The Fourth Way and Esoteric Traditions
“‘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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When I was growing up, a friend once counseled me, “Beware of words that end in ‘-tion.’” We were both studying Latin and loved English. She became a filmmaker, and I a writer and teacher of music and literature. I have noticed in the word ‘verification’ a problem inherent in the endings that make nouns […]
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The following quotes on illumination come from the Fourth Way and Sufi traditions, Indian, Chinese, and early Christian writers, among others. “Lumen de Lumine.” (Latin) “Light comes from Light.”) – Eusebius of Caesarea “Four thousand years before God created these bodies, He created the souls and kept them beside Himself and shed a light upon […]
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In researching Fourth Way material related to the subject of transformation, I suddenly became aware of its obvious etymology: trans (across) form. When we refer to the process, though, we usually intend a greater significance: a change of state. In general, transformation refers to a change in form, appearance, or nature, while transmutation implies a change that involves the transformation of one […]
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Stillness manifests as an absence of motion, but there is another form of stillness that transcends and comprehends motionlessness.
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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.
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“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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What are other names for “uncreated light” in the traditions of esoteric schools throughout history? This list may help.
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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.
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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.
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