Sacred Music

www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/30books/music.php

A Must Have CD of a live concert!

A most unusual musical offering

There' s going to be a concert on the east coast:

SACRED MUSIC OF THE ETERNAL PRESENT

PRAYERS AND MUSIC OF G. I. GURDJIEFF

Thursday, October 8, 2009, 8:00 P.M.
Baltimore, Maryland

Location:
An die Musik
409 North Charles Street
Baltimore, 21201

Most unusual music, seems to speak directly within one.

More information at:http://www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/20announce/events.php?page=2

Gurdjieff seminar

This sounds interesting!

http://www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/20announce/events.php?page=2

Interesting Talk coming

Location: Avid Reader at the Tower

            1600 Broadway

            Sacramento

Date: Thursday February 26, 7:00 p.m.

If you have questions, email Introduction@Gurdjieff-Legacy.Org or call (800) 470-3086.

 

Please join us as author William Patrick Patterson discusses his new book Spiritual Survival in a Radically Changing World-Time. The evening includes guided meditation and a taste of Conscious Body-Breath Impressions™.

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Technology is the new ideology. We live almost totally enframed by it. To control it, we must understand it. Technology is not different from us, something alien. It is man's rational part developed to an extraordinary binary degree. As it is a part of us, to understand it we must first understand ourselves. We must seek to know our own essence, our true purpose and meaning. Technology faces us with the urgent call to explore anew the primordial question - Who am I? Spiritual Survival in a Radically Changing World-Time explores technology's challenge and how it can spur us to awaken to a new integration of body, senses and mind. It illustrates how the seminal teaching of G.I. Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way meets the challenge of Technology and gives the esoteric keys to self-awakening in a radically changing world-time.

 

 

William Patrick Patterson is the founder/director of The Gurdjieff Studies Program and the founder/editor of The Gurdjieff Journal (est. 1992), the first domestic and international Fourth Way journal. He has led groups, as well as given seminars and talks throughout the United States for many years. He is the author of seven books on The Fourth Way and is the director-writer-narrator of the award-winning Fourth Way video trilogy, The Life & Significance of G. I. Gurdjieff.

 

 

 

 

A Woman's Work

Recently came across an interesting book, A Woman's Work with Gurdjieff, Ramana Maharshi, Krishnamurti, Anandamayai Ma & Pak Subuh: The Spiritual Life Journey of Ethel Merston, published by Arete Communications. It's the story of Ethel Merston who studied with G. I.Gurdjieff from the early 1920's until his death. And, of great interest to me, how she continued her studies in self transformation after her first teacher's death.

In following her spiritual journey the book also follows a number of important spiritual teachers of the second half of the twentieth century. So it's a valuable resource on two levels [at least], the personal search of a serious student and an overview of some of the most influential teachers of recent times.

Music and action

I went to the ballet, Swan Lake, to see if I could overcome my aversion to music mixed with other things, namely opera. Great music but then there is a plot and characters and acting to keep track of. All of which detracts from the music for me.

Once again the other things detracted from the music. Fascinating the power and control and grace of the dancers but when paying attention to those things the music takes the back seat. Vision is more engrossing than hearing.

Not only that but when the orchestra is in the pit they have to be mic'd to get the sound out. And the sound suffers for it.

I find it odd though that when music is in the church and part of a religious ceremony it is more of a part of what's going on, for me. So it's added to by the ceremony rather than being overshadowed by it.

Movie Music

I saw a film that put new, or maybe forgotten, meaning in old music. "Across the Universe" is the best use of music in a film, ever. Well, at least in my opinion. The Beatles music isn't just a background or add on to the script, it is the script. Brilliant.

Standard boy meets girls story but done so well that I actually bought the movie DVD, practically a first for me. Only "32 Short Pieces About Glenn Gould" has music so well integrated and since it's about the music maker I guess that's to be expected [I bought that one too].

Truly a great integration of sound and vision.

New places to look

When looking around for some music I ran across some books, look at http://www.gurdjieffbooks.org/., and videos, http://www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/30books/videos.php.http://www.gurdjieff-legacy.org/30books/videos.php Some of these books reference the music that I found so interesting.

Also found another site with much similar interests, http://sacredsound.typepad.com/. As my interest grows so do the resources I've found referencing those interests.