The Meeting began with a silence of one minute.
Then each person gave a two-minute account of relevant experiences over the previous month.
D recounted an incident where he had been explaining the meaning of acronyms used in text messaging, including "omg", which led to him being accused of blasphemy. D responded robustly, and the other person is now urging D to find salvation through conversion to Christianity. Observing his own reactions, D noted he had experienced an intensity of reaction in this exchange that touched something deep and unresolved.
M described being in conversation with people and noticing that they were not listening to what he was saying, and continuing to talk about their own interests as if he had not spoken. It was as if they were inhabiting another place rather than the present experience. He added that he observes himself doing the same thing too, on occasion.
Z spoke of resistance she has experienced with regard to reading Beelzebub's Tales.
BW has been trying to understand what the Work is about. He sets goals, but finds them hard to accomplish. His recent performance in theatre completed, he has been writing, but is not satisfied with the quality of his draft and feels he needs to rewrite it.
T had been to the Lucian Freud exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Each painting had taken one to three years to paint, and yet looking at them in their entirety revealed no evidence of the passing of time, or of the struggle to reach the completed work. She has been working on one painting for a year, and has learnt more from this one work than in all her years of painting more short-term pieces. She felt encouraged by the magnificent exhibition of works by a "master" who stayed with painting one picture over a prolonged period of time.
RM spoke about his experience over the last few months of being on a 56 day cruise along the Amazon River. He had organised open meditation, morning and evening teaching and discussion meetings, creating a daily structure within which people attended and participated. Attendance grew over the weeks and there was enormous interest and enthusiasm. The strength of this experience has reinforced for him the idea to develop a similar course here, for which he is in the process of creating the structure and content, and feels there is a huge untapped appetite in the population.
L spoke of the illusion of free will, and how the the exertion of will power and self-awareness seems to incur stronger resistance. The creating of art could play a significant role in the Work, and Lucian Freud was an example of successful application of will-power.
[Removed at the request of BS.]
A discussion of the contributions followed.
BW asked D what he had not liked about the communications from the Christian. D thought it had triggered the same rebellious feelings in him that he recalled from childhood, when those in authority demanded that he think and act in a way alien to his own thoughts and feelings. L thought the message a little threatening in its symbology, and the implied consequence of not choosing salvation as urged. M said the word Christ comes from the Greek Χριστός, which means "saviour", which could be understood in any religion as that which would save you. Z knows a local Christian minister well, and respects him; everyone is in a different place.
Z suggested that BW think of his work in terms of struggle. The struggle can be interpreted as food in the Work. L commented that Gurdjieff uses the metaphor of food in Beelzebub's Tales, and that in writing, struggle is good. If there is no struggle, the writing might not be good enough.
RM recommended using Ouspensky's Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution as a text to help people learn Gurdjieff's ideas. This was the book he had used in his sessions on the cruise, and it had been very effective. L said that the Meetings were "Gurdjieff Meetings", focusing on Gurdjieff, and asked why Ouspensky's interpretation of Gurdjieff's ideas would be better than Gurdjieff's own writings. T mentioned that even in the context of Beelzebub's Tales, it was difficult to locate the original version approved by Gurdjieff.
The reading of Beelzebub's Tales then resumed. A deck of cards brought in by BW was used to select randomly who would read next.
"I shall expound my thoughts ... (so) that the essence of certain real notions may of themselves automatically, so to say, go from this 'waking consciousness' ... into what you call the subconscious, which ought to be in my opinion the real human consciousness, and ... mechanically bring about ... the results ... which are proper to man and not merely to single- or double-brained animals."
RM explained that by "waking consciousness" Gurdjieff means the moving centre, or illusion.
M said that humans are triple-brained as they have an intellectual centre in addition to emotional and instinctive ones. RM spoke of the speeds of the three centres, describing the instinctive centre as being 30,000 times faster than the emotional, which is itself 30,000 times faster than the intellectual.
It was decided that discussion of each paragraph be limited to five minutes, to promote passage through the book, and the reading continued:
"In the entirety of every man ... are formed two independent consciousnesses which... have almost nothing in common. One consciousness is formed from the perception of all kinds of ... impressions ...; and the other ... transmitted to him by heredity, which have become blended ..."
T found this paragraph mind-boggling, and wondered if this might have been Gurdjieff's intention. RM explained that Gurdjieff is referring to essence and personality, or nature and nurture.
Gurdjieff goes on to say that he is "... obliged to construct the general exposition even of this first chapter ... calculating that it should reach, and in the manner required for my aim 'ruffle', the perceptions accumulated in both these consciousnesses of yours."
Sunday, April 1, 2012
Saturday, March 24, 2012
Digesting the Difficult
The Meeting began with a silence of one minute, as suggested by T.
Each person present, in turn, then gave a timed two-minute account of relevant experiences over the previous month.
D spoke about his absence in the meetings over the last two months. He had been very busy and very exhausted by the busyness. On one of the meeting days he had been out of London in connection with his creative work. He has been self-observing his "highs and lows" - how high they were and how low they were - and how he was not in control of their occurrence. He had been reading Beelzebub's Tales and could not make up his mind whether it is rubbish, or esoteric and deep.
BW had been acting in a play, and in working to embody the character he portrays on stage, he adopted some aspects of the role out of context. The character is not pleasant and he had found this practice disturbing and was now keeping it separate from normal life. This had raised issues of what was the identity of his own nature and where playing a role starts and stops.
T has been working overtime on Thursdays which makes her late home and late to sleep. She has analysed a schedule for Thursdays to protect the Friday studio day from the usual exhausted state, which she feels is a self-sabotage which provides a rationale for not working on her own painting. However last Thursday the same happened, and she will continue trying to solve this issue.
M had been trying a meditation technique based on going backward through the day's experience. This led him to fall asleep. On waking he tried it again, and on this occasion eventually entered a new state where he felt he was engaging in a conversation, in which the other party was responding with intelligent answers.
L had found significance in the anecdote about the Transcaucasian Kurd, which portrays the tendency he is aware of in himself, to devote attention to things of low importance persistently rather than focus on what matters. This happens on many levels. How hard it is to let go of possessions which have been accumulated unnecessarily. How often do people eat food from the fridge which is past its sell-by date, rather than let it go? While the passage is a cautionary note to the prospective reader, it also refers to the psychological issue.
"R"'s main activity has been being with her mother who is rarely conscious now. Her work is to be physically present in her body whilst sitting, without speaking, trying to keep her mind from replaying old conversations. She puts her hand on her mother's shoulder, which is liked.
L read out the contribution from BS [Removed at the request of BS.]
There followed a general discussion in response to the two minute contributions.
Responding to "R", L mentioned that he has recently been reading a newly discovered suitcase of old family letters from thirty-five years ago. In one, a man in his eighties is reflecting that the only important thing is surviving the physical issues of each day. These are the things that matter most, rather than dreams and plans.
Developing his comments on meditation, M recalled a similar experience, in a dream, where he found himself in conversation with his grandfather (who was thought of as a wise rabbi), and said he wished he had been able to ask him questions whilst he was alive. His grandfather replied that he wished he had been around while Jesus was alive, as he would have wanted to ask him a thing or two!
Consideration was given to providing internet links for people who wished to attend remotely, although it was agreed that being in contact with others locally involved in the Work was important.
L said the Meetings were thus called advisedly, being an introduction to the ideas and writings of Gurdjieff, people humbly touching base each month to bring attention to the Work in an individual's everyday life; in contrast a "Gurdjieff Group" would describe a more dedicated approach involving Gurdjieff's "Movements" exercises. "R" explained that a Group would typically meet weekly, and involve preliminary discussions before a new member is admitted.
The reading of Beelzebub's Tales then continued. Based on earlier experience of M, in which a deck of playing cards was used to select randomly who reads next, it was decided on this occasion to read a paragraph in turn, clockwise round the table.
" ... I just now again remember the story of what happened to a Transcaucasian Kurd, ... in the market ... he noticed one 'fruit', very beautiful in both color and form, ... he decided to buy without fail at least one of these gifts of Great Nature, and taste it. ... very soon everything inside him began to burn. But in spite of this he kept on eating... a fellow villager of his ... said to him: 'What are you doing, you Jericho jackass? You'll be burnt alive!' ... But our Kurd replied: 'No, for nothing on Earth will I stop. Didn't I pay my last two cents for them? Even if my soul departs from my body I shall still go on eating.' "
B commented that it was hard to fathom the meaning apart from the obvious one of the hot red pepper story, and was also perplexed by Gurdjieff seeming to introduce and engage, but then turn away the reader.
T thought the anecdote was a parable about the text - that what it had to say should to be taken in small bites and only as a part of a complete meal. She then asked the question, but what in this context is the complete meal? She thought that everything outside of the reading of a text, i.e. the rest of one's life that is lived every day, makes up the whole meal.
L recalled Gurdjieff's advice at the beginning of the book to read it three times in different ways, and "R" read that section out. (See the June 2011 report, end of the second paragraph.)
The reading continued:
"And so, I have already composed in my head the plan and sequence of the intended expositions, but what form they will take on paper, I, speaking frankly, myself do not as yet know with my consciousness ... it will take the form of something which will be, so to say, 'hot', and will have an effect on the entirety of every reader such as the red pepper pods had on the poor Transcaucasian Kurd."
L suggested that Gurdjieff's aim was to reach the reader's subconscious.
T said that nine-tenths of Gurdjieff's writings do not seem to go in for her, and the one tenth is often only one or two grounded and maybe emotive words that stand out almost as if out of context, but which then lead her back to review the text again to see these familiar words in the broader or deeper text.
Each person present, in turn, then gave a timed two-minute account of relevant experiences over the previous month.
D spoke about his absence in the meetings over the last two months. He had been very busy and very exhausted by the busyness. On one of the meeting days he had been out of London in connection with his creative work. He has been self-observing his "highs and lows" - how high they were and how low they were - and how he was not in control of their occurrence. He had been reading Beelzebub's Tales and could not make up his mind whether it is rubbish, or esoteric and deep.
BW had been acting in a play, and in working to embody the character he portrays on stage, he adopted some aspects of the role out of context. The character is not pleasant and he had found this practice disturbing and was now keeping it separate from normal life. This had raised issues of what was the identity of his own nature and where playing a role starts and stops.
T has been working overtime on Thursdays which makes her late home and late to sleep. She has analysed a schedule for Thursdays to protect the Friday studio day from the usual exhausted state, which she feels is a self-sabotage which provides a rationale for not working on her own painting. However last Thursday the same happened, and she will continue trying to solve this issue.
M had been trying a meditation technique based on going backward through the day's experience. This led him to fall asleep. On waking he tried it again, and on this occasion eventually entered a new state where he felt he was engaging in a conversation, in which the other party was responding with intelligent answers.
L had found significance in the anecdote about the Transcaucasian Kurd, which portrays the tendency he is aware of in himself, to devote attention to things of low importance persistently rather than focus on what matters. This happens on many levels. How hard it is to let go of possessions which have been accumulated unnecessarily. How often do people eat food from the fridge which is past its sell-by date, rather than let it go? While the passage is a cautionary note to the prospective reader, it also refers to the psychological issue.
"R"'s main activity has been being with her mother who is rarely conscious now. Her work is to be physically present in her body whilst sitting, without speaking, trying to keep her mind from replaying old conversations. She puts her hand on her mother's shoulder, which is liked.
L read out the contribution from BS [Removed at the request of BS.]
There followed a general discussion in response to the two minute contributions.
Responding to "R", L mentioned that he has recently been reading a newly discovered suitcase of old family letters from thirty-five years ago. In one, a man in his eighties is reflecting that the only important thing is surviving the physical issues of each day. These are the things that matter most, rather than dreams and plans.
Developing his comments on meditation, M recalled a similar experience, in a dream, where he found himself in conversation with his grandfather (who was thought of as a wise rabbi), and said he wished he had been able to ask him questions whilst he was alive. His grandfather replied that he wished he had been around while Jesus was alive, as he would have wanted to ask him a thing or two!
Consideration was given to providing internet links for people who wished to attend remotely, although it was agreed that being in contact with others locally involved in the Work was important.
L said the Meetings were thus called advisedly, being an introduction to the ideas and writings of Gurdjieff, people humbly touching base each month to bring attention to the Work in an individual's everyday life; in contrast a "Gurdjieff Group" would describe a more dedicated approach involving Gurdjieff's "Movements" exercises. "R" explained that a Group would typically meet weekly, and involve preliminary discussions before a new member is admitted.
The reading of Beelzebub's Tales then continued. Based on earlier experience of M, in which a deck of playing cards was used to select randomly who reads next, it was decided on this occasion to read a paragraph in turn, clockwise round the table.
" ... I just now again remember the story of what happened to a Transcaucasian Kurd, ... in the market ... he noticed one 'fruit', very beautiful in both color and form, ... he decided to buy without fail at least one of these gifts of Great Nature, and taste it. ... very soon everything inside him began to burn. But in spite of this he kept on eating... a fellow villager of his ... said to him: 'What are you doing, you Jericho jackass? You'll be burnt alive!' ... But our Kurd replied: 'No, for nothing on Earth will I stop. Didn't I pay my last two cents for them? Even if my soul departs from my body I shall still go on eating.' "
B commented that it was hard to fathom the meaning apart from the obvious one of the hot red pepper story, and was also perplexed by Gurdjieff seeming to introduce and engage, but then turn away the reader.
T thought the anecdote was a parable about the text - that what it had to say should to be taken in small bites and only as a part of a complete meal. She then asked the question, but what in this context is the complete meal? She thought that everything outside of the reading of a text, i.e. the rest of one's life that is lived every day, makes up the whole meal.
L recalled Gurdjieff's advice at the beginning of the book to read it three times in different ways, and "R" read that section out. (See the June 2011 report, end of the second paragraph.)
The reading continued:
"And so, I have already composed in my head the plan and sequence of the intended expositions, but what form they will take on paper, I, speaking frankly, myself do not as yet know with my consciousness ... it will take the form of something which will be, so to say, 'hot', and will have an effect on the entirety of every reader such as the red pepper pods had on the poor Transcaucasian Kurd."
L suggested that Gurdjieff's aim was to reach the reader's subconscious.
T said that nine-tenths of Gurdjieff's writings do not seem to go in for her, and the one tenth is often only one or two grounded and maybe emotive words that stand out almost as if out of context, but which then lead her back to review the text again to see these familiar words in the broader or deeper text.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Focus and the Thoroughbred Donkey
The Meeting began with a consideration of an email from BS. [Removed at the request of BS.]
Each person present then gave a two minute account of relevant experience since the previous time.
M had been continuing to observe himself, and thought he might be starting to change his behaviour. T asked for an example and M gave eating chocolate. He was aware that there are two selves operating in him and the one that says "stop eating chocolate" is not in charge.
T cited the Julia Cameron work she has been doing which entails writing, as a brainstorming activity, on waking each morning. She has been doing this for a few years and part of the work is to review what she has written. She said that it was a shock to read some entries which passionately stated several ideas and plans to change daily life to help towards conserving her energy and leading a more sustainable life. She found one entry written in 2009 very similar to one that she entered recently with the same enthusiasm. This was direct evidence that two years had passed and the same helpful idea was present but the doing something to bring the helpful idea from fantasy to reality had not happened, and showed how much harder it is to achieve an intent.
L was finding it hard to focus on work, and experiencing greater resistance the further his work advanced. He found that the force of resistance was so strong that it even worked in the world outside the individual's inner experience, for example in the case of a phone ringing at a critical creative moment. He sometimes finds it easier to work when he is at home and someone is witness to it.
B was interested in the phenomenon of the different selves, and had been considering his roles as possible expressions of parts of himself he had been unaware of. L thought that acting was linked to the Work, in the sense that being able to take on other identities leads a person to reflect on the nature of their own identity. Acting a role fully might lead one to forget who one really is, and perhaps that is what has happened to us.
Attention then returned to continuing reading from Beelzebub's Tales, Chapter One, The Arousing of Thought.
... having warned you that I am going to write not as "professional writers" usually write but quite otherwise, I advise you, before embarking on the reading of my further expositions, to reflect seriously and only then to undertake it. If not, ... you might lose your ... appetite ...
For such a possibility, ... I am ... already quite as convinced with my whole being as a "thoroughbred donkey" is convinced of the right and justice of his obstinacy.
B brought attention to Gurdjieff's description of the "professional writers" whom he appeared to be distancing himself from, and the thought provoking metaphor of the "thoroughbred donkey", which prompted a discussion.
M said "professional" means those who earn their living by writing. L mentioned the alternative meaning of professional, in terms of attitude, where an actor would learn a role, or a musician rehearse a part, until it is second nature, with money a secondary consideration. T said Gurdjieff is writing Beelzebub's Tales in a deliberately complex way to put off readers unless they are motivated to seek deeper meaning in the text.
T thought that for the artist, the "thoroughbred" was the idea of doing the creative deed which is much more seductive, exciting and attractive, and the "donkey" referred to the doing of an act which is much harder, less exciting, less seductive, and less attractive but gets the job done.
M said that the main thing is to have a purpose, and the purpose is to wake up.
L asked if that purpose might be in the creative arts, and quoted Henry Moore, the sculptor: The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.
M suggested these purposes might amount to the same thing.
Each person present then gave a two minute account of relevant experience since the previous time.
M had been continuing to observe himself, and thought he might be starting to change his behaviour. T asked for an example and M gave eating chocolate. He was aware that there are two selves operating in him and the one that says "stop eating chocolate" is not in charge.
T cited the Julia Cameron work she has been doing which entails writing, as a brainstorming activity, on waking each morning. She has been doing this for a few years and part of the work is to review what she has written. She said that it was a shock to read some entries which passionately stated several ideas and plans to change daily life to help towards conserving her energy and leading a more sustainable life. She found one entry written in 2009 very similar to one that she entered recently with the same enthusiasm. This was direct evidence that two years had passed and the same helpful idea was present but the doing something to bring the helpful idea from fantasy to reality had not happened, and showed how much harder it is to achieve an intent.
L was finding it hard to focus on work, and experiencing greater resistance the further his work advanced. He found that the force of resistance was so strong that it even worked in the world outside the individual's inner experience, for example in the case of a phone ringing at a critical creative moment. He sometimes finds it easier to work when he is at home and someone is witness to it.
B was interested in the phenomenon of the different selves, and had been considering his roles as possible expressions of parts of himself he had been unaware of. L thought that acting was linked to the Work, in the sense that being able to take on other identities leads a person to reflect on the nature of their own identity. Acting a role fully might lead one to forget who one really is, and perhaps that is what has happened to us.
Attention then returned to continuing reading from Beelzebub's Tales, Chapter One, The Arousing of Thought.
... having warned you that I am going to write not as "professional writers" usually write but quite otherwise, I advise you, before embarking on the reading of my further expositions, to reflect seriously and only then to undertake it. If not, ... you might lose your ... appetite ...
For such a possibility, ... I am ... already quite as convinced with my whole being as a "thoroughbred donkey" is convinced of the right and justice of his obstinacy.
B brought attention to Gurdjieff's description of the "professional writers" whom he appeared to be distancing himself from, and the thought provoking metaphor of the "thoroughbred donkey", which prompted a discussion.
M said "professional" means those who earn their living by writing. L mentioned the alternative meaning of professional, in terms of attitude, where an actor would learn a role, or a musician rehearse a part, until it is second nature, with money a secondary consideration. T said Gurdjieff is writing Beelzebub's Tales in a deliberately complex way to put off readers unless they are motivated to seek deeper meaning in the text.
T thought that for the artist, the "thoroughbred" was the idea of doing the creative deed which is much more seductive, exciting and attractive, and the "donkey" referred to the doing of an act which is much harder, less exciting, less seductive, and less attractive but gets the job done.
M said that the main thing is to have a purpose, and the purpose is to wake up.
L asked if that purpose might be in the creative arts, and quoted Henry Moore, the sculptor: The secret of life is to have a task, something you devote your entire life to, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for the rest of your life. And the most important thing is, it must be something you cannot possibly do.
M suggested these purposes might amount to the same thing.
Sunday, January 1, 2012
Lost in Translation
As the Meeting began, "R" suggested the practice be resumed of having a silence, and it was agreed this would take place in future, and a silence of 2 minutes was observed, which might in the future be extended.
Each person present then gave a two minute account of relevant experience since the previous time, the purpose being to link the Meetings with ongoing life experience.
M said that on most days he spends some time in reflective consideration of things which have happened, of past behaviour. This sometimes feels like talking to somebody. He assesses how past patterns of behaviour can be changed in the future.
T has had an unusual month as she has been unwell for much of it. She has been trying to remember to do five minutes of piano playing as a will-power exercise. She has found that if planning any more than five minutes, she experiences much more resistance to even starting. She writes down that she will do it and then sees when she does it. She has also been trying to do one sun salutation in the morning before eating. She cannot do it after eating because of cramps, and several times experienced forgetting, and missed the one minute of yoga because she had eaten.
L mentioned how hard it is to find others in the Work - speaking with friends and family over the Christmas season he has realised that his interests in philosophy and art are not mirrored by them. "R" said it is easier to look for others than find oneself.
"R" talked of how hard it is to maintain attention, but maybe lack of attention is also important, as one of the three forces.
Following Nancy Kline's system, a discussion followed on issues raised.
M reiterated the importance of trying to change, no matter how hard this seems.
T has been reading her journal from two years before, which showed there has been little change.
L said the Meeting thus far had talked of the importance of trying to change, but also the futility of the attempt; if change was virtually impossible, and if human nature is likewise static, then war and conflict is a permanent aspect of humanity. M said change could happen slowly and L talked of the slow but observable influence of classical music on the whole world over the past few hundred years.
T gave by example the challenge of punctuality. M recommended saying "It is done" once one has decided to do something.
"R" said that over time change can happen, but is very difficult - the work is also about understanding as well as change. Change can happen in a religious context. Awareness needs attention.
In the interest of time, it was decided to dispense with the second round of accounts in the Meetings, and the focus moved to Beelzebub's Tales. Reading continued from Chapter One, The Arousing of Thought.
... "every stick always has two ends." ... if I ... take the good end of the stick, then the bad end must inevitably fall "on the reader's head."
Here Gurdjieff speaks of wishing to write in a language familiar to him, and issues of translating into languages of different cultures, or familiar languages whose usage has changed over time, issues magnified by the nature of the concepts he is to communicate.
... in Russian the so to say "niceties" of philosophical questions cannot be expressed, which questions I intend to touch upon in my writings also rather fully, whereas in Armenian, although this is possible, yet to the misfortune of all contemporary Armenians, the employment of this language for contemporary notions has now already become quite impracticable."
Though speaking fondly of Armenian, and his first tongue, Greek, he says:
That Greek language, the spirit and essence of which were transmitted to me by heredity, and the language now spoken by contemporary Greeks, are as much alike as, according to the expression of Mullah Nassr Eddin, "a nail is like a requiem."
He decides to "write partly in Russian and partly in Armenian" as among his pupils there are those whom he hopes "will be able to transcribe and translate from these languages fairly well".
T remarked that quite apart from the issues of translation, a second edition quickly followed the first in which the wording approved by Gurdjieff had been changed and simplified, whereas the more complex construction of the original text might have been for the purpose, as implied by the first chapter's title, of arousing thought. "R" explained that the second edition had resulted from a private exercise by students which was not intended for public distribution. As regards French and English translations, it was interesting that in French the words for "conscious" and "conscience" are very similar. L found it notable that Gurdjieff's original language was Greek, as the ancient mythology of the Muses is relevant to creativity and may relate with the Work.
Each person present then gave a two minute account of relevant experience since the previous time, the purpose being to link the Meetings with ongoing life experience.
M said that on most days he spends some time in reflective consideration of things which have happened, of past behaviour. This sometimes feels like talking to somebody. He assesses how past patterns of behaviour can be changed in the future.
T has had an unusual month as she has been unwell for much of it. She has been trying to remember to do five minutes of piano playing as a will-power exercise. She has found that if planning any more than five minutes, she experiences much more resistance to even starting. She writes down that she will do it and then sees when she does it. She has also been trying to do one sun salutation in the morning before eating. She cannot do it after eating because of cramps, and several times experienced forgetting, and missed the one minute of yoga because she had eaten.
L mentioned how hard it is to find others in the Work - speaking with friends and family over the Christmas season he has realised that his interests in philosophy and art are not mirrored by them. "R" said it is easier to look for others than find oneself.
"R" talked of how hard it is to maintain attention, but maybe lack of attention is also important, as one of the three forces.
Following Nancy Kline's system, a discussion followed on issues raised.
M reiterated the importance of trying to change, no matter how hard this seems.
T has been reading her journal from two years before, which showed there has been little change.
L said the Meeting thus far had talked of the importance of trying to change, but also the futility of the attempt; if change was virtually impossible, and if human nature is likewise static, then war and conflict is a permanent aspect of humanity. M said change could happen slowly and L talked of the slow but observable influence of classical music on the whole world over the past few hundred years.
T gave by example the challenge of punctuality. M recommended saying "It is done" once one has decided to do something.
"R" said that over time change can happen, but is very difficult - the work is also about understanding as well as change. Change can happen in a religious context. Awareness needs attention.
In the interest of time, it was decided to dispense with the second round of accounts in the Meetings, and the focus moved to Beelzebub's Tales. Reading continued from Chapter One, The Arousing of Thought.
... "every stick always has two ends." ... if I ... take the good end of the stick, then the bad end must inevitably fall "on the reader's head."
Here Gurdjieff speaks of wishing to write in a language familiar to him, and issues of translating into languages of different cultures, or familiar languages whose usage has changed over time, issues magnified by the nature of the concepts he is to communicate.
... in Russian the so to say "niceties" of philosophical questions cannot be expressed, which questions I intend to touch upon in my writings also rather fully, whereas in Armenian, although this is possible, yet to the misfortune of all contemporary Armenians, the employment of this language for contemporary notions has now already become quite impracticable."
Though speaking fondly of Armenian, and his first tongue, Greek, he says:
That Greek language, the spirit and essence of which were transmitted to me by heredity, and the language now spoken by contemporary Greeks, are as much alike as, according to the expression of Mullah Nassr Eddin, "a nail is like a requiem."
He decides to "write partly in Russian and partly in Armenian" as among his pupils there are those whom he hopes "will be able to transcribe and translate from these languages fairly well".
T remarked that quite apart from the issues of translation, a second edition quickly followed the first in which the wording approved by Gurdjieff had been changed and simplified, whereas the more complex construction of the original text might have been for the purpose, as implied by the first chapter's title, of arousing thought. "R" explained that the second edition had resulted from a private exercise by students which was not intended for public distribution. As regards French and English translations, it was interesting that in French the words for "conscious" and "conscience" are very similar. L found it notable that Gurdjieff's original language was Greek, as the ancient mythology of the Muses is relevant to creativity and may relate with the Work.
Sunday, December 4, 2011
Identity and Distraction
At the start of the Meeting, RM recommended a new film Hugo he had recently seen which provides insights into the human machine through the metaphor of historical automata. It is based on the book The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick.
Each person present then gave an example of relevant experiences from the previous month, using Nancy Kline's structure.
RM had been reading the accounts of Gurdjieff's meetings in Paris and New York which reiterated that we are all machines. The only way to wake up is by paying attention. There are schools in London based on the teachings of a guru in India, which are not receptive to any talk of Gurdjieff. Once a group becomes closed to differing ideas, progress slows.
M had been reviewing methods of being awake. He observed negative emotions whilst meditating, and gave attention to the source of emotional distractions. He was able to trace these mental processes to imitation of his parents when very young. If one can notice these thoughts when they enter the mind one is more aware and can decide whether to go along with the distraction. He observed this ten times in a day and changed direction each time.
L had been spending fifteen minutes every day on clearing at home. Sometimes, when returning home late and tired, with other things to do, it can be tempting to omit the fifteen minute session, but habits are hard won and easy to break. He felt that if he can do the fifteen minutes every day without fail, that he can accomplish anything, but if he can't do it with consistency, then he can accomplish nothing, for what do words and intention mean if they are not carried through?
Following Nancy Kline, there was then a period of review.
L confirmed RM's point, mentioning that a school associated with Ouspensky is much more connected with the same source he had mentioned.
RM said that groups need an identity, but once they are given it, it becomes a doctrine. For example, the group he referred to, had no interest in the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, which is nearby in England at Bourne End. Gurdjieff advised to discover the truth as you find it to be true for yourselves, it is a process of discovery. The observer has no identity - the identity moves further back and back into being the observer, it is a comparable to stepping back toward a cliff where identity will end. He has been reading One Minute Wisdom by Anthony De Mello. In one section the teacher asks students if God exists. Both those who answer yes or no are wrong, as if God has no form, how can you give it an existence? As soon as you answer the question you are wrong. L commented how well this fits into quantum physics, as merely to look at something changes it. RM finds he keeps turning back to the Bhagavad Gita.
L said that it is hard to do art without a reason, but reasons are usually associated with identity. RM thought that in the case of music there is a valid purpose - music symbolises the sense of harmony which makes the youthful illusion of duality disappear. L asked if it is a purpose or a function - these may come down to the same thing.
Continuing the Kline method, each person now optionally had a further brief time to speak to attentive listeners.
RM continued by saying that it has made him fearful when organisations suggest he become a speaker or representative official - he would have to take on and present the dogma of the organisation; he wants to learn from all doctrines - we can only grow if we are challenged. He has been looking for the root source of anxieties accumulated through childhood, marriage and work, which he thinks is his image through the eyes of others. By thus going to the root of issues causing identity, he is waiting to find out if he will in fact then feel free.
Following the reviews of the month, the Meeting continued reading Beelzebub's Tales.
"... there immediately comes to my brain ... the following words: "every stick always has two ends. ... In trying first to understand the basic thought and real significance hidden in this ... formulation, there must ... first arise ... the supposition that ... every cause occurring in the life of man, ... as one of two opposite effects of other causes, is in its turn obligatorily moulded also into two quite opposite effects ..."
There was some discussion as to what this means. L commented that things do not have clear causes and effects. There is a saying that for every great truth, there is an equal and opposite great truth. For example, do the achievements of our society follow from capitalism or socialism, for example?
In closing, it was noted that the next Meeting would be, as usual, on the first Sunday of the month, New Years Day 2012 at 9am.
Each person present then gave an example of relevant experiences from the previous month, using Nancy Kline's structure.
RM had been reading the accounts of Gurdjieff's meetings in Paris and New York which reiterated that we are all machines. The only way to wake up is by paying attention. There are schools in London based on the teachings of a guru in India, which are not receptive to any talk of Gurdjieff. Once a group becomes closed to differing ideas, progress slows.
M had been reviewing methods of being awake. He observed negative emotions whilst meditating, and gave attention to the source of emotional distractions. He was able to trace these mental processes to imitation of his parents when very young. If one can notice these thoughts when they enter the mind one is more aware and can decide whether to go along with the distraction. He observed this ten times in a day and changed direction each time.
L had been spending fifteen minutes every day on clearing at home. Sometimes, when returning home late and tired, with other things to do, it can be tempting to omit the fifteen minute session, but habits are hard won and easy to break. He felt that if he can do the fifteen minutes every day without fail, that he can accomplish anything, but if he can't do it with consistency, then he can accomplish nothing, for what do words and intention mean if they are not carried through?
Following Nancy Kline, there was then a period of review.
L confirmed RM's point, mentioning that a school associated with Ouspensky is much more connected with the same source he had mentioned.
RM said that groups need an identity, but once they are given it, it becomes a doctrine. For example, the group he referred to, had no interest in the Ramakrishna Vedanta Centre, which is nearby in England at Bourne End. Gurdjieff advised to discover the truth as you find it to be true for yourselves, it is a process of discovery. The observer has no identity - the identity moves further back and back into being the observer, it is a comparable to stepping back toward a cliff where identity will end. He has been reading One Minute Wisdom by Anthony De Mello. In one section the teacher asks students if God exists. Both those who answer yes or no are wrong, as if God has no form, how can you give it an existence? As soon as you answer the question you are wrong. L commented how well this fits into quantum physics, as merely to look at something changes it. RM finds he keeps turning back to the Bhagavad Gita.
L said that it is hard to do art without a reason, but reasons are usually associated with identity. RM thought that in the case of music there is a valid purpose - music symbolises the sense of harmony which makes the youthful illusion of duality disappear. L asked if it is a purpose or a function - these may come down to the same thing.
Continuing the Kline method, each person now optionally had a further brief time to speak to attentive listeners.
RM continued by saying that it has made him fearful when organisations suggest he become a speaker or representative official - he would have to take on and present the dogma of the organisation; he wants to learn from all doctrines - we can only grow if we are challenged. He has been looking for the root source of anxieties accumulated through childhood, marriage and work, which he thinks is his image through the eyes of others. By thus going to the root of issues causing identity, he is waiting to find out if he will in fact then feel free.
Following the reviews of the month, the Meeting continued reading Beelzebub's Tales.
"... there immediately comes to my brain ... the following words: "every stick always has two ends. ... In trying first to understand the basic thought and real significance hidden in this ... formulation, there must ... first arise ... the supposition that ... every cause occurring in the life of man, ... as one of two opposite effects of other causes, is in its turn obligatorily moulded also into two quite opposite effects ..."
There was some discussion as to what this means. L commented that things do not have clear causes and effects. There is a saying that for every great truth, there is an equal and opposite great truth. For example, do the achievements of our society follow from capitalism or socialism, for example?
In closing, it was noted that the next Meeting would be, as usual, on the first Sunday of the month, New Years Day 2012 at 9am.
Sunday, November 6, 2011
Three Forces
The meeting opened with each present giving an example of relevant experiences from the previous month. Following L's suggestion in the October meeting, these descriptions were timed to a maximum of five minutes each.
L mentioned two recent events, both of which relate to the honest experiencing of existential reality with its attendant challenges. He is going the following day for an ultrasound test of a lump in his neck. If it turns out to be a serious problem, he intends to expand his work in creative art from 50% to 100% of his time. The reminder of physical death brings home the idea that we are all in a ship of fools. As we get older and closer to death, reality is not very pleasant. In contrast, he recently went to a concert at a Christian group where music from opera was played and sung, usually depicting the death of the hero or heroine. The Christian message was the reverse, the music to sweeten the belief in eternal life in heaven. Had he spoken of other views he would have been an enemy in the temple. "R" suggested that L had described two different subjective impressions of reality, with neither being right or wrong. RM talked of Christianity's belief in rewards for good behaviour, and punishment for bad. "R" considered the tents protest outside St Pauls Cathedral as an interesting demonstration of church and individuals being present, which is making a debate happen.
M recounted exploring the concept of the Third Force. Gurdjieff's writing on the subject had seemed unnecessarily complicated, so he referred to Maurice Nicoll's commentaries. There were so many interesting references that in fact he followed up other subjects instead. "R" asked M to cite an example of the Third Force. M gave an example of preparing a meal. The Second Force is resistive balancing the First Force of intention (e.g. wanting a meal); the Third Force is within yourself. What is making the decision?
T said the fact M followed up other subjects instead was a good example of the Second Force at work.
"R" referred to page 752 of Beelzebub's Tales, which links the three forces to the phrase Gurdjieff expounds on at the beginning of the book:
and in various cases expressed the hidden meaning of them and also their longing to have a beneficent effect from them for their own individuality, by the following prayers:
RM said that creativity cannot happen without the three forces coming into play. The reconciling force and the forces of fear and desire disappear in Vedic teaching. God endures the balance and things continue in the creative process. The force of love is a harmonising force. Balance can be allowed to occur naturally. We can't choose at all.
D's experience from the month was of noticing that he was categorising people as he walked down the street, trying to slot them into categories. He remembered the words "Judge not, less ye be judged". Discernment was preferable to judging. L said he did the same, but noticed that he himself often fitted into the same categories he ascribed to others. However in D's case, as a writer, he thought it might be constructive to think about and observe others in terms of it being raw material for books.
"R" spoke of visiting her mother twice a day, who is in a care home and has become more gloomy and more miserable. "R" feels that her work there is to be there and soak up the negativity. The caring staff are limited by their state of sleep both physical and emotional; they might bring a meal but forget the fork or spoon, acting like that with everybody.
D said that there is a general malaise in the world. There is more to distract people. He saw a man on his mobile phone walking across the lights when they were green. The man thumped a car which braked with his hand in anger! RM suggested that maybe both pedestrian and motorist were asleep, and that the pedestrian had awoken the motorist.
RM has been reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Tolle writes about different thinking levels above and below the conscious. Below you are a machine. Above you are paying attention. Ego pains become apparent. He has been using the mantra "every cell in my body glows with conscious attention", which has been very powerful, but he has been having difficulty sleeping because of the mantra. The process of becoming aware cannot be rushed and has to take its time. How should a person rest when one not consciously working?
T suggested swimming, which distracts the body because it is in a medium that is not the usual medium, and touches the body all over. The mind is stilled because the body is awakened. It is a simple activity going up and down the lengths of a pool but is complex and distracting for the body to experience. This distracts the body and the mind keeps going, directing the swimming.
D said that while waiting for something to happen, the human psyche experiences pain and boredom. The more enlightened you are, the more difficult things become. With more power comes with more temptation.
L suggested that this form of sleep might be a sound mechanism for psychological balance, just as physical sleep helps the physical body. Becoming awake might entail experiencing pain.
T's experience related to how a busy therapy session made her late for a following meeting. Although the work with patients had been rewarding and interesting, she was in a state of sleep, and criticism for arriving late awoke her.
E talked of Wilfred Bion, who ran sessions which aimed to be in the present, without connection to any earlier sessions, without memory and desire. The ego can be lured to sleep by giving it a repetitive activity to do, like focusing on the body, the breath, knitting, or repeating a mantra, allowing the higher self free to be present. Referring to earlier discussion of the Third Force, E also talked of Kurt Lewin's concept of Force Field Analysis, which examines the balance of motive and resistive influences and looks for ways to break through resistance. D talked of Gurdjieff's musical metaphor of resistance in the Enneagram symbol, with tonic sol-fa, and L said that, whilst it might not apply exactly to the symbol, in classical music harmony fa is a point of resistance where music naturally falls back to me.
It transpired that in fact, with all the ensuing discussion, the time taken had expanded to ten minutes each on average (which with seven present had used most of the meeting's scheduled time), so that an adaptation to the structure was needed. E suggested drawing from the ideas of Nancy Kline (the "Thinking Environment"). Rather than five minutes, each person in turn would speak for two minutes while everyone else was fully attentive.There would be then be a period for discussion, after which each member in turn could, if they wished, speak for a further two minutes. It was agreed by all that this be tried at the following meeting to allow more time to consider the writings of Gurdjieff.
The Meeting then returned to reading from Beelzebub's Tales, Chapter I, The Arousing of Thought.
L initially mentioned there had been email correspondence from BS in India. [Removed at the request of BS.]
L continued with the reading:
"That is why I now, also, setting forth on this venture quite new for me, namely, authorship, ... begin by pronouncing this utterance and moreover pronounce it not only aloud, but even very distinctly and with a full, ... 'wholly-manifested-intonation' ..."
L suggested that maybe, with such extraordinary drawing of attention to the phrase and its enunciation aloud, Gurdjieff is advocating its recitation as a mantra, as BS has been experimenting with.
Talking about his new venture in writing, Gurdjieff continues: "Having thus begun, I can now be quite at ease, and ... be beyond all doubt assured that everything further in this new venture of mine will now proceed, as is said, 'like a pianola.'... I have always done everything, absolutely everything, not as it is done by other, like myself, biped destroyers of Nature's good. Therefore, in writing now I ought, and perhaps am even on principle already obliged, to begin not as any other writer would. In any case, instead of the conventional preface I shall begin quite simply with a Warning."
The reference to a pianola reminded L of E's reference to automatic following of breathing, or other physical activity, as a mechanism for lulling the ego to sleep.
L mentioned two recent events, both of which relate to the honest experiencing of existential reality with its attendant challenges. He is going the following day for an ultrasound test of a lump in his neck. If it turns out to be a serious problem, he intends to expand his work in creative art from 50% to 100% of his time. The reminder of physical death brings home the idea that we are all in a ship of fools. As we get older and closer to death, reality is not very pleasant. In contrast, he recently went to a concert at a Christian group where music from opera was played and sung, usually depicting the death of the hero or heroine. The Christian message was the reverse, the music to sweeten the belief in eternal life in heaven. Had he spoken of other views he would have been an enemy in the temple. "R" suggested that L had described two different subjective impressions of reality, with neither being right or wrong. RM talked of Christianity's belief in rewards for good behaviour, and punishment for bad. "R" considered the tents protest outside St Pauls Cathedral as an interesting demonstration of church and individuals being present, which is making a debate happen.
M recounted exploring the concept of the Third Force. Gurdjieff's writing on the subject had seemed unnecessarily complicated, so he referred to Maurice Nicoll's commentaries. There were so many interesting references that in fact he followed up other subjects instead. "R" asked M to cite an example of the Third Force. M gave an example of preparing a meal. The Second Force is resistive balancing the First Force of intention (e.g. wanting a meal); the Third Force is within yourself. What is making the decision?
T said the fact M followed up other subjects instead was a good example of the Second Force at work.
"R" referred to page 752 of Beelzebub's Tales, which links the three forces to the phrase Gurdjieff expounds on at the beginning of the book:
"three holy forces ...
the first, 'God-the-Father';
the second, 'God-the-Son';
and the third, 'God-the-Holy-Ghost';
and in various cases expressed the hidden meaning of them and also their longing to have a beneficent effect from them for their own individuality, by the following prayers:
'Sources of Divine
Rejoicings, revolts and sufferings,
Direct your actions upon us.'
or
'Holy-Affirming,
Holy-Denying,
Holy-Reconciling,
Transubstantiate in me
For my Being.'
or
'Holy God,
Holy Firm,
Holy Immortal,
Have mercy on us.'"
RM said that creativity cannot happen without the three forces coming into play. The reconciling force and the forces of fear and desire disappear in Vedic teaching. God endures the balance and things continue in the creative process. The force of love is a harmonising force. Balance can be allowed to occur naturally. We can't choose at all.
D's experience from the month was of noticing that he was categorising people as he walked down the street, trying to slot them into categories. He remembered the words "Judge not, less ye be judged". Discernment was preferable to judging. L said he did the same, but noticed that he himself often fitted into the same categories he ascribed to others. However in D's case, as a writer, he thought it might be constructive to think about and observe others in terms of it being raw material for books.
"R" spoke of visiting her mother twice a day, who is in a care home and has become more gloomy and more miserable. "R" feels that her work there is to be there and soak up the negativity. The caring staff are limited by their state of sleep both physical and emotional; they might bring a meal but forget the fork or spoon, acting like that with everybody.
D said that there is a general malaise in the world. There is more to distract people. He saw a man on his mobile phone walking across the lights when they were green. The man thumped a car which braked with his hand in anger! RM suggested that maybe both pedestrian and motorist were asleep, and that the pedestrian had awoken the motorist.
RM has been reading The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle. Tolle writes about different thinking levels above and below the conscious. Below you are a machine. Above you are paying attention. Ego pains become apparent. He has been using the mantra "every cell in my body glows with conscious attention", which has been very powerful, but he has been having difficulty sleeping because of the mantra. The process of becoming aware cannot be rushed and has to take its time. How should a person rest when one not consciously working?
T suggested swimming, which distracts the body because it is in a medium that is not the usual medium, and touches the body all over. The mind is stilled because the body is awakened. It is a simple activity going up and down the lengths of a pool but is complex and distracting for the body to experience. This distracts the body and the mind keeps going, directing the swimming.
D said that while waiting for something to happen, the human psyche experiences pain and boredom. The more enlightened you are, the more difficult things become. With more power comes with more temptation.
L suggested that this form of sleep might be a sound mechanism for psychological balance, just as physical sleep helps the physical body. Becoming awake might entail experiencing pain.
T's experience related to how a busy therapy session made her late for a following meeting. Although the work with patients had been rewarding and interesting, she was in a state of sleep, and criticism for arriving late awoke her.
E talked of Wilfred Bion, who ran sessions which aimed to be in the present, without connection to any earlier sessions, without memory and desire. The ego can be lured to sleep by giving it a repetitive activity to do, like focusing on the body, the breath, knitting, or repeating a mantra, allowing the higher self free to be present. Referring to earlier discussion of the Third Force, E also talked of Kurt Lewin's concept of Force Field Analysis, which examines the balance of motive and resistive influences and looks for ways to break through resistance. D talked of Gurdjieff's musical metaphor of resistance in the Enneagram symbol, with tonic sol-fa, and L said that, whilst it might not apply exactly to the symbol, in classical music harmony fa is a point of resistance where music naturally falls back to me.
It transpired that in fact, with all the ensuing discussion, the time taken had expanded to ten minutes each on average (which with seven present had used most of the meeting's scheduled time), so that an adaptation to the structure was needed. E suggested drawing from the ideas of Nancy Kline (the "Thinking Environment"). Rather than five minutes, each person in turn would speak for two minutes while everyone else was fully attentive.There would be then be a period for discussion, after which each member in turn could, if they wished, speak for a further two minutes. It was agreed by all that this be tried at the following meeting to allow more time to consider the writings of Gurdjieff.
The Meeting then returned to reading from Beelzebub's Tales, Chapter I, The Arousing of Thought.
L initially mentioned there had been email correspondence from BS in India. [Removed at the request of BS.]
L continued with the reading:
"That is why I now, also, setting forth on this venture quite new for me, namely, authorship, ... begin by pronouncing this utterance and moreover pronounce it not only aloud, but even very distinctly and with a full, ... 'wholly-manifested-intonation' ..."
L suggested that maybe, with such extraordinary drawing of attention to the phrase and its enunciation aloud, Gurdjieff is advocating its recitation as a mantra, as BS has been experimenting with.
Talking about his new venture in writing, Gurdjieff continues: "Having thus begun, I can now be quite at ease, and ... be beyond all doubt assured that everything further in this new venture of mine will now proceed, as is said, 'like a pianola.'... I have always done everything, absolutely everything, not as it is done by other, like myself, biped destroyers of Nature's good. Therefore, in writing now I ought, and perhaps am even on principle already obliged, to begin not as any other writer would. In any case, instead of the conventional preface I shall begin quite simply with a Warning."
The reference to a pianola reminded L of E's reference to automatic following of breathing, or other physical activity, as a mechanism for lulling the ego to sleep.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
The "Stop Exercise"
The meeting opened with each present giving an example of relevant experiences from the previous month, as D had suggested at the August meeting.
M said he experienced feeling awake more often. T asked for an example. M described how he had left his flat without a set of keys he needed, but almost immediately remembered his purpose and returned to collect them.
T related that having missed a meeting, she felt out of touch, but that her real work is being done when she paints. She has instituted a system with a thirty minute timer. At the moment it goes off, she has to stop. This reminds her of Gurdjieff's "stop exercise", as she has to stop irrespective of where she is at. It's not about the painting, it's about the use of attention.
RM agreed, and recounted that when working on a farm as a member of a Gurdjieff Group, people were told to keep attention on the work, not on the expectation - a gong would sound and everyone would stop and observe their feelings. While working in this way time can seem to stretch. When elderly people say time passes quickly it is because they spend more time asleep. If they say they only need four hours sleep a night, it is because they spend hours of the day "asleep".
L suggested that the slow passing of time indicates that a person is awake.
RM said that he thought it likely that Gurdjieff never stopped working.
L said that since the previous meeting he has come to consider the possibility of a fourth mind - creative or artistic - in addition to the instinctive, emotional and intellectual. Sometimes things slot into place or take shape over weeks, months or years in making art.
D said that a songwriter might sometimes get a tune instantly while doing something completely unrelated like driving - jot it down and it becomes a hit.
RM thought it was a matter of bisociative thinking.
D said Colin Wilson's view in The War Against Sleep was that Gurdjieff did not consider imagination.
Turning to his own experience during the month, D recounted that he has moved house. He had to get rid of a lot of books which he found very difficult. He realised how much attachment he felt to the books, and how much he valued one in particular, an original copy of Beelzebubs Tales which he had never read, and rescued from the black bags of those to be thrown away, which even charity shops were not interested in - he thought that there is a huge destruction of books going on.
RM described an exercise he has developed to help him wake up. He has been trying to find ways (like seeing how many lamposts he can count while walking before falling asleep), and has worked out a mantra designed to create a rhythm in the mind of awareness and attention: "Every cell of my body glows with attentive awareness - with every step I take my body glows with attentive awareness ...". He has found that his memory has been improving since, and has learnt to recite twelve Shakespeare sonnets. Each sentence has come to feel like a single dictionary entry. He recited one:
Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another;
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother,
For where is she so fair whose unear'd womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime:
So thou through windows of thine age shall see
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.
But if thou live, remember'd not to be,
Die single, and thine image dies with thee.
D said it reminded him of Gurdjieff's writing in Beelzebub's Tales, and wondered where Shakespeare had come across the ideas.
RM said the sonnets contain Rosicrucian teachings.
M asserted that they and the plays were written by Francis Bacon.
RM said that Bacon could not publish plays under his own name as it would have been considered inappropriate for a senior official to be a playwright.
As so much time had passed in going through the month's experiences, L suggested that a timer system be introduced from next month, five minutes per person, and this was agreed by all present.
The Meeting then turned to reading from Beelzebub's Tales, Chapter I, The Arousing of Thought.
...always and everywhere on the earth...that definite utterance understandable to every even quite illiterate person, which in different epochs has been formulated variously and in our day is formulated in the following words: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and in the name of the Holy Ghost, Amen."
M asked about the meaning of the phrase, saying that he thought the "Holy Ghost" was a reference to Gurdjieff's concept of Third Force.
L said that there is often some thing new to notice when coming back to the text. In this case the phrase "always and everywhere" seems to be an echo of the title "All and Everything" of the collection of books beginning with this paragraph.
M recalled an account of Gurdjieff being asked if anything of substance exists after death. In response Gurdjieff asked if there was anything of substance now.
T described a conversation she had recently heard on a bus. A mother asked her little boy "What do you want to eat?" The boy was not interested in food and asked what he was going to do after she died. This was an aware question, and who is willing to help such a child with thinking about it?
D remembered being a child in an institution, looking at the stars, and wondering what was up there.
RM wondered why the old Beelzebub's Tales edition was being used rather than the newer one, as he remembered Gurdjieff students being enthusiastic about it before publication.
L read the section of the July meeting's account where this was discussed.
RM said he would like to prepare a list of basic principles of Gurdjieff's teachings, and thought this would attract and help new members.
L said there were several informative links on the webpage, and another could be added to link to the list.
M said he experienced feeling awake more often. T asked for an example. M described how he had left his flat without a set of keys he needed, but almost immediately remembered his purpose and returned to collect them.
T related that having missed a meeting, she felt out of touch, but that her real work is being done when she paints. She has instituted a system with a thirty minute timer. At the moment it goes off, she has to stop. This reminds her of Gurdjieff's "stop exercise", as she has to stop irrespective of where she is at. It's not about the painting, it's about the use of attention.
RM agreed, and recounted that when working on a farm as a member of a Gurdjieff Group, people were told to keep attention on the work, not on the expectation - a gong would sound and everyone would stop and observe their feelings. While working in this way time can seem to stretch. When elderly people say time passes quickly it is because they spend more time asleep. If they say they only need four hours sleep a night, it is because they spend hours of the day "asleep".
L suggested that the slow passing of time indicates that a person is awake.
RM said that he thought it likely that Gurdjieff never stopped working.
L said that since the previous meeting he has come to consider the possibility of a fourth mind - creative or artistic - in addition to the instinctive, emotional and intellectual. Sometimes things slot into place or take shape over weeks, months or years in making art.
D said that a songwriter might sometimes get a tune instantly while doing something completely unrelated like driving - jot it down and it becomes a hit.
RM thought it was a matter of bisociative thinking.
D said Colin Wilson's view in The War Against Sleep was that Gurdjieff did not consider imagination.
Turning to his own experience during the month, D recounted that he has moved house. He had to get rid of a lot of books which he found very difficult. He realised how much attachment he felt to the books, and how much he valued one in particular, an original copy of Beelzebubs Tales which he had never read, and rescued from the black bags of those to be thrown away, which even charity shops were not interested in - he thought that there is a huge destruction of books going on.
RM described an exercise he has developed to help him wake up. He has been trying to find ways (like seeing how many lamposts he can count while walking before falling asleep), and has worked out a mantra designed to create a rhythm in the mind of awareness and attention: "Every cell of my body glows with attentive awareness - with every step I take my body glows with attentive awareness ...". He has found that his memory has been improving since, and has learnt to recite twelve Shakespeare sonnets. Each sentence has come to feel like a single dictionary entry. He recited one:
Look in thy glass, and tell the face thou viewest
Now is the time that face should form another;
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother,
For where is she so fair whose unear'd womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother's glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime:
So thou through windows of thine age shall see
Despite of wrinkles this thy golden time.
But if thou live, remember'd not to be,
Die single, and thine image dies with thee.
D said it reminded him of Gurdjieff's writing in Beelzebub's Tales, and wondered where Shakespeare had come across the ideas.
RM said the sonnets contain Rosicrucian teachings.
M asserted that they and the plays were written by Francis Bacon.
RM said that Bacon could not publish plays under his own name as it would have been considered inappropriate for a senior official to be a playwright.
As so much time had passed in going through the month's experiences, L suggested that a timer system be introduced from next month, five minutes per person, and this was agreed by all present.
The Meeting then turned to reading from Beelzebub's Tales, Chapter I, The Arousing of Thought.
...always and everywhere on the earth...that definite utterance understandable to every even quite illiterate person, which in different epochs has been formulated variously and in our day is formulated in the following words: "In the name of the Father and of the Son and in the name of the Holy Ghost, Amen."
M asked about the meaning of the phrase, saying that he thought the "Holy Ghost" was a reference to Gurdjieff's concept of Third Force.
L said that there is often some thing new to notice when coming back to the text. In this case the phrase "always and everywhere" seems to be an echo of the title "All and Everything" of the collection of books beginning with this paragraph.
M recalled an account of Gurdjieff being asked if anything of substance exists after death. In response Gurdjieff asked if there was anything of substance now.
T described a conversation she had recently heard on a bus. A mother asked her little boy "What do you want to eat?" The boy was not interested in food and asked what he was going to do after she died. This was an aware question, and who is willing to help such a child with thinking about it?
D remembered being a child in an institution, looking at the stars, and wondering what was up there.
RM wondered why the old Beelzebub's Tales edition was being used rather than the newer one, as he remembered Gurdjieff students being enthusiastic about it before publication.
L read the section of the July meeting's account where this was discussed.
RM said he would like to prepare a list of basic principles of Gurdjieff's teachings, and thought this would attract and help new members.
L said there were several informative links on the webpage, and another could be added to link to the list.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
