the fourth way #5

Price

€ 6.00 taxes included

Official Press Body of the LA TECA Associations

THE FOURTH WAY www.gurdjieff.es

Study notes

ENG // English version

#05

Similarities and relationships bet ween

The Enneagram and The Tree of Life

LaTeca

Institute for Harmonious Development

Study and investigation Of the Sacred Texts

Abraham: God’s Friend

Reflections from contemporary alumni

About tiredness, about pain…

Understanding the System

Money and the Work on Oneself

LaTeca Institute for Harmonious Developement

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

www.gurdjieff.es

THE FOURTH WAY EN // English version Number 5 Study notes // Official Press Body of the LA TECA Associations

Chairman Giovanni M. Quinti From an original idea by

SASSARI Via Taramelli, 6 07100 - Sassari (SS) Contact: Salvatore Masala +39 (339) 4181783 Access by invitation only

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

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.

APUNTS - Barcelona Contributors to this edition Massimo Failoni, Luigi and Sonia Di Sante, Marco Capulli, Giovanni M. Quinti, Paola Grasso, 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

The Fourth Way_Table of contents

2_

Table of Contents pag.3

3

Thoughts from the Giants

Albert Einstein Said It

What did Albert Einstein think about spirituality?

4-5

Editorial and Reflections about Zero From G. Bruno to the Philosophical Zero

pag.6

Study

6

Investigations of the Fourth Way

Money and the Work on oneself

Can it be justified to ask for money from members of a school? How are such funds used? A historical analysis of the “tithe”.

Study

11 The Fourth Way in the Sacred Texts Abram: God’s Friend

The third Biblical figure we will study is Abram: Patriarch and Founder of the great Monotheistic Religions.

pag.11 Study

16

Symbols and the Work on Oneself

The Enneagram and the Tree of Life Trying to give a less “New Age” aspect to an old and sacred symbol.

21 Reflections from contemporary alumni About tiredness, about pain…

The answer to many “why’s” that come up when starting the Work in the School of the Fourth Way.

pag.16

23

Messages from the Fourth Way’s web page

The “sly” Giufà

The web portal www.quartavia.org publishes e-mails to help understand the teaching.

24 pag.21

Letters to the founder Letters from the researchers Answers to the questions posed by today’s researchers.

25

Introductions to the Ideas of George I. Gurdjieff Man’s role in the Evolution of the Universe The illustration of Gurdjieff’s system by making reference to the curious and unpublished material of J. G. Bennet.

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_Thoughts from the Giants

Thoughts from the Giants //Albert Einstein Said It

The most beautiful and most profound religious emotion that we can experience is the sensation of the mystical. And this mysticality is the power of all true science. If there is any such concept as a God, it is a subtle spirit, not an image of a man that so many have fixed in their minds. In essence, my religion consists of a humble admiration for this illimitable superior spirit that reveals itself in the slight details that we are able to perceive with our frail and feeble minds. .

[Interview with Peter Bucky]

But, on the other hand, everyone who is seriously involved in the pursuit of science becomes convinced that a spirit is manifest in the laws of the Universe - a spirit vastly superior to that of man, and one in the face of which we with our modest powers must feel humble. In this way the pursuit of science leads to a religious feeling of a special sort, which is indeed quite different from the religiosity of someone more naive. [c. Dukas and Hoffman]

It is very difficult to elucidate this [cosmic religious] feeling to anyone who is entirely without it, especially as there is no anthropomorphic conception of God corresponding to it. The individual feels the futility of human desires and aims and the sublimity and marvelous order which reveal themselves both in nature and in the world of thought. Individual existence impresses him as a sort of prison and he wants to experience the universe as a single significant whole.

[New York Times Magazine, November 9, 1930].

THE FOURTH WAY_Editorial

Editorial Luigi and Sonia Di Sante

«

... Truth, which man, at any time, age, and state he may be in, always aspires to…»

Welcome Friends, to a new appointment with the study guide of the “researcher”.

With these words begins “The lamp of the thirty statues” by G. Bruno.

The introduction of this treatise takes us into the doctrine of the Soul which feeds and fills itself with the Truth. The first food, source of profound nourishment of the Soul, is Truth, and it is poured into the substance of the Soul as if it were almost a part of it. We all aspire to move, and sometimes we do move, towards maturity or development of our Soul. When we begin reading this fascinating and rather dark text (at least it seems that way to us), we are surprised by the very particular and unique visions and exhibitions that Bruno proposes to the reader with an open heart. In fact, in this writing the form of «We must not think that the Soul of the World does not speak the Truth that is transferred to the Soul of to certain beings because they hold no vestige of a Soul, or man does not combine more with it, thanks any sign of life: we rather believe that within them the Soul to a call towards a gradual climb towards dwells in hidden ways, ways that can be explained at unity or God; nor does it solely attest to the certain times. This happens in the human body, where unlimited and immutable nature of the the Soul, even though whole with all its parts, is not spiritual principle. The author tries to place fully explained everywhere; we say, therefore, that attention on another essential concept, in certain parts of the human body the Soul referring to the deep union between the manifests itself through acts of animal instinct, in Soul and the Truth. Both try to give others as acts of rational life, in other as acts of importance to the idea that man, despite a basic necessity, and in others as being “finite and limited”, can learn to free elementary states of being, although the himself from his “fierce condition”. This body is animated by the Soul in its entirety release is possible because man is not and encloses it completely. Therefore, the completely separated from the horizon of acts of intelligence, of the senses, and of the Truth.

According to the author, the vegetarian life are now explained. At the journey to reach this Truth is indicated by the same time, while in one place it produces pain and fatigue man feels and involves all complex beings, in others it produces human faculties and resources.

It is a form of imperfect mixed beings, and in others more struggle in which man learns to dissociate elementary mixed beings. Nor should this himself from the “inertia” of the regular state seem strange, because, as Plato said, we of things that prevents man from wanting believe that the very universe is animated, and seeking contact with the Truth. The the universe, who is the father and creator understanding of Truth is never apparent of animated beings, and from whose through the “canons of loquacious reason”, excrement perfect beings are produced. or through subjectivity, nor is it linked to Thus, not only is a being endowed with a ordinary ties, but is, in essence, a particular Soul, but a being is primarily animated, state, an instant enlightenment. Bruno says the only begotten son of the first intellect that Truth and Perfection are elements far and father of all things.» removed from nature and cannot be Giordano Bruno present accidentally or at random. These divine favours, in the ordinary world, are always the result of the work and labour of an artist that produces a conscious work and, through it, manages to subvert “exceptionally” and “rarely” the natural direction of things.

Access to perfection is only granted to man, who is also one of many accidents created from the perennial production of opposites.

4_

5_

THE FOURTH WAY_Reflections about Zero

Reflections about Zero…

by Marco Capulli

I would like to speak to you and invite you to think, to stop for a moment and take a snapshot of your life. If you do, you may be able to see everything around you as if you were in front of a screen. You might study the image and look upon certain details or peculiarities, such as when you observe an artwork or when you glance at an old photo album, where each time you find something new. When we manage to see things that we’ve never seen before, we are able to discover what we are missing from this short life.

Do you recall the movie “Matrix” or the children’s song “The Tortoise” by Bruno Lauzi?

This act allows us to close in, if only slightly, to a concept that apparently seems to be far from our hearts, very mechanical and sterile: the number zero.

Let us try to go into the merits bearing in mind the Enneagram, the famous symbol made known by Gurdjieff and used as a sign beneath the gateway to jlgm the Priory in France. The Enneagram is the cataloguing instrument of the fundamental principles of the universe. Examining it numerically and geometrically we can find many numbers and laws: the law of three (the triangle), and the law of seven (the other six points and the invisible central point); the points of the circle (6 and 3) when added give 9. We also find the eighth: seven tones of the chromatic scale, where the eighth is the repetition of the first, and the two semitones of the additional taps represented by the intervals mi-fa and so-do. Therefore, nine are the elements, like the points on the circumference. The points are just stages, because the Enneagram is observed as a whole. The circumference, being a closed figure, contains all the laws, not more or less, and ending the cycle in an octave, starts again, from do. The closed cycle represents the zero of our decimal system. Indeed, if you observe graphically the number “0” you discover that in reality it is simply the completion of the “9”, whose lower “small loop” remains open.

Therefore, zero, represented by a closed cycle, overlaps the Enneagram; therefore, it contains everything needed for existence.

The concept of zero takes form in “Fragments of an Unknown Teaching” by PD Ouspensky, in many parts of the text and not just in its relationship with the Enneagram, but also through the description of the cosmos. Often we read about the relationship between zero and infinity. This relationship helps us to understand the relationship between the different cosmos (Microcosm, macrocosm, Tritocosm, etc.). What does this all mean? Examining a relationship between the different cosmos is like examining the relationship between two different bodies of different dimensions. The most frequent example is that between a point and a line, or between a line and a surface of two, three, four or more dimensions.

Zero may be thought of as a point: a true limit. We see the point, but we are not able to see what is behind it. Behind it may lie the whole universe, but it appears before our eyes so small and so “insignificant” that it gives the impression of observing only a trivial and simple point. So what is a point, what is zero really? It is a body without dimensions…

6_

THE FOURTH WAY_The Discovery of the Answers to the Fundamental Questions

Study

MONEY AND THE WORK ON ONESELF

MO NEY AN

by Giovanni M. Quinti and Massimo Failoni

DT HE

THE

W

ELF ONES N O K WOR

jlgm

One of the issues that greatly arouse criticism by some people on the method of the Fourth Way is related to the solicitation of funds by schools that transmit such teaching. This happened even when Gurdjieff was alive: “many people were very indignant at the demand for payment, for money. In this connection it was very characteristic that those who were indignant were not those who could pay only with difficulty, but people of means… ‘Does this mean that we must pay to enter the Kingdom of Heaven?’ they said. ‘People do not pay nor is money asked for such things.’ ‘Christ said to his disciples: “Take neither purse nor scrip,” and you want a thousand roubles’”.

(Ouspensky – “Fragments”, p.172)

? Is it fair to ask for money from members of a School or an Initiation Group?

Within what parameters are these funds solicited? Are they mandatory? For what purpose is the money collected and for what reasons should it be used?

(1)

?

1_

Try to answer the questions.

We will try to answer these questions. Since ancient times, when man was closer to the Essential Voice, “working groups” have existed. These groups, each with different requirements, objectives, and historical and cultural contexts, had a certain “organization” that could, taking into account the area, offer some “distribution” of Knowledge. Some were made up of religious brotherhoods, in which Real Knowledge was transmitted, and the Way. Others, however, were parallel institutions that only fed resentment towards properly inscribed and clericalized religious groups.

7_

THE FOURTH WAY_The Discovery of the Answers to the Fundamental Questions

Study

?

2_

Can you think of other examples of schools of the past?

?

3_

In your opinion, did Jesus and his students share a home?

How did they sustain themselves?

MONEY AND THE WORK ON ONESELF

by Giovanni M. Quinti and Massimo Failoni

So from Ancient Egypt until the arrival of Christianity, from Muhammad’s preaching up to Dante Alighieri, from the Protestant Reformation until the charismatic Pentecostal movement, today (in a new way and one better adapted to the man of the third millennium) Knowledge also reaches us through the method and manner that Mr. Gurdjieff has given it. In the future we will tackle the historical analysis of some of the tortuous paths that Knowledge has gone through since the birth of Christianity to reach us. The organization of such groups took, therefore, different form and consistency on the basis of the various objectives that had to be achieved locally; always with the main objective as the propagation and transmission of Knowledge. (2) Without the Work of these men during the course of centuries we would not have the cultural and spiritual material we have today. For this reason, groups of the past needed the economic resources they received, more or less on a regular basis, through voluntary contributions from each of the participants who were given this service, not only for themselves but also to leave a legacy that would be enjoyed by their spiritual children. It is impossible to believe that Jesus and his entire entourage of students, sympathizers and faithful supporters did not need any money to support themselves during their preaching travels. (3) From the gospels we find that not only did they depend on those funds, but also that they asked for them by following precise guidelines. Through our collective imagination we always see Jesus as humbly dressed. How could he have dressed in the upper class clothes spoken about by the Apostle John if he did not have such funds available?

The clothes of Jesus had no seams from top to bottom, therefore were of high value at the time. A poor man could never have purchased them. On the other hand, if he had been dressed in rags, it would be difficult to understand why the centurions played a game of chance for his tunic (John 19:23,24).

?

4_

Have you ever thought about this?

And if he had not been dressed in that way, how was he accepted into the homes of the most important men of the time? Jesus, like all the great teachers of the past, always had as his objective the dissemination of the Word and not the accumulation of wealth, but without economic resources this would have been impossible.

Imagine Gurdjieff without the funds necessary to organize his show “The Fight of the Magi,” which enabled him to find Ouspensky and more effectively disseminate his teaching. It is very probable that without the economic efforts of the men of the past none of us today would know the work of Gurdjieff, or the preaching of Christ, or the sayings and teachings of many teachers who today are the cornerstone and guide for us all. (4)

?

5_

In your opinion, why did Jacob feel the urge to give God a tenth of his earnings?

From the time of the Hebrews and the Pyramids of Egypt to the working groups today, a portion of wealth was always requested from each of the members of a group in order to sustain the Work. That share was 10% of possessions and earnings, which is why it was called a “tithe”. Signs of said ten percent are found in the Old Testament: Genesis (Gen 28:20-22), when Jacob, after a divine vision, set the sacred stone obelisk on which he had slept and as a sign of the pact made stated: “… And of all that thou shalt give me I will surely give the tithe unto thee.” (5).

THE FOURTH WAY_The Discovery of the Answers to the Fundamental Questions

Study

MONEY AND THE WORK ON ONESELF

8_

by Giovanni M. Quinti and Massimo Failoni

All should allocate to the Lord a tenth of the land, a tenth of the fruits from the soil or plants, one tenth of livestock, large or small. Tithe, therefore, should be made available (in addition to achieving the pre-established goals) for the sustenance of those who, under the community, lived with little or no means.

However, the number 10 corresponds to the Y that is the sign of power, of duration, of the manifestation. If that rule was valid to the initiated Jews, it was also true for the Islamic mystics (in particular for the Sufis), constituting an essential part, one of the five pillars upon which religious practice was based along with purification, prayer, fasting and pilgrimage to Mecca. Let us read the book of Abu l-’Ala al-Maududi “Islam in Focus”: “Another exceptionally remarkable institution and major pillar of Islam is the Zakah. To the Qur’anic word Zakah and the meaning it conveys, there is no equivalent in any other language as far as we know. It is not just a form of charity or alms-giving or tax or tithe. Nor is it simply an expression of kindness; it is all of these combined and much more. It is not merely a deduction of a certain percentage from one s property, but an abundant enrichment and spiritual investment.”

“The literal and simple meaning of Zakah is purity.” “When Zakah is payable, a certain percentage of the wealth should be distributed immediately in the right manner, because the owner no longer has moral or legal possession of that percentage. If he fails to do so, he is obviously retaining something which does not belong to him. Zakah does not only purify the property of the contributor but also purifies his heart from selfishness and greed for wealth. Zakah mitigates to a minimum the sufferings of the needy and poor members of society. It is a most comforting consolation to the less fortunate people, yet it is a loud appeal to everybody to roll up his sleeves and improve his lot. To the needy it means that it is by nature an emergency measure and that he should not depend on it completely but must do something for himself as well as for others.”

The criticism directed to Gurdjieff “‘Take neither purse nor scrip,’ and you want a thousand roubles!” has no basis, be it because, with the Gospel in hand, we see that Jesus used available funds when necessary (for example, the Passover dinner was paid for with group funds), or because Jesus was probably an Essene, and we know from Giuseppe Flavio that: “For, it is a law with (the Essenes), that those who enter into the sect make their property common to the order;” Giuseppe Flavio (“The Jewish War”, Book II, Chapter 8, ver. 2).

The truth is that the practice of the Tithe was the same for all possessions. (6)

?

For Christians, then, payment of the Tithe is made today. This is shown in the synoptic Gospels:

6_

In your opinion, why did the Essenes have such a practice?

What are the connections between spirituality and the proper use of money?

“Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practised the latter without leaving the former undone.” (Luke 11:42)

The idea that Jesus had come to transgress the “Law”, opening a road without rules and only the imperative to “love others as you would yourself” is typical of those who do not know the Gospel message in depth.

“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfil them. I tell you the truth, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. Anyone who breaks one of

9_

THE FOURTH WAY_The Discovery of the Answers to the Fundamental Questions

Study

MONEY AND THE WORK ON ONESELF

by Giovanni M. Quinti and Massimo Failoni

the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practises and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. (Mathew 5:17-19) The significant phrase I would like to place attention on is “You should have practised the latter without leaving the former undone”

?

In this we may understand what Jesus meant by the term “fulfil the law.” The feigned observance of a law is useless, if with time and meditation the real motivation for the necessity of the rule is not included. Only when such an understanding is achieved, is love for the Law born. (7)

7_

Try to better explain in your own words what is meant by “love of the Law.”

When the rule helps us to create fair conditions for men to grow spiritually and conscientiously, it is respected, it is elected and, actually, it is disclosed.

Rabbis call the law “a duty of the heart.” If it is entirely a duty imposed by the outside world, if we fail to see the beauty that lies behind their respect, if it is not shared with our neighbour, if it does not lead us towards a state of sweet perception of the limits, if it does not make us feel “subjected” to something larger, then the Law is useless. In those cases it is best not to respect it, not to believe we are men on a Path solely because we observe the rules or we pay a Tithe. (8)

?

8_

Can we define the spontaneous observance of a rule as a good compass to understand, in fact, what direction is being taken?

?

The payment of tithes cannot therefore be imposed by force or with blackmail. It would be wrong to prevent someone from attending a school because of failure to pay the Tithe; in this sense Tithe cannot be mandatory.

However, this person is in a condition that is not ideal, that does not respect the rule and that does not develop his Work in the proper manner. He is not completely on the Path of concrete facts, but probably only in his words or in his dreams. His choice must be more mature in a profound way, but this is not a reason to fault him or separate him. The Way is to Do and the observance of rules, the submission to them, and helps in the development of the New Man and in the implementation of the Choice. Spontaneously every researcher should feel the need to pay, with loyalty and honesty, his true Tithe. Only when it becomes an act of love will we have followed the Law, either in the formal or the substantial aspect. At the very least we look to follow the directions for our growth and that of others.

Yet how should the proceeds be used?

Since ancient times there have been clear rules for the use of the Tithe. A large portion is devoted to maintaining the Work (rents, information material and everything necessary for the objectives of the School). One part serves to maintain a convenient (but not luxurious) living for those who devote their entire lives to preaching and to the Work, developing such work full time (Num 18:21-27).

One part is given, in cases of serious need, to those who, being a part of the School, live moments of great difficulty or destitution. Another part is used for social work, solidarity and to the defence of the True Good, which may be instrumental to the Sacred Objective of the school present in the territory.

The great tragedy is that, unfortunately, some groups of the Fourth Way have been created whose economic management falls under an undesirable and swindling “Authority”. They impose costs without thought to the capability of payment and make it a fundamental condition without which it is impossible

THE FOURTH WAY_The Discovery of the Answers to the Fundamental Questions

Study

MONEY AND THE WORK ON ONESELF

10_

by Giovanni M. Quinti and Massimo Failoni

even to approach them. The Authority, which managed the home of the group guided by Jesus (John 12:4-6), sometimes had a management “swindle” that used such economic calculations. (9)

?

9_

Read carefully the biblical reference and comment on this behaviour of the Authority

?

10_

In your opinion, why do people with greater means usually have the biggest problems paying the Tithe?

However, this is not a Way for the rich, but it is a Way for everyone. Those who have more will provide in a manner consistent with their capabilities.

Those who have less will provide in a manner consistent with their capabilities. In fact, this also happened in the times of Gurdjieff: “Many people indeed could not pay. And although in principle G. put the question very strictly, in practice he never refused anybody on the grounds that they had no money. And it was found out later that he even supported many of his pupils. The people who paid a thousand roubles paid not only for themselves but for others.“ (“Fragments”, page 173)

(10)

How would the Tithe be calculated today?

Let us go back to the calculation of the tithe: all monthly earnings, excluding taxes that are due to the relevant country; income, net after taxes, from possessions of any kind or class; revenue collected by the sale of goods or any property, net after taxes. On the other hand, the general principle is: “When you receive money do you remember to give the Tithe?”

“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

11_

THE FOURTH WAY_Study and Investigation of the Sacred Texts

Study

ABRAM

by Giovanni M. Quinti

God’s friend

?

1_

What is the “meaning” of your life?

2_

Being born is a promise that life makes to each individual. Do you know which promise your life has made to you?

Are you able to discover it through your characteristics, your habits and creative processes? Is your life a testament to that promise?

Or are you running around in circles over yourself?

The third figure from the Bible we will study and who is also close to the Essential Voice is Abraham. Patriarch, founder of the three great religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and recognized as a Prophet and to have been sent by God, the father of all the Prophets, he was 75 years old when he was ordered to go to Canaan. Until then he had lived with his family in Ur, in Caldea, where he had married Sarah. After the death of his brother Haran, he left Ur with his wife and his nephew Lot (son of Haran), guided by the father Theran, and settled in Charan (Genesis 11:28, 31).

«Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you. » (Gn 12:1-3)

The existence of Abraham has a “meaning”: he is the seed for the future; he is the father of “many descendants”. God says so clearly and Abraham believes it. This “meaning” is often what we lack. We live, most of the time, without it or replace it with illusory goals. (1).

Abraham, however, understands, like all great Men, that he can survive death by learning to truly live. He thus comes out of the mechanical cycle and becomes an “artist”; he cultivates the seed of the Essential Voice, of its deepest nature, and follows it. He believes in the Promise that is within himself and starts to move to carry it out. (2)

12_

THE FOURTH WAY_Study and Investigation of the Sacred Texts

Study

ABRAM: God’s Friend

Giovanni M. Quinti

The first essential step is included in the divine commandment: leave your father’s household. It is an invitation to break the union that unites him with his childhood (known things), to not remain as a child. Implementation and Maturity often initiate a split: “Leave!”

This imperative is an exhortation, to all of us, to stop committing the same mistakes; to move into new dimensions of being, to avoid falling into the trap of projects that go “in a circle.” Abraham listens to God, trusts Him, and leaves. It is typical of all men truly awake, of all great Prophets: the courage to do what the Essential Voice dictates. The Eternal appears to Abraham, he must only reach Canaan: «To your offspring I will give this land»

(Gn 12:7)

As a spy, Abraham feels the “smell” of the Voice, perceives its presence and moves toward something. When the Voice speaks to him, he builds “altars” (Genesis 12:7), places fundamental cornerstones within himself, unmovable pillars. However, even for one such as he there comes a time to be tested: «Now there was a famine in the land, and Abraham went down to Egypt to live there for a while because the famine was severe.» (Gn 12:10) Egypt is a picture of slavery, of the “mechanical” and automatic world, of “dreaming”. It forms a part of a very expansive symbol: the flight of the Jewish people from Egypt (which we will look at when we speak of Moses) is an excellent metaphor for the escape from the prison of the ego (real prisons to escape from). This “hidden” meaning of Egypt as personality is very well known in Sufism, for example Hakim Sanai (Persian Sufi poet– tenth century), when he writes in his “Hadiqat”: «If you were powerful on earth you would say, word for word, what the Pharaoh says, who in his infinite insolence and folly, discarding each service and subservience, uncovered his actions by saying: ‘I am the greatest of the Kings, I am beyond the Principles of this world’. Everyone has this insolence and this pride; such words are second nature to every man, but fearing to divulge his secret, they try to hide it even from themselves». (3) Hakim Sanai (Persian Sufi poet - tenth century), “Hadiqat”

Let us return to Abraham: «As he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, “I know what a beautiful woman you are. When the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ T they will kill me but will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that I will be treated well for your sake and my life will be spared because of you.» (Gn 12:11-13)

?

3_

After having re-read the passage, try to understand the more profound meanings. What are your thoughts?

Sarai, besides being the wife of Abraham, was actually his step-sister. In fact, she was the daughter of Abram’s father Theran, but not of Abram’s mother (Gen 20:12). Therefore, Abram asked the Egyptians to show only one aspect of their relationship and not the emotional depth of their union.

Sarai symbolizes the “mask” to overcome the test: maximum exaltation of commitment. Abram uses cunning. He shows his wife, posing as his sister, and all Egyptians are lit in desire, recognizing her beauty. He brings her to the Pharaoh who rewards her:

13_

THE FOURTH WAY_Study and Investigation of the Sacred Texts

Study

ABRAM: God’s Friend

Giovanni M. Quinti

«He treated Abraham well for her sake, and Abram acquired sheep and cattle, male and female donkeys, menservants and maidservants, and camels» (Gn 12:16)

?

4_

Have you ever thought of this aspect?

In fact, Sarah sleeps with the Pharaoh (Gen 12:19). If we consider the couple of Abram and Sarah symbolically as Essence and Personality, we can better understand the hidden meaning of this story. Abram, Essence, corrupts himself by nothing more than entering Egypt (the world), imprisoning himself in his role: the mask. After being “taken,” Abram forgets God, lives as a part of the mechanical, leaving his wife in the Pharaoh’s court (dominated by illusion). He probably “thinks” that he is living, believing that it was the fulfilment of God’s promise: the Egypt that prevents him from truly loving the part he is missing. (4) «But the LORD inflicted serious diseases on Pharaoh and his household because of Abram’s wife Sarai. (Gn 12:17) The “triangle” of Abram (Essence), Sarah (Personality) and Pharaoh (The illusory Ego), which sees Abram as the victim of a hypnotized existence brought on by passing satisfactions, is broken by Divine Grace. This step helps us better understand what this Grace is, named by Gurdjieff with the technical name of the “Third Force”, and how it manifests itself and influences the lives of men. The term “Grace” is one of the most commonly used in the Bible; we find it 700 times in the New Testament. It is the Pillar of God’s Love, be it to Jews, Christians or Muslims.

For the latter it is the “Barakà” that the Teacher infuses (with Supreme help) into the hearts of students. In Gurdjieff terms, Grace is the element that allows the dissolution of the inertia and the evolutionary progress in the Course that leads to the Being. We promise to return and delve deeper into this issue, which even today remains unclear, in the future. We can say that Grace is the techno-religious name of an Element that allows the evolution of Consciousness. Without it there would be no possibility of man awakening: «And so it may go on until the third force makes its appearance, in the form, for instance, of new knowledge, showing at once the advantage or the necessity of work on oneself and, in this way, supporting and strengthening the initiative. Then the initiative, with the support of this third force, may conquer inertia and the man becomes active in the desired direction». (5)

?

(P.D.Ouspensky, “Fragments”, page 85)

5_

Try to understand what is meant by the term “Grace”, to avoid falling into easy and wrong interpretations.

Can you give examples of your life where the action and nature of such “Energy” is shown?

This is exactly what happened to Abram! God brings Grace (the Third Force) and it imposes the re-start of the path toward evolution: “But the Lord wounded Pharaoh and his house with great plagues, because of Sarai, wife of Abram. So Pharaoh called Abram and told him: What have you done to me?” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me she was your wife? Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her to be my wife? Now then, here is your wife. Take her and go!”

(Gn 12:18, 19)

It is unclear how God made the Pharaoh understand the reason behind the punishment, but what is important is that we come to understand that Grace affects our lives in unexpected ways.

14_

THE FOURTH WAY_Study and Investigation of the Sacred Texts

Study

ABRAM: God’s Friend

Giovanni M. Quinti

Its aim is to not allow us to become fossilized, to help us in our development, to make us start an evolution. It is the Loving Energy of God that, sooner or later, pushes us to seek the Valid Foundation: the building of a stable element (6). It will not be possible to sleep for ever, in any gilded prison in which we have hidden away. Grace will reach us through its urgent invitation, which (in this specific case) makes the Pharaoh’s voice seem to be the voice of God: “Go!”

?

6_

What is this Stable Foundation?

Are you building your life on it?

If not, what risks does this bring?

Grace is not always received as “good news” or happily. Often, it carries its will through seemingly tragic events where we lose perception of our welfare and the things around us upon which we rely. However, this misguided view is both the starting point and the goal of a higher Plane. In this perception of invalidity, in this scattering of every reference point, Grace stimulates interior growth, it evokes the Divine within man and it redirects him towards a psycho-spiritual growth in a straight line, interrupting the stops and falls.

«So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.» (Gn 13:1)

?

Abram takes up again the journey to the Middle East with his entire family.

He will subsequently be separated from Lot, his nephew, who will decide to live in Sodom. Right in this city, after some time, a battle will be triggered, initiated by the Kings of Ellasar, Elam, Goim and Scinear (Gen 14:8, 9) and Lot falls prisoner. Abram, fully informed by a servant, moves to free him. In Hobah, near Damascus, he sealed his victory against the Kings with his family and frees all the people (and Lot and his family) who had fallen prisoners. For this reason we bless Melchisedec, King of Salem, priest of God Almighty (Gen 14:18). What is surprising is Abram’s courage, his loyalty to his brother and to the community. He is willing to die for his brother, defending him from the Kings who want him prisoner. Melchisedec (King of Justice) is seen in the New Testament as a very important figure and even Jesus is “forever High Priest in the order of Melchisedec” (Hebrews 6:20). Abram, as a sign of recognition and submission, pays him a tithe of all his possessions and wealth (Gen 14:20). Abram, who was closest to God, saw in Melchisedec a teacher and many speculate that it was he who helped Abram to carry out his spiritual journey.

But who was Melchisedec?

Some Islamic theologians call him al-Khidr (or al-Khadir), the “Green” or “Greenish” (corresponding to Elia in Hebrew and Saint George in some Syrian traditions), who appears in the Koran (without being named, but the Islamic exegesis agrees) who subjects Moses to tests he does not pass, since he does not know how to decipher or accept the decisions in silence (Sura XVIII, 65-82).

“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine.

He was priest of God Most High” (Genesis 14:18).

Bread and Wine have always been the symbol of the Christianity of the Origins.

Was Melchisedec perhaps Christ’s precursor?

15_

THE FOURTH WAY_Study and Investigation of the Sacred Texts

Study

ABRAM: God’s Friend

Giovanni M. Quinti

Being the “Green” is linked to the renewal of spring, including that of within; that’s why the Green Lion enters within after the “fade to black” (opus nigrum) of alchemy, that is, after the global distribution of all false certainties that, induced by the environment, are erroneously considered as truths. It is he who gives impetus to germination, who makes the lotus flower grow in the pond of mud, the holy perception in the chaos of mental routine, the ancient Philosophy instead of passion. Al-Khidr is the other Pole (without limits) with respect to the Pole of the Era (the beginning and limit of the initiation hierarchy in Sufism); structures and its supporters do not help, rather those who are part of any structure, who sometimes are in the antipodes. In this sense it is a key message of the Unknown: not everything is in our hemisphere, in our classifications, not all re-enters the expected.

Al-Khidr is the Teacher of the Unexpected; he is at the other end of the Pole of the Era and is in direct contact with the friends of God. (7)

?

7_

According to Gurdjieff’s system, how would you define Al Khidr?

He who applies to the Islamic sphere, naturally also applies anywhere else; to the Hindus, for example, who speak of a Çâmbhavîdîkshâ or an “initiation granted directly by Sheeva” which is well known, says Agehananda Bharati citing various examples; to the “presence of people who meet all the phenomenological requirements of siddha [the perfect one], or who have spontaneously reached a spiritual condition that can only otherwise be achieved through a prescribed procedure.” Melchisedec is a precursor of the Teacher of all Islamic Teachers, but also of the Teacher of all Christian Teachers. In fact, he presents himself to Abram by offering two well recognized symbols later used by Jesus himself: «Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine…»

?

8_

Have you ever tried to listen to the Voice of your Higher Centres?

Do you spend time in your daily life doing so?

Do you know how to do so?

(Gn 14:18)

Therefore, Melchisedec is a symbol of a higher Teacher. For Sufis he is a “spiritual presence” at the other end of the limits of human knowledge that remains perpetually on land, journeying from one extreme to another.

When he finds a person who is worthy, he shows him the path of knowledge, vesting in him the power to communicate the secret truth to others, even though it did not belong to any preconceived “organization”.

To me he is our Teacher of Teachers, the one we must learn about directly through the Work on oneself. It is the symbolic image of the Higher Centres Gurdjieff speaks of. It is the direct colloquium to the central part that man has as his goal in the Way: goal that the Islamic Sufis have with the Dhikr and we Christians have with the Memory exercise (Luke 21:36). It is He who leads our internal Abram to listen to these words directly from the Source: «Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your very great reward» (Gn 15:1).

(8) TO BE CONTINUED

FW

IN THE NEXT EDITION

What reward did God promise Abram?

The symbolic meaning of the characters of Sarai and Agar and many others…

16_

THE FOURTH WAY_Symbols and the Work on Oneself

Study

part 2

The Enneagram and the Tree of Life

by Giovanni M. Quinti

?

1_

Try to answer by observing the figure.

?

?

2_

Observe the Tree of Life drawn on page 19. What sensations does it give you?

Have you seen it before?

Do you know of it?

Express what you know for a collective description.

?

The lines inside the circle, representing the beginning and end of the alchemical Work, touch the circle in nine clear points (hence the name “Enneagram”). If we meditate on the image we realize that there are two other points not immediately obvious that enable us to go into new meanings of the symbol. The first is the central point, which is at the same time the centre of the circle, of the triangle and of the entire symbol.

This is the tenth “hidden” point of the Enneagram.

Where is the eleventh point hidden? (1) I would like to tell a Zen story also taken from the Sufis that speaks about eleven people who, having to cross a river after a long journey, stop to check that all are present. However, every time they count they think they are ten because whoever is counting never includes himself. By the same token, he who meditates on the Enneagram symbol must include himself when counting the key points of the Enneagram: he who observes the Enneagram is also a part of it. Hence, it is a figure with eleven points or areas, an “endekagram” rather than an “enneagram.” This particularity relates it to another sacred image that is better known in the West: the cabalistic Tree of Life (OTZ Chiim). (2) Where does the Enneagram come from and what are its historical roots?

According to the views of Arnold Graf, a researcher and student of the Fourth Way, the Enneagram is the symbol of the community of Sarmoung where Gurdjieff completed his studies. The term Sarmoung can also be translated as the word “bees”. It symbolizes the fact that Gurdjieff’s group was composed of individuals who seemed to be like the juice of knowledge of the “flowers” or other sources.

17_

THE FOURTH WAY_Symbols and the Work on Oneself

Study

* Ramon Llull

(Spain 1235-1315) Philosopher, writer, and Christian missionary. His objective was to unite Islam, Judaism, and Christianity into a unique faith.

He travelled to the Middle East and also to Armenia.

His main works include Ars Magna and The Book Of Contemplation.

The Enneagram and the Tree of Life

by Giovanni M. Quinti

part 2

According to the Sufis, the roots of the symbol should be sought within the Islamic tradition. Although the Sufi influence on the teachings of Gurdjieff is undeniable, this theory is not based in any demonstrable fact. In fact, in no text of Islamic tradition do we find a symbol resembling those drawn by Gurdjieff and represented for the first time by Michel De Salzmann under his leadership. The oldest image that looks like the Enneagram was found in a work of Christian tradition. The Friar Raimundo Llull* draws in his work Ars Magna a symbol almost identical to Gurdjieff’s Enneagram, the only similar one we have discovered so far.

Besides the debate on who created a symbol that for us is close to the essential Christianity unanchored to any fundamentalism or simplistic traditions we are used to, we must admit that over time it has received continuous differing influences between Sufism, Christianity and Judaism.

The Jewish Encyclopedia recognized by the state of Israel affirms: «Sufism (the esoteric and essential heart of Islam) has a special right for the attention of Jewish researchers, for its influence on the ethical and mystical writings of the Jewish-Arab period». (3)

?

3_

Were you aware that Jews and Muslims are historically and spiritually closer than is commonly believed?

Apocalipsis-1313 the Tree of Life_f.-83r (Ap.-22-1-5) Facsimile_book-783 Bibliothèque nationale de France

Therefore, it is not an unsubstantiated act to link the Enneagram to the Jewish Tree of Life. Rather, we find that a comparative study of the two symbols opens the door to new and clarifying understandings. One of the names provided by some Western researchers to the Tree of Life is: “Glyph (allegorical image) of the Universe and of man’s Soul.”

Could we define the Enneagram in the same way?

Gurdjieff did so when he stated: «Each completed whole, each cosmos, each organism, each plant, is an enneagram… it is a universal symbol». (“Fragments”, page 301)

You will recall that in the early chapters of Genesis there is a description of the moment in which Adam and Eve eat the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, but not the fruit of the Tree of Life, located in the centre of the Garden of Eden. God expels man from the land of Paradise because if he had extended his hand and eaten also the fruit of the Tree of Life, having known good and evil, he would have been “as Him” (Gen 3:22).

Cabalistics considered the knowledge derived from studying the Tree of Life as very important, perhaps because it would have allowed man to find his Way Back. He would have been granted the same substance of God, completing thus all Creation. Therefore, the spirituality surrounding the tree has an essential goal: to help the individual to find his way back to the Source.

THE FOURTH WAY_Symbols and the Work on Oneself

Study

The Enneagram and the Tree of Life

by Giovanni M. Quinti

18_

part 2

The cabalistic glyph is made up of a number of spheres (Sephiroth or Derivations) related between them by specific paths. The Sephiroth has ten points, like the visible and intuitive Enneagram. However, even the OTZ Chiim has an invisible added field, transforming it into a symbol with eleven points. In this case it is not the observer (the Tree is a figure of two dimensions, while the Enneagram represents the same forces, but with three dimensions) but Daath (the Hidden Knowledge), the hidden Sephiroth, the missing point to form the third triangle above the two central Sephiroths, present in the body of the structure of the drawing between Geburah and Gedulah.

?

4_

Do you know Gurdjieff’s Theory of the Worlds?

Discuss the diagram on page 94 of “Fragments” and try to understand this theory on your own. It might be useful, in the future, for a more thorough understanding of the Tree of Life.

* Evagrius Ponticus (345 – 399 A.D.)

Deacon and Theologian who lived in Constantinople before retiring among the Fathers of the Desert.

Was the first to classify the seven deadly sins and is the inspiration behind Esicasm, a mystical Christian-Orthodox branch.

Gurdjieff certainly extensively studied and thought about this symbol. His theory of the different worlds, which from the Absolute head toward the moon, and the theories of the laws that govern them, came forth after long meditations observing the Tree of Life. (4) The closest connections to the Enneagram are found in Christianity.

Already in Evagrio Pontico* we discover the test of subdividing the fruits of the spirit and mystic work, and cataloguing and relating them. The Essenes, an ascetic Jewish sect formed in the second century BC on the western shore of the Dead Sea, known mainly for their renunciation of social life and their high degree of spirituality, have heavily influenced the cabalistic ideas and the study of the Tree of Life through the centuries. Elia Benamozegh, of the rabbinical school of Livorno, one of the highest authorities in the field of Jewish studies, supports the hypothesis that the Essenian ideas have helped the birth of the Mystic Kabbalah of the first and second centuries of the Christian era. The work “The Essenes and the Kabbalah”, published in Italy by Armenia Editore, clearly indicates that the very Essenes, and perhaps also Jesus, have contributed to what today is known as Kabbalah. Therefore, by indirect means we can say that the Enneagram known and studied by us today has Christian roots.

The direction in which I have guided the reader, pushing him to make historical connections between the three streams of Sufism, Cabalism and Christianity and between the Tree of Life and the Enneagram, is born out of an attempt to emphasize the sacredness of the symbol. Mr. Gurdjieff, when he made his pupil De Salzmann draw a particular graphic version of the symbol, placed within it a large number of other symbols associated largely with the Christian tradition. Moreover, this fact underscores the Christian roots of Gurdjieff’s teaching leaving little doubt as to whom the image clings to. We will study it very carefully in the next issue... What we now call Enneagram, which is used primarily to define the nine types of characters exactly as structured by the contemporaries Ichazo or Naranjo, is only the permanence of a sacred symbol that, if on the one hand it wants to help the individual in his evolutionary course, it does so not only for a therapeutic purpose.

The Enneagram is a Sacred image and its purpose is to allow the human soul to merge with a Universal Source. It is an exact compass that can help man not only find himself, but also find the unknown and much sought Absolute. It is a symbol that can help man redirect himself toward

19_

THE FOURTH WAY_Symbols and the Work on Oneself

Study

The Enneagram and the Tree of Life

by Giovanni M. Quinti

part 2° 2parte

rebirth by responding to the essential suffering of all human individuals.

Researchers today who use it first as an alternative to astrology, useful for the selection of staff or for finding an ideal match, should also try to reach the higher centres of their being and drink from the sacred sources from which it was formed. This is what we intend to do with our articles of study. In the next issue we will analyse the Enneagram Gurdjieff made his student Michel De Salzmann draw to present the “Work” developed in his institute: Man’s eternal quest for an answer as to why he is here. (5)

?

5_

Do you know of these uses of the Enneagram?

What do you think about what you’ve read? What has impacted you the most?

(TO BE CONTINUED)

IN THE NEXT EDITION

Program of the Gurdjieff Institute, 1923

FW

We will analyse in detail the symbols within the Enneagram that Alexander de Salzmann drew under Gurdjieff’s direction.

We will study the analogies between alchemy and Gurdjieff’s Enneagram.

RECONCILIATION

1 Saturn 9

2 Moon

3 Mercury

Jupiter 8

The Enneagram

10 Sun

The eleven points of the Enneagram: 1 Reconciliation 2 Moon 3 Mercury 4 Affirmation 5 Venus 6 Mars 7 Denial 8 Jupiter 9 Saturn 10 Sun 11 The Aim and Purpose of the Work

4 AFFIRMATION

DENIAL 7

Mars 6

5 Venus

20_

THE FOURTH WAY_Symbols and the Work on Oneself

1 Kether 3 Binah

2 Chokmah

Daath

5 Geburah

4 Chesed 6 Tipheret

8 Hod

7 Netzach 9 Jesod

The eleven points of the Tree of Life: 1 Kether 2 Chokmah 3 Binah Hidden Daat 4 Chesed 5 Geburah 6 Tipheret 7 Netzach 8 Hod 9 Jesod 10 Malkuth

The Crown Wisdom Understanding_Saturn Knowledge (secret) Grace_Jupiter The Force_Mars The Beauty_The Sun The Victory_Venus The Glory_Mercury The Foundation_The Moon The Kingdom_The Earth

10 Malkuth The Tree of Life / Athanasius Kircher.

The Tree of Life

21_

THE FOURTH WAY_Reflections from contemporary alumni

Reflections from contemporary alumni

About exhaustion, pain, about the invisible feeling of our work…

By Paola Grasso

The questions Why do we feel pain? How can you feel well at one point and feel lost in the other? Why am I so tired? Why should I continually strain to complete things that must be done by others? How can this continual strain be the Way? The Way is not pain, and much less exhaustion.

The Way is complete Joy of self, of existence, of creation. In the beginning we focus upon the aspects that seem to be the most difficult because they go against our natural and mechanical tendencies.

We have seen with our eyes the fear, the evil, the apathy and the selfishness that surrounds our human nature. But they are not alone, there is so much beauty within us… beneath the curtains of our masks there is a divine spark that, like a hidden treasure, we want to recover. But the most important step is to decide to fight against everything that leaves us motionless or dissuades us from the final objective, which is the rebirth of divine perfection.

Our masks Many times our defences indicate the most rigid points of our personality. Sometimes we do not want to accept an aspect of ourselves and we hide it with false behaviours. Or they may be specific thoughts or memories, types of people that do us harm because they bring up old pains and losses. We are very much tied to our personalities; we are tied to the pains we bring to ourselves. It is our way of adapting to the world. In those shields is all our relationships with our natural fathers, there are our loves, our friends, our enemies, within those shields is written all our history. When we feel a strong discordance caused by the rebellion of our masks, we project it to the external world, saying for example: “I do not like this or that brother”, “This group does not work well”, “This guide has wrong intentions”, “I have other things to do”. We should be awake because these are the tricks used by our masks to move us away from the work we have begun to develop.

The accusations we make to the world are our first defects. We must remember that if we feel the resistance it means that something is moving.

Where there is a strong negative emotion, there also exists a great barrier in our personality that always coincides with a profound and painful wound. Touching upon these points is difficult by ourselves. For this reason we rely on our guides, who we have for support. There, where the strongest barrier lies, is the fundamental knot of our own personality. And there, at the same point, resides the solution as well. When we have the weapons necessary to go into this wound, we will find, within this barrier, an essential quality that we had lost, but that will flourish again in all its beauty, healing us inside. We should look for these points, which will be discovered and recovered in time.

This means unity, this is the stable Self we are looking for.

THE FOURTH WAY_Reflections from contemporary alumni

22_

About exhaustion, pain, about the invisible feeling of our work…

Trust The man on the Way slowly learns to answer for and trust in someone.

Without this trust it is essentially impossible for us to go forward.

Confusion and suffering cloud our sight.

Sometimes, when faced with pain, we should only believe in the words of someone from outside that sees more than we do. Letting go, getting to work on something more important means to wipe away the shields, to fight against our own selfishness.

The Way is not pain, the pain is hidden in the folds of our masks, which are nothing more than a protection we have set up so as to avoid feeling the primordial pain, the separation from Everything. We are separated from everything and everyone who is around us; we are separated mainly from ourselves. We no longer feel that Voice that encourages us to live a full life, active, creative, generous. Until we are able to break the barriers between us and the world, we will be the victims of our internal barriers.

Because the barriers between us and the world ARE our internal barriers.

The pleasure of working In our groups there is a lot of work, almost continuous, even when one is tired.

Indeed, just when you are exhausted and would like to leave everything, we then work with even more intensity. “Continuously monitor”, is written in the Gospels. What pushes us? Only love for ourselves, which is the love of the world, and for what is divine within us. When we develop our activities, we try to do it with the utmost possible presence, because this state of vigilance allows us to feel the true value of our work. Helping others feel well means consoling ourselves.

Loving what we do means loving the world, loving God, loving ourselves as we have never been loved. What do we want in return?

Nothing. Only the mechanical world influences us to get something, but love does not work that way, love repays itself. We only wish to awaken it in ourselves. The hard process of acceptance of our limits is accompanied by this silent activity, without requirements of success or earnings, a job that is beautiful in itself, not because it will win us Paradise. Initially we feel much suffering, our masks rebel. We see our internal hell. But we must be strong, because our goal is the truth.

Seeing the truth about ourselves has a price: renouncing our seeming tranquillity. The pain we feel does induce us to work on ourselves with more urgency, with more love. Through the smallest things.

EVERYTHING SHOULD BE DONE WITH THE HIGHEST ATTENTION AND GENEROSITY POSSIBLE. HE WHO

jlgm

KNOWS HOW TO LOVE DOES NOT MEASURE HIS OWN EFFORTS. We call ourselves brothers, because we need to nurture and encourage in each other all the essential qualities that allow us to grow, to liberate us: the love for others, humility, a spirit of sacrifice and service, ability to listen and to console others.

OUR UNITED EFFORTS TOWARD THE INVISIBLE REAL. It is a continuous effort, relentless, without interruptions. What matters most is what we grow in our hearts. It is the effort to build peace, with caution and dedication. It is an effort that often sees us work with others. While I give my services, the other person is much more important than my selfish needs of every day. I acutely try to perceive what is his need, what his essence is asking from behind the bars. I am not frightened by the personality, which is sometimes aggressive, suspicious, and hostile. I know that that person, whoever he is, from the bottom of his heart, feels the same need I have for love, for unity. That makes us profoundly similar. The words are not important; indeed, they are often harmful. A look full of humanity speaks volumes more. I endure patiently my defects and yours, because we are both made of a substance that goes beyond what we perceive with the senses, we are both made of infinity, and together we shall touch it.

The end

23_

@

THE FOURTH WAY _The “sly” Giufà

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.

We present to you a character typical of Sicilian popular literature: Giufà. This character embodies the figure of the “sly rogue”, who on the one hand astonishes and impresses and on the other teaches a lesson into the hearts of those who observe by making comparisons using nonsense and contradictions. All of this is accompanied by much irony and humour.

Giufà will be with us in future e-mails, making us smile, and perhaps also leaving us with good material on which to reflect.

The personnel from

Gurdjieff.es

The “sly” Giufà

O

ne day, Giufà visited a small town where a priest had just passed away. The town’s residents, having mistaken Giufà for a holy man, asked him to serve Sunday’s sermon. On Sunday, Giufà rose to the pulpit and addressed the congregation: “Dear brothers and sisters, do you know what words I will say to you today?” “No, no,” replied the faithful, “we do not know.” “What?” Giufà angrily exclaimed, “Do you not know what words I will say in this place dedicated to prayer? I have nothing to share with you infidels.” He then immediately left the pulpit and walked out of the church.

Impressed by this scene, which reinforced their belief that the man was indeed a great holy man, the congregation ran toward Giufà and beseeched him to return to pray. He then returned to the pulpit. “Dear brothers, do you now know what words I will say to you today?” “Yes, yes,” the faithful replied in unison, “we know!”

“Sons of bitches!” Giufà shouted. “Twice you bother me and ask me to speak, and then pretend to know what I want to say!” So, again he left the pulpit and turning his back to the stunned audience left the church. What should they answer so that the saint would impart his knowledge? One of the listeners suggested that, if he asked again, some should shout: “Yes, yes, we know!” while others shout: “No, no, we do not know!” This idea is quickly accepted and they run toward Giufà, who then rose to the pulpit for a third time. “Well, dear brothers and sisters, do you know what words I will say to you today?” “Yes, yes,” some responded, “we know!” “No, no,” others shouted, “we do not know!” “Finally,” concluded Giufà.

“In that case, those who know should go ahead and share it with those who don’t!”

THE FOURTH WAY _Letters to the Founder

Letters to the Founder

24_

// Giovanni M. Quinti answers

Send your question(s) to: informazioni@quartavia.org

I can’t get people to understand me. How can I establish a better communication?

Dear Friend, I will answer you in two ways. The first is “hermetic”. I am sure that by meditating about the issue you may find personal and interesting conclusions. I met a priest and saw in his eyes a bit of disorientation. He was not a completely renovated creature but there was a seed. How big the steeple was! How small was the casket taken by the undertakers! Did you know that undertakers today dress as corps guards? And, how do guards of the heart dress? A man who looked at me strangely in a bar because I ordered cold milk and hot coffee. A man who looked like a woman.

What did he do? Did he serve me the coffee and the milk separately? I later took a better look at him and I asked myself: but, is he a man or a woman? He looks like a woman! He did not understand how I wanted my milk; I, the colour of the lock of hair I had in school. What is it we do not understand of each other? I was passing by a hardware store and I saw a blond haired man, or was it a woman?, who had an overjoyed look in her face. There was the answer. The second way was perhaps more simple, but does not answer everything. Who is everyone else for her?

Reflect on this well, before giving an answer that is not fully correct. Kind regards

Dear Giovanni, you know my current emotional relationship is breaking apart. What is love? How can I love?

Dear friend, I think it is normal to go through moments of crisis; moreover, I think these moments can transform themselves into something good. It means the relationship is becoming important. A relationship without crisis is like a pan without fire: it does not burn, it does not cook. Crises are a natural process gone through when adapting to a life with a mate. We should not fear difficulties. Learning to love is the objective of the Work on ourselves and, perhaps, also the starting point of a new life. For now I can only suggest an image: love is like a pottery jar, before becoming strong it must be cooked in the oven. After cooking it and decorating it, it is then packaged. And, in the end, it is GIVEN AWAY. Continue to work upon yourself and read the following book: “The Princess who believed in fairy tales”. Take care.

It’s true that everything would be different if in the morning I woke up and when I looked at myself in the mirror I found an interesting man. However, I find myself with many defects. And this could be interesting in itself. I have only begun the task of working on myself, and to no longer reject what my mind and heart tell me to do.

Dear Friend, to find one’s own defects is very important. However, being able to change them into accomplishments is much more difficult. The mirror is a good instrument, but is not sufficient by itself.

For that there is a School, a Guide and the will to seriously work on oneself, within a group. To get results some specific instruments are necessary that allow us to reach the objective. One of these instruments is the memory exercise, which we carry out on Thursday nights. Another instrument is a relationship with individuals with a level of knowledge higher than ourselves. The presence and proximity of travel companions allow the correct development in that sense. As Nick Hornby writes in his book “About a boy”, none of us is an island. However, we should pay attention because there are many risks when we begin to work on ourselves within a school. The greatest danger is believing that we work alone because you are working within a “structure”, thus avoiding doing anything. In this way our condition grows worse than when we started because avoiding working on ourselves we void any possibility of real development. This is proposed by the vision in the picture “Angel-A” by Luc Besson, also director of “Nikita”, “The Fifth Element” and “León”.

During the vision… be attentive of the mirror. Warm regards.

THE FOURTH WAY_Introduction to the ideas of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff

25_

Man’s role in the evolution of the Universe

We were inspired by unpublished notes from John G. Bennet, taken from a series of conferences given in the Denison House between March and April 1949 which illustrate how the Fourth Way System places man in the Universe.

Introduction to the ideas of George Ivanovitch Gurdjieff edited by Eva M. Franchi

The original creative Act through which came about the existence of the first divine emanation that originated the Universe gradually diminishes in its effect, simply because its energy, as it expands, moves further away from its primary source. The Trogoautoegocratic process cannot do anything to maintain unity and coherence. To compensate for this energy dispersion that would have created the Universe only to inevitably develop toward chaos, a Third Creation, or rather the return of the existence of conscious and independent individuals, was necessary. However, a being created with independence already realized would not have any useful role in the Universe because he would have no possibility of growing, renovating, and reinforcing the necessary energy for creative process, which, if static, would be kept from any possibility of expansion and evolution.

The third way of existence could only be of one type: it was necessary that between living organisms there was some possibility of becoming free and independent beings, and those beings, whose independence and liberty could only be the fruit of an inner conquering, had to bring something to the Universe that even the very

Creator could not give without undoing his creative act. This property is typical in those creatures that Gurdjieff defines as “three-brained beings�. Only such a being has the possibility of auto creation and, among them, is man. Man has a destiny with three creases. His primary destiny is to be a thing. Like any other material object in the Universe, be it a chair or a galaxy, it is subject to the law of time, to change and to final dissolution.

Such a process in the Gurdjieffian language is called Hieropas.

His second destiny, being an animal, follows the objective of the Trogoautoegocratic process. This means that he is subject to the universal law of eating and being eaten. He cannot run away from this any more than other living organisms, because this eating and being eaten are necessary for inner equilibrium and cosmic harmony. However, man is also made in a way that makes it possible for him, while he serves the necessities of the Hieropas and Trogoautoegocratic processes, to work at the same time for his independent individuality, what it means to be alive, conscious, so as to determine his own destiny.

(TO BE CONTINUED)...

"Pre-recorded memory"

Illustration by José L. García Muedra

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 drawn by Gurdjieff and Salzmann

From Abram to Abraham:

Father of a new lineage

VIAnsili RTAdio Me QUAdi Stu LA dispense Le

The meaning of the Stop exercise ...AND MUCH MORE