There has always existed, on this island, a
deep well of spiritual potential, and now the greatly changed
Ireland of the 21st century is rediscovering it. When the
search for meaning in the midst of meaninglessness led to the
Gurdjieff teaching being brought to Ireland in recent years,
in response to a newly arisen need, it was as if ancient dried
seeds, watered for the first time, began to come to life.
Nurtured by teachers who worked with Gurdjieff's closest
disciples, the seeds have germinated, and are thriving. There
is an international flavour too, the Irish core working
alongside members drawn from Europe, the Middle East, South
America and South Africa.
How this Gurdjieff 'Work' translates into practice, has been
well documented by those who lived and worked at the Chateau
du Prieuré outside Paris in the 1920s. It is no different
today at Bray, outside London, or at La Thebaudiere in
Normandy, a venue to which many of the Irish members have
travelled in recent years.
In Ireland, the demographic distribution of group members is
such that venues for the monthly residential 'Work' weekends
must alternate, in order to accommodate, in turn, those
furthest afield.
These ordinary men and women come to the 'weekends', because
each is pursuing an individual search. Each acknowledges that
it is only in these group situations that this is possible.
The Movements, an integral part of the teaching, are taught.
The type of practical work has not changed with time, and the
kitchen and kitchen gardens of the Prieuré have their
counterparts here. The purpose is the same, in keeping with an
injunction as ancient as Hermes Trismegistus or Socrates:
'Know Thyself'
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