Recalcitrant Facts

Reflections on the Challenge

When you become aware of a conflict, whether locally or in the news, pause and analyse its cause. Reflect on your emotional response, and bring your hands together in the prayer gesture.

• Experiences

  T had found herself faced with multiple conflicts over the course of the month, some of which she had recognised in real-time and others only in retrospect. On one occasion, she had been torn between adhering to a regular routine for meals and painting in natural light. She had brought her hands together in the prayer gesture, aware of her internal conflict and its relevance to the challenge. Her resolution had been to prioritise eating on schedule over painting in natural light. This decision had been motivated by a concern for her well-being, as she had realised that eating late would adversely affect her sleep and, subsequently, her overall health. In making this choice, she had safeguarded her physical health in both the present and the future. Additionally, she had found a way to practice her art in artificial light, thereby maintaining a sustainable routine. Another instance of conflict had involved a direct conversation with a neighbour displaying antisocial behaviour, which had been necessary for maintaining her usual quality of life.

  L noted that conflicts often result from people not recognising the truth of the matter. During a holiday trip in his electric car, he experienced contention for spots at charging stations. Although there was a general camaraderie among the people vying to charge their cars, he thought that ideology was a hindrance to the widespread adoption of the technology. He felt that if market forces were allowed to operate freely, electric cars would have been adopted more readily, like mobile phones. The expression of the ideology was extremely prevalent. For example although August had been one of the coldest ever, that morning's paper was reporting that it had been warmer than usual.

  N had encountered conflicts with clients who displayed aggressive and manipulative tendencies. Being mindful of the complexities and underlying motives, he initially maintained his composure during interactions. As he navigated through the engagements, he recognized the emotional tactics being deployed. It was like children squabbling over sweets. Throughout, he discerned the root causes of the conflicts and maintained emotional equilibrium.

• Responses

  L drew a parallel between N's account and the Gurdjieff Work. The clients he described were like life's distractions that try to divert one from understanding what is truly occurring. It was important to maintain balance and detachment, like Beelzebub observing Earth from a distance through his teskooano.

  N responded to T, saying there was a learning process involved, in prioritising between eating times and capturing natural light for painting. Such conflicts provide opportunities to make judgement calls on what holds primary importance. T advocated a balanced approach to pursuing one's calling. She emphasised that maintaining physical well-being was a prerequisite for any other activity. Especially in the context of aging, health could no longer be taken for granted, making her more aware of its significance. L said what T described was not necessarily a conflict, but perhaps a confluence of natural events like the earth's rotation and the human digestive system. In his view, these were not conflicts arising from human actions but coincidences shaped by natural truths.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 30 cont.

With acknowledgements to Harold Good

• Passage

  He begins from a natural feeling of self-preservation to strive with all his Being to destroy as many as possible of the existences of the beings of the enemy side in order to have the greater chance of saving his own existence. And gradually progressing in this feeling of self-preservation of theirs, they then reach the state, as they themselves say, of ‘bestiality.’

  But as regards that means of the destruction of the existence of other beings similar to themselves which I then saw, it was now impossible to apply to it this logical confrontation at which I had just arrived, simply because I then clearly saw that the enemy sides stood fairly far apart, that all warring beings were among their own, and that in these semifavorable conditions, they quietly and absolutely cold-bloodedly, out of boredom as it were, did something with the help of a ‘something’ and thereby destroyed the existence of other beings similar to themselves.

• Discussion

  N said technology had significantly altered the nature of conflict. Where battles once occurred in close quarters, modern weaponry allowed for life-taking at a great distance, often detached from any personal engagement or understanding of the enemy.

  T emphasised how bureaucracy and technology abstract individuals from the immediate consequences of their actions.

  L raised the ethical questions tied to technological warfare, saying that people knowingly chose to engage in developing and using these systems.

Looking-Glass World

Reflections on the Challenge

When you notice you are walking uphill, lengthen your stride. When you get home, immerse yourself in a piece of DaVinci's work. Consider how it resonates with your feelings and experiences. Using mirror writing, make a note of your reflections.

• Experiences

  N had accomplished the three parts of the challenge. Living uphill, he took the opportunity to quicken his pace during his regular walks, making it a rigorous exercise. Once home, he delved into the study of Leonardo Da Vinci's art, focusing on two specific pieces: 'The Last Supper' and 'The Vitruvian Man'. Throughout the month, he explored various materials about Da Vinci, including a significant portion of a particular book. An intriguing element caught his attention in 'The Last Supper', the details of which he decided to reveal later. The final part of the challenge, mirror writing, proved difficult at first, but with practice, he began to find it a bit easier, though it didn't come naturally to him.

  T had found that the act of lengthening her stride while walking uphill changed her usual resentment about exerting more energy into a feeling of victory. This had made her reflect on why she typically resents using extra energy. When she explored DaVinci's works, she was surprised by how much she didn't know about him, despite her art college background. She specifically compared the colour sensitivity of DaVinci's "Virgin of the Rocks" in the Louvre to the one in London, finding the former superior.

  

  Da Vinci - Virgin of the Rocks (Louvre)

  L had been walking uphill, where he took the opportunity to lengthen his stride. The effort invigorated him, making him feel more alive. Upon returning home, he expanded his exploration beyond DaVinci's art to include writings and inventions. He found the Codex Arundel, but noted the challenge of locating an English translation from the Italian original, particularly given its mirror writing. L tried his hand at mirror writing and found it difficult but insightful. His research into DaVinci supported his own interest in multiple arts, as he composed music and engaged in life drawing.

• Responses

  J asked T about the differences in colour between Leonardo da Vinci's painting in London and the one in the Louvre, questioning if this discrepancy held significance. T replied that the variance in vibrancy and energy between the two paintings possibly had to do with the motivation behind their creation. She speculated that the commission-driven creation of the London painting might have affected its quality, but also the Louvre painting had been sensitively restored.

  T asked L about his comment on multiple arts. L said this was because da Vinci did so many things, including painting and writing. T resonated with Leonardo da Vinci's multidisciplinary approach, lamenting the lack of such breadth in modern education. L added that today's educational systems would have forced a da Vinci to choose between art and science. N emphasized the extraordinary cultural climate of da Vinci's time, highlighting how he saw connections between seemingly disparate fields.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 30 cont.

With acknowledgements to Harold Good

• Passage

  My dear and beloved Grandfather… be kind as always and tell me something more about the three-centred beings breeding on that planet which is called Earth ...

  He began thus: I was on that planet for the sixth time just before I received my full pardon and permission to leave that most remote solar system situated even almost beyond the reach of the immediate emanations of the Omni Most Holy Sun Absolute, that is, just before my return here to the centre of the Universe to the place of my arising, to the immediate bosom of our COMMON UNI-BEING-ENDLESSNESS.

  This time, circumstances unexpectedly so came about that I had to exist there among these peculiar beings a fairly long time, namely, a little less than a year of our time, or, by the time calculation there, more than three hundred years...

  I observed them particularly attentively at those periods when there proceeded among them their chief particularity, namely, their processes of ‘reciprocal destruction.’

  And I observed so attentively at these periods because I wished to make unquestionably clear to myself the causes

• Discussion

  T contrasted human "reciprocal destruction" with the concept of art, highlighting its current relevance by mentioning the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

  L said Earth's distance from the universe's centre might influence human behaviour and briefly touched upon the symbolic meaning of Beelzebub's six visits.

  N focused on the relativity of time, discussing how Beelzebub's year equated to over 300 Earth years and what this implied for the perception of human achievements, using Leonardo Da Vinci as an example.

  J talked about the objectivity of time, stating that regardless of how time is experienced, the essence of conveying ideas remained consistent across different realms.

• Passage

  Well, my boy, once while watching as usual this process of theirs ... I saw this time that, without moving from their place, they did with a certain thing something which resulted in a tiny puff of smoke, whereupon a being from the opposite side immediately fell down either totally destroyed or with one or other part of his planetary body mutilated or destroyed forever.

• Discussion

  T focused on the advancement of weaponry described in the passage, noting how a "tiny puff of smoke" could result in a person far away falling to the ground. She highlighted the impersonal nature of modern warfare as a central point.

  N likened the observational approach in the passage to an anthropological viewpoint. It is satirical in the manner of Gulliver's Travels. He emphasized how the narrative critiques the increasingly disconnected nature of warfare, where in the present day combatants are reduced to mere dots on a computer screen.

  C argued that the passage portrays destruction as a reciprocal act— if someone tries to destroy you, you must destroy them in self-defence. She saw this as a key factor in understanding the violence observed in the text.

Arty-Farty

Reflections on the Challenge

When you observe art which seems ideological, shrug and do not be disturbed. Make notes about how and why it happened. Do some objective art yourself later.

• Experiences

  L remembered the challenge when he switched on his Microsoft Surface laptop the next morning. A message in the corner informed him: "Surface is committed to protecting our planet! Learn how to reduce your impact on the environment by adjusting your PC settings." He then started reading a newspaper online. There was an article about a popular TV show called Casualty, about a young woman in the story line who wanted to become a man, to the unaninimous admiration of the other cast members. He then opened his email. There was an invitation to a concert, recommending he attend an event called "Meditation on the Future of our Planet with Ensemble Variances", Throughout the month, virtually every instance of art he encountered in the media was ideological.

  T participated in a virtual exhibition of a German artist known for his vivid portrayals of devastation and decay. The intense imagery initially struck her as horrifying. However, she consciously shrugged off the instinctual reaction and, in doing so, experienced a shift. She perceived the artwork's magnitude reducing and its impact lessening. and considered the artist's history, born in 1945 and having grown up in the aftermath of the war. She recognized the potential influence of his personal and national history on his art. Despite the artist's explanation of the work, she felt drawn into his despair and desolation, which she found more personal than political.

  N had been to Weiwei's exhibition at the Design Museum. He hadn't expected to like it at first, as it was featuring modernist works, but Weiwei had done it in a very clever way. For example, one was a memorial to the children lost in an earthquake, represented by red seals typically found on Chinese paintings, with one seal per child. This artwork gave N some hope about modernist art. However, the highlight of his experience was when he entered an Oxfam shop, and there was a record playing of the Goldberg Variations, and it was just beautiful, and lifted him to a totally different world. He said to the person, he was sorry to interrupt the record, because he was going to buy it. He bought the record, and had been listening to it a lot. Somehow it was like fresh water. It was so cleansing and good for the spirit.

• Responses

  Responding to N and T, L said the art they had witnessed was like a chess beginner writing about a master game in terms of the colours daubed on the pieces. He questioned the necessity of imposing environmental or ideological themes onto artistic creations. Objective art did not need to be accompanied by explanations or justifications. N had not required an explanation to appreciate the mathematical beauty of Bach's Goldberg Variations. Similarly, classical paintings did not require reasons or explanations. L suggested that art was like solving complex puzzles of shade, perspective, harmony or counterpoint. It operated on its own terms, transcending extraneous narratives.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 30 cont.

With acknowledgements to Harold Good

• Passage

  For instance, at the beginning of the contemporary European civilization one of these beings, a certain monk named Ignatius, who had formerly been an architect, attained even to the possibility of deciphering the hidden knowledge and useful information in the productions of almost all the branches of what was already called ‘ancient’ art, which had reached him from the Babylonian epoch.

  ...when he reached the age of a responsible being, ... he left for the continent of Africa. And just he it was who entered as a monk into the ‘brotherhood’ which existed on that continent Africa, under the name of the ‘Truth Seekers’; and afterwards, when this brotherhood migrated to the continent Europe and increased, and when its brethren began to be called ‘Benedictines,’ he himself was already an ‘All-the-Rights-Possessing-Brother’ of this said brotherhood...

• Discussion

  L commented on the parallel between the journey of Ignatius and the legend of Ulysses, who both undertook long journerys and returned changed.

• Passage

  Hence it is that at the present time there exists among these contemporary professions a great many ‘new movements’ of painting which have arisen in this way and which have nothing in common among themselves. These new movements of painting are known there by the names of ‘cubism,’ ‘futurism,’ ‘synthesism,’ ‘imagism,’ ‘impressionism,’ ‘colorism,’ ‘formalism,’ ‘surrealism,’ and many other similar movements, whose names also end in ‘ism.’

  At this place in Beelzebub’s tale the hoofs of all the passengers of the transspace ship Karnak suddenly, as it were, radiated from themselves something phosphorescent.

  This meant that the ship Karnak was nearing the place of her destination, that is the planet Revozvradendr. Hence, a bustling movement began among the passengers preparing to descend from the ship.

  ...The phosphorescent gleaming of the hoofs was obtained because, concentrated in a particular proportion, there were directed from the engine room to that part of the ship the holy parts of the sacred Omnipresent Okidanokh.

• Discussion

  N mentioned that movements such as Cubism and Futurism were significant during the 1930s when Gurdjieff was penning his writings, and that we are still ensnared in the artistic deterioration described in the book.

  T said the phosphorescent sparks emanating from the hooves were a reminder of Beelzebub's devilish character.

Strokes and Folks

Reflections on the Challenge

When you spot something around you that seems not exactly right, consider what the reason might be, observing your emotions as you do so. Then stroke your arm.

• Experiences

  N had been to the Rosetti exhibition at the Tate. He looked round the pictures, and read the poetry. thought it was all very nice, but a bit false. It was medeivalism carried to the extreme. The colours weren't real. He would much rather look at Renaissance paintings than look at these which were almost like the kind of illustrations you see in children's books, which are overly colourful, but you would not see colours like that in the real world. Some of the poetry was the same, and he left the exhibition feeling a little bit disappointed.

  T had booked accommodation for a trip in the summer, and she had recently received a message that it was no longer available due to a family crisis. She had felt very disappointed - it was like a line of falling dominoes, with the actions of one individual setting off a chain reaction. It felt small on one level, but it was only after writing it down, which helped her process the experience, that she remembered to stroke her arm, and she realised that the gesture was comforting.

  With L it was usually noticing things happening in the worldL Firstly, a tourist boat had capsized in Kerala, India. It didn't seem right to him that such a thing should happen, and he had to consider what the reasons might be. He thought the reason was human action. The boat was carrying twice the permitted number of passengers, which L attributed to greed, and possibly a lack of courage to enforce the rules due to competition. His emotional reaction was sadness. Another incident was a bus accident in South America, where a bus went off the road, crashed into beehives, and the survivors were attacked by bees. Most casualties were from bee stings. L again attributed human actions to this, such as careless driving and irresponsible bee breeding practices.

• Responses

  Responding to L, T said the signiifcance of human error was often overlooked. She suggested it was a matter of 'criminal carelessness', quoting the phrase from Beelzebub's Tales. She mentioned the Buddhist concept of 'Right Action and Wrong Action', indicating the fundamental importance of making correct decisions to prevent such unfortunate events.

  She also said that Cezanne had written about sensory inaccuracies in painting, and drew parallels with N's experience at the Rosetti exhibition. She thought that the perceived inexactitude in art, such as the overly idealized portrayal by the Pre-Raphaelites or the work of Cezanne and Morandi, might be a deliberate attempt to awaken the viewer.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 30 cont.

With acknowledgements to Harold Good

• Passage

  Every kind of conscious production of the beings of the Babylonian period was gradually destroyed, partly owing to decay from time and partly owing to the processes of ‘reciprocal destruction,’ that is to say, to that degree of that psychosis of theirs called the ‘destruction-of-everything-existing-within-the-sphere-of-the-perception-of-visibility.’

  Thanks chiefly to these two causes, almost all the consciously actualized results of the learned beings of the Babylonian epoch gradually disappeared from the surface of that ill-fated planet and at such a tempo that after three of their centuries scarcely any of them were left...

• Discussion

  What stood out for L wa that the destruction was only of things that could be seen, whereas things that were not visible might be overlooked. When T first read it, she was thinking of the first or second world war where everything was destroyed, and the same was happening now in Ukraine. Considering visual modern art, the term was coined about a hundred years ago, and we revered those people, but now it had gone too far from its roots and there was no longer anything being communicated.

• Passage

  This branch which reached beings of contemporary times is called there ‘sacred dances.’

  And thanks to this branch alone, which survived from the period of the Babylonian learned beings, a very limited number of three-brained beings there now have the possibility, by means of certain conscious labors, to decipher and learn the information hidden in it and useful for their own Being.

  And the second mentioned branch which recently ceased to exist was that branch of the knowledge of the Babylonian learned beings which they called the ‘combination-of-different-tonalities-of-color’ and which the contemporary beings now call ‘painting.’...

• Discussion

  L said the discussion was specifically about the "sacred dances." N added that Gurdjieff, having studied dancers from around the world, understood dance as a language; these dances were akin to an alphabet. L said that when a modern choreographer created a dance with a narrative, possibly ideological, it could miss the essence of dance from Gurdjieff's perspective, which focused on transmission and fostering conscious change in the performers. T said modern dance seemed to have lost its connection to the grassroots traditions of folk and tribal dances.

• Passage

  It must also be noticed that in spite of all this, not a few of the still surviving productions of the Babylonian times reached the beings of the contemporary civilization, chiefly the beings breeding on the continent Europe. But these productions which reached the beings of this contemporary civilization—and not originals but only half-decayed copies made by their recent ancestors who had not become entirely what are called ‘plagiarists’—they simply, without suspecting the ‘well-of-wisdom’ concealed in them and without taking corresponding practicable measures, stuffed into what are called ‘museums’ where these old copies are gradually either totally destroyed or partially mutilated by frequent copyings from them, made by means of various eroding and oxidizing compositions as, for instance, ‘alabaster,’ ‘fish glue’ and so on, only so that the copyists might swagger before their friends or cheat their teachers, or achieve some other Hasnamussian aim.

• Discussion

  L commented on the point in the passage about items being stuffed into museums. He said there was a movement to return such items to their countries of origin, comparing this to disputes over the relics of saints. T added that these items, once removed from their cultural and community context, merely decay in the museum. L wondered whether this was perhaps the natural course of things, given the passage of time. T said the act of moving such items to museums was also a way of honouring them, even as it disconnected them from their original context. N agreed that the motive was preservation. N talked about his personal experience visiting Palmyra before it was destroyed and noted the cultural destruction that could happen under extremist regimes. T pointed out the primal, tribal instinct to destroy anything that is perceived as a threat to one's own identity or existence.

The Darling Buds of May

Reflections on the Challenge

When you encounter a blossom or bud, take a moment to appreciate its beauty, then turn your body and focus on something ordinary nearby. Allow yourself to become absorbed in its unique qualities, experiencing the wonder and appreciation it has to offer. After spending some time with the object, reflect on your experience and optionally express it in words.

• Experiences

  In terms of looking for new buds, L found that got to be a little harder as the month drew on because the trees had come more into flower. Earlier in the month, on one occasion he saw some lovely red blossom on a tree and then turned, and in the other direction there was a tub with some black soil, and then he waited, and because he waited he could see the contrasting colours, the orange of the pot and the lush soil, and then a bird started singing. This experience only happened because he waited. On another occasion, as he walked there were tree branches with small buds on that were very beautiful, and he turned and there was an old beaten-up post office van. He waited and it didn't grow on him. It had the negative connotation of an old, great industry in decline, recently on strike and subsidised, unreliable. He only enjoyed looking at cars if there was an intentional beautiful design, which there wasn't here. Later at home, he similarly saw through the window, branches with new buds swaying. He turned round, and there was a chair against the wall, and a sweeping brush, but there was beauty there because of the design of that chair and brush.

  There was a lovely plum tree outside in N's square, and it suddenly blossomed. Every year he waited for this blossom to occur, it was just so beautiful. The previous year, he had taken a photograph where the cars had virtually disappeared, but this year, unfortunately the cars were still there. So he saw this tree once again, and wrote some words:

  Hello, cherry plum tree,
  It's good to see your spring dressing again.
  How lovely you look, old friend,
  And to see your renewed finery.
  How this reminds me of my own ephemerality,
  But it's perfect in its way.

  After that he went abroad and saw a lot of trees with beautiful purple blossoms, like jacarandas and bougainvilleas, which were always very inspiring to see, particularly against white backgrounds. He did not always remember to turn around to compare the beauty with something else.

  T recalled standing in a railway station. admiring the contrast between an absolutely beautiful blue sky and a green tree. Then she remembered the challenge and turned around, and there was a railing, brilliantly reflecting the sunlight. Under normal circumstances she would not have looked at it, but this time she noticed its design, and reflected upon it being man-made, and that it was an attempt at beautiful design, and was functional. Another time it was the beauty of some buds, and she was transported, not wanting to turn around, but she did turn around, and it was a black door, over across the street. She questioned how she could see beauty in that? Again it was because it was man-made. There was the knob on the door, it was functional, but it was also intruiging that it was painted black. Nature was colourful by default, butbecause it's what it is. Unlike nature, which was colorful by default, man-made objects like art, chairs or this door, were intentionally designed and decorated.

• Responses

  Responding to T, N said he understood her comments about doors. He had seen some lovely old ones with studs in Spain, redolent of the country's history. The blackness of the doors was almost like an absence of colour which was rare in Nature. It was very much a man-made functional colour rather than natural and of the senses

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 30 cont.

With acknowledgements to Harold Good

• Passage

  Why you must be so careful towards just them, and in order that you may in general better represent to yourself and understand from every aspect these terrestrial contemporarily arisen types, I must without fail mention two further facts which became quite clear there.

  The first is that, owing as always to the same conditions of ordinary being-existence abnormally established there, and also to the existing ‘illusorily inflated’ maleficent idea of their famous art, these representatives of art gradually become crowned, as I have already said, with an imaginary halo in the preconceived picturings and notions of other three-brained beings there, and thereby automatically acquire an undeserved authority, in consequence of which all the rest of your favorites always and in everything assume that any opinion they express is authoritative and beyond dispute.

  ...That is just why I advise you to be very, very careful not to make enemies among them, so as not to make a lot of trouble for yourself in the actualizing of your affairs.

  Well then, dear Hassein, the very ‘Tzimus’ of my advice to you is that if you should indeed have to exist among the beings of that planet Earth and have dealings with these representatives of contemporary art, then you must first of all know that you must never tell the truth to their face...

• Discussion

  N said that in his opinion there were certain artists who were massively overrated today, and who stood in positions of authority, with huge amounts of money paid for their work, which was very mediocre, in some cases. People listened to their opinions as though they were wise gurus, and yet you had to be very careful, as Ahoon says, not to cross these people, because they can make life very difficult for you. So there was some advice there which was most probably quite sound. You had to accept the world as being as mad as it was, and then deal with that madness, and keep quiet about what you really thought. Such people could be very good at self promotion, and came across, as a result, incredibly authoritative, but N did not think they were necessarily great artists. N also remarked on the use of the word "Tzimus" which he thought was Yiddish, meaning essence...

• Passage

  Any kind of truth makes them extremely indignant, and their animosity towards others almost always begins from such indignation.

  To such terrestrial types you must always say to their face only such things as may ‘tickle’ those consequences of the properties of the organ Kundabuffer unfailingly crystallized in them and which I have already enumerated, namely, ‘envy,’ ‘pride,’ ‘self-love,’ ‘vanity,’ ‘lying,’ and so on...

  Although you have to behave in this manner toward all the beings in general of that planet, it is particularly necessary to do so toward the representatives of all the branches of contemporary art...

• Discussion

  N said Gurdjieff was so aware of the vanities and stupidities of people that he saw how you had to deal with them, although these kind of complements were well over the top. N had watched people doing exactly this in his professional life and could see how they got up the ladder, but he himself was never one to do that.

  L cited his own experience from meetings with other composers, where it was hard to diplomatically appraise music in which there were no discernible tunes.

• Passage

  Thanks to their chief particularity, namely, to the ‘periodic-process-of-reciprocal-destruction,’ there almost wholly disappeared from amongst the ordinary beings there, soon after the period of the ‘Babylonian-magnificence,’ not only the Legominism concerning the keys to the lawful inexactitudes in the Law of Sevenfoldness contained in each of the branches of the ‘being-Afalkalna’ and ‘Soldjinoha,’ but, as I have already told you, there gradually also disappeared even the very notion of the Universal Law of the holy Heptaparaparshinokh, which in Babylon they then called the Law of Sevenfoldness.

• Discussion

  L said this passage emphasized the concept of the Heptaparaparshinokh, a law of nature once known but subsequently lost. He said that the mathematical laws behind musical harmony were separate from the emotional content of the music, and that there might be such laws which permeated the entirety of existence, from the microscopic to the stars, but it would be beneath the dignity of modern science to contemplate this possibility. Gödel's Theorem showed there might be true laws of nature which, though they could be described, could never be proven.

Arts and the Man

Reflections on the Challenge

When encountering an artist or artwork in the media, consider your emotional response and whether it touches you deeply. Reflect on why that is. Then, draw a shape in the air with your finger.

• Experiences

  L had encountered three pieces of art during the month. He described a large sculpture with a hole in the middle that one could walk through, a shepherd with three sheep where the shepherd lacked character or personality, and a tea party of animals meant to raise awareness for species threatened by climate change. Though L appreciated some aspects of the artworks, they didn't touch him deeply. He often forgot to draw a shape in the air with his finger as part of the challenge.

  T had visited an art gallery the previous week after recovering from COVID. She encountered a painting by Morandi, an Italian artist known for his simple table still lifes. T became transfixed by the soft tones and felt as if she were viewing a natural garden. Startled by an optical illusion in which one painted object seemed to change position, she became fascinated with the animation of the painting. Remembering the challenge, T realised she was experiencing a work of art. Despite feeling self-conscious about drawing a shape in the air in front of others, she overcame her resistance and did so. As she drew the circle, she was surprised to see her palms lit up by the overhead lighting, creating a sharp contrast with the muted colours of the painting.

  N watched a film called "The Priest of Love", which depicted the life of D.H. Lawrence, a renowned novelist and artist. He found the film interesting and was moved by Lawrence's extraordinary intellect, artistic abilities, and the amount of accomplishments in his short life. The portrayal of Lawrence's life and relationships was engaging, and N appreciated the accurate casting of the actors. After watching the film and being inspired by Lawrence's life, N drew a tick shape in the air as part of the challenge.

• Responses

  T expressed surprise at learning that D.H. Lawrence had died so young, at the age of 45. She recalled Lawrence's controversies and the lawsuits against him due to his novel, Lady Chatterley's Lover. She expressed an interest in seeking out the film N had mentioned.

  N responded to T's experience, discussing the process of appreciating art and how it took time to truly understand a painting. He suggested this approach could also be applied to life and appreciating others, avoiding making quick judgments. He highlighted the importance of spending time with a piece of art to gain a deeper understanding of the artist's intentions and to experience the painting from different perspectives.

  L said the interplay of the two shapes in the painting T had described reminded him of Gurdjieff's concept of lawful inexactitudes. He suggested the artist might have intentionally incorporated this element as a way to challenge viewers and draw them into deeper observation.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 30 cont.

With acknowledgements to Harold Good

• Passage

  These enumerated consequences are particularly conspicuously and strongly crystallized in just those contemporary ‘representatives-of-art’ who are the ‘manipulators’ of the contemporary theaters there, and they are particularly strongly crystallized in them because, always performing the roles of beings similar to themselves, whose Being and significance in the process of their existence are ordinarily far superior to their own, and also, as I have already said, being themselves really almost nonentities, they with their already wholly automatized Reason, gradually acquire false notions about themselves.

  With such an already quite automatized ‘consciousness,’ and completely ‘nonsensical feelings,’ they feel themselves to be immeasurably superior to what they really are.

  ... when these newly arisen types taking part in the process of ordinary being-existence on the basis of equal rights with the other three-brained beings there happened to get into the field of the reception of my sight with their already exaggerated, inner, abnormal, what is called ‘being-self-appreciation,’ then they served as a shock for the beginning of the arising in me of the impulse of pity, not only for them themselves, but also for all these unfortunate favorites of yours in general.

• Discussion

  L said the text was saying that somebody who played a heroic figure in a movie could identify with that, and think they were that big deal, even though they might have a stuntman who executed the more dangerous escapades. It might be that they conflate the role with their own being, and think they are that hero. T said it was very damning of actors. L said it might be true sometimes, for example if you thought of the award ceremonies, the BAFTA's and the Oscars. They may think they are so important that they can cast judgement on the world and what needs to be done. He was not sure he understood the final paragraph.

  T was worried about Gurdjieff throwing the baby out with the bathwater, as there would be some genuine actors and actresses of the type described by N in The Priest of Love.

  N said that despite the behaviour and pretensions of the actors, there was a sense of pity for them. While there might have been some judgment, there was also sympathy for their state of being, as it seemed they might have been incapable of moving beyond their current circumstances in life.

Arts and Craft

Reflections on the Challenge

When you encounter an intolerant conversation, act as devil's advocate and express a contrary view. Observe and be aware of your physical movements, emotions and resistance to doing so. Evaluate the reactions from others and the impact on your own experience.

• Experiences

  L had tried to do the challenge but found it difficult to take up a contrary view as he valued honesty. On one occasion, he was having a conversation with the staff behind the counter at a Turkish takeaway about the recent earthquakes. He asked after their families, and they were all upset about the news. He found he was only able to communicate with honesty and sincerity. He was unable to donate anything as since the pandemic he no longer carried change.

• Responses

  Responding to L, N said the question arose whether one's difficulty with this was due to a mechanical reality or a lack of free will. In other words, was one consistently honest in all situations or did honesty vary depending on the circumstances? This raised a deeper question about the nature of honesty and whether it was a fixed characteristic or a fluid quality that could be influenced by external factors. Lawyers often had to play the role of a contrarian and argue both sides of a case to anticipate and uncover potential arguments. People could become too emotional in arguments, which could interfere with the process of clear thinking, and he thought the Gurdjieff Work was about keeping different parts of ourselves separate and not letting emotions interfere with intellectual arguments. L agreed that taking a contrarian view in law was not about lying or being difficult, and rather a quest for the truth, as grandmasters pursued in chess.

Beelzebub’s Tales, Chapter 30 cont.

With acknowledgements to Harold Good

• Passage

  But if various women noticed that she had begun to manifest toward her children with a weakening of her maternal impulses, then under the same conditions those around her condemned her to go about everywhere, also for a definite term, with the left half of her face made up and painted white and red.

  And a woman who attempted to violate her chief what is called ‘wifely duty,’ that is who deceived or who only tried to deceive her legal husband or who attempted to destroy a new being conceived in her, was obliged by the same procedure to be always and everywhere, also for a definite term, made up and painted white and red, this time over the whole of her face...

• Discussion

  J said this was like what had happened to some women in France after World War 2.

  L asked if there was a symbolic part that was being overlooked. An earlier paragraph had spoken of a committee of seven women, and four parts of the head which might be shaven. As Gurdjieff often spoke of a sevenfold-sequence, perhaps there were psychological connotations.

• Passage

  You must know that those beings who are assumed to be the adepts of this contemporary art which is adorned with a false halo are not only put on their own level by the other three-brained beings there of the contemporary civilization, particularly during the several latter decades, and imitated by them in their exterior manifestations, but they are always and everywhere undeservingly encouraged and exalted by them; and in these contemporary representatives of art themselves, who really in point of their genuine essence are almost nonentities, there is formed of itself without any of their being-consciousness a false assurance that they are not like all the rest but, as they entitle themselves, of a ‘higher order,’...

  Just in regard to such unfortunate three-brained beings the surrounding abnormal conditions of ordinary being-existence are already so established that there are bound to be crystallized in their common presences and to become an inseparable part of their general psyche those of the consequences of the organ Kundabuffer which they now themselves call ‘swagger,’ ‘pride,’ ‘self-love,’ ‘vanity,’ ‘self-conceit,’ ‘self-enamoredness,’ ‘envy,’ ‘hate,’ ‘offensiveness,’ and so on and so forth.

• Discussion

  

  Cecilia Vicuña: Brain Forest Quipu

  L said the comments about contemporary art seemed very relevant to the present time. He had recently been to the Tate Mod to see the Cézanne exhibition. To get to it, everybody was forced to walk past a very tall exhibit, which had pride of place in the entrance hall, and was suspended from about 100 feet up in the ceiling. In contrast, at the entrance to the Cézanne exhibition, which was sublime and of the highest quality, there was a warning notice that it might disturb some people.