The Fourth Way and Esoteric Traditions
“If my devils are to leave me, I am afraid my angels will take flight as well.” – Rainer Maria Rilke This was the poet Rilke’s response to a proposal of psychoanalysis. At first glance, it appears to be a frightened and irrational claim. And yet it is based on an a concept of balance that […]
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If we are looking for life-changing experiences, for connecting with the hidden higher centers, we must remember that everything begins with bringing our native awareness to the present moment.
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Every effort to be present comes from essence and is an act of love. The conscious effort to be present The efforts we make to maintain the state of presence are sustained by a deep love. This love, like an uncomfortable and permanently-lit flame, maintains the necessary desire to self-remember, to be present. During the state of […]
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I quite enjoy one of Mahler’s songs, set to a poem by Friedrich Rückert, “Ich bin von die Welt abhanden gekommen,” or “I am lost to the world.” The piece begins with a beautiful and haunting English horn solo against a background of woodwind and harp, followed by strings. Lost to the world – an […]
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A Fourth Way author muses on this work of sharing the light and the creation of a new foundation for our presence. What is it then between us?What is the count of the scores or hundreds of years between us?Whatever it is, it avails not—distance avails not, and place avails not…. – Walt Whitman Yes, what […]
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What are the differences between personality and essence in terms of unity? The Fourth Way advises us that the study of man (or woman) must go hand-in-hand with study of the world. That man is a microcosmos[1], with traits identical to those of a higher cosmos. Therefore, man can be compared to the higher cosmos […]
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What is Simplicity? The ancient masters were subtle, mysterious, profound, responsive. The depth of their knowledge is unfathomable. Because it is unfathomable, All we can do is describe their appearance. Watchful, like men crossing a winter stream. Alert, like men aware of danger. Courteous, like visiting guests. Yielding like ice about to melt. Simple, like […]
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Our Winter Issue – Our January 2018 issue is on simplicity, the essential part of our nature–essence. What steps can we take to return to it, from a Fourth Way perspective? Life requires many masks, but who are we, truly? Show me your original face, before your father or mother were born. – Zen master […]
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Essence and Presence – What is presence, and how does it relate to essence? How do the Fourth Way and other traditions use these terms? From the Sufi Tradition – Zikar In Sufism, the word zikar means “remembrance of the Presence of God while losing oneself in a sacred experience.” Truly, it is the remembrance of a […]
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Little Firefly – To tell the story of Little Firefly, you must know that once upon a time, on the shores of a great lake, lived a hunter, a widower with three daughters. Every day when he went into the forest, the hunter would leave his daughters with instructions to clean the wigwam, repair his […]
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