Just some final thoughts on Gurdjieff, since he was likely not the last of his kind to walk the earth. One of the easiest ways to ascertain someone’s intent, is to look at the effect he/she has on those around them. Are those in their sphere of influence empowered, or are they disempowered? Not only were Gurdjieff’s students disempowered, they were in some cases utterly destroyed, and in most cases severely traumatised. “By their fruit you will recognize them.”
Love does not harm, it protects. It’s that simple. The reason the Gurdjieff saga is still so inexplicable and confusing to this day, is because of the high strangeness factor. He was a black magician, and the psychic grip he had on people is well documented. People recognised the magic, most didn’t recognise the source (or were powerless against it). The memoirs of Gurdjieff’s students contain a number of accounts of paranormal phenomena associated with him, ranging from autosuggestion and hypnosis to more advanced powers like telepathy and clairvoyance. Whithall Perry observed that Gurdjieff provoked strong reactions in everyone who met him. While some felt repulsed, others were drawn irresistibly to Gurdjieff and were totally enraptured.
Ouspensky described an incident of telepathy in which he was able to hear Gurdjieff’s thoughts:
Boris Mouravieff claimed that Gurdjieff hypnotically induced excessive suggestibility in his followers:
As for his “Institite”, there can be no spiritual evolution in a climate of fear (in Gurdjieff’s case intense fear), it’s not possible. Fear halts spiritual evolution, it’s a destructive emotion, not an evolutionary emotion. Paul Beekman Taylor noticed that many pupils were stone-faced and tense in Gurdjieff’s presence, appearing ill at ease or afraid.
Fritz Peters observed that few of Gurdjieff’s students at the Château du Prieuré dared to oppose Gurdjieff, even in the face of insult and ridicule:
I realise this is all very woo-woo stuff, but that’s unfortunately what you are plunged into when you try and figure this man out… Gurdjieff reminds me of the negative wanderers in the Ra material, in Ra's third density.
Frits Peters tells another story about Gurdjieff's inexplicable psychic influence on people. To explain "the secret of life" to a wealthy English woman who had offered him £1,000 for such wisdom, Gurdjieff brought a prostitute to their table and told her he was from another planet. The food he was eating, he told her, was sent to him from his home planet at no small expense. He gave the prostitute some of the food and asked her what it tasted like. She told him it tasted like cherries. "That's the secret of life," Gurdjieff told the English lady. She called him a charlatan and left. Later that day, however, she gave him the money and became a devoted follower.
Love does not harm, it protects. It’s that simple. The reason the Gurdjieff saga is still so inexplicable and confusing to this day, is because of the high strangeness factor. He was a black magician, and the psychic grip he had on people is well documented. People recognised the magic, most didn’t recognise the source (or were powerless against it). The memoirs of Gurdjieff’s students contain a number of accounts of paranormal phenomena associated with him, ranging from autosuggestion and hypnosis to more advanced powers like telepathy and clairvoyance. Whithall Perry observed that Gurdjieff provoked strong reactions in everyone who met him. While some felt repulsed, others were drawn irresistibly to Gurdjieff and were totally enraptured.
Ouspensky described an incident of telepathy in which he was able to hear Gurdjieff’s thoughts:
Ouspensky Wrote:Suddenly I noticed that among the words which he was saying to us all there were “thoughts” which were intended for me. I caught one of these thoughts and replied to it, speaking aloud in the ordinary way. G. nodded to me and stopped speaking. There was a fairly long pause. He sat still saying nothing. After a while I heard his voice inside me as it were in the chest near the heart. He put a definite question to me. I looked at him; he was sitting and smiling.
Boris Mouravieff claimed that Gurdjieff hypnotically induced excessive suggestibility in his followers:
Boris Mouravieff Wrote:The effects of Gurdjieff's hypnotic influence upon his immediate surroundings were quite visible. He could have proposed any absurdity to his disciples, and be sure in advance that it would be accepted with the same enthusiasm as if it were a revelation.
As for his “Institite”, there can be no spiritual evolution in a climate of fear (in Gurdjieff’s case intense fear), it’s not possible. Fear halts spiritual evolution, it’s a destructive emotion, not an evolutionary emotion. Paul Beekman Taylor noticed that many pupils were stone-faced and tense in Gurdjieff’s presence, appearing ill at ease or afraid.
Fritz Peters observed that few of Gurdjieff’s students at the Château du Prieuré dared to oppose Gurdjieff, even in the face of insult and ridicule:
Fritz Peters Wrote:The rebellious did not stay at the Prieuré to exchange banter, and they were not permitted to stay to challenge or oppose him; the ‘philosophical dictatorship’ brooked no opposition.
I realise this is all very woo-woo stuff, but that’s unfortunately what you are plunged into when you try and figure this man out… Gurdjieff reminds me of the negative wanderers in the Ra material, in Ra's third density.
Frits Peters tells another story about Gurdjieff's inexplicable psychic influence on people. To explain "the secret of life" to a wealthy English woman who had offered him £1,000 for such wisdom, Gurdjieff brought a prostitute to their table and told her he was from another planet. The food he was eating, he told her, was sent to him from his home planet at no small expense. He gave the prostitute some of the food and asked her what it tasted like. She told him it tasted like cherries. "That's the secret of life," Gurdjieff told the English lady. She called him a charlatan and left. Later that day, however, she gave him the money and became a devoted follower.
Gurdjieff Wrote:Black magic is based on infatuation and on playing upon human weaknesses. Black magic has always one definite characteristic. This characteristic is the tendency to use people for some, even the best of aims, without their knowledge and understanding, either by producing in them faith and infatuation or by acting upon them through fear.