We have to be at peace with ourselves, we have to accept ourselves very deeply; accept this nature of ours such as it is, neither revolting against the fact that we are imperfect beings, nor hiding or disguising from ourselves any imperfections which we do not want to find. The confusion comes when we wish to change what cannot be changed and do not trouble to change what can be changed

J. G. Bennett

Reciprocal Maintenance

The doctrine of Reciprocal Maintenance is that everything that exists in this world depends on other things for its maintenance and must in its turn maintain the existence of something else.

When we look at Gurdjieff's message we can see that it is indeed a message of hope. The unexpected answer to the question: "On what are we to build?" is that we shall not find it in matter or spirit, but in the creative work of Reciprocal Maintenance.

The points of responsibility: the earth's crust and its minerals, the soil, the vegetable kingdom on land and in the seas, the invertebrates and animals and man himself, are just those very situations that \are causing great anxiety on the score of depletion of resources, over soil impoverishment, disease, over-population, famine and war. When Gurdjieff propounded his scheme sixty years ago, these anxieties seemed remote. Now they are urgent. Today we can look at Gurdjieff's Reciprocal Maintenance and see in it a final warning and also a supreme hope.

As we look at these portents of disaster, we can see how they all come under the heading of aberration from the principle of Reciprocal Maintenance.

The key to understanding human life is given in the doctrine of Reciprocal Maintenance. This alone breaks down the barrier that man has erected between himself and his mother Nature.

J.G. Bennett, Gurdjieff:
Making a New World, Chapter 12

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2010

The 2010 Summer Seminar will be held from July 23 to August 1. It will overlap the last few days of the 2010 Intensive, so seminar participants will no doubt enter an energetically charged atmosphere. We will be working with the Gurdjieff Movements, inner exercises, meditations, zikrs and practical work.

The 2009 summer seminar is briefly described below...

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2009
Theme: "Reciprocal Maintenance"

The 2009 Summer Seminar (conducted June 20-28) was, by all accounts, an extraordinary event. Over 30 people participated in the Gurdjieff Movements, practical work, "impractical work", theme discussions and inner work that went on for nine days. Our thanks to everyone who came, and to all those who helped make this event possible.

Gurdjieff Movements and more

Summer seminars present extraordinary opportunities to join interested people from all over the world who come together to work intensively in a practical way with Fourth Way Work ideas and techniques. We offer a ten-day live-in program including explorations in the Gurdjieff Movements, inner exercises, the thematic technique, the enneagram, gardening, cooking, arts, construction, music, psychology, cosmology, practical work tasks, zikhr, and meditation.

For more information or to confirm your registration contact Ana Bennett at anabennett@gis.net