Gurdjieff Books & Music
Jacob Needleman and George
Baker, eds.
Gurdjieff : Essays and Reflections on the Man and His Teaching
New York:
Continuum,
1997.
A rich collection of writings about Mr. Gurdjieff, the man, and his teaching, illuminated through perspectives from science, music, theatre, philosophy, and other spiritual traditions. Not so much theoretical as experiential, drawn from serious study and personal practice.
New:
Hardcover,
450
pages
Price: $40.00
J.G.
Bennett
Gurdjieff: A Very Great Enigma
New York:
Samuel Weiser,
1974.
Transcriptions of three lectures, including some question and answer material. The lectures disclose Bennett's thoughts on Mr. Gurdjieff's early years, his ideas and their sources, his teachings and methods, and how the work which he began might continue.
New, but not perfect:
Paperback,
99
pages
Price: $10.00
Keith A.
Buzzell
Man -- A Three-Brained Being: Resonant Aspects of Modern Science and the Gurdjieff Teaching
Salt Lake City:
Fifth Press,
2008.
This is part of a series of books by the author that explore aspects of Gurdjieff's teaching in detail from a complex scientific perspective. Dr. Buzzell has an extensive medical background and has lectured widely on the neurophysiological effects of television on the developing human brain and on the evolution of man's triune brain. It is clear that for Buzzell, "Beelzebub's Tales" has been a lifelong study.
At the end of his book, the author states: "Because it is verbal in form, [the book] can do little more than hint, or metaphorically point toward, the broad spectrum of human experiences that must be personally lived in order to have its full meaning...Because we are all together in this adventure of life on earth, we need to share, to commune with, to support and to come into abiding relationship with each other."
New:
Numerous diagrams and occasional illustrations throughout.
Paperback,
139
pages
Price: $21.00
Jeanne
de Salzmann
The Reality of Being: The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff
New York:
Random House,
2010.
As the closest pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff, Jeanne de Salzmann was charged with carrying on his teachings of spiritual transformation. Now, some twenty years after her death, the notebooks that she filled with her insights over a forty-year period have been translated and published for the first time. PREORDERS ONLY -- AVAILABLE JULY 27, 2010.
New:
Hardcover,
320
pages
Price: $25.00
Franklin
Earnest III
Transitional Man
San Francisco:
Far West Editions,
1981.
The author, a neurosurgeon and poet, outlines what a human being is, and what we could be. His book arrives where he would point us: toward a "transitional" or intermediate being and a life of self-awareness.
New:
Paperback,
76
pages
Price: $6.00
Far West
Editions, Publisher
Material for Thought
San Francisco:
Far West Editions,
1974-2000.
Far West Editions was started in 1968 under the direction of John Pentland and continues to this day through the Gurdjieff Foundation in San Francisco. The periodical, Material For Thought, is one of their undertakings over many years. Here is the aim of this undertaking in their own words: "What does it mean to be practical, spiritually? Surely the real sense of community, so universally wished for, cannot exist without each of us learning to think. For this, of course, the mind must be trained to watch attentively, remember impressions and recombine them in an original way...(T)here is also needed the little boy who told the emperor he had no clothes on, an inner movement which frees the thinker himself from his self-love and passivity. We have chosen to offer essays and reviews of books dealing with psychology and man's situation on earth, as well as studies and translations on subjects including crafts and the modes of action of the human body." Some of the articles are written individually and some by a group working together. Gurdjieff Books and Music carries seven issues of Material for Thought which are $12 each. Please inquire regarding the content of individual issues.
New:
Perfect bound periodical,
pages
vary
Price: $12.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
All and Everything or Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson: An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man
New York, NY:
Tarcher Penguin,
2006.
The introduction conveys why this particular edition may be helpful to new generations of readers. Some readers view it as differing significantly from the original 1950 English edition. Others find here simply "Beelzebub," to whom we turn for unique challenges and a renewed need to understand. Rather than engaging in controversy about which edition is superior, we may be better served by addressing ourselves to our individual need to understand this "flying cathedral" of a book, whatever the edition may be.
New:
Revised edition.
Hardcover,
1135
pages
Price: $65.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
All and Everything or Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson: An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man
Aurora, OR:
Two Rivers Press,
1993.
"Beelzebub" is at the very center of this teaching. Reading it is not supposed to be easy, but the direct influence of Gurdjieff can be felt within us, in our work with the contents of this book. This beautiful edition is "an unaltered republication .. as .. originally prepared .. by G. Gurdjieff.. [and] published .. [in] 1950."
New:
Hardcover,
1238
pages
Price: $45.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
All and Everything or Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson: An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man
Toronto, Canada:
Traditional Studies Press,
2000.
A new Russian translation of Gurdjieff's fundamental work.
New:
Russian edition.
Hardcover,
1234
pages
Price: $50.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
All and Everything or Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson: An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man
New York:
Penguin Compass,
1999.
A paperback edition of the original 1950 English translation.
New:
Paperback,
1238
pages
Price: $30.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
Life is Real Only Then, When "I Am"
London, UK:
Arkana,
1999.
The "Third Series," which was part of Gurdjieff's original intention, was never completed. It was to be read in groups which had become familiar with Gurdjieff's other writings over the years. Therefore, it is uncertain whether this is among the "core books" of the teaching. Nevertheless, it bears careful study.
New:
Paperback,
177
pages
Price: $14.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
Meetings with Remarkable Men
New York:
Penguin Compass,
2002.
Gurdjieff clearly wanted people to read his "first series" before reading "Meetings." On the surface, "Meetings With Remarkable Men" is autobiographical, with chapters related to major figures in Gurdjieff's early life and period of intense search. Those who have studied this book very deeply insist that there is more to the depths than there is to the surface. The final chapter, "The Material Question," is of great interest to anyone (everyone) struggling with "the work in life."
New:
Paperback,
303
pages
Price: $15.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
Meetings with Remarkable Men
New York:
E.P. Dutton,
1963.
Gurdjieff clearly wanted people to read his "first series" before reading "Meetings." On the surface, "Meetings With Remarkable Men" is autobiographical, with chapters related to major figures in Gurdjieff's early life and period of intense search. Those who have studied this book very deeply insist that there is more to the depths than there is to the surface. The final chapter, "The Material Question," is of great interest to anyone (everyone) struggling with "the work in life."
Used; good condition. Original dust jacket:
Hardcover,
303
pages
Price: $40.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
Views from the Real World: Early Talks of G.I. Gurdjieff
New York:
Penguin Compass,
1984.
"Talks" were an aspect of Gurdjieff's approach only during his earlier period of activities. The treasures published here were given from 1918 to 1930. Chapter 1 is "Glimpses of Truth," mentioned by Ouspensky. Significant comments by Madame de Salzmann appear in the Introduction, and proverbs from the "Study House" appear at the end of the book. This will always belong in a small cluster of indispensable and entirely authoritative "Gurdjieff books."
New:
Paperback,
276
pages
Price: $16.00
G.I.
Gurdjieff
Views from the Real World: Early Talks of Gurdjieff
New York:
E.P. Dutton,
1975.
"Talks" were an aspect of Gurdjieff's approach only during his earlier period of activities. The treasures published here were given from 1918 to 1930. Chapter 1 is "Glimpses of Truth," mentioned by Ouspensky. Significant comments by Madame de Salzmann appear in the Introduction, and proverbs from the "Study House" appear at the end of the book. This will always belong in a small cluster of indispensable and entirely authoritative "Gurdjieff books."
Used; good:
First edition.
Hardcover,
284
pages
Price: $40.00
Jane
Heap
The Notes of Jane Heap
Aurora, OR:
Two Rivers Press,
1994.
These are condensed notes that Jane Heap wrote for herself for use in guiding groups, presumably newer ones. There is much material to ponder here.
New:
Hardcover,
158
pages
Price: $25.00
Henriette
Lannes
This Fundamental Quest: The Journey of a Pupil of G. I. Gurdjieff
San Francisco:
Far West Institute,
2006.
The author was under Gurdjieff's direct influence and later worked closely with Madame de Salzmann. She led groups in London for many years. Her book contains many short pieces on aspects of inner work. They are deceptively approachable and are much deeper in content than may initially appear. While not ideal material for someone who has just discovered the Work, they bear rereading, many times. Question-and-answer sessions and other materials from her years of leading groups are included.
New:
First English edition (original in French, 2003). Translated by R. and S. Lipsey.
Paperback,
176
pages
Price: $20.00
Patty de
Llosa
The Practice of Presence: Five Paths for Daily Life
Sandpoint, ID:
Morning Light Press,
2006.
The daughter of Louise Welch, Patty de Llosa provides an introduction to five disciplines that have impressed her with their integrity and ability to turn us toward an inner dimension of ourselves that is lacking in ordinary life. In addition to Gurdjieff's teaching (she had met him in the 1940's), these include T'ai Chi and Taoism, Jung and Individuation, Prayer and Meditation, and F. M. Alexander's Mind-Body Integration.
New:
Paperback,
316
pages
Price: $15.00
Gregory M.
Loy, Publisher
Gurdjieff International Review / Vol. IX, No. 1: The Material Question
Los Altos, CA:
Gurdjieff Electronic Publishing,
2005.
This issue, guest-edited by James Opie, focuses on money, and Gurdjieff's hope that we can see with greater clarity what our attitudes toward money really are. It contains a wide variety of pieces by Gurdjieff and others.
New:
Please inquire regarding other issues.
Perfect bound periodical,
86
pages
Price: $15.00
Lawrence S.
Morris
A Way in Life: The Teaching of G.I. Gurdjieff
Tusten, NY:
The Lake Press,
2006.
Lawrence Morris graduated from Yale University and worked for the United States Government. He was an active member of the Gurdjieff Foundation from 1950 until he left to follow the mystical branch of Islam in 1970. This is a transcript of a talk he gave in California in 1968 for an audience newly interested in Gurdjieff's ideas. In it we find an exhortation to a new concern for our being.
New:
Handbound pamphlet,
23
pages
Price: $15.00
Maurice
Nicoll
A Simple Explanation of Work Ideas
Netherlands:
Eureka Editions,
1998.
This is one attempt to bring Gurdjieff's ideas closer to the field of comprehension of new readers. A number of ideas in "In Search of the Miraculous" are surveyed here, but without the looming presence of Gurdjieff.
New:
Paperback,
68
pages
Price: $13.00
P.D.
Ouspensky
Conscience: The Search for Truth
Sandpoint, ID:
Morning Light Press,
2008.
The five sections of this volume were originally published privately in the 1950s. Consisting of different key ideas communicated in direct exchanges between Ouspensky and his students, they effectively sum up Ouspensky's transmission of "the system" in the later part of his life. Although they are more detailed than Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, they can be appreciated by those who question the usual interpretation of their life.
New:
paperback,
157
pages
Price: $15.00
P.D.
Ouspensky
In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching
New York:
Harcourt,
2001.
An essential record of teachings of Gurdjieff from 1914 to 1921. This key work conveys painstaking dedication to accurately preserving Gurdjieff's ideas and methods during this period, as well as the author's personal efforts to understand. Other than Gurdjieff's own writings, this book is among a few that are indispensable. However, not everyone is touched by Gurdjieff's teaching in the same way. Therefore, some may want to start with more general works (see Shirley) or with first-person accounts (see de Hartmann or Tchekhovitch).
New:
Paperback,
399
pages
Price: $15.00
P.D.
Ouspensky
The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
New York:
Alfred A. Knopf,
1972.
This series of five comprehensive, precise, and clear introductory lectures were given by Ouspensky when people came to study with him in London and New York during the later part of his life. To him the most important point was to consider man as an "incomplete being," from the point of view of what he might become.
Used; good:
Hardcover,
114
pages
Price: $20.00
Parabola Anthology Series
The Inner Journey: Views from the Gurdjieff Work
Sandpoint, ID:
Morning Light Press,
2008.
Here are the voices of men and women who have sought to live this teaching, most of whom were directly guided by Gurdjieff. These individuals also lived and are living amid the forces and challenges of modern life. It is in fact this "Work in life" that is among the highest aims of the Gurdjieff teaching--the struggle, whatever the conditions of our lives, to awaken to the gift that descends from above. Included in this volume is a DVD of the full-length film based on Gurdjieff's book, Meetings with Remarkable Men.
New:
Jacob Needleman, editor. Ravi Ravindra, series editor.
Paperback,
357
pages
Price: $29.00
John
Pentland
Exchanges Within: Questions from Everyday Life (Selected from Gurdjieff Group Meetings with John Pentland in California, 1955-1984)
New York:
Tarcher Penguin,
2005.
A selection of transcribed "exchanges," or questions from group members and responses from their teacher, taken from group meetings in California from 1955-1984. The exchanges focus on one underlying question: "How do we find within ourselves what we have lost--our reality, wholeness and significance as the human kind of being in the universe?" An unusually intimate look at authentic group work.
Nearly mint condition; some creases in cover:
Paperback,
372
pages
Price: $11.00
John
Pentland
Exchanges Within: Questions from Everyday Life (Selected from Gurdjieff Group Meetings with John Pentland in California, 1955-1984)
New York:
Continuum,
1997.
A selection of transcribed "exchanges," or questions from group members and responses from Lord Pentland, in several groups in California from 1955-1984. The exchanges focus on one underlying question: "How do we find within ourselves what we have lost--our reality, wholeness and significance as the human kind of being in the universe?" An unusually intimate look at authentic group work.
Very good. May have been read, but no underlining:
Hardcover,
395
pages
Price: $25.00
John
Pentland
Introductory Talks by John Pentland: Impressions of Truth in the Human Mass, Los Angeles, 1960
New York:
J.P. Society,
2005.
John Pentland was a student of the Ouspenskys, Gurdjieff, and Madame Jean de Salzmann, and was instrumental in spreading Gurdjieff's teaching throughout the United States. He was president of the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York from its inception in 1953 until his death in 1984. This is a series of introductory talks given in various locations and followed by question and answer sessions. Here we find John Pentland's unique way of expressing himself, with a certain transparency emerging in the exchanges between different levels of experience.
New:
Pamphlet,
20
pages
Price: $15.00
Ravi
Ravindra
Heart Without Measure: Work With Madame de Salzmann
Nova Scotia, Canada:
Shaila Press,
1999.
This book chronicles the author's direct experiences with Madame de Salzmann from 1980-1990, focusing on her own remarks. While this does not constitute "introductory" literature, its sincerity and precision make it an extraordinary document.
New:
Hardcover,
218
pages
Price: $20.00
Fran
Shaw
Notes on The Next Attention
New York:
Indications Press,
2010.
For many summers in the Swiss alpine village of Chandolin, Dr. Michel de Salzmann met with people interested in the Gurdjieff Work. Evident even in these recollected fragments of his talks (1993-2000) is Dr. de Salzmann’s unique ability to speak in a way that opens the listener to “the inexhaustible dimension of attention."
"Everything we need is here in us. Everything for fuller being. There is a kind of sacred descent of attention that can bring this about. Seeing the obstacles, thoughts, feelings, yes, perhaps a pressure that keeps me from it. But if I can relax inside, just allow the pure attention to flow in, be in that. Very natural. It's what we are. Attention: a sacred energy coming into me. Be sensitive to it. Recognize again and again that it is there."
Fran Shaw, Ph.D, a professor at the University of Connecticut at Stamford, met Michel de Salzmann in 1991. She worked with him throughout the last decade of his life.
New:
Hardcover,
376
pages
Price: $40.00
John
Shirley
Gurdjieff: An Introduction to His Life And Ideas
New York:
Tarcher Penguin,
2004.
A general, introductory book in which the author denies expertise in Gurdjieff's ideas, claiming only that he is a student. Shirley reveals an attitude of questioning what one knows or understands that is itself a touchstone of his subject matter. He makes a case for how our contemporary situation is illuminated by the teachings of Mr. Gurdjieff.
New:
Paperback,
301
pages
Price: $16.00
Frank R.
Sinclair
Of the Life Aligned: Gurdjieff and the Perennial Order
LaVergne, TN:
Xlibris,
2009.
This is a sequel to Without Benefit of Clergy. It contains personal reflections on the author's brush with death and the ultimate death of his wife Beatrice, as well as some interviews and essays on Gurdjieff's transmission of "the powerful ancient stream of true knowledge of being."
New:
Paperback,
126
pages
Price: $20.00
Frank R.
Sinclair
Without Benefit of Clergy: Some Personal Footnotes to the Gurdjieff Teaching
LaVergne, TN:
Xlibris,
2005.
As a young man, Frank Sinclair looked for, and found, the teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff in Cape Town, South Africa. In this brief memoir, he describes experiences at Mendham and his subsequent work under the influence of Madame de Salzmann and others. He recounts his relations with several unusual people--"seekers all"--and concludes with unusually candid "random inferences" about the place of the Work in the world today.
New:
First edition now discounted.
Paperback,
277
pages
Price: $18.00
Frank R.
Sinclair
Without Benefit of Clergy: Some Personal Footnotes to the Gurdjieff Teaching (revised edition)
LaVergne, TN:
Xlibris,
2009.
As a young man, Frank Sinclair looked for, and found, the teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff in Cape Town, South Africa. In this brief memoir, he describes experiences at Mendham and his subsequent work under the influence of Madame de Salzmann and others. He recounts his relations with several unusual people--"seekers all"--and concludes with unusually candid "random inferences" about the place of the Work in the world today. This revised edition includes some additional material in an appendix.
New:
Paperback,
277
pages
Price: $20.00
M.W.
Thring
Quotations from G.I. Gurdjieff's Teaching: A Personal Companion
Wilshire, UK:
Luzac Oriental Ltd.,
1998.
In this homage to Gurdjieff and his teaching, Thring draws on a variety of major sources to put in index form those subjects which have the deepest meaning for him. He also includes several short writings of his own relating to universal questions in an appendix.
New:
Paperback,
386
pages
Price: $25.00
Henri
Tracol
Further Talks and Essays
Bray, Berkshire, UK:
The Guild Press,
2003.
These materials by a long-time leader of the Gurdjieff Society in Paris were collected over 50 years. Tracol speaks with an authenticity not often found. This first-time printing from England also contains talks from the archives of the Foundation in New York. We are offering these books for half price since the majority of the essays have been included under the new title, The Real Question Remains.
New:
Discounted; now out of print.
Paperback,
72
pages
Price: $15.95
Henri
Tracol
The Real Question Remains: Gurdjieff: A Living Call
Sandpoint, ID:
Morning Light Press,
2009.
A newly published, comprehensive collection of essays and interviews written in the course of over 50 years by a longtime leader of the Gurdjieff Society in Paris, who was urged to share "...what secretly animated (him) from 1938 onwards: my first contacts with Mme. de Salzmann and the teaching of G.I. Gurdjieff." Tracol speaks with an authenticity not often found. Most, but not all of these essays were originally published in England under the titles The Taste for Things that are True and Further Talks and Essays.
New:
Paperback,
228
pages
Price: $16.95
P.L.
Travers
George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff
Toronto, Canada:
Traditional Studies Press,
2006.
This article was originally published in the encyclopedia, "Man, Myth and Magic." It examines Gurdjieff in a mythological, or larger than life, perspective, in light of the author's encounter with him.
New:
Pamphlet,
12
pages
Price: $9.00
Jean
Vaysse
Toward Awakening: An Approach to the Teaching Left by Gurdjieff
Sandpoint, ID:
Morning Light Press,
2008.
Although this carefully written book deals only with Gurdjieff's psychological ideas, leaving those of a cosmological nature for another time, its tone of quiet lucidity can be an effective introduction for those at the right moment in their lives. Each chapter may also be read as an independent whole.
New:
Second printing. Translated from the French.
Paperback,
159
pages
Price: $16.95