Gurdjieff Dominican Group

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The impossible can become possible

This was my 2nd seminar in Santo Domingo and God willing there will be more. In these seminars the Work can still be experienced with the intensity, freshness and diversity of the courses at Claymont and presumably Sherborne although I personally never went to Sherborne. With a mix 60+ people of all levels it is possible to create within the short space of 7 or 8 days the conditions and the “heat” that gives these events the flavor that words however swift they may be would never describe entirely. Under guidance of Jose Reyes and through his commitment to the practices that have been passed down to us, his property turns into a teke, a place where real work is possible for the duration of the seminar. And although there can be no guarantees, those who are prepared to pay through fearless self exposure and immersion, through real trust in the Work, through faith that the impossible can become possible for them, now, will likely reap the benefits of their efforts. The miracle of these seminars lies in the fact that they are more than their individual components. My personal contribution, Jose’s preparation and guidance, the physical location and buildings, the presence of the other 60+ brothers and sisters, the methods and practices that we use, the influences and help from the higher realms are all necessary ingredients and they have to be brought together in the proper proportions and yet the reality of the seminar, what we experience in our hearts is more than all the above. Granted that we understand that what we can get from the seminar is proportional to what we put into it I found this year’s seminar a real opportunity to learn and see more about myself. About my fears, my personality, my limitations, my endurance, about my pretenses and my arrogance and about the swiftness and maleficent of the my ego. This was accompanied by feelings of brotherhood and compassion, by the realization that the Work is truly the most significant part of my life and by glimpses of love, hope and believe.

Mr. Bennett was an outstanding speaker, writer and philosopher. He has continued Mr. Gurdjieff’s quest to create an objective language for the west for the unseen and has put words to human experiences that may not have been describable before. This may have fed our ever tempting desire to let the description of the Work ideas and of our personal experience take the place of the experience itself. This is a problem that we all so easily recognize in others but scarcely see in ourselves. The Dominican seminars that I have participated in emphasize the importance of the experiences of the higher emotions. Much work is done to generate the energies that allow these feelings to be experienced. Without these feelings our work is hollow and no different from all the other activities of our lives this is a welcome and useful influence for a candidate for lofty wiseacring like myself.

Remembering you with a feeling of gratitude

Stefan Maier
Massachusetts, USA

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