". . . astrobiological theory of warfare causality . . ."
There is enough research on solar flare and electromagnetic flux patterns to show conclusively that humans are affected by them. Dr. Harold Saxon Burr's research at the Yale University School of Medicine, described in his book The Fields of Life: Our Links With the Universe (New York: Ballantine Books, 1972) detail the physiological basis of the body's electromagnetic field. Robert Becker, MD and Gary Seldon's book The Body Electric: Electromagnetism and the Foundations of Life (New York: William Morrow, 1985) details how consciousness is affected by electromagnetic fields and radiation. Biological and physiological processes (as an underlying sub-strata) influence our belief systems and thought-patterns, which activists and social groups may manipulate. A second interpretation of Gurdjieff's imagery is that it represents a tradition of Renaissance thought: that the planets are symbolic metaphors for inner development (Marsilio Ficino). This interpretation may be best represented by Thomas Moore's The Planets Within (London: Associated University Presses, 1982) and James Hillman's anthology The Blue Fire: Selected Writings (New York: Harper & Row, 1989). Finally, although Gurdjieff's perspective may be dismissed as wrong by other researchers, it is testable using the scientific method and is subject to Karl Popper's falsifiability test.". . . the slavery in which men live . . ."
Gurdjieff's comment alludes to "structural violence" and to self-identification/consensus trance.
". . . inner (objective) conscience . . ."
A key aspect of "the Work", comparable to Arjuna's awakening in the Bhaghavad Gita, states of anamnesis and experiences of noesis in Plato's cosmology, or the Holy Ghost of Judeo-Christianity. The Greek word Aletheia may convey what Gurdjieff meant by "inner (objective) conscience."
". . . one of the inspirers of the ecology movement . . ."
Gurdjieff's Law of Reciprocal Maintenance is defined (pp. 190-191) and detailed (pp. 189-191, 205-206, 270-272) by John Bennett as an appendix to his book Gurdjieff: Making a New World (New York: Harper and Row, 1973). Many of Bennett's extensive writings and his workshops at Sherbourne House (England) in the early 1970s made reference to a coming ecological crisis (the Club of Rome’s global problematique) that would trigger a species-wide change. Gurdjieff may possibly have been aware of the Russian geophysicist V.I. Verdansky, who influenced James Lovelock. Gurdjieff was also cited by the founder of the ill-fated Biosphere II project as a cultural influence.
"Never must you offend one thing on earth."
In this paragraph, that Gurdjieff was a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, and would have likely been influenced by Hindu perspectives on deep ecology. The Judeo-Christian concept of Dominion over the Earth has been perverted into the dream of techno-utopian control. By confronting the prospects of a coming ecological crisis, peace activists may help to avert disaster. Robert Fripp includes a sample of Bennett discussing this ecological crisis ("Water Music I") on his album Exposure (E.G. Records, 1979).
"But when it is hungry it kills a lot of them."
Gurdjieff's comment focuses on how a Gaia-like superorganism or "global brain" (Peter Russell, Howard Bloom) might perceive the human species. This perspective has influenced the dystopian views of some eco-philosophers, notably Pentti Linkola, who argues for the forced execution of 6 billion people so that a creative minority may survive. In an interview (November 1998), author Anthony Blake suggested that this comment could be interpreted in symbolic terms about our instinctual aggression and capacity for self-destructiveness. As the implications are unsettling, Gurdjieff's comment is rarely touched upon by most analyses and books that discuss his legacy.
". . . consciously to acquit myself with great nature."
Gurdjieff's comment implies a sense of personal responsibility and stewardship to natural systems and ecological niches. It subtly indicates that those who strive for the greater Good (in the Platonic sense) may avoid crises and gain a measure of self-freedom. It suggests a future-oriented worldview that comprehends Earth as an integrated system (a perspective that Gurdjieff may have gained from his own spiritual experiences). Frank White's study The Overview Effect (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1987) found that Astronauts and Cosmonauts experienced this change in consciousness when viewing the Earth from space. Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell's Institute of Noetic Sciences has also researched the implications of this experience.
". . . ultimately suffer the worst traits . . ."
This paragraph refers to group dynamics, charismatic leadership and organisational lifecycles: Gurdjieff disbanded the Institute at Fontainebleu after some people abandoned the critical attitudes that he had tried to foster. Activists and peace groups have faced similar crises throughout their own lifecycles.
". . . this technique . . ."
Gurdjieff placed people in provocative situations to help them perceive their self-identification, automatic thinking and behavioural patterns and to activate new modes of coping and perception.
". . . overcome 'violent emotions' . . ."
Edward T. Hall coined the term "proxemic" in his book The Hidden Dimension (Garden City, NY: Doubleday Books, 1966) to refer to how personal and social space influences our behaviour (such as through architecture design). James Webb suggested that Gurdjieff's research expeditions during the Bolshevik Revolution and his Institute provided a place to cathartically confront self-limiting behaviour and overcome the self-identification that can spark personal violence (similar to depth psychology, family systems and transactional analysis). Gurdjieff's techniques were transactional and phenomenological, although he was also aware of cognitive research on hormones (mentioned in a privately circulated 1941 paper, cited in Webb's bibliography).
". . . metis . . ."
A Greek word for "cunning" from the goddess Metis: a pragmatic learning style that synthesises past experience, the current context and future possibility. The best definition is given in Marcel Detienne and Jean-Paul Vernant's book Cunning Intelligence in Greek Culture and Society (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1991). William Patrick Patterson quotes a passage (p. 180) in Struggle of the Magicians: Why Uspenskii Left Gurdjieff (Fairfax, MA: Arete Communications, 1997). A fictional depiction is the character Conchis in John Fowles's The Magus (New York: Little Brown & Co, 1966).
"More successful . . ."
The 1918 expedition was more successful than Gurdjieff’s attempts to establish an Institute between 1916-18, which were prevented by Russia's worsening domestic situation and the First World War. The available commentaries on the expedition by the de Hartmanns and Ouspensky suggest that the expedition was also successful as a form of daily phenomenological therapy and adversity training.
". . . he may have been searching for Paleolithic art . . ."
Gurdjieff visited Crete during the 1896-97 Greek-Turkish civil war. He was interested in archaeological excavations, citing (p. 36) in his memoirs Meetings With Remarkable Men (London: Routlege & Kegan Paul, 1981) how the discovery of the Tablets of Gilgamesh confirmed an oral tradition of story-telling that his father (an Asokh or bard) had told him in child-hood. While interpreters do not agree on a telos for him (beyond transmitting certain ideas to the West), this paragraph outlines the best I could come up with. Riane Eisler's work on Minoan Crete as a non-violent and culturally adaptive society, and her perspectives on high civilisations and macrohistory, were relevant to the discussion. They correlate what fragments of Gurdjieff's anthropological research we have (mainly outlined by Ouspensy and Bennett). Also see Ralph Abraham's Chaos Gaia Eros (San Francisco: Harper SanFrancisco, 1994) for what this worldview may resemble.
