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Voices in the Dark: Esoteric, Occult & Secular Voices in Nazi-Occupied Paris, 1940-44

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I had just begun Voices in the Dark when the September 11th attacks occurred, and this book began to speak to me in a way that few other books could have. Living with fear daily is so new to me as an American, and here were people, ordinary people as well as resistance fighters, living for years with fear. Although I'd read some history of World War II and what it was like for the French living under the Nazi occupation, this book made these people and the times really come alive. The people that went to the meetings that Gurdjieff held during those dangerous times were heroic in a very deep way. They risked death just to be out on the streets after curfew, and once in the meetings what they talked about were their personal struggles with spiritual transformation. I was very moved by Gurdjieff staying in Paris with his students when he could have easily gone to a safe country while the war lasted.

Voices in the Dark is an inspiring book. I found its depth and insights very invigorating, and saw how a true teaching goes beyond individual self-growth. I've learned a lot about what fear and the uncertainty of life are about, and they've receded in importance for me. I found in this book new ways to think and perceive life, and it points to much more.

This book has as its axis, the transcripts of wartime meetings with Gurdjieff in Paris. These meetings are characterized by warmth, humor, copious work-reports, and personalized advice for questioners.

The book interleaves the transcripts with descriptions of the war that was raging outside. In contrast to that frenzy, the meetings themselves stand out as a quiet sanctuary. The overall impression is of two very different momentums, one driving Paris, the other 6 rue-de Colonels Renard.

Similar to 'The Struggle of the Magicians', this book has an innovative structure at heart. In the 'Struggle..', the Work was stretched out on linear time, as though drawing an arrow on a bow. In 'Voices..', there is an 'alternation', time as a circle, day and night.

I have avidly read all of Mr. Patterson's books. Honesty, an attention to detail, and a deep feeling for the Work, animate all his books. His relentless focus on reminding the primacy of Gurdjieff is much needed in these fragmented times.

My gratitude for the taste, the vision, the constant note.

Amazing never before published transcripts of Gurdjieff's meetings. Excellent book. There are few books that one reads that stay with you for a lifetime---this is such a book. And, its timeliness couldn't be more appropriate given the current world condition.

"Voices in the Dark" gave me a greater appreciation of the Work. The people who were in the Work continued their self-exploration even though they were in the midst of WWII. It must have been very difficult under these conditions of war to keep to one's spiritual aim, but it showed what Gurdjieff's students valued. For most people, however, the war became the focus of their lives. This juxtaposition was beautifully illustrated by the interweaving of what was happening in the war through the writings of people of that time and the transcripts of meetings that Gurdjieff held with his students. Reading this book reminded me that hope needs to be placed in consciousness and Being and not on the external conditions. For that reminder I am grateful.

We have here an engaging chronicle of the last years of G. I. Gurdjieff's life set against the tragic backdrop of war, its madness, shame and deprivation. Paris was under Nazi occupation for over four years during the Second World War, beginning in June 1940. All during this period, Gurdjieff continued to live in his small apartment at 6 rue des Colonels-Renard, where he met regularly with his students.

There are thirty-two transcripts of these meetings, which were attended at great hazard, with spies and checkpoints everywhere. The discussion is focused on the spiritual work of self-remembering and self-observation which Mr. Gurdjieff is teaching. He is not interested in "who wins war . . . all have ideals, all have peaceful purpose, all kill." He has seen enough of war and revolution, what he calls man's "chief particularity. . . the periodic arising in them of. . .the urgent need to destroy everything outside themselves". For him, war is the result of the slavery that men have accepted and embraced as their lot. There can be just one solution to war and that is to teach men and women how to free themselves from the hypnotism of contemporary life.

Alongside Gurdjieff's quiet discussions with his pupils, we hear Hitler's historical justifications, the fumbling and surprise of politicians and military men as France's defenses fail and she is overrun, the rationalizations for collaboration and the calls for resistance from her intellectuals on the right and the left. The author has faithfully drawn a picture of the crisis Hitler represented for the West. He points to the passive support Hitler received from the elites of many countries. They admired the new "barbarians" and hoped the Germans would deal a blow to communism. We also hear brave accounts of the resistance, and the challenge to action facing writers like Albert Camus, Andre Malraux, and Francois Mauriac. We see Charles de Gaulle, with his difficult personality which isolated him from the rest of the French military before the invasion, and how well it suited him for the historical role he would eventually play, pressuring Churchill and Eisenhower on behalf of the Free French Forces.

With these two perspectives, author Patterson has given us a new point from which to see those conflicted times. He casts new light on the often puzzling mystic and teacher, Gurdjieff. This is a remarkable meditation on war and I recommend it highly. It was nominated for the National Book Awards in 2001. Well researched and documented, it is an extremely interesting read and it will be welcomed by serious students of the Gurdjieff work as well as general readers.

I found Voices In The dark an engrossing book to read. For starters, the context in which the voices speak is unique. We hear many disparate voices in this book brought to extremes by the "terror of the situation" along with the voice of Gurdjieff addressing the questions that his students struggle to understand and work with. The contrast is very sharp and makes for a force of opposites that propels this book through. I realized while reading it that my own life is so simple compared to those living in Paris in 1940-44. True, we now have the aftermath of September 11th but somehow that threat and future threats seem different-we don't see an enemy at every turn during our daily lives. The Nazi presence in Paris from 1940-1944 was very visible and one's life and safety could never be taken for granted. These are the circumstances under which Gurdjieff and his students lived while he continued to teach and they struggled with themselves. Gurdjieff's voice comes across as kinder and more sensitive than had been imagined. To hear his student's attempts to be sincere in their questions without indulging in personal fears for safety was humbling. I thoroughly recommend this book.

This work gives a sense of how G. I. Gurdjieff taught during the last years of his life through the transcipts of the meetings that took place in Nazi-occupied Paris. Juxtaposed with these meetings is a concise, mostly biographical history of the German war with and the occupation of France. The main characters of this drama from all sides are introduced. Some we know well like Hitler, others like Camus and Sartre we know mostly as writers. It is through their eyes that the story of the war is told.
The transcripts themselves show Gurdjieff working with students and give a sense of the seriousness and intention of the students to work for self-transformation despite the outer conditions of their lives. They show Gurdjieff giving exercises and bringing the students to a sense of their nothingness. There is an emphasis on working with centers, balancing them, having them work together at the same time. They also show him trying to get students to sense themselves as a whole.

This book is a must-read for anyone interested in seeing a deeper aspect of Gurdjieff and his teaching.

Voices in the Dark gives a historical perspective on the Gurdjieff work, placing authentic transcripts of meetings with his students in the context of the extremely difficult and traumatic experience of living in Nazi-occupied Paris. Patterson adds additional dimensions to this time through the reactions, feelings, and thoughts of some of the most important writers, philosophers, and power-players of the day. This book gives excellent insights into a situation in which the search for meaning was not just important, but urgent and critical. The bravery and the commitment to their aim that Gurdjieff and his students showed in the face of constant danger and uncertainty is inspiring and Patterson's presentation of their story honors them.

There are few books that one reads that stay with you for a lifetime---this is such a book. And, its timeliness couldnt be more appropriate given the current world condition. Not only does Voices in the Dark give a startling inside view to Nazi-occupied France but it also contains meeting notes held by George Gurdjieff with his students during that time. I had never read these notes anywhere before---what a gift Mr. Patterson has given us by unearthing these notes and bringing them to light for all to read.

For me, this book is masterful and one of its powers lies in its architecture. Mr. Patterson interweaved the events of the period with the transcripts of Mr. Gurdjieffs meetings. This had the effect of evoking a palpable taste of the outer war and metaphorically, at a deeper level, the inner struggle as well. In reading the meetings it was as if time had stoppedor better yet, it was like entering a world out of time, bathed in Reason and Conscience. That the contents of the meetings lacked talk of concern for ones safety, or a discussion of the days outer events, or the lack of food, etc, really shot deep with me. It showed what can be possible---a level of seriousness in the search for true Being even amidst the horrific circumstances of the times.

In the book, the quote below of Mr. Gurdjieff continues to resonate the living Wisdom he brought:

I not interested in who wins war. Not have patriotism or big ideals about peace. Americans, with ideals, kill millions of Germans, Germans kill---with own ideals---English, French, Russian, Belgian---all have ideals, all have peaceful purpose, all kill.

In Voices in the Dark, William Patrick Patterson takes us to Gurdjieff's meetings in Paris during the Nazi occupation. The records of the meetings are interspersed with accounts of the historical events taking place. Gurdjieff's oft-given instruction to the student to "outwardly play a role and inwardly not to identify" takes on a new importance during these times. Yet the problems of a student of the Fourth Way seem the same as always from the perspective taken in the meetings: work with attention, struggling with self-love and vanity. The timelessness of the teaching brought by Gurdjieff, a work in life, is brilliantly illustrated in this book.