Contact
The Gurdjieff Society of Australia headquarters are at 1-5 Barr St, Balmain, Sydney. This is essentially an oral teaching where help and guidance is imparted through presence as much as words. Please use the Contact submission page if you live in Sydney or NSW, otherwise, contact the group closest to you.
Affiliated groups: Australasia
Melbourne
The Melbourne group was established in 2000 with a wish to explore the work of G I Gurdjieff directly, supported by senior members of the Sydney group. We meet regularly in Fairfield for sittings, group exchanges and to explore both the music and movements. At its heart a practical work, both individual and collective. Only when we begin to see that the life we mostly experience is limited or narrow, are we ready to receive something new.
The group and our work is dynamic, reflecting the ever-changing nature of life. At times we are active and full of energy. At other times we find it difficult to attend a meeting. Like Mr Gurdjieff’s group “the Seekers of Truth”, we are kept on our path, or “search” by our common aim. Yet each member’s individuality makes our group and work unique. “The journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step.” [Lao Tzu] We welcome your first step contacting us.
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time" …. T.S. Eliot
Contact: gurdjieffsv@gmail.com
Perth
The groups practicing Gurdjieff’s teaching now in Perth have met in various forms for three decades with meetings currently held weekly in Shenton Park and in Morley.
Our activities together support a striving to cultivate the degrees of attention and sincerity needed to grapple with the human tendencies to passivity and mechanicality which, when left unquestioned, bind us up within an increasingly small and limited part of ourselves.
Through Work together, the sharing of experiences and questions, and mutual reminding of the precise efforts needed, we support one another to find moments of waking up to the otherwise-unseen richness of our daily lived experience, as well as moments of opening to a higher and finer inner life and awareness which, though central to what we are, is usually obscured by the clamour of our surface functioning. In this direction, a new but familiar feeling of self and sense of one’s meaning and purpose in the world begin to emerge.
We welcome enquiries from people in Perth seeking to sincerely explore, or perhaps travel, this path. We often arrange introductory talks for newly interested individuals.
Contact: gurdjieff.perth@gmail.com
Adelaide
The Adelaide Group known as ‘Traditional Studies Adelaide’ was established in 1990 with close connections to the San Francisco Foundation.
The oral traditions, practical teaching, and the study of the sacred dances known as the ‘Movements’, passed on through groups around the world since the death of G. I. Gurdjieff, are studied within the ever-changing circumstances of our lives, the world around us, and our place, here.
All group activities aim to support each person’s efforts to ‘step back toward our inner life’, to ‘stay present’, to watch inwardly and outwardly the pull of attention toward identification and reaction as it manifests through thinking, feeling, and the body … and the occasional glimpses of truth, of 'opening to a feeling of a different inner reality and a different outer relationship’.
Contact: maitlandjd@gmail.com
Tasmania
Gurdjieff states that we are part of "organic life on earth," a thin film able to receive and transmit energies needed to maintain the earth. Here in this remote part of the world the beauty of nature is a constant reminder that I can participate in something greater, something more real.
Am I capable of feeling a deep connection with this life force that maintains everything or do I find myself separate and isolated? Through the Gurdjieff Work I begin to find my place and my responsibility within this greater whole, that is Life.
Although small, we work regularly through the New Zealand and Sydney groups, online and participating in their yearly gatherings. The Gurdjieff music is also a particular interest for the Tasmanian group.
Contact: kaym41293@gmail.com
Canberra
The Gurdjieff Society of Canberra was originally established in 1963 under the guidance and influence of C.S. Nott, one of the first generation of Gurdjieff's direct pupils, and to whom the group continues to pay special respect.
We continue this oral transmission of :
self-observation: learning to notice thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations without judgment.
group activities: weekly meetings and monthly Work Days, where we share observations, study texts, and learn from each other together.
the Movements: sacred dances and exercises that develop attention, coordination, and presence.
the Music: supporting inner quiet and attention.
The Gurdjieff Work is a 'way in life' for anyone, but it is not for everyone. The Work uses ordinary life – career, relationships, and difficulties – as the material for inner development. It asks for sincerity, patience, and self-study.
People are often drawn to the Work when they sense that, despite a full life, something essential is missing – a greater presence, meaning, or connection. The Gurdjieff Society of Canberra welcomes enquiries from those who feel a genuine interest in the Work. Newcomers are usually invited to join gradually, through an initial conversation or introductory meeting, to see whether the Work feels meaningful and appropriate for them.
If you would like to enquire, you are welcome to get in touch using the contact details below. There is no obligation – simply an opportunity for a conversation and to ask questions.
Contact: gurdjieff.canberra@gmail.com
Brisbane
Contact: GurdjieffQld@protonmail.com
New Zealand
New Zealand has a long established and active group with branches in Auckland and Wellington. Regular virtual meetings as well as face-to-face groups allow those outside these centers to participate. Practical study of Mr Gurdjieff's ideas and the Movements are regularly undertaken and strive to keep the Work fresh.
The Work in NZ is affiliated with the Gurdjieff Society London and with the Gurdjieff Society, Australia.
Contact: nicolabmccartney@gmail.com
International Affiliated groups:
Paris: institut-gurdjieff.com
New York: gurdjieff-foundation-newyork.org
London: gurdjieff.com