In the early 20th Century, Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gurdjieff) brought an ancient spiritual system to the western world known as ‘the Work’. He claimed that, along with all mystical and religious traditions, the Work’s primary objective was to help people develop a ‘Soul’. According to Gurdjieff, we are born only with the potential for a Soul, it is not guaranteed. Like everything else in life, a Soul must be worked for to enable it to become a fully articulated vehicle of consciousness connecting the body directly with the sources of its creation. The cornerstone of Gurdjieff’s ideas and practices is a comprehensive Science of Being, with a distinct anatomy and physiology of Soul creation that can be verified through direct experience.
Presenter Bio – Luke Behncke
Luke was raised as a Christian in a small country community in southern Australia, and spent some of his early years living on an outback Cattle Station with genuine indigenous tribes of northern Australia. Post-graduate research and publications were acquired during university studies specialising in applied human biomedical science and physical education, as well as pursuit of diverse interests in philosophy, religion and art – ultimately drawing Luke to Gurdjieff’s system where he has been a practitioner working with groups and individuals from around Australia and the world since 2000. Luke is a facilitator of the Gurdjieff Network (https://www.gurdjieff-network.com/) and has a blog – Faith Made Flesh (https://www.faithmadeflesh.com/) – exploring some of the ideas and practices of Gurdjieff and Christianity.
Further information:
Gurdjieff Society of Australia (https://www.gurdjieff.org.au/)
Gurdjieff’s dance/movements, as represented in Peter Brook’s “Meetings with Remarkable Men”, are shown here: https://youtube.com/watch?v=UKPwZqUUrQo
Presentation on Swedenborg and Gurdjieff – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YepBZESIpSU – from the Swedenborg Foundation, in which a student of both Swedenborg and Gurdjieff, John Gwynn, is interviewed about how their teachings on inner spiritual growth helped him work through his own suffering and alcoholism.
