There is a fire within us that does not want us to miss our lives
It is what George Gurdjieff called the wish to Be.
Do I ever look within myself? How do I look? And when I do, who is there? What is there? Is there something essential within? Something sensitive? Or reliable and unchanging, that can withstand external circumstances? How long can I even look inside, sense, and feel before my attention is taken?
Gurdjieff´s life work was a method to address our most meaningful questions and turn them into an effort towards waking up to our own reality. If we are honest with ourselves, Gurdjieff would say, then we must admit that we are continuously divided, in conflict with ourselves, full of automatic reactions and habits, easily distracted, and therefore asleep to our potential as human beings.
The antidote: self-remembrance and self-study
Picture courtesy of Osho Nisarga
“We need to develop an attention in us that would relate the whole of ourselves to a higher force.”
- Madame Jean de Salzmann
The movements and dances Gurdjieff created are structured in such a way that to practice them we must fully engage all of the parts of our being - our three brains: the intellectual center, emotional center, and physical or moving center, thus uniting our being.
Video courtesy of Amiyo Devienne.
The Movements are not meant for performance (although performance adds a useful intensity) but as a laboratory to see and study ourselves.
By using rhythm, vibration, geometry, and a group formation, they follow certain laws which have 3 basic functions:
- Gather the force of our attention
- Unite the different and often divided parts of our being
- Break our mechanical and automatic patterns.
The intelligent design of the Movements:
It is possible to find perfect stillness in movement. Actually, many of us were born to know ourselves in and through movement- to know stability within motion. That is why these Movements are an immense contribution to humanity by Gurdjieff. ​
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Visit the Gurdjieff Movements page for more information on the process and origins.
İlkgün Amitabha Jan
The movements themselves are a powerful tool for developing self-awareness, mindfulness, and inner balance. I have experienced moments of profound stillness, clarity, and connection to something greater than myself.
More Testimonials
Elif Özkoç
Ananda's calm but very focused and non-judgemental presence is a medicine itself. Plus he is very experienced with the movements. I felt so energized, centered, clear and grounded after the workshop
Billur Kurt
Working on self-remembering through Gurdieff Dances within the safe limits of Ananda's open heart provides a very valuable space to meet with the vibrations we need in today's World. By gathering my attention every time, it balances all centers and creates awareness of my individuality in unity, contributing to the internalization of ancient knowledge by experiencing it.