Discovering Gurdjieff
Dorothy Phillpotts
Discovering Gurdjieff by Dorothy Phillpotts belongs on a shelf of exceptional books conveying authentic accounts of experiences with and observations of Mr. Gurdjieff, communicated with few personal intrusions. This allows Mr. Gurdjieff, when he appears, to step into our awareness unencumbered by distracting undercurrents, and shining all the more brightly. The book follows a chronological approach, from the author’s early awareness of something wrong with her thinking through her young adulthood and time near J. G. Bennett. Sticking with all this becomes a “slog" at moments but this is the path she traveled, leading to important places in Paris, in the author and, at moments, in each of us. Few accounts of experiences in Gurdjieff’s apartment are so honest and clear. Essays at the end of this book, apparently added by Mrs. Phillpotts before she died in 2008, detract from the volume’s value but cannot spoil it. We highly recommend this book.