Be proud of your weaknesses

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "Be proud of your chief feature,
it makes it possible to work".

Real achievements

Things do become easier in a way as one becomes
older. When one is young, the body is king, as one
ages, one sees the unreality of the human form, and
realizes that the real achievements, are in the spirit.

Daily struggle

Sometimes, when someone is really accomplished
or very good at something, they may be quite lost
in it. More lost than most people. It is very had to
perform a task, an action, bring a project to completion,
and be present to doing it. This is part of our daily struggle.

Being brilliant

Mr. Ouspensky likely may have been vain.
He had a powerful intellect and lectured to
a thousand people in Russia before he met
the work and Mr. Gurdjieff. Later after being in
the work for years, someone commented on
seeing Ouspensky again. "Gone, was the
brilliant, whimsical personality". It was replaced
through suffering, by the real person we all
have inside of us.

You will want to run away.

The Chief feature, is what one must work through
to transform oneself. For the majority of people on
the planet, it is an wasted opportunity. The first step
is to shine a light on oneself. Other people in a goup
will help one also. It is not pleasant. You will want to
run away.

Chief Weakness

Each person on the planet, has built into themselves
a chief feature or weakness that is fundemental to the
core of who they are. This is in each person it must be
noted. It is a law.

Real success.

In this world, famous people may often be vain, petty, worshipped,
attention seeking, amoral, power seeking, jealous, domineering,
venal, and corrupt. This is often great fodder for the tabloid
newspapers, internet
and television, this is part of life on the planet. Many of these attributes
may be within ourselves, perhaps we do not have the circumstances
to act them out. Too much money may be an obstacle to real growth;
too much fame, too much attention, too many acheivements, although
good from the point of view of success in life, may at the end be
seen to be what they actually
are, completely worthless in real terms. The unremarkable man who is
quietly present to his life, and masters himself is a real success from the
viewpoint of our work.

Weaknesses

The task a Fourth Way teacher gives to a student requires that the
student struggle with a weakness. Often the chief weakness, that
one major fault around which the students personality is formed.
Avoidance, running away, lying, slacking, deviousness of every kind will
all be brought to light and must be eliminated in this work.
It has to occur, for real growth to come into action.
You think you don't have many "comfortable" weaknesses that you
actually might be quite proud of?

Tasks

Mr. Gurdjieff said that a teacher teaches by putting
"barriers" in front of his students. These might be difficulties to surmount,
such as digging a ditch in a very short period of time to work on laziness,
giving up an important item, sacrificing an obsession, or a task given
to the student,
in the completion of the which, the pupil overcomes a weakness and
grows in being.

Data for the third world

One of Mr. Gurdjieff's students noted that he always
had an inner world aim and a corresponding outer world
aim. The friction such as to give up smoking, the struggle
between the desire internally, and the habit of reaching into
one's pocket for the cigarette case, would create data for
the third (higher) world.

Learning to love

Mr. Gurdjieff said it is difficult to learn how to love.
People start out as friends, and end with blows.
This could almost be said to be a law.
"To learn to love, better to start with animals first" he suggested.

Food

We are told that at dinner, Mr. Gurdjieff would sometimes
take a piece of bread, and put together a tasty bite sized morsel.
He would indicate to a student to open their mouth and he would place
the food directly in. He was teaching that not only
was he feeding their organic body, but also their spiritual body.

Five and dime heiresses

Christ, was the son of a carpenter.
Mr. Gurdjieff's family came from humble
circumstances. Wealth is not a measure
of consciousness. Mr. Gurdjieff wrote at one
point that although he was short of money
for his work, his knowledge and being in real
terms, was worth more than all the five and
dime heiresses of New York's Park Avenue
put together.

The Three Kings

Mr. Gurdjieff said that the Fourth Way
teaches that man has three independant brains.
Intellectual, emotional, and although separate,
the moving brains and instinctive brains are
usually referred to in the work as one.
The three kings of Christ's nativity may represent
the man in search of his essence, they travel
bringing gifts, it is a journey back to the self.
Then the real work begins.
It is good to remember that the bible is a book
of teaching from School.
The book of Luke has been said to have been
written by the school of Luke. Again, it has been
said that each of the four gospels, is designed to
appeal to a different brain. Such is the work of
genius it represents.

More than meets the eye.

This time of the year, there are
many children's pantomines like
Cinderalla. The story is simple
and appeals to children and adults.
The nativity of Christ, although a
simple journey, is instiilled with
drama, symbolism and teaching.
We may not know the esoteric
meaning, but we all know that
there is more to the story in front
of us that meets the eye.

Follow you star

Could it be said that some people leave the nest early
then settle. Some start out settled, then later it is time
to fly. Mr. Gurdjieff said once that a man may be a
good householder, have a career, raise a family,
run a business, make money, be a member of society.
Then one day when this level of his task is completed,
give it all up, and go to a monastery to develop his
spiritual side. It depends which star you follow.

Thankyou for your thoughts

A bit of perfume always clings to the hand that gives the rose.

Chinese proverb

Our birth

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting;
The soul that rises with us, our life's star,
Hath had elsewhere its setting,
And cometh from afar;
Not in entire forgetfulness,
And not in utter nakedness,
But trailing clouds of glory do we come
From God, who is our home.

William Wordsworth

How does one become a butterfly?

"How does one become a butterfly?" she asked pensively. "You must want to fly so much that you are willing to give up being a caterpillar."

Trina Paulus

Experience of the void

A student of Mr. Ouspensky and Mr. Gurdjieff
later met an Indian teacher, who expressed a concept
that Mr. Ouspensky did not put into his books.
Mr. Ouspensky described the multitude of thoughts
that we experience, by working to be aware, may gradually
become one unified and controlling faculty.
(Mastery of the self). The teacher said, beyond
this there are two more states: When you have
achieved mastery, the next stage is the sense
of one's nothingness, then the next stage will
be the experience of the Void.

Reflection

The system tells us that internally,
we may be a multitude of different
thoughts. Violent, jealous, negative,
peaceful loving, cunning. We are
a reflection of the outer mankind.

The beauty of the creator Rabia

"A friend said to her, 'Rabia, come out to see the beauty of the Creation!' She answered, 'Come in, to see the beauty of the Creator!'"

Siddartha

At the end of his book "Siddartha".
Herman Hesse depicts Siddartha's awakening
moment when he gazes from the bottom to the
top of humanity, and sees it all as one.
It is quite special if you get a chance to read it.

Theory of Eternal Life

When Mr. Ouspensky died, Rodney Collin
went into his room and locked the door.
He was in there for at least several days, his fellow
students banged on the door and did everything
they could to get him to come out. Finally they
put a ladder up to the window and found that
Collin was sitting on Mr. Ouspensky's bed in
a childlike state. He had been given a
"transmission" of higher knowledge during this period.
Out of this he wrote the book, "Theory of Eternal Life".
(In three days?) and always emphasized that he did not
write the book, it was given to him.

Ouspensky

In the Theory of Eternal life,
Rodney Collin describes Mr. Ouspensky's
last months on earth in 1947. He pushed
himself physically when very ill, rising in
the early hours to walk up and down the stairs
endlessly. Pushing himself so even his younger
fitter students were not able to keep up.
Then he gave a series of six final meetings
in London, if you read the transcripts, which
were given to Harvard, he sounds like
has become somewhat like a zen master.
He has cut away all the fat from his teaching.
Rodney Collin said that in these meetings:
"He reached the deepest level of being
I have seen in any man". After he died, he was
seen in several places simultaneously. He
appeared walking with a student on London
Bridge, the same morning he appeared in a plane
with a student. We have heard that there is a
very private manuscript describing the next two
weeks at his property where many mysterious
events took place.

a long prison sentence

A man may be a man who serves the causes
of what we call evil in this life. He may get a
long sentence in prison, to learn to not do evil
again. The machine of the universe is a
mechanism of purification through which we
are all passing on our way to perfection.
It is all inside you.

The precious vase

Many times in ancient art, there is
a maiden holding a precious vase.
The precious vase is the sacred self
that we all seek. What does the vase
hold? It may be empty, simply
presence into the nothingness.
If wine, understanding.
If water, truth.

Two realities

There are different levels of men on the planet.
It depends on who you serve. A man such as
Mr. Gurdjieff served the needs of the level above
him. Sitting at his table, his students had the
sense that they were looking at a man living
in two realities at once.

In search of...

As a good starter introduction to
the Fourth Way of Mr. Gurdjeff,
we would suggest Mr. Ouspensky's
great book, "In search of the
Miraculous".

All are special

At the end of the day, the Fourth Way,
as taught by George Gurdjieff, his student
Peter Ouspensky, Rodney Collin, John
Bennet, Henry Tracol, Jeanne de Saltzmann,
and the many others who have followed the
long line of teachers, is a return to the
child within. Some followed the way of
love, some the way of denial, each adapts
it to their understanding, level, personal
way of seeing the world. All are very special.

Nature's model

The old self, is like the skin that is dropped
by a caterpillar on it's transformation into
a butterfly. Almost a model of awakening
at any level. Nature showing us something.

Two Caterpillars

Two caterpillars were once going along,
and they saw a beautiful butterfly flying
above them. One caterpillar said the the other,
"You'll never get me up in one of those!".

Say "I am" every hour

Mr. Gurdjieff gave the exercise to his students,
"Say I am, once an hour".
This is a big aim. The more you try to do this,
the more you will see that you cannot do this.

Simply BE

The attention we speak about developing,
is called divided attention. People lose themselves
in conversations, running for the train, politics,
attractive partners, money, art, books, IPhones,
Laptops, arguing, being right, getting old, being
smart, having things. What happens when this
all comes to a stop and you begin to simply "Be"?

Machines

Our work is about developing a level of attention
not found in ordinary life. Mr. Gurdjieff said:
"Take all the people you know, all the people you
may get to know, they are machines, actual machines.
Machines they are born, and machines they die".

The master's test

When people write about awakened men,
what they often describe without saying it,
is that these individuals have mastered themselves.
Overcome their own criminality.
Sometimes these men walk a knife edge
when they have starry eyed followers willing
to pay and serve, it can be overwhelming to be
worshipped however developed they might be.
Some students of Gurdjieff felt he sometimes lost his way.
He had to work hard to keep his pupils on their toes.
This is also part of their test.

The gift

The answer is that all things are one.
There is no difference between master
and disciple. Meher Baba the great teacher
who lived in India (Persian parentage), likened
our situation to all of us being like drops of
water in the great oceans. One is no better
than another. We would add just luckier,
in being given the gift of being able to evolve.

The right place

If you are reading this,
read it again intentionally.
Mr. Gurdjieff suggested that
people read his books three times.
He gave this as an exercise so that
people might arrive at the right place
in themselves in regard to his ideas.

When one is going through a Cinderalla trial.

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "If man fall down when he must
walk, you can pick him up.
But if for that man, the next step is more important
for him even than air, he must take alone, is
impossible take for him".
Only you can make your efforts, only you can
be for yourself.

Children's tales

By being tested, Cinderalla became strong.
Self controlled, humble, by being humiliated
by the sisters, she refinds the quietness of her essence.
Children are quiet when in themselves, because
they have just arrived back from the stars for this
lifetime on the planet. Through enduring her trials,
she starts to experience the energy of her higher
emotional center. This is why she is a girl, she
represents the female principle in all of us.
There is a lot in these apparent children's tales.

The time of our trial.

Cinderalla first has to endure hardship.
It is important that this be understood.
In fairy tales, we are not give the period
of time, because these fairy stories may
likely have been created by a very high
esoteric school, and was designed as
a teaching tool. The time of endurance
is different for each of us.

Acceptance.

The big step on the way is acceptance.
It may seem strange, but the Fourth Way
has been referred to as the way of the sly man.
Rodney Collin, one of the best writers about the
work, and a student of Mr. Gurdjieff's great pupil
Piotr Ouspensky, said that the sly man's pill
is acceptance. Not so easy.

Who do you want to be?

In each story, there is a dark moment.
Or many dark moments coming each one
after the other. Each is a test that defines
us. How we grow and become great to ourselves.
Mr. Gurdjieff said that we must have remorse.
Your new self is based on not wanting to be
any longer who you were.
It is who you want to be.

Ugly Sisters Two

By taunting and goading and shaming Cinderella
the sisters present a series of tests through
which she might come to mastery of herself,
by accepting what is happening and not reacting.
A teacher will play this role for a student sometimes.
Once when Mr. Gurdjieff had shouted at one of
his young students, one of his most valued helpers.
She did not react, and he smiled approvingly.
"See, she well educated, she not react"

Ugly Sisters One

The ugly sisters in Cinderalla represent a
very specific kind of force that must be in
one's life at a certain point in one's evolution.
We all know about the work. Especially this
might be why children understand pantomines.
The sisters shame and humiliate Cinderalla.
"Cinders" in her name, referes to the fact that
she works with the cinders, the ashes, the
psychological ashes of the self, the part you
have to go through to evolve.

The possibility

It is possible that we have the laws of
evolution hard wired into us. As each person
on the planet if not damaged neurologically,
has the possiblity to attain the possibilities
that this work presents to man at this level.

Christmas

We are coming into the Christian holidays.
Mr. Gurdjieff celebrated Christmas. He took
the preparation of gift boxes and presents
very seriously and intentionally. He made it
part of his work. Not just for his students,
but also for his neighbours who could not
support themselves, and especially
afford gifts after the war when much of the
old Europe had been destroyed by the war,
and many things were very scarce.

Howl like a wolf.

Mr. Gurdjieff said that when one runs with the
wolves, one must be able to howl like a wolf.
"And not be wolf". Survive in the world.

Survival

Mr. Gurdjieff said a good householder,
would be able to make a living with his
left foot. He meant by this that someone
who had reached a level in his life where he
had valuation for himself, valuation for money,
and knew the game of life well enough that
he would be able to survive out in the big world.

Supporting many people

Mr. Gurdjieff many times had money troubles.
He had to scramble to make ends meet, additionally
as he took responsibility for financially supporting many
of his students. There were some of his followers who
were people who had lost everything in the Russian
Revolution.

Crossing the channel

On the side of the student, there may come a point
where they need to cut off the teacher.
At a certain point, he and Orage broke their connection.
Mr. Orage said: "Once I would have crossed the Atlantic Ocean
if he asked, now I would not bother to cross the English Channel".

You will suffer

When John Bennett told Mr. Gurdjieff
that he was planning to start a group.
Mr. Gurdjieff said: "You will suffer".

Gurdjieff's mistakes

Gurdjieff was often "rough" or "abrasive" with his students.
Sometimes, if you read the literature, you can feel that he
knew he had gone too far, or perhaps regretted an action.
This was part of his learning process as a teacher.
He made mistakes.

Simple common sense.

Mr. Gurdjieff would work very hard for a period,
then he would rest, go on trips, rebuild his
energy, and then proceed with his next project.
Simple common sense.

The rubbish

To evolve, you don't have to gain,

you have to give up. The rubbish,

the false part of oneself. It is not you

anyway. Mr. Gurdjieff advised that he

taught others "to listen to self".

Keeping the masses in a state of hypnosis

Notice how the mass media exist

to harvest our money and energy in

these government "debt crisis",

"Euro crisis", unemployment

predictions, buy gold, retail sales

look gloomy, public transport misery.

Cicero asked a famous question:

"Que bono", who profits?

The Fourth way is designed to work

against, and to escape these low energies

at the altar of which the masses worship.

Give up

To evolve in the way we mean,

means to give up one's violence,

one's temper, one's anger, and

one's hate. Not so easy as this

is the most precious things for our

personalities, which in themselves,

are based on nothing.

Paper tigers.

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Saving sex energy

In this age, we lose too much of
our sex energy through films, the
way we dress, imagination, internet,
ipods, Facebook, soap operas, and
the sports and celebrity culture we
live in, we have to learn to save this
sacred energy. It is our life force,
and the food for our higher bodies.

Sex Energy

Sex Energy is the fuel of the work.
Mr. Gurdjieff said that one needs
a lot of "electricity" to do the work.

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Views

Views from the real world is an excellent
starter book on the Fourth Way, the work
shapes itself to each teacher, according to
his type, and characteristics, including also
is the age in which he appears. Jesus taught
in terms of loaves, fishes, water, wine, sheep,
the things in his material world.

Be as a passer by...

In the Gospel according to St. Thomas,
Jesus says: "Be as a passer by".

Very few men...

Very few men can play this game,
the Fourth Way, to the end.
Most men have the possiblity of
playing. The bible often shows how
the worse type of man may repent.
You cannot control who you were.
This creates humility.

Stand up

We were just thinking about friendship,
and how one needs to be encouraging
to one's love ones. Even sometimes whe
one is crumbling inside. We just retweeted
a Japanese proverb that says something about
spirit, stand up.

One of Two, Festivals

When was the last time you saw a politician on the TV really laugh?
Or smile, just look at the stress and tension in their faces.
The Romans would have many festivals, New Orleans in the US
has Mardi Gras, Rio in Brazil has Carnival. they
all seem to have something in common, a mass sharing of the
human experience. Something we don'g really see in the west.
Perhaps this is why sports events are so popular, at a soccer
game, fans get to scream our all the frustrations of a hard week at work.
We notice that fans are often quiet after a game.

One of two, Festivals

Mr. Gurdjieff indicated that in older cultures, the priests were
knowledgeable about energy, they were often doctors
and were politically powerful. They kept a watchful eye on
the health of a culture. It may be that they designed special
celebrations if there was too much tension in people, too
much violence, stress. They might create a "special drink, or
"smoke" to help people loosen up and eliminate the poisons that
naturally occur, both physically, and especially emotionally.

Thank you friends in the work.

Emanations.

Mr. Gurdjieff said that everyone is an actor.
However, the actions we perform daily are learned
and imitated from our environment, culture, parents,
friends, it is all learned. One must learn to be a real
actor. He said that in ancient times, the actors
"emanated", they not only said the words, they
projected energies intentionally.

We found this on the Internet: Timing

Osho Story on Rabiya and Hassan - We are already in God

Osho - we are not to go anywhere. We are already in God! I say "only one step" just to console you, because without any steps you will be too puzzled. I reduce it to the minimum, only one step, so that something remains for you to do, because you understand only the language of doing. You are a doer! If I say, "Nothing has to be done, not even a single step has to be taken," you will be at a loss how to make any head or tail of it.

The truth is, not even a single step is needed. Sitting silently doing nothing, the spring comes and the grass grows by itself. But that may be too much. Your doer mind may simply ignore it or may think it is all nonsense. How can you achieve God without doing anything? Yes, a shortcut the mind can understand; that's why I say, "a single step." That is the shortest -- it cannot be reduced to less than that.

A single step! That is just to make you understand that doing is nonessential. To attain to being, doing is absolutely nonessential. When you are agreed and convinced that only one step is needed, then I will whisper in your ear, "Not even one -- you are already there!"

Rabiya, a great Sufi mystic, was passing.... It was the street she used to pass every day on her way to the marketplace, because in the marketplace she would go every day and shout the truth that she had attained. And for many days she had been watching a mystic, a well-known mystic, Hassan, sitting before the door of the mosque and praying to God, "God, open the door! Please open the door! Let me in!"

Rabiya could not tolerate it that day. Hassan was crying, tears were rolling down, and he was shouting again and again, "Open the door! Let me in! Why don't you listen? Why don't you hear my prayers?"

Every day she had laughed, whenever she had heard Hassan she had laughed, but it was too much today. Tears...and Hassan was really crying, weeping, crying his heart out. She went, she shook Hassan, and said, "Stop all this nonsense! The door is open -- in fact you are already in!"

Hassan looked at Rabiya, and that moment became a moment of revelation. Looking into the eyes of Rabiya, he bowed down, touched her feet, and said, "You came in time; otherwise I would have called my whole life! For years I have been doing this -- where have you been before? And I know you pass this street every day. You must have seen me crying, praying."

Rabiya said, "Yes, but truth can only be said at a certain moment, in a certain space, in a certain context. I was waiting for the right, ripe moment. Today it has arrived; hence I came close to you. Yesterday if I had told you, you would have felt irritated; you may have even become angry. You may have reacted antagonistically; you may have told me, 'You have disturbed my prayer!' -- and it is not right to disturb anybody's prayer."

Even the king is not allowed to disturb the prayer of a beggar. Even if a criminal, a murderer, is praying in Mohammedan countries, the police have to wait till he finishes his prayer, only then can he be caught. Prayer should not be disturbed.

Rabiya said, "I had wanted to tell you this, that 'Hassan, don't be a fool, the door is open -- in fact, you are already in!' But I had to wait for the right moment.

The actor one is

With the Fourth Way, as a way of development,
a student is given the opportunity to work on all
sides of himself. Emotionally, intellectually,
instinctively, and through movement. Although
it must be noted, that generally movement and
instinct are most often placed together. An example
of this might be the man who works on the physical
self. Walking, exercising, will over the body.
Intellectually, this is not so important in a sense.
There is a tendency to be weak in this area, but
as Mr. Gurdjieff said, "mind can be useful like policeman".
Our minds can remind us of a goal or aim, or to figure
out how to do something, arrange a train ticket for
example.Emotionally, the big work is the non-expression
of negative emotions, judgement, anger, rage, jealously.
This is the major part of the work. Observing the daily
actor one is performing.

Three things

Mr. Gurdjieff said that there are three things
that form the personality:

Culture surrounding the child when born.
This would include the energy and emanations
of the parents, family, and civilisation.

Hereditary, things towards which the child is
inclined, he or she may be technical or artistic,
intellectual, or like to work with their hands.

Mistakes made when young.

The work is not hidden

Mr. Gurdjieff said that the work is not hidden,
but people do not want it.
It is as simple as that.

Life is a mighty joke

Let us take a moment to remind ourselves.
Most people, do not want this knowledge.
If you have expressed an interest in this information.
You are one of the few, it is not hidden at all,
it does have to be protected however.
Never before in history, has it been so available.
But the great masses of humanity want
XFactor, American Idol, America's got talent.
Donald Trump, political news, celebrity gossip,
the latest video game or movie, and are immersed
in this, they are playing the game of life.
Meher Baba said: "Life is a mighty joke".

Suffering to sacrifice.

To clarify.

Mr. Gurdjieff spoke about uneccessary suffering:

Some of the forms it may take include:

Inner considering, what people think about one,

judgement, feeling that life is unfair, that one is treated unfairly.

There is no justice, what people say about one.

etc, etc. This is the suffering that one has to sacrifice.

Part of our slavery.

 

What keeps us from working Pt. 4

This theme of the journey, the story
of the Prodigal Son comes to mind,
Siddartha by Herman Hesse. Especially
the story of the Buddha, he was a protected
prince, who one day saw suffering, and had
to break free to understand what this was.
This is why sometimes, it is good to have
a place in life where one is "invisible", it does
not matter on the scale of things, who one is.
Very public figures like the UK's Royal Family,
Obama, David Cameron, Millionaires at the
head of industry, rock stars, big businesses, people
often on the TV. Ever notice how "aged" they often look,
it is a hard life being in the public eye, do they have peace?
And don't we love it when they fall, or when a scandal is
exposed?
They are actually more trapped
in terms of being able to evolve than most.
This is one reason why they get paid millions, hard to
walk away from that, and the toys and attention this brings.
They live for the purposes of the masses and their controllers.
Mr. Gurdjieff said that "The world is upside down
and back to front". You don't want to be famous.
Trust us. This is the survival instinct at work.

What keeps us from working Pt. 3 cont...

Jesus had left the town of his birth and entered a
school, at a time when people understood the real
meaning of the need of such an organisation.
He had returned a different being. The greatest teacher
in recorded history. Same with Gurdjieff, he left his
home, went on his travels seeking the truth, and returned
changed. You have to leave home at some point to grow.
Otherwise the forces working against you may be too great.
Every children's fairy tale, every psychological story requires
a journey, leaving home, exposure to danger and loss to gain.
Don't take this too literally.

What stops us from working? Pt. 3

Judgement from others, fear,
inner considering as defined by Mr. Gurdjieff.
Jesus said a prophet is not known in his own
country. When he returned to his home town
as a young teacher, he went and boldy began
to read the lesson at the temple. The elders and
priests said: " Whence have this man his knowledge?
Was this not the carpenter's son?"
continued next post....

What stops us from working? Pt 2

What stops us too is peer pressure.
Our tribal psychologies, our inbuilt survival
brain, oppose anything different, change,
someone who sticks out from the crowd.
It keeps us where we are. We care too much
about what others think about us.
This must be relinquished to awaken.

What stops us from working? Pt. 1

What stops us from working?
Inertia, our instinctive brains are opposed
to the work and making efforts. We need
group work, it wants to live alone in a cave.
We hold on to the known, we want safety.
Then also, it is always the path of least resistance
which is the easiest. How many people
will make New Year's resolutions this year,
join a gym to lose weight? The wish only
to be forgotten by the spring.

Suffering

Mr. Gurdjieff said that the hardest thing for a
man to give up, is his suffering.
It is the thing he is most bound to.

Wikepedia

"The eye of a needle" is part of a saying of Jesus recorded in the synoptic gospels:

“I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” Matthew 19:23-24

Parallel versions appear in Mark 10:24-25, and Luke 18:24-25.

The saying was a response to a young rich man who had asked Jesus what he needed to do in order to inherit eternal life. Jesus replied that he should keep the commandments, to which the man stated he had done. Jesus responded, "If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." The young man became sad and was unwilling to do this. Jesus then spoke this response, leaving his disciples astonished.

The "eye of a needle" has been interpreted as a gate in Jerusalem, which opened after the main gate was closed at night. A camel could only pass through this smaller gate if it was stooped and had its baggage removed. This story has been put forth since at least the 15th century, and possibly as far back as the 9th century. However, there is no evidence for the existence of such a gate.

Variations on this story include that of ancient inns having small entrances to thwart thieves, or a story of an old mountain pass known as the "eye of the needle", so narrow that merchants would have to dismount from their camels and were thus were more vulnerable to waiting brigands.

Some claim that "camel" is a Greek misprint; that kamilos (camel) was a misprint of kamêlos, meaning "rope" or "cable". ^[2]

More than a misprint, this is a case of misinterpretation. The original word didn't mean simply "rope", but it referred to a very specific kind of ropes: the mooring lines or hawsers, known for being very large and thick. This would make more sense of the words spoken by Jesus. There are still traces of this origin nowadays: in the port of Genoa, Italy, the dockworkers are known in the local dialect as "Camalli".^[3] The word itself is indeed a mutation from the Arabic Hamal which means Dromedary.

Sergeant Major

Mr. Gurdjieff said that to cease fighting

against events, feeling irritated, angry,

to reconcile oneself to perceived ill treatment,

would be to cease "inner considering".

To cease letting events from the outside

affect one, this is why many Fourth Way

teachers will for a time, be injust towards

their students, ignoring them, giving them

too much to do. This creates strength and will.

Think about a sergeant major with new recruits.

If he was kind, and never pushed them during

training, they would be bad, soft, ill trained

soldiers, and would never grow.They get the

tough, and unpleasant jobs, sometimes

pushed to the limits of tiredness and exhaustion.

But only for a while.

Acceptance

The way out is acceptance,

of oneself, others, events,

situations.

Strange.

Strange.
Mr. Gurdjieff said that the one three centered
being on the planet who had figured
out for himself the law of seven, (the law of octaves),
was Leonardo da Vinci. Certainly, he would have
been in a high school of awakening.
In one of his notebooks, Leonardo pondered what
would cause two towers to collapse.
(9/11 in New York might perhaps come to mind).
Leonardo had the message.
(This is not for all to know, do not retweet this please
let us keep this knowledge reserved for us).
If you are in London, go and see the once in a lifetime
Exhibition at the National Gallery, it is the work of a higher man.
Go later in the day, the crowds become less a bit later.

He had found his teacher.

C.S. Nott met Mr. Gurdjieff as a young man
after many years searching for a teacher.
Mr. Gurdjieff entered the Sunwise Turn bookshop
in New York, (1920's or so).
Stanley Nott felt a need to make contact, and approached
Mr. Gurdjieff with a book to ask if he had read it,
he looked into Gurdjieff's eyes, "Radiating tremendous
power, being, understanding and compassion,
more than I had seen in all my travels in any man".
He had found his teacher.

The Matrix is saying something.

The Matrix is saying something.

Mark this well, this is you.

The most important moment in
Mr. Ouspensky's book named
In Search of the Miraculous, is when he
realizes that he has autmatically functioned
for two hours, he has gone to the printers,
ordered some cigarettes to be made, taken
a carriage, and then wakes up.
(In early 1900's Moscow)
Mark this well, this is you.

The biggest obstacles to work

When one joins the work, one is a slave of life,
the machine of automatic life on the planet earth.
The way not to be a machine, is to struggle against
one's mechanical behaviour. This involves suffering.
Believe us, once this principle is understood, one
realizes that the greatest curse, is to be too comfortable,
too rich, too good looking, too successfull.
These may be great obstacles to the work.
Or will eventually pull one away.

To reach that level.

Mr. Gurdjieff said that he was merciless
towards his own weaknesses.
One of his visitors after the war looked at him
across the dinner table and realized that to reach
that level of man, "It had taken a hell of a lot of work".
Superefforts and not identifying with suffering.

Feeling one's nothingness.

Mr. Gurdjieff said to one of his pupils, "Now you are
nonentity, I wish you not to be nonentity, but in order
to accomplish this, I have to make you feel like nonentity".
A man must experience his nothingnesss, in order to
experience real growth.

Accumulators

Part of the teaching of the Fourth Way, part of the

knowledge that was lost, and brought by Mr. Gurdjieff

to the west at the early part of the last century, is that

man has energy accumulators in him, that if when tired,

one pushes oneself, makes an extra effort, one can gradually

learn to access higher energies.

Notice towards the end of a long sporting match like soccer,

or NFL, cricket, almost any process, there is a moment when

the energies can become quite "tired", then one team pushes

through the weariness barrier, and with luck sometimes, scores

a goal and wins, they get a tremendous rush of emotional energy.

Just watch their faces when they have won, and the faces of the

losing team, That can be a simplistic way of seeing the accumulators

in action.

The peasant

Mr. Gurdjieff pushed himself harder and longer physically

than almost any other man. He possessed tremendous

power over his physical self. He said the body is like a peasant.

One must control it, or it will control you.

New type of man

Don't forget about the Fourth Way,
Mr. Gurdjieff said:
"I teach way to become man, not
now seen in western world".

You cannot be passive.

You cannot just sit at the feet of the master,
tugging at the grass, listening in awe.
This does not help the master further his aims.
He needs strong individuals, capable of surviving
out there in the big world. This is why as Gurdjieff
said, "sometimes you have to waggle a stick,
you know where!"

Racmileavitch.

At Mr. Gurdjieff's Chateau in Fontainbleau,

one of his older followers was a particularly

irritating and angry individual. Gradually, almost

everyone turned against him. Eventually he left

the Prieure in an angry fit, and Mr. Gurdjieff had

to work very hard to get him to return.

He told Fritz Peters that he had never met anyone

like this man, who without even trying was able to

constantly cause so much aggravation with his

constant complaining and negativity.

He said that such a man caused constant irritation

on the surface of life, and made it hard for conscience to

go to sleep.

Precision of being.

 

 

Everything about Mr. Gurdjieff is very mathematical,

very precise. If you look at pictures of his pantry

taken late in his life, the items, herbs and foodstuffs

are impeccably arranged. The way he sits in photographs

is always poised and collected.

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A genuine bandit

Holding to an aim, Mr. Gurdjieff

described a bandit, hiding behind

a rock with his gun aimed, waiting

for travellers to come into view.

He said that:"A good genuine, honest

brigand, will stand for hours with the sun

shining on him, thirsty, flies irritating him,

he will not move". We think this as an

example of a man holding an aim.

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "Even I Gurdjieff have a teacher".

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "Even I Gurdjieff have a teacher".
He had entered the chain of conscious influence.
The inner circle of humanity.
The key to the door is suffering of oneself, seeing
onself, accepting, changing, becoming humble
and persistent, giving and loving.

Student to master.

Gurdjieff knew his role, he had worked through
every step of the way of evolution. Labored, gone
through the humiliation of his old self, broken
through his mechanicality and societal programming.
And awakened, then his role changed, and required
that he must teach what he had learned.

The chain of Conscious Influence

The chain of Conscious Influence continues
into this age. Gurdjieff made a very significant
contribution to the development of esotericism
in the west. This needed to occur because a
shift was due, instead of seekers from the West
going to the East, the East was starting to break
down, and needed to come to the West.
Gurdjieff in a way, was like the boiler room workers
in the movie "Titanic", as the ship starts to sink
the lower deck doors automatically close, and
one man finally slides through before the door closes.
Gurdjieff is a bit like this in a sense, he brought much
of the ancient teaching with him, which might now
be gone forever. Destroyed by war and politics.

Jesus

Mr. Gurdjieff once played some of his pupils
an especially haunting piece of music on his
harmonium. When he finished, he looked at the
group and said: "This music came from the
monastery where Jesus spent from his eighteenth
to his thirtieth year".

Music

If you listen to modern music, rock music,
it is loud, the lights flash, it is all about release.
A release of energy. The tension that builds in people
in any culture, especially now. Partly this is natural.
Gurdjieff said his music was designed to penetrate
to the emotional centre. To reawaken man's feelings.

Poise

In the photos of Mr. Gurdjieff,
he is always poised.
Constantly aware.

Experience

Mr. Gurdjieff said he was able to write his great book
"Beelzebubs Tales to his Grandson", because he had
experience to the full, everything that life had to offer.
From happiness to sadnes, soil and suffering.
By not shirking a man's experiences, he has the possibility
of not "dying like a dog".

de Hartman's first test

Mr. Gurdjieff put Mr. de Hartman on the spot

when they first met. He arranged their meeting in

a dingy cafe filled with whores and low lifes.

Mr. Gurdjieff's shirt cuffs were grubby, and being

a member of the Tzar's court, Mr.Hartman had

to risk the shame and scandal had he been seen

in such a place, mixing with such company.

His first test.

A different type of man.

Mr. Gurdjieff came from an age where a search like his

was possible, and critical. Where a man could make a

heroic journey to the self. He was of an exotic type to

western eyes. Mr. Ouspensky on first meeting him,

felt embarrassed, because he knew this man was out

of place wearing a bowler hat in a cafe in Russia.

He knew he had been somewhere, and experienced

something very special.

A simple answer

One needs guidance, and complete trust
in one's teacher. Mr. Gurdjieff said that sometimes
in some schools, a student is given a drug, or somehow
brought to the state where he can see what can be
achieved through long and prolonged work.
One does not need artificial stimulants to reach the
ability to see one's future, a flash of one's higher self
even for a few seconds, offers the simple answer.

Risk

The Fourth Way, sometimes requires one
to take an extreme risk. It is important at
these times that one has a teacher to
oversee and protect one in these times of
vulnerability. One is stepping through the
looking glass of one's self.

A real teacher.

A real teacher suffers for his students.
It is a razor's edge for a young teacher.
They may often be tempted by sex, money,
having overcome this at one level in their
evolution, plus the adulation of the group.
This is their test, a test they must pass.
 

Business

Mr. Gurdjieff said to work with what is happening in the moment.
"Too bad if business worth many millions is outside the door."

Throw everything to the Devil

Mr. Gurdjieff spoke about  our resistance to working

on ourselves. He said that a man needs to get to

the point where he throws "everything to the devil",

only then can he truly work. Otherwise, we make

excuses, deviate, leave projects and initiatives

unfinished. Work means work.

Counting exercises.

Mr. Gurdjieff gave many sensing, feeling, and different
types of exercises to help his students build their
concentration. Such as counting up in threes from
one to forty nine, and back down again, then next time
up to forty six, and then back down again and so on.

The type of man not now seen in the west.

As Mr. Gurdjieff said,
He came to teach the way to become the type
of man, "not now seen in western world".
An evolved man.

Balance

With a man like Mr. Gurdjieff,
it is important to remember,
he is still a man, but he has formed
a second body of energy inside his
physical body. It has complete control
of the physical body.
Mr. Ouspensky noted as one of his first
impressions on meeting Gurdjieff, is that
he would spare himself nothing to pursue
his aims.
He often worked through twenty four hour
days in Paris making money for his institute,
then he would arrive back at his Chateau
and begin to teach. Be careful with this
information, he knew how to carefully control
his accumulators, but this is for another time.

A form of tantric sex.

Mr. Gurdjieff, even into his sixties, had a very
active sexual life, so much so that a student
who lived in the living room of his apartment,
had to move out, he could not take the nightly
noisy "disturbances", coming from the next room,
as a parade of attractive women arrived each evening.
Somewhere once, we found a reference that a young
woman, part one of his lovers, vaguely stated that he
practiced a form of tantric sex.

Sexual stumbling blocks.

Mr. Gurdjieff once pointed to one of his pupils
who was lost, staring at an attractive young woman,
a pupil of Mr. G's, also in the same room.
Gurdjieff said, "take this young man here, his
attention is three quarters gone".

This young man, was quite new in the group,
and was doing what all young men do, but the
work teaches us that we have to learn to become real.
BE a real man, or a real woman.
Not fascinated children, those who sexually attract us
are one of our biggest stumbling blocks.

Conscious Cylinder.

One exercise that Mr. Gurdjieff gave Mr. Bennett

was to draw an imaginary circle around himself

on the floor, and to not let any energy out of it.

Designed to keep your emanations contained.

Gurdjieff International Review

Check out this website I found at gurdjieff.org

http://www.gurdjieff.org/
He was the master of course, cut through all the bull and fakery,
and delivered a truly profound and realistic approach to the
Fourth Way Work for the modern age.

Don't jump to conclusions

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "Always look at all sides before make judgement".

Growth

Fritz Peters book "Boyhood with Gurdjieff" is

a classic of not only Gurdjieff literature, but

also shows master at work. Gurdjieff was not

always "soft" and forgiving with him, but pushed

him to grow pyschologically, he made him work.

He knew something about growth over the easy life.

To teach children

Mr. Gurdjieff said that not only must your

child go to school, but you must teach him

also, after school. Make lessons, perhaps how

to make money, be resouceful, do things to

develop the childs character. Especially now,

the children have a lot available to them,

Pc's, Laptops, Smartphones, tv, dvd, many ways to hide.

Mr. Bonbon

Mr. Gurdjieff often gave children sweets,

he carried a pocketful of them.

He loved the delight on their faces to receive

such a treat.

Especially after the war in Europe they were

a rarity. He became known as

"Monsieur Bonbon"

not spoiled yet

Awakened men love animals and children.

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "They clean, not spoiled yet"

Jesus said, "Suffer the children to come unto me".

Bad poetry

The work is only real and only becomes real when

efforts are made. All else is talk.

Thomas de Hartman, and pianist for Mr. Gurdjieff's music,

was once at a picnic with Mr. G, and started speaking emotionally

about the flowers, the sky, the surroundings.

Mr. Gurdjieff cut him off.

"Now is time eat, not make bad poetry".

Rasputin was merde

Gurdjieff said "Rasputin was merde".

He likely had a developed ability to heal,

but was corrupted, drunken and out of control.

He had this role to bring down the Russian monarchy

and to plunge Russia into revolution by opening the

doors of destruction. To be followed by Stalin.

It would likely have happened anyway even without him.

Light

Mr. Gurdjieff was a Doctor, and in many ways he followed

the "old" Doctor's oath, to give of himself unsparingly for

his students. Even in his eighties, he would often rise in the

early hours to go to the markets to pick the food for the coming

days meals. Lunch with his pupils, then a nap in the afternoon,

an evening meal, followed by readings or dances, then to bed.

All in his apartment in Paris. He kept the shutters mostly closed

to keep the energy of his students contained. They would often

emerge after hours under the electric light of the apartment to a

Paris full of daylight, or in the depths of darkness, having completely

lost track of the time of day. But they had his "light".

What a story, if you think about it...

One can see that with the turmoil of the Russian Revolution,

Mr. Gurdjieff could not have stayed in Russia for too long.

 

He could not have perhaps operated in the same way, with the

same freedoms under Stalin, as he would be able to in Paris

and Fontainbleau.

 

Lenin said that the long term plan had never included "The people"

being in control. Gurdjieff "had" to go to France.

The Laws of Manu, as reported by Mr. Ouspensky stated that

for a school to exist, there needs to be political stability.

 

Mr. Gurdjieff existed through the first half of the twentieth century,

WWI, Russian Revolution and the overthrow of the Tzar,

His father was killed in the Armenian genocide,

The Great Depression, WWII, he outlasted them all, even for another

four years after the war. He brought his work to it all.

To give...

The work is more than just sitting and speaking

words, action is required. There is a time to receive,

especially at the beginning of the journey, then gradually,

one day one realizes, that it is now time to give.

To awaken

To awaken, a person must possess an exceptional drive.

It takes a huge amount of work, to surmount the false self.

And suffering and pain, but the reward is far beyond the price.

Never give up your journey, for money, a man, a woman,

a place, a thing, a possession, and you will get it all in the end.

Just a thank you

Just a thank you, we hope you enjoy our blog.

Thanks for following, we will follow you shortly.

"Trying to throw my arms around the world" U2 :)

Run down

Sometimes, one attracts periods of difficulty.

In the 1930's, a student visiting Mr. Gurdjieff at his hotel in New York,

noticed his clothes looked shabby, he was trailing cigarette ash on his

clothing, for a period, he even had no pupils, or very few.

They noted "Things seemed to be running down" for Gurdjieff.

Also, he did not seem to be fighting it, but accepted this as a phase.

He had made the initial huge efforts to introduce the Fourth Way to the west,

but any process does eventually reach a moment of pause.

Sacrifice

Mr. Gurdjieff said "Sacrifice is necessary, something important in the moment

must be sacrificed". We believe this is a concept he actually borrowed from the original

Physician's oath, to sacrifice ones comfort, for the sake of helping others (one's patients).

For Gurdjieff, this was a constant practice. Super efforts, going beyond one's little self to

become a new man. Note, this does not necessarily mean huge efforts of strength or endurance.

But perhaps sometimes, just to be kind.

Real powers

It is said that Mr. Gurdjieff had tremendous powers of healing,

he knew the tricks of clairvoyance, magic, carnival sideshow acts.

His real powers he laid aside to serve, it was what he had to give up

to evolve.

The Law of wearing out

We heard a wonderful tape of Mr. Gurdjieff's pupil John Bennett talking once,

he called the Law of Octaves, the Law of wearing out.

Very good, everything wears out, even our sun.

Our socks, our love, our cars, our life.

At least at this level.

Between two stools

Every momentum runs down.

You start a new project, it is exciting, you are enthusiastic,

there is a lot of energy, connections with people, new events.

A year later? The energy is lower, people are angry at each other,

the bills are arriving, fatigue may set in.

This is all natural, in the work, when one backs off a bit, and no longer

makes as much effort as at the beginning, this was referred to by

Mr. Gurdjieff as being between two stools, 100% commitment is required

to grow.

Friction

The necessity of a group.

Groups provide one thing at least, friction.

Otherwise, we are so designed, that we will make every effort,

and often very subtlety, to make our lives as comfortable as possible.

 

You cannot always do this when forced to work with others, especially,

people that are markedly different from ourselves.

They do not generally allow ourselves to create a quiet life for ourselves.

But, tend to provide: "abrasion".

R.M. Bucke

Dr. R. M. Bucke was a friend of Walt Whitman's, Whitman was the American Poet

who revolutionized the format of classical poetry, into a newer modern form.

One that was more active and alive, sensuous and passionate.

Dr. Bucke wrote the book Cosmic Consciousness, wherein he attempted to

classify some enlightened beings. He noted that many of the men he studied

had achieved their awakening during the springtime.

Sweat will run down your heels.

Mr. Gurdjieff said that in making a real effort to grow,

it can be so hard, that "Sweat will run down your heels".

He also said:"This work requires a lot of electricity".

(Energy of effort)

Grow slowly

Patience is the mother of will.

Mr. Gurdjieff

Prostitutes eye lashes

During the war, and pre war years, there was a swelling of the ranks

of the "Ladies of the night", for which Paris is well renowned.

 

They would wear false eyelashes to attract the sailors and soldiers on leave,

and other customers walking by on the streets, this prompted a boom in demand for

false eyelashes, Mr. Gurdjieff, ever mindful of the need to make money,

started a small business with a couple of his female students making false eyelashes.

 

The Fourth Way is ever practical.

Hard worker

Mr. Gurdjieff worked very hard for his students, often working all day

in Paris, making business deals, earning money for his institute.

He would then drive back to the Chateau du Prieure where his Institute

was in Fontainbleau, where he would go straight into teaching as circumstances

arose. Dinner, then perfomances and teaching of the Sacred Dances he found

in his travels late into the night.

Our will is weak.

Mr. Gurdjieff said that to change, one does not have developed will,

one needs external help. Groups, and higher levels of evolved men.

My father

When Mr. Gurdjieff was asked about advice on raising children,

he responded by directing the person to read the two chapters

in his book: "My Father" and "My First Tutor".

David Icke

http://tiny.cc/nsukd

This is the link to part three, because it includes a shot of the

then president of the USA, George Bush, wearing a listening device

while conducting a press conference, just in case he might get stumped by a question.

 

David Icke - Beyond the cutting edge

Very good video lecture on Youtube.

 

This is a blog post linking to some video (unverified)

on Gurdjieff.

 

Evolution Revolution

He appeared in the west, at the transition from the end of the

Edwardian age, (or the age of the Tsars), just as Europe was gearing up

for a first world war of industrialized and mechanized slaughter,

and the overthrow of the Romanoff dynasty and the Russian Revolution.

He brought a different kind of revolution, the evolution of self.

Fourth Generation

Mr. Gurdjieff said once that the work, the impulse of his energy,

would dissappear by the Fourth Generation. A generation is

averaged at twenty five years, next year, or this year, is the one hundredth

anniversary of the beginning of his teaching in Russia. Some books have

that year as 1911, and his first student, an englishman.

You may hate me for saying this..

Mr. Gurdjieff ensured that male energies and female energies were

kept separate in a healthy way. In his study house, the ladies sat together,

the men sat together. In the steam bath that was built on the grounds,

the sexes took separate turnes at using the room.

He knew the roles that nature requires, he said "is neccessary be man inside".

Then woman will know her role.

He said the work is already in women, but women lack the one thing that a man

has, which is aspiration.

Practical sexuality

Mr. Gurdjieff's Chateau was about thirty or so miles from Paris in Fontainbleau.

He realized or someone mentioned, that a number of his younger male pupils who often were working

physically hard in the long days of preparing the grounds, building work, and all the activities

involved in starting his institute, were starting to become a bit "starved" of female company.

He immediately pulled out a large roll of money, and gave it to the group with instructions to

go to Paris and "take care of business" (our paraphrase, but you know what we mean).

As soon as possible.

The writer observed that he was always immensly practical in such matters.

At some point.

At some point, you think you are working,

it is an illusion of the machine, it's job is to keep us under it's

control. When you lose that illusion, you become nothing.

Then you will start on the path of real growth.

But, preparation is neccessary.

Systems

The Fourth way is a system, in fact all ways to consciousness are "systems",

even those that present themeselves as non systems. Our lives tend to be a cycle,

from the day to day, week to week, etc.

The only way out is systematic small efforts to grow.

Insults

At Mr. Gurdjieff's institute in the 1920's, he had a group working in the forest.

The man that Mr. Gurdjieff had placed in charge of the men had a rather fiery way

of giving instructions and one of the younger men was starting to become rather annoyed at the

way he was being spoken to. He was becoming irritated and reactive.

 

Mr. Gurdjieff was always aware of how work was proceeding, and in speaking with the group

leader and asking how his students were doing, he learned that the young student was

starting to be angry and was answering back when given instructions.

 

 Mr Gurdjieff said,

"Next time he starts to do this, insult him".

Group work

Group work is important, one of the reasons is that you will meet people

that you might never meet in the ordinary circumstances in your life.

We tend to form our social groups around people we are comfortable with,

match our social status, or financial demographic, have similiar interests

and needs. In a group, a fourth way group, the teacher will make sure that

no one gets too comfortable. This makes friction, helps us grow and not go to sleep.

Small aims.

Aims, making a small aim every day, something that "stretches" you a little,

is the way to grow. Otherwise, the months go by, and nothing happens.

Mr. Ouspensky said that we start with large aims, and end up with an aim

that will fit in your pocket. This is a big secret.

Enjoy your now

It all comes down to begin present to your life.

Enjoy your now.

Thank you for following our blog about the Fourth Way Work!

Thank you for following our blog about the Fourth Way Work!

Especially now.

With the Arab Spring, Riots in the UK,

the pressures on humanity are being revealed at an ever

faster pace. Mr. Gurdjieff said that at times like these

it is especially possible to work.

Knowledge.

Thankyou friends, we don't plan to get too large,

the work is for the few.

Mr. Gurdjieff said knowledge is material, concentrated on a few people,

one could get results, knowledge, especially this knowledge, spread too

wide, will rarely achieve anything worthwhile.

What is you aim for today?

As a suggestion, you can try this today,

make a small aim, stir your coffee with your left hand,

grasp all door handles with the opposite hand to the usual.

Try to observe your mechanical responses, when someone says:

"Hi, how are you?", instead of "Ok/so so/hanging in there", mechanical usual responses.

Try saying: "Great thanks for asking!", obviously, use this carefully, but doing this will

lift your energy. Mr. Ouspensky said that at a certain point in the work,

you will start to attract energy from the environment.

Being

Real being is quiet and humble.

Mob rule

Mr. Gurdjieff taught that during intense planetary cycles, men may riot,

destroy the treasures of the past, lose their sense of self preservation, and

become almost self destructive in the blind impulses of fear, hate and the mindless

violence of the crowd. Witness the destruction of the mob in London in the last few

days.

Inner and Outer

One of his students observed that Mr. Gurdjieff always had one

goal for his inner world, and one for his outer world.

Something small, not eating his favourite food, or some small pleasure

that would be enough to irritate his "animal". His machine.

Merite

Mr. Gurdjieff would sometimes not eat his favourite food in the evening,

if he felt he had not earned it "merite", he had not accomplished some of

his goals or efforts during the day.

Momentums

There will come a point where the momentum in any wears out.

Then one will have to make an effort.

In anything, from washing dishes, starting a business, notice how

conversations reach a natural pause. How winning streaks begin and end.

Recently

Recently we have been reading Stuart Wilde books and listening to Audio.

Very good, he sees things, and can present and open up some of the

perceptions about life on the planet that Mr. Gurdjieff hinted at.

The real truth.

The real truth is there, it is not hidden.

Hidden in plain sight.

21

On our trip through evolving, Mr. Gurdjieff taught that there are 21 stages.

In between each stage, one is melted down, and rebuilt.

This explains the moments in our lives when it feels we are undergoing a destructive phase.

Be patient. All will be well.

The Buddha

The Buddha said: "Only love dispels hate,

that is the law, ancient and inexhaustable".

Nothing you see

Nothing you see is real.

Slap in the face

Mr. Gurdjieff said, "At every step you want to slap another in the face,

but it is you who needs to be slapped".

At every step we see the faults of others, the Fourth Way teaches, that overcoming

this is the path to awakening conscience. Seeing the world as it is.

Jesus said, "We see through a glass darkly".

You see the splinter in another's eye

In the bible, Jesus points out that we see the splinter in another's eye,

but we do not see the mote (traditional name for the heavy beam that supports the bricks above a doorway) in our own.

Beginning

The first step is understanding that for any real change,

you will need to be patient, you will need to learn to accept

yourself and others, this leads to being able to truly love.

Take care of your health

Mr. Gurdjieff advised, "If you do not wish to work, take care of your health".

 

What you leave behind

When you leave this life, what will you bring with you?

The result of your efforts to grow.

What you plant in others.

Your love, your life energy. Your giving.

 

transmission

Gurdjieff attracted some of the most interesting people of his day.

He often Taliesin, the place where Frank Lloyd Wright lived and taught.

A host of famous writers and performers were aware of his presence in Paris.

Henry Miller mentions him in his letters.

Writers are the main way that his teaching has been transmitted.

Problems

Life is a series of problems, setbacks and opportunities.

It depends on how you approach them.

Difficulties test us and help us to grow.

He who remains a fool

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "He who remains at the level of being of a fool,

will always attract that, which belongs to a fool".

Thine enemies

One has to avoid self pity and putting oneself down.

Mr. Gurdjieff said, "There are many dirty dogs inside us,

that wish to destroy us".

Jesus said, "Thy enemies are the members of thine own household."

Love in action

Having achieved another level of consciousness, a teacher such as Mr. Gurdjieff

taught not only his pupils, but shared and laboured on behalf of others.

He fed his neighbours in Paris, during and after the second world war in Paris,

he paid for a young girl's wedding who lived nearby, he supported many people 

not directly associated with his work. Conscious Love in action. 

Another opinion

Another person who professed to be a spritiral teacher, and was much respected in Europe

met Mr. Gurdjieff, she said later: "He is a man who has seen God".

One thing

Mr. Gurdjieff said, "If one thing could be different, everything would be different".

Knowing how to look.

Once at the Prieure, some of the students working were trying to split a large

rock that was blocking progress in a construction project. They struggle with

this problem for quite a while. Mr. Gurdjieff arrived straight from Paris, he took

his coat off, picked up the hammer and a rock chisel, inspected the rock and with

a few sharp blows split the rock into several pieces that could easily be removed.

He said: "You have to learn how to look". (Paraphrased).

Exercises

Mr. Gurdjieff often gave his pupils exercises to build concentration and attention.

Even the act of turning up at a meeting or a dinner, is a commitment, and action

within the work.

The point

One of the illusions we will lose, is sthat we are making efforts.

One has to accept what one finds.

Mr. Gurdjieff said, "We must get to Philadelphia", meaning

a point in the work where the real efforts begin.

Payment

Jesus said: "Thou shalt not come forth until has paid the uttermost farthing".

Change small things

Remember, to do this work, even when alone.

The bible talks about those who stand on a street corner,

seen to be praying, giving huge amounts to the temple.

Yet a widow, making a small donation, (the widow's mite),

has actually given more than all of them.

Calm

His students often spoke of the inner calm that Mr. Gurdjieff radiated.

Russian Revolution

The atmosphere in which the work appeared in Russia.

One of Mr. Gurdjieff's pupils, said: "One cannot explain the

self assurance and confidence with which he threaded his way through the

Russian Revolution"

Rest

You have to balance yourself, poisons always accumulate.

Take a break every now and again.

Mr. Gurdjieff would work hard, then take a trip to the mountains,

or out into the country, he would stop for picnics, lunches at restaurants.

He always tipped well if deserved. He knew how to rest.

Thanks

Thankyou to all our new followers.

 

We hope you will always find something of use and value

in our little blog.

 

Love

Elevator attendant

Edwin Wolfe wrote a wonderful small collection of stories about Mr. Gurdjieff.

Once in the US in the 1920's or 1930's, , Mr. Gurdjieff used an elevator in a hotel in Chicago or New York,

(This was in the days when the operator would stand inside with you and manually operate the lift.)

Mr. Wolfe stepped into it just after, Mr. Gurdjieff had stepped out;

he asked the yourng operator what he thought of the man who had

just been in there. He replied, "He knows something".

Cooking and the home.

Mr. Gurdjieff's niece emphasized that her uncle always taught that it is

important to have a good energy in the home, then it radiates out into

one's life.

 

It is always special when you see a family with a good, positive, healthy emotional energy.

Someone is doing something right.

 

They are likely not listening to rap, and Britney, and Snoopy Dog.

I teach..

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "I teach way to become man not now found in western world".

C.S Nott

C. S. Nott first met Mr. Gurdjieff in the Sunwise Turn bookshop in New York

in the 1920s we think. He was aware of Gurdjieff, a few of his older students entered

the shop, they were very impressive, but then a few minutes later Mr. Gurdjieff entered,

"radiating tremendous power, being, and understanding, more than I had seen in all

my travels in any man". He looked into his eyes, full of compassion.

He knew he had found his teacher.

Mr. Gurdjieff had suffered every step on the way to evolving into an enlightened being.

He had escaped to the next level, the role then changes to helping others to evolve.

From Gurdjieff, to Buddha, to Jesus, to Mohammed, it becomes their life's task.

Daily efforts

The way consists of simple daily efforts, to be more than you are.

Mr. Gurdjieff said: "Patience is the mother of will".

Higher level

The way of awakening is as ancient as man.

Just the chain of connection has by and large been lost.

People make up their own "systems".

The Fourth Way is so powerful, because the knowledge comes from another level.

 

Fearless

George Adie, one of Gurdjieff's pupils observed that when Mr. Gurdjieff

was without money, wallet empty, he was absolutely fearless.

1000

It is estimated in his whole period of teaching, from 1911 when he first appeared in Russia,

to the end of his life in Paris in 1949, Mr. Gurdjieff worked with about 1000 students.

This included writers, artists, and some of the most prominent people of his day.

It was mentioned that some time before he became president, Roosevelt was treated for his polio by Gurdjieff.

Our work

Our work, is not just about being better.

A better machine, it is about being awake.

 

You don't have to be perfect, in fact, for some people

trying to be perfect is another form of hiding from themselves.

Obeying some still remnant programming from childhood.

To not feel fear, or not feel guilty for being "bad".

 

Mr. Gurdjieff said "be grateful for your chief feature (major fault or weakness in personality),

it makes it possible work", Holy Denying.

Turn the other cheek,

Turn the other cheek,

In the Bible, this can be taken as allowing oneself to be physically slapped,

and not responding to aggression.

 

However,sometimes an aggressive response is critical, as in the Second World War,

It more accurately means, when you see a truth about yourself, your weaknesses,

your deviations, your lying to yourself and others, mistreatment, do not flinch.

 

The psychological "slap" of the truth, may be best utilized by accepting the truth,

and "turning the other cheek", it hurts, but "tell me more" about myself.

 

Alcoholics Anonymous has a twelve step program to rebuild one's life after you have

hit rock bottom. Something like this happens on the journey to consciousness.

 

You have to go to the core, Mr. Gurdjieff said "Man is a great swine".

 

"Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free".

Real repentance

Mr. Nicholl, a pupil of Mr. Gurdjieff, spoke about the idea of repentance in the bible.

What has come down to us as the King James version, represents

a "best effort" translation. He said the real word in the original Greek,

is metanoia, literally, to look again. Look at your life, be conscious in your life.

Be aware of your sleep. Not beating a rock against your chest, tearing your hair out repentance,

but presence to your life, your behaviour, who you are.

Not for everyone.

The ideas of the Fourth Way, are not for everyone.

A man must pass through some dark passages in his life.

He must become dissappointed in his dreams, his aspirations.

The mystical Sufi poets wrote about the Veil.

The Veil of sleep.

Mr. Gurdjieff was a Sufi.

Make efforts

Mr. Ouspensky advised us that you cannot become emotional.

He said: "Make efforts, and you will become emotional".

Vanity of the now

Young people, think they have forever, this will be forever,

youth, beauty, nice skin, looks, money, energy.

There is no loss yet, less people have passed in and out of their lives.

Some never to return.

And they smile.

Did you?

Man is a great experiment.

And he thinks he has time.

Did you make one different effort today?

Breadcrumbs

During the war, when Paris was occupied by the German army,

Mr. Gurdjieff fed his pupils, and his neighbours, including the old and sick.

He treated them as a Doctor, he also purchased paintings from his

neighbours, and people he met in cafes, however bad, because he recognised that they at least

knew that an effort was required to produce something to sell, just to survive.

He likened the pleasure he received from this, to the old lady in the park

who gives breadcrumbs to the birds. "To feel good inside".

It has also been noted that his pocket book was almost always empty.

Rats

Mr. Gurdjieff would test human behaviour.

He would "play" with his students, and also, he had to learn how to teach.

He famously said: "I need rats for my experiments".

He played to shock sometimes, a statement like the above was designed to

disturb his student's thinking, and is not meant to undermine his deep compassion

for humanity.

Doorways

The doorway is a significant symbol.

When one passes through a doorway of initiation, there is no real way back

to who one was before. A doorway is a test, a threshold.

However, there is no "initiation", understanding is earned, a ceremony merely

marks the change, or perhaps crystallizes a change, such as fasting, or staying up all night.

Someone who journeys to the top of Mount Everest, comes down a different person than

he was when he set out. But there would have been many months of planning, preparation,

training, acclimatization beforehand.

Think of the same thing with awakening.

Mr. Gurdjieff constantly emphasized the need for long and prolonged effort to achieve results.