We are under the domination of our thinking mind. This is our slavery. So long as this mind dominates me, I believe that I am my thought, that I am my body, and I cannot know consciousness, my true nature… I can only listen, in order to hear better. Silence emerges…silence, stillness.

Jeanne de Salzmann, The Reality of Being

When we seek the 'sense of the meeting' we allow ourselves to be directed to the solution that awaits us. It is a process of surrender to our highest nature...

Barry Morley, Salvaging Sense of the Meeting, Pendle Hill Pamphlet

Camp Caravan 2021 Summer Seminar

July 31-August 8

Separation & Unity

“In the ordinary levels of being "same" means "same as. One pea is the same as any other pea and even to a considerable degree, one man is the same as another man. But  when we go further, there is sameness, not "same-as." Then we have that peculiar thing beyond understanding. We go beyond the distinction between one and many and we are no longer able to say, "This is the same as that," because it would imply that there were two things….”--J.G.Bennett, The Way to be Free

“I think that the real mystery of "I" is the secret of separation and union. This cannot be brought within the grasp of our reason. "I am I." Therefore alone, and yet I am not alone...”--J.G. Bennett, A Spiritual Psychology

Welcome to the 2021 Camp Caravan Summer Seminar. All fully vaccinated people are invited to attend this in-person seminar. Virtual opportunities are also available.

No previous experience is required, and everyone’s presence is an important element of the event, whether attending in person or virtually.

Work with meditation, art, music, gardening, Gurdjieff Movements, inner exercises, themes, practical physical work, shared meals, and spontaneous enjoyment.

Come for dinner on Saturday, July 31 at 7 p.m. The last live event is Sunday, August 8 mid-day. Virtual events may precede the live beginning and end times. We'll keep you posted.

Fees and registration

Contact registrar@campcaravan.org ) or call the Registrar at 978-939-8616 and leave a message with best times to reach you back.

Adults—$450
Young adults (flexible) $300
All inclusive
$250 deposit made out to MREC to:
Treasurer, MREC, Camp Caravan
255 South Royalston Road
Royalston, MA 01368
Please consider paying a little more than you can comfortably afford, to help sustain Camp Caravan. As always, do not let financial considerations be a barrier.

 

Past Events...

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2019

Coming Home
June 21 - June 30

Contact registrar@campcaravan.org
or call the Registrar at 978-939-8616

Royalston, Massachusetts, USA

 

Have you ever had the experience of stopping so completely,
of being in your body so completely,
of being in your life so completely….
it would be a moment of complete presence,
beyond striving, beyond mere acceptance….
a moment of pure being, no longer in time,
a moment of pure seeing, pure feeling,
a moment in which life simply is…
and that ‘is-ness’…
welcomes you home.   --Jon Kabat Zinn

Please share this printable seminar poster

And Also this digital seminar poster

Welcome to the 2019 Camp Caravan Summer Seminar. No previous experience is required, and everyone’s presence is an important element of the event.

Work with meditation, art, gardening, Gurdjieff Movements, inner exercises, themes, practical physical work, shared meals and spontaneous enjoyment.

Come for dinner on Friday, June 21 around 7 p.m. The seminar officially begins the next morning and ends at noon on Sunday, June 30.

Fees and registration
Contact registrar@campcaravan.org or call the Registrar at 978-939-8616

Please consider paying a little more than you can comfortably afford, to help sustain Camp Caravan.

Adults—$450
Young adults (flexible) $300
All inclusive
$250 deposit made out to MREC to:

Treasurer, MREC, Camp Caravan
255 South Royalston Road
Roayalston, MA 01368

 

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2018

Finding Community
June 22 - July 1

"A community identifies itself by an understood mutuality of interests. But it lives and acts by the common virtues of trust, goodwill, forbearance, self-restraint, compassion, and forgiveness."              --Wendell Berry

 

How can our thirst for belonging guide us to the wellspring of community?

 

Contact registrar@campcaravan.org
or call the Registrar at 978-939-8616

June 22–July 1, 2018
Royalston, Massachusetts, USA

Link to a printable seminar poster

 

We warmly invite you to join this year's Summer Seminar, celebrating our twentieth year on the Camp Caravan property.

 

Come for dinner on Friday, June 22. The seminar officially begins the next morning and ends at noon on Sunday, July 1.

 

Come for dinner on Friday, June 22. The seminar officially begins the next morning and ends at noon on Sunday, July 1. 

No matter what the experience level, everyone is welcome, so please share this message and poster. Click this link for a printable copy of the seminar poster. And please forward a copy to others.

"At a certain point, there are no leaders and no followers, only those who both question and listen. A moment comes when exchange is indispensable, when we need to nourish one another with the fruits of our efforts."
--Jeanne de Salzmann


Gather for dinner on Friday, June 22, 7:00 p.m.
Official start of the seminar is Saturday, June 23, 7:30 a.m.
Seminar ends at noon on Sunday, July 1.
Work with the arts, gardening, Gurdjieff movements, inner exercises,

Link to 2018 Summer Seminar Flyer (PDF)

 

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2017

Wish

How can we find the sacred impulse of Wish within ourselves?

How can we learn to feed its fire?

 

Contact registrar@campcaravan.org
or call the Registrar at 978-939-8616

June 23–July 2, 2017
Royalston, Massachusetts, USA

Who sends the mind to wander afar?
Who first drives life to start on its journey?
Who impels us to utter these words?
~~~Upanishads

"In man it is the mind that is opposed to the body. The
neutralizing force is the wish that unites them, connects
them. Everything comes from the wish, the will...
We can ask for help, to come to this in ourselves."
Mme. de Salzmann

Listen to the reed flute and the tale it tells,
how it sings of separation:
"Ever since cut from the reed bed,
my wail has caused men and women to weep."
I want a heart that is torn open with longing
so that I might share the pain of this love.
Whoever has been parted from his source
longs to return to that state of union. Rumi


• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Gather for dinner on Friday, June 23, 7:00 p.m.
Official start of the seminar is Saturday, June 24, 7:30 a.m.
Seminar ends at noon on Sunday, July 2.
Work with the arts, gardening, Gurdjieff movements, inner exercises,
meditation, practical physical work, themes, and shared meals.

Link to 2017 Summer Seminar Flyer (PDF)

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2016

Why are we here?

Contact registrar@campcaravan.org
or call the Registrar at 978-939-8616

June 24–July 3, 2016
Royalston, Massachusetts, USA

Who sends the mind to wander afar?
Who first drives life to start on its journey?
Who impels us to utter these words?
~~~Upanishads

When we begin to question, especially ourselves, we challenge the prison of comfort and habit that keeps us asleep, that keeps us from seeing the predicament we are in. Bring questions, questions that arise from your search.

Beginning with dinner on Friday, June 24th, and ending mid-morning on Sunday, July 3rd, we will work with the arts, gardening, Gurdjieff movements, inner exercises, meditation, practical physical work, themes, and shared meals.

All inclusive tuition for the seminar:
   Adults — $450
   Students (flexible) — $300
   18 and under — Free

Please send a $250 deposit by June 1 to:
   Treasurer, MREC, Camp Caravan,
   255 South Royalston Road
   Royalston, MA 01368

Click here to view PDF of summer seminar flyer.

 

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2015

"The Magic of Becoming" 

Contact registrar@campcaravan.org
or call the Registrar at 978-939-8616

July 5 - July 12, 2015
Royalston, Massachusetts, USA

What do we mean by magic and how is it connected with "becoming?"

How can I let go and open to what is present?

How can we allow playfulness to enter our work?
 

These questions and more will be addressed at the 2015 summer seminar at Camp Caravan. We will begin with lunch on Sunday, July 5, and end with lunch on Sunday, July 12. The seminar will include work with the arts, gardening, Gurdjieff movements, inner exercises, meditation, practical physical work, themes, and shared meals.

All inclusive tuition for the seminar:
   Adults — $450
   Students (flexible) — $300
   18 and under — Free

Please send a $250 deposit by June 1 to:
   Treasurer, MREC, Camp Caravan,
   255 South Royalston Road
   Royalston, MA 01368

Click here to view PDF of summer seminar flyer.

 

 

Camp Caravan Residential Summer Seminar 2014

Contact registrar@campcaravan.org
or call the Registrar at 978-939-5579

June 27-July 5, 2014
Royalston, Massachusetts, USA

Event poster

We invite you to participate in the 2014 Movements Seminar, immediately following this event. (details soon)

"Listening"

Begin with dinner on Friday evening, June 27, and finish the morning of Saturday, July 5. Work with the arts, gardening, Gurdjieff Movements, inner exercises, meditation, practical physical work, themes, and shared meals

The first requirement of a living organization is to come together, to unite. Without impatience, without intellectuality, without sentimentality, an event must take place. I need to be called and I need to call. I need to listen and hear the call, and I need to bring the call in a way that it will be received. What is needed is a conscious relation sustained by vigilance and the giving up of my ordinary will in order to work together. At a certain point there are no leaders and no followers, only those who both question and listen.     ~ Jeanne de Salzmann

Please consider paying a little more than you can comfortably afford. All inclusive

  • Adults—$450
  • Students (flexible)—$300
  • 18 and under—Free

We offer a reduced fee for attending both this seminar and the 2014 Movements Seminar.

Please send $250 deposit by June 1 to:

Treasurer, MREC, Camp Caravan
255 South Royalston Road
Royalston, MA 01368

This year, we invite all to come and work with the ideas and methods of J.G. Bennett and G.I. Gurdjieff.

Past Summer Seminars...

Camp Caravan Residential Summer Seminar 2013

"Preparing the Future"

Contact rise@campcaravan.org
or call us at 978-249-4725

June 22–30
Royalston, Massachusetts, USA
Click here for PDF flyer

Early in G.I. Gurdjieff's book, Beelzebub's Tales to his Grandson, Hassein, the grandson, suddenly becomes aware that everything that exists in the present moment was prepared for him by people in the past:

And all of this they did, either consciously or unconsciously, just for us, that is to say, for beings unknown and quite indifferent to them.

So it is for us. Just as our present moment was prepared by those who came before, it falls to us to prepare the future—that is to say, the present moment of those who will come after us.

How is this to be done? Although we must do so, it is clearly not enough to simply prepare the future by building, preserving, and improving the material world. Something more is required of us, but how are we to see this? How are we to accomplish this?

We can work to replace all negative attitudes towards the existing world by a feeling of confidence and love towards the new world which is being born, towards the still unborn child that is the future mankind. —J.G. Bennett

This year, we invite all to come and work with the ideas and methods of J.G. Bennett and G.I. Gurdjieff as we prepare the future.

The seminar begins with dinner together on the evening of Saturday, June 22 and continues with morning exercise at 7:30 a.m. on Sunday, June 23. Work with Gurdjieff movements, inner exercises, practical physical work, themes, arts, shared meals, and meditation. The seminar ends Sunday morning, June 30.

The summer seminar immediately follows the Movements Seminar at Camp Caravan. Please consider paying a little more than you can comfortably afford. The suggested fee is $450 for the general public and $300 for students ages 26 and under, with work/study opportunities available for those who may not have another way to pay.

Please send your deposit of $250 by June 1 to Treasurer, MREC, Camp Caravan, 255 South Royalston Road, Royalston, MA 01368. Contact Rise at registrar@campcaravan.org

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2012

"Our True Nature"

Contact rise@campcaravan.org
or call us at 978-249-4725

June 23–July 1, 2012
Royalston, Massachusetts, USA
Click for Seminar PDF

In seeking real transformation, we can discover our own true nature, through working with other people who are also seeking. How do we come to the "sense of the meeting"? How can my exploration of who I really am fit into a deeper understanding of my place with others and within a larger purpose?

Our true nature

This year, we invite all to come and work with the ideas and methods of G.I. Gurdjieff and J.G. Bennett, as together we explore our true nature.

The seminar begins with dinner on the evening of Saturday, June 23, and continues with morning exercise at 7:30 a.m. on June 24. We work with Gurdjieff movements, morning exercise, practical physical work, themes, arts, shared meals, and meditation, finishing on the morning of July 1.

For a longer visit, consider attending the Movements Seminar, immediately preceding this event.

"We have to be at peace with ourselves, we have to accept ourselves very deeply; accept this nature of ours such as it is, neither revolting against the fact that we are imperfect beings, nor hiding or disguising from ourselves any imperfections which we do not want to find. The confusion comes when we wish to change what cannot be changed and do not trouble to change what can be changed."

J. G. Bennett

Reciprocal Maintenance

The doctrine of Reciprocal Maintenance is that everything that exists in this world depends on other things for its maintenance and must in its turn maintain the existence of something else.

When we look at Gurdjieff's message we can see that it is indeed a message of hope. The unexpected answer to the question: "On what are we to build?" is that we shall not find it in matter or spirit, but in the creative work of Reciprocal Maintenance.

The points of responsibility: the earth's crust and its minerals, the soil, the vegetable kingdom on land and in the seas, the invertebrates and animals and man himself, are just those very situations that \are causing great anxiety on the score of depletion of resources, over soil impoverishment, disease, over-population, famine and war. When Gurdjieff propounded his scheme sixty years ago, these anxieties seemed remote. Now they are urgent. Today we can look at Gurdjieff's Reciprocal Maintenance and see in it a final warning and also a supreme hope.

As we look at these portents of disaster, we can see how they all come under the heading of aberration from the principle of Reciprocal Maintenance.

The key to understanding human life is given in the doctrine of Reciprocal Maintenance. This alone breaks down the barrier that man has erected between himself and his mother Nature.

J.G. Bennett, Gurdjieff:
Making a New World, Chapter 12

Camp Caravan Summer Seminar 2011

The 2011 Camp Caravan Summer Seminar described below was conducted using a new approach. All participants took a turn at creating and directing our work together. The result was a tremendously varied and creative schedule that still had a coherence and structure focused on a clear aim.

It was an experiment in finding new ways of working together.

June 26 - July 3, 2011
Camp Caravan, 255 South Royalston Road, Royalston, MA 01368
www.campcaravan.org 978-249-9725
Contact: registrar@campcaravan.org

'My dear now deceased grandmother placed her dying left hand on my head and in a whisper, yet very distinctly said: 'Eldest of my grandsons! Listen and always remember my strict injunction to you: In life never do as others do… either do nothing—just go to school—or do something nobody else does.'
G.I. Gurdjieff, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson

'You must realize that each man has a definite repertoire of roles which he plays in ordinary circumstances…and at different times the man is fully identified with one of them and is unable to separate himself from it. To see the roles, to know one's repertoire, particularly to know its limitedness, is to know a great deal. But the point is that, outside his repertoire, a man feels very uncomfortable should something push him if only temporarily out of his rut, and he tries his hardest to return to any one of his usual roles. Directly he falls back into the rut everything at once goes smoothly again and the feeling of awkwardness and tension disappears. This is how it is in life; but in the work, in order to observe oneself, one must become reconciled to this awkwardness and tension and to the feeling of discomfort and helplessness. Only by experiencing this discomfort can a man really observe himself.'
P.D. Ouspensky, In Search of the Miraculous

This year, we invite you to come and Work differently. What does that mean for each of us and for all of us?

We find ourselves sharing our stories. Whether they are traditional fairy tales, folk tales, personal stories read or told aloud, bring some with you to share during this event.

Join us for dinner on the evening of Saturday, June 25, and begin the seminar with Morning Exercise at 7:30 a.m. on June 26. We work with the ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff and J.G. Bennett, Gurdjieff Movements, Morning Exercise, Practical Work, Themes, Meditation, Community Meals, and more…but what will be different?

Lodging, meals, and activities are all included for the $450.00 seminar fee. This year, the summer seminar immediately follows the Gurdjieff Movements Seminar at Camp Caravan led by Margit Martinu. A reduced rate is offered for those participating in both events.

General Information

Summer seminars present extraordinary opportunities to join interested people from all over the world who come together to work intensively in a practical way with Fourth Way Work ideas and techniques. We offer a ten-day live-in program including explorations in the Gurdjieff Movements, inner exercises, the thematic technique, the enneagram, gardening, cooking, arts, construction, music, psychology, cosmology, practical work tasks, zikhr, and meditation.

For more information or to confirm your registration contact the Registrar at registrar@campcaravan.org