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#Gurdjieff
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Bookwomble
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Q. Can women work [at self-knowledge] as well as men?

The old "men are more intellectual, women more emotional" myth ?. At least Gurdjieff holds both aspects as important to an individual, that self-knowledge includes a balance between & fusion of the two, & that therefore, yes, women are equally able to "do the work".
This is from 1924, so bearing in mind the attitude implied by the questioner, G is relatively progressive, I guess ??‍♂️

TrishB Sighs. 1y
31 likes1 comment
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Bookwomble
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“It means nothing if I say yes or no. If I say yes, you cannot verify it, if I say no, you are none the wiser. You have no business to believe me. I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself.”

DivineDiana Sound advice! 🤔 1y
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Bookwomble
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“Every man comes into the world like a clean sheet of paper, and then the people and circumstances around him begin vying with each other to dirty this sheet and cover it with writing... Gradually the sheet is dirtied, and the dirtier with so-called “knowledge“ the sheet becomes, the cleverer the man is considered to be... And the dirty sheet itself, seeing that people consider its “dirt“ as merit, considers it valuable.”

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Bookwomble
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I'm finally reading this book, purchased in 1984, for #TitlesAndTunes #TheWorldIsMyOyster
I've long been unable to decide whether Gurdjieff is a person of great wisdom or a cultish charlatan, though I suppose the two aren't necessarily mutually exclusive (or are they? 🤔).
Given his belief that most people lead lives of mechanistic “waking sleep“, that conventional wisdom and religious thought is illusory and superficial, and that true ⬇️

Bookwomble ... enlightenment is only possible through studying under a great teacher, of which, of course, he considered himself one, perhaps there is an indication about his character in this, but then perhaps the distinction between guru and grifter is both ocean-wide and tissue-thin, and I'm no closer to being able to distinguish between them. I suppose I should just read the damn book! 1y
IndoorDame Definitely let us know which camp you fall into after reading it! 1y
Suet624 Great post. I‘ve wondered the same thing. 1y
See All 11 Comments
Cuilin Interested to know your thoughts after reading it. 1y
Bookwomble @IndoorDame @Suet624 @Cuilin Well, in chapter 2, Gurdjieff directly addresses the issues of occult charlatanism, pseudoscience, uncritical thinking, conspiracy theories and the traps of circular logic and self-referential ideologies, which is all in his favour, though he could just be cleverly obfuscating his own tracks to throw me off his trail! Seriously, though, it is an auspicious start. Let's see what the next 200 pages brings 😊 1y
DivineDiana I was amazed to see you were reading Gurdjieff! My husband is a fan and I know when he was much younger attended a Gurdjieff followers retreat! 1y
Bookwomble @DivineDiana I've never met anybody in "real life" who's even heard of him, so it's nice to find it's not just me and Kate Bush ? I read a couple of Gurdjieff primers and Meetings with Remarkable Men in the early '80s, then tried Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson in about '86, and was so confounded I put him aside. 1y
Bookwomble @DivineDiana Annoyingly, the posted book would have suited me better, but I think I'm actually getting more from it now. If your hubby has any reading recommendations, I'd be interested 😊 1y
DivineDiana Recommendations from my husband. Very strong recommendation for P.D. Ouspensky. Gurdjieff‘s #1 successor and translator for the modern world. 1y
DivineDiana Two great books: In Search of the Miraculous and The Fourth Way were life changing for him. 1y
Bookwomble @DivineDiana Ah, I haven't read (nor got) those two. I did read the tagged by Ouspensky back in the '90s, which has some "interesting" ideas, and which I think was written after his break with Gurdjieff, and I have the Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution on long-standing TBR. Thanks for the book tips ? 1y
30 likes11 comments
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Bookwomble
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#TitlesAndTunes #TheWorldIsMyOyster
When Arkana started reissuing Gurdjieff's books in the early '80s, I knew his name thanks to Kate Bush's ?Them Heavy People? from her debut album, so on the off chance that I might one day sit next to Kate at a bus stop and need a topic of conversation, I read a few of his books, and of his pupil Ouspensky. Fascinating, but "Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson" was too oblique for me, and Kate never did get ⬇️

Bookwomble ... the No. 2 into town, so I didn't read this volume of Gurdjieff's early lectures, and it's sat on my shelf since 1984. Although I grew out of my esoteric philosophy phase, I do think I'm coming round the other side of the bus shelter to see some of those ideas from a different perspective, so perhaps I'll finally read it, and who knows what strange phenomena might happen!
@BarbaraBB @Cinfhen
1y
Ruthiella That‘s some close listening! I read Wuthering Heights because of Kate, but that‘s it. 😂 1y
Cinfhen That‘s some serious dedication!! Can‘t wait to hear what you discover 😁 1y
BarbaraBB How cool! I didn‘t know that about the song. One I love to hear again though! 1y
batsy I love this! 1y
31 likes5 comments
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LindaLappin
Mount Analogue | Ren Daumal
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“To return to the source, one must travel in the opposite direction.“
“Shoes, unlike feet, are not something you're born with. So you can choose what you want.“
“Keep your eyes fixed on the way to the top, but don't forget to look right in front of you. The last step depends on the first.“ #SavvySettings 6 #Mountain @Eggs @alwaysbeenaloverofbooks

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 📚👍🏻⛰ 3y
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LindaLappin
The Collected Letters of Katherine Mansfield: Volume 5: 1922 | Katherine Mansfield, Vincent O'Sullivan, Margaret Scott
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Mansfield's grave near Fontainebleau. This volume of her letters contains the last ones she wrote from #Gurdjieff's institute at the Prieurè of Fontainebleau where she died.
#SavvySettings 2 #graveyard.
@TheSpineView

TheSpineView 💗 3y
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