How to Approach this Book
Madame de Salzmann’s writings will challenge longtime followers and even confound readers who are unfamiliar with Gurdjieff’s teaching. Everyone will have the opportunity to recognize the limits of his or her understanding, that is, open to a sense of the unknown that Madame would call the threshold to reality.
One way of going further is to engage with others who have a similar search. Over the past few years, study groups have discovered some approaches that may be helpful to others:
- Reading the texts aloud and slowly in small groups. This calls from the listeners and readers an attentiveness that opens in order to better receive what is read.
- Limiting the amount read at each meeting to only one text, or even a part of a single text. The material is extremely concentrated and not easily digested in large portions.
- Following the reading with a discussion and exchange on the participants’ experience and questions. This allows each to confront his own questioning supported by others who are searching in the same direction.