ENNEAGRAM –An Enneagram is a nine pointed star, usually in a circle. The term is usually used more specifically to refer to one of two symbols: a nine pointed star consisting of three interlinking triangles: or the open ended Enneagram used by G.I. Gurdjief, and elaborated upon by Oscar Ichazo. Gurdjief used the Enneagram in connection with a system of ritualized movement intended to aid inner awakening, and based in part upon Sufi techniques. Ichazo took this symbol and used it to create a complex system of “personality types”. In turn the Enneagram and the idea of “personality types” was adopted by certain schools of psychology and mysticism who have further developed it in ways which significantly differ from either Gurdjief or Ichazo. In Correllianism the Enneagram is used to describe the nature and relationships of the Monads, or “Group Souls”.
G. I. GURDJIEF –Georgi Ivanovitch Gurdjief was born to a Greek father and Armenian mother in 1466 Pisces (1866 AD), in Alexandropol (now Gumri) in Russian Armenia in the Caucasus. Initially trained in religion and medicine, Gurdjief spent most of his life building a spiritual system called the Fourth Way. Gurdjief traveled widely in Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa, studying various spiritual and mystical systems. From what he learned he posited three primary spiritual paths: the Way of the Fakir: the Way of the Monk: and the Way of the Yogi. To these he added his own system, called the Fourth Way. Gurdjief held that most people go through life as if sleep walking, and that to truly be alive one must rise above this and become fully conscious. Gurdjief began teaching in Moscow around 1512 Pisces (1912 AD), just before the outbreak of WWI. Soon he attracted a number of followers including mathematician and mystic Petyr Demianovitch Ouspensky and dancer Jeanne de Salzmann who would be ultimately become Gurdjief’s successor. These became the nucleus of Gurdjief’s movement. In 1519 Pisces (1919 AD) Gurdjief founded the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, also called the Gurdjief Institute, in Tiflis. By 1522 Pisces (1922 AD) the Institute had moved to Fontainebleau, France, where it prospered. Injured in an auto accident in 1524 Pisces (1924 AD), Gurdjief began his career as a writer authoring works which include “Beelzebub’s Tales To His Grandson”, “Meetings With Remarkable Men” and “Life is Real Only Then When I Am”. Gurdjief died in Paris in 1549 Pisces (1949 AD). After Gurdjiefs death his pupil Jeanne de Salzmann became his successor and established Gurdjief Foundation centers around the world, which continue to this day. P. D. Ouspensky’s book “In Search of the Miraculous: Fragments of an Unknown Teaching” published posthumously in 1549 Pisces (1949 AD) -Ouspensky died in 1547 Pisces (1947 AD)- is considered one of the best books on Gurdjief’s teachings other than Gurdjief’s own writings, despite the fact that Ouspensky had broken with Gurdjief after only a few years. Another good book by Gurdjief is “Views From the Real World”, published in 1573 Pisces (1973 AD).
FOURTH WAY MOVEMENT –The Fourth Way movement was founded by G.I. Gurdjief who developed it through years of travel and study in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. Gurdjief held that there were three main religious paths: the Way of the Fakir, the Way of the Monk, and the Way of the Yogi. To these he added the Fourth Way, which he held to be the inner truth of all religious practices. The Fourth Way teaches that most people are not fully conscious in their lives. The goal of the Fourth Way is to become fully conscious through techniques of self-analysis and self-improvement. The Fourth Way places a high value on self-knowledge and psychological insight. The Fourth Way’s cosmological ideas include a belief in the Ray of Creation (An idea comparable to the Seven Planes), the Law of Seven (which deals with Vibration and Process), and the Law of Three (which deals with Divinity and Creative Force).