“You don’t have to apologize for your mechanicality.” –Mr. Nyland
For those with interest in the ideas of Gurdjieff, as we learn to apply them in Mr. Nyland’s groups, meetings are offered on Zoom and in person. Having a sincere wish and personal reading of Gurdjieff’s writings are the only prerequisites.
I joined the Chardavogne Barn group in 1979. Mr. Nyland’s transmission of Gurdjieff’s ideas is rigorous, exacting, yet wonderfully warm and encouraging — a big reason many of us have stayed active in the group for decades. From 1982 – 87, I lived and worked with Mrs. Louise March and craftspeople at the Rochester Folk Art Guild, and met visiting leaders and Movements teachers from Gurdjieff Foundations around the world. Becoming conversant with diverse approaches and ‘languages’ of Gurdjieff’s lineage groups, I’ve come to intimately appreciate their resonance as well as differences. I agree with Gurdjieff’s maxim: “All roads lead to Philadelphia.”
The pandemic has intimately networked the Nyland groups across the U.S. and abroad. We conduct many meetings across time zones on Zoom these days. On the local side, if you live in the DC-Maryland-Virginia area and would like to find out more, email me to share your interest; we can meet in person, or on Zoom if you prefer. And if you’d like to attend a group meeting, chances are we can find one that suits your schedule and level of experience.
Those of us who moderate meetings are inspired by the Fifth Obligolnian Striving (and the four preceding Strivings) cited in Beelzebub’s Tales. I hope we can honor the warmth, clarity, and fine integrity of Mr. Nyland’s practical expression of Gurdjieff’s ideas, and make them useful to all who wish to apply them in daily life.