Roberta Chromey 
I’ve extrapolated a student/teacher enneagram based on one that JG Bennett laid out in Enneagram Studies. His had to do with training a professional singer. As Bennett’s enneagram of a gifted pupil working with a dedicated teacher unfolded, I began to see this enneagram applying to a teacher of the Work and his student. Bennett’s … Read more
The si – do interval on the enneagram of this second Course of Study happened, I believe, on Sunday after most of the students had left. Technically, Claymont’s four-month course ended on Saturday night of the final in-person week. Sunday entailed breakfast and departures for the majority of students. Although some had left very early, … Read more
My physical body is sick this week and it’s put me energetically in front of the work of not doing. I simply do not have the energy. Usually, I am all about doing. I start doing before I get out of bed, setting up the routine of the day and my relationship with it. Sometimes … Read more
Jack and I knew about David Kherdian and Nonny Hogrogian long before ever meeting them. Last summer we caught up with David in Massachusetts. Nonny had died in May of 2024. Here is our interview with David about his poetry and Nonny’s illustrations. Initially we heard about them because they ran Two Rivers Press at … Read more
I feel like I’m walking the line, and a thin one at that, between drowning in negativity and sending positive energy out to the future. Part of me hopes the negativity I get caught up in is partisan politics, not our democracy being hijacked and turned into a Fascist regime. That I need to work … Read more
Am I being asked? Or is my Being asked? How do I “open to what is being asked?” And what does that mean? Last week, one of the Daily Tasks on Claymont’s Course of Study program had to do with allowing yourself to be inconvenienced. Could you catch yourself in one of those moments and … Read more
There’s an undertow of resistance in me lately. Up to now, I’ve been cruising along feeling good in myself and balanced. The demands of Claymont’s Course of Study once again falling into a doable pattern that has become part of life. So why this amorphous sense of disquiet? I find myself asking questions. Am I … Read more
Something in me has been forming over the years. This “something” might be called real “I” or real Will. But like a child, it needs nurturing to help it grow strong and healthy. I have a responsibility towards it. Which is to learn how to prepare and serve meals from air and impressions. But this … Read more
“I want to come from a place of abundance rather than negativity.” This was the answer someone gave about why they weren’t drawn to the Gurdjieff work. The emphasis was on “Man cannot Do.” “Struggle with likes and dislikes.” “Man is asleep.” “Stand in front of your Lack.” In short—struggle, effort, intentional suffering, etc. Familiar … Read more
“Oh Goody!” is a phrase I learned to appreciate from Mrs. Popoff. It signifies delight when an opportunity to work on oneself suddenly arises. It is the unexpected moments when Life hands one an opportunity, sometimes in the least assuming way. I find these instances can provide a chance to work on a deeper level. … Read more