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 is too long. It is hard to even remember to make an effort. There are long periods of deep imagination and associative thinking before a shock occurs to remind you to rekindle the flame. Something is missing and you desperately feel like you will not be able to make any significant progress in the work on your own.

In Prison, but How to Escape?

Then you recall Gurdjieff’s words: 

“You do not realize your own situation. You are in prison. All you can wish for, if you are a sensible man, is to escape. But how escape? It is necessary to tunnel under a wall. One man can do nothing. But let us suppose there are ten or twenty men. If they work in turn and if one covers another they can complete the tunnel and escape. Furthermore, no one can escape from prison without the help of those who have escaped before. Only they can say in what way escape is possible or can send tools, files, or whatever may be necessary. But one prisoner alone cannot find these people or get into touch with them. An organization is necessary. Nothing can be achieved without an organization.”

Awakening with Others: The Second Line of Work

Because students in a school share the aim of awakening, partaking in school activities supports not just school aims, but also the aims of the individuals. In fact, being together can potentially accelerate one’s work. The second line of work provides ample opportunities that are not available when one works alone.

For example, one can see oneself more frequently. Other students serve as mirrors to oneself. Even more, they can provide photographs of one’s mechanics. They can also simply alert one to one’s sleep, when one is gesticulating in the moving center or expressing wit. At the same time, internal pressure increases as one tries not to express negativity and not to judge others. Knowing that the other person working with us—setting the dinner table or washing dishes—shares the same aim of awakening, creates an emotional connection that can defeat the lower self in each student.

This second line connection—work with other students—is enhanced by school exercises. We mentioned trying not to gesticulate or express wit, but there are many more. These exercises are designed by the teacher to help inhibit lower-self expressions and bring out essence-presence. Working on self-remembering alone cannot create an environment to sustain the pressure necessary for awakening.  

Fourth Way students work on all four centers at the same time. This accelerates the work more quickly than using the ways of the fakir, the monk, and the yogi. After joining a school, there are ways of accelerating one’s work even further. Finding others who share the way, finding a teacher and a school, create a conscious environment that supports and enhances the work.