George Gurdjieff George Ivanovich Gurdjieff /ˈɡɜrdʒiˌɛf/ (January 13, 1866-1877?)[1]|- October 29, 1949), also commonly referred to as Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff and G. I. Gurdjieff, was an influential spiritual teacher of the early to mid-20th century who taught that most humans live their lives in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep", but that it is possible to transcend to a higher state of consciousness and achieve full human potential. Gurdjieff developed a method for doing so, calling his discipline "The Work"[2] (connoting "work on oneself") or "the Method".[3] According to his principles and instructions,[4] Gurdjieff's method for awakening one's consciousness is different from that of the fakir, monk or yogi, so his discipline is also called (originally) the "Fourth Way".[5] At one point, he described his teaching as being "esoteric Christianity".[6] At different times in his life, Gurdjieff formed and closed various schools around the world to teach The Work. §Biography[edit] §Early years[edit]
An Essay by Einstein -- The World As I See It "How strange is the lot of us mortals! Each of us is here for a brief sojourn; for what purpose he knows not, though he sometimes thinks he senses it. But without deeper reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people -- first of all for those upon whose smiles and well-being our own happiness is wholly dependent, and then for the many, unknown to us, to whose destinies we are bound by the ties of sympathy. A hundred times every day I remind myself that my inner and outer life are based on the labors of other men, living and dead, and that I must exert myself in order to give in the same measure as I have received and am still receiving... "I have never looked upon ease and happiness as ends in themselves -- this critical basis I call the ideal of a pigsty. "My passionate sense of social justice and social responsibility has always contrasted oddly with my pronounced lack of need for direct contact with other human beings and human communities.
Padmasambhava Padmasambhava[note 1] (lit. "Lotus-Born"), also known as Guru Rinpoche, was an 8th-century Buddhist master from the Indian subcontinent. Although there was a historical Padmasambhava, little is known of him apart from helping the construction of the first Buddhist monastery in Tibet at Samye, at the behest of Trisong Detsen,[1] and shortly thereafter leaving Tibet due to court intrigues.[2] A number of legends have grown around Padmasambhava's life and deeds, and he is widely venerated as a "second Buddha" by adherents of Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, the Himalayan states of India, and elsewhere.[3][4] Historical sources[edit] Mythos[edit] Sources[edit] Nyangrel Nyima Özer (1136-1204) was the principal architect of the Padmasambhava mythos according to Janet Gyatso.[8] Guru Chöwang (1212–1270) was the next major contributor to the mythos.[8] Early years[edit] Birth[edit] Tantra in India and Nepal[edit] Tibet[edit] Subjection of local religions[edit] Translations[edit] Nyingma[edit]
Enneagram History and Origins: The Traditional Enneagram Click here for The Stages of the Work The Enneagram of Personality Types is a modern synthesis of a number of ancient wisdom traditions, but the person who originally put the system together was Oscar Ichazo. Ichazo was born in Bolivia and raised there and in Peru, but as a young man, moved to Buenos Aires, Argentina to learn from a school of inner work he had encountered. Thereafter, he journeyed in Asia gathering other knowledge before returning to South America to begin putting together a systematic approach to all he had learned. After many years of developing his ideas, he created the Arica School as a vehicle for transmitting the knowledge that he had received, teaching in Chile in the late 1960's and early 70's, before moving to the United States where he still resides. This group spent several weeks with Ichazo, learning the basics of his system and engaged in the practices he taught them. Relationship between Higher Essence Qualities and Ego Distortions Type One Virtue: Serenity
How the Enneagram Personality System Works This explanation covers the basics that you will need to understand how the Enneagram works, and will be especially helpful for beginners. As you will see, only a few simple concepts are needed to begin your journey of self-discovery. The Enneagram, however, is ultimately subtle and complex, as you will appreciate the more you use it in your life. For more guidelines, consult Personality Types 27-55, and for further clarifications Understanding the Enneagram, 11-30. Index of Subjects: Structure The Enneagram's structure may look complicated, although it is actually simple. Draw a circle and mark nine equidistant points on its circumference. The nine points on the circumference are also connected with each other by the inner lines of the Enneagram. The Enneagram Your Basic Personality Type From one point of view, the Enneagram can be seen as a set of nine distinct personality types, with each number on the Enneagram denoting one type. Identifying Your Basic Personality Type The Centers
Dalai Lama tells his Facebook friends that religion "is no longer adequate" Well, he'd hardly be the first Buddhist to say something like this. From what I've read, there are already lots of Buddhists, and historical Buddhist movements in various countries, who are atheistic and who prefer to return to Buddhism's roots as a kind of self-help, personal psychological and philosophical system—and yes, I realize I'm hugely oversimplifying that ideological stripe of Buddhism—and that's fine. And if this helps the world be a better place, cool. I'm all for it. But as an atheist I had already got to this point without making sand paintings, spinning prayer wheels or staring at stupas or rock gardens to shut off all mental processes and get to Satori. Maybe I'm just doing it wrong.
Seeing the Good in the Bad “Instead of complaining that the rose bush is full of thorns, be happy the thorn bush has roses.” -Proverb I once read that people who journal to identify lessons from painful situations generally move on more quickly and easily than people who write merely to vent their emotions. In discovering opportunities for growth, we empower ourselves to see whatever we’ve been through as something that can be ultimately beneficial, even if it’s tremendously uncomfortable in the short-term. It’s not always easy to do that, particularly because there are so many things that happen that we may never understand—and plenty of events that seem downright unfair. Why do some people retain their health despite poor choices, while others wake up seriously ill one day with no reason or warning? When you look at the world through this lens, it’s easy to be bitter. What is a guarantee is that we can always decide how to interpret what we see. Photo by PrescottFoland
10 Mind-Blowing Theories That Will Change Your Perception of the World | Reality is not as obvious and simple as we like to think. Some of the things that we accept as true at face value are notoriously wrong. Scientists and philosophers have made every effort to change our common perceptions of it. The 10 examples below will show you what I mean. 1. Great glaciation is the theory of the final state that our universe is heading toward. 2. Solipsism is a philosophical theory, which asserts that nothing exists but the individual’s consciousness. Don’t you believe me? As a result, which parts of existence can we not doubt? 3. George Berkeley, the father of Idealism, argued that everything exists as an idea in someone’s mind. The idea being that if the stone really only exists in his imagination, he could not have kicked it with his eyes closed. 4. Everybody has heard of Plato. In addition to this stunning statement, Plato, being a monist, said that everything is made of a single substance. 5. 6. Enternalism is the exact opposite of presentism. 7. 8. 9. 10.
An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments