Ruth Atkins, Author at Fourth Way Today

Still Waters Run Deep

Stillness manifests as an absence of motion, but there is another form of stillness that transcends and comprehends motionlessness.

by Ruth Atkins

Receiving and Reflecting the Light

We embody what is higher by being present. We can learn to hear if our hearts are in the temple or in the bazaar. When we identify for ourselves the flavor of those virtues–courage, prudence, humility and moderation–which Plato associates with the Ideal State, our work with others will be stronger: more direct and more compassionate as required.

by Ruth Atkins

Perspectives on the Idea of Balance

“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 […]

by Ruth Atkins

Names for Uncreated Light across Traditions

What are other names for “uncreated light” in the traditions of esoteric schools throughout history? This list may help.

by Ruth Atkins

To See Through One’s Eyes

We must learn to receive each moment with neither preference nor denial. In this way we may proceed not only away from our inner beasts, but toward our inner best. Step by step, we learn to walk out of imagination into the real world, and through it, into higher realms of reality.

by Ruth Atkins

The Ideal State & Philosopher Kings

What Plato achieved in the imaginative and conceptual worlds of poetry and philosophy far outshone his achievements in politics. The social ideas outlined in the Republic and his other works referencing the state were largely impracticable, and often seem to verge on fiction.

by Ruth Atkins

Movement and Rest in Musical Performance

Experiencing Movement and Rest in Music What denotes movement and rest in music? And what did Jesus mean by telling his disciples that “the sign of the Father in you” is “a movement and a rest?” Movement is a familiar impulse, as rest is an equally familiar instinct. They are components of our bodily existence, […]

by Ruth Atkins

The Processes of Healing and Regeneration

Suffering can be real. [However,] when certain intense negative emotions come you can do only one thing: you must try to remember yourself. But for this you have to be prepared; it is quite a special thing. – P. D. Ouspensky, A Further Record Among the descriptions of the six processes in the works of Rodney Collin, he […]

by Ruth Atkins

Fourth Way Quotes on the Six Processes

The following quotes on the six processes by Fourth Way authors P. D. Ouspensky and Rodney Collin describe the processes in terms of the combinations of forces that produce them. Quotes on the Six Processes by Rodney Collin The Process of Growth The process of growth is that which, on a universal scale, creates the […]

by Ruth Atkins

Being & Becoming in a Fourth Way School

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 […]