Permit yourself to elevate your inner life. Realize the impact of external impressions on yourself. Make it your aim to zoom out of violence and ugliness.
Impressions, our continuously-encountered stimuli, are crucial in shaping our inner growth. They influence our perceptions, attitudes, and behaviors. Understanding their power can support our efforts to be more present in our lives.
Three Kinds of ‘Food’
Peter Ouspensky, the philosopher who made the practices of the Fourth Way available to us, defined three kinds of ‘food’ as necessary for man to live: food and water to eat and drink, air to breathe, and impressions to take in.In this context, impressions refer to the sensory stimuli we constantly encounter. Ouspensky points out that although a human can survive without eating for many weeks and without the breath for some time, nobody can survive without impressions, even for a moment. Therefore, the need to constantly receive impressions must be crucial to our inner work.
I must take him at his word. I cannot verify his claim, because even in a pitch-dark room with noise cancellation and body temperature control, the experience of sensing my body’s breath, the heartbeat, or the flicker of my eyelids continually provides impressions.
However, what is of utmost importance for a seeker is that nourishment in the form of impressions enters our body as the most refined hydrogen available to man.
Yet, to feed our soul, or to use the terminology of the Fourth Way—our higher centers—we need to transform impressions with conscious effort by being present to them.
In the Fourth Way, we call this process ‘dividing attention’ or, on a deeper level, ‘self-remembering.’ Dividing attention is the practice of not losing ourselves in the object of our attention but seeing ourselves simultaneously. Self-remembering is the act of being aware of our awareness, of witnessing the impressions we are experiencing. Peter Ouspensky has described this process as an arrow with two heads, where our attention goes not only in the direction of where we are looking, hearing, sensing, or feeling, but also toward our awareness of witnessing the impressions.
Refining Impressions
An essential aspect for a spiritual seeker is refining impressions. To maintain a harmonious and peaceful demeanor, we must keep our attention away from destructive influences, such as the overwhelming negativity found in many social media posts or TV programs. Entire industries thrive on anger, fear, and resentment. Therefore, we must distance ourselves from this chaos and seek harmonious, uplifting impressions.
Another way to cultivate positive feelings is to keep our personal space uncluttered and clean. A minimalist environment encourages us to be present in the moment. As illustrated by Japanese culture, extravagant flower arrangements or ornate furnishings are unnecessary. The simple presence of a single flower can evoke a sense of inner harmony.
Focused attention should permeate our lives. We can incorporate daily activities into our efforts to cultivate mindfulness with practice and awareness. Pursuing beauty should become an integral part of our existence. This can start with physical well-being through exercise, healthy eating, proper posture, and conscious movement. It extends to our mental state by encouraging honest communication, staying alert, and being intentional in our thoughts and actions.
Our journey toward presence must encompass every aspect of our lives. You cannot leave any part out. When you wake up in the morning and recognize the beauty of being alive, it inspires you to embrace the day with the intentionality and appreciation that life offers.
This article is by Klaus Labuttis, a practitioner of the Fourth Way for four decades. For more of his articles, see: https://fourthwaytoday.org/author/klaus-labuttis/.