"A Trifling Particle of the Great Whole" - Philip Perkis Part II
WhyGurdjieffNow's podcast
Our second conversation with long-time group member Philip Perkis, a famed American photographer and educator, focuses on his insights around G.I. Gurdjieff’s first series of writings, Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson - and particularly how the book's content maps vividly to our inner and outer life.
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Jacques Hemsi: A Life in Work and Craftmaking
WhyGurdjieffNow's podcast
Jacques Hemsi met Mr. Nyland in 1969 and has been active in the Chardavogne Barn Gurdjieff group ever since. As a lifelong master jeweler, he has encouraged many people in the group to explore and experience the profound relationship between craftmaking and Work on oneself in practical terms. Beyond that he has helped to maintain vibrant activities and an essential aliveness within the group for many years since Mr. Nyland put it all in motion. Late one night during the group’s summer Work week in Warwick, NY, he sat down in his kitchen with Doug Sprei for a conversation about his early...
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"By Centuries Rooted In Me" - Michael Near and the Kosuts
WhyGurdjieffNow's podcast
Why Gurdjieff Now highlights a conversation with Michael Near, Cynthia Kosut, and Robert Kosut, conducted in May 2019 during a group Intensive Work period in Northern California. All three were students of Mr. Nyland during the incredibly active later years of his life while the group was taking root in upstate New York and California. Their vivid look back at the extraordinary activities and demands of that time gifts us with insights into how the teachings of Gurdjieff resonate today.
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Philip Perkis: Inner and Outer Photography
WhyGurdjieffNow's podcast
Why Gurdjieff Now welcomes Philip Perkis, a long time member of our New York group and one of America’s most respected photographers and educators. A Professor Emeritus at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, Philip joined us in a wide-ranging conversation revealing that his lifelong devotion to the art form and his dedication to Gurdjieff’s teachings are very much intertwined.
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Vin and Jack: Mechanicality
WhyGurdjieffNow's podcast
The concept of mechanicality, that all people are machines reacting to external forces, is a central idea in the Gurdjieff teaching. It is vividly described in the early chapters of In Search of the Miraculous, P.D. Ouspensky's lucid account of his talks and experiences with Gurdjieff from 1915 to 1923. Two members of our New York group, Vin and Jack, picked up the thread in a lively conversation recorded at a Barn Work day last year.
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Nicole: Acceptance and Change
WhyGurdjieffNow's podcast
Nicole, a college professor and group member in California, talks with Doug about how acceptance is necessary for seeing ourselves -- even in light of the natural desire for change and "self-improvement." Her reflections are accented with humorous ordinary life anecdotes that many listeners will relate to.
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Why Gurdjieff Now: A Conversation with Donna Spector
WhyGurdjieffNow's podcast
An accomplished playwright, poet, and educator, Donna Spector is also a long-time member and moderator of Mr. Nyland’s groups and teacher of the Gurdjieff Movements. In May 2019, she sat down with host Doug Sprei for a conversation recorded during a Work intensive period held in Northern California. Here she warmly recounts her early impressions of coming into the group and meeting Mr. Nyland, and shares how Gurdjieff's Work finds expression in her life and work today.
info_outlineWhy Gurdjieff Now welcomes Philip Perkis, a long time member of our New York group and one of America’s most respected photographers and educators. A Professor Emeritus at Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, he is the author of Teaching Photography and Notes Assembled; and his prints have been showcased in collections at the Metropolitan Museum, the Museum of Modern Art, and many other venues. Philip joined us in a wide-ranging conversation revealing that his lifelong devotion to the art form and his dedication to Gurdjieff’s teachings are very much intertwined.