G. I. Gurdjieff, Paris Meetings, 1943
About this book
Seeking a way to self-knowledge and a means of awakening to consciousness, people from many walks of life gathered in small groups around George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff in his Paris apartment from December 1941 until his death in October 1949. Notes taken during those meetings by pupils assigned by Gurdjieff himself have been preserved in the archives of the Gurdjieff Institute in Paris. This book presents a fresh translation of the original French notes of the meetings recorded in 1943.Through these notes a vivid portrait of Gurdjieff emerges. We gain new insight into his ways of working with his pupils as he responded to them according to their individual needs – with humour, patience, specific tasks, encouragement and above all immense knowledge and compassion. Those familiar with Gurdjieff’s writings will find his ideas enlivened here in the practicality of his oral teaching.Although various commentators have related their experiences of working with Gurdjieff, this book is not commentary. It chronicles directly the relationship between a master and his pupils, closely following the extraordinary exchanges that took place among them, illuminating the teaching and demonstrating its practice. It will take a unique place in the Gurdjieff canon.