the Majority of people over 40 are Zombies

Men cease “thinking originally” at thirty-five years, women at forty years.

The majority of people over forty are one-third to two-thirds dead and merely survive thanks to circumstances over which they have no control.

A.R. Orage - Commentary on BT

the Three Phases of the Gurdjieff Work

Gurdjieff’s work has text, music and exercises. It is a complete method.

First phase: self-observation, participation, experiment.

Second phase: voluntary suffering.

Third phase: conscious labor.

A.R. Orage - Commentary on BT

his presence was filled with an unusual majestic force

G. Gurdjieff appeared. But, he was no longer the same man. He was transformed. He emanated a great radiance, without his outer appearance being changed. His presence was filled with an unusual majestic force, which he had never shown us. He looked at us intently, as if passing us a message. What I felt from him made a very deep impression.

Then, G. Gurdjieff beckoned me to come closer. I went towards him, and G. told me of an exercise that I was to give to my companions at our next meeting:

"To think of him, Mme de S. and all the group members as a network, all connected to one another, even at a great distance."

I relayed the exercise that evening at a meeting in his flat in the Rue des Colonels Renard. This gave us a greater consciousness of our relationship with him and the group.

Solange Claustres - Becoming Conscious with Mr. Gurdjieff p.86

the future of the Fourth Way on Earth

One day G. Gurdjieff had said that the role of the Fourth Way, this teaching which is neither the way of the monk, nor the yogi, nor the fakir, is to appear and disappear, after having deposited what was necessary at this moment, in a certain epoch, in a certain place on the Earth. That this way could blend into society, change form, become an organisation, a religion, or disappear.

Another time G. had said that what had been created would disappear by the fourth generation.

Solange Claustres - Becoming Conscious with Mr. Gurdjieff

Gurdjieff is a multitude

"He is a multitude," Jane Heap had told us. "But if you watch, sometimes you sec the sage pass by."

We watched for the sage and yes, were fearful in case we missed the golden moment when he passed.

We were not so much afraid of Mr Gurdjieff himself as of ourselves, our weakness, our sleep.

A.L. Staveley - Memories of Gurdjieff p.51

Henry Miller´s quotes on Gurdjieff

To begin with, Gurdjieff was a thoroughly enigmatic figure. He was a living example of that Greek word, Enantiodromos, meaning the process by which a thing changes into its opposite. He could be tender, fierce, strict, indulgent, wise, clownish, utterly serious and a farceur all at one time.

Gurdjieff was a perpetual surprise. However, young as he was, and with no preparation for the ordeal, Fritz Peters, the boy, was astute enough to know that he was in the hands of a most unusual human being, a man who has been called a Master, a Guru, a Teacher, everything but a Saint.

Much has been written about the scandalous behavior of Gurdjieff. And it is true that he seemed to care little for conventional behavior. In a sense, he was like a cross between the Gnostics of old and the latter day Dadaists. Certainly, of him the Latin saying "nothing human is beneath me" was true. He was human to the core. At times he reached sublime heights.

It delivers over to us one of the most enigmatic and controversial figures of our time, one unfortunately too little known by present day man. I have read the book several times myself and each time with renewed interest. In a way of speaking I regard it as something on a par with Alice in Wonderland, a real treasure of our literature.

"Gurdjieff was one of the most mysterious figures of the twentieth century. His writing was incomprehensible to me, yet I feel I know him intimately because of a delectable book titled, Boyhood With Gurdjieff by Fritz Peters."

"Political leaders are never leaders. For leaders we have to look to the Awakeners! Lao Tse, Buddha, Socrates, Jesus, Milarepa, Gurdjieff, Krishnamurti."

Steal the Dog

Gurdjieff had appointed a prim, control-oriented woman. Miss Ethel Merston, as his administrator when he was away. On a trip, he and Miss Merston stopped at an inn where a large dog seemed to adopt Gurdjieff: he and the dog became instant friends. At their next stop, Gurdjieff asked Miss Merston if she would like to do something for him. All too eagerly, she said she would. Very well, Gurdjieff told her, that dog at the inn should belong to me. So go back to that inn and steal that dog.

Miss Merston was horrified. As Gurdjieff knew very well, this act of theft was utterly contrary to her nature. But he insisted - it must be done! Forcing herself every inch of the way, she returned alone to the inn. She immediately saw the dog wandering around, and - agonizing over it - she induced the animal to get into the ear. Then the innkeeper popped up. She was busted! She began to babble some explanation about how the dog had jumped in the car on its own but the innkeeper only expressed puzzlement that they’d left the dog behind in the first place - because the gentleman with her earlier had already bought the dog.

Gurdjieff had never really put her at risk of being arrested - but, quite harmlessly, he’d forced her to go against the grain of her programming and confront her greatest fears.

John Shirley - Gurdjieff. An Introduction to His Life and Ideas