Fourth Way Basics Archives - Fourth Way Today

Philosophy, Theory, and Practice

If you study only the philosophical side of Gurdjieff’s ideas—its history, its cosmology, or its connection to the major religions—you may never connect to higher centers. This isn’t wrong. It’s fine to be a scholar. But the primary purpose of the system is to teach people to awaken. You cannot awaken unless you are willing to make inner efforts and take a practical approach to the knowledge.

by William Page

Octaves and Intervals

How does the study of octaves and intervals help us understand our own efforts to be more present, more awake? The Natural Law of Octaves and Intervals The Law of Seven can be observed everywhere in the natural world and in everything we do internally and externally. If we understood the law of octaves, we […]

by Benjamin B

What Makes School Work Real?

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, […]

by The Editors

Ouspensky on The Three Lines of Work

Three Lines of Work in a School The following outline is from Ouspensky’s The Fourth Way: The first line is work on oneself: self-study, study of the system, and trying to change at least the most mechanical manifestations. This is the most important line. The second line is work with other people. One cannot work by […]

by Benjamin B

Multiplicity and Unity: Personality and Essence

What are the differences between personality and essence in terms of unity? The Fourth Way advises us that the study of man (or woman) must go hand-in-hand with study of the world. That man is a microcosmos[1], with traits identical to those of a higher cosmos. Therefore, man can be compared to the higher cosmos […]

by John Stubbs

THE PROCESS OF THE FOURTH WAY PART VI – Dying and Being Reborn

In this concluding part, we shall touch on the meaning of ‘dying’ and ‘being reborn’. This cannot be a very deep description because this writer has hardly any experience of it. By ‘dying’, Gurdjieff explained that it was dying to your old self, to recognise your own nothingness, and to abandon completely any notion of […]

by John Stubbs

THE PROCESS OF THE FOURTH WAY PART V – Awakening

The main part of the process of the Fourth Way is the slow work on Awakening and it seems to be the heaviest of the four phases. One first has to work with the physical manifestations of one’s features. For example, working on negative emotions includes work on relaxing one’s facial expressions and tensions in […]

by John Stubbs

THE PROCESS OF THE FOURTH WAY PART IV – More on the “Good Soil”

Part III mentioned that Good Soil is needed in order for the Seed to germinate and grow. One starts with what one already has: personal moral principles and understandings, together with some knowledge of the system. This is a start, but it is all mixed up with bad habits, laziness, useless reactions, misunderstandings and basically, […]

by John Stubbs

THE PROCESS OF THE FOURTH WAY PART III – The Good Soil and the Seed

The previous article talked about the “seed”, which can, in the end, be brought to the level of a fully fledged “soul”, provided that it is nurtured in “good soil”. As was said in that article, the seed is nothing more than a principle in the beginning. Nearly all humans contain this seed. It is, […]

by John Stubbs

THE PROCESS OF THE FOURTH WAY – PART II

As was described in the first part, Gurdjieff said that the aim of the Fourth Way is the birth and growth of a new individuality and real ‘I’. But what is this new birth actually? The system also uses other terms for this birth, such as one’s “soul”, or one’s “astral body”. Gurdjieff said that […]