World 6, World 12, Robert Earl Burton

World 12 and World 6

Fourth Way authors alert us to the fact that what we experience is, to a large degree, an illusion. There is a tangible reality—if we see a tree, or the wall of a house, we can touch and feel them. They are there. In a deeper sense, however, most of our perceptions stem from a […]

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objective reality, FourthWayToday

Objective Reality – Inviting Us In

Objective Reality – Beyond World Twelve to World Six The natural world is more clearly inviting us into its mysteries, these days. I’m spending an hour each morning raking leaves. The distractions of ordinary life seem muted by the pandemic. Energies more rare, more refined, appear outdoors. And this natural world speaks to something higher […]

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Reality as Higher Centers

The inner work that leads to a connection to higher centers is individual and takes patience, struggle, and time. There are no shortcuts in this work because it follows natural laws. It is not a way that ends with a single revelatory experience. The achievement of this system is a regular connection with higher centers, and that requires a buildup of a particular energy, and that energy is subject to organic laws.

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levels of work, levels of separation, Girard Haven, FourthWayToday.org, Gurdjieff, Robert Earl Burton, levels of separation

Levels of Work – Steps in Separation

These, then, are five ways to work with a ‘negative’ situation: (1) to change the situation; (2) to change the machine’s reaction to the situation; (3) to separate from the situation; (4) to separate from oneself; and (5) to turn the focus of one’s attention toward something higher. They do not replace each other but rather build on one another.

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Views from the Real World: Working in a School

How does work in a Fourth Way school connect us to the Real World? Can we find a more real world? I first connected to the Fourth Way school at ‘Apollo’ twenty-two years ago. It was around this time that the teacher began to radiate his guidance widely again. We still work to explore the […]

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We Always Make a Profit, Plato's Ideal State, the Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton

We Always Make a Profit

Can we always make a profit? Toward the end of In Search of the Miraculous, Ouspensky describes a newspaper reporter’s  conversation with Gurdjieff at a train station. Gurdjieff made a number of enigmatic statements about business and the Russian Revolution. The reporter asked, “Don’t you make profits, too?” [Gurdjieff] smiled… and said with gravity: “We always make a […]

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Jacob van Cost, Recognizing the Sacred Stranger, Fellowship of Friends

Recognizing the Sacred Stranger

Who is the sacred stranger, according to ancient laws of hospitality? The sacred guest we shelter and to which we must offer food, is our Self. The Sacred Stranger in Greek Mythology Strangers who travel to certain lands retaining old customs may participate in a mystery: The gods may enter our abode, unknown to us. […]

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absorbing and emitting light, Fellowship of Friends, Alhambra

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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The Light of Presence, Fellowship of Friends, Robert Earl Burton

In the Light of Presence

This student of the Fourth Way in India describes experiences of reaching the light of presence. “Light rare untellable, lighting the very light,Beyond all signs, description, languages.” – Walt Whitman The Divine Mirror of Consciousness Higher states, belonging to worlds 12 or 6, when they circulate within a person, are often likened to a luminous, […]

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