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I RETURNED to Russia in November, 1914, that is, at the beginning of the first world war, after a rather long journey through Egypt, Ceylon, and India. Read the first page
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Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Index | Back Cover
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
60 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A book for those who wish to sleep no more.,
This review is from: In Search of the Miraculous: The Definitive Exploration of G. I. Gurdjieff's Mystical Thought and Universal View (Harvest Book) (Paperback)
For me, this was perhaps one of the most important books I have read in the last ten years. P D Ouspensky was a Russian mathamatician/Philosopher of astounding intellect, who spent most of his years trying to answer those questions that have plagued mankind since our ancestors began to comprehend their existence. Why are we here, what should we be doing, and how can we improve, amongst others. With his scientific background he is not led nor blinded by the ideas of the fantastic, as so many 'new age' authors are, but by the determined resolve to find the truth in things. Although more famous for his time spent with Gurdjieff and subsequent works on his 'system' his earlier books still stand out like breaths of fresh air, still shining new light on old problems unafraid to look from different angles and dispute that which is unfounded of defies common sense. This book is more of a diary of his time with 'G' from the moment they meet to the moment they depart, and the fatastic accounts of in between. Ouspensky is no fool, and is instantly likeable for his honest,unshakeably grounded approach to all the ideas of 'the master'. What happens is a fantastic account of a 'no holes barred' system, that isn't afraid to tell poeple that which they dont wish to hear, whilst at the same time giving us a glimpse of the light at the end of our tunnels. This book inspired me to go on and read his other works, and those of gurdjieff - which together have given me a new direction for understanding some of the most difficult areas of philosophy and religion. I am not saying I agree with all the ideas, but if you want a book to make you really think about your life. This is about the best start you can get.
14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A key book for understanding Gurdjieff,
By
This review is from: In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching (Paperback)
These are mostly transcriptions of Gurdjieff's Moscow teachings. But whilst Gurdjieff writes horribly, with a cumbersome and awkward style, Ouspensky is a fine journalist and documenter, showing the basis of Gurdjieff's system and the divergence between this and the teacher's own, often frustrated path. It is as if G knew many of the answers but was not able fully to put them into practice.Gurdjieff teaches self-awareness through self observation. Notice that you notice, ask what is doing the noticing and then remember that point which notices in each and every moment. Then you will begin to function as a person rather than a thing which responds only to internal and external stimuli. Gurdjieff then explores the nature of what a person is: a complex layer of being, of various levels which he describes using often confusing metaphors from music (octaves as layers of being) and chemistry (hydrogens as the materials; of a physical or existential sort which noursih these levels) The point of life is to realise ourselves fully; a path which cannot be isolated and requires us to help others. Gurdjieff is often mischievous in his teaching style, exposing pomp mercilessly, but never cruelly, and demanding an authenticity worthy of a follower of Kierkegaard. You often feel he is deliberately challenging you, throwing in random absurdities to check you are of independent mind and not a blind proselyte, and even gently taking the piss. A book to read many times.
39 of 41 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
From the arch-absurd to surprising clarity,
This review is from: In Search of the Miraculous: The Definitive Exploration of G. I. Gurdjieff's Mystical Thought and Universal View (Harvest Book) (Paperback)
This is one of the most extraordinary books ever written. Ouspensky, a mathematician, writer, and intellectual meets a system of spiritual development, ancient but at the same time strikingly new in its formulation, and descibes it in lucid and even entertaining prose.The teacher of this system was G.I.Gurdjieff. The origins of both the man and his teaching are obscure, and Gurdjieff did his best to make the teaching itself obscure to the point of absurdity. The reason for this, as stated in the introductory chapter of Gurdjieff's own book, 'All and Everything,' was to shake up our habitual thinking, to prevent the ideas being simply amalgamated with our habitual ways of thought. Gurdjieff having achieved this, it fell to Ouspensky to untangle the system again and present it for the modern mind. This he achieved not merely by an intellectual effort, but by verifying the system in himself. This book records the unfolding of the teaching almost in the style of a novel. It is in this book that Ouspensky states most clearly one of the core ideas of the fourth way system: 'we do not remember ourselves.' Contrary to all our usual assumptions, we do not possess consciousness. Ouspensky's achievement of this initial and very humbling realisation is recorded with great candour. Yet this is the foundation of all that follows: a programme for the psychological and spiritual development of human beings. In the opinion of this reviewer, this book, together with the much more intellectual 'The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution,' are Peter Ouspensky's greatest books. They contain insights, obvious to those who have studied the system seriously, which remain entirely absent from mainstream psychology and philosophy.
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