’s plight was inevitable, as human actions must diverge from their intention over time. T linked this to the modern political scene, where leaders must juggle party loyalties, public opinion, and international pressures. True authenticity, she felt, became almost impossible when intellect and feeling were divided; only great emotional intelligence could sustain integrity of speech.

• Passage

  Further I said to him: ‘At the present time I have but one aim, namely, specifically to clear up for myself all the details of the manifestations of the human psyche of individuals existing separately as well as in groups. Well now, for the elucidation of the state and manifestations of the psyche of large groups, Russia would perhaps be very suitable for me ...

• Discussion

  J remarked that the scene moved from abstract theory to a practical problem — how insight can be translated into action. It showed, he said, the moment when ideas begin to take form in life.

  L built on this, distinguishing individual from collective work. The Trusteeship, he said, represented an early attempt at group therapy: to cure not one man but a whole social organism.

  T was struck by the phrase “individuals existing separately as well as in groups.” She recalled the powerful emotion of walking in a mass demonstration and how easily personal awareness dissolves in collective energy.

  L referred to Elias Canetti’s Crowds and Power, noting that such collective forces often reverse their own intentions. High ideals, he said, become ironic in their outcome — movements drift from their original purpose.

  J agreed, calling irony itself a mark of cosmic law: every generation’s conviction becomes the next generation’s error.

• Passage

  I began, however, during that time, to go about everywhere as is usual for me, and to frequent the beings of this city, belonging to various what are called there ‘classes,’ in order to become acquainted with the characteristic particularities of their manners and customs.

  Well, it was then that I constated, among other things, that in the presences of the beings belonging to just this contemporary community, their, as it is called, ‘Ego-Individuality’ began during the recent centuries to form itself particularly sharply dual.

  After I had constated this and began specially to investigate this question there, I finally elucidated that this dual individuality obtained in their common presences, chiefly owing to a noncorrespondence between what is called the ‘tempo-of-the-place-of-their-arising-and-existence’ and the ‘form-of-their-being-mentation.’

• Discussion

  T found the phrase “dual individuality” striking, saying it described the same inner split the group had been exploring all evening.

  N linked it to ordinary experience: every person, he said, lives between the outer tempo of events and the inner pace of understanding. When these move at different speeds, imbalance and confusion appear.

  L reflected that this non-correspondence might now be greater than ever. Inner change, he said, is slow and almost timeless, while the world’s tempo races ahead — communication that once took weeks now occurs in seconds. The Governor’s “illness,” he suggested, could symbolise the strain of that acceleration.

  T agreed that the passage touched the core of modern disquiet: our outer circumstances demand immediacy while feeling and thought lag behind.

  N added that Gurdjieff’s insight was both psychological and cosmic — he grasped that the tempo of a place shapes consciousness. A mismatch between the two produces the divided self Beelzebub describes.

The Sands of Time

Reflections on the Challenge

When a smell stirs a memory, pause. How does it feel? Recall what you can. Does it relate to the present? Turn your head and look back. Let the memory settle in.

• Experiences

  While walking on the day of the meeting, L had smelled honeysuckle, which recalled an elderly friend in Exmouth who had been proud of her honeysuckle bush. She had given him a book of her poems, and he had composed for a show she organised. Remembering her, and her nephew, a composer, both now deceased, stirred nostalgic feelings. Later, smelling burnt toast at the studios reminded him of cafés in Finchley, and he turned his head to let the memory settle. During morning meditation on the 21ˢᵗ, he remembered his father’s advice about deep breathing, which linked past and present. A few days before, the honeysuckle smell had returned with the same association.

  J explained that he had little sense of smell, but while in France a plate of eggs and chips at breakfast, with its aroma, reminded him of what he had left behind and gave him a mild sense of homesickness. He reflected that such simple food could feel symbolic of identity, more than just a meal.

  Passing lavender, buddleia, and other garden plants stirred memories for T of her father, who used to invite her to share his delight in their fragrance. Now, on walks, she often stopped to smell overhanging blossoms and encouraged companions to do the same, repeating the gestures he had made with her. The joy of the scents outweighed the sadness of his absence, as their immediacy brought her into the present. On several walks she remembered the challenge, turned back, and felt how past and present were held in one glance, realising the transient nature of both.

• Responses

  Responding to T, J asked whether it was possible to recall a loved one with warmth and gratitude without the inevitable tinge of grief. T replied that the intensity of scent could blot out sadness, overwhelming it with direct sensory delight. She reflected that her father’s love of fragrance had been a gift to her, something passed on like a baton, and that gratitude now outweighed mourning.

  J remarked that the strength of olfactory experience varied; for some it was less profound. He gave the example of his grandmother tending injured birds, suggesting that early influences continued to shape his own habits, such as feeding a crow each morning. L added that actions from the past could gain greater meaning over time if their effects endured.

  Turning to L’s account, J asked whether memories of people and events might distract from the immediacy of scent. L replied that the challenge itself had prompted the associations, allowing both elements to be held together. J noted that intention and receptivity increased the chance of recognising such moments. L agreed, explaining that he reminded himself of the challenge each morning so it stayed alive during the day.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  “The program of my external existence in this said Egypt included among other things, the practice of taking a walk every morning in the direction of what are called the ‘Pyramids’ and ‘Sphinx.’

  “These Pyramids and Sphinx were the sole, chance, poor surviving remains of those magnificent constructions which were erected by the generations of the most great Akhaldans and by the Great Ancestors of the beings of this said Egypt, and of which I was a witness at my fourth sojourn on this planet of yours.

• Discussion

  J questioned how Beelzebub could know these were only remnants, suggesting the claim implied omniscience. L replied that within the story, Beelzebub’s long lifespan allowed him to witness past epochs directly. T pointed out that as the devil figure, Beelzebub was literally “devil’s advocate.” J reflected that the grandeur of the pyramids is diminished in the text as fragments of a forgotten science.

• Passage

  ‘since he appeared to be sympathetic,’ and furthermore because I myself had already thought of establishing here also corresponding mutual relations with someone, in order as a rest from active mentation to converse sometimes by following only the course of freely flowing associations, I at once agreed to his proposition and from that day forth began to spend the time of my morning strolls with him.

• Discussion

  T highlighted Beelzebub’s wish to rest from ceaseless observation through freely flowing conversation. J compared this to “wu wei,” the principle of going with the flow rather than exerting effort. L said that the Gurdjieff work, in contrast, entailed struggle and effort.

• Passage

  ...they there and then decided to found a society under the name of “The Trusteeship of People’s Temperance,” and they chose me to be the head of this enterprise...

  “‘In my opinion, the whole evil consists in this, that this Trusteeship is under the protection of several groups, upon whom any realization of its task just depends, but as these groups each follow their own particular aims and wishes concerning each separate question, then, over the solution of each separate question concerning the basic aim of the Trusteeship, controversy always reigns.

• Discussion

  J drew a parallel with the problems of committees and organisations everywhere, such as the United Nations, where personal agendas obstruct collective purpose.

Newspeak

Reflections on the Challenge

When you notice you are about to do something that isn’t good for you, pinch yourself. How do you feel about the intended action? Try to understand what is behind the impulse.

• Experiences

  N had questioned what truly counted as “not good” for him. He focused on his tendency to indulge in things like croissants, especially around 4pm. Sometimes he pinched himself and resisted; other times he gave in. He had thought about what was behind the impulse. He sensed it was not just about sugar, but connected to a deeper longing, perhaps for love.

  T had noticed how much she relied on external pressures to act, especially in creative work. On one occasion, she had followed a familiar routine instead of her plan, then remembered the challenge and pinched herself. In reflection, she saw the action was less an impulse than a return to something habitual which, although a self-development practice, may not have been timely.

  L had realised his morning habit of reading the news was both depressing and uninformative. One day, about to open the paper online, he pinched himself and became aware of a deep unwillingness to read it, and that his motivation was partly nostalgia for a time when news felt more meaningful. Instead of reading the paper, he began moving away from mainstream sources and sought out alternative ways to stay informed.

• Responses

  C said that until hearing L speak, she hadn’t thought of herself as intentionally doing things that were bad for her. However, she realised that she did. She was addicted to consuming the news because she wanted to be informed, but after doing so she would feel depressesed.

  Responding to N, T said that routine could be reassuring, but might obscure the original impulse behind an action. She suggested consciously questioning whether a routine still served its purpose, or whether it was simply familiar.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  This definite sacred something would have remained for untold centuries in its pristine state among these three-brained beings who long ago ceased to have any reverence in their essence; but ... they committed that blasphemous deed whose result is now the cause of my becoming aware with all my being of my mistake—of just that mistake I made when I so confidently assured you that nothing whatever had reached the beings of the contemporary civilization from the beings of epochs long past ...

• Discussion

  L suggested the passage pointed to a form of historical betrayal, a loss of reverence for what earlier generations had preserved. N observed that Beelzebub spoke with strong moral judgement about the desecration of the tomb, describing it as a blasphemous act that caused him to realise his earlier mistake.

• Passage

  ... the common presence of the planetary body of every being and in general of any other ‘relatively independent’ great or small cosmic unit must consist of all the three localized sacred substance-forces of the holy Triamazikamno, namely, of the substance-forces of the Holy-Affirming, Holy-Denying, and Holy-Reconciling, and that it must be sustained by them all the time in a corresponding and balanced state; and if for some reason or other, there enters into any presence a superfluity of the vibrations of any one of these three sacred forces, then infallibly and unconditionally, the sacred Rascooarno must occur to it, that is the total destruction of its ordinary existence as such.

• Discussion

  L gave examples of how the Holy-Reconciling (Gurdjieff's "Third Force") might apply in daily life: one force acts, another resists, and the reconciling force mediates between them — not simply cancelling out the others, but introducing some give and take, doubt, or elements of reasoning.

  L said that this part of the reading had shifted from historical narrative to something with a more abstract meanng — the idea that without balance of the three forces described, destruction (Rascooarno) must follow.

Remember to Breathe

Reflections on the Challenge

Decide on an "essence-word", close to your heart, to work with until the next meeting. Thereafter, every day, when you see or hear your name, pause, hug yourself, and plan to do something that feels good to you.

• Experiences

  T had chosen “breathing” as her essence word. On one occasion, while sitting in stillness and about to begin a breathing practice, she heard her name called. She recalled the challenge, remained quiet, responded briefly, then hugged herself and decided she was already doing something that felt good, so she continued. Initially, she had thought the trigger was only hearing her name, but later realised it also included seeing it. Although she regularly saw her name on her phone or in emails, she did not remember the challenge at those moments. The one recorded instance took on special significance, as writing it down seemed to give it greater substance amid otherwise fleeting days.

  L had found it difficult to choose a word, eventually settling on “inviolate” rather than “inviolable,” as it implied the need for conscious effort to preserve something sacred. He related this to his artistic motto, “inspiration is inviolate.” In one instance, seeing his name in an email from a music technology colleague, he hugged himself, recalled his word, and planned a walk. On another occasion, seeing his name during a Zoom meeting, he again hugged himself and looked forward to composing.

• Responses

  Responding to T, N found it interesting that T had set aside time to do the challenge within a structured morning practice, incorporating it into prayer and breathing. He noted that this gave the experience a certain sanctity and intentional separation from everyday life. L remarked that breathing, when done with attention, is the second being-food — a concept in the Work.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 33

• Passage

  Do you remember, I already told you that I was in this Egypt for the first time during my fourth appearance on the surface of that planet of yours ...

  At my sixth descent, of all the numerous interesting constructions that had previously existed there scarcely anything existed any longer.

  They had all been destroyed, partly by the beings there themselves, thanks to what are called their ‘wars’ and ‘revolutions,’ and partly they came to be covered by sands.

  These sands were a consequence partly of those great winds I have already mentioned, and partly also of that planetary tremor which was afterwards called by the beings of this Egypt the ‘Alnepoosian earthquake.’ ...

• Discussion

  T considered whether Beelzebub’s repeated visits to Earth might allude to reincarnation. L responded that the periods described spanned thousands of years, possibly equating one of Beelzebub’s days to hundreds of ours. T drew attention to the planetary tremor, linking it to the Work idea of “shock,” and speculated that the image of sands and winds might symbolise the covering over of something essential. L agreed, noting that shocks and changes are intrinsic to the Work.

• Passage

  Now do you know, my boy, what has gradually arisen in me while I have been telling you all this about Egypt and of what all my being has now already become finally aware—namely, an unpardonable error I made in my tales concerning the three-brained beings breeding on the planet Earth.

  Do you remember that at one time I told you that not one of the achievements of the beings of past generations had ever reached beings of subsequent generations?

  Well it has become aware in me that I have made a mistake about this.

• Discussion

  T noted Beelzebub’s admission of fallibility, and remarked on how unusual and humanising this was. She found it striking that a figure of such stature would openly acknowledge an error.