In Search of the Miraculous- A book Review
- John Wilson
- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
This book by P.D. Ouspensky is an invaluable source for studying and understanding the mystical and developmental ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff. Originally and probably better titled "Fragments of an Unknown Teaching" this book was Ouspensky's account of meeting Gurdjieff and becoming part of a group he began teaching in Tsarist Russia, the dissemination and development of his ideas, and their eventual escape from their war torn Bolshevik home. The events and ideas are in near chronological order, though Ouspensky admits that it was impossible to keep them that way due to the nature of the development of ideas and the fact that Gurdjieff rarely let anyone take notes during their talks and practices. Here we have an exposition of mysticism of highest nature, personal development, and history.
I first came across this body of knowledge in the early 90's. After reading a couple of books on Gurdjieff, I began meeting with some Gurdjieff groups, and this was the first book they recommended. I came to find why it is so central to most groups working with his ideas, it is nearly an encyclopedia of concepts laid out as near a systematic manor as the author could. He was a logical person who liked to present things in a logical order and classification. In this book we come to a new definition of consciousness, and a complete psychology, dividing every individual to different centers with different functions. There is an intellectual, emotional, moving/instinctual and a sex center. All of our common manifestations are an expression of these functions. We learn about the differences between Knowledge and Being, and between a person's Essence and Personality. Along with this we are given a complete cosmology- a layout of the universe, cosmic forces, and how man relates to them.
Gurdjieff's message is that of Consciousness, and that real Consciousness requires consciousness of one's self in the moment. This requires sensation of the body along with self observation which must be done without analysis, just taking in impressions from moment to moment. The practice of self awareness in the moment is known as Self Remembering, and must be done in real life situations. For Gurdjieff's Work it must be done under real life conditions and not in conditions removed from ordinary life. Understanding and Being gained in a monastery tend to disappear when one leaves the monastery, so this is a practice for the modern world, and for his students- the modern Western world. One did not need to give anything external up: sex, alcohol, smoking, meat, all of this was irrelevant, it was the inner attachment, or Identification, which needed to be resisted.
Ouskpensky learned and grew working with Gurdjieff, and he eventually wound up in England where he attracted many students of his own, eventually breaking with Gurdjieff who wound up setting up the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man in Fontainebleau France. Ouspensky's logic and way of classifying things made his writing easier to digest, but this is not how Gurdjieff really taught, or wrote for that matter. One gets the impression from other student's accounts, and from Gurdjieff's own writings, that he demanded more than an intellectual understand of his ideas, and for this one can not just lay everything out in a totally logical format. For anyone interested in ideas about consciousness, awareness and even embodiment, In Search of the Miraculous is not only and excellent introduction to these subjects, but the sort of book one can refer to over and over again, always gaining new insight. I recently found the audio book version, narrated by Mike Fraser, and it was captivating. His clear voice and British accent really added to my enjoyment of this book which I began listening to while commuting to the Rolf Institute in Boulder. For anyone who wants to work with Gurdjieff's Ideas, this book is a must!
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