Issue #47 January, 2026
“It is only when we realize that life is taking us nowhere that it begins to have meaning.”
Ouspensky
Dear ALL
The start of 2026 has been uniquely unquiet. If the beginning of the year is the Do of an octave, this year’s opening was truly inauspicious. From the capture of Maduro and the Epstein incessant scandal in the US to a multtude of international concerns: the collapse of Iran, a wobbling NATO, and the saber-rattling over Taiwan. The “new normal” seems to be one of constant friction. And meanwhile, the AI bubble looms shadows the financial world, threatening widespread instability.
2026 is clearly a year of transformation. But change is arriving at levels far beyond our control. As long as we avoid the various juggernauts, as they rumble by, the external events themselves won’t matter. What matters in how we digest them and how impartial we can remain in the face of whatever the world delivers. We can ponder how well Gurdjieff managed his life and his groups, while the Second World War raged around him.
By the way, I have a new book that may appeal to anyone who studies The Tales. It provides copiousnotes on the first 50 pages. Click here if you’re interested.
I wish you all the best for 2026.
Regards
RB
The Dog Catchers of Tiflis
In The Tales, we read:
“The duty of this barber-surgeon friend of mine consisted in going at a certain time through the town accompanied by an assistant with a specially constructed carriage and seizing all the stray dogs whose collars were without the metal plates distributed by the local authorities on payment of the tax and taking these dogs to the municipal , …
A New Perspective on Geology
You may have wondered how mountains actually form. The standard “Geology Creed” claims that mountain building is solely the result of tectonic plates and millions of years of gradual erosion by wind, water, and plants. Yet, there is a distinct lack of physical evidence for this slow-motion narrative. In this compelling presentation, Andrew Hall …
Chief Feature
Chief Feature is another of those extremely dense notions spoken of by Mr. Gurdjieff but often left unapproached—considered by many work people to be somehow understood “simply” by saying the words and reflecting a presumption of understanding and yet simultaneously held at a distance because of its arcane interior. The following are a few subjective impressions …
The Reflection in the Mirror
The epic poem The Conference of the Birds (Mantiq at-Tayr) describes a journey where thirty birds of the world, led by the wise Hoopoe, set out to find the mysterious Simurgh, the legendary “King of the Birds.” One of the most beautiful and profound passages from Farid ud-Din Attar’s masterpiece is this excerpt which describes the moment the birds (representing human souls) …