[godfrey]

Answering Garinda about who was Gurdjieff: I'm not sure that anyone really knew even though many wrote books about him and his methods and he also wrote a few books himself.

He is believed to be a mystic of sorts born in Armenia. His own book "Meetings with Remarkable Men" told of his contrarian attitudes, almost in the first chapter. A film was made of this book about 10 years ago which I've never seen. He went off around the world researching into the psyche of mankind and has never revealed where he got to.

He eventually started an Institute in Paris and, as Less said, taught how man may be self-awakened. I know little about the Institute or much about its practices. He died in 1942.

He claimed that man went around asleep like a robot just reacting to external stimulae. One recommendation he made was to walk down a street conscious of every foot touching the pavement and see how long one can remain conscious.

Its surprising how you can wake up several blocks down knowing that you have fallen asleep and lost consciousness of the task you originally set yourself.

So he might be right.