What's New

Gurdjieff International Review

What's New

Since the Last Issue

It’s Up To Ourselves, a review by Michael Benham

“Jessmin Howarth, one of the accomplished women who contributed to the transmission of Gurdjieff’s practical teaching, known as the Movements, rarely talked about herself and her own personal life, and as her daughter Dushka Howarth recalls in this book, particularly not to her. It is therefore fortunate that in the later part of her life she began to write down some of her reminiscences and inner thoughts as neatly typed hand-bound essays that she gave to her daughter on birthdays and other special occasions. From these essays, private letters, family scrapbook fragments and the accounts of others Dushka has assembled the story of her mother’s life (in Jessmin’s words) and expanded it with comments, historical background and her own recollections of later events. To this she has added an account of her own life, including her experiences with Gurdjieff in his last years and her meetings and work with his senior pupils from the 1950’s to the present day.”

Courses and Practica in the J. G. Bennett Tradition of the Gurdjieff Work

A distinction of the Bennett lineage of the Gurdjieff Work has been its Practicum trainings in which numbers of people live and work together for a definite time. John Amaral interviews George Bennett and Elan Sicroff to discuss the history, features and effectiveness of these Courses. The aims and format of the trainings are revealing and useful for understanding J. G. Bennett's presentation of Gurdjieff's teaching.

Considering Fragments

Other than Mr. Gurdjieff's own writings, “what other written material has the real stamp of authenticity? Of particular note in this regard is P. D. Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching. However, given Ouspensky's early break with Gurdjieff, one might reasonably ask how reliable and complete Fragments is as an introduction? After all, the conversations Ouspensky records—more than two-thirds of Fragments consists of direct quotes from Gurdjieff—took place in Russian almost a century ago. Not only did Ouspensky have to remember his conversations with Gurdjieff but he had to translate his personal notes into a language that he learned later in life. Fortunately we have published appraisals of Fragments from several sources including some of Mr. Gurdjieff's most senior students.”

You Will Not Forget Work

One of Mr. Nyland's pupils describes how she incorporates work into her daily life? “Work in life is a way of life, a practice of the constancy of being in the midst of activity. My day-to-day life is filled with doing things, thinking about everyday affairs, being critical and going through varied and often conflicting emotions. How do I remember work when I am so engaged?”

An Introduction to the Writings of Henri Thomasson

Henri Thomasson's first contact with the Work occurred in Paris in 1947, where he participated in a small group led by Mme Henriette Lannes, who later introduced him to Mme de Salzmann and Gurdjieff. He went on to start new groups in Italy.

Frank Sinclair's Without Benefit of Clergy, a review by Müge Galin

“In this largely autobiographical account of his several decades in the Gurdjieff Work, or what he calls his ‘personal indulgence,’ Frank R. Sinclair shares some moving reflections on his inner and outer experiences in that pursuit. . . While recounting his search for meaning and his struggle to live in two worlds—the sacred and the profane—Sinclair courageously tells on himself, so to speak, as well as on others. In the end, he exposes the same human being full of contradictions, strengths and weaknesses, within us all.”

Frank Sinclair's Without Benefit of Clergy, a review by Anthony De Marinis

“Provides a recent assessment of the Gurdjieff teaching as it exists in its institutional setting today, written by someone who is in a position to speak of it. Sinclair is the president of the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York, one of the four founding foundations that comprise the International Association of Gurdjieff Foundations. As indicated in the book’s subtitle, Some Personal Footnotes to the Gurdjieff Teaching, Sinclair provides commentary on what practitioners call ‘the Work’ as it exists today, as well as offering an engaging memoir of the life of a seeker—a seeker of truth.”