Readings for during a coffee break
Started January 1999
This is the new place for publication of the writinggroup which M.J.A. de Salzmann did initiated some time ago (1996). This site did have the name Home page of the Gurdjieff Stichting Nederland (GSN)*. In answer to the letter of the barrister in law (de advocaat) of the Board of Management of the Gurdjieff Stichting Nederland, we came to an agreement for some minor changes. These changes (activated at the first of June 2000) do have the purpose to prevent any reader of this site to entangle the GSN and the owners of this site and, and or, of the origin of the information which is here presented.
* GSN is originally a part of the Gurdjieff Foundation which is led
by Michel de Salzmann from Paris, see: The
Gurdjieff Foundation .
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Megabite
|
 Gurdjieff Stichting
Nederland, Postbus 951, 1200 AZ Hilversum, email (since Dec 17 '99) :
gsn@gurdjieff.nl |
The best thing to do for preparing ones future is to study
the present-day situation
Living with this information: The CAFÉ Advice:(Challenge,
Adapt, File, Evaluate).
***
Wim van Dullemen/Gurdjieff CCS
15298 ChannelClassicS
Available in the Netherlands at : EUREKA
(Utrecht)
Copyright © 1999-2002
Gurdjieff Writinggroup in the Netherlands
This already gave me an indication that I wrote possibly for the wrong public.
Some other important observations of me were that evening, that about half of the responsible ones, mostly the elder, were not there! And moreover I perceived that the leader of that evening did speak rather disdainfully about the absent companions of his group. But it gave me an even bigger shock when I noticed that these words of him, uttered in a secure way, were received hilariously by many people.
After rethinking all this quietly, I came to the following considerations:
In order to give this writing group, which was instigated by the leader of the Gurdjieff Foundation Michel de Salzmann himself and which started with the full approbation of the Board of Management of the GSN, a new start it will be necessary to invite first new and interested people and second to find another way for publication.
So in summary: This Home page is here for that purpose. In particular it is open to all those who are feeling themselves related to the GSN, just like me, or others from other parts of the Gurdjieff Foundation. They all are invited to publish their personal texts or articles under their names here freely. It will only cost ones efforts to make them.
Send for this your contributions up to 2500 words in by email in English
and or Dutch, accompanied with a short description who you are and what
your relation is to the GSN or the Gurdjieff Foundation to the my e-mail
address. And of course also other co-operations or reactions are very welcome
at my e-mail address: L.Hupkes
(I am since 1973 an active volunteer and contributor of money
(in 2000 1600 euro, or about $1400), labour or otherwise of the 'Gurdjieff
Stichting Nederland' and do agree with the intentions or objectives of
her regulations fully. Of which the number one important objective is:
"to study and to hand over the ideas and practical instructions which Gurdjieff
brought." (cited and translated from the regulations of the
foundation of GSN)) There is no better way to say for what
this site is here.
Just for giving you an idea of what I have in my mind, read these three
short stories of me. The first story is taken from my book.
first story
second story
third story
This story tells us some very important things about the both opposing sides of the working of the law of three. For this reason are the outer and inner side (of our selves) presented in one single story and this is done in a remarkable way. This single story has for that reason two different ways of coming to its end.
Of course we can after reading it for ourselves come quick to a conclusion and say: the first end is 'the good' end and the other is 'the bad' one. However, it is not so easy, because if we do think this over, especially more deeply, than we see that the two ends are in essence both leading for the good, even yet, that at first sight both ends are pointing as two opposites to each other because they do have a diametrical different direction.
The story is as follows:
Once upon a time there was a man who was convinced that he had a very ugly face and that he would inspire the people only with dismay and fear. For avoiding this terrible future he has found for himself the following solution: he himself had taken it as his habit to carry the mask of a kind and handsome and holy man. And during the time he was wearying this mask he honestly tried to be from inside accordingly to it so he tried to be this holy man in all his sides, also innerly.
Long time after this someone realized that this man was wearying a mask and at a certain occasion he pulled it away from his face aggressively. The man shrimped in by knowing now that his real ugliness was brought into the open and was clearly visible for everyone. But up to his amazement the other person asked him: for what reason are you wearying the mask of your own face?
The man does understand with these words that he did became the same
one of whom this mask was taken and therefore he could simply stay the
same who he already was. He just could go on with his own way of reacting.
You can say of this end: this is without doubt an 'Happy End'.
But the other end is as follows:
For his innermost relief the other person said: What is your situation abominable! You are not what you seem to be! And after a long time of silence in which he fathomed its character and thought it over, he continued: I do not see any solution in this perilous situation for you, because you are not only at the end of your career, but you are even near to the end of your life! The time to repair all this in your life is simply not there anymore. Therefore I wish to ask you the following question: Is it not so that you have led yourself into this situation on purpose? Because I know of your high intelligence and your in practice examined forward looking sight. That is why it cannot be otherwise than you yourself was longing to do it in this way. And in addition to that, you could never had done this in this way on behalf of yourself. It is clear that for yourself there is no profit at all, isn't it? There are only disadvantages for you! Could it not be that you have done this to try to make a living false example for all your fellowmen? Is maybe your deep inner living along with your neighbours so great that you wish to give up your own life in this way?
And after silencing again he spoke: In me arises a very deep feeling
of respect for you. I have to say that this is an example of really the
greatest possible loving of ones neighbour! Because this signifies that
you are really do putting your whole life in service of mankind! Your life
is through all this an intense stimulation towards anybody who will hear
from this. Just with only the intention that he will be actuated to strive
with all what is in him, to be that man who he is, and to strive hard in
that, longing to succeed.
This story shows us that judging is not so simple as it looks like, because super visually seen one could say that with the second end of the story, the monster is unmasked. And this reaction is also acceptable by the behaving of that man after his unmasking in the further story. But is that judgement valid after one has thought deeper about his failings? For instance: from where did that failing come. Does it not come from ones inner-innerness?
Copyright © 1999-2002 by Lourens Hupkes
The Yiddish language expresses this in a special way. Yiddish is a kind
of dialect from middle age German which was spoken by the Jews who were
expelled from Germany or fleeing at the time of the 'Black Death' (1300).
They were admitted 'en masse' in then at that time Kingdom Poland and they
took the middle age German with them and this language has itself maintained
there in the Jewish society. It has assimilated in the course of time some
Slav and Hebrew words.
In that Yiddish there is a difference between 'herren' of the German
'hören' that is hearing of a sound, and 'der herren' that signifies
hearing in an other way. This word is used when for instance someone is
telling that he has made the voyage through the 'Hechalos', that is the
palaces (in modern terms one could say a voyage in meditation). One has
left this world here and one has entered the palaces of the other realm.
In the old Sanskrit language the words for light and sound tell us something that illustrates this clearly. In Sanskrit the words for light and sound are nearly the same, light is 'Svar' and sound is 'Svara'. The last vowel signifies: coming forth from. The sound thus comes from 'Svar', comes out of light and that is what one have said also in the old and ancient days.
This we can say is a legamonisme, something what expresses the unity, we just have to look or hear and we can understand.
This same aspect of relativity seen from a different angle is that these two senses have in there working together a special relation. Is it not so that it depends on the vision of a certain moment of an individual, what that person is hearing in the sounds and that according to that he is interpreting them likewise? Can we not say: The vision of the moment is making the outlines wherein that what the ear is hearing is placed? In this process the seeing takes the perception in without time, as a flash of light, and the hearing takes the perception in with some course of time. This is clear in the different velocities of the waves of light and sound.
And it is so that it is necessary for understanding something fully,
that these two perceptions are taken in at the same time, that they come
together in a special place. This we can experience in the moment, that
is the place always of the most young moment, there where our life crosses
the things which happen.
If this crossing takes place there than the waves of light give perspective
to the waves of sound. It is a kind of seeing back in time, a kind of remembering
also from that very moment. That is why everybody can only take in accordingly
to the remembering of ones own visions combined with a certain life quality
and the things what he is hearing. Just follow this short story and you
will get this more clear.
You are coming near with a certain vision. You put your hands on your collar, the wind is cold.
On your way you see a hole in a window-pane and a woman with a ball in her hand behind it.
Your vision is already changing, but you do not find it necessary to punish that what happened there in such a hard way.
Coming nearer you see some women standing aside and laughing to each other about something. You see they also laugh about the pain of the boy and that they are even encouraging the man!
You ask now keen and careful, with the hidden intention to come in between, why this punishment is done so severely. And you hear that this is already the fourth time this week that on behalf of the boy a window-pane is broken and that the boy had until this time simply jumped out. But now his father is here and he could have caught him with a funny trick. You learn further that the father has no money and is not able to pay the prize for the broken windows, but on behalf of this atonement all his neighbours will pay together with him for the damage, each a little. You give it a look for a while and you listen to the many voices, you observe that all the mature people are happy and at ease. In short, all things are right.
You become convinced that here coming in between has no sense at all
and only could damage the happening. Ultimately you take slowly some steps
backwards and you turn around in order to continue your way. Your steps
are light, your face smiles lightly. You have to keep your eyes half closed
in order to see, because of the many twinkles of the breaking sunlight
on the edges of the broken glass.
Copyright © 1998-2002 by Lourens Hupkes
Another interesting and similar story
Makarios the magician of Ishkander
The carillon player Makarios of Ishkander awakened the city in the following
way. He was used in the morning to play during 3 hours on his carillon.
At 6 o'clock precise he started and he stopped at 9 o'clock. Every hour
he played a certain melody and in a certain way. All the people were convinced
that by means of this the peace was held in the city and that on that day
everything should happen in the just way. And because the city was very
prosperous one rewarded Makarios royal with special privileges. The city
grew and grew and the people came from far and wide for living there. Even
the apes walked peacefully there and had good business.
One day King Ape appeared in the city for examining this miracle.
King Ape was the most keen ape, he was very polite, intelligent and adapted
everything very quick. Of course he soon took up the playing of this music
on the carillon and because he wanted too to have all the privileges of
Makarios he build at the end of the city a big carillon. This one was so
big that it was heard well through out the whole city, it drowned even
without difficulty the carillon in the centre of the city. But, because
of this drowning Makarios stopped in the end with his daily chimes and
he left the city for living in the country.
Soon after some years the people were so accustomed to raise
on the chimes of King Ape, that they entirely forgot the player of the
carillon of the centre. But the peace and harmony in the city became less
and less, first rather unnoticeable but later faster and faster. Crimes,
adultery, fights and even terrorism became normal each day. Therefore the
municipality one day did come together for discussing this and to search
a way for a change. They came to the conclusion that although the melody
in all those years did not noticeable change the cause however had to be
found in that same music. And they decided to search Makarios the carillon
player and to ask him his advise. Because he was the best person who could
comment on this matter.
For their quest Makarios did investigated this and told them
that in his opinion the playing each day was wrong. The municipality told
this to King Ape and he tried of course to change his play. But this didn't
help, in the city it went worse and worse and in the end it was so bad
that the state of emergency was exclaimed. Everybody in the city, both
apes and people were convinced that it could not last longer.
Again the municipality went for Makarios, but now being at their
wits' and they asked him for his conditions to come back. Makarios told
them that he should allow King Ape to play only the last 80 minutes of
the 3 hours and that he should have the right to play the rest of the time.
King Ape keen enough accepted this proposal, because then he
was certain for holding all his privileges. And so it happened. Makarios
began at 6 o'clock and stopped at 7.40 h. Makarios began playing in the
centre and at that time King Ape began playing on his big carillon at the
end of the city.
Already after some days of playing in this way the city became
noticeable more quiet and the people did gradually understand what went
wrong during all the years of that big trouble.
This is the way that Ishkander became as prosperous as before
and in this way it happened that it came in the happy possession of two
carillon players: King Ape and Makarios. And if not all the inhabitants
in the years since passed away, then the city is nowadays still prosperous
and everything is still going in harmony there.
Copyright © 2001-2002 by Lourens Hupkes
