Uploaded July 2020 | Updated September 2026, 16 hours ago
Few scholars and writers in the world today have the experience and in-depth knowledge that Father Joseph Azize has of G.I. Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way work. In this new interview with the author of 'Gurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation and Exercises', we explore a range of issues : Have students and organizations based on Gurdjieff’s work watered down and distorted what the great teacher wrote and instructed? At what point do ideas - in an attempt to make them more “accessible” - lose their power and potency altogether? And by contrast, what does it look like when integrity is maintained?
This week on MindMatters we discuss these issues as well as some more of the specially designed exercises Gurdjieff prescribed for his pupils that we began to explore with Fr. Azize in our first interview. Looking specifically at the mystic’s “Second Assisting” and “Web” exercises we examine what they were intended to do for the practitioner - as well as what the larger implications and possible benefits that such work had, and has, for humanity as a whole. Join us as Joseph Azize gives a number of very nuanced and informed explications of Gurdjieff’s ideas, and what value they hold for those seeking to climb the staircase of one’s own being.
Show mp3: media.sott.net/srn/20200709mnd-father-joseph-azize-interview-gurdjieffs-legacy-and-the-new-work.mp3
"Gurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation, & Exercises"
-Oxford University Press (30% discount code: AAFLYG6): global.oup.com/academic/product/gurdjieff-9780190064075?cc=us&lang=en&
-Amazon: smile.amazon.com/Gurdjieff-Mysticism-Contemplation-Exercises-Esotericism-ebook/dp/B082DHRTVB
-Transcripts of Gurdjieff's Meetings 1941-1946: smile.amazon.com/Transcripts-Gurdjieffs-Meetings-1941-1946-Gurdjieff/dp/0955909058
Fr. Azize's 'New Work' posts:
josephazize.com/2020/06/14/the-new-work-james-moore-pt-i
josephazize.com/2020/06/18/2239
josephazize.com/2020/06/30/the-new-work-pt-iii-the-revision-of-all-and-everything
Few scholars and writers in the world today have the experience and in-depth knowledge that Father Joseph Azize has of G.I. Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way work. In this new interview with the author of 'Gurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation and Exercises', we explore a range of issues : Have students and organizations based on Gurdjieff’s work watered down and distorted what the great teacher wrote and instructed? At what point do ideas - in an attempt to make them more “accessible” - lose their power and potency altogether? And by contrast, what does it look like when integrity is maintained?
This week on MindMatters we discuss these issues as well as some more of the specially designed exercises Gurdjieff prescribed for his pupils that we began to explore with Fr. Azize in our first interview. Looking specifically at the mystic’s “Second Assisting” and “Web” exercises we examine what they were intended to do for the practitioner - as well as what the larger implications and possible benefits that such work had, and has, for humanity as a whole. Join us as Joseph Azize gives a number of very nuanced and informed explications of Gurdjieff’s ideas, and what value they hold for those seeking to climb the staircase of one’s own being.
Show mp3: media.sott.net/srn/20200709mnd-father-joseph-azize-interview-gurdjieffs-legacy-and-the-new-work.mp3
"Gurdjieff: Mysticism, Contemplation, & Exercises"
-Oxford University Press (30% discount code: AAFLYG6): global.oup.com/academic/product/gurdjieff-9780190064075?cc=us&lang=en&
-Amazon: smile.amazon.com/Gurdjieff-Mysticism-Contemplation-Exercises-Esotericism-ebook/dp/B082DHRTVB
-Transcripts of Gurdjieff's Meetings 1941-1946: smile.amazon.com/Transcripts-Gurdjieffs-Meetings-1941-1946-Gurdjieff/dp/0955909058
Fr. Azize's 'New Work' posts:
josephazize.com/2020/06/14/the-new-work-james-moore-pt-i
josephazize.com/2020/06/18/2239
josephazize.com/2020/06/30/the-new-work-pt-iii-the-revision-of-all-and-everything
