title: Teachings of Gurdjieff: A Pupil's Journal
author: C. S. Nott
description: Drawn from Nott's hundreds of pages of notes and diaries, this book provides a record of the expressions and actions of Gurdjieff and the profound impact of life at the Chateau du Prieure, Fontainbleau, at that time. Gurdjieff was a Russian occultist who used stylized dance to "free" people and help them to develop their full capabilities. Gurdjieff has often been attributed as the founder of the modern human-potential movement.
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  THE INNER CIRCLE OF HUMANITY 
   
   
       The source of Gurdjieff's teachings has never been conclusively established by 
  either scholars or students of Gurdjieff.  However, some have speculated that he 
  contacted and learned from esoteric schools that were custodians of ancient spiritual 
  teachings on the evolution of humanity. 
   
       Gurdjieff spoke in general terms about esoteric schools directed by a circle of evolved 
  human beings who have guided the spiritual development of humanity throughout 
  history: 
   
                 The supposition that such people have existed in the past, and that they  
                 decisively influenced human life in ways that ordinary people cannot  
                 understand, is the hypothesis that an ‘Inner Circle’ of humanity existed  
                 in the past . . . This tradition is common to most Sufi teachings and it was  
                 affirmed by Gurdjieff himself.  He associates it with the idea of esoteric 
                 schools.  He 