New to the Work? Some Things to Know
Photo credit: Brian Orner
We're starting another year of Work together at the Rochester Gurdjieff Center, looking toward a new set of groups, Movements classes, and opportunities to see ourselves as we are. At least, to see as much of ourselves as we’re willing and able.
As Mr. Gurdjieff observed, it's only under certain conditions not found in ordinary life that we have the best chance to view ourselves impartially. An increasingly impartial view is necessary if we’re to make progress toward one larger aim of many who follow this teaching. Namely, the realization of an as-yet undiscovered self, the yearning for which is expressed by timeless questions like “Who am I?” and “What is my purpose?” It’s within the conditions found at a Work center that the possibility of meeting this very distant realization within my own experience can take root.
Life Roles
In life, we have a number of familiar roles: mother, brother, child, spouse, co-worker, driver, shopper, doom scroller, guest, etc. We bounce from one familiar role to the next, like changing coats, mostly depending on who we're with or the circumstance we're in. If you ever start acting differently around a certain person, even not realizing at first you're doing so, it’s an example of being absorbed by a role. We change these inner coats automatically, usually without any awareness. In a Work sense, we become the role of friend or daughter or grandfather or student, with all of the learned trappings that define that role for us. But in the context of “Who am I?,” these roles are not who we really are. When an old role takes over, and the process of switching roles is not in our awareness, then all our efforts to “be here now,” “live in the present,” or in Work terms, practice self-remembering, are compromised.
A New Role
At a Work center, conditions are such that most of these old habitual roles don’t seem to fit. Not that the old roles are bad or good, but when we’re making inner efforts together, something different is needed. In this situation, when we’re at a loss for what role to play, or “who to be,” there might be moments of discomfort. Beneath that feeling however, we may find a source of new energy waiting for us. The new role we start to develop in relation to that energy needs to have a certain tolerance for operating in uncharted inner territory. This is an important thing because the moments when we are “between roles” are the times when we might see something new, and access energies necessary for a more impartial experience of me.
Most of us prefer what’s familiar and, whether intentionally or unconsciously, we avoid the unknown. We also have an uncanny ability to become accustomed to (sometimes to the point of loving) the most intolerable situations. Together, these factors explain how easy it is for us all to get stuck in our ruts: anxious, addicted, and in a word, identified with our everyday situation. Finding examples of this can make for an interesting study, and is a topic for another day.
A Change in Being
Back to the fall season. Everybody knows it's easy to watch a video or read a book with the advice: "take the first step and the stairway shall appear.” This is conventional wisdom by today's standards. But to know it and to understand it are two different things.
In the Work, we strive not just for knowledge, but for understanding. Anyone can acquire knowledge in a hundred different ways. Pick up your phone and there’s knowledge at your fingertips. But understanding is something beyond knowledge, and it can only come as a result of blending traditional knowledge, things we know about relationships, music, cooking, biology, carpentry, business, parenting and so on, with the development of what we call Being. How this development is brought about relates closely to the inner efforts we make at the Rochester Gurdjieff Center.
Starting again
This year, we once again hope to connect with people who are willing to explore this teaching, and gain some sense for what a development of Being might mean. You may not have experience with the Work. You might never have heard of Gurdjieff. But if you're like many of us, you have a certain orientation towards inner growth.
You might also be willing to test whether that stairway will appear.
[Update] In February of 2024 we're offering another round of open talks in Pittsford. No prior experience required. If you're interested in learning more, connect with us here.