This year, the A&E Conference cannot take place as previously announced, due to measures needed to prevent the spreading of the Corona virus. Instead the conference is now taking place online, using a streaming technology that is very easy to work with.

Times will be presented in the EDT timezone (UTC -4). For your local times, may we suggest using a time conversion tool like the Time Zone Converter?

Thursday, 14 May, 2020

9:00-10.00am Informal Zoom technical checks Session (Main Conference Zoom Room)

11:00am-1200 Campfire Zoom Room

5:00pm Informal Zoom checks as needed (Main Conference Zoom Room)

6:00pm Official Opening of the Conference and Getting to Know You Session

Friday 15 May, 2020

8:00-9:30AM Anthony Blake – The Psychokinetic Design of Spaceships

Abstract

The Method 
Idries Shah describes a Sufi method of understanding in his commentary on the Legend of Dh’ul Nun, the Egyptian he rendered as the Pointing Finger. Instead of trying to get where the finger (of the God) is pointing one waits to see where its shadow falls. The ‘shadow’ is how the story is reflected in the student’s understanding – that is where he has to dig. Shah implies that there is no absolute answer one can find. The pointing, or in this case, a book is to provide a stimulus and material for us to work with. I cannot report on what Gurdjieff means but I can discuss what is evoked in me. Another metaphor is given in the practical idea that to create a well one should dig where the earth is damp!

Magical Machines
It is a plausible idea that Gurdjieff’s weird and wonderful apparatuses are not magical machines which violate physical laws but operations in the psyche. Their very absurdity assures us of this. I am minded of Steiner’s descriptions of the ‘next world’ in which, for example, a short line is not the smallest but the largest distance between two points. In Gurdjieff’s classic ‘the Sun neither lights nor heats’ his aim may be to draw attention to the special meaning of atmosphere, a term that plays a significant role in his psycho-cosmology. This is an interpretation I prefer rather than resorting to treating the text as a cryptic crossword clue.

Short biographical note

Anthony Blake b. 1939 was a pupil of John Bennett and compiled and edited several books based on his lectures, as well as works of his own such as ‘The Intelligent Enneagram’ and ‘A Gymnasium of Beliefs in Higher Intelligence’. His academic background is in physics and the history of science. He was one time student of David Bohm and has practised Bohmian dialogue over many years. At present he is Director of Research for the DuVersity, a non-profit organisation exploring methods of communicating fourth way ideas.

9:45-10:45AM Seminar – Looking at Chapter VII, Prince Yuri Lubovedsky from Meetings With Remarkable Men

11:00-12:30PM Jan Jarvis – Role of Abstract Ideals in the Creation of Kesdjan

Abstract

“I am Gurdjieff: I not will die” But, of course, he did. What could he have meant by this extraordinary declaration? Everyone dies; the physical body goes into the ground (or the crematorium) and it doesn’t come out again. In the chapter entitled ‘Religion’, Gurdjieff makes this very clear. Survival of the human entity after death is not, nor ever has been, a legitimate possibility or aim of inner Work. Gurdjieff exhorts to not die ‘like a dog’ but with full presence, an honorable death. To think that ‘me survival’ is the Aim of Work is delusion, perhaps desperation, and yet, something may survive. This essay is an exploration of what is meant by survival, the Kesdjanian dimension, and what relationship this world has to inner Work.

Short biographical note

Jan Jarvis came into contact with the Work in 1977 and has been plugging along at it ever since She has worked with George and Mary Cornelius, Pierre and Vivian Elliott and Elizabeth Bennett, all direct pupils of G. I. Gurdjieff. After leading groups for several years, she now applies the praxis of the Work to her writing and the world at large. Jan operates an estate liquidation service and sells antiques, Persian carpets and American canaries on the side.

12:30-1:30PM Lunch

1:30-3:00PM Joshua Denny – The Legominism of Beelzebub’s Tales: Learning How To Learn, Reading How To Read

Abstract

The ‘essence’ of this ‘essay’ concerns the attempt to look at how we, ourselves, are approaching Gurdjieff’s writings and teachings. What are we bringing to them, of ourselves, when we engage with these ideas and practices? What are we actually ‘doing’ when we study, ponder, and practice the ideas and teachings of Gurdjieff and The Fourth Way? Can we see something more of the ‘inner action’ that is present within us when we do engage with this material? The aim of the ‘essay’ may then be expressed in terms of the attempt to aid ‘impartial’ self reflection and self-insight, as specifically related to the ideas and practices of Gurdjieff and The Fourth Way. A significant portion of the ‘essay’ focuses on the theme of ‘how’ we actually read the written material of Gurdjieff and The Fourth Way, and this is presented in relation to the idea of ‘Legominism’ as mentioned in Beelzebub’s Tales. A second theme throughout the ‘essay’ focuses on the nature of ‘mentation’, as related to the ideas of ‘active mentation’ and ‘mentation by Form’; these terms also being given by Gurdjieff in Beelzebub’s Tales as well as elsewhere. Can we develop our own understanding of our own mentation, and can we develop our understanding of the nature of ‘Legominism’? This we shall at least attempt to address through this ‘essay’.

Short biographical note

Joshua Denny was born to parents and family members interested in the Work and teachings of Gurdjieff. He consequently began engaging with the material and ideas of Gurdjieff from a young age. Joshua has been mainly influenced by the work of J.G. Bennett, pupil of Gurdjieff. Joshua’s parents were involved with groups in this line of the Work. Joshua has made connections with many different individuals in the Work over the years, including those in the American groups as well as the English groups. Joshua, and his parents, have also had connection with Anthony Blake, pupil of J.G.Bennett. Joshua pursued a career in Joinery and Construction before moving into the world of Social Care and therapy for children. Joshua is currently exploring ways to incorporate the ideas of the Work into social care reform, also with a view to bringing the Work into mainstream schools in the form of educational programs involving practical work, drama, and inner exercises. Joshua currently attends a small work group based in Cumbria, England.

3:15-4:15PM Seminar – G.I. Gurdjieff, Meeting with Remarkable Men, chapter 7, Prince Yuri Lubovedsky, beginning on page 118.

5:00-6:30PM Joseph Azize – Studying Gurdjieff’s Contemplative Exercises

Abstract

In “Gurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation, and Exercises,” I suggest that Gurdjieff brought not merely a philosophy, a system of “Western esotericism,” or an “Esoteric philosophy,” but rather a mystic discipline. There, I explain my view that, by 1930, Gurdjieff had concluded that something was missing in his teaching and the methods; and he devised these exercises, using models he found in the Hesychast tradition of Mount Athos, to supply that lack. The exercises are basic and essential, fundamental and indispensable, if the inner work is to go beyond a basic level. I believe that in this book I demonstrate that Gurdjieff himself had come to this conclusion, and why.

I state, on p.83, that: “​Gurdjieff’s exercises, and most especially his Preparation, can be plausibly seen as methods to develop the lower human faculties, bring them into harmony, and align them to the higher centres, thus making possible self-consciousness, and then objective consciousness. This last state is the proper state of the mystical experience, and hence Gurdjieff’s system can be interpreted as a method to achieve the mystic experience in such a way that it can, as needed, be remembered and productively influence ordinary life.”

Short biographical note

My main area of research and writing is and will continue to be the thought and legacy of G.I. Gurdjieff. The most important project is my working together with Carole Cusack and A.G.E. Blake, on preparing, editing and writing a volume on J.G. Bennett , one of Gurdjieff’s most eminent pupils and successors. In addition, I shall be continuing my research into the topic “Gurdjieff Theologus,” that is, “Gurdjieff as Theologian.” I presented a paper under that title at the University of Sydney’s Gurdjieff Symposium on 3 December, 2019.

SATURDAY, MAY 16, 2020

8:00-9:30AM Peter Apps – The Akhaldan Cathedral

Abstract

The fact that “the first and last genuinely learned beings of the Earth, the members of the society then called Akhaldan” had Makary Kronbernkzion’s Boolmarshano placed at the centre of their main Cathedral draws strong significance. This paper explores the journey of the Boolmarshano from ancient Samlios in Atlantis, to Africa, Turkestan, Paris (contemporary Samlios) and beyond. During this journey, there is also time to explore some aspects of the “pre-sand map” of Egypt. A case is then steadily built to pinpoint the locations in The Tales that contain the remaining parts of Makary’s “full scientific thesis,” and arrives at a conclusion concerning the essence of Akhaldan knowledge.

Short biographical note

Pete is from the UK. He has since lived in the US and at present resides in São Paulo, Brazil. For the past twenty years he has been an oboist in the São Paulo Symphony orchestra. A strong advocate of the idea that to some extent talent is a myth, he has researched practical techniques aiming to balance functioning in “lopsided” musicians. A long time reader of The Tales, Pete is an independent researcher, dedicated to the pursuit of novelty. His personal investigations connect the search for Gurdjieff’s true yet often undisclosed intent as an author, with possible practical applications.

9:45-10:45AM Seminar – G.I. Gurdjieff, Meeting with Remarkable Men, chapter 7, Prince Yuri Lubovedsky, beginning on page 118.

11:00-12:30PM Trevor Stewart – A Universal Language: Gurdjieff’s exact language and new tools for insight into Beelzebub’s Tales

Abstract

“For an exact study, an exact language is needed.” These words, spoken by Gurdjieff, display one of his fundamental ideas regarding self-observation. Throughout several iterations of teaching style, Gurdjieff consistently emphasized the importance of his “universal language”. In the Tales, Gurdjieff cites this language as one of two prerequisites for “properly conducted self-observation.” Despite all this, Gurdjieff failed to directly explain this special language of his. Interestingly, little work has been done to verify Gurdjieff’s statements or apply them to his written works. This paper will assemble into one whole the scattered anecdotal and written remarks of Gurdjieff. It will then correlate Gurdjieff’s theory of language with examples from the Tales, showing that Gurdjieff did in fact demonstrate, in a written work, that which he had been describing all along.

Short biographical note

A member of Two Rivers Farm in Aurora, Oregon, Trevor Stewart has been practicing with Gurdjieff’s writings, movements, sittings, and music since the age of eighteen. He presented at the A&E 2018 Conference in Portland, Oregon, and runs an independent ongoing study group for Beelzebub’s Tales. He also spent two years in an intensive Zen Monastic setting. Trevor runs a design and build construction firm in Portland, Oregon.

12:30-1:30PM Lunch

1:30-3:00PM TJ Clark – The Sacred Neuroscience of Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson: A Neurologist’s Perspective

Abstract

Over the twenty-seven years that have passed since I began my neurology residency in New York, I have read numerous articles and texts, listened to lectures by a multitude of professors and other experts, reviewed countless MRI and CT studies of the brain and nervous system and, in the past few years, instructed young residents in my specialty. In my field, we are tasked with the evaluation, diagnosis and occasional treatment of disorders of the nervous system, inclusive of the brain, the spinal cord, nerves and muscles. Not once, however, in all these years, throughout interaction with professors, colleagues, residents and students has anyone ever posited the question as to the inherent nature of the human nervous system and for what purpose is it designed to serve.

I suggest that the answer to this unasked question, at least unasked by the aforementioned “learned beings of new formation,” is buried within the text of Gurdjieff’s Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson and that the answer is not theoretical but real, tangible and verifiable.

Short biographical note

TJ Clark has been a student of the Gurdjieff Teaching since 1974. His involvement in the Work inspired his pursuit of a career in medicine and neurology, beginning in college in his late twenties and completing his residency at the age of 39. He currently is in practice in southern California where he teaches residents in neurology.

3:15-4:15PM Seminar – G.I. Gurdjieff, Meeting with Remarkable Men, chapter 7, Prince Yuri Lubovedsky, beginning on page 118.

4:30-6:00PM Richard Miller – Preliminary Plan to obtain the Material to Construct a Psychology of the Seekers of Truth

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to give a first hand account of how I came to see Meetings with Remarkable Men as an allegorical work rather than an autobiography. I will first discuss my initial readings, the questions provoked, and how that led me to see a structure in the book. Then, I will focus exclusively on exploring the stories of the characters to demonstrate that by seeing that their very names are puns that resemble the story Gurdjieff tells about them, that these are not people Gurdjieff literally encountered but are meant as material to use to gain an understand of the psychological interplay between the world we are born into, the influences that shape our understanding of the world, and the choices we make as a result. My hope is that this paper will inspire the reader reach a deeper psychological understanding of Meetingsthemselves by seeing the characters as constructs rather than actual people.

Short biographical note

Born in 1960, Richard Miller has lived most of his life in Victoria Canada and began his search when he realized as a child that “grown ups” didn’t know. Perhaps through the sub-conscious influence of his long dead Swedenborg grandmother, he immediately sensed the truth in the writings of P.D. Ouspensky which he discovered through asking a patron of Woolworth’s coffee shop who was reading “A New Model of the Universe” what a book with such a grandiose title could possibly be about! Along with many of his friends, he met an original student of Ouspensky in the late 70’s and was an active group member for a decade. In the late 90’s he began reading Gurdjieff for the first time and though enjoying contact with all and sundry, has continued to cultivate a peripheral association with formal groupings.

6:30-7:30PM Banquet

SUNDAY, MAY 17, 2020

10:00-11:00AM Where Do We Go From Here?

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