C. S. Nott TEACHINGS OF GURDJIEFF A PUPIL’S JOURNAL An Account of Some Years With G. I. Gurdjieff and A. R. Orage in New York and at Fontainebleau-Avon ARKANA PENGUIN BOOKSnemngnens Sanremo ee ie ater tate ta Pein Boks i Reine Ofc Harman, Mis, and lie by Route pan al 96 by Ans ‘hinged rin apd y Cap Li Ste oni i iti, ak ot ‘tana tr hector oon tng condo tong mpl he an puch CONTENTS NEW YORK AND FONTAINEBLEAU 1923-5 |. NEW YORK AND FONTAINEBLEAU 1925-6 | FONTAINEBLEAU 1928 page ix ns 26 24PREFACE 1118 wow over thirty-five yeas since I first came in touch with the Gutdjiff system. This journal, begun in 1924, ia partial record of my early years of work (1923 to 1928) with G. I. Gurdjieff and A. R. ‘Orage. Ie is not an exposition ofthe system, but a relation of my own, experience of some ofthe acts and sayings ofthese two men, compiled from dates and hundreds of pages of notes, Iie sequential rather than chronological: many talks were repeated, sometimes at long intervals, and from diferent aspects and in differen forms. compiling this journal Ihave had in mind the increasing number of people who are becoming interested inthe ideas of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff Those who are unaequainted with his teaching may find some of the terms and expresions wed confusing; at the same time there is much that will interest many who are disatised with our present way of existence. Some of them may with to read Gurdjel!'s ‘own Book Beelzebs’s Tales o his Crandon: en Objective Inpatal Ciitciom ofthe Life of Man. ‘When I fst met Gurdjef and Orage I was immature, naive, and restless, with no knowledge of ral ideas; and I can never be grateful ‘enough to Gurdjieff for his infinite patience in those early years, and to the older pupils around him for thei guidance, especially A. R. Orage, Ds Stjoernval, and Thomas de Hartman, who later becatte my close fiends and, a i were, elder brothers. Tam no longer young: in my ‘varied existence Ihave experienced almos all that ordinary life hast ‘offer—both what i aed good and what is called bad. And I can sce now thae whatever Ihave been abe to achieve for my own being and understanding, whatever of realty I have been able so cognize and ‘comprehend, lowe 19 Gurdjeffandhissystem and method. They have igiven me a centre of gravity and a real aim, and with Paul Tcan sy Thanks be to God for his unapeskable gif.Cosmology and cosmogony, the creation and maintenance of the univers the avs of Thre and Seven, the causes of man's degeneration and the means for hs redempdion, cichatology-—the fou lst things: ‘denied explanations of al these may be found in Gurdje’s book All fend Everting (Beclzebub's Tales to His Grandson), an objective work (of art ofthe firs magnitude. P.D. Ouspensky's In Seach ofthe Mirae Tous Fragments of en Unkvoun Teaching, while not inthe catogory of objective art, is nevertheless a masterpiece of objective reporting of Gutdji’s talks in Rusia. As an introduction to Guedes system it can never be equaled. But while study of the Frage gives know= ledge lone—though of a high order—stady of Belzebul' Toler gives Doth knowledge and ‘understanding’ ‘Brify, the Gurdjieff system comprises writings: sacred dances, ‘movements, and exercises; matic; and the inser teaching. Gurdies ‘writings are aranged in thee series: The fist, Beleebu's Toles, che second, Mectngs with Remarkable Mos; che third, fe Real Oly Whew "TL An’. The firsts published in 19, the second is available in French, though not in English, the chied has not been publihed: some ofthe smutic has been published. Gurdjef collected a large number ofsceed ances, flk-dances, and exercises in the Neat and Far East; and he himself composed snaay dances and movements, a number of them based on the symbol ofthe tenneagram. He ako composed and collected a great many piccss of ‘utic, which were harmonized under his supervision by Me de Hart- mann, Many of theie dances and musical compositions are objective ‘A knowledge of the theory of the system may be acquired fom books; and indeed every serious enguiser should read Beelzbul’s Tales and Fragments of on Unknown Teaching. But the ier teaching, which includes practical work-—the Method —can be imparted only to special ‘groups by teachers who have themselves been chrough long periods of intensive work. "The first part f the presen book consiss chiefly of accounts of work swith Gurdjieff; the second of Orage's commentary in the New York ‘group; while che third ia kind of sequel to and result ofthe frst eo. PROLOGUE -EvaN Wile quite a young child in the Hertfordshire village where I ‘was brought up, there often seemed to me to be something strange and even absurd in the Behaviour of grown-up people; thei attitude to one another in public, and whar they suid about each othr in private, did notagee. As grew up I became more aware ofthe diffrence berween lifeas Thought it ought to be and asi actually was. In time, ofcourse, Thad to begin to accepe it “Perhaps,” I wondered, it may be not lf, not the grown-ups, but I thatam wrong” Yee something in me would not entirely accrpe ths. As a boy, I imagined that there must be some place where Ishould be content; that | would find stsfiction ina job, or ina religion ocher than that of the Methodist chapel, I loved my home and my parents, yet I was seldom satisfied. Whether because of something in miy heredity or ofthe influence ofthe planes at my con ‘ception and birth, or a mixture of these, do not know; but an inner restesmess and disatsiction with what {happened tobe doing on the ‘one hand, or with circumstances on the othe, gave me no inner peace; ‘here was always the unformulated question ‘What is life for” ‘Acthe age of ix I bought my frst book; its til, oddly enough, was John's Search. lef schoo a dhe age of thirteen, having leant ltrally nothing — foc [ead and wrote without having been taught—and went from one Job to another, always asking what fe was for. At the age of eighteen, T wandered to Tasmania, then to New Zealand, Australia, and Canada, ‘working on sheep-nations and farms, and at other physical jobs. Ia 914, when I vaslivingon a smal island off the coast of Brish Colum bia, the fet World War broke out. Ijaned up a once, to become one ‘of the millions of youths and young men who were wept up in that collective catastrophe; and in 1917 Twas invalided out ofthe trenches in Face. te waste that began to dhinkseoly bout he mening fe,[Although Thad bad religious upbringing and asa youth had been a ‘Sondayrchool teacher and lay preacher (terallya'God-fearng’ young, ‘man), organized religion had now no content for me, nor could it give me asatitying answer to the questions that aosein me asa consequence ‘ofthe dslusonment resulting ftom the war, in which, iseemed, one’s life or death often depended on the whim of some vain, stupid man ‘who happened to be in authority. The stupidity and absurdity of so ‘much of ordinary life was at nothing compated with the colosal supidities of war, when thowsands los cei lives through someone's ‘vanity, oF pride. Fused to ask myself, ‘Why mast men suffer like this? “Why do the politicians and papers pose out lies? Why is fe ved in an atmosphere of les? I met only one man, George Bernard Shave, with whom Thad several talks, who was ready to admit that the war as a hasly busines, and that there was something strangely wrong with ‘men’s attitude to war and tlie in general. To him it was asi we were living in nati asylum. "There must, [fle be romeonc, or some teaching, that could give a clear answer to my questions. And one day in the last year ofthe war, the conviction came that I should find this teacher o teaching; bu that 1 should have to search, and the most likly place to find one ot the ‘other would be in the Far Eat. After the atmstice set off, and for two years worked my way round the world, visting America, Japan, (China, Malaya, Burma, India, Egypt, and Tay; but though Ihad many interesting experiences, met men and religions of all kinds, and saw ‘many wonderful sights, I did noc discover eithee the teacher or the teaching that in my inner being T fel would satisfy me, T returned to England beter in health, though til suffering ftom the fects of trench-fever and shell-fire, Financial suecess now came to me through busines rations with Vienna, where [spent the best part of year, Money came easly; and was able olive aa young ‘man about town’. Alo I'took up socal eform and became a resident of Toynbee Hil, There, an opportunity came to work with a relief mision in Rosia in the Ukraine, Here, withthe pasa, spent one of the most interesting years of my life forthe disease of Communism had not yet come to the district where I was. Returning to England, Is00n found ryself in the literary and bookith world, and moving in the “highest society’. Everything that an ambitious young man could ak for ame my way, including a public carer, backed by people with family, ‘money, and influence, Ina sense i was satisfying, but che satisfction ‘was accompanied by a profound dsstisfacion, [seemed to beheading, for a blind alley. I fle tha all my experiences were as nothing, a mere background. must find the Magic Book of the Ruan fiy-tls, the ‘Magic Ring, the Golden Bough; something that would give me a clue to the meaning of ie [At this cme I came across a sonnet of Barmabe Barnes which des