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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.