Professional Documents
Culture Documents
- A former student of Naranjo-- and a teacher of Maitri, Riso and Hudson-- gives his analysis
of the Holy Ideas connected with the Enneagram; strongly influenced by Buddhist and Sufi
teachings.
Aristotle. METAPHYSICS
- Strong influence on Islamic philosophers of the Middle Ages and the contemporary work of
Oscar Ichazo.
- Texts from Gnosticism, Hermeticism, Kabbalah, etc., traditions highly influential in the
teachings of Gurdjieff and Ichazo.
- Traces the development of alphabetical mysticism and numerology in the Ancient world.
- A student of Gurdjieff, Ouspensky and various Sufi teachers , Bennett gives an account of
Gurdjieff's life and teachings, and their connections with Ancient traditions.
- Exploration of a possible "Inner Circle of Humanity" with whom Gurdjieff supposedly was in
contact.
- Scholarly study of the traditional myth of the existence of hidden guardians of the highest
wisdom in the mountains of Central Asia.
- Contains various references to Gurdjieff and his school and their connection with Sufism;
also discusses the Sarmoun.
- Basic texts of Chinese esotericism. Ichazo correlates his system with that of Taoism, and
Gurdjieff asserts that the knowledge expressed by the Enneagram system was, "re-
discovered" by the founders of China.
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Collin, Rodney. THE THEORY OF CELESTIAL INFLUENCE
- A student of Ouspensky gives his theories; Collin's Fourth Way groups were highly
influential in South America, where Ichazo made contact with these ideas.
- Survey of shamanism around the world; includes sections on the importance of numbers 9
and 7 in shamanic cosmologies. Ichazo studied with shamans in South America, and some
say Gurdjieff's teachings show the influence of Shamanism.
- Example of the kind of Hindu and Tibetan teachings which would have been circulating
among Theosophists at the time Ichazo was studying with them; based on the translations of
Lama Kazi Dawa Samdup.
- Discussion of the Qabalah by a former member of the Golden Dawn and student of
Theosophy. Ichazo often references the Qabalah and learned it among occultist groups.
- Ichazo cites the Neoplatonic Christian mystic Origen as an influence on his work.
- Contains an article by Claudio Naranjo, based on his studies. Ichazo took ayahuasca with
shamans in South America.
- Clarifies the relationship between the Sufi school of Idries Shah and the followers of G.I.
Gurdjieff.
- Survey of the principal historical figures and developments in alchemy, with much material
on Geber, a student of the Sufi teacher and 6th Imam, Jafar Saadiq. According to Ichazo,
Jafar Saadiq was the first to speak publicly about the Enneagram.
- Detailed exposition of the Arica theory; also contains Ichazo's "Letter to the Transpersonal
Community", where he gives his views on Gurdjieff's ideas and the background of the
Enneagram.
- Scholarly correlation of the key concepts of Sufism with those of Taoism, both traditions
highly important in the work of Gurdjieff and Ichazo.
- Lilly's experiences with Oscar Ichazo and his teachings as part of the early trainings in
Arica, c. 1970.
- This christian mystic of the Middle Ages, who spent much time in the Middle East and was
in contact with the Sufis, is often cited as being somehow connected with the Enneagram.
- Naranjo's primary exposition of his version of the nine Enneagram "types". Draws on both
traditional and contemporary sources, both exoteric and esoteric.
- Scholarly analysis of the teachings of Islamic philosophers and sufis of the Middle Ages,
including the idea of the nine celestal spheres. Nasr was a teacher of Bakhtiar and wrote the
introduction to vol 2 of her Enneagram books, asserting the Sufi origins for the Enneagram.
- Student of Gurdjieff applies knowledge gained from his time with G. to such subjects as
Esoteric schools, the Tarot, the New Testament, Yoga, the Laws of Manu, Sex, "the
Superman" and Eternal Recurrence.
- Thorough account of Gurdjieff's early lectures to students in Russia, c. 1915. Introduces the
Enneagram.
- Student of Naranjo and Speeth gives a very readible exposition of the Enneagram ideas
developed in California throughout the 1970's and '80's.
Papus. THE KABBALAH
- Papus was one of the most influential Martinists. Ichazo studied with Martinist teachers who
were appointed by Papus to teach in South America in the early 20th century.
- An orthodox Gurdjieffian gives his analysis of the contemporary Enneagram scene. Contains
a great deal of background information concerning the history of the modern Enneagram.
- Contains a section on the Legend of the Nine Unknowns, as well as on Gurdjieff and other
esoteric subjects.
Plato. TIMAEUS
- These works by Plato are essential texts for esoteric studies; continuously referenced by
Ichazo.
Plotinus. ENNEADS
- An ex-Jesuit and an ex-Gurdjeffian present their own ideas concerning the Enneagram
types.
- Introduction to Sufism from the spokesman of an Afghan Sufi family, containing a section
on the Sufi ideas of Essence, the Commanding Self, and the 10 Blameable Qualities. Gurdjieff
and Ichazo both claimed to have studied with Sufis in the area of Afghanistan and Central
Asia.
- Shah asserts the Sufi background of Gurdjieff's teachings; contains sayings of the
"Sarmoun".
- Contains an article which describes a Sufi system very similar to that described by
Bakhtiar.
- Basic introduction to Gurdjieff and his legacy. Speeth was married to Naranjo and was a
teacher of Helen Palmer. Through her, many Gurdjieffian ideas entered the contemporary
Enneagram scene. She has since repudiated the contemporary Enneagram of Personality.
- Ichazo worked with Rosicrucians and Anthroposophists, the latter school primarily derived
from Steiner.
- In-depth exposition of traditional Sufi teachings concerning the structure of the human
psyche and its potential for development, from an 18th century Naqshbandi Sufi.
- Contains an analysis of the relationship between the Egyptian Ennead, the Pythagorean
Tetractys, and the Gurdjeffian Enneagram.
- The Chaldean Oracles are referred to by Ichazo as an ancient exposition of the Laws of
Three and Seven, symbolized in the Enneagram. Gurdjieff claimed the Enneagram was
developed in Chaldea, c. 2500 BC.
- Contains a section on Gurdjieff and his possible connection with a form of wisdom which
existed in Ancient Egypt. Gurdjieff often referred to a knowledge that was known in "pre-
sand Egypt".