Sirius Science Fiction Editions:
Best Kept Secrets "The secret keeps itself." Where did we first hear that old saying? It is a saying that probably exists in every modern language, translated from older versions in Greek, Sanskrit, Persian, Chinese, Navajo, you name it.... If you read philosophy and esoteric spiritual literature, you'll encounter countless elaborations of this idea, whether it be in the words of Socrates as reported by Plato or some non-European shaman, sage, or teacher. If this idea is sound, i.e., that you can't sell, trade, or even give away gratis the ultimate secrets of the universe...why try?
At Gateways Books & Tapes, we made this distinction years ago largely as a principle of good old American marketing efficiency. Why go to the marketplace with writings and resources suitable only for advanced students or veteran seekers--those individuals have a way of finding out what they need to know, when they need to know it, and they are the least likely people to go window shopping (or bookstore browsing much less flea market skimming...) for transformational ideas. We'd be wasting our publishing and promotional efforts constantly trying to convince novices to buy into more challenging material than they're prepared to use. We've always counted on a sifting process whereby those who need more than the introductory books and beginning experiments in the laboratory of self - and - others will qualify themselves by phoning us - often in the middle of the night or during breakfast - and needling us with their persistent questions. (Editor's Note: Our colleague, Rudy, has been threatening for years to complete his manuscript entitled "Work on Others" which we can then set along side E.J. Gold's essential title Practical Work on Self
We haven't changed our outlook on this. We are open to new ideas, though (at least we certainly would like to think so), and we're willing to suspend judgment on whether the existence of the World-Wide Web and the onset of all of its science fictional consequences will radically change the formulas for how many people of whatever degree of interest actually find these resources, and how fast they do so.... In other words--since all bets are off at the end of the millennium, we might as well lay all of our cards on the table!
What follows are a few pages of capsule descriptions of our best kept secrets, for those who already know or who need to know. They fall roughly into the following categories:
- Secret Talks Volumes
- Books based on talks given by E.J. Gold over a period of years. These books are the basis of many of the paperbacks Gateways publishes.
- Fine Art Editions:
- These books from Heidelberg Editions International, signed and numbered, are unique and high aesthetic publications.
- Sirius Science Fiction Editions:
- These books are deluxe, hardcover limited editions of classic science fiction in reprint, illustrated in a contemporary style by E.J. Gold
- Talk of the Month Journals:
- Over 100 transcribed and edited talks of E.J. Gold that were published as a journal series from 1983 to 1992.
The Movements Practices: Surrounded with an aura of secrecy and glamour, shrouded with protective veils, flashed occasionally in books or movies (i.e., Peter Brooks' Meetings with Remarkable Men)-The Movements-so what IS the big deal? So-called mystic, philosopher, author, rapscallion, and raconteur G.I. Gurdjieff early in this century presented himself in Paris as a teacher of dances from the Caucasus. At the end of his life, circa 1947-48, unbeknownst to many, including many followers of J.G. Bennett and P.D. Ouspensky, Gurdjieff was renting a small wooden-floored studio in Paris, which had in it only a piano, and continuing to teach dance movements to a very small group of his own students. There are teachers from that tradition who instruct in "The Gurdjieff Movements." Classes and workshops are becoming more available both in Europe and in the U.S.
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I.D.H.H. B., Inc., has never offered or taught those movements nor made any claim to transmit the original, unchanged Gurdjieff approach to sacred dance practices. We have offered at various times since the 1970's demonstrations and instruction in sacred dance and in movements supervised by E.J. Gold. This movements practice is presented as part of a much larger program of transformational work, never strictly as a performance art or a method-in-itself, and the hallmark of Gold's teaching approach is that the inner work of concentrated attention and intention must be included in any program of instruction or practice. Otherwise, "The Movements" are just window-dressing or, even worse, another contemporary method of ego-massage. Because the inner aspects and the authentic uses of sacred dance practices are not something to be learned by rote, the instruction manuals created by I.D.H.H.B. during the '70's have not been much used and are now out-of-print. You just can't learn these movements by "putting tab a in slot a" or in this case, "putting limb a in position a." For years, the only way E.J. Gold taught movements was in an intensive training or workshop setting, with instruction either directly by him or by students with years of practice, students approved by Gold to teach using his method.
After about 15 years, in response to requests from individual students and study groups internationally, E.J. Gold decided to release a version of the beginning movements instruction on video. These are the movements postures, in three short videos, presented in computer animation so that no particular body type or personality type is represented as the model for the postures. They are accompanied by a work book for practice, audio tapes that give voice drills (i.e., series of postures to practice), recorded music that is recommended for these movements, and a set of "Talk of the Month" issues that relate most closely to the inner work of the movements. At Gateways Books & Tapes, we strongly recommend that you FIRST purchase and view a documentary video of movements classes and performances of the 1970's and 1980's, chosen from the list we will post on our Web Pages. This will enable you to decide whether you are interested in the instructional package. Note that the videos called The Movements I and II are in color and capture classes, rehearsals, and performance footage from Northern California in the late 1980's. The videos labeled as "archive videos" were shot at rehearsals and performances during the '70's in Montreal and Vancouver, recorded on older reel-to-reel video technology, and recently transferred and edited to make VHS tapes. These are in black and white, and not what we would call in the '90' "high-tech" production, but as a reflection of the attention exercises and inner work of the movements they are extraordinary documentaries and well worth viewing.
