Table Of ContentABOUT THE BOOK
Are we able to say that life is governed by a group of conscious people?
Where are they? Who are they? We see exactly the opposite: that life is
governed by those who are the least conscious, by those who are most
asleep.
Provocative ideas such as these have attracted generations of thoughtful
people to the methods of self-study and inner work devised by Gurdjieff,
one of the most radical spiritual teachers of modern times. According to
Gurdjieff, the wars raging at this very moment are nothing more than
millions of sleeping people trying to annihilate millions of other sleeping
people. Contrary to popular belief, there is no such as thing as progress and
evolution as long as humanity remains asleep.
Two hundred conscious people could change the whole of life on the
earth, Gurdjieff says. If we want to become those conscious people, we
must learn how to change ourselves. With the help of self-knowledge and
an understanding of our relation to the universe, we can awaken to a higher
level of being—if we wish to change ourselves.
All of Gurdjieff’s fundamental principles and methods of transforming
the intellect, emotions, and body, in the system known as the Fourth Way,
are presented in this book in his own clear, precise words preserved by his
closest pupils.
Arranged in an orderly sequence of passages drawn from two primary
source books—P. D. Ouspensky’s In Search of the Miraculous, and Views
from the Real World, edited by Mme. Jeanne de Salzmann—this material is
an indispensable introduction for those determined to undertake the efforts
and practices necessary for awakening consciousness.
All the basic concepts and methods are covered, including:
man is “asleep”
we have no unified “I”
the need for self-knowledge
functions of the human “machine”
states of consciousness
levels of being
three centers: moving, emotional, and thinking
personality and essence
the possibility of self-development
self-observation
remembering oneself
conscious evolution
the law of three forces
the ray of creation
the law of octaves
the Enneagram, a universal symbol
the variety of spiritual ways
esoteric Christianity
working in groups
the necessity of schools
G. I. GURDJIEFF (1866–1949) created an original system of self-
transformation that reconciled the great mystical traditions, known as the
“Fourth Way” or “the Work.” He initially gathered pupils in Moscow and in
1915 organized a study group in St. Petersburg that included P. D.
Ouspensky, a leading figure in the spread of the teachings. Amid
revolutionary turmoil in Russia, in 1917 he moved to the Caucasus and in
1922 established an institute for his work in France. The sources of the
present book stem from this early period.
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IN SEARCH of BEING
The Fourth Way to Consciousness
G. I. Gurdjieff
SHAMBHALA
Boston & London
2012
Shambhala Publications, Inc.
Horticultural Hall
300 Massachusetts Avenue
Boston, Massachusetts 02115
www.shambhala.com
© 2012 by FourthWay Editions, Inc.
Edited by Stephen A. Grant, a senior member of the Gurdjieff Foundation, New York.
Cover art: The Road to Cold Mountain by Natasha de Castro.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or
mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without
permission in writing from the publisher.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Gurdjieff, Georges Ivanovitch, 1872–1949.
In search of being: the fourth way to consciousness / G.I. Gurdjieff.—1st ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
eISBN 978-0-8348-2850-6
ISBN 978-1-61180-037-1 (hardcover: alk. paper)
1. Fourth Way (Occultism) 2. Self-consciousness (Awareness)
3. Awareness. I. Title.
BP605.G8I5 2012
197—dc23
2012026373
Contents
Foreword
Introduction
I. KNOW THYSELF
What Are We?
Man Cannot “Do”
No Unified “I”
Toward Self-Knowledge
II. OUR HUMAN MACHINE
Functions and Centers
States of Consciousness
Essence and Personality
Immaterial Bodies
Inner Alchemy
III. WORLDS WITHIN WORLDS
Inside the Milky Way
The Law of Three Forces
The Ray of Creation
The Law of Octaves
Degrees of Materiality
IV. THE POSSIBILITY OF EVOLUTION
Conscious Evolution
Knowledge and Being
As Above, So Below
Levels of Development
Spiritual Ways
V. THE AIM OF RELIGION
A Conscious Nucleus
Inner Circles of Humanity
Religion Implies “Doing”
Esoteric Christianity
VI. SEEKING THE WAY
To Awake
Disillusionment
The First Threshold
“Schools” Are Imperative
Work in Groups
VII. A PRACTICAL STUDY
Beginning Self-Observation
Formatory Thinking
Start with Small Things
Identification
Lying to Oneself
VIII. A WORK FOR CONSCIOUSNESS
A Different Kind of Observation
To See the Whole
Separate Oneself from Oneself
Work with Three Centers
Self-Remembering
IX. TOWARD LIBERATION
Two Rivers
Voluntary Suffering
The First Liberation
Freedom from Influences
Acquiring a Soul
X. KNOWLEDGE OF BEING
Objective Art
A Stream of Myths and Symbols
Symbology and Self-Knowledge
The Enneagram
Biographical Notes
George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff
Peter Demianovitch Ouspensky
Jeanne de Salzmann
Fourth Way Centers
Index
E-mail Sign-Up
Foreword
ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO in Russia, George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff (1866–1949)
introduced an ancient teaching of man’s conscious evolution, a forgotten science
for perceiving reality in oneself and in the universe. Although he was virtually
unknown during his lifetime, in the years after his death Gurdjieff’s ideas have
spread throughout the world, inspiring new generations of seekers to explore the
esoteric meaning of traditional religions. Up to now, however, his early teaching
has been reproduced only in fragments of talks from 1915 to 1924, arranged in
chronological order; no attempt has been made to present this teaching in his
own words as a comprehensive whole.
Gurdjieff regarded knowledge of reality—what he called true “knowledge of
being”—as a stream flowing from remote antiquity, passed down from age to
age, from people to people, from race to race. He viewed this knowledge as the
indispensable means to achieve inner liberation. For those seeking to understand
the meaning of human life in the universe, he said, the aim of the search is to
break through to this stream, to find it. Then there remains only to know in order
to be. But in order to know, he taught, it is necessary to find out “how to know.”
Gurdjieff respected traditional paths toward spiritual transformation, and
pointed out that their different approaches could be subsumed under one of three
categories: the “way of the fakir,” which centers on mastery of the physical
body; the “way of the monk,” based on faith and religious feeling; and the “way
of the yogi,” which concentrates on developing the mind. He presented his
teaching as a “Fourth Way” that requires work on all three aspects at the same
time. Instead of obedience or faith, this way calls for knowing and understanding
—the awakening of another intelligence. His personal wish, he once said, was to
live and teach so that there should be a new conception of God in the world, a
change in the very meaning of the word.
Born in 1866 in the Caucasus on the frontier of Russia and Turkey, from
childhood Gurdjieff felt he had to understand the mystery of human existence,
and delved deeply into religion and science to find some explanation. He found
both approaches persuasive and consistent within themselves, but bound to reach
