Functions without Functional Control

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. He was indeed onto something.

In any case, the idea that man is ruled by his externals and mechanics is an esoteric message for people on the Way. Poets, philosophers, and mystics seem to land on the same spot; they see man as he is, lacking unity. Man is a four-brained being, and the four lower centers rule, but not in a unified or organized way. I am a machine ruled by my many ’I’s, and these disparate interests lead me in multiple directions. No one is in charge. One “tool” here and another “tool” there.

Where do these many ‘I’s originate? The answer is the four lower centers. And like substitute teachers, they often temporarily do the work of other brains or functions. You might say, a poorly over-compensating imitator often asserts itself. It is like my functions do not function; they merely pretend to be one thing when their knack or natural ability lies somewhere else. The centers are uncontrolled without effort and divided attention.

For instance, when trying to answer a challenging test question, I might become “emotional” about my momentary ignorance when I should be concentrating and using my intellectual center to think through the question. But then, if I try to “think” through a moving center activity like climbing a spiral staircase or walking on a fallen log across a stream, I will find that I lose my “balance.” The moving center does not need to think to move, to balance.

This is an apt term, balance. You might say that I am trying to balance my lower centers by restoring right work to them. When I succeed in this line of effort, I create more possibilities for further growth and understanding. It is not the end goal, but putting the machine right in terms of functions is a major step for many people, including me.

When I succeed in controlling my lower centers, such as resisting the expression of a negative emotion while driving my car or listening intently to another person speaking without interrupting or having opposite ‘I’s, then new possibilities for being awake emerge.

It's profoundly simple to resist mechanical responses to others as well as myself. It's also profoundly challenging to sustain such efforts. So, how do I take control of the mechanics and sustain a line of effort in this manner? For starters, trying not to justify my sleep to others and myself is a very practical first step. Everyone is asleep. No one is in control of their centers. Do not replace lack of control with judgment or self-denigration.

Another useful way for me is by following the exercises provided by my Teacher or exercises that I develop based on personal observations. Many exercises directly address mechanical tendencies in my moving, instinctive, intellectual, and emotional centers. If I sincerely apply an exercise, such as not using a word or not crossing my legs while at a meeting or not chewing a bite of food while someone else is talking, then the interruption in that chain of sleep opens the door to self-remembering. The machine is more balanced when my functions function with intention. Intentionality invites the Moment.

Being present is the number one exercise. To be present means being less mechanical, controlling centers, and more conscious at every opportunity.

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HD Thoreau (final photographic sitting, August 1861), Edward Dunshee