George Gurdjieff

George Gurdjieff
Gurdjieff between 1925 and 1935
Born	George Ivanovich Gurdjieff c. 1866–1877 Alexandropol, Yerevan Governorate, Russian Empire
Died	(1949-10-29)29 October 1949 Neuilly-sur-Seine, France
Citizenship	Russian Empire (c. 1867 – May 1918) First Republic of Armenia (May 1918 – December 1920) Stateless (1921–1949)
School	Fourth Way
Notable students	P. D. Ouspensky Thomas de Hartmann Olga de Hartmann Jane Heap John G. Bennett Maurice Nicoll Olgivanna Lloyd Wright
Main interests	‹The template Cslist is being considered for merging.›  Perennial philosophy Psychology Spirituality
Notable ideas	‹The template Cslist is being considered for merging.›  Fourth Way enneagram centers

George Ivanovich Gurdjieff (c. 1866–1877 – 29 October 1949) was a philosopher, mystic, spiritual teacher, composer, and movements teacher.^[a] Born in the Russian Empire, he briefly became a citizen of the First Republic of Armenia after its formation in 1918, but fled the impending Red Army invasion of Armenia in 1920, which rendered him stateless. In the early 1920s, he applied for British citizenship, but his application was denied. He then settled in France, where he lived and taught for the rest of his life.

Gurdjieff taught that people are not conscious of themselves and thus live their lives in a state of hypnotic "waking sleep", but that it is possible to awaken to a higher state of consciousness and serve our purpose as human beings. His student P. D. Ouspensky referred to Gurdjieff's teachings as the "Fourth Way".^[1]

Gurdjieff's teaching has inspired the formation of many groups around the world. After his death in 1949, the Gurdjieff Foundation in Paris was established and led by his close pupil Jeanne de Salzmann in cooperation with other direct pupils of Gurdjieff, until her death in 1990; and then by her son Michel de Salzmann, until his death in 2001.

The International Association of the Gurdjieff Foundations comprises the Institut Gurdjieff in France; The Gurdjieff Foundation in the USA; The Gurdjieff Society in the UK; and the Gurdjieff Foundation in Venezuela.^[2]

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