Publication Date:July 21, 2008 Availability:Usually ships in 1-2 business days Shipping:Expedited shipping available Shipping:International shipping available Condition:Edition: First Edition; Brand New - No Remainder Mark
Product Description An application of Gurdjieffian principles to fully and properly activate the power of language
• Explains the relationship between the Gurdjieff enneagram and sacred geometry and harmonics
• Shows that the objective power of language--and art and music--lies in the ability to use symbols that will mean precisely the same thing to anyone
• Includes a new English translation of Rene Daumal’s essay “The Holy War”
In The Magic Language of the Fourth Way, Pierre Bonnasse applies the esoteric teachings of Fourth Way mystic G. I. Gurdjieff and the insights of initiate Rene Daumal to show how to fully and properly activate the power of language. Bonnasse shows how words can regain the strange magical powers they possessed in the first days of humanity, when words created the realities of what they described. This is a far cry from today’s world in which even writers lament the impotent nature of language.
Bonnasse uses the relationship between the Gurdjieff enneagram and sacred geometry and harmonics to reveal the power given to words by the notes of the scale. He shows not only how to discover the objective power of words but also how to apply the relationship between language and living to maximum effect. He explains that the objective power of language--and art and music--lies in the ability to use symbols that will mean precisely the same thing to anyone. The Magic Language of the Fourth Way serves as a clear and generous introduction to the complexities of Gurdjieffian thought as well as a descriptive how-to manual for Fourth Way aspirants on the uses of objective language for spiritual advancement.
Customer Reviews:
Not as awakening as it could beNovember 24, 2008 Taylor Ellwood I initially found this book to be really intriguing, particularly in terms of how Bonnasse presented the concept of observing the self as the self is reading. I think it's a good point to make because people can be resistant to what is read. However, the first half of the book didn't live up to the potential expressed in the introduction. It came off as pretentious and somewhat confusing. I've been told that the confusion is characteristic of Gurdjieff's works, so I wasn't entirely surprised to find it in a disciple's work, but I think that confusion detracts from the overall message that the author is attempting to convey.
The latter half of the book improves when the author focuses on explaining the enneagram and concepts of language and magic and how those relate to the Gurdjieff philosophy. I particularly found the focus on vibrations to be interesting and insightful.
What might've helped with this book was some exercises that readers could do in order to implement the theory into action. While I found this book interesting and a somewhat decent introduction to Gurdjieff's philosophy, I was disappointed by how confusing the book could get, as well as the occasional pretentious holier than thou attitude conveyed by the author. This book could be worth picking up if you want to learn a bit more about Gurdjieff or want to examine how language is treated in his system of philosophy.
