A group of fellow seekers
Members of the Gurdjieff Foundation of Oregon have been meeting together in Portland Oregon for nearly 30 years to share their search, and practice the teaching G.I. Gurdjieff. Many group members have worked with direct pupils of Mr. Gurdjieff, and our group represents a diverse lineage.
Our former leaders included Jeanne deSalzmann, John (Lord) Pentland, Paul Reynard, Annie Lou Staveley via Jane Heap in London; Dr. Jacob Needleman, John Bennett and Wilhem Nyland. We are affiliated with Foundation groups around the country and worldwide.
Our Center
We meet together in the historic Odd Fellows Hall in the Sellwood neighborhood in Portland. Our activities include weekly meetings and Movements Classes, monthly practical work and maintenance of our online book business Gurdjieff Books and Music.
We have come to appreciate that working together strengthens our own effort. So often, life’s constant demand on our attention is almost too compelling for our as-yet-undeveloped capacities to withstand its pull. We meet as a group, to practice, to listen, to each other and to ourselves. The special energy that is created invites sincerity and reflections from deeper within.
Coming together plays an important role in self understanding. A special atmosphere appears when people from diverse walks of life come together in a spirit of mutual respect, and open-ended inquiry to share questions, observations, and in-the-moment work to BE. That is, to be present to the whole of our Being: sensation, feeling, thought.
Once a month or so we meet together for part of day to practice in a deeper way. With ‘Sitting’, practical work focused on a particular theme, Movements and Music, it gives us the opportunity to explore particular ideas in greater depth. It also allows us to be present for one another, and to hear and support the efforts of our fellow comrads.