Lighting the Very Light
What does the medieval Christian concept of uncreated light show us about reaching higher states? Efforts are the “work” of the Fourth Way, but “uncreated light” comes when it will.
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Wishing You the Ideal State
Plato’s ideal state was never meant to include everyone, only those who support it. In Athens there were many who wanted Socrates put to death. Internally, the many I’s will never really support self-remembering. Only a small inner circle of work I’s will promote the presence of higher centers.
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Ideal Conditions in Difficult Times
Do we allow the reality of what is happening to force us into in a state of fear and instinctive desperation? Or do we use these difficult times to better understand that we are, in essence, spiritual beings?
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The Freedom of the Real
When we talk about freedom, we’re speaking about the work an individual does to become free of unnecessary laws. Man as a Microcosmos of the Universe In order to understand this, it is first necessary to see man as a microcosmos. Man is a microcosmos because, like the universe, he has within him layers of […]
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Separating the Unreal and the Real
In the Fourth Way, separation of oneself from oneself is a key step to inner development. If we are at the mercy of our own thoughts, impulses, and emotions, we cannot step onto the path of awakening for very long. Seeing the real and unreal in ourselves requires discrimination born of this separation. Gurdjieff, 1923: As long as […]
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Quotations on the Changing Sense of Self
Towards a More Real ‘I’ – the Changing Sense of Self through Work in the Fourth Way What is this changing sense of self that can come in the work, and how does it relate to a real ‘I’? Gurdjieff: Liberation is the aim of all schools, all religions, at all times. This liberation can indeed be […]
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The Unreal & the Real: The Way of Love
Every effort to be present comes from essence and is an act of love. The conscious effort to be present The efforts we make to maintain the state of presence are sustained by a deep love. This love, like an uncomfortable and permanently-lit flame, maintains the necessary desire to self-remember, to be present. During the state of […]
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Lost to the World
I quite enjoy one of Mahler’s songs, set to a poem by Friedrich Rückert, “Ich bin von die Welt abhanden gekommen,” or “I am lost to the world.” The piece begins with a beautiful and haunting English horn solo against a background of woodwind and harp, followed by strings. Lost to the world – an […]
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The Struggle of the Magicians in Spiritual Evolution
Struggle of the Magicians – the Battle for the Higher Self Many myths and spiritual traditions describe a struggle between competing inner entities in man or woman. Some term these entities the lower self and the higher self. Gurdjieff described this struggle as ‘the struggle of the magicians.’ Curiously, this struggle becomes apparent when the […]
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Movement and Stillness, the Original Spirit of Heaven
Movement and Stillness, Balance and Harmony In the Book of Balance and Harmony, Li DaoChun writes, “The Absolute is movement and stillness without beginning, yin and yang without beginning.” Movement and rest manifest on all scales and take on different meanings. Movement and rest can be either mechanical or a more conscious movement and rest. […]
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