DUVERSITY SEMINAR SERIES

with Anthony Blake

The DuVersity seminar series came out of Anthony Blake's encounters with some remarkable people.  His academic background was in physics and the history and philosophy of science, endowed with a thirst for meaning. At an early age he encountered John Bennett, one of the leading exponents of Gurdjieff's fourth way, David Bohm one of the twentieth century's important quantum physicists and Edward Matchett, teacher of design and 'genius'. He spent 15 years in close association with John Bennett, right up until Bennett's death in 1974 when he was then one of the staff assisting in 'The Sherborne Experiment'. He carried on investigation and experiment, inspired by Bennett's example, embracing such practices as social dreaming and dialogue - just as Bennett had taken on board the spiritual elements of Subud and Sufism and many other influences - in the search for what he had called 'integration without rejection'. Over the 80s and 90s, Anthony's seminars started with the idea of 'inner movements', then went on to explore some of the projects Bennett had opened up enquiring into such things as  time and higher intelligence, continuing with the approach called 'the working group' which brought together fourth way practice with modern psychology and techniques. He cofounded the DuVersity in the 90s and lanuched a series of conferences bringing together proponents of several spiritual movements. By 2000, the seminars began to take up the thread of systematics as ways of integration and fulfillment. An outline of this series can be found here.

Since 2000 the seminars have evolved to include ever more diversity, especially of the arts of music, dance and theatre. And also to bring together mulltiple talents with creative inputs in a performance of meaning rather than teaching and explaining.

Forthcoming

HIGHER MOVING CENTRE

A DuVersity Event

Claymont Court, West Virginia

7-10 May 2020

This is the third in a series of seminars devoted to exploring the movements and potential of the moving centre as indicated by Gurdjieff.

They explore the ‘hidden depths’ of the body and the pivotal role of action in realising who we are. The primary thing in this is movement and not consciousness (which is a secondary phenomenon). We will use Gurdjieff movements to reflect the inner reality to us.
In this event we will take as a centre of gravity the Gurdjieff movement known as The Great Prayer. Various dimensions will come into play, including aspects of sensation and feeling elicited by the methods of Moshe Feldenkrais as well as a understanding of the gestural language it manifests as a manifestation of death and resurrection.

Work on movements will be bracketed by music, poetry, art, visualisation, virtual reality and even algebra. We will begin with the movement of babies and may end with our prayers and the discovery of ourselves on the world stage. A great deal depends on our imagination!

Many contributors will be involved. Here is the line up as it stands now in February (it may evolve further).

Curt Golden: Guitarist. Senior member of Robert Fripp’s Guitar Craft

Lavinia Plonka: Feldenkrais instructor and movements teacher

Roberta Chromey: movements teacher

Darlene Franz: Classical oboist

Ruben Yessayan: pianist

Steven Rhodes: Researcher in the spontaneous development of movement in babies

Mattias Ribbing: Grandmaster of memory

Jason Joslyn: Developer of Virtual Reality systems

Michael White: Travelogue writer and poet

Travis Jarrell: Dancer

Anthony Blake: Philosopher and writer. Head of research for the DuVersity

This is a participatory seminar based on Gurdjieff’s principle of the harmonious development of the Thinking, Feeling and Moving centres. Gurdjieff spoke of higher centres of thinking and feeling and we seek to complete the trinity. This is supported by the belief that over the last few thousand years, the felt centre of gravity of intelligence was first intellectual and then in the heart but, in our time, it is moving into the body. What the ‘body’ really is, is mysterious. It may be the closest thing to will.

Dates: May 7-10, 2020. The seminar will begin with dinner on Thursday evening and end with lunch on Sunday.

Location: The Claymont Society for Continuous Education

Charles Town, WV 25414

(See www.society.claymont.org for more information about the Claymont Society)

The cost of the event including lodging and meals is $545. ($495 if registered and paid before March 15, 2020.)

For more information and to register:

Please contact Matt Zenkowich – mattzenkowich@gmail.com

Recent

THE ARK

September, 19-22, 2019, Nashville, Tennessee

recent events

MOVEMENTS OF THE SOUL

May 9-12, 2019

Claymont Court, West Virginia

Media Package Available

Brave New World

October 23-8, 2018, Nashville, Tennessee

The Language of Gesture

Claymont Court, West Virginia, May 10-13 2018

THE DRAMATIC UNIVERSE AND BEYOND

Nashville, Tennessee, October 13-15th, 2017

MUSIC AND MEANING

Sarasota, Florida, March 17-19th, 2017

BEING-MOVEMENT 2

London, May 22nd 2016

foto Paolo Aizza

The Real Present Moment

Systematics Gathering XVII

Nashville, June 24-6th, 2016

Ressurection of the Fourth Way in the 21st Century

30 October - 1 November 2015

Nashville, Tennessee

with Anthony Blake

Media Package available

Being - Movement

November 22nd 2015 - October Gallery London

how the Gurdjieff Movements can illuminate our organic life, help us work together and understand how to understand

with

Anthony Blake and Margit Martinu

2015

Systematics Gathering XVI

A NEW START - All and Everything, The Dramatic Universe and the Present Moment

The Media Package Making a New Start came out of this seminar

2014

Systematics Gathering XV

FOUNDATIONS - the profundity and utility of the elementary systems

May 2nd-4th Claymont Court, West Virginia

The book Elementary Forms of Understanding came out of this seminar

2013

Systematics Gathering XIV

A Gathering of Time - death and rebirth of systematics

2012

Systematics Gathering XIII - March 16-18, Shepherdstown