Online Zoom Forum: The Lives and Teachings of Gurdjieff and Steiner: Commonalities and Differences.
Date: Wednesday 5 March 2025.
Time: 7pm-9pm (UK time).
Description:
Format: There will be up to five talks, each of 12 minutes, followed by 20 minutes of discussion among the speakers and the chair, followed by Q & A.
Chair:
Deirdre Hill:
Bio: I was born and raised in England in the Midlands and had an unconventional childhood as during the first ten years of my life my parents took in many teenagers from the care system. 5 decades later I find myself working with adolescents myself as a teacher in Edinburgh Steiner School, where I have been one of the leaders of the Steiner Teacher Education Course, and I am currently the chair of the College of Teachers.
Speakers:
Dr Iddo Oberski:
Title: Rudolf Steiner's Spiritual Science: A New Way of Knowing.
Description: I will attempt to give a flavour of the spiritual science that Rudolf Steiner developed and share aspects of my own experiences with some of Steiner's writings on this.
Bio: I'm a performer artist educator who lives and plays in Edinburgh.
I am currently a trustee for the Edinburgh Group of the Anthroposophical Society, the Edinburgh Steiner School and the Garvald Trust.
I regularly facilitate study groups of Steiner's work. Before I retired on health grounds in 2019, I worked for 10 years as a Senior Lecturer in Learning and Teaching at Queen Margaret University and have taught and researched in the fields of education in various roles across five universities.
I have published articles on a wide range of educational topics, including Steiner's philosophy and Steiner-Waldorf education and wrote a short book about my understanding of Steiner's Philosophy of Freedom.
Dr James Dyson:
Title: The Essential Conditions of Esoteric Training, as originally outlined by Rudolf Steiner.
Description: In his presentation, James will outline what he considers to be the essential conditions of esoteric training, as originally outlined by Rudolf Steiner. He will emphasise the essentially Western character of the path that Steiner brought forward, how it was originally introduced in relation to the Western Masters and how this was renewed and enhanced when Steiner founded an Independent Esoteric School within the Anthroposophical Society in 1923.
Bio: Dr James Dyson has been a student of Rudolf Steiner’s Spiritual Path for over fifty years. He worked professionally as a licensed medical doctor for 37 years and also trained as a psychospiritual psychologist, for which he holds a master's degree. He has held designated responsibilities within the Esoteric School that Steiner established in 1923 at the Goetheanum, Switzerland, since 1991.
James still lectures widely in several anthroposophical trainings in several countries including the UK and Ireland.
Christopher Killick:
Title: The Work of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff, a living tradition.
Description:
A Brief Biographical Outline of Gurdjieff.
Fundamental ideas and teaching.
How the work is lived today, a personal perspective.
Bio: Christopher studied anthropology, is a qualified Feldenkrais practitioner, and a qualified quietude practitioner.
His qualification as a chartered accountant contributed to his work as a management consultant and as an application consultant.
He has been a trustee of Emerson College, an anthroposophical educational institute.
He has been a member of the Gurdjieff Society of Great Britain for over forty years.
Ken Webb:
Title: Gurdjieff and His Knowledge of Higher Worlds.
Description: My presentation will focus on what Gurdjieff said about the seven worlds that are involved in human existence as expounded by his close follower, John G Bennett. I hope to compare this with what Steiner says in his book, ‘Knowledge of Higher Worlds And Its Attainment’. I will then make a comparison between Steiner’s approach to attaining it and the Work that Gurdjieff taught.
Bio: Born in China, brought up in what was then the Shan States of Burma, Ken was educated in the UK to qualify as medical practitioner in 1971. Having spent a good chunk of his life working as a medic in Thailand he went on to study theology and was ordained as an Anglican priest before returning to work for a time in Thailand.
He first came across the Enneagram as a personality typing map in 1994, but has since researched its origins and discovered the original Enneagram that is a symbol of cosmic laws that govern how everything emerges and develops in this universe. He has read all the original Gurdjieff works plus those of his first followers and only recently read Steiner’s Knowledge of Higher Worlds. In the courses he teaches his approach is to integrate the understanding of the Gurdjieff schools with other approaches to esoteric teachings. Hence his interest in the teaching of Rudolf Steiner.
An archive recording will be made for the EICSP archive.
NB: There will be no refund if you cancel your booking.
Cost: By Donation:
Contact: Neill Walker, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
If you are having a difficulty paying by Paypal, then you can pay by bank transfer instead.
NB: you must also email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. so we can send you the Zoom sign-in details.
Here are the bank transfer details:
Account Name: Edinburgh International Centre for Spirituality and Peace
Bank: Bank of Scotland
Bank Address: Edinburgh Royal Mile Branch
Account Number: 06131159
Sort Code: 802000
Some international transfers also ask for an IBAN number:
The IBAN number:
GB70 BOFS 8020 0006 1311 59
BIC:
BOFSGB21168