Gurdjieff: A Path Toward Awakening

Four Discussions on the Core Ideas of Gurdjieff

at the
Pittsford Community Center
35 Lincoln Ave, Pittsford, NY
Mondays 7-8 pm
Starting February 12

Our Being Reflects Our Life

Participate in a small group interested in learning more about the Gurdjieff Work. A series of 4 discussions will look at topics including:

  1. The Most Comon Barrier to Awakening Today, and How It Appears in Your Inner Search

  2. The Overlooked Path to Consciousness and Conscience

  3. What Does Spiritual Balance Really Mean? How Do You Keep It?

  4. Creating and Maintaining a State of Compassionate Self-awareness

Intricate geometric and Celtic knot design in a framed artwork with gold border.

The WORK

Gurdjieff's teaching is sometimes referred to as “The Work.”

In contrast to teachings that emphasize the separate development of the body, mind, or the emotions, the Work provides tools for the simultaneous growth of all three. It promotes a balanced approach to inner development within the context of daily life, through the conscious use of attention.

It is possible to study the sun, the moon. But man has everything within him. I have inside me the sun, the moon, God. I am – all life in its totality. To understand, one must know oneself.

–G. I. Gurdjieff (1866-1949)

Self-observation in the trivia of daily life is the best way to know what I am: it is always a humbling experience, and is the only thing which leads to the bedrock from which growth can occur.

–Christopher Fremantle
(an early student of Gurdjieff)

A collage of three photos: the first shows a woman and an older man engaged in a group activity, the second features a woman smiling and looking at her phone, and the third depicts a young girl standing on plants outdoors. The overlay text promotes a 4-week introductory series about Gurdjieff work beginning February 12.

The IDEAS

The Work is not a system based on belief or theory, but rather a teaching that builds upon direct experience.

  • Human beings have two natures: our habitual, ordinary nature, and a higher nature that most of us have only glimpsed

  • Conscious growth is possible, but it cannot happen automatically, nor without the help of others on the path

  • Evolution requires inner attention: observing ourselves as we are – our habits, fears, and preferences – to come into meaningful contact with what has been buried

The GURDJIEFF TRADITION

Gurdjieff advised people to take nothing on faith, but rather to verify everything with their own experience.

He transmitted the ideas of the Work through group meetings, music, sitting meditation, meditation in movement, writings, lectures, and innovative forms of group work.

The Gurdjieff tradition brings into question the place and purpose of human beings in the universe.

Through the unique practices brought by Gurdjieff, the Work presents new possibilities for developing compassion and understanding.

These practices can make possible a further process of change, whose aim is to awaken us to Consciousness and our full range of possibilities as human beings.

This series will be held at

Pittsford Community Center
35 Lincoln Avenue, Pittsford, NY

Mondays 7-8 pm