Visit Gurdjieff's Prieuré and Meet Katherine Mansfield ~ A New Time Travel Adventure (with AI) by Ari Kuschnir and Me

A teaser for my upcoming novel, Tenacious Magic, reveals a fascinating world of strange discipline and peculiar magic...

arikuschnir

A post shared by @arikuschnir

Dear Friends,

It is with great joy, wonder, and a touch of relief that I bring you—today—a glimpse into a world I’ve inhabited in my imagination for almost 12 years: Gurdjieff’s Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man at Fontainebleau, France in 1922-23.

As many of you know, I’ve been working on a book called Tenacious Magic. I released it serially on Substack in 2023. You can find those early, unedited chapters here if you want a sneak peek. However, I’m now much further along and recommend you wait for the actual BOOK. I just spent a year and a half fleshing out and editing the manuscript into something very special. I’m currently in the process of looking for an editor and publisher.

Last week, as I sank my teeth into the process of developing a proposal and researching the publishing industry, Ari had a brilliant idea: what if we could bring back Katherine and Gurdjieff’s days at the Prieuré with the help of AI? If you’ve seen Ari’s absolute mastery of this medium, then you know if anyone could do it, it’s him. I was there when he began to formulate prompts—pulled from the manuscript of my book—and within moments, scenes I’d been holding in my mind’s eye, in my imagination, for over a decade were coming to life before my very eyes.

Talk about tenacious magic!

When I saw Gurdjieff teaching “The Movements”, Katherine walking the grounds of the chateau, the communal meals and famous “toasts to the idiots”…I was elated. Then, he began the process of cloning Katherine’s voice (with AI). I could hardly believe my ears—the slight New Zealand accent covered over by aspirations to British high society, even the quality of wispiness (“as if it came from the void”) her voice was reported to have had—likely due to her advanced tuberculosis. I was finally hearing a ghost I’ve known intimately for so long (I’ve “spoken” to Katherine extensively in dreams and through channeled awareness—more an impression on the mind than a process of “hearing.”).

I invite you to remember as you watch this, that it’s NOT archival footage. It’s NOT a film from the 1920s. It sure looks like one—so much so, I had to pinch myself several times. This was 100% invented and created, prompted and directed, by Ari (and me) with AI. What you will see is just a taste of the world I bring to life in this book. For anyone wanting to know more about the full story, you can read my description of the book’s origin here. And below is an overview from the book’s proposal:

Tenacious Magic: A Novel of Love, Loss, and Liberation

Tenacious Magic is a bold and immersive debut that blends memoir with historical fiction; weaving together two real women’s lives and destinies across time. This novel follows S, a modern New York woman, navigating profound personal transformation in 2010; and recreates the final days of celebrated writer, Katherine Mansfield, in 1922 France, where she seeks healing under the guidance of enigmatic mystic, G.I. Gurdjieff, at his Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man.

An advertising executive in NYC, S, has dreamed of becoming a writer. A chance encounter with a Gurdjieff-inspired self-mastery instructor called Victor, is the catalyst that inspires her to pursue her dreams. But, liberation comes at a high price. S wrestles with the dissolution of her marriage, an unexpected pregnancy, and a powerfully tempting attraction to Victor. Meanwhile, Katherine faces her own crossroads—abandoning medical treatment for tuberculosis she leaves her husband and life of literary luxury to live in spartan conditions at Gurdjieff’s experimental commune. Katherine finds what she is looking for at the Prieuré, but also more than she bargained for as her relationship with Gurdjieff crosses an invisible line and her physical and mental health is compromised.

Victor initiates S into a wild awakening. As S risks everything—her career, marriage, and security—to follow an undeniable call toward creative and spiritual freedom, she is visited by the ghost of Katherine Mansfield. In visions and dreams, Katherine offers a haunting proposition: S will help Katherine reclaim her final days at the Prieuré through storytelling, and in return, Katherine will guide S into becoming the writer she is meant to be. This otherworldly collaboration becomes the book itself—their tenacious magic.

Set against rich cultural backdrops—including the Bloomsbury scene, early 20th-century European spiritualism, and the yoga/dance/wellness movement of the 2010s in New York City—Tenacious Magic vividly portrays the unseen forces that bind women to their teachers, their creative destinies, and to each other. The novel explores the intricate dynamics of attraction, authority, and surrender in the teacher-student relationship, revealing both the intoxicating promise and the shadowed dangers of spiritual initiation.

More than a novel, Tenacious Magic is an alchemical work of art exposing the shadows that often ensnare women on the spiritual path—offering not just insight but a way through. In the end, Tenacious Magic is a declaration of liberation: a testament to the power of feminine wisdom, motherhood, artistic sovereignty, and the eternal bond between kindred souls across time.

I reiterate that I am actively looking for connections to agents and publishers interested in genre-bending feminist fiction, spiritual fiction, spiritual, autofiction memoir and historical fiction. It’s going to be a special connection and intuitive process that brings this baby to life. If you have a spark of inspiration for me, I’d love to receive it!

Thanks for being on this journey. Feel free to share your experience of the video or the book description below. It takes a village!

(Special thanks to my beloved life and creative partner,

Ari Kuschnir

; my Gurdjieff expert and friend,

Layman Pascal

; my spiritual twin

David Sauvage

; and my early-stage editor, Molly Zakoor.)

Note: Video made with

Google DeepMind

Veo 2 and Eleven Labs for the voice over.

---

Coming Home Meditation Is Tomorrow, Tuesday, from 12-1:30pm EDT

Join us at 12-1p EST tomorrow for our Coming Home weekly sit. It’s all levels and drop-in. We spend 30 minutes in a deep space of sharing and receiving each other and then 30 minutes in a deep medicinal meditative state—guided journey—where we integrate and receive the medicine we are for each other. If you’ve never tried this, I highly recommend joining us. It’s a special practice with a special group of people.

Here is the Zoom link:

This is a pay-what-you-feel experience each week. Suggested donation is $10-20 for drop ins. Whatever you feel called to give is appreciated. Contributions can be made here: Paypal: schuyler@artofemergence.com or Venmo: ElizabethSchuyler-Brown. Paid subscribers, you are already covered. Thank you.