Secrets of The Fourth Way is a collage of memoirs, reflections, commentaries, personal insights and exercises, invaluable to students of G.I. Gurdjieff's teachings, written by Alan Francis, the founder of the Oregon Gurdjieff Foundation and Moscow Gurdjieff Group. Francis spent many years seeking out individuals who were personally acquainted with Gurdjieff for the purpose of receiving answers to the many questions that had haunted him on his own spiritual journey. These questions may be summarized: What was, in the opinion of those who knew Gurdjieff, the most important idea, method, form, direction, meaning, and how did they weight them? What was the sense and aim of this Work? Why does it, and why should it, continue to exist? What is, as Michel de Salzmann asked, the "specificity of the Work?" What does the Work touch and develop that the many other teachings do not? The author of this title, Alan Francis generously supplies the reader with the answers he received to these questions. In addition to traditional Fourth Way teachings and methods, Mr. Francis draws on his earlier experiences with other traditions, including Taoist studies and Taoist healing. In this respect, his "Handbook on Energy Pathways and the Higher Being Bodies of Man" is an invaluable guide to understanding human metamorphosis. Other chapters are devoted to various Enneagram studies and insights regarding Gurdjieff's written work and Movements, and several fresh explorations of lesser known Gurdjieffian teachings on topics such as organic barriers, sacrifice and addiction.

Author Biography

Alan Francis began studying Tai Chi Chuan in his teenage years with Master Marshall Ho'o and later Master Tung Kai Ying. At 19, he began studies of Taoist healing with Master Ju Kim Shek, and also traveled to Mexico to meet with brujos and curanderos. Francis began his Fourth Way work with Jim and Norma Flynn at the Los Angeles Gurdjieff Foundation in 1969. In 1971 he co-incorporated the Institute for Taoist Studies which developed into the first college for Taoist Healing, collecting data from Masters in Healing, Energy Work, and Meditation. In 1999 he founded the Oregon Gurdjieff Foundation with Norma Flynn, with the approval of Michel De Salzmann. Commensurate with his work with the Foundation, Alan was the founding director of Turnaround, a skid row social services center that specialized in the treatment and rehabilitation of alcoholics and drug addicts. In 2006, Alan founded the Russian Center for Gurdjieff Studies, and now leads groups in Moscow.