Electric Shocks

Electric Shocks

In the Fourth Way, P.D. Ouspensky describes the need for outside guidance to awaken us. He speaks of a higher influence that he refers to as C Influence or Celestial Influence. In mythology and religions this higher influence is often labeled spirits, divinities, gods, deities, or angels. I have often pondered the question, what language would C Influence use to assist me to further my conscious evolution? One way this help comes to me is in the form of shocks, which can appear subjectively positive or negative, small or large, visible or invisible.

This is how one verifies Influence C: a series of shocks that are too numerous to ascribe to chance. — The Teacher

I know it is also possible to learn to apply my own shocks – third force – so that the Work connected to consciousness does not deviate and descend. For example, an event occurred last Saturday that illustrates this opportunity.

I was planning to attend a Zoom meeting with students in my School on Saturday morning. I had a number of things to do in the morning, but I scheduled myself so that I would be ready to attend the online meeting at 10:30. The morning air was calm and overcast, although the previous night had been tumultuous with strong winds, rain, and tornado warnings in the area. Just as I approached the computer at 10:25 to log into the Zoom meeting, the electricity flickered back-and-forth a few times, the high-pitched carbon monoxide monitor screeched multiple times, and then the power to my house went out.

This shock was enough to “warm boot” and change the direction of my entire day. Rather than an hour of nurturing presence with other Fourth Way students on Zoom, I found myself aimlessly filling time waiting for the electricity to come back on. My neighborhood was scheduled to have electricity restored between 3:00 – 8:00 in the evening.

So, my husband and I gathered a few things and walked to a nearby restaurant for an early lunch. The power was out there, too, but the establishment was able to serve us anyway. After lunch, we ran errands until a neighbor texted me to let us know that the electricity was restored.

It was now late afternoon, and I had not had a single thought about self-remembering since 10:25. We made one last stop at the grocery store to pick up a few items and discovered that the grocery store had not yet had their electricity turned back on. As we were shopping in dimly lit isles, suddenly, the lights came on and easy listening music started to play.

I wish I could remember the exact lyrics and name of the song that was playing. As I recall, the music piped into the grocery store had lyrics that went, “the doors are open” and “when did the light go out,” referring to the lost affection of a love relationship. I realized in that moment that this was a shock for me in a language that C Influence speaks. I could buffer the synchronicity of random lyrics pairing with this electric moment or feel the presence of a higher force reaching in to wake me up. In the past, I have often explained away many coincidences even though the first fleeting moment a shock occurs it wakes me up to the mystery of a world where the interconnectedness of all things is knocking on my door.

Presence makes small shocks big and meaningful. — The Teacher

Upon reflection, from 10:25 when the electricity went out until this late afternoon shock, I had been mostly asleep and in a state of imagination and identification. The coincidence and synchronicity of the lyrics at the grocery store put me in a higher state and suddenly and profoundly reminded me of higher centers, higher influence, and gratitude that the electricity and my awareness was restored.

I cannot wait to be awakened by accident, however. I can set my own alarms as reminders – shocks – to evoke presence. As an example, setting alarms to self-remember is available in simple ways. I spend a lot of time making my electronic environment more user friendly, which is actually synonymous with making my life more comfortable and easier. This user interface typically supports my mechanical habits. After observing this, I changed several settings that now force me to use my phone differently. The sole purpose of this change has nothing to do with making my phone user friendly, but to give me a small, personal shock to remember myself while using the phone.

As time goes on, one creates more and more shocks for one to be present. — The Teacher

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The Splitting of the Moon, Anonymous 16th-century from a Persian book of prophecy