Price
â‚Ź 6.00 taxes included
Official Press Body of the LA TECA Associations
THE FOURTH WAY www.gurdjieff.es
LaTeca Institute for Harmonious Development
ENG // English version
Study notes
#04
Presentation of
The Sacred Enneagram Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Noah: Commander of the Ark The role of man in the evolution of the universe
Introduction to the ideas of G.I. Gurdjieff
The Fundamental Questions
Is there life after death?
LaTeca Institute for Harmonious Development
La Teca Brotherhood in Italy and abroad ROME CENTRAL AND NATIONAL OFFICE Viale Gottardo, 66 00141 - Roma (RM) Contact: Alessandro Albanese +39 (333) 4763495 Access by invitation only LEGNANO Via Carlo Cattaneo, 95 20025 - Legnano (MI) Contact: Giuseppe Rossetti +39 (347) 8277354 Access by invitation only
SASSARI Via Taramelli, 6 07100 - Sassari (SS) Contact: Salvatore Masala +39 (339) 4181783 Access by invitation only
www.gurdjieff.es
THE FOURTH WAY EN // English version Number 4 Study notes // Official Press Body of the LA TECA Associations
Chairman Giovanni M. Quinti From an original idea by Luigi Di Sante and Sonia Iacoangeli Publisher La Teca Association, Barcelona - SPAIN Graphics José L. García Muedra Printing
GENOA Via Massaia 1r. 16152 - Genova (GE) Contact: Giorgio Tagliafico +39 (335) 5897535 Access by invitation only
TRENTO Via San Pio X n° 93 38100 - TRENTO (TN) Contact: Anna Di Giandomenico +39 (339) 5793091 Access by invitation only
BARCELLONA Gran Via, 204 bis, local 4 08004 - Barcelona - Spain Contact: Giovanni M. Quinti +34 (630) 618422 Access by invitation only
APUNTS - Barcelona Contributors to this edition Alessandro Albanese, Luigi e Sonia Di Sante, Marco Capulli, Giovanni M. Quinti, Rossella Arena, Eva M. Franchi.
"The Fourth Way" study notes are an international publication produced by the La Teca Association, Barcelona - Spain. For information on prices and subscriptions, visit the website: www.gurdjieff.es. On the same site you can purchase back issues, subject to availability, and with a surcharge. You can also take out a subscription and receive our study notes at home each month. Manuscripts, photographs and drawings sent to us will not be returned, even if they are not published. Please inform us in good time of any change of address, being sure to specify your old address as well as the new one. La Teca Association - Any reproduction, even partial, is prohibited if not authorised in writing by the editorial office. Registration n°. B-32081-2008
Other Study Groups are operative in the following cities: AREZZO, VICENZA and CATANIA For information on the headquarters of each Study Group, contact one of the Central Brotherhoods.
THE FOURTH WAY _Contents
2_
CONTENTS
pag.6
3
Seekers' verses
A. Albanese and 'Aziz àlDin Nasali Our little poetry page for the reflections of our hearts.
4
Editorial Reflections on love
A new look to go with the new use of this tool, why?…how?…
pag.11
Study
6
The Fundamental Questions
Is there life after death?
"A man may be born, but in order to be born he must first die, and in order to die he must first awake". Gurdjieff Study
11 The Fourth Way in the Holy Scriptures Noah: Commander of the Ark
…Noah's flood, in its material form, symbolises one of the floods of the soul... it is a symbol of the metamorphosis of the soul… Study
18 The language of the Fourth Way The Sacred Enneagram
An attempt to give a less "New Age" face to an ancient and sacred symbol.
21 The Reflections of a Searcher An Embellished Nothing
pag.18
Giving importance to one's illusions: a way to fill our fear of solitude (Part Two).
23
pag.23 y 25
E-mails from the Quarta Via site
And Gurdjieff said…
The website www.quartavia.org publishes some e-mails to spread the teaching.
24 Letters to the Founder
Letters from searchers
Our regular column, where we try to answer your questions.
25 Introduction to the ideas of George I. Gurdjieff
pag.26
Letters from searchers
Gurdjieff's system illustrated using rare and unpublished material by J. G. Bennet.
26 The Wise Use of Masks
How can we use personality?
A cartoon strip teaches us, more than a thousand words, to "use" the masks of our personality.
Study
The indicated Articles have been read, studied and analyzed by the Study Groups La Teca, present in Italy and in Spain. If you wish to participate, send a request to: LA TECA - Gran Vía, 204 bis (local 4) - 08004 Barcelona or email to: info@gurdjieff.es We will send you as soon as possible the address and the hours of our Study Groups meetings.
3_
THE FOURTH WAY_Poems and little initiations
Poems and little initiations_by Alessandro Albanese
Loving I love you, says the lover to his beloved. I think of you, says the lover to his beloved. I want you, says the lover to his beloved. I want! says the ego to the lover, and he quickly, briefly pours into the beloved.
Love Love is not what we seek, love is not what we find, love is the essence of what we are, love is presence in what we find. The essence is love, and love is you, why seek love elsewhere if that elsewhere is in you?
'Aziz Ă lDin Nasali
(XIII century)
O Man on the Way! When the Pilgrim, freed of his veils, knows and sees with certainty that all that he saw before was just appearance, that it was just a niche of light, he attains the Essence of What is True!
THE FOURTH WAY _Editorial
editorial
Love is...
D
ear Friends, We open this new edition with the splendid poetry found at the centre of this page, because the perception of our inner reality, whilst weak and still very immature, is enough for us to continue directing our efforts towards an ever greater awareness and understanding of our real self. These terms may seem a bit "New Age"; in our specific context they are certainly considered in a way that is very distant from the purely rational analysis of the intellect or any sort of subjective or exclusively cerebral mental mechanism. In our "language", and with what we commonly mean by "real understanding", it becomes exceedingly complex and perhaps ineffective to succeed in talking about it. Is it not perhaps always the brain, in the more limited sense of the word, that describes certain types of knowledge with great certainty? We believe that it would be like describing an experience that is beyond the reach of our senses, and that we cannot interpret correctly. Bennet says that "in reality, understanding is nonverbal".
"Love, only Love can kill that which seemed dead, the icy serpent of passion. Only Love, through tearful prayers, and fed by burning desire, reveals a knowledge that the intellect has never known."
We are confident that words such as "love" and "understanding" can only really be acquired through a profound change in our way of thinking, acting and speaking, rather than by changing what we "know" about these sacred concepts. Our greatest deception is to believe that we need not sacrifice anything of ourselves in order to gain access to the highest spheres of divine knowledge. "The ignorance that a man has of his own ignorance is the true enemy".
The teaching of the Sufi masters speaks of abandonment. Only through the abandonment and total elimination of ourselves can we free ourselves of the ties of the bodily world and live according to the laws of the inner world, so that we can then access what Gurdjieff called "higher worlds". In order to succeed in this task, we must learn to empty ourselves of all that we normally and stubbornly view as our "wealth", all that we have assimilated, our behaviours, our convictions and certainties, and all that has come to be formed mechanically and naturally within us throughout our lives. "If we can empty ourselves, and be empty inside, anything can enter into us. We can achieve everything, if we can learn to separate ourselves from our habitual self, and change course. Emptying ourselves is the most difficult thing there is, but if we just once learn how to do it, anything can come of it."
Luigi and Sonia Di Sante
4_
5_
THE FOURTH WAY_The Fundamental Questions
Discovery of the Answers to the Fundamental Questions
Study
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH? by Giovanni M. Quinti
I am on my way home from a journey. The carriage is empty; at this time on a Sunday the train is not full of the usual commuters. Having reached Milan, and now on my way towards Turin, I see three women getting on, about fifty or sixty years old, accompanied by a policewoman. Their faces are visibly upset. They sit in my compartment. "As soon as you get to Turin they'll come and get you." With these words, the policewoman leaves the train. With a strong Neapolitan accent they speak to each other: "What did he say to you?" "He couldn't tell me anything!" "But at least tell us if he's alive or dead!" One of them begins to cry inconsolably. My senses sharpen, I want to know what has happened, why so much pain. "We have to phone Giuseppe! Find out where they've got to!" "I don't know how to use a mobile phone! How do you dial?" I raise my head, and the woman who is speaking looks at me. "Can you help me?" I smile at her. I take her phone and dial the number as she reads it out to me. They establish that Giuseppe is already in Turin, but he hasn't found anything out yet. Nor have I. What has happened? Can I help in any way? I ask these questions without even realising it. I find out that they are three sisters. One whispers to me in a thin voice: "I've got a 22-year-old son, his name's Francesco. He left three weeks ago with a man who took him for a trip in his lorry. He wanted to learn to be a truck driver! 'I can make a lot of money and travel the world', he kept telling me. I let him go. He called me regularly, telling me all about it: how the trip had gone, how he was feeling, where he was. They had reached Spain. Then they came back to Italy, towards Turin, and they were supposed to leave again tomorrow for Switzerland. The last few days he sounded tired, on the phone he told me he didn't want to do it any more. He'd changed his mind. Last night he told me he was going to get the train home. We're from Eboli. He said he'd get there at 6.30 this morning. I got up at 5 to go and get him. At the station, the train arrived, and I waited for him at the end of the platform, but he didn't show up.
6_
THE FOURTH WAY_The Fundamental Questions
Study
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
by Giovanni M. Quinti
Francesco didn't come. Instead, two policemen come up to me and say that I should leave urgently for Turin, because something very serious has happened. They don't tell me what, just that I should leave immediately. I called my sisters to ask them to come with me as far as Milan, where we changed for Turin. I don't know what's happened to my son!" With this she got up and went to the toilets. I sit with the other two, who look at me with tears in their eyes. The sister whispers to me, "My brother-in-law told me that Francesco is dead. We don't know how it happened yet, and I don't know how to tell his mother. I've known since this morning, the police took me to one side and told me." We hear a cry from the corridor. We run towards the toilets, force the door open and find the mother on her back on the floor in a dead faint. Even if no one had told her yet, a part of her knew that her son was gone. Having revived the mother, we hugged. All four of us, a stranger and three sisters. And yet, in moments of such great suffering the resistance put up by our false personalities falls away. The pain lowers our defences and sharpens our other senses. In just a few minutes, the three women sensed that they could trust me, and allowed me into their most intimate circle. We cried. I didn't even know Francesco, and yet in that moment he became my dearest friend, my closest brother, my most beloved son. I hugged his mother and stroked her hair. I looked her in the eyes and told her she should prepare for the worst. The sisters were terrified by my revelation, but the mother, looking down, surprised them by saying, "I know". Meanwhile our train had reached Turin Porta Nuova station. (1)
?
We all have friends, brothers, children. Tomorrow Francesco could have the name of one of our loved ones.
? 1_
What do you think? How would you have acted?
?
2_
Do you believe in life after death? What do you think it will be like?
But at the end of the day, what is human existence? Where is Francesco now? Catholics believe that life after death is a time of reckoning. If you have done good things, you will deserve Heaven, if you have done bad things, you will deserve Hell; otherwise there's Purgatory, invented by the theologians to enable us to make amends for our sins here on earth. The doctrine of Purgatory was actually adopted as dogma at the Council of Florence in 1439. The Gospels do not contain a single word referring to Purgatory as it is taught by the church, nor was it considered an alternative before. This invention made it possible to start collecting money for indulgences or paid masses for souls in Purgatory, and thus to build St. Peter's Basilica and the Vatican City. Each religion has a different way of interpreting life after life: some believe in reincarnation, some in a paradise full of beautiful young men and women, some in the resurrection in an eternal heavenly kingdom. (2)
7_
THE FOURTH WAY_The Fundamental Questions
Study
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
by Giovanni M. Quinti
Gurdjieff's position on the matter is described in the book "Meetings with Remarkable Men", when, speaking with his father, the latter says: "In that soul which a man supposedly has, as people believe, and of which they say that it exists independently after death and transmigrates, I do not believe; and yet in the course of a man's life, 'something' does form itself in him: this is for me beyond all doubt. As I explain it to myself, a man is born with a certain property and, thanks to this property, in the course of his life certain of his experiences elaborate in him a certain substance, and from this substance there is gradually formed in him 'something or other' which can acquire a life almost independent of the physical body. When a man dies, this 'something' does not disintegrate at the same time as the physical body, but only much later, after its separation from the physical body"
?
(G.I. Gurdjieff, "Meetings with Remarkable Men", Arkana/Penguin, London, 1985).
Gurdjieff supposes that what remains after death has formed and grown consciously during life, and that it separates from the body and perishes more slowly than the body itself. We can also find this idea in the Gospels, albeit without the concept of the subsequent slow perishing, which is Gurdjieff's personal addition to the biblical idea.
3_
Did you know that the term "Kingdom of heaven" meant something very specific? What do you think it is?
The objective of the path laid down by the master Jesus was to know the Kingdom of Heaven. Nowadays some theologians interpret this Kingdom of Heaven as Paradise, a place of future serenity and peace. And yet, when we study the Gospels, we realise that this view is superficial and hasty.
?
What is this "Kingdom of Heaven"? And why do we say that Jesus preached the "good news of the kingdom"? (Cf. Matthew 9:35).
In the Lord's Prayer we say: "thy kingdom come". Are we talking about Paradise or a life after death? (3) Let us read together Jesus' words on the kingdom of heaven, which may help us to understand better. "the Kingdom of God is within you."
?
(Luke 17:21)
So the Kingdom of Heaven is an inner psychic reality. But what kind of reality is it? How can we describe it? Other verses may help clear up our doubts: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed which a man took and planted in his field. Though it is the smallest of all your seeds, yet when it grows it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and perch in its branches." (Matthew 13:31-32) Jesus comes close to the Gurdjieffian concept of substance "built and grown". This strength, originally present in embryonic form, becomes huge and changes into something different. For Christians in the early centuries, the kingdom of heaven is a psychic process, and the human body is where it takes place. Let us analyse a few other phrases spoken by Jesus on this matter:
8_
THE FOURTH WAY_The Fundamental Questions
Study
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
by Giovanni M. Quinti
"The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into a large amount of flour, until it worked all through the dough" (Matthew 13:33).
?
?
What is the external element that has to be added to the flour and grow? (4) It can be found in almost every religion, albeit with different names. For Muslims it is Barakah, for Christians the Holy Spirit, for Buddhists Illumination. Although the theological nuances are different (so different that some readers may find it absurd to see them grouped together), these elements give a renewed state of consciousness that transforms the individual and regenerates him.
4_
Try to answer this question for yourself.
For us on the Fourth Way, this element is described in "In Search of the Miraculous": "[these substances] can be introduced into the organism from without if it is known how to do it [...] he simply prepares and swallows a little pill which contains all the substances he wants". (P.D. Ouspensky," In Search of the Miraculous", Harcourt, Orlando (FL) 2001, pages 50-51).
Through specific exercises and a suitable lifestyle, the man in the Fourth Way builds the kingdom of heaven within himself, the waking element that will separate from the physical body after death. The experiences that define these suitable "substances" in him are those that open his conscience to a view of objective reality. Each time he succeeds in merging with the objective mind, each time he is enraptured by it, he builds himself in a world beyond this one, rediscovering the kingdom of heaven within himself.
?
How can we recognise this element? Do we need to join a Fourth Way school to be able to build it correctly? To answer these questions, I would like to call upon the experience of Dr. Elisabeth K端bler-Ross, a Swiss doctor who throughout her life accompanied thousands of people in their most important moment: death. According to the doctor there are precise stages that a dying person goes through before their death. These stages can last days, hours or even just a few minutes; it all depends on the state of conscience and awareness of one's own death, the type of disease and the psychology of the dying person. These stages can be briefly summed up as:
Dr. Elisabeth K端bler-Ross passed away on August 24, 2004. Since her death, 100's and 100's of personal stories, notes of thanks and condolences have been received. On behalf of Elisabeth's children, Kenneth and Barbara, I would like to thank you for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support. They would also like you to know that they feel it is vitally important that their mother's legacy continues. In a mission to continue Elisabeth's legacy, the Elisabeth K端bler-Ross Foundation (EKR Foundation) was formed. The mission of the EKR Foundation is simple: continue and grow Elisabeth's life work.
Denial Anger Bargaining Depression Acceptance
9_
THE FOURTH WAY_The Fundamental Questions
Study
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
by Giovanni M. Quinti
1 Denial
in the first stage, the dying man (or woman) denies to himself the fact that he is close to death.
2 Anger
in the second stage, he fights against it.
3 Bargaining
the third stage is called "bargaining", in other words, the person tries to make a deal with God, which may be of any kind. One example of this might be: "If you let me live a bit longer, I promise I'll stop insulting you!"
4 5
Depression
in the fourth stage, the person enters into a depression that is a prelude to the fifth and final stage.
Acceptance*
the fifth stage is that of deep, conscious acceptance, where the dying person feels the need to get ready for his or her death, sometimes alone.
*Reaching this final stage means learning to "die well", having the
strength and courage to abandon our physical bodies and have the supreme experience, the most important in anyone's life. But not everyone reaches the fifth stage.
During my life I have had the opportunity to work as a volunteer in various specialist centres that assist terminally ill people of different kinds, with different diseases and different social backgrounds. These years of experience have led me to realise that only a very few manage to reach the fifth stage. Many die in one of the previous stages. "I still have so much to live for and experience! Why does God want to take me away so soon?" I have heard questions like these many, many times: we are not prepared for death, because it requires a supreme capacity to let go. Our studies, our theological preparation, our personal strategies, none of these will work when that moment comes: reaching the fifth stage will only be possible if we let go, and learn to merge into the all.
?
I believe that the work on ourselves should be a form of training aimed at reaching this fifth stage; a prior, voluntary and desired form of training. (5)
5_
When people remind you of your mortality, do you tend to accept it or to drive the thought away?
Working on ourselves is preparing to die.
?
Any work that leads to this, whatever philosophy or religion it comes from, will be useful in enabling the heart to "let go". The fight against personality, attachment, non-identification, the master, the school, these are all useful instruments so that a pupil can prepare for the great final lesson. Why is it so important to die in the fifth stage?
10_
THE FOURTH WAY_The Fundamental Questions
Study
IS THERE LIFE AFTER DEATH?
by Giovanni M. Quinti
When the mind is trained not to fight, when it is able to let go, and has built within itself a superior element that does not identify only with outer events, it will experience death with a different level of conscience from those who fight against it. Seeing someone dying in anger, fear, or denial is an experience that remains engraved in the minds of those who witness it. I have seen dying people cursing God, speaking words of hatred against the world, dying with a perception of the enemy to fight against in a relentless battle. Their anger was huge, it didn't even vaguely occur to them that that state of weakness could be transformed into an opportunity for growth. Others shut themselves inside a wall of silence and no longer wished to see anyone. (6)
?
6_
Have you lost anyone who was dear to you? What was your experience of those moments, one of anger or acceptance?
Personally, I am convinced that all those who die with these emotions squander the fertile power of the soul. In a sense they are already dead before they die. The Gospel gives us the example of the two thieves crucified alongside Jesus. The first mocks him, saying: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us". The second, on the other hand, dies acknowledging his mistakes, and says,"Don't you fear God, since you are under the same sentence? ... we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong". (Luke 23:37-43) What differentiates these two attitudes? The first is in the denial stage, the second in that of acceptance of himself and his condition. To him Jesus replies, "Today you will be with me in Paradise". Jesus could already see that Paradise in the thief's eyes, because when we die we can't go much further than where we already are. When a person dies in forgiveness, openness and love, it is a wonderful experience. They perceive things that cannot be described in a way that would do them justice. I still remember how lovely it was to go and visit P., who was in the terminal phase of cancer. Despite his great suffering, he had a smile and a friendly word for everyone. For me, he is an example of what it means to "die in the fifth stage", in full and loving acceptance of one's existential limit. I have been told that when he actually died, the scent of roses and a deep sense of peace pervaded the whole room. When, on the other hand, I have witnessed the death of people who were unable to forgive, I have always seen the emergence of a profound suffering and I have had the impression that it could be an obstacle to the elevation of the soul.
?
?
7_
Are you preparing for the only unavoidable event in your life?
Could that mustard seed that we have to learn to cultivate within us actually be love? Dear Francesco, I don't know how well you knew yourself, how much you loved and forgave. I don't even know whether you were afraid at your life's end, or how much you were able to let yourself go in the hands of cold lady death. I only hope that, wherever you are, my gratitude reaches you, for having awakened within me such great affection towards you, through the words of your mother, her tears and her memories. I hope that a little of my affection reaches you, because only this can vanquish death and overcome the barriers of eternity.(7) See you soon, G.M.Q.
11_
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
NOAH: COMMANDER OF THE ARK by Giovanni M. Quinti
Study
Biblical writings narrate pathways that we might today define as "psychological", using mythical, epic or historic events, because they seek to provide the necessary interpretative keys for an individual existential overcoming, for the evolution of the human being, in order to learn to live.
This is the approach we need to take to interpret the story of Noah and his family, and to do so we will start with his name: Noah, which in Hebrew means "Rest". It is made up of the letter "N", which represents things created, and the letter "H", which represents order, that which is needed in order to achieve balance. At that time, the human race was living in a state of "disorder". People were beginning to multiply on earth, and there were increasingly conflicts between them. Adam's fall, which meant that man was no longer able to "converse with God", had reached the utmost state of decline. Adam, although he transgressed, did not stop seeing God and talking with him. He was still close to the Source. With Noah, the distance has increased, man is now more of a victim of sleep and of the resulting conflicts. From a psychological viewpoint, we could say that after a period of Grace,
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Study
NOAH: COMMANDER OF THE ARK
12_
by Giovanni M. Quinti
period of Grace, due to the light from his infancy, the human individual lost contact with himself and entered into conflict with the "inner voice". The biblical chronicler cites God as saying: "My spirit will not contend with man forever, for he is mortal; his days will be a hundred and twenty years." (Gn 6:3).
?
Man stops remembering himself when he stops remembering that he is "mortal", that he has a perishable body. He begins to believe himself to be eternal, he falls into imagination. His false sense of omnipotence leads him to forget his real needs, and to deny the spirit within him. (1) 1_
¿Qué relación hay entre la "renegación del espíritu" y el "olvido de ser carne"?
The masks of personality are formed through ordinary identifications, through the role that we play with others, with the world. We need to learn to remain within ourselves whilst being in the world. Instead, when we come into contact with the world, we become the world. We become our masks. We stop "hearing ourselves", we stop knowing who we are. We begin to know ourselves only through identification. "I earn 5,000 euro a month, that means I'm pretty smart!" or "I'm a powerful woman, which means I deserve respect!" or "I have a lot of admirers, which means I'm beautiful!" "The Lord saw how great man's wickedness on earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time." (Gn 6:5) A man who is slave to his masks has no escape; he is destined for great suffering. Life is designed in such a way that sooner or later appearances will be shattered. Just like the cocoon that holds the chrysalis. If the chrysalis does not grow, feed, gain strength, then when the shell is broken, it will die. This is why God urges the Essence (Noah), suffocating in its cumbersome personality, to set to in a work of redemption. He urges it to fight to grow on an earth (the individual psyche) "whose wickedness is great", whose chaos is endless. So, disorder. It is through this essence that man still has the possibility of surviving after the shell has been broken. The escape mechanisms, and all ways and paths of illumination, all function to serve the essence. In Hebrew it is called "Noah", or True Peace: remember that Noah shares the same etymological root as the verbs NoHaH, which means "lead to a sheltered place", and Na'H, "rest", "be in a state of stillness". True Peace is a state of inner stillness. Indeed, only by enabling the essence to grow is it possible to consolidate that inner calm that can withstand the deluge. Attaining it is the only objective that makes the Creation worthy. This is why we read: "…Noah found favour in the eyes of the Lord."
(Gn 6:8)
In order to carry out the Escape Plan from the deluge that was to overwhelm the planet, Noah had to remain united with his entire family, his sons Shem (Name, or Renown), Ham (Hot-sun) and Japheth (Opening, Expanding), his wife, and his sons' wives (the same graphic marking is used for the H in Ham) (Gen 6:18). Eight people altogether, representing the beginning of a higher octave, the foundation for a new humanity. Only with the help of his family can Noah build the Ark that will enable him to overcome the shattering trial that awaits him. He could never have done it on his own.
13_
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Study
NOAH: COMMANDER OF THE ARK
by Giovanni M. Quinti
No one can carry out this "rescue" operation on their own, or through selfteaching. The work group is fundamental, and assumes the form of a new spiritual family. (2) God gives Noah precise practical instructions on how to save himself:
?
"Make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out." (Gn 6:14)
2_
Can we find any parallels between work groups and Noah's family?
The hieroglyphic alphabet helps us a great deal in understanding the Book. Noah is invited to make himself a dwelling-place. Dwelling, in Hebrew, is Tebhah, which, in the usual versions in translated as "ark", a word of Latin origin that means a cupboard or chest. The Book says nothing of the sort. Tebhah, for the Hebrews in Moses' time, was first and foremost Thebes, the holy city, Dwelling-place of the Gods. In Hebrew, the letters forming the word TeBHaH - TH, B and H - gave two meanings when read as hieroglyphics: the first is "that which turns within itself", and the second is "that which moves within itself". The first of the two meanings is human: meditation, knowing oneself, discovering oneself. The second is immense, and is the same meaning that appears in the Hebrew word tebhal, "the universe"; it is the cosmos, the All. Hence the Tebhah is an inner cosmos, complete in itself, to which Noah must give shape, and which is so mysteriously large as to be capable of becoming the divine Dwelling-place and holding the entire universe. Thus it is not an ark, but a temple, and the material for building it is growth itself ('etz; the Book says: the same word used to indicate "the growth of knowledge of good and evil"). But from that knowledge, Noah must take (so he is told) that which lasts, that which remains over time: and thus, all that he has truly learnt, in the growth of his knowledge. In Peter Brook's film "Meetings with Remarkable Men" (taken from Gurdjieff's book of the same title) one scene in particular sticks in viewers' minds: Gurdjieff and his group, travelling through the desert, carrying "mysterious wooden sticks". During the night, a great storm blows up. The sand, whipped up at extreme speeds by the strong wind, scratches their faces. Some of them, holding up the sticks, allow the others to climb onto them. In this way, those standing above are not hit by the sand, which stays close to the ground. The symbology of the ark is similar to that of these stilts: there is a need to build a saving element, a firm anchor, a permanent centre of gravity that will survive the Deluge.
?
3_
Did you know that the work on ourselves is often symbolised in the Gospels by the construction of a body of glory or special clothing? Cf. Mat 22:1-14 and comment.
Sooner or later each one of us will have to face our own deluge. To ignore it is as foolish as it is frequent. The worst consequence of sleep is that it prevents man from realising the need to build a "spiritual body", a new vehicle to successfully overcome the impending troubles. (3) Noah is effectively invited to get to know his real self, to be the author of his own life: Commander of the Ark, and thus of his own knowledge and life. And every detail needed to achieve this objective is suggested to him. He is invited to build a structure for the Dwelling with "compartments", or "channels" (qinim): because all the things that a man learns are only new beginnings, empty channels of knowledge, to be gradually filled, along which each aspect of knowledge communicates with all the others.
14_
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Study
NOAH: COMMANDER OF THE ARK
by Giovanni M. Quinti
He is also prompted on the material with which to cover the inside and outside of the ark: so that inside, it preserves all that it is to contain, and so that, from the outside, nothing and no one can get in uninvited. "This is how you are to build it: the ark is to be 300 cubits long; 50 cubits wide and 30 cubits high [450 feet long, 75 feet wide and 45 feet high]. Make a roof for it [and make an opening for light by] finishing the ark to within a cubit [18 inches] of the top‌" (Gn 6:15,16). In the hieroglyphic alphabet, SH was the image of the circle of knowledge. N was the image of things, of all that is produced. L was the image of movement expanding and rising. Finally, Aleph, which is silent, is the sign of power, stability and unity. The measurements for the Tebhah (ark seen as a temple) are the knowledge of the things created and their movement on earth and in heaven. This leads to the unity and power of the being. If we remove the zeroes from these numbers, we have three, five and one. In the Kabbalah, three and five are linked to God and man. They respectively represent the divine triad (the three forces) in which the whole of creation is manifested, and man with his five elements (or five functions) which must be balanced. One is the symbol of the Central Element, beyond appearances: aleph. "He who has eyes to see, let him see" Jesus said. That single opening or window is a symbol of the one eye that is to be opened through the vision of the truth, which gives power, stability and unity. If we then multiply the numbers together, we will see that: 300 x 50 x 30 = 450000 + 1 = 450001. Added all together, these numbers (4 + 5 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 0 + 1 = 10 = 1) lead back to one: Aleph once again. The ark is a symbol of the new man, based on the unitary principle, whose leader is Noah, the pacified essence, True Peace. Before our very eyes we are seeing revealed how this new man should be built. By filling the "technical" information needed for this building to take place with symbolism, these things can be kept hidden from those who do not have access to the interpretative keys. But these keys do exist, and we must try to identify them: "‌ Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks."
(Gn 6:17).
Let us read Gurdjieff's words, which may, once again, be illuminating: "Let us take the human organism in the form of a three-storey factory. The upper floor of this factory consists of a man's head; the middle floor, of the chest; and the lower, of the stomach, back, and the lower part of the body." ("In Search of the Miraculous", page 182)
Clearly this must have been of vital importance if, for centuries, the usual versions of the Book have been able to present the image of a God who urges Noah not to forget the roof or the window on his own boat. But the Book does not say this at all, if we carefully interpret the hieroglyphics. "I have given you the measurements of your knowledge", Noah is told, "and you must fill them, and not exceed them, in building the Tebhah within you. The upper part of the dwelling must be the image of your universe (tebhale): no less, no more. And so, from there, you can draw upon the light" (Gurdjieff identifies this upper floor with the head). The Tebhah is the temple. The tebhale of the temples is the cupola: the image of the universe, the boundary line between human knowledge and the cosmic "light". "Whilst the dwelling will be accessed from the bottom, for you", the Book continues,
15_
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Study
NOAH: COMMANDER OF THE ARK
by Giovanni M. Quinti
"because man will enter to learn, and that which is above must always appear to him to be the highest point in knowledge reached by humanity. And the lower parts, those which man meets as he begins to learn, will have the structure of 2 and 3: double and triple, says the Book". In the Hebrew alphabet, numbers 2 and 3 correspond to the letters B and G. B is the sign of inner things, whilst G is the sign of the body and its organs. So: what man begins to know when he enters the Tebhah, will be what is within him, in his inner life and in his body. And from there he can climb upwards in knowledge. Within this ark a number of guests must be housed: "Take with you seven [pairs] of every kind of clean animal, a male and its mate, and two of every kind of unclean animal, a male and its mate. (Gn 7:2).
?
4_
Can you give an example of "pure instincts" - nonautomatic ones that lead towards awakening, and "impure instincts" that lead our conscience to sleep?
The animals can be compared to our uncontrolled instincts. Some are pure (in Hebrew law these are cattle, sheep, goats, etc.) and represent instincts that lead us towards awakening, and others are impure (e.g., fish without fins and scales) and lead to sleep. (4) Everything is useful, nothing is rejected. Everything is regenerated. If the impure animals were not "saved", there could be no effort towards growth, as with friction and the work on ourselves. A religion - Noah is told - must be able to be a Tebhah. It must be made of knowledge. Further, a religion must be able to contain "a pair of each bodily form", i.e., of every living being. This means two things: 1. Humanity must always learn to discover the deep affinities binding it to other living beings. They are deep mirrors of human nature: they provide man with a picture of a way of knowing that is different from his own, but which man absolutely needs in order to know himself; 2. Humanity must enter the dwelling in pairs: male and female, so that they are fertile‌ Noah and his wife, the three sons and their wives. Only that which is fertile, open to development: no stationary notions, no dogmas, we might say today. Finally, a religion must be able to contain the food necessary to sustain all these life forms. It must not just use them: it must also enable them to live, understand them, love them. Otherwise we are not in the presence of a Tebhah, a real dwelling. From a numerological viewpoint we once again find 2 (a couple‌) and 7 (take seven pairs of every clean animal‌). 2, as we have seen, corresponds to the letter B, the sign of inner things, whilst 7 represents the letter Z, the sign of achieving a goal, an aim, and of the light being reflected on an object (the light reaching a destination and stopping there). So it is no coincidence that the animals mentioned in the book are seven. The same goes for the birds, seven pairs of each kind, because they did not originate from the adamah, literally the "soil", and are thus limited beings, because they are missing a part: rootedness in the earth, although they have the tools (their wings) to rise upwards, towards awareness. For this reason, their diffusion is to be encouraged, and many are to be put into the Tebhah. They represent a connection, and they are valuable.
16_
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Study
NOAH: COMMANDER OF THE ARK
by Giovanni M. Quinti
"‌Then the Lord shut him in" (Gen 7:16) and Noah began to guide the ark. It rained heavily (Christ's 40 days in the desert, the heart of the test) and the waters flooded the earth for a hundred and fifty days. Noah was 600 years old at the time of the flood; 6, in the Kaballah, represents the number of the man who can enter into contact with the divine or fall asleep forever. But Noah, the drive for the Octave of the New Creation, did not fall asleep; he did not leave the guidance of the ark to instinct or to chance. He had faith. "After forty days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark and sent out a raven, and it kept flying back and forth until the water had dried up from the earth. Then he sent out a dove to see if the water had receded from the surface of the ground. But the dove could find no place to set its feet because there was water over all the surface of the earth; so it returned to Noah in the ark. He reached out his hand and took the dove and brought it back to himself in the ark. He waited seven more days and again sent out the dove from the ark. When the dove returned to him in the evening, there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! Then Noah knew that the water had receded from the earth. He waited seven more days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him." (Gn 8:6-12). The symbology of the raven is very interesting. An impure animal (Lev 11:1319), it is sent out just once to spot land. For ten months, Noah watches and learns. In the Hebrew alphabet, the number 10 corresponds to the letter I, the sign of manifestation. On the first day of the tenth month, the mountains were seen: HaRIM, in Hebrew, which sounds like the plural of HaRaH, "pregnant". The earth was gravid under the waters, and the Tebhah witnessed what had happened, and what always happens on the second day of creation: the waters recede and "dry land" emerges. Noah watched and learned. He waited 40 of his human days - 40 in the Hebrew alphabet corresponds to the letter M, the sign of shaping and opening - and then began to show what he was learning, in that divine lesson. He, the man, took part in the creation, just as mankind can take part: by imitating, in a ritual, what he has learned of the divine world.
?
5_
Try to interpret the hidden meaning of this symbol.
Noah celebrated the rite of the beginning of the light. He opened a window in the Tebhah, in the dwelling-place. He broke the shell of knowledge, and let the darkness out of that opening: 'oReBH, in Hebrew, which is also the name of the raven, the darkness-bird. The raven and the darkness were both images of his understanding. Then the dove, a pure animal, is sent out three times, and not only does she find the earth, she does not return. (5) The dove is the animal that represents the divine more than any other.
17_
THE FOURTH WAY_Study and examination of the Sacred Texts
Study
NOAH: COMMANDER OF THE ARK
by Giovanni M. Quinti
In addition to being traditionally associated with the purity of the Holy Spirit (the white dove coming down onto Christ's head during his baptism), it is also associated with spirituality. Indeed, it is no mere coincidence that the angels are represented as men with giant doves' wings! Gurdjieff himself (see the Enneagram drawn in Tblisi in 1919) interprets it as a core element that must be freed towards awareness. In many Sufi, Muslim and Christian parables, it represents the essential divine element that prepares various stratagems to "escape" from the cage.
?
So it is not through mechanical actions (the raven) that we can reach the firm foundation (the re-emerged, renewed earth), but only through conscious action (the dove). The biblical tale of Noah and his descendants must be interpreted with a comprehension of the symbolic language used in the Bible. Was the dove the light for Noah? It was the reflection of his light, setting out to search, but not yet finding anything. The time is not yet right. Like creation, understanding has its days which must ripen: it is too soon, the dove cannot yet separate from Noah. The dove represents the 'aiSHaH, the soul, a life-bringing air element, invisible to the 'aISH, the I. The Book says, "And he sent out the dove - from what was there with him …", in other words Noah separated it from what was in him, because man's Aishah and his I had been one thing, a single form. Noah understood this. Sultàn Valad (1226 - 1318), the son and successor of Jalàl àlDin Rùmì (the most important Turkish mystic poet), writes in his Ma'àrif: "… Noah's flood, in its material form, symbolises one of the floods of the soul; the catastrophe and swallowing up of the earth represent phenomena of the human soul… (it is) the metamorphosis of the soul…". ("Ma'àrif" by Sultán Valad)
The story of the flood ends with the opening of the ark and the colonisation of the new land. At this point God makes a promise that contains the sense of redeeming action, of the work on ourselves. He promises that there will be no more death, that man will no longer be destroyed: "… I establish my covenant with you: never again will all life be cut off by the waters"… "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind… Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures..." (Gn 9:11-16).
?
6_
What did the biblical story of Noah arouse in you? Try rereading it right through, straight from the Bible, in the light of this new interpretational key. (Gen chap. 6, 7, 8 and 9)
IEven in the darkest moments, when clouds gather over our lives and in our hearts, the man on the Way (having passed through the stages of the work on himself) sees the rainbow forming in the sky of his being. This vision is what distinguishes him from the others; he is not a superhero or a great genius, but he has learnt to see beyond the clouds, and to remember the covenant. He has saved his own essence from the endless chaos; he knows that, even if his body is destroyed, he himself will not be. He has learnt to live. (6)
THE FOURTH WAY_ Introduction to the Enneagram
18_
Study
THE SACRED ENNEAGRAM by Giovanni M. Quinti
Part one
?
Introduction to the Enneagram 1_
Have you ever heard mention of the Enneagram? Do you know what it is for and why it is used?
Georges I. Gurdjieff, during his journeys as a searcher, came into contact with very ancient forms of knowledge, and learnt some fundamental truths that were to change the existence of some great men in the west. A few years after his arrival in the west, G. founded the PrieurĂŠ, the "Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man". On the main door of the institute, on full display, was a symbol that summed up all the knowledge with which Gurdjieff had come into contact: the Enneagram (1).
THE FOURTH WAY_ Introduction to the Enneagram
19_
Study
THE SACRED ENNEAGRAM
2_
part one
Consisting of a circle, a series of rays joining six points around the circle and an inner dotted triangle, its name, Enneagram, comes from the Greek: "nine signs", because the nine equally-spaced points are joined by nine lines within the circumference. Let's take a look at the approach to the Enneagram taken by some contemporary psychologists, especially those of the New Age.
?
What do you think of the New Age?
by Giovanni M. Quinti
?
What is the New Age? (2) It is a movement that ranges from the study of ancient and fascinating disciplines to the study of esoteric symbols, to "garlic therapies" or "blue dolphin meditations". Now studying the Enneagram has also become a new fashion, a trend feeding this limitless tangle of theories, mysticism and superstitions that we call "New Age".
?
3_
What do you think about this?
The way the Enneagram is studied today by most of its interpreters has no direct link with Gurdjieff! This "new approach" that has recently become popular comes mainly from Claudio Naranjo, a Chilean psychiatrist, psychotherapist and teacher, who learnt it from Oscar Ichazo, a South American master who, in Naranjo's book "Character and Neurosis", is declared to be a Sufi master. It is unclear what Ichazo's original teaching is, whilst, as regards Naranjo's work, we can see the will to integrate the Sarmoung enneagram learnt from Ichazo with the psychodiagnostic theories and practices learnt over the years from the Chilean psychiatrist Matthew Blanco, but also from other searchers, psychotherapists and psychoanalysts. What we cannot say is where and from whom Ichazo learnt that there is a different human personality that corresponds with each of the nine points that these rays form within the circle! According to this theory, there are nine types of personality, and we can use these to "classify" attitudes and characters. (3) Whilst agreeing that all individuals correspond to a precise model of "types", Gurdjieff never mentioned Ichazo's nine types but, rather, six or seven basic and fundamental ones. "You must understand that in the conditions in which you live you cannot meet with more than six or seven types, although there are in life a greater number of fundamental types. The rest are all combinations of these fundamental types."
?
"In Search of the Miraculous", page 246
4_
How can we belong to a precise type if we are fickle, inconsistent and in conflict? Don't you think that this idea of the Enneagram is far removed from Gurdjieff's teachings?
I have no intention of giving a critique of Naranjo's approach and his enneatypes, but simply of indicating the differences with those used in many Fourth Way schools. His study, we must acknowledge, has the merit of being well-structured, and it can help us understand some structural mechanisms of personality. A scholar of Gurdjieff's system and the Fourth Way must surely know and study Naranjo's works, but he/she must not think that the function of the Enneagram is limited to the areas of study presented by him. Indeed, we will see that its value and potential uses are far wider. So, yes, there is a basic Gurdjieffian concept whereby man is in inner conflict because he does not possess a single "I", a single will, but many I's, many wills, which are often in contrast with each other. (4) Another approach to the Enneagram, in line with the attempts of contemporary psychology to outline a map of the human psyche, is that of investigating not only the definitive and general characteristics of each
20_
THE FOURTH WAY_ Introduction to the Enneagram
Study
THE SACRED ENNEAGRAM
by Giovanni M. Quinti
part one
individual, but also those of the different, conflicting I's. One example of an attempt to do this can be seen in Transactional Analysis (TA), whose founder Eric Berne sought to map out these I's, stating that in each of us there is: a parent (parent ego state) a child (child ego state) an adult (adult ego state)
?
5_
What, then, are the differences between these two approaches to the Enneagram?
The aim of TA is to establish a balance between these three aspects. Even before that, Freud attempted to illustrate certain areas of the psychic region, identifying them as the Conscious and the Unconscious, and stating that the Unconscious is structured into the "ego", "super-ego" and "id". The Enneagram, being the symbol of the "universe and of the human soul" (we will see later why we give it this name) traces nine (or more?) forces that live together within the psyche; indeed, it would be more correct to say that they compose it. (5) Thus, the Enneagram becomes a "summarising model" of the individual psychic territory, and not just a mirror for the different types of character. When modern interpreters of this ancient symbol claim that each one of us can be identified prevalently with a specific "human type", they make a mistake in omitting to say that this is just one of the many approaches to interpreting the Enneagram symbol. Recently, in an alternative medicine magazine, I read an article that placed different dog breeds within the Enneagram. This may initially seem ridiculous, but it does actually have a certain relevance to what the symbol represents. Indeed, the Enneagram is a system for cataloguing different concepts, symbols or elements, so that they can be reinterpreted. (To be continued)
IN THE NEXT EDITION FW
The Enneagram and the Tree of life: connections and parallels We will study the Enneagram from an alternative viewpoint, in order to try and grasp its vastness, and we will try to refer as far as possible to the written testimony of direct pupils of Gurdjieff or Ouspensky.
21_
THE FOURTH WAY_The Reflections of a Searcher II
AN EMBELLISHED
NOTHING by Rossella Arena
Only if you fully see your wretchedness can your greatness reveal itself to you part two
"How can you be alone like that?" I don't know. I haven't learnt yet, but others have done it before me, and they haven't done so badly, I'd say. Anyway, it has to be done. Of course, we can't think we're going to do everything alone either. Pride can be quite sneaky, you know? And anger sometimes pretends it's strength too. And what about your body, which is hungry and thirsty, and has needs that are part of its very nature? And what about your heart, which was born to love, and only to love? What about your mind, which struggles to stay awake, and often deceives you, falling victim to itself? Loners are alone because they want to be free, not to say and do, but to find themselves and to love their neighbour. But they, too, need to help each other not to give in, to support each other, warn and rebuke each other, push each other to keep their eyes open. They, too, need a little tenderness now and again, a little love. And who can they turn to for these things, if not to those who speak the same language? "What language do they speak?" The language of silence. Mostly they listen. They have to listen long and hard before they start to speak. "So how do they communicate?" They find a way. And the more they realise the danger for themselves and others that can lie behind every foolish word, the better. And so they are quiet and learn to communicate through their silence. The enemies are never vanquished, and every searcher who has not yet crossed the threshold, despite the best will in the world, is a ticking time bomb. But a real loner cannot fail to spot him, and only a loner can give him a hand. A real loner will not flatter his way into your bed, but rather he will love you without flattering you, if you like. A real loner will not say thank you, but rather he will give you opportunities to thank him, and will
THE FOURTH WAY_The Reflections of a Searcher II
never say "you're welcome", or ask you for favours. A real loner will constantly pinch your cheeks and accept your insults, but he will do all that he can to show you your enemies and get you to fight them. A real loner will never do anything in your place, but he will never abandon you if you ask for help. A real loner does not want man's love for himself, but rather, he will help man to understand that that love is God's, and he will strive constantly to remind himself of this too. "What a miserable life loners must lead!" Do you think so? I don't know. I'm just a beginner myself. Sure it's difficult at times. But other times it's a real blessing… "No thanks… I don't need it… I'll be keeping my own company this evening… the stars, a glass of wine, and the wonder that fills my heart when I look around." "Well, you can always give it a try, and if it doesn't work out, you can do something else." I don't think so. It's fear that makes you say these things. Faith can crush fear like a flea. Then you have to fight against far more dangerous tendencies and habits, but what can you do… it's the only way, there are no alternatives. "Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house". "And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the wine will burst the skins, and both the wine and the wineskins will be ruined. No, he pours new wine into new wineskins." "I don't get it. Why are you telling me all these things that I don't understand?" I'm not telling you. I'm reminding myself. You know, to learn to love, loners must first become terribly selfish…
22_
In wretchedness I find my greatness. In wretchedness I meet God and submit to him, because without His spirit I do not exist. Only in wretchedness can I find grace, because God can be merciful. Stripping bare, seeing ourselves in our nakedness, and there rediscovering the greatness of God and of life, there is no other way. And just as greatness arises from wretchedness, suffering gives rise to joy, the revelation of hope, and the manifestation of faith. And then it's just a fight. But if we are born slaves to ourselves, we have to fight against ourselves in order to be free. And if we are born slaves, freedom is not ours by birthright, but by the grace of our master. The granting of freedom is the only thing that it makes sense to desire, and we ask for it with our actions, not our words. A slave asking for grace must show submission, not arrogance. A slave asking for grace must never delude himself that he is the master, or he will never get it. And even if we do all that we can to deserve it, grace is never guaranteed until the last day. A puff of wind is enough to ruin all the work done. Christ came to lay us bare, to show us our slavery and teach us that love is not the end but the means to becoming something far greater, to becoming that very love ourselves. Christ came to teach us to fight through love and finally to be free. This is why we were created… to be great and participate in God's love. Otherwise we would be a dog, or a tree, or a bird. But instead we are men, little embellished nothings, carrying within us all that we need to be free. Rule one: open your eyes. He who seeks, finds. Blessed are the last, for they will be first. A mystery of faith.
The End
THE FOURTH WAY_Faith is Knowledge
23_
@
E-mails from the Quarta Via site The website www.gurdjieff.es (The Official Body of the Human and Cultural Association "La Teca") sends out a weekly e-mail to provide information and spread the teaching. Many people have asked to read those already sent out (we began in the year 2000). This is the perfect opportunity to do that. Each month we will publish one of those that we think was most appreciated.
And Gurdjieff said… W
Dear Friends of Fourth Way.org, This week we have decided to gather together some unpublished quotes from Gurdjieff regarding the work on ourselves, which we think are both useful and interesting. We hope that these "gems" of consciousness will be as helpful to you as they have been to us, and we send you our most friendly greetings.
e never get right to the end of what we want to do, in the big things or the little ones. We get as far as "SI", and then we go back to "DO" where we started from. The same thing happens in our self-development, which for this reason is impossible without an additional force, from within or without.
The staff at quartavia.org
orking hard is an excellent investment of energy. The conscious use of energy is a fruitful investment; its automatic use is a pointless waste.
(25 March 1922)
W e consume more energy than necessary to begin with, using muscles we do not need, letting our thoughts run amok and reacting too emotionally. Relax your muscles, use only the ones you need, store up your thoughts, and express your feelings only when you want to. Don't be affected by appearances: as such, they are innocuous. We are the ones who allow them to harm us. (Prieuré, 12 June 1923)
W
(Prieuré, 12 June 1923)
W hen the body rebels against the work, tiredness steps in immediately. But this is not the time to rest, for that would mean letting it win. When your body wants to rest, pay it no heed; but if your mind knows that it must rest, then let it rest. But you need to learn to distinguish the language of the body from that of the mind, and to be honest. (25 March 1922)
W ithout a struggle, there can be neither progress nor results. Every time a habit is broken, a change occurs within the machine. (Prieuré, 2 March1923)
THE FOURTH WAY _Letters to the Founder
Letters to the Founder
24_
// Answers from Giovanni M. Quinti
Send your question(s) to: informazioni@quartavia.org
X.
What do you think is the fundamental difference that distinguishes G. I. Gurdjieff's teaching from that of other spiritual masters whose aim is also personal, inner work? For example, the practices that are part of Tibetan Buddhism or those of the Vietnamese master Thich Nhat Hanh, or those of the Indian masters Yogananda, Osho and Krisnamurti, and in the west, those of the master Mikhael Aivanhov. Since these teachings are accessible to us, I would like to know your opinion on the matter. With many thanks.
Dear friend, in order to fully answer all your questions, we would have to draw parallels between each of the masters that you mention and the history of the ancient tradition to which Gurdjieff constantly refers in his teachings. The theoretical objectives are the same for all of them, and Gurdjieff's objective in the work is very similar to the others: the reunion of man with the Absolute (what is the Absolute? Perhaps you and our readers would like to hear something about it), in its truest and most complete form. It is the means and tools that change, and, in the hands of the right people, become effective in achieving this objective. So remember: before a method can be effective, the master must be so. C.
Dear Mr. Quinti, it's C. Please excuse me for taking the liberty of writing to you, but I wanted to tell you about the upheaval that our two days on the Enneagram have caused me. Yesterday and today I have had to force myself to go to work, and at home I just want to sit in my study and think. For some time now I have lost interest in a lot of things, especially since I have seen how we are so strongly subject to the influence of the planets, whilst we delude ourselves that we can move mountains. I used to enjoy going window shopping, I thought of it as my way of treating myself lovingly, but lately those windows have lost their sparkle, and Saturday evening, after hearing your words, they were completely lifeless. On Sunday evening, on my way home, I thought about my relationship with my husband according to the Enneagram. He can never say no to me, and I am a wretched perfectionist. When I came into the house and saw him, I felt fondness for him, but I could not hug him, I never can. Now I don't think I could, or even want to, go back to my ordinary, mechanical life, happy with life's deceptions, but a machine I am, nonetheless, and I'm afraid I may not be able to work and grow in a group. I got the impression that you rarely come to give seminars in my town, and I also feel that you are the only one who can speak to my heart in those special moments when you lower your voice and say beautiful things about God. For now the memory is clear and wonderful, but how long will it last? With affection, C.
Dear, sweet C., in your letter I was struck by your gentleness, but also by your desire for inner growth. You expressed your feelings with an open heart, and I want to thank you for deciding to share with me. Last weekend was a really pleasant experience for me, illuminating, and heralding blessings. And this happened thanks to your participation as well as the others'! But now it is important that everyone, and you in particular, should begin to really work. I remember you expressed a wish to "go and live in Tibet"‌ Well, sweet C., let me sign off with this reflection: "If you can't find Tibet in your office, don't you think you might risk finding your office in Tibet?" I am with you.
F.
My name is F., I'm 27 years old and I'm a barman. My philosophical interests led me to come across the name of Gurdjieff. This happened a few years ago. I was reading a booklet called "The masters: voices from the silence", where Gurdjieff's name appeared alongside other historic figures such as Buddha, Hakuin and Milarepa, in a chapter called "self-remembering". But what I am looking for today are ears and mouths, not just paper and ink...
Ears and mouths cannot be found in books. Search, investigate, but above all EXPERIMENT. Meet people and look them in the eye, don't be afraid. Remember that the teaching can only come through men and women who have walked on the Way, and that each tree is recognised by its own fruit. Books are just a map, they provide important information, but it is only information. The map represents a place that you can know, experience (and experiment) only by walking it barefoot, with the burning desire to know it and to live it. Happy Searching!
THE FOURTH WAY_Introduction to the ideas of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff
25_
The role of man in the evolution of the universe
We have drawn inspiration from some unpublished notes by John G. Bennet, taken from a series of conferences held at Denison House in March and April 1949, to show you how the Fourth Way system places man within the universe.
Introduction to the ideas of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff
edited by Eva M. Franchi
The Second Creation is based on the fundamental principle of eating and being eaten. Nothing is lost in the void, everything takes place through an exchange of cosmic substances. Even the most spiritually evolved of men cannot escape this law: he is both eater and food. In this way, a construction process takes place, which balances the destruction process that takes place naturally over time. Gurdjieff defines the decay and final dissolution due to the law of the cycle of time as "Hieropas", referring to living organisms. When he refers to inanimate objects, on the other hand, he uses the term "Autoegocrat", meaning the law that enables objects, such as a chair, to stay together through an internal force of cohesion, in turn subject to the wear and tear of the law of time. The system of existence through which each living being obtains food, and in turn is a source of food for other beings, is defined by Gurdjieff as "Trogoautoegocrat", which roughly means, "I maintain myself by eating and being eaten". Gurdjieff states that the whole universe is designed as a living organism, consisting of smaller organisms, all of the same origin, that form its body. The same applies to the human body, formed of a cluster of cells that make up a single organism. The "Trogoautoegocrat" process makes it possible to counterbalance the
decay caused by the law of time. Thanks to this system, the universe can continue to exist forever, feeding on its own life. When we speak of living organisms, it is important to bear in mind that we are not only talking about the animals and plants on our planet. There are living organisms on all scales, both vastly bigger and infinitely smaller than man and the planet on which he lives. The sun and moon are living beings, as are all the planets in the solar system and beyond, they eat and are eaten, just like people, animals, cells and viruses. The solar system grows through processes that closely resemble those forming our bodies. The same is true of the universe, which Gurdjieff calls "Megalocosmos", which feeds from the Infinite Source and from the exchange of substances with its infinite extensions. Following this free growth of the universe, however, a new factor emerges: the subsequent forms of life that expand into the universe are elaborated in an increasingly complex way, and the "Trogoautoegocratic" process that sustains them, i.e., eating and being eaten, works through increasingly complicated systems. The universe expands within the infinite realms of time, space and eternity, but in doing so it risks losing its coherence (TO BE CONTINUED)...
THE FOURTH WAY_ How can we use personality?
The Wise Use of Masks How can we use personality? Many believe that being on the Way means fighting against one's masks, to live happily without them. Yet this is far from what Gurdjieff taught. He said: "For inner growth to take place, and to begin the work on ourselves, a certain development of the personality is necessary, as well as a certain vigour of the essence." We feel that the illustration shown here gives a better explanation than any words could, of what the "wise use of masks" should be. Let a word to the wise be enough!
26_
www.gurdjieff.es
THE FOURTH WAY Monthly Study Notes
"THE FOURTH WAY" is the official press body of the Institute for the Harmonious Development of Man - La Teca.
"When we learn, we listen only to our thoughts. this is why it is not possible for us to take in new thoughts, unless we use new methods of listening and studying." London 13/02/1922 G.I. Gurdjieff
Each edition contains lots of sections full of information that has never been revealed publicly before, practical exercises and original material on the teachings of the Fourth Way.
Topics covered will include: -
The meaning of the Stop Exercise The Enneagram and the Tree of life The Fourth Way method explained step by step What has never been said about the 6th Lower Centre and the 3rd Higher Centre The secrets of Gurdjieff's life The Hasnamusses: who are they? The Study of the Sacred Texts using the Fourth Way method Alchemy and the Fourth Way The influence of the Higher Centres Study of the Old Testament in light of the System Objective Music Where does Gurdjieff's teaching come from? How to work on ourselves The Origins of the Fourth Way Dante and the Fourth Way The Relationship between Master and Pupil The Spiritual aspect of the Fourth Way The power of conscious thought What is true Self-remembering? The Enneagram revealed: things that have never been written on the Enneagram
...AND MUCH MORE
IN THE NEXT EDITION VIA li TA ensi AR udio M QU di St LA dispense Le
VIAnsili RTAdio Me QUAdi Stu LA dispense Le
The Enneagram and the Tree of life: connections and parallels
Abraham: God's Friend
VIAnsili RTAdio Me QUAdi Stu LA dispense Le
The Economic Issue: money and the work on ourselves
...AND MUCH MORE