Customer Reviews

The Magic Language of the Fourth Way: Awakening the Power of the Word

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I initially found this book to be really intriguing, particularly in terms of how Bonnasse presented the concept of observing the self as the self is reading. I think it's a good point to make because people can be resistant to what is read. However, the first half of the book didn't live up to the potential expressed in the introduction. It came off as pretentious and somewhat confusing. I've been told that the confusion is characteristic of Gurdjieff's works, so I wasn't entirely surprised to find it in a disciple's work, but I think that confusion detracts from the overall message that the author is attempting to convey.

The latter half of the book improves when the author focuses on explaining the enneagram and concepts of language and magic and how those relate to the Gurdjieff philosophy. I particularly found the focus on vibrations to be interesting and insightful.

What might've helped with this book was some exercises that readers could do in order to implement the theory into action. While I found this book interesting and a somewhat decent introduction to Gurdjieff's philosophy, I was disappointed by how confusing the book could get, as well as the occasional pretentious holier than thou attitude conveyed by the author. This book could be worth picking up if you want to learn a bit more about Gurdjieff or want to examine how language is treated in his system of philosophy.

The Magic Language of the Fourth Way: Awakening the Power of the Word
By Pierre Bonnasse
ISBN 1-59477-232-0 (Inner Traditions, 2008)

Being a longtime reader of George Gurdjieff and the "Fourth Way" knowledge, I found The Magic Language of the Fourth Way to be a powerful step into the world of language and music for anyone seeking spiritual advancement through exact and precise knowledge. There is a magic in words that can be found in almost any ancient tradition and magic only seems like magic until we learn the inner workings and hidden meanings. If you want to go deep into the science of consciousness and reality you will want to read and study this book.

Rahasya Poe, Lotus Guide magazine
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