Maurice Nicoll

Forgotten Teacher of the Fourth Way

Gary Lachman

$56.99

Hardback

Forthcoming
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English

Inner Traditions Bear and Company
14 August 2024

Biography: general; Mysticism; Occult studies; Mysticism, magic & ritual

A biography of the influential teacher of the Fourth Way

• Traces the life of Maurice Nicoll, who left a successful career as a psychiatrist in 1922 to study with G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky

• Explores newly uncovered diaries from Nicoll, revealing his mystical sex practices, his shadow self, and new understandings of his unorthodox teachings

• Examines the influence of psychiatrist Carl Jung and Swedish scientist and philosopher Emanuel Swedenborg on Nicoll’s work

In 1922, Maurice Nicoll (1884-1953) abandoned his successful London psychiatry practice and his direct studies with Carl Jung to move his family just outside of Paris to the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man, a center recently opened by philosopher, mystic, and spiritual guru G. I. Gurdjieff, the founder of the esoteric system that became known as the “Fourth Way.” Nicoll went on to become one of the most passionate teachers of the Fourth Way, committing the final three decades of his life to teaching “The Work” in his own unorthodox style.

In this revealing biography, Gary Lachman draws on recently uncovered diaries to explore the unusual, syncretic approach Nicoll brought to his teaching of the Fourth Way. He shows how Nicoll is unique in having Jung, Gurdjieff, and Ouspensky as teachers and to have known each of these important figures in esoteric history personally, yet—as Lachman reveals—Nicoll was not a blind devotee by any stretch. Lachman shows how Nicoll incorporated elements of Jungian psychology and Emanuel Swedenborg-inspired mysticism into his exploration and teaching of both Gurdjieff’s and Ouspensky’s ideas, as well as into his own best-known work, Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky.

Lachman reveals the unorthodox side of Nicoll in fuller detail than ever before through excerpts from recently shared diaries, in which Nicoll included detailed accounts of his own solitary “self-sex” erotic experimentations to reach visionary states, along with recordings of his dreams and other personal and mystical reflections. The social details of Nicoll’s life are also examined, including vivid portraits of the occult scene in the early-to-mid-twentieth century and the communal living situations in which Nicoll sometimes resided. Drawing on his familiarity with hermetic practices and his own experiences with “The Work,” Lachman comprehensively explores the significance of Nicoll and the novelty of his thought, offering a profound, needed, and sympathetic but critical study of this man so instrumental to the development and legacy of the Fourth Way.

By: Gary Lachman
Imprint: Inner Traditions Bear and Company
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 30mm
Weight: 812g
ISBN: 9781644119914
ISBN 10: 1644119919
Pages: 464
Publication Date: 14 August 2024
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Forthcoming

Gary Lachman is an author and lecturer on consciousness, counterculture, and the Western esoteric tradition. His works include Dark Star Rising, Beyond the Robot, The Return of Holy Russia, and The Secret Teachers of the Western World. A founding member of the rock band Blondie, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. He lives in London.

Reviews for Maurice Nicoll: Forgotten Teacher of the Fourth Way

“This engaging and informative study of this crucial figure uses new information to provide a full portrait of a man who was close to Jung and Gurdjieff and a major spiritual teacher in his own right. This is one of Lachman’s best.” * Richard Smoley, author of A Theology of Love: Reimagining Christianity through A Course in Miracles * “In his usual elegant eloquence, Gary Lachman shines light on yet another seminal figure in twentieth-century Western esotericism. A must-read for anyone interested in Carl Jung, Gurdjieff, and other intellectual-spiritual streams of consciousness that have helped shape the world we live in today.” * Carl Abrahamsson, author of Occulture: The Unseen Forces That Drive Culture Forward and Source Magic * “Gary Lachman is one of our surest guides through the forest of eccentric teachers and difficult teachings that constitute modern esotericism. This book displays again Lachman’s rare balance, his luminous mind, and his constant turn of phrase, this time with intimate histories of Gurdjieff ’s Fourth Way through such figures as the master himself, the Russian P. D. Ouspensky, and the British teachers A. R. Orage and especially Maurice Nicoll and his esoteric Christianity. That Lachman includes an unflinching focus on Nicoll’s ‘unclean thoughts,’ male masturbatory imagination, and related conviction that the erotic and the mystical are deeply intertwined makes this a very special book, indeed.” * Jeffrey J. Kripal, author of How to Think Impossibly: About Souls, UFOs, Time, Belief, and Everythin *