The Armenian-born mystic, philosopher, and spiritual teacher G. I.
Gurdjieff (c.1866-1949) is an enigmatic figure, the subject of a
great deal of interest and speculation, but not easily fitting into
any of the common categories of "esoteric," "occult," or "New Age."
Scholars have for the most part passed over in silence the
contemplative exercises presented in Gurdjieff's writings. Although
Gurdjieff had intended them to be confidential, some of the most
important exercises were published posthumously in 1950 and in
1975. Arguing that an understanding of these exercises is necessary
to fully appreciate Gurdjieff's contribution to modern esotericism,
Joseph Azize offers the first complete study of the exercises and
their theoretical foundation. It shows the continuity in
Gurdjieff's teaching, but also the development and change. His
original contribution to Western Esotericism lay in his use of
tasks, disciplines, and contemplation-like exercises to bring his
pupils to a sense of their own presence which could to some extent
be maintained in daily life in the social domain, and not only in
the secluded conditions typical of meditation. Azize contends that
Gurdjieff had initially intended not to use contemplation-like
exercises, as he perceived dangers to be associated with these
monastic methods, and the religious tradition to be in tension with
the secular and supra-denominational guise in which he first
couched his teaching. As Gurdjieff adapted the teaching he had
found in Eastern monasteries to Western urban and post-religious
culture, however, he found it necessary to introduce contemplation.
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