The Fourth Way and Esoteric Traditions
Stuck in the First Line of Work You recently learned about the idea of self-remembering and tried it for the first time. You had a taste of awakening to higher states and realized that this was who you really wanted to be. But something is not quite right. The time that elapses between your efforts […]
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While Fourth Way authors rarely speak of the gods, Ouspensky and others wrote on the role of higher mind–‘C influence’–upon human life. Angels announced this mystery of eternal life, from the beginning of the human race, through certain signs and sacraments suitable to the times, to those capable of hearing it. St. Augustine A […]
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Quotations from Fourth Way authors Gurdjieff and Ouspensky on unity–and our innate multiplicity. Acknowledging Plurality Man has no individual I. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small I’s, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible. Each […]
Read More… 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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Biblical Quotations What does it mean to possess unity or will? In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus speaks: Father, if it be thy will, take this cup from me. Yet not my will but thine be done. – Luke 22:42 And in Matthew 7:21: Not everyone who calls me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom […]
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The Story of Pinocchio The tale of the puppet Pinocchio who becomes a real boy begins in Tuscany. A carpenter named Master Antonio has found a block of pinewood to carve into a leg for his table. When he begins, however, the log shouts out. Frightened by the talking log, he gives it to his […]
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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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The Transformation of Richard II – A story of transformation and presence in the face of an unacceptable fate. Apollo Theater presents an understanding of Richard II as a story of transformation of suffering. Meanwhile, the divine station between heaven and earth is emblazoned on Richard’s shield. Finally, unseated by a rival claimant to the […]
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How can we use suffering and what is transformation of suffering? Stir up the fire and put the heart on the coals. ~ Mayan Texts As many teachings suggest, suffering is inevitable in human life. The Fourth Way teacher, Maurice Nicoll, once wrote, “Life is a pain factory.” Fourth Way writers speak of various forms of […]
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The Phoenix The Phoenix story has roots going back to earliest recorded history, in ancient Egypt and Arabia, then in ancient Greece and the centuries-old fairy tale of the Brothers Grimm. Legends from many countries include the Persian Simurgh, Chinese Feng Huang, and Russian firebird (Zharptitsa). The Chinese firebird Feng Huang dates back at least 7,000 […]
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