Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions to bring presence into your day. Here is Barcarolle No. 1 by Gabriel Fauré: https://youtu.be/JnICtbWdlKY?si=QIQJZiBnIyC4bfbj “Every week, we are becoming stronger by becoming smaller.” -The teacher Join the discussion Image: Water Lilies by Claude Monet

Conscious Nothingness: Why Become Small? People are not born with innate humility. This virtue develops gradually over time and is closely related to last week’s topic of patience and acceptance. Simone Weil, a French philosopher and mystic said that "Humility is attentive patience." She believed that by decreasing self-importance we discover an open, passive, empty space within our minds where we are more receptive to truth and grace, explaining humility as the acceptance of

THE NARROW GATE Not only inconspicuous and wordless, humble and small also are two other characteristics that typify higher centers. Different schools occurring in different epochs and places have described or illustrated these two virtues in various ways. The school of Christ taught “….strait is the gate, and narrow is the way.”, not so subtilely implying that the unconscious psychological bulk that makes up the four lower centers do not and cannot partake in the third state

OUR EXERCISE THIS WEEK Greetings Group Members and admins, Our exercise this week is to brush our teeth with our non-dominant hand. If you’re right-handed, use your left. If you’re left-handed use your right hand. As always, please share your observations, questions and comments. This, and all the exercises, helps us interrupt mechanical momentums, observe the lower centers, and allows presence to emerge. So much gain from so little effort. Wishing you a week filled with inco

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions to nourish higher centers. Be present as you listen to Romanian Folk Dances for String Orchestra by Béla Bartók: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z50Ooqv1GFg “May you find in yourself enough patience to endure and enough simplicity to have faith.” —Rainer Maria Rilke Join the discussion Image: Allegory of Patience by Giorgio Vasari

The aim for an exercise is to interrupt unconscious behavior and momentums. There are other benefits that an exercise gives that we'll address in separate posts. Are these exercises practical for you? Is a week enough time to work with the exercise for observations to present themselves. In the School we work with more than one exercise, and a few of them, the Teacher created perhaps ten or twenty years ago, and we're still working with them, because....they work! This week w

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions as food for your higher centers. Be present as you listen to French Suite No. 5, Gavotte, by J.S. Bach: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=roXcetgwoMo... “We have managed to keep awakening quite simple.” -The Teacher Join the discussion Image: Self-Portrait, 1659 by Rembrandt van Rijn

Weekly Topic: Simplicity From our friend Joan of the New York Center Our lives are filled with simple moments. We can capture these ordinary moments with self-remembering by looking into the eyes of another person who is handing us an object. This transaction — simple in nature — can heighten our awareness and transform an ordinary moment into an extraordinary state. By dividing attention between the Self and the other person, this simple pause invoked by eye contact can susp

A Doorway to Presence From our friend Lindsey V. in the New York Center One of the easiest ways to be present is to listen. — The Teacher Listening can be a simple and profound experience of presence and connection. If we are sincere with ourselves, we see that we rarely listen completely. While another person speaks, we are often preparing an answer, comparing what is said with something we already know, judging, remembering, or wandering into imagination–or actually interru

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions for presence. Listen with presence to Gymnopedie No. 1 by Erik Satie arranged for violin and piano: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoH7zHTsolE... What we look for is beyond seeing. Listen beyond hearing, Grasp beyond reaching, Merge beyond understanding. -Lao Tzu Join the discussion Image: Windflowers by John William Waterhouse

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic Learn how to listen as things speak for themselves. — Matsuo Bashō The art of listening is about being fully present to another being with an open heart. It is the practice of passing no judgement or opposite ‘I’s and reaching beyond the limitations of words. The lower self is very quick to respond with opposite thinking, thus revealing its stubborn nature. — The Teacher Weekly Exercise This week let us try to bring pre

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions to nourish your higher centers. Listen to the gentle music of Berceuse from Dolly Suite by Gabriel Fauré: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8CzEKJMXeP0 “Presence is the answer to every question.” -The Teacher Join the discussion Image: Cupid Presenting a Rose to a Butterfly by Antoine-Denis Chaudet

Weekly Topic: Man is an Incomplete Being From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center From the time a person is born, nature develops them to a certain extent and then leaves further development to oneself. Self-development means growing inner qualities and abilities which usually remain dormant and cannot evolve by themselves. Conscious evolution is only possible with efforts: conscious efforts. Our “revolution” is turning a machine into an angel. — The Teacher Weekly Exercis

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions to bring you to a higher state. Hold that state as you listen to Canon in D Major by Pachelbel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvNQLJ1_HQ0 “Someday perhaps the inner light will shine forth from us, and then we’ll need no other light.” -Goethe Join the discussion Image: Angel Musician by Melozzo da Forli

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic The Energy to Awaken: Controlling Negative Emotions and Identification When we express negative emotions we succumb to a mechanical habit that leaks vital energy. This energy is often too powerful to resist and work with once we are identified and the negative emotion takes hold. If we wait until they arise, it is too late and the explosive energy irresistibly seeks expression and leaks out through words or actions. Ide

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions to bring you to a higher state. Be present as you listen to Danny Boy (lyrics written by Frederic Weatherly and music set to Londonderry Air): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhkpp_hPb9Y “To remain night and day in this state, to enter this state easily—this is joy.” -Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoce Join the discussion Image: A Spring Day in the Forest at a Brook by Peder Mørk Mønsted

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following impressions to bring presence into your day. Remember yourself as you listen to Wie Melodien (Like Melodies) by Johannes Brahms: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rVSSF8_Gzus Thoughts, like melodies, Steal softly through my mind, Like spring flowers they blossom And drift away like fragrance. Yet when words come and capture them And bring them before my eyes, They turn pale like grey mist And vanish like a breath. Y

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic The Illusion of Unity: The Many 'I's The Fourth Way system informs us that we are many ‘I’s. Instead of one unified principle of consciousness, the machine is made up of four brains – the four lower centers – each thought, emotion, or sensation we experience says ‘I’. To further complicate matters, many of our ‘I's do not know the others. One minute 'I' want to clean my house, but instead 'I' watch a movie. 'I' make an

Start and Continue I want to be honest with you. Trying to be present is a peculiar pursuit. Most things that I do in life become automatic after mastering them. I have not been on a bike in a few years, but I am confident I could ride one right now. When I was young, I was able to skateboard as well, and if you put me on one today, I think I could do a few little tricks. I can write some prose and a little poetry, which comes relatively easily. Not a big lift, you might say.

This post is from our friend Lindsey V. of the New York Center. Spiritual work has a progression that can be divided roughly into two phases: first, taming the machine so that higher states can be experienced and recognized, and then learning how to sustain these states once they have arisen. I am calling this second phase training. Both are necessary for awakening. Flashes of higher states can arise at any time; the aim is to sustain them. The lower self requires education,

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Be present to the following impressions. Listen with presence to Vocalise by Rachmaninoff: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=s_mRU3QOa3M&ra=m “Enjoy the present smiling hour, And put it out of Fortune’s power.” —Horace Join the discussion Image: The Golden Bowl by Frank Cadogan

Beyond the Spark: Sustaining Presence The primary reason people do not make efforts to awaken is because they imagine that they are already awake. — The Teacher Last week’s topic – Imagination – is one of the main psychological obstacles that distorts reality and prevents us from living more consciously in the present moment. In a day’s time, I observe moments where consciousness is more prevalent, and times when I am completely in the grasp of imagination. These fluctuations

Weekly Topic The aim for us now is not to awaken, it is to stay awake. Practice in silence; it's very simple. — Robert Weekly Exercise This week when you encounter a shock either positive or negative, use that shock to be present and refrain from reacting to it. Just observe—Be. Try to be very still inside. The lower self likes to stay occupied with doing something. Presence is a simple state. Let’s try to engage shocks with presence and sustain as much presence as we can. Ma

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Listen to Nessun Dorma (None shall Sleep) by Giacomo Puccini with presence. Allow yourself to come out of imagination as you listen: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=cWc7vYjgnTs&ra=m Translation of Nessun Dorma: None shall sleep, None shall sleep! Even you, oh Princess, In your cold room, Watch the stars, That tremble with love And with hope. But my secret is hidden within me, My name no one shall know, No... no... On your mouth, I

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: Imagination Given our current state of imagination, we are not typically present to the moment. For instance, if I’m cooking, the machine (the body) is preparing the food while the mind is busy thinking about the road trip I will be taking or about tomorrow. We are blinded by imagination. Self-remembering is a method for being in the moment. Weekly Exercise: This week, when dining, remember to set your silverware down

Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection to bring you to a higher state. Listen to Violin Sonata No. 7, Second Movement by Beethoven with presence: https://youtu.be/HSfFrdMVRPw?si=qeE3T5gNmLHurEl_ “You are a state—the state that remembers is You.” -The Teacher Join the discussion The Virgin Mary as a Child Praying by Francisco de Zurbarán

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

Remembering to Work: Creating a Steward, Invoking Presence We talk, read, listen and see esoteric ideas but can we remember ourselves in the present? We all start with the desire to work. We make an effort to remember ourselves, the next second we drift back into imagination. Every effort we make is a step closer to consciousness. With every effort the steward gets stronger. One must train one’s steward to consent silently to presence whenever it arises. —The Teacher Weekly E

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection to strengthen higher centers. Be present as you listen to the wonderful sound of the trumpet! Trumpet Concerto, Third Movement by Haydn: https://youtu.be/hb5MSJcBb9o?si=jVDFlV5-YRBM27iS “I hear thee, trumpeter—listening, alert, I catch thy notes.” Walt Whitman Join the discussion Image: Paradise (detail) by Fra Angelico

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: Working with a Teacher Working with an esoteric teacher is working with love personified. It is not the same love that we have for family or friends. It is love on a different level, and we must stretch to reach it. The Teacher can see us and what needs strengthening, what needs eliminating, what needs support... It is his role to lead us in these areas, and this is not always easy for him or for us. Many times, we may

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection to bring presence into your day. Badinerie by J.S. Bach: https://youtu.be/9aFUuHIdV1o?si=ZIUVH_nsfg42FUzD “Where words fail, music speaks.” -Hans Christian Anderson Join the discussion Image: Music by Charles Andre van Loo

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: Chief Feature: What is my chief obstacle to awakening? What we do mechanically is mainly our chief feature. Our chief feature blinds us. A chief feature is designed to be transformed through Self-remembering into something divine: your Self. As we manage to relinquish imagination, we also relinquish features. — The Teacher Weekly Exercise: This week when you encounter a small friction in your day (a difficult person, a

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection to bring presence into your day. Violin Concerto in G Major by Mozart, First Movement: https://youtu.be/NKSreu0wB7M?si=awvrpBHg8Ojia22g A student asked a Zen Master, ‘I am very discouraged. What should I do?’ The Master replied, ‘Encourage others.’ —Zen Master Join the discussion Image: Two Girls in a Landscape by Johann Nepomuk Ender

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: The Connection Between Conscience and External Consideration Commonly, conscience refers to values and acts as a moral compass. In the Fourth Way, its meaning goes beyond the ideas of right and wrong. External consideration is removing your lower self from an interaction and leaving behind your preconceived thoughts, beliefs, feelings, and attitudes, to consciously act on someone else’s behalf: that is, behaving with c

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Make space for presence with the following quote, image, and musical selection. Piano Concerto No. 1, Second Movement by Chopin: https://youtu.be/K3h2ZcgF6Ic?si=M83A2GvKTPWFVoxM “Be grateful for the present.” -The Teacher Join the discussion Image: The Stone Bridge by Rembrandt

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: Inner Considering Inner considering is when we identify with what others might be thinking about us, like what others think of how we dress, how we behave. In reality, others are also identified and thinking the same. The lower self actively looks for things to criticize in itself and others. — The Teacher Weekly Exercise This week try to rise above inner considering. When you see yourself having these ‘I’s try to divi

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection to create presence. Hold the state as you listen to the wonderful singing and music of Lascia ch’io pianga (Let me Weep) by Handel: https://youtu.be/pYPVn0wURt4?si=MDKNqBvH70a8xSEi “If you are not happy here and now, you will never be.” -Zen Master Join the discussion Image: Venus on the Waves (detail) by François Boucher

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: Controlling the Emotional Center If we could only control the emotional center, then we could observe the unnecessary suffering that the machine generates through negative emotions. Wrong work of the emotional center can cloud one’s vision of reality. On the other hand, when the emotional center is functioning properly and connects to awakening, it can bring us closer to higher states of consciousness. A properly funct

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Below is a quote, image and musical selection to bring presence into your day. Allow yourself to be present as you listen to Music for a While by Henry Purcell: https://youtu.be/z3Xqn2IZRd8?si=9sLMRMEyvKoz-aro “Do not remain out of tune longer than you can help.” -Marcus Aurelius Join the discussion Image: Manon Balletti by Jean-Marc Nattier

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: Identification What imagination do we identify with and latch onto as we battle the Many ‘I’s of the Lower Self? We witness symbols of identity in our choice of clothing, footwear, hair style, and jewelry to name a few. We identify with beliefs, cultural routines, workplace norms, and social habits. We identify and are identified with the false personality that is nurtured from the moment we are named. Our identificati

From our friend Astha in the Toronto Center Weekly Topic: Intellectual Habits Uncontrolled mind activity—a bad habit of the intellectual (and moving centers)—leads to more uncontrolled mind activity. We call this mechanical manifestation imagination. Weekly Exercise This week, try to notice the distraction and associative thinking emerging from background voices around you or in your head. When you notice this mechanical distractive, associative thinking, divide your attentio

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection to bring presence into your day. As you listen to Serenade by Franz Schubert, let the music take you to a higher state: https://youtu.be/1viUagdHYRA?si=TF2meZsqcv03euif “Happy is he who is able to escape from the lower self, and feel the gentle breeze of friendship.” Join the discussion Image: Saint Catherine of Alexandria in Prison by Paolo Veronese

From our friend Astha in Toronto Weekly Topic: Outside Help Awakening from sleep to higher consciousness is facilitated by the help of others. Gurdjieff uses the metaphor that escaping from prison is only possible with the help of others who have escaped. Realizing one is asleep and learning to ask for help are some of the first steps in the Work, first steps in escaping from the prison of sleep. Weekly Exercise This week, be attentive to simple opportunities for outside help

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Below is a quote, image, and musical selection. Be present as you listen to Romance without Words, Op. 17, No. 3 by Gabriel Fauré: https://youtu.be/kHbqp9L61ZE?si=dDY8tAso3lZuaM44 “Feel that sweetness which cannot be known unless it is experienced.” —Dante Image: The Fountain of Love by Jean-Honoré Fragonard

From our friend Astha in Toronto Weekly Topic Non-identification: Keeping an Even Mind How do you keep an even mind in times of fear, anger, happiness, sadness - some of the many forms of identification? To have light in the heart, regardless of the challenges, is the answer. This requires internal strength. Weekly Exercise To build ‘inner strength muscles,’ pick an area of personal identity, such as your job, and try for a week to not talk about it after work hours. Most peo

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection as a reminder to be present. Symphony No. 2 by Jean Sibelius is often associated with struggle and triumph and Sibelius even described this symphony as “a confession of the soul.” As you listen, have the courage to be present. Symphony No. 2, Finale by Jean Sibelius: https://youtu.be/rVzJDgDnKLI?si=WoSbhvfkhiLt2EFa “Being present to your life is real courage—conscious courage.

From our friend Astha in Toronto Weekly Topic: Courage As students, it is courage that opens us to learning and understanding through the exercises, self observation, self-remembering, transformation of suffering, payment, acceptance, gratitude, humility, love, and so many other experiences. With courage we are able to grow and be present to the conscious being within. Undoubtedly, it takes courage to begin the walk and commitment on this path to awakening. Later it takes cou

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Below is a quote, image, and a musical selection to bring presence into your day. Concerto for Lute in D Major by Antonio Vivaldi: https://youtu.be/S9Edi7MZjTI?si=o_Q9CnfR67LXiE6e “The beauty of music lies in its power to transcend words and touch the soul directly.” —Antonio Vivaldi Join the discussion Image: Damsel with Lute by Wilhelm Nerenz

From our friend Astha in Toronto Weekly Topic Enlightened Men and Women G.I. Gurdjieff, the person most responsible for bringing the Fourth Way to the West, is considered an enlightened Conscious Being. His teachings of Self-Remembering and other exercises have brought students down the path to higher consciousness. As Gurdjieff’s teachings rippled through the Western world, we still see man a century later, as a machine that needs to be awakened to a state of Presence. A pho

Evoke Presence with Impressions Dear friends, Use the following quote, image, and musical selection to create presence. Hold the state as you listen to Prelude in C Major by J.S. Bach: https://youtu.be/iWoI8vmE8bI?si=Nip29AtkmjPrF4Mu “The aim and final end of all music should be none other than the glory of God and the refreshment of the soul.” J.S. Bach Join the discussion Image: San Giobbe Altarpiece (detail) by Giovanni Bellini