Inner Task Exercises

One of the unique features of our Wisdom lineage is the way it combines the traditional Benedictine rhythm of ora et labora—”pray and work”—with the Gurdieffian practice of taking on an inner task as a touchstone for mindfulness and self-inquiry. Practical work becomes “conscious work” as you learn to use the ordinary outer tasks of your day as a laboratory for inner awakening. For several years now members of our community have volunteered for an eight-week turn at the helm to offer guided practice in working with an inner task. You can sample their handiwork here, both as a collection of individual tasks and as a fuller teaching series.


How to Work with Inner Tasks

Jeanine Siler Jones shows how to use how to work with inner tasks on the Wisdom Waypoints website.


Foundational Inner Tasks by Jeanine Siler Jones


Inner Tasks by Heather Ruce


Fourth Way Inner Tasks by Bob Sabath

Liking What We Dislike

We have a walnut tree in our back yard, and about this time of year walnuts come crashing to the ground all day and all…

Singing our inner secret songs

We all have our own “sad songs” that we sing to ourselves. This week, let’s try to observe the typical songs we sing, especially the…

The Hineni Practice

I am in the New Mexico desert with Bill Plotkin, Richard Rohr and 300 men. One of the exercises taught to us last night was…


Gurdjieff Inner Tasks by Vesna Nikolic


Eight Inner Tasks by Jonathan Steele


Eight Inner Tasks by Thomas Telhiard