The Many ‘I’s, the Many Lies I recall an incident some time ago where I got feedback from somebody on a project I had been working on. They were not particularly supportive of my approach, and I found the encounter discouraging. In hindsight, it would be more accurate to say, that an ‘I,’ or a group of ‘I’s became discouraged. Those ‘I’s then proceeded to ruin my “mood” for the rest of the day. They poisoned the whole. They kept me asleep. One group of ‘I’s declared they were

The Inner Tea Party This post is from our friend Lindsey V. of the New York Center. The aim of 'myths' and 'symbols' was to reach man's higher centers, to transmit to him ideas inaccessible to the intellect." — G.I. Gurdjieff Fairy Tales can often point out deeper Truths. Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is one such tale. Early on in her adventures, Alice comes across a hidden door to which she is given a key. In Wonderland, with its unfamiliar inhabitants, sh

Beyond Illusion: Out of the Many – One As I reflect on the idea of unity, I recall experiences when my awareness zoomed out from a particular object or circumstance. The scale was somehow changed and from this new vantage point of awareness I was able to perceive individual details of what was happening no longer as separate or divided components, but those details merged and became an integral part of a larger whole. When I look back in time at my life from a far enough dist

Remembering to Remember: Developing the Steward This post is from our friend Lindsey V. of the New York Center. Be present at every breath. Do not let your attention wander for the duration of a single breath. ─ Gurduvani We know that awakening does not happen accidentally. It requires conscious effort, repeated self-remembering, and the gradual development of an inner steward. The steward is a group of “I”s based on the Work, arising from the magnetic center, that act like a

Conscious Kindness [An excerpt from our friend Sergio Antonio’s recent book, A Map to Awakening.] As we master the art of self-observation, we learn to focus not so much on the action being performed, but on the 'place' in us that originates it, the part in us that wants to perform that action. (Why am I writing these lines now? Out of habit, vanity, a sense of duty, boredom, delusion, a desire to help? And what part in me is organizing the discourse, deciding what to say, fi

Using Emotions: A Path to Inner Freedom From our friend Lindsey V. of the New York Center. One of the most hopeful teachings of the Fourth Way is that human beings possess far greater possibilities than they ordinarily realize. We are not condemned to live as prisoners of anger, fear, resentment, anxiety, self-pity, or vanity. Beneath our habitual emotional reactions lies an enormous reserve of energy. The aim of the Fourth Way is not self-improvement but conscious evolution—

Where Does Awakening Energy Come From? Until I began working with the practical application of the Work through exercises based on Fourth Way principles, I would have argued quite convincingly that my emotions were real. I might have reasoned that emotions need to be expressed, that I had to vent my feelings, and that controlling my emotions had little chance of success, and a wasted effort. Even more puzzling to me was why anyone would want to hold back positive emotions whi

I See Your Mind Tangled in Knots One of the ways I can recognize where a thought comes from is to observe its speed and monitor the circumstances that initiated its manifestation. For example, think about the difference in thoughts or even conversations which are stimulated when studying at a library or discussing politics at a bar. How are my thoughts affected and where do I put my attention while walking in a forest or on a busy city street? What reflections are roused in r

Intellectual Attitudes From our friend Lindsey V. of the New York Center A powerful tool in this work lies in choosing attitudes intentionally. In the Fourth Way, the Work begins with right understanding, right attitudes. Attitudes are intellectual and emotional points of view, many of which we have unconsciously adopted from our education and from imitation of those around us. Normally, these habits and patterns are invisible to us, but they can drain our energy and keep us

Knowledge is a Start, not a Finish Knowledge is essential for any human endeavor. There might be exceptions, but based on my experience, I am not aware of any. Similarly, I cannot proceed in the Work without acquiring new knowledge and new perspectives on our old knowledge. So, as a “devotee” to a new way of life, I explore new territory and revisit old territory with a new lens. Knowledge by itself is not enough, however. Without changing my level of being, that is, becoming

Transforming Knowledge into Being? Real knowledge, objective knowledge is knowledge which comes from higher mind. ─ P.D. Ouspensky I attended an inspiring lecture last evening by Elaine Pagels on the history and message of early Christianity, held in Washington D.C. at the magnificent National Cathedral. Dr. Pagels is a scholar and author of The Gnostic Gospels as well as a newly published book and New York Times Bestseller, Miracles, and Wonder: The Historical Mystery of Jes

Functions vs. Consciousness A little poetry from our friend John Craig sheds a shard of light on the idea that functions can exist without consciousness, and that consciousness can exist without functions. Not the Mind Are you in love with your mind? Do you marvel at its ways – How it applies logic to problems, makes analogies, Retrieves experiences and abstracts meaning from them? It’s a wonderful if at times ungainly and sluggish Scout for exploring planet earth. But it let

Functions versus States The following selections are from Girard Haven’s book, Creating a Soul , available on Amazon.com . https://www.amazon.com/Creating-Soul.../dp/0964578220 To be practical, [the Work] must start from where we are, teaching us to walk and run before showing us how to fly. Consequently, our initial work focuses on functions, that is, on improving the being of the machine as a machine. It includes work to minimize false personality, to develop true personal

Functions without Functional Control Men have become the tools of their tools. ─ HD Thoreau Interestingly, Thoreau’s poignant passage is sometimes misquoted as, “Man has become a machine of his machines.” This alternative wording fits the language of the Fourth Way well. How interesting that Thoreau would make this observation in mid-19th-century America amid the Industrial Revolution, and that it would be misquoted today in the language of G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky.

A Key to Four-part Harmony In the Fourth Way, the lower functions of the human organism are divided into four lower centers or brains, two of which we share with the animal world and two distinctively human. (G.I. Gurdjieff merged two functions into one center which we share with other living organisms: the moving and instinctive centers.) The other two functions not developed in animals are the intellectual center and the emotional center, although some animals may have a ru

Hold Infinity in the Palm of Your Hand The greatest contradiction in nature is that of the higher self and the lower self temporarily cohabiting the same body. From this comes the 'Struggle of the Magicians.' It is a very necessary irritant. —The Teacher The Teacher references G.I. Gurdjieff’s The Struggle of the Magicians, which is an esoteric ballet designed to instruct students about the “dance” and relationship of the lower self and Higher Self. This bodily cohabitation

Right Attitude Makes Things Right Have you ever noticed, like me, when opening a search engine on your computer, intending to search for some topic, only to find yourself drawn to a “random” newsfeed? Well, it happened again to me. After reading my second or third news article, I suddenly realized I had originally intended to look for something online and now cannot even remember the topic for which I was going to search. At that point, I resumed my previous effort and tried

Accidental Attitudes vs. Intentional Choice The following essay is taken from a book written by a friend and long-time fellow student of the Fourth Way. The book, “ Creating a Soul ,” was written by Girard Haven in 1999 and is a remarkable resource for practical work on attitudes as well as many other topics of the Fourth Way. The following text is an excerpt from the first chapter of his book, simply called “Chapter I: Attitudes.” “One of the tools our Teacher stresses is th

UNDERSTANDING This image depicts an ancient Egyptian relief of a hunting scene from the tomb of King Tutankhamen. The scene shows King Tutankhamen hunting in a papyrus marsh with his wife, Queen Ankhesenamen, who is shown handing him an arrow. A small pet lion is also depicted at the pharaoh's feet. In ancient Egyptian art, hunting scenes like this one were not simply depictions of royal leisure; they were rich with symbolism. They represented the pharaoh's dominion over natu

The second state is the unconscious world of the lower centers. Sensations, movement, ideas and theories, and feelings, all occur with little or no awareness. In this state, the four lower centers react to various stimuli in the environment. In the state of presence, higher centers generate themselves. They inconspicuously generate consciousness and respond, rather than react, to their environment. Since higher centers reside in the human vessel for the duration of their eart

The High Steward of Awareness When I first came across the theory that higher states of consciousness exist, I had not even realized that...

Work I's “You use the word ‘I’ a lot.” What a shocking statement! So shocking, it silenced me. Until then I’d never heard the most...

Work 'I’s Work I am grateful to have Work ‘I’s – the army of internal ‘I’s that bring consciousness to my day, to my minute-by-minute...

Establish Your Self: Be Work words or Work ‘I’s are succinct, one-syllable instructions to prompt my Self to live in the moment. They...

From our friend, Irene C. Trash Collectors “Who are you? And where do you wish to go?” said the caterpillar in response to Alice’s...

There is nothing static about Being. One way or another, it is always changing. Being is indistinguishable from the act of becoming...

The Four Lower Centers: The Emotional Center Modern science and medicine do not know that the human organism is comprised not of one or...

“Off With Their Heads!” The King of Hearts is the singular part of the Emotional Center – or the only part of the four lower centers –...

From our friend, Astha P. Weekly Topic: The Emotional Center Gossip is talking idly, especially about the affairs of others. In other...

The Mouse is Miracle Enough Just as the common deck of playing cards contains esoteric messages about the four lower functions, including...

A Generation of Still-Breeding Thoughts In the system of the Fourth Way, P.D. Ouspensky explains that the main function of the...

Weekly Topic: The Intellectual Cente r From our friend, Lindsey V. Working with Attitudes Attitudes function as a third force—the way we...

The Moving Center and Imagination The moving center is the part that stores and operates movements. All moving external activities,...

The Four Lower Centers; The Moving Center ‘As if movement signifies life.’ So goes the saying. Without self-remembering movement is...

Skating Through Life Awareness of movement in relationship to the Fourth Way is to notice and be present to how movement can wake us up...

The Instinctive Center is Heavy; Real ‘I’ is Light According to the Fourth Way, human beings are four-brained; each of us has...

The Four Lower Centers; The Instinctive Center Presence is not a sensation. Neither for that matter, is presence a thought, movement or...

Will, Unity and the Many I’s From our friend Girard H. In the Fourth Way, a student learns to understand the difference between will and...

What Do You Love? From our friend, Rowena T. The way of love—is this a path we can follow? Love is a much-used word. What do you love?...

Conversations From our friend, David Tuttle Today, a few thoughts about the work and conversations. Opposite thinking is a characteristic...

Always Agree to the Rules There is nothing more likely to start disagreement among people or countries than an agreement. — E. B. White...

Use Work ‘I’s to Transform Suffering We wasters of sorrows! How we stare away into sad endurance beyond them, trying to foresee their...

Will, Consciousness, and Being From our friend, Girard Haven Will, unity and the many I’s In the Fourth Way, a student learns to...

Work ‘I’s: Sparks of Consciousness In its simplest form, a Work ‘I’ is a reliable word or thought that activates a higher, more conscious...

Numbers We could also define consciousness by number. According to this division, men and women number one, two, and three are...

The Divine Contrast Rodney Collin theorized that animal life on Earth are experiments. A dog is an experiment in the function of the...

The Moving Centre As An Anchor The body is always in the present. Our hearts and minds may wander, but the body is always right here...

Nature Does Not Hurry Lately, I have observed that I am caught in the chaos of compulsive busyness, behaving more like a hamster running...

Try to Be Out-of-Patterns I am pleasantly surprised that I can almost trick my machine into being more aware and present by...