Stoicism: A Practical Fourth Way Tradition

Stoicism: A Practical Fourth Way Tradition

“If a discussion arises among the multitude on some principle, keep silent for the most part … And when someone says to you, ‘You know nothing,’ and you do not let it provoke you, then know that you are really on the right road. For sheep do not bring grass to their shepherds and show them how much they have eaten, but they digest their fodder and then produce it in the form of wool and milk. Do the same yourself; instead of displaying your principles to the multitude, show them the results of the principles you have digested.” — Epictetus, Enchiridion

To my mind, the above quote by Epictetus is identical to the concept of the transformation of knowledge into being. The growth and balance of these two characteristics — knowledge and being — are fundamental principles of psychological effort and Work in the Fourth Way system. Being is the result of “digesting” or transforming knowledge and, in the above story, it is suggested that being can grow by not allowing what others think of us to provoke a mechanical — offended or negative — response. Equanimity and temperance are qualities of being.

At the risk of displaying principles to “the multitude” on Facebook, I would like to share some strikingly similar and practical thoughts from one of the most revered Stoics, Epictetus, to make a connection between how ancient Stoic philosophy is in harmony with the practical tradition of the Fourth Way. The following are quotes attributed to Epictetus, which were written down and collected by his devoted student, Flavius Arrianus. I recommend studying “The Discourses of Epictetus” and the “Enchiridion,” a condensed manual or handbook small enough to be carried around for ready access as a reminder and practical guide. The Fourth Way system itself is a condensation of similar central ideas worthy of being readily accessed. These central ideas parallel stoicism and include the non-expression of negative emotions, the effort not to be identified, recognizing and staying out of imagination, and gathering a group of principled Work ‘I’s connected to self-remembering (or Steward) — Epictetus called this group of Work ‘I’s the Ruling Faculty.

The Fourth Way concept of man as a sleeping machine needing to awaken is expressed by Epictetus in the following passage:

“This, then, is where the philosophic life begins; in the discovery of the true state of one’s own mind: for when once you realize that it is in a feeble state, you will not choose to employ it any more for great matters.”

G.I. Gurdjieff and P.D. Ouspensky stress that the ideas and theories that they were presenting were ancient, even more ancient than Epictetus’ time. Epictetus discovered — and the Fourth Way continues to explain — that nature develops man only up to a certain point, to “a feeble state” and then leaves him, to develop further. This requires psychological efforts to awaken and begin living more consciously.

The Fourth Way explains how we ascribe to ourselves the capacity to do. Ouspensky writes, “Man cannot do. Everything that man thinks he does, really happens. It happens exactly as “it rains,” or “it thaws.” Epictetus advises:

“Ask not that events should happen as you will, but let your will be that events should happen as they do, and you shall have peace … What disturbs men’s minds is not events but their judgements on events.”

Again, Ouspensky writes, “If we always think rightly about certain things, we can make it permanent—it grows into a permanent attitude … if you start from right thinking, then after some time you will educate in yourself the capacity for a different reaction.”

“Remember that you are an actor in a play, and the Playwright chooses the manner of it: if he wants it short, it is short; if long, it is long. If he wants you to act a poor man, you must act the part with all your powers and so if your part be a cripple or a magistrate or a plain man. For your business is to act the character that is given you and act it well; the choice of the cast is Another’s.” — Epictetus, Enchiridion

Ouspensky describes that “All people, whether they know it or not, whether they wish it or not, have certain roles which they play. This acting is unconscious. If it could be conscious, it would be quite different …” In the Fourth Way, we are all equal “a cripple or a magistrate or a plain man,” each have the possibility of conscious evolution. Receiving this wisdom from Epictetus is especially penetrating given the fact that he himself was a slave.

The following quotes need no explanation or bridge to the Fourth Way. If they were not referenced as Epictetus, you might imagine they were written by Gurdjieff or Ouspensky:

“No man is free who is not Master of himself.”

“We cannot ignore the one principle of action which governs all things – to be at unity with [oneself].” — Epictetus

The bridge between the Stoics and the Fourth Way is remarkable and serves as an affirmation of the universal truths that arise in the eternal now. I would be delighted to hear about your observations or questions about the intersection between the Stoics and the Fourth Way in the comments below.

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Shepherd of the Pyrenees, Rosa Bonheur (1822-1899)