SeekingtheTruth
Jedi
When one looks up "The Work" in the Cassiopaea glossary this is what one finds:
The term Work, usually with capital W, refers to the ensemble of 4th Way practices introduced to the public by Gurdjieff.
See 4th Way, Gurdjieff.
I thought an addition may be beneficial to those seeking a concise explanation of what is meant by "The Work". In seeking to find a somewhat more concise explanation of this concept I found the following which may be found here:
[Edit: Note - At the beginning of the paper the following is said: "A paper presented at the 2005 CESNUR Conference in Palermo, Sicily. Preliminary version – do not reproduce or quote without the consent of the author." Maybe it is best that this thread is deleted then?]
The Gurdjieff Work addresses personal evolution, social transformation, and ultimately, a transformation on the cosmic scale. The expression “Work” refers to the effort required in order for the pupil to wake up to the meaning of human existence. The fruits of this “Work,” which begins as an inner work on oneself, must ultimately transform the pupil’s daily life. The “Work” is a form of oral tradition and requires a “school” and “pupils” or “students” willing to submit to a master’s guidance, without which inner transformation is deemed impossible. The human condition as it exists nowadays is far from its original truth and potential. In the modern world, many contradictory “I’s” exist within a person, in competition with each other. This conflict makes unified thought and action impossible. Moreover, in every person two separate natures co-exist which are unable to recognize each other: essence and personality. Freedom, conscious action, and authentic will cannot exist in such a fragmentary state. What we call “action” is merely a mechanical and unconscious phenomenon. This common and everyday state is called “sleep” by Gurdjieff. Personal evolution is the awakening from the state of sleep and the passage from fragmentation to unity. The state of “sleep” not only deprives the person of freedom and responsibility, it also deeply distorts his relationship with the cosmos. Gurdjieff demands, and at times brutally, that we take note of the disharmony and the illusions which prevent us from seeing the reality of the actual human condition.
The “Work” slowly reveals how the entity of oneself that a person considered unitary, coherent, and free is in reality a contradictory composite of thoughts, emotional reactions, and repetitive mechanisms of self-protection. Becoming aware of this state of confusion is the first step toward awakening. The second necessary step is to accept what has been seen. The first phases of the “Work” propose observation, verification, and acceptance of the truth of the human condition through study, participation in group work, and exercises which involve focusing attention (“self-remembering”). The teaching of Gurdjieff is not organized around a doctrinal system, but rather around a method. He insists that everything must be called into question. By living in a perpetually critical way, the capacity for observation and attention become more finely honed, and the ideas taught by the “Work” find verification in daily life. Gurdjieff taught that his doctrines could not be transmitted in a univocal manner because each individual has an independent and unique path of development to follow, which must be taken into consideration. However, it is also true that—despite the risk of self-illusion—group work with others is indispensable to transformation. By working in a group, self-observation becomes more objective. Furthermore, some exercises are possible only in a group context.
Groups in the “Work” must also develop sincerity, inner strength, and new capacities. Concretely speaking, the “Work” is based on methods of self-observation which have, among other things, the aim of teaching the practitioner to “remember himself.” Observing how one thinks, acts, and feels emotions reveals how the three centers of the human person—intellectual, emotional, and moving—operate at three different speeds and are often in contradiction with each other. The “Work” exercises allow the practitioner to become aware of the relations between the centers and allow him to experience moments in which his mechanical nature is no longer dominant. These moments in which a person emerges from the state of “sleep” are ephemeral, but they gradually become linked one to another, offering a new possibility of integration.
Both music and physical movement could serve the “Work.” Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956) have left a vast musical corpus intended to transmit a practical teaching regarding the relationship linking vibration, the experience of sound, and awareness. Jeanne de Salzmann (1889-1990) in turn transmitted a large number of “sacred dances” or “movements” created by Gurdjieff on the basis of diverse traditions observed during his travels. The music and movements offer opportunities for study and “self-remembering,” creating conditions in which it is easier for the pupil to observe the relationship between his body and the quality of his attention. Through the body different levels and qualities of energy may be experienced.
Gurdjieff describes higher states of personal evolution as difficult but not impossible to attain. Unlike other esoteric systems, Gurdjieff’s system teaches its pupils to integrate what it defines as the two natures of human existence, one which tends towards evolution and the other which tends towards an involution—in order to reach an ideal realm located at the midpoint of these two natures. Only at this midpoint will it be possible to rediscover and nourish the essence, that part of the human being which may reveal the aim of a person’s life. As development continues, the awareness of responsibility also increases and the person may render service to others and to the great cosmic process of evolution. Gurdjieff places the “Work” within a complex cosmology. The aim of life is to transform energy consciously and to participate responsibly in a cosmic process and drama in which humanity has a role in the great chain of being. Individuals who do not attain this state of consciousness also contribute, but passively and involuntarily, by liberating energy which serves to fuel cosmic processes, becoming “food for the moon” (Ouspensky, 1949: 57).
Is this description of "The Work" adequate enough for inclusion within the Cassiopaea Glossary's "definition" of The Work? To me, it seems the current "definition" of "The Work" found in the glossary is lacking a fundamental description. Perhaps, the description as given above is thorough enough to take up the "slack"?
The term Work, usually with capital W, refers to the ensemble of 4th Way practices introduced to the public by Gurdjieff.
See 4th Way, Gurdjieff.
I thought an addition may be beneficial to those seeking a concise explanation of what is meant by "The Work". In seeking to find a somewhat more concise explanation of this concept I found the following which may be found here:
[Edit: Note - At the beginning of the paper the following is said: "A paper presented at the 2005 CESNUR Conference in Palermo, Sicily. Preliminary version – do not reproduce or quote without the consent of the author." Maybe it is best that this thread is deleted then?]
The Gurdjieff Work addresses personal evolution, social transformation, and ultimately, a transformation on the cosmic scale. The expression “Work” refers to the effort required in order for the pupil to wake up to the meaning of human existence. The fruits of this “Work,” which begins as an inner work on oneself, must ultimately transform the pupil’s daily life. The “Work” is a form of oral tradition and requires a “school” and “pupils” or “students” willing to submit to a master’s guidance, without which inner transformation is deemed impossible. The human condition as it exists nowadays is far from its original truth and potential. In the modern world, many contradictory “I’s” exist within a person, in competition with each other. This conflict makes unified thought and action impossible. Moreover, in every person two separate natures co-exist which are unable to recognize each other: essence and personality. Freedom, conscious action, and authentic will cannot exist in such a fragmentary state. What we call “action” is merely a mechanical and unconscious phenomenon. This common and everyday state is called “sleep” by Gurdjieff. Personal evolution is the awakening from the state of sleep and the passage from fragmentation to unity. The state of “sleep” not only deprives the person of freedom and responsibility, it also deeply distorts his relationship with the cosmos. Gurdjieff demands, and at times brutally, that we take note of the disharmony and the illusions which prevent us from seeing the reality of the actual human condition.
The “Work” slowly reveals how the entity of oneself that a person considered unitary, coherent, and free is in reality a contradictory composite of thoughts, emotional reactions, and repetitive mechanisms of self-protection. Becoming aware of this state of confusion is the first step toward awakening. The second necessary step is to accept what has been seen. The first phases of the “Work” propose observation, verification, and acceptance of the truth of the human condition through study, participation in group work, and exercises which involve focusing attention (“self-remembering”). The teaching of Gurdjieff is not organized around a doctrinal system, but rather around a method. He insists that everything must be called into question. By living in a perpetually critical way, the capacity for observation and attention become more finely honed, and the ideas taught by the “Work” find verification in daily life. Gurdjieff taught that his doctrines could not be transmitted in a univocal manner because each individual has an independent and unique path of development to follow, which must be taken into consideration. However, it is also true that—despite the risk of self-illusion—group work with others is indispensable to transformation. By working in a group, self-observation becomes more objective. Furthermore, some exercises are possible only in a group context.
Groups in the “Work” must also develop sincerity, inner strength, and new capacities. Concretely speaking, the “Work” is based on methods of self-observation which have, among other things, the aim of teaching the practitioner to “remember himself.” Observing how one thinks, acts, and feels emotions reveals how the three centers of the human person—intellectual, emotional, and moving—operate at three different speeds and are often in contradiction with each other. The “Work” exercises allow the practitioner to become aware of the relations between the centers and allow him to experience moments in which his mechanical nature is no longer dominant. These moments in which a person emerges from the state of “sleep” are ephemeral, but they gradually become linked one to another, offering a new possibility of integration.
Both music and physical movement could serve the “Work.” Gurdjieff and Thomas de Hartmann (1885-1956) have left a vast musical corpus intended to transmit a practical teaching regarding the relationship linking vibration, the experience of sound, and awareness. Jeanne de Salzmann (1889-1990) in turn transmitted a large number of “sacred dances” or “movements” created by Gurdjieff on the basis of diverse traditions observed during his travels. The music and movements offer opportunities for study and “self-remembering,” creating conditions in which it is easier for the pupil to observe the relationship between his body and the quality of his attention. Through the body different levels and qualities of energy may be experienced.
Gurdjieff describes higher states of personal evolution as difficult but not impossible to attain. Unlike other esoteric systems, Gurdjieff’s system teaches its pupils to integrate what it defines as the two natures of human existence, one which tends towards evolution and the other which tends towards an involution—in order to reach an ideal realm located at the midpoint of these two natures. Only at this midpoint will it be possible to rediscover and nourish the essence, that part of the human being which may reveal the aim of a person’s life. As development continues, the awareness of responsibility also increases and the person may render service to others and to the great cosmic process of evolution. Gurdjieff places the “Work” within a complex cosmology. The aim of life is to transform energy consciously and to participate responsibly in a cosmic process and drama in which humanity has a role in the great chain of being. Individuals who do not attain this state of consciousness also contribute, but passively and involuntarily, by liberating energy which serves to fuel cosmic processes, becoming “food for the moon” (Ouspensky, 1949: 57).
Is this description of "The Work" adequate enough for inclusion within the Cassiopaea Glossary's "definition" of The Work? To me, it seems the current "definition" of "The Work" found in the glossary is lacking a fundamental description. Perhaps, the description as given above is thorough enough to take up the "slack"?
