Teachings of Gurdjieff: A Pupil's Journal

This is an interesting book for those interested in Gurdjieff the man and teacher although it doesn't explain very much about the system. If you're looking for an introduction to the 4th Way then Ouspensky's In Search of the Miraculous, The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution, and The 4th Way are perhaps the best introductions to this amazing system. As a long time student of the 4th Way I found re-reading this book after 20 years interesting for the glimpses of Gurdjieff at work and for Orage's comments on Beelzebub's Tales, but don't expect many answers from it. Nott has recorded some interesting moments he shared with Gurdfieff.

The value of C. S. Nott's books in the study of Gurdjieff is first of all due to the lack of other first hand reports from Gurdjieff's teaching in the early European and American times. Orage's commentaries on Beelzebub gives a presentation of Gurdjieff's All & Everything with the knowledge and understanding of the man who was mainly responsible for the English version of the book. This book became important for me when I entered into correspondence with Stanley Nott and after three years of exchanging letters moved to London to join the Work. Stanley Nott lived to the age of 91 and passed away in 1978. His wife, Rose Mary Nott (Lillard) was the first American to enter the Gurdjieff Work. Mrs. Nott taught music and movements to a great number of people.

For those trying to understand Gurdjieff as a teacher, this is one of the best accounts available. For those who have been involved for some years in the Work, and have been reading and rereading Gurdjieff's All and Everything, the third part of Nott's book, Orage's commentary on Beelzebub, is the best you will find as a guide. It is well worth the cost just for these 90 pages. I would strongly recommend this for all interested in a glimpse of what might life have been like at Fontainebleau with Gurdjieff. Additionally it gives some account of A.R. Orage who may have been Gurdjieff's best disciple and in Gurdjieff's own words "his brother." A quote from page 51 "...a question about 'freedom', and Gurdjieff began: 'Freedom leads to freedom. That is truth, not in quotation marks but in the real sense. Truth is not just theory, not just words; it can be realized. The freedom I speak of is the aim of all schools, of all religions, of all times. It is a very big thing. Everyone, consciously or unconsciously, wishes for freedom. There are two kinds, the Lesser Freedom and the Greater Freedom. You cannot have the Greater Freedom until you have attained to the Lesser Freedom. The Greater Freedom is the liberation of ourselves from outside influences; the Lesser, from influences within us."