The Magic Language of the Fourth Way

Book excerpt: An application of Gurdjieffian principles to fully and properly activate the power of language • Explains the relationship between the Gurdjieff enneagram and sacred geometry and harmonics • Shows that the objective power of language--and art and music--lies in the ability to use symbols that will mean precisely the same thing to anyone • Includes a new English translation of René Daumal’s essay “The Holy War” In The Magic Language of the Fourth Way, Pierre Bonnasse applies the esoteric teachings of Fourth Way mystic G. I. Gurdjieff and the insights of initiate René Daumal to show how to fully and properly activate the power of language. Bonnasse shows how words can regain the strange magical powers they possessed in the first days of humanity, when words created the realities of what they described. This is a far cry from today’s world in which even writers lament the impotent nature of language. Bonnasse uses the relationship between the Gurdjieff enneagram and sacred geometry and harmonics to reveal the power given to words by the notes of the scale. He shows not only how to discover the objective power of words but also how to apply the relationship between language and living to maximum effect. He explains that the objective power of language--and art and music--lies in the ability to use symbols that will mean precisely the same thing to anyone. The Magic Language of the Fourth Way serves as a clear and generous introduction to the complexities of Gurdjieffian thought as well as a descriptive how-to manual for Fourth Way aspirants on the uses of objective language for spiritual advancement.