The Gurdjieff Work

The Gurdjieff WorkForewordPrefacePreface to the First EditionChapter 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 YearsChapter 2: The Philosophical Basis of Gurdjieff's SystemSelf-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 ShockChapter 3: The Psychology of Ordinary Human BeingsHuman 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 PersonalityChapter 4: Human PossibilitiesPotential 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 BodiesChapter 5: The Gurdjieff WorkEngaging 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 ExercisesChapter 6: The Living TraditionThe 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 WorkFurther ReadingNotes