Service to the School

Service to the School

Members of the school practice what the Fourth Way calls the third line of work. The third line is about work on behalf of the school. To serve the school, I must take initiative; it does not happen without action. The Teacher applies pressure on his students to be less mechanical and more awake, and I must, as a student, learn to take agency for the school and its higher purposes.

This is a hard topic for me to describe: the dynamic of serving in a school. It's a very personal endeavor, and much like the first line of work, that is, work on myself, it is a product of time, effort, and valuation.

I thought I might analogize to another type of service with which I am familiar. I spent most of my adult life as a civil servant in the federal government. For people who work for the government, the primary return is more intrinsic than extrinsic. Yes, civil servants receive a paycheck and make a decent living, but when it comes to enacting policy or serving the public, the beneficiary is someone or something else. This is like serving the school and working on the third line.

So, okay, it is not the best analogy, but it does ring true for me at least partially. Serving a Fourth Way school is an unusual opportunity for personal spiritual growth and for reducing ego and giving back. Leaving the imperfect analogy aside, consider the unique relationship one finds oneself in a school. I cannot be passive in supporting and helping the school.

After having spent the day working for the school, trying to be present, not expressing negativity and trying to avoid imagination, one becomes weary, and yet it is a day well spent. … The plain truth is that there is no alternative to making efforts to be present, daily, for the rest of one’s life. ─ The Teacher

On this very day, I am also leading a Zoom meeting with students of my school who live in India. Ostensibly, the direct audience is newer students who are still learning about the Fourth Way System and the three lines of work. (From one perspective, a student is always learning and relearning, so we are all beginners and not just new students.) Leading a meeting is a form of service in which I share what I have learned and acquired in being with time and experience, having been a student in the school for many years. My hope at this Zoom meeting is that I give back to the school by sharing my being more than my knowledge—by being present. When I speak, I aim to speak with Presence. When I write this post, I aim to write with Presence. The more conscious I am, the more conscious the participating students will be, and the more conscious the school will be. In a sense, serving the school creates consciousness.

Another aspect of the third line is bridging intervals. We have previously discussed the law of octaves and the two intervals that naturally occur in every octave. (If you're unfamiliar with this concept, please check our other posts or the glossary on our Facebook page.) When I experience an interval in a particular line, such as my first line, a practical way to bridge that interval is by using the other lines, the second or third lines of work. The same could be said for any interval, whether it be the first, second, or third line of work.

What does that mean in a practical sense? When I'm stuck or having trouble growing my own personal understanding, a useful approach is to shift more efforts to the second or third line. By helping another student, for instance, I stop thinking about myself and focus on another’s needs. By serving the school—doing the third line of work—I place my time and energy on the needs of the school rather than myself. I have deeply verified how effective this technique is for making forward progress in the Work. The school is practical. It is not for theorists or worshippers. The school is for conscious empiricism.

So, while the “Third Line of Work” is a difficult subject to explain to people outside of the school, I hope you can see the merit and application of the idea a little better. Valuation for something like a conscious school, which is rare, makes work on the third line a rich, inwardly rewarding, and practical venture.

Entering a school is the most important decision one makes in one’s life, and it can be said that life begins when one meets a school. … The greatest requirement of school is for each person to be true to himself. To do this, one must sacrifice the irrelevant. ─ The Teacher

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Procession of Tribute Bearers, Persepolis, Persia (circa. 559 BCE)