Interviewer: “Where did you get you training in the Gurdjieff Movements?”
Carlo: I got it from multiple sources, not just one. It is more like a journey.
After completing a yoga teacher training course, and becoming fully qualified in the practices of yoga, especially the meditative practices of yoga, I recognised the valuable teaching stored and preserved in the methods of G. I. Gurdjieff, a pioneer in awareness practices.
Carlo Cernicchi at the piano.
I did the yoga training in the early eighties, then in the late eighties, I met with my first Gurdjieff work teacher, Milan Peters. He worked with a group in Sydney, originally started by CS Nott, a direct student of Gurdjieff.
Mr. Peters was the one who produced the first film documentary on Ouspensky’s “In Search of The Miraculous” in 1998.
Milan and Lynn Peters in Serbia
I trained with Milan for 12 years. During the period of working with Milan, I went on a tour round the world, experiencing diverse cultures in India, Italy, France and USA. It was in the US, that I met Karen, who is my wife today. She was also concurrently studying the Fourth Way path of the “Secret Talks with Mr G” school in California, which is dedicated to exploring the field of objective art. From there, we joined forces, she migrated to Australia and we continued in our shared exploration of the Gurdjieff Movements practices. We both continued working with Milan, and eventually got given the job of researching and teaching Movements for members of his group, both in Australia and Serbia. He remained in Serbia, guiding a large team of “seekers after truth” until his passing in 2017. His wife Lynn has stayed on in Serbia.
Giovanna Volpe, student of J.G. Bennett with her mother Diane Cilento
We also studied with people from the John G Bennett line. Mr Bennett, was a controversial, charismatic, and profound scholar of the Gurdjieff legacy, as his literary works clearly show, especially his magnum opus “The Dramatic Universe”. I felt to be in ignorance of his work was just to short change myself.
And we worked with people from John Bennett’s line. We learned many series of movements from Giovanna Volpe, who was a student of Mr. Bennett at the Sherborne Institute, in England in the 80’s. Giovanna is the daughter of Diane Cilento, the famous Australian actress who was married to Sean Connery, of James Bond fame. Both Giovanna and her mother studied extensively with Mr Bennett, with Diane making a short film of the experience.
We were fortunate enough to have them pass on what they had learnt from the Sherbourne Academy.
We later pursued further Gurdjieff work interactions with other students in the Bennett line, namely James Tomarelli, with his “IF” group in Italy
Karen with James Tomarelli
James Tomarelli with friend taking a break at Movements workshop Tuscany, Italy
James Tomarelli 2007 with Carlo
Movements 10-day Intensive with the “IF” Group
(a movement with Carlo participating)
We were regular attendees of the yearly Gavalon ranch 10 day movements retreats, hosted in a geodesic dome, in the Sante Fe desert.
Dome accomodation
Sante Fe, New Mexico 2007. Movements Intensive in the Desert
Geodesic dome movements hall.
Deborah Rose Longo, Melanie Monsur, and Avrom Altman
In 1993, we worked as the St Canas’s team with Giovanna, that first brought the James, Avrom and Deborah team to Australia. At that time, it was the premier open movements seminar to happen in Sydney.
Later we also met Ben Bennett, J.G.Bennett’s son, and attended seminars by him on Gurdjieff movements and The Work at Claymont Court, West Virginia.
Claymont Community Property, West Virginia
Gathering for readings Ben Bennett Jan 2009
Carlo at Movements Intensive
We also had a five year stint with Jose Reyes, another student of the Bennett line, with his kind and wonderful people in Santo Domingo, the Dominican Republic.
Jose Reyes 2007: Day 1 of 10 day Movements Intensive
Santo Domingo 2007, Group Movement Exercise
Santo Domingo 2009, Group property in pastoral setting
Santo Domingo 2008, Movement Intensive Group
Later, through the hard working support of Deborah Rose Longo, we were introduced to the pure line of Gurdjieff movements instruction coming from Jessmin Howarth; via her and Gurdjieff’s daughter, Dushka. We highly recommend her book, “It’s Up To Ourselves”.
These were opportunities, in hind sight, that were only available to us in a limited time window. Such events, people and experiences are no longer available today, and alas, the knowledge that they had to share is becoming much more difficult to access.
A young Dushka Howarth, Gurdjieff’s Daughter.
Dushka Howarth, Gurdjieff’s Daughter, 2009, in her New York apartment
Haida Yoga – “The Yoga of Poly-rhythmics”
The Gurdjieff movements could also be classed as “polyrhythmics” exercises. He himself also named them “Haida Yoga”.
In order to keep the inspiration and energy flowing, we’re providing classes in our local area.
We wish to keep the practices alive and current. Even though they were developed quite along time ago, 1924-49, they are still relevant today. The human body itself hasn’t changed much. If anything there is even more need for these exercises, because our general ability to control the body united with one’s attention has deteriorated in modern times.
Thus the need for an exercise system that cultivates divided attention, or a pliable attention, is still relevant today.
So in that sense, the Gurdjieff movements exercises, because of their poly-rhythmic nature are still valuable and relevant even in today’s current modern environment.