Customer Reviews

The Inner Journey: Views from the Gurdjieff Work (PARABOLA Anthology Series)

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I'm very pleased with this book which is an anthology of articles and interviews on the subject of G.I. Gurdjieff and his spiritual system, all taken from past issues of Parabola: the Magazine of Myth and Tradition. What makes it especially good value is the inclusion of a DVD of "Meetings with Remarkable Men", the film of Gurdjieff's early years directed by Peter Brook and Jeanne de Saltzman. The highlight of the film, in my opinion, are the scenes of Gurdjieff's "movements" or sacred dances, performed to his arrangements of folk and sacred music gleaned from his travels.

Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson has been the root of my Gurdjieff reading. This book (as well as In Search of the Miraculous) helps me when plodding along is too much. It helps me appreciate what I don't understand...yet. A very useful read.

Gurdjieff was an idiosyncratic, often obscure but always insightful teacher who brought to the West a teaching he called the Fourth Way. This collection of articles from PARABOLA magazine includes several excerpts from his writings as well as essays written by students of his and religious scholars. As a bonus, this book includes a DVD of the film version of Gurdjieff's book about the early years of his spiritual search "Meetings with Remarkable Men."

If you are interested in Gurdjieff, yet have never read anything or little of his work, this is a great place to start. It contains several of the very best excerpts from the writings of Gurdjieff, Ouspensky and many other Fourth Way teachers. It is well organized, beautifully designed and extraordinarily accessible.

If you have already read much of the Gurdjieff literature, I highly recommend this as well. Each chapter is a powerful reminder of what this work is about. And there are many chapters that have only appeared in Parabola. To have all of this so accessible in one place is a marvel.

I am in the process of understanding Gurdjieff's Work. While not easy, it is a long and thoughtful process that is often difficult to absorb. This collection is quite helpful in that it has offered a variety of views/perceptions of the Gurdjieff discipline which has helped me refocus. The interviews and articles included in this anthology tie in perfectly with Gurdjieff's Fourth Way.

As a bonus, this book includes the dvd of Gurdjieff's "Meetings With Remarkable Men" which was directed by Peter Brook and Madame de Saltzmann and depicts the early years of his spiritual journey. Also included are Gurdjieff's Movements accompanied by his music. I found this interesting to watch as it enhanced my perception of the Work and Gurdjieff's life.

i bought the book inner journey...unfortunately the dvd was defective. i couldnt watch more than 10 minutes, the rest was completely defective. so buyer beware. i bought it supposedly new...