Gurdjieff: The Key Concepts

By Sophia Wellbeloved

Book Overview

This unique book offers clear definitions of Gurdjieff's teaching terms, placing him within the political, geographic and cultural context of his time. Entries look at diverse aspects of his Work, including: * possible sources in religious, Theosophical, occult, esoteric and literary traditions * the integral relationships between different aspects of the teaching * its internal contradictions and subversive aspects * the derivation of Gurdjieff's cosmological laws and Ennegram * the passive form of "New Work" teaching introduced by Jeanne de Salzmann.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0415248981
• ISBN13: 9780415248983
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Routledge
• Length: 304 Pages
• Weight: 0.95 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.6" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

A helpul guide for students of Gurdjieff

This is a very useful guide for anyone studying the works of George Gurdjieff. There are definitions of the obscure terms he used, especially in Tales, along with many definitions of terms that are common in other metaphysical and spiritual teachings. The only negative comment I have about this book is the grossly inflated price.

Key Book of Key Conepts

This work is a remarkable condensation, written with great clarity and comprehension, of the words and terms that appear in the writings by and about G.I. Gurdjieff. The entries devoted to Astrology, Enneagram, and Zodiac are particularly insightful and valuable. But those that explain meanings behind everyday words like Fear, Music, Time, etc., are worth reading and considering--not to mention such obscure and work-specific neologisms as Hasnamuss, Legomonism, and Solioonensius. In all, there are 300 explanatory entries arranged alphabetically. Paul Beekman Taylor contributes a fine Foreword, and Sophia Wellbeloved has added a 12-page bibliography, a 4-page index, and biographical entries on 30 or so of Gurdjieff's pupils, both major and minor. "Gurdjieff: The Key Concepts" is a key book.