The Gurdjieff Work

Table Of Contents

The Gurdjieff WorkForeword
Preface
Preface to the First Edition

Chapter 1: Who Was Gurdjieff?
“The Work”. Gurdjieff’s Quest. Early Preparation. Religious & Esoteric Fertility of His Native Land. The Search for Sources of Eternal Wisdom. His Various Occupations, Business Enterprises and Political Involvement. The Russian Period. Gurdjieff in Europe. The Later Years

Chapter 2: The Philosophical Basis of Gurdjieff’s System
Self-Realization and the Human Condition. The Ray of Creation. The Law of Three and the Law of Seven. The Law of Octave. The Enneagram: The Union of the Law of Seven and the Law of Three. The First Conscious Shock. The Second Conscious Shock

Chapter 3: The Psychology of Ordinary Human Beings
Human Fragmentation. The Human Machine. Our “Three Brains”. Three Human Types. States of Consciousness. The Psychopathology of Ordinary Waking State. The Systematic Distortion of Experience of Ordinary Waking State. Essence and Personality

Chapter 4: Human Possibilities
Potential for Inner Growth. The Four Ways. Higher States of Consciousness. Objective Consciousness. Peak Experiences. The Stages of Human Development. Achieving Inner Unity. The Seven Levels. Evolution, Death and Immortality. Development of the Four Bodies

Chapter 5: The Gurdjieff Work
Engaging the Struggle Between Essence and Personality. The Beginning. Stages on the Way. Finding a Group. The First Line of Work. Self-Remembering. The Second Line of Work. External Considering. Non-Expression of Negative Emotions. The Third Line of Work. Selfless Action. The Movements. Breaking the Cycle of Lifelong Conditioning. The Role of Physical Labor in the Work. Experiential Exercises

Chapter 6: The Living Tradition
The First Generation. The Gurdjieff Foundations. American Society for Continuous Education. Taliesin. Northeon Forest. The Fellowship of Friends. Other Groups. Where and How to Conduct Real Work

Further Reading
Notes