In Search of the Miraculous – Introduction to Gurdjieff’s Teaching | with Robin Bloor, OM C. Parkin and Ekant J. Billing
International and bilingual (German/English) event.
Fri – Sun, June 14 – 16, 2024 | Gut Saunstorf Monastery – Place of Stillness
Since the publication of OM C. Parkin’s three books on the teachings of the spiritual dimensions of the Enneagram, the teachings of Gurdjieff and the Fourth Way have been increasingly emphasised in his teachings. This coincides with the publication of a newly revised German edition of the P.D. Ouspensky title ‘In Search of the Miraculous’ by advaitaMedia in April 2024.
This weekend, for the first time, we will have the opportunity to listen to a speaker who himself studied with a direct disciple of Gurdjieff: The Englishman Robin Bloor. He will give us insights into Gurdjieff’s teachings and guidance in understanding the study of Gurdjieff’s texts. These explanations will be complemented by Ekant J. Billing who will introduce us to two further aspects of Gurdjieff’s work: the music and the Movements (Sacred Dances).
The highlight of the weekend will be a talk between OM C. Parkin and Robin Bloor.
“The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness, and ‘consciousness’ cannot evolve unconsciously. The evolution of man is the evolution of his will, and ‘will’ cannot evolve involuntarily.”
G.I. Gurdjieff
Programme
Robin Bloor’s teachings will focus on the following three topics:
1. The Ray of Creation. This discusses the Gurdjieffian model of how the Universe works from The Absolute (God) to Rocks (including the definition of two primeval laws, the law of seven and the law of three)
2. The Nature of Man; The Gurdjieffian view of Man’s place and role within the Universe.
3. The Diagram of Everything Living. This discusses Nature and all forms of life.
His presentations will include space for dialogue and shared meditations.
Guidance
Robin Bloor
Robin Bloor was born in 1951 in Liverpool, UK. He obtained a BSc in Mathematics at Nottingham University and took up a career in the computer industry, initially writing software, and eventually becoming a consultant, and author. He currently resides in and works from Austin, Texas in the USA.
In 1988, Bloor met and became a pupil of Rina Hands. Rina was a one-time associate of J. G. Bennett, a student of Peter Ouspensky, and later, a pupil of George Gurdjieff, and Jeanne de Salzmann. She led groups both in London, where she lived, and in Bradford in the North of England. She was an outstanding movements teacher and an inspirational group leader. She died in 1994 and is buried next to Jane Heap (another first rank pupil of Gurdjieff) in a cemetery in North London.
Bloor leads a regular group, The Austin Gurdjieff Society, in Austin, Texas. He produces a monthly newsletter, The Lost Herald and runs the website, ToFathomTheGist.com. He also organises multiple on-line study groups to study Gurdjieff’s writings and Gurdjieff’s Objective Science (as articulated by Ouspensky in In Search of the Miraculous, and by Gurdjieff himself in The Tales).
OM C. Parkin
OM C. Parkin is a spiritual master, mystic, philosopher and book author. He is the initiator of the OM Foundation Inner Science, director of the Mystery School Enneallionce – School for Inner Work and founder of the modern Monastery Gut Saunstorf – Place of Stillness.
The teaching of the Silent Tradition, which he also calles Inner Science, is based on the one hand on the Eastern advaita tradition (teaching of non-duality, best known representative in the West is Ramana Maharshi), as well as on the teachings of the Integral Yoga of the Indian sage Aurobindo Ghose, and on the other hand on Western paths of experience (e.g. Christian mysticism, Georges I. Gurdjieff: The Fourth Way).
The Movements
The “Movements” and sacred dances together with the music are an essential and fundamental part of Gurdjieff’s complex teachings. The movements form the experiential space in which the “cosmic and life laws” can be experienced with one’s own being, and thereby prepare and bring about a deeper understanding. They are “meditation, research and learning” in motion, and allow us to directly perceive what the teachings can reveal to us – in our body, our mind and our heart.
Ekant Jürgen Billing
was born in 1969 and is a father of five children. He has been in deep contact with Gurdjieff’s teachings since 2009. He was a student of the French Movements teacher Amiyo Devienne and other teachers from the lineage of John Bennett and Mme de Salzmann, and has been teaching the Sacred Dances in his own seminars and workshops since 2013.
Practical information
Times
Day of arrival Fri, June 14
Check in for board & lodging: 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Check in for the event: 4:00 – 5:30 pm
Start with the common dinner: 6 pm
Cost
€ 180,-
At this event, the ticket price is supported by the Foundation.
Board & Lodging
Your board and lodging at Gut Saunstorf Monastery must be booked separately using the following booking form, which you will also receive with your registration confirmation by e-mail.
Venue
Gut Saunstorf Monastery - Place of Stillness
Am Gutspark
D-23996 Saunstorf
www.monastery-saunstorf.com
The modern Monastery Gut Saunstorf - Place of Stillness, located near the German city of Schwerin, is dedicated to retreat and contemplation. It invites seekers of every confession and tradition to rediscover their own inner stillness in meetings with OM C. Parkin, at events or simply in a time of introspection and meditation.
Following Gurdjieff’s Footsteps
Interview with Robin Bloor
In this interview Robin Bloor tells us how he came into contact with the work and became a student, how the succession of Gurdjieff disciples is doing and what he sees as Gurdjieff’s intention for humanity.
Additional information
Bloor has written or edited nine books about the Work, including:
To Fathom the Gist: Volume 1 – Approaches to the Writings of G. I. Gurdjieff
To Fathom the Gist: Volume II the Arch-Absurd
To Fathom the Gist Volume III, the Arousing of Thought
The 1931 Manuscript of Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson
Gurdjieff’s Hydrogens: Volume 1: the Ray of Creation
Gurdjieff and Kundabuffer: Food for the Moon