Views From the Real World

by G.I. Gurdjieff

First published in 1973, this book has established itself as an authentic source for those interested in Gurdjieff's ideas and his approach to practical 'Work on oneself'. This new edition now includes an index.

Genres: Philosophy, Spirituality, Nonfiction, Religion, Psychology, Esoterica, Self Help

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 28, 1973

About the author

Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff (Armenian: Գեորգի Իվանովիչ Գյուրջիև, Georgian: გიორგი გურჯიევი, Greek: Γεώργιος Γεωργιάδης, Russian: Гео́ргий Ива́нович Гюрджи́ев, Georgiy Ivanovich Gyurdzhiev, or Gurdjiev) was an influential Greek-Armenian mystic, spiritual teacher of the early to mid-20th century, and a self-professed 'teacher of dancing'.

He taught that the vast majority of humanity lives their entire lives in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep," but that it was possible to transcend to a higher state of consciousness and achieve full human potential. Gurdjieff developed a method for doing so, calling his discipline "The Work" (connoting "work on oneself") or "the Method." According to his principles and instructions, Gurdjieff's method for awakening one's consciousness is different from that of the fakir, monk or yogi, so his discipline is also called (originally) the "Fourth Way." At one point he described his teaching as being "esoteric Christianity."

At different times in his life, Gurdjieff formed and closed various schools around the world to teach the work. He claimed that the teachings he brought to the West from his own experiences and early travels expressed the truth found in ancient religions and wisdom teachings relating to self-awareness in people's daily lives and humanity's place in the universe. The title of his third series of writings, Life Is Real Only Then, When 'I Am', expresses the essence of his teachings. His complete series of books is entitled All and Everything.

Reviews

[Ricardo Acuña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta obra escrita por algunos de sus alumnos que tomaron notas durante varias conferencias y conversaciones con Gurdjieff, contiene los principios fundamentales de sus enseñanzas, en lo que se llegó a conocer como “el Cuarto Camino”. Se trata de una síntesis que el mismo Gurdjieff fué construyendo en su recorrido y exploración de enseñanzas antiguas por diversos lugares.

Aunque se trata de una obra introductoria considero que los conceptos que se explican aquí, no podrán ser comprendidos completamente a menos que se tengan ciertos conocimientos y vivido experiencias previas. De hecho este es un principio fundamental que explica Gurdjieff: El conocimiento solo es información si no es acompañado de la experiencia. Pero esto podría parecer un callejón sin salida, porque ¿Cómo comprender algo que no se ha experimentado sin saber algo antes de esto?.

Para ello Gurdjieff expone varios principios que son el fundamento de su enseñanza: la estructura del hombre, de la mente, la realidad, y el universo: los múltiples “yoes”, los tres centros motor, emocional e intelectual que corresponden a su vez a tres máquinas, la ley de tres, la ley de siete, las influencias planetarias, externas e internas, el hombre como una máquina, la observación de si, el uso de la energía interna, el aparato formatorio, la esencia y la personalidad, las tres clases de alimento, las octavas, el recuerdo de sí, el cuerpo astral, así como una serie de técnicas para lograr "el recuerdo de si". La meta de la enseñanza por medio del “trabajo” es desarrollar nuestra ALMA. Gurdjieff afirma que con su método no todos tendrán la capacidad de comprender y la voluntad de emprender esta búsqueda.

Es una obra introductoria, que describe diversos principios que se presentan de manera fragmentada por lo que es recomendable se complementen con otras obras relacionadas con el “Cuarto Camino” de otros autores. A mí me pareció un buen libro, que curiosamente no fue el primero que leí para entender a Gurdjieff. Comencé leyendo otras obras de Ouspensky y de otros autores anónimos, así como haber asistido a una serie de varias conferencias. Por eso considero que no es sencillo comprender esta obra y las demás de Gurdjieff, a menos que realmente haya un interés genuino, cito: “Repito, parto del punto de que se supone que los aquí presentes ya han realizado algún trabajo preparatorio, han asistido a conferencias, han hecho intentos de trabajar sobre sí mismos y cosas por el estilo”.

Perspectivas desde el Mundo Real es una obra muy recomendable que despierta el deseo de aprender más y de profundizar y experimentar en el conocimiento de sí y de una búsqueda genuina de la comprensión de la realidad.

[Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Here there are neither Russians nor English, Jews nor Christians, but only those who pursue one aim—to be able to be."

This aphorism, one of thirty-eight inscribed on the walls of the Study House at the Prieure, describes the heart of the Gurdjieff work in a nutshell: to be able to be.

The early talks of Gurdjieff which are included in this book may serve as yet another door through which one may enter a study of the Gurdjieff ideas. These essays focus on topics as diverse as self-observation, the education of children, essence and personality, and the two rivers. No examination of the Gurdjieff work is complete without the inclusion of this volume.

[Chuck · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite Gurdjieff book. It gave a flavor for his earlier teachings and was a good overall introduction to his body of wisdom.

[Jennifer Sweete · Rating 5 out of 5]

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff continues to change the world long after his passing. This book reveals his most basic teachings and message to us all.

[John Tetteroo · Rating 1 out of 5]

I cannot say I read this all to closely. This book is a collection of reports on what Gurdjieff said on several occasions while preaching or teaching his adepts to be better people. The lessons must have been already hard to follow to begin with, and the transcript by his devout followers does not make it any easier to digest. Lost in translation could be the apt subtext of this grab bag of gibberish.

In 1912 he arrived in Moscow, in a bar, and started to say wise things and attract pupils. I would have wanted to be there and experience the charisma he must have exuded, with his wide wild piercing eyes and the martial handlebar moustache. He must have made quite an unforgettable impression on his audience in order to create a following with the message that they all needed to awake from their sleep walking zombie state.

From the eye witness accounts I do not glean much insight other than that he constantly states that the message is way to deep and way to far over my head. He sounds like any charlatan guru I have seen passing by in the past 50 years that I am consciously conscious. Charismatic, enigmatic and ultimately utterly disappointing.

Lets say that this book hints at what it must have been to follow the master into the metaphysical labyrinth. You will not actually learn anything useful and keep being totally confused after reading what can only be described as very obscure and impenetrable prose. Really only meant for those most dedicated of believers that will actually be able to convince themselves that there is actual wisdom to be found at the heart of this tenebrous tome.

I abandoned the herd before I was led into the mist.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like reading Gurdjieff - always makes me think.

[Steven H · Rating 5 out of 5]

VARIOUS TEACHINGS OF GURDJIEFF FROM HIS EARLIER PERIOD

The Introduction explains, “‘Glimpses of Truth’ is an account of a conversation with Gurdjieff written by a Moscow pupil in 1914 and mentioned by P.D. Ouspensky in ‘In Search of the Miraculous.’ It is the first---and probably the only---example of a series of essays on Gurdjieff’s ideas projected by him at that period. The author is not known. The ‘Talks’ have been compared and regrouped with the help of Madame Thomas de Hartmann, who from 1917 … was present at all these meetings and could thus guarantee their authenticity. It will be noticed that passages in several of the talks… are in fact expressions of the material which Gurdjieff used later in only a slightly different form when writing the last chapter of ‘Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson.’ Some of the ‘Aphorisms’ have been published before in accounts of life at the Pricuré. They were inscribed in a special alphabet, known only to the pupils, above the walls of the Study House where his talks were given.”

The author of ‘Glimpses of Truth’ records Gurdjieff’s words: “We started with man, and where is he? But great, all-embracing is the law of unity. Everything in the Universe is one, the difference is only of scale; in the infinitely small we shall find the same laws as in the infinitely great. As above, so below… and since reason is also one, human reason forms a powerful instrument for investigation.” (Pg. 16) “No ordinary reason is enough to enable a man to take the Great Knowledge to himself, and make it his inalienable possession. Nevertheless it IS possible for him. Vast efforts, tremendous labors, are needed to come into possession of the wings on which it is possible to rise.” (Pg. 19)

The unknown author records a conversation with Gurdjieff, in which he asked, “What about thought?’ and was told, “Thought is material as well as everything else… Methods exist by means of which one can prove not only this but that thought, like all other things, can be weighed and measured. Its density can be determined, and thus the thoughts of an individual may be compared with those of the same man on other occasions. One can define all the qualities of thought. I have already told you that everything in the Universe is material.” (Pg. 23)

Gurdjieff said in a talk, “The Great Knowledge is handed on in succession from age to age, from people to people, from race to race. The great centers of initiation in India, Assyria, Egypt, Greece, illumine the world with a bright light. The revered names of the great initiates… are handed on reverently from generation to generation… The bearers of this knowledge also hide, becoming unknown to those around them, but they do not cease to exist. From time to time separate streams break through to the surface… To break through to this stream, to find it---this is the task and the aim of the search; for, having found it, a man can entrust himself boldly to the way by which he intends to go; then there only remains ‘to know’ in order ‘to be’ and ‘to do.’” (Pg. 56-57)

In another talk, he said, “Man, such as we know him, is a machine. This idea of the mechanicalness of man must be very clearly understood and well-represented to oneself in order to see all its significance and all the consequences and results arising from it. First of all everyone should understand his own mechanicalness. This understanding can come only as the result of a rightly formulated self-observation.” (Pg. 72)

“QUESTION: Do you know anybody who has reached this higher state of being?
ANSWER: It means nothing if I say yes or no. If I say yes, you cannot verify it and if I say no, you are none the wiser. You have no business to believe me. I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself.” (Pg. 78)

“QUESTION: Was Christ a teacher with a school preparation, or was he an accidental genius?
ANSWER: Without knowledge he could not have been what he was, nor could he have done what he did. It is known that where he was there was knowledge.” (Pg. 85)

“QUESTION: Does reincarnation of souls exist?
ANSWER: A soul is a luxury. No one has yet been born with a fully developed sou. Before we can speak of reincarnation, we must know what kind of man we are speaking about, what kind of soul and what kind of reincarnation A soul may disintegrate immediately after death, or it may do so after a certain time. For example, a soul may be crystallized within the limit of the earth and may remain there, yet not be crystallized for the sun.” (Pg. 87)

Gurdjieff stated, “Half of the world is Christian, the other half has other religions. For me, a sensible man, this makes no difference; they are the same as the Christian. Therefore it is possible to say that the whole world is Christian, the difference is only in name. And it has been Christian … for thousands of years. There were Christians long before the advent of Christianity. So common sense says to me: ‘For so many years men have been Christians---how can they be so foolish as to demand the impossible?’ But it is not like that. Things have not always been as they are now. Only recently have people forgotten the first half, and because of that have lost the capacity for being able. And so it became indeed impossible.” (Pg. 153)

He observes, “the human organism is a very complicated apparatus containing many organs with different rhythms and different requirements, and many organs are connected with one another. Either everything must be charged or nothing, otherwise instead of good one may do harm. Artificial breathing is the cause of many illnesses. Only accidentally, in isolated cases where a man manages to stop in time, does he avoid harming himself. If a man practices it long, the results are always bad.” (Pg. 166)

“QUESTION: In what way does your system differ from the philosophy of the yogis?
ANSWER: Yogis are idealists; we are materialists. I am a skeptic. The first injunction inscribed on the walls of the Institute is: ‘Believe nothing, not even yourself.’ I believe only if I have statistical proof; that is, only if I have obtained the same result over and over again. I study, I work for guidance, not for belief.” (Pg. 200-201)

He asserts, “Reincarnation is a very rare phenomenon. It is possible either over a very long period of time, or in the event of there being a man whose physical body is identical with that of the man who possessed these higher bodies. Moreover, the astral body can reincarnate only if it accidentally meets with such a physical body, but this can happen only unconsciously. But the mental body is able to choose.” (Pg. 217-218)

He clarifies, “I can advise you, but I cannot help you; nor can the Institute help you. It can only help you when you are on the Way---but you are not there.” (Pg. 241)

This book will be of keen interest to those studying Gurdjieff.

[Anthony O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting

Starts off with some implausible conversations. Just plain wrong science and some fluffy metaphysics. - the usual ontological combinatorics. But then it settles down to attempted recollections of what Guirdieff had to say - in public talks and teaching at his institute. Primarily psychological for want of a better word and always interesting. Maybe even important. We can of course regard the flights of cosmological, chemical and even musical fantasies as instructive allegories.

[R.K. Cowles · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 3/4 stars

[Patrick Lu 嘉泺 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This might come off pompous or self-aggrandizing, but I shall speak the truth of how I viewed this essayistic work of talks of Gurjieff assembled by his pupils. The vast volume of objective ideas and truths elucidated by Gurdjieff to beginners of the institution are prepared at the "entry-level" of attention or awareness pursuit; most phrasing, metaphors, and aphorisms are instruments delivered to destroy, a normal man or woman's false preconception about the world and his or her subjective understanding to the "I". As such, entrants to the spiritual pursuit of awareness or self-remembrance will find many great things to ponder and practice, whereas a seeker who has already familiarized himself with the works of Osho, David Hawkins, Krishnamurti, etc. will discover, more or less, literal repetitions of the pronounced ideas already explored by them. This, however, is a salutary expression of the universal conformity in higher truths depicted by so many spiritual leaders in the realm of awareness or self-remembrance. Readers familiar with all these works, should, by universal accordance, crystallize within him the essence of awareness teachings and cognize the fact that the same truth has only been expressed by a different combination of words, syllables, and frameworks, without so much change to the intangible and the inexpressible.

[Emre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bu kitabı okumamın sebebi Gurdjieff'in beni benden alan ve okuduğum ilk kitabı olan Olağanüstü İnsanlarla Karşılaşmalar idi. Bir seyahatnameyi andıran kitap ruhsallık hakkında da çaktırmadan pek çok şey gösteriyor, insana felsefe yapmayı öğretiyordu.

Lakin bu kitaba, Gerçek Dünyadan Manzaralar'a gelirsek yaşadığım tam bir hüsran. Şeylere, dinamiklere, insan davranışlarına, doğa davranışlarına çok materyalistik bir bakış açısıyla açıklamalar getiriyor, evrendeki makrodan mikroya tekrar eden ve her ölçekte değişmeden gözlemlenebilen davranış motiflerini anlatıyor. Yer yer can alıcı bir soruya, probleme gelindiğinde, tam işinize yarayacak kullanılabilir bir cevap alacak oluyorsunuz ki, bu defa konu atlanıyor.

Okuduğum önceki kitabında Gurdjieff'in bende yarattığı hayranlığın damlasını bu kitapta alamadım. Bununla birlikte yine de Gurdjieff'in zekasına, gözlem ve problem çözme gücüne lafım yok. Zehir gibi bir varlık.

Kitabın başları, anlatıcının Gurdjieff ile gizemli ve ilk buluşması kitabın okunması en keyifli yerleriydi.

[Mihai Ciobanu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not the type of person to read and like self-help books. Generally, I view them with scepticism. So, take my review within that context before ingesting it.

This was recommended to me by a friend, and the main source for the ideas within(Gurdjieff) was dead, so I gave it a chance.

Like I assumed, it's mostly full of dubious teachings that you will probably find both interesting and practically useless. Various references to "The work" and how it's a lifelong pursuit that's unachievable to most. However, it's here where the book and Gurdjief show a degree of self-awareness that I find endearing. At one point, it proclaims that trying to learn breathing techniques is likely to do you more harm than good, which I found was funny and probably also true.


I'm glad I read it, but you'll probably be better off reading a summary of the ideas within, unless you're truly fascinated by the end of the 19th century setting.

[Y · Rating 5 out of 5]

The collected Hadith of Gurdjieff. These are anecdotes and quotations of Gurdjieff as recorded by his students from across his life. These span from his early days in Russia to later in France and the US. There is no overall theme or chronology to them and they appear in somewhat random order. Because of this, I wouldn’t recommend this to someone not already familiar with Gurdjieff. Some excerpts I enjoyed:

“From looking at your neighbor and realizing his true
significance, and that he will die, pity and compassion
will arise in you for him and finally you will love him.”

“The moon is man's big enemy. We serve the moon.
Last time you heard about kundabuffer. Kundabuffer is the
moon's representative on earth. We are like the moon's sheep, which it cleans, feeds and shears, and keeps for its own purposes. But when it is hungry it kills a lot of them. All organic life works for the moon. Passive man serves involution; and active an, evolution. You must choose. But there is a principle: in one service you can hope for a career; in the other you receive much but without a career. In both cases we are slaves, for in both cases we have a master. Inside us we also have a moon, a sun and so on. We are a whole system. If you know what your moon is and does, you can understand the cosmos.”

“Therefore one should teach, and learn, not through the
mind but through the feelings and the body. At the same time
feeling and body have no language; they have neither the lan-
guage nor the understanding we possess. They understand neither Russian nor English; the horse does not understand the language of the driver, nor the carriage that of the horse. If the driver says in English, "Turn right," nothing will happen.
The horse understands the language of the reins and will turn
right only obeying the reins. Or another horse will turn with-
out reins if you rub it in an accustomed place—as for instance, donkeys in Persia are trained. The same with the carriage—it has its own structure. If the shafts turn right, the rear wheels go left. Then another movement and the wheels go right. This is because the carriage only understands this movement and reacts to it in its own way. So the driver should know the weak sides, or the characteristics, of the carriage. Only then can he drive it in the direction he wishes. But if he merely sits on his box and says in his own language "go right" or "go left," the team will not budge even if he shouts for a year.

We are an exact replica of such a team. Mind alone cannot
be called a man, just as a driver who sits in a pub cannot be
called a driver who fulfills his function. Our mind is like a pro-
fessional cabby who sits at home or in a pub and drives pas-
sengers to different places, in his dreams. Just as his driving is not real, so trying to work with the mind alone will lead no-
where. One will only become a professional, a lunatic.”

[Sumit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ultimate read. One of the most readable books on Gurdjieff's teachings.

[Roma Kukchishvili · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself — only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.”

[Tyler Nading · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this pretty challenging to access and very repetitive. As someone that doesn't read a lot of these philosophical books, it was a tough entry point.

[Yiğit Güngör · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gurdjieff has always amazed me with the knowledge of his higher levels of understanding. You can find these topics: the meaning of his ancient dances, conditions of sleeping people, many 'I's in us, the story of a horse - driver- master. He also explains the meaning of objective art that human beings have lost. I really like the idea of 3 centers we have and G. enlightens the subject on how to accumulate the energy between these three centers and 'be' at the moment. He says that when you stuck in mind you have to remember other centers to bring back your attention to the moment. I'm sure you will find a much more interesting conversation. I highly recommended it.

[Dean Paradiso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent primer on many of the ideas presented in the Gurdjieff work (and series). Written in easy to understand language and stories, much like ISOTM. There is much material here to work on, and a lot of concepts to take away and explore practically. Highly recommended after ISOTM, or Gurdjieff's other self-written books.

[Matías · Rating 5 out of 5]

I do not have many other books to compare but I really enjoyed it.

It could get kind of repetitive sometimes, but some of the things that are repeated need a certain time to get understood by our thinking.

The beginning of the book is one of the catchiest things I have read in a while.

Would read it again in the future when I have a better grasp of his teachings.

[Keith Foxe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will change the way you look at your reactions to everything. Many people start reading Gurdjieff through his book Meetings with Remarkable Men, while others may have read works by Ouspensky, one of his disciples. Timeless observations about human nature and our mechanical reactions.

[Flowquietly · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved the old proverbs and sayings

[Steve Clark]

Edition: First Edition

[Steve Clark]

Paperback

[Viktoria A.]

Stopped reading