Gurdjieff, Transcending the System, David Tuttle, Fellowship of Friends

Transcending the System

So often, the work on the Fourth Way stays at the level of the steward. However, at a certain point, this work does not lead any further. This kind of work can begin, in a subtle way, to strengthen our sense of ‘I’ in the four lower centers. In truth, Real ‘I’ can only belong to higher centers.

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Waterfall, what happened to 'I'?, Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton, Elisa Eidner

Beyond ‘I’

How do we go beyond ourselves to awaken, beyond ‘I’? What Happened to ‘I’? I am sitting in a cafe.  My fingers gently engage the cup.  I pick it up and take a sip.  In this instant, I am.  I feel the energy of my being inhabiting my internal spaces, visible and invisible.  I recognize the taste of my own […]

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the way of love, Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton, FourthWayToday

The Unreal & the Real: The Way of Love

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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Lost to the World

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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Athletes, Greek vase, Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton

Movement and Rest

How can we utilize the law of octaves to help continue progressing in our work to awaken? Movement forward also requires rest, where new shocks can enter. “Life is a movement and a rest.” – Gospel of Thomas Motion and Repose in Spiritual Life  The word movement comes from the Latin, movere; “to move, set in motion.” […]

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Fellowship of Friends - Fourth Way Today - Zen circle

Quotations on the Lower Functions and Higher Parts of Man

These quotations chosen by the editors of the Fourth Way Today illustrate how our lower functions relate to our higher parts. Basically, the lower functions, or four lower centers, are part of our being. But how do they serve consciousness? Are they our servant or our master? Ouspensky and others on Using the Lower Functions […]

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Fourth Way Today - Fellowship of Friends - deck of cards

Balancing the Lower Centers to Reach Higher Centers

Editors‘ note: In the Fourth Way today, understanding our lower centers and how they can work together in balance is key. This article describes the lower brains or centers in each person, and how balancing of these functions leads to experiencing higher states. The Seven Centers of the Human Machine The Fourth Way describes the […]

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Essence simplicity

The Uncarved Block

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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Winter Issue 2018 – Simplicity and Essence

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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