Looking at the Ideal State of Plato
Plato’s principles of the ideal state apply to our inner world as well. Are we able to form a deputy steward to govern the city? To recognize the true ruler, to enable higher states to visit us?
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‘Right Location’ in the Work
A Practical Choice How do we arrive at a ‘right location’ for our inner work in the Fourth Way? Horace, a Roman poet at the time of Augustus Caesar, said, “In adversity, remember to keep an even mind.” This is not just poetic or philosophical advice. It implies a practical choice to be made: where […]
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The True and the False
True earth arrests true lead;True lead controls true mercury.Lead and mercury return to true earth;Body and mind are tranquil and still.— Zhang Boduan, Four-Hundred Words on the Golden Elixir This little verse contains everything one needs to know to awaken. However, understanding the meaning is not an easy task and requires a conscious teacher. And […]
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‘I’ and not ‘I’
Who is this ‘I’ one calls oneself? My teacher recently said to us, “Remember, anything that says ‘I’ is not you.” When first reading about the division into ‘I’ and ‘David’, I did not understand it exactly. Fortunately, it was clear what we were to avoid. When we begin the work, the tendency is to […]
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Presence and Imagination
Presence and imagination – are they opposites? Sincere work on oneself is work on being, as well as knowledge. Thus a crucial point in the work is to recognize the difference between presence and imagination. Using these terms can help to understand each other when communicating about this subject. Imagination is the state where our focus is on things […]
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Movement and Rest in the Bible
The act of creation implies movement and rest. What does the Sabbath represent, for our inner work along the Fourth Way today? Starting with Genesis: Movement and Rest From the very first chapter of the Bible, we read of the idea of movement and rest. The act of creation represents movement, over the first six days, […]
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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 […]
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Using Intellectual Parts of Centers
How do we use the highest parts of ourselves to work towards awakening, and rest when needed? Intellectual parts of centers need to work together for us to truly remember ourselves. The Four Lower Centers Fourth Way authors alert us to the fact that we have seven brains, rather than one. Two of them function in times […]
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The Humble Work of Consciousness
What is this humble work we do when we work to achieve consciousness? Consciousness does not belong to us. We ourselves belong to it. When we manage to reach the third state, it means that we gain access to those subtle energy levels of the universe that exist independently of our knowledge of them. If […]
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Absorbing and Emitting Light
Absorbing and emitting light are aspects of spiritual growth. What are some of the steps along this path? The Alchemical Process of Containing Fine Energy Fourth Way authors speak of spiritual growth as analogous to the ancient practice of alchemy; that is, the transformation of base metals to more refined ones. The human machine is […]
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