Elkdonis Arts Collective
Quote from inpresence.org
About Elkdonis artists Collective
A Fourth-Way Mutual aid society
We are Elkdonis Arts collective, a performance and visual arts group. We work to restore the necessity of art in life for all.
Elkdonis arts is an objective art collective with members internationally, all are welcome to join. Our name, Elkdonis arts, comes from a word found in a book by G.I. Gurdjieff called Beelzebubs Tales; “helkdonis”, which means objective prayer for God (not prayer for self) .
Our membership is largely comprised of students and teachers of the fourth-way attempting to work objectively as artists or entrepreneurs . We function as a mutual aid society helping each other to apply the fourth-way teachings, to self observe and self remember, to learn and grow etc.
Our original group was formed in Newmarket Ontario, Canada, 1990. We opened the first internet cafe in town, and held concerts and raves etc. . Our group has undergone many radical transformations since. The form the Work takes is always changing.
We helped usher in digital community and new digital group work to the internet, and that involved many experiments attempting to adapt ever changing web and mobile apps to our work over the years. Remaining true to the essence of fourth way community, which is unlike anything in ordinary life, is always paramount to the inner group, and subjectivity is viewed as a contamination. There was an aphorism amongst those posted on the wall at the Gurdjieff institute in France, ” Personality has scarcely any right to exist here”. The Work itself is a living conscious being, and we serve it.
Elkdonis arts has been serving spiritual growth through higher consciousness and sacred service for 30 years now, in one form or another. We provide tools for service and ethical teachings for spiritual professionals.
In our own group we have unified around exploration of the ritual theatre medium “paratheatre“, and we currently hold labs regularly.
Our members are artists that have each verified for themselves that an artist is faced with two choices, there are but two paths they may take as an artist. One may choose to depict or convey a subjective idea or trip, such as an advertisement or political statement. The viewer of such an artifact will find it beautiful or ugly , agree or disagree etc. , based on their subjective identity and conditioning , their beliefs and etc.
The other choice that an artist may make is to be a guide into transcendent sensations, this is known as objective art. To work objectively the artist holds an inquiry into something bigger than themselves , like balance, or love, or the color red etc.. The artist holds the inquiry in their head heart and body until the force they have put themselves under affects them inwardly . Outwardly this produces a gesture . The gesture produces an artifact.
The artifact thusly produced is completed by the viewer, who will be moved into the same emotional experience as the artist during the inquiry. This is an objective communication. This process has been called an act of revelation by some. Our group supports artists of all arts in attempts at working objectively.
We are currently holding online space for demonstrations, events, trainings, workshops, clinics, labs, and rituals. Our focus right now is on Paratheatre and study groups working with the fourth way source materials. The button above marked “free courses and study groups” will take you to our current offerings.
We are a circle of friends, that has acted as a kind of “mutual aid society for Fourth Way seekers” for each other . We have shared data and accelerated each others growth while maintaining a non hierarchical structure. We are all students, and teach in the understanding that we are all beginners here. Thanks for engaging with our website.
if you are interested in volunteering or joining the collective send us an email, info@elkdonis-arts.org.
We consider online spaces to be real sacred spaces held in the minds hearts and bodies of the members.
Welcome.
“While working together in an asocial climate, a unique group unity unfolds from each person’s heightened commitment to their own internal sources while sharing that Presence with others and being acted on by the Presence of others” -Antero Alli-
“To cultivate resonance with vertical sources is not easy. This kind of inner work persists as an uphill struggle against the grain of decades of horizontal, socially-conditioned, externally-directed habit patterns. Accessing our verticality can act as an irritant to anyone identified exclusively with the horizontal plane of existence. The shock of authentic vertical contact, no matter how fleeting, can shatter unchecked assumptions about the world around us and who we think we are. Any real intimacy with Void can stir deep questioning about identity and the nature of reality.“
-Antero Alli-
The group
Founder,
Director of Operations
Jason
Artist , Acupuncturist/ medical Qi gong practitioner, Jason Ford has been leading conscious creatives groups, Corporate and church team building safaris and leadership skills training labs since 1990.
Jason has been trained in traditional healing and initiations, fourth way practices, visual arts, sculpture arts, performance arts, and paratheatre.
He is currently retired from the Foundation for the Study of Objective Art, where he worked in their Galleries Arcturus and City Art.
Director of I.T. and Security
Steph
From an early age, Steph felt a sense that something was missing. What he now recognizes as a deep longing for the divine. In his teens, he explored cannabis and psychedelics, which opened him up to different possibilities and states of consciousness.
Around 20, he discovered Carlos Castaneda’s books and wanted to explore shamanism. However, due to his aphantasia, he shifted focus to Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way teachings. Over the years, he has also studied a variety of other traditions including Tantra, Taoist inner alchemy, and Zen. Recently, he’s been focusing more on Kundalini Yoga and subtle energies.
Now, Steph is moving into helping others come to the teachings and practice. With a focus on Kundalini and a bit of basic Inner Alchemy Qigong. He is also offering a Fourth Way group reading of Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson.
Co-Founder,
Artist/Writer in Residence
Dana
I’m an interdisciplinary artist, designer, and writer whose work opens gateways into the inner and higher dimensions of the Self. Through symbolism and harmonious use of colour, I explore themes of presence, perception, and the human condition, aiming to capture the eternal moment in visual and poetic form.
My creative practice is deeply informed by experiential research in energy medicine, meditation, trance mediumship, parapsychology, and both Eastern and Western esoteric traditions. I’m particularly inspired by the legacy work of G.I. Gurdjieff and the possibilities of inner transformation through creative inquiry. At the moment, I am especially interested in folk art and craft movements and related traditions
A graduate of OCAD University, I also bring a background in religious studies and social sciences to my work. This interdisciplinary approach helps me integrate the intuitive with the intellectual—bridging the seen and unseen in ways that invite reflection, connection, and a sense of wonder.
Projects Manager,
Director of Web Development
Guru Dharam
Guru Dharam Singh is the name given to me by my teacher, along with the challange to actually use it. During my second year at U of T I met my teacher the Sikh Chaplain there and attended his Kundalini Yoga Classes.
From an early age I felt witnessed by a Sacred or Divine force, and with subsequent exposure to Western Astrology, and then Yung Drung Bon, I came to realize that I wasnt “crazy” for feeling seen.
I’m looking forward to applying organizational skill and consistency to expand the access to this teaching and other practices, particular in the manner of the fourth way.
Executive Music and Video Producer/Director,
Artist/Writer in Residence
Aeon
From early on, there has always been this sense that there is a certain kind of information behind normal everyday perceptions – from the firmly imposed boundaries around what the education system discusses to what a human being even is.
The mission then became clear – to follow the threads of experience until valuable insights are uncovered.
Conscience, self-honesty, and curiosity led the way to the depths of the poetic and musical states which uncover the underbelly of human experience… In tandem to the artistic endeavors, there was a calling toward deeper spiritual work, something that peers through the human condition and confronts the soul without compromise. After years of self-study, I became introduced to some of the members of the Elkdonis Arts Collective and joined forces.
Director of Public Relations
Sarah
I was involved in the 90s indie punk scene in Toronto and then spent fourteen years working in shelters and drop-in centres in Toronto and the surrounding area. Writing has appeared in Exclaim!, IASPM Automusicologies, and Bunch Family.
I am comfortable interacting with people from all walks of life. I have taken college-level courses in public relations, marketing, advertising, copywriting and SEO. I also work as a supply Educational Assistant and Administrative Assistant for the Waterloo Catholic and Public School Boards.
I hold a BA in social and developmental psychology and an additional BA in Fine Arts Cultural Studies. I worked in frontline social services and then, during the pandemic, I became a music reviewer for Exclaim! This led me to my current role as an organizing member of the new online music journal New Feeling. My main role in New Feeling is as a member of the editorial committee where I generate and review pitches and provide both structural and copy edits. We partner with The Grind to provide their music coverage as well. Since New Feeling is a small collective, I also participate in events and membership drives to broaden our organization’s reach and scope.
One connecting thread between all the different types of work that I have done is that community is at the forefront. I am honoured and excited to be involved in building a community where we all achieve spiritual development. Working in creative and social justice pursuits will intertwine with this journey.
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