Issue #37 Dec/Jan 2024/25
“Time is the unique subjective.”
~ Gurdjieff
Hi
The custom of making New Year’s resolutions is old, dating back to the time of the Ancient Babylonians, who began their new year in mid-March at the time of the planting of crops. During their 12-day Akitu festival, they would crown a new king (or reaffirm their loyalty to the current one), make promises to the gods to pay their debts and return borrowed objects.
That is not so distant from Polonius’ counsel to his son, Laertes, as he leaves for France (in Shakespeare’s Hamlet): Among other things he advises:
“Neither a lender nor a borrower be.”
In the modern world of credit cards and car loans, to follow such an admonition to the letter would be a devil of a challenge. Better perhaps to try the “Peacock Vow”, the New Year’s resolution of Medieval Knights. It was to renew their commitment to “chivalry”, which in practice meant Courtesy, Honor, Courage and Respect for Women.
Alternatively, in the footsteps of early Christians, you could treat the new year as a time for reflection and repentance. A time to consider your failings and resolve to struggle with them.
Step forward with strength and humility.
Sincerely
RB
Gurdjieff and Tolstoy
The chapter from Beelzebub’s Tales entitled ‘The First Growl” paints a satirical portrait of an author’s attempt to write a new version of the “Gospel” for fame and profit. He fancies himself superior to the original Gospel writers, believing he can create a better, more appealing and “cultured” version for the modern audiences. The author Gurdjieff is assailing is Tolstoy.
Leo Tolstoy, made famous by War and Peace and Anna Karenina, was spiritually inclined…
Three Japanese Tanka
A tanka is a classic form of Japanese poetry with a specific structure – like a Haiku but with two added lines. Such poems often explore themes of nature, love, longing, sadness, or spiritual reflection. The first three lines often describe something concrete, like a scene or image. The last two lines expand on the idea, adding a deeper meaning or reflection.
Classical Beauty (by Lady Murasaki Shikibu, 11th century) In the spring’s faint light Cherry blossoms fall softly…
A Tale of Two Cosmoses
Like a man born into a world shaped by history and social structures, a cell is born into the intricate micro-environment of a tissue – which is even more structured. It inherits a lineage, a set of instructions encoded in its DNA, much like a man inherits cultural and genetic legacies. Both man and cell are embedded within a complex web of relationships, constantly interacting and exchanging information. The cell, bathed in a sea of signaling molecules, responds to cues …
A Journey Into The Shadows
We fancy ourselves explorers, masters of our inner domain, yet we often remain strangers to a significant portion of our being. This rarely observed side is the shadowy realm of the unknown and unacknowledged within us. It is the iceberg of our hidden motivations, repressed desires, and unpalatable truths. It is the uncharted territory that holds the key to genuine self-knowledge.
The Work emphasizes the importance of expanding ….
⥫ GURDJIEFF OSKIANO ⥭
Time and Its Dimensions
by Robin Bloor
