num_pages: 288
description: 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 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 beingif 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 sourcebooks P. D. Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous and Views from the Real World recorded and arranged by Mme. Jeanne de Salzmannthis 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
language: English
title: In Search of Being: The Fourth Way to Consciousness
publisher: Shambhala