Of all relationships, that between teacher and student is the most mysterious, most rewarding. That between Gurdjieff and Uspenskii (P. D. Ouspensky), two of the seminal spiritual figures of the twentieth century, was titanic, archetypal. By closely observing their interaction, we come to understand the pattern of discoveries, resistances, and rebellions – the deep inner and outer struggle that marks every teacher-student relationship, whatever the path. 
How and why a student of Uspenskii’s caliber broke with his teacher, his slow descent, but ultimate breakthrough, offers a deep and profound study that reveals the defining moments and trigger events intrinsic to the process of transformation. The material in this book, much of it new and drawn from original sources, published and unpublished, along with the author’s insights and original reading of documents, provides a new and revolutionary dimension to the understanding of Gurdjieff, Uspenskii, and the Fourth Way work. 
Gurdjieff came to the West because, as he said, "Unless the ‘wisdom’ of the East and the ‘energy’ of the West meet and are used harmoniously, the world will destroy itself". He came to establish an ancient teaching, newly formulated for our time, one specifically calibrated to the stress and uncertainties of the technological world, Unlike the traditional three ways which focus on the body, emotions, or the mind, the Fourth Way uses the ordinary world to work. A rational and scientific approach – shorn of all "religiosity" and presented in an objective language – the Fourth Way uses the shocks, negativity and suffering of ordinary life to come to real Life.

Struggle of the Magicians: Exploring the Teacher Student Relationship

Self-Help

Patterson, William Patrick

Personal Transformation

Arete Pubns

This is the first book to examine the Rope, the special ladies-only group of spiritual seekers that G. I. Gurdjieff formed on Paris' Left Bank. All lesbians, except one, the group included such people as Margaret Anderson and Jane Heap, co-editors of the Little Review, the archetype of all avant garde literary magazines; Kathryn Hulme, author of The Nuns's Story and Undiscovered Country; Solita Solano, author, editor and companion of Janet Flanner who wrote for The New Yorker as Genet; and Georgette Leblanc, diva, actress and mistress of Maurice Maeterlinck, the Belgian playwright best known for The Blue Bird. 
During his thirty-seven years of work in the West, Gurdjieff's creation of the Rope remains his most enigmatic. Recognizing, at the turn of the century, that the world would destroy itself unless there was an awakening in the West, he understood that a fundamental shock had to be applied. Although the Fourth Way was rooted in Tradition, nevertheless, he intentionally introduced this ancient esoteric teaching to the uninitiated. 
Breaking vows of secrecy, in the hope that the originality, scale and practicality of the teaching would arouse enough people to undergo the rigors of self-awakening, he understood that he would be castigated by initiates and the uninitiated alike. That he took an even further risk and introduced the teaching to the ladies of the Rope is a subject which until now has never been examined. The conclusions reached by the author about why Gurdjieff created the Rope are as original as they are surprising and will be of serious interest to those involved with feminine spirituality in all its many forms.

Ladies of the Rope: Gurdjieff's Special Left Bank Women's Group

Politics & Social Sciences

Allen, Barbara C.

Women's Studies

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