The Fourth Way and Esoteric Traditions
Schools of awakening exist because they are needed. By school we mean an entity devoted to the evolution of its students. At the head of a real school stands a conscious teacher. At the same time, a real school is directly monitored and nurtured by C Influence—Gods, or angels[1]. In order to define what a […]
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Schools are the outcome of consciousness. When the state of consciousness is materialised, a school is built. Later may come a series of things, form, culture, community, discipline, etc. But the very source of school is the wish to share consciousness. Creating a school is a process of giving and gaining for a conscious being. […]
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Most people live their lives oblivious to the fact that they are machines. Some reach a point where they begin to feel uncomfortable with their life. They may wonder what it is all for, perhaps realizing that they are asleep. Some may even join a group where ideas about awakening are taught. One of the […]
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“Eternity requires perseverance and endurance.” – Bernard of Clairvaux Once I heard a story regarding a teacher at the beginning of his school. He was asking students what they thought was needed to build a school. Students gave several answers, like making efforts, having aims, etc. The teacher listened to all of these answers, and at […]
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I remember, in my preschool years, a child in the neighborhood who had crafted a boomerang and threw it high. The boomerang, spinning on itself, traced an elliptical trajectory in the air and returned to its operator. The child would stretch high or gather low to successfully catch it again, and I wondered what forces brought about this […]
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“‘Know thyself.’ These words, ascribed to Socrates, actually lie at the basis of many systems and schools far more ancient than the Socratic.” – George I. Gurdjieff “Schools have the privilege of making the effort in the right place. They create space for the deity within, one’s own presence.” – Robert Burton “When I met this […]
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What are key elements of a school of awakening? A real school provides a doorway to an objective method of awakening. Methods for achieving higher conscious have lasted in forms compatible with each age for all of recorded human history. One challenge of a real school is to develop a contemporary approach to its presentation. This can vary, […]
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… Come, come, Come swirling like snowflakes Into rain-darkened hills. Set your pristine footprints In Time’s well-trodden stream. Let your eyes be filled with white. Come where the singers who yearn to, With eyes skyward focused, Become the singers of light. – – Hurl, hurl, Hurl all you think is you Into crackling bonfires. Let […]
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Sensitivity to light distinguishes all forms of life: plant, animal, and human, too. Indeed, what the Fourth Way calls the “magnetic center” can be seen as a sensitivity to light, an impulse searching out higher energies, higher hydrogens. A way to live differently, as described by other authors featured in this issue on illumination. Over […]
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A noted Fourth Way author describes the essential qualities required for teaching conscious evolution. The Need for Both Knowledge and Being Spiritual understanding is not solely based on studying religious concepts. It is the combination of comprehending the ideas that make up a religion and the capacity to put those ideas into practice. It is […]
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What, in fact, is Real? Mr. Gurdjieff assures us that in the conditions of ordinary life, we encounter our true selves only very rarely. It often occurs when presented with surprising or unusual circumstances. It is in these moments of presence, or self-remembering, that we connect with actual reality, that we are truly ourselves. Indeed, […]
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How does one develop being, in a Fourth Way School? “Use your mentality, wake up to reality.” These are fine words from Cole Porter, but as the song goes, “I stop before I begin.” We have all verified that “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Do We Wish to Work? Once one […]
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