The Steward is Golden Genius: The Six-fold Present

The Steward is Golden Genius: The Six-fold Present

G.I. Gurdjieff’s straightforward directive to “Remember yourself always and everywhere,” is a powerful reminder of the painful reality that I pass so much of my life in the second state of consciousness, that is, sleep. What it means to remember myself is to reclaim my rightful place in experiencing life consciously. It takes only a few moments of sincere self-observation to realize that I am going through the motions of life but not fully present to much of it. But how is it possible to be present always and everywhere – to bring awareness to all 86,400 seconds in a day?

Not even realizing that I was soul-searching for more meaning in life, that questioning part – the magnetic center – was attracted to conscious influence and brought me to a School. I think of this process as simply as a sunflower opening and being planted in lucky circumstances to follow the life-giving influence of the light of the sun. An invisible higher hand became my lodestar. With a scientific flair, G.I. Gurdjieff and the Fourth Way antiseptically named this lodestar C Influence (Conscious Influence). Many devotees from esoteric and religious traditions recognize conscious influence more poetically as god(s).

He is the steward, and his hand is the hand of God. — Rumi

At the point of meeting a conscious School, my journey continued and self-observation became the primary tool in the process of building a Steward. I needed to internalize and place that lodestar where its influence could light the way. To use a Harry Potter analogy of a “sorting hat,” the Steward is the inner part of me that sorts – rejects and gathers – ‘I’s related to presence. It gathers ‘I’s that support the Work, then groups them into enough force to invoke presence and brings me closer to awakening. As the Steward becomes stronger, it is a formidable opponent to sleep and can ward off obstacles such as uncontrolled mind activity (imagination), identification, and the other pitfalls of sleep.

All things come from that universal ruling power, either directly proceeding or by way of sequence. — Marcus Aurelius

Marcus Aurelius refers to the Steward as the ruling faculty. Its steadfast voice whispers quietly to advise me on what to avoid that keeps me asleep and how to gather Work ‘I’s to assist awakening. Noticing consistency can be a reliable indicator of the Work of the Steward. It is a star to guide me on the inner journey of the soul. As an example, I came to my computer to write my post this morning. The Steward advised me not to open a WhatsApp communication I glanced at, but rather to use my finest energy to put my thoughts together for this essay. The Steward was guiding me to avoid a WhatsApp communication which had evoked identification yesterday until I could intentionally assemble Work ‘I’s to address the conflict and use it to invoke presence after I was finished writing.

Real intelligence is the steward using six work ‘I’s to produce consciousness. — The Teacher

Over the last 50 years, my Teacher has distilled the messages dispatched from the Steward into a palette of 30 one-syllable Work ‘I’s. This efficiency helps me not to get bogged down with long words, long explanations and instructions which become ensnared in the slower, analytical ‘I’s and spiral into supporting the lower self.

Following are six succinct, one-syllable Work words chosen by the Steward in a particular Sequence that move and instruct at a faster rhythm to invoke presence while dining: Be—Hold—Taste—Back—Taste—Be!

The virtues in the Soul run in a Sequence. — Plotinus

Following is the full sentence version of these directives: BE—bring your awareness to the present moment; HOLD—extend and sustain presence; TASTE—remember to bring awareness to tasting the flavor of the food; BACK—when imagination creeps in, push back and watch out for the lower self, devolving into other forms of sleep; TASTE—return your awareness to the taste of the food; BE—reassert presence and continue to bring awareness to the present moment.

Rather than using many words to describe the effort to be present – which the lower self can more easily manipulate through associative thinking and thereby derail my effort – the Sequence of six words brings me more effectively nearer to consciousness. Like a moving walkway, the Sequence delivers me to presence. The Teacher has given us these concise directives and a palette of 30 to support the aim of the Sequence.

Every true insight is part of a sequence and leads to a sequence. It is a link in a great chain mounting creatively. — Goethe

I am fortunate to be in circumstances where reminders to Work on myself come through frequent interactions living with my husband, who is also a member of this conscious School. From our morning coffee to an evening movie or walk, our daily exchanges can be simple shocks to awaken Higher Centers. At the same time, like most relationships, even new behavior eventually falls into a routine, and the lower self quietly manipulates a scheme whereby it comfortably ignores reminders that have the potential to invoke presence. The Steward can use a Sequence and redirect me when even another student, in this case, my husband, cannot. The Sequence is a tool that can be used anywhere and very helpful when I am alone.

Being surrounded by other students is also a helpful way to be reminded to remember myself. Recently, my husband and I set an aim not to speak with each other unless we were holding hands or in some small way touching each other on the shoulder or arm. What we had observed prior to this little exercise was that we often move around the house like bumper cars and engaged in endless unnecessary talk stimulated by associative thinking. We were not intentional and present when speaking to each other. With the addition of touch (a one-syllable Work word) to our interactions, the Steward devised a moving centered reminder to invoke presence and we were able to not only reduce the energy loss of unnecessary talk, but also to engage and be fueled by the emotional center.

This is not empty talk, but the sequence of the Great Way is the true method of producing an eternally living and immortal spirit and holy man. The conscious spirit, departing from the cycle of births, has been brought to the six-fold present, golden genius. — Secret of the Golden Flower (Chinese Taoist Text)

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