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Awakening Exercises: For Students of the Fourth Way: for the teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Spanish and English Edition)

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These exercises do not come from Gurdjieff or his students. They are invented by the people from an equally self invented study group without any connection to Gurdjieff or his students. They purport to be based on Gurdjieff aphorisms, but these aphorisms seem to be misunderstood or not taken in the right way. While these exercises may not be terribly harmful, they are certainly not the Gurdjieff Work.

If you really care about protecting your possibility of Awakening; please take the time to read the information given by Gurdjieff and Ouspensky in their books. You will soon realize that there is no thorough description or mention of the actual exercises that took place within the Gurdjieff School. What should become clear to you if you take the time to read the foundations of The Way from Gurdjieff and Ouspensky is that "if" Miguel Angel Sosa had ever had any real connection with a directly successive School of the Fourth Way and had truly learned anything from It; he would know the harm that he is doing to anyone reading his book. He would not have published such a book.

Please understand: you have no way of verifying the validity of anything Sosa has written; and you have no way of knowing the detrimental outcome that may arise from your attempt to Awaken by performing the exercises Sosa is asking his readers to perform. Lastly, do not trust his reassuring words of support or direct advice, for he is clearly NOT a teacher of The Way; for if he were, he would not write such a book.

Consider this excerpt from Ouspensky's own writing in "The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution"; most specifically when he states: "AND THESE METHODS CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN BOOKS OR TAUGHT IN ORDINARY SCHOOLS FOR THE VERY SIMPLE REASON THAT THEY ARE DIFFERENT FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE, AND THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL METHOD EQUALLY APPLICABLE TO ALL."

"This brings us to the question of schools, because methods for the development of self-consciousness, unity, permanent 'I' and will, can be given only by special schools. That must be clearly understood. Men on the level of relative consciousness cannot find these methods by themselves; AND THESE METHODS CANNOT BE DESCRIBED IN BOOKS OR TAUGHT IN ORDINARY SCHOOLS FOR THE VERY SIMPLE REASON THAT THEY ARE DIFFERENT FOR DIFFERENT PEOPLE, AND THERE IS NO UNIVERSAL METHOD EQUALLY APPLICABLE TO ALL. In other words, this means that men who want to change their state of consciousness need a school. But first, they must realize their need. As long as they think they can do something by themselves they will not be able to make any use of a school, even if they find it. Schools exist only for those who need them, and who know that they need them. The idea of schools--the study of the kinds of schools that may exist, the study of school principles and school methods-- occupies a very important place in the study of that psychology which is connected with the idea of evolution; because without a school there can be no evolution. One cannot even start, because one does not know how to start: still less can one continue or attain anything. This means that having got rid of the first illusion, that one already has everything one can have, one must get rid of the second illusion that one can get anything by oneself; because by oneself one can get nothing. These lectures are not a school--not even the beginning of a school. A school requires a much higher pressure of work. But in these lectures I can give to those who wish to listen, some ideas as to how schools work and how they can be found."

This isn't just a book of philosophy, it's a guide to the daily practice and application of the principles of George Gurdjieff's Fourth Way. If you have any interest in the work of George Gurdjieff and you would like a taste of what it's like to practice his method and way, this book is for you. I refer to this book daily and I find the practices to be both relevant and effective.