Our discussion of the human condition centers around a basic but seldom accepted or understood idea: We are "asleep", compared to what we could be. We are caught in illusions while thinking we are perceiving reality.
On Waking Up by Charles Tart, who provided my introduction to Gurdjieff. I am currently reading his Living The Mindful Life. As a perusal of his site will reveal, he is interested as well in the psychedelic experience, altered states, the paranormal, psi, out-of-body experiences, near death experiences, remote viewing and the whole woo woo schmear. All these are of less interest to me. He does provide a good introduction to Gurdjieff, however. There are more links within.
posted by y2karl on Jun 15, 2004 - 19 comments

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff. Charismatic and controversial, infamous for introducing the enneagram, claimed by the Sufis, linked to the little known Yezidis, (More here), Gurdjieff--and his school--have their detractors, whether religious or skeptic. His ideas can be difficult , abstruse and are ultimately beside the point. His thesis can be reduced to this: We are asleep, mere machines, acting from habit rather than volition. The goal then is to wake up and stay awake. And that is where the Work comes in. ( A bit more within)
posted by y2karl on Aug 6, 2002 - 20 comments