In the early 20th Century, Georges Ivanovich Gurdjieff brought an ancient spiritual system to the western world known as ‘the Work’. He claimed that, along with all mystical and religious traditions, the Work’s primary objective was to help people develop a ‘Soul’.
According to Gurdjieff, we are born only with the potential for a Soul, it is not guaranteed. Like everything else in life, a Soul must be worked for to enable it to become a fully articulated vehicle of consciousness connecting the body directly with the sources of its creation.
The cornerstone of Gurdjieff’s ideas and practices is a comprehensive Science of Being, with a distinct anatomy and physiology of Soul creation that can be verified through direct experience.
Gurdjieff affirmed that, without working towards a Soul, we disconnect from what’s essential. Cut off and starved of the vital nourishment of life, we learn to exist only on the surface of ourselves and live out our lives in a sleep-like haze until there’s nothing left.
Depression, loneliness, violence, many illnesses and all varieties of prejudice and malice are symptoms of a Soul-less existence and a clear measure on the state of the world today.
Gurdjieff was emphatic that a Soul is very difficult to develop. While special work is needed to bring a Soul to fruition, its growth and attainment is acquired directly within the conditions of our own life.
For Gurdjieff, a Soul is absolutely critical, not only for the complete fulfillment of our own life, but for all life throughout the Universe.
