Man lives in a subjective world of ‘I love,’ ‘I do not love,’ ‘I like,’ ‘I do not like,’ ‘I want,’ ‘I do not want,’ that is, of what he thinks he likes, of what he thinks he does not like, of what he thinks he wants, of what he thinks he does not want. He does not see the real world. The real world is hidden from him by the wall of imagination. – Gurdjieff
Seeing What is in Front of Us
When I become present after waking up from imagination, there is always a kind of jolt, like a car going over a hole in the road. I suddenly see what is in front of me, and notice what I am looking at, whereas a moment before, I literally saw nothing. It is not only that I notice the impressions around me, but that I also again become aware that I exist. The spark of consciousness in me again touches the present moment.
It is hard to believe that most of my life passes without seeing what is in front of me, or hearing what is around me, but this is the simple truth. The number-one tendency of the human machine is to be in imagination, lost in the endless, unconscious, and associative turning of thoughts. If we do come out of this, because a task needs a certain level of attention, often we are still not aware of our surroundings. True seeing, being free of imagination is rarely necessary for the task at hand.
Through self-observation, we realize that we are in imagination almost always. We see that it starts up the moment our divided attention wanes. When we try to be present for any length of time, it becomes apparent that there is a definite part in us that resists this effort.
The mind commands the body, and it obeys instantly; the mind commands itself, and is resisted. … Whence this monstrousness? and to what end? – Augustine
Touching Eternity
When this moment of self-awareness does come again, I possess a gentle joy, the pleasure of being aware of myself, in this moment. What is life without this self-awareness? – a walking puppet, an automaton, an unconscious machine, a tragedy. In these simple moments, however, the temporal, fugitive, and fleeting human being touches the eternal. This very act of self-awareness in a given moment ennobles us and produces eternity.
Creatures of a day! What are we then?
Man is but a shadow in a dream.
Yet, when a ray of light comes as a gift of heaven,
Bright radiance envelops him,
And his life is as sweet as honey.
– Pindar
David Tuttle, with over forty years in the work, has contributed various articles for the FourthWayToday.org, including School Traditions and the Ideal State, Lost to the World, What is it Then Between Us, An Apollo Walk and The Cascade Fire. See his most recent article here: