Source Text
Behind the thousand faces, on this field of dreams, there is an unchanging one.
give. Gurdjieff said, “I wished to create around myself conditions in which man would be continually reminded of the sense and aim of his existence by an unavoidable friction between his conscience and the automatic manifestations of his nature.”
The mind must repent, be aroused to a new thought, causing the maturing I to relate more honestly and directly to essence and essence to be guided by one’s own inner voice, conscience.
More specifically, to enter life’s inner design, to feel it moving, a living and transforming everything. To study myself from each angle and phase, seeing as much of the whole as I can from that viewpoint; then taking another and another, until thought becomes denser and takes on more life.
He said to me, “You need to be able to give and take at the same time.”
Whether you give or take, when it evokes suffering in you, perhaps prompted by external considering, when giving is difficult, or you take when it goes against self-love, pride, or vanity, then you are burning away what covers essence, entering the fire of intentional suffering.
When you have an aim to get from point A to point B and you are in a hurry to get there, that becomes your aim. Then everything seems to get in your way; you don’t see this as lawful resistance; and this makes you irritable, absent, angry, lazy. You say, “What’s the use?” or “Poor, poor me.” All these reactions are sleep inducing subterfuges. Now I begin to see, a little bit, the chief thing that acts as my substitute, a stand-in that always occupies the place of I am.
The more I explored with my friends, the more I became convinced that Gurdjieff’s teachings were the most salient. It re-enforced the strange conviction I had felt when I first began reading IN SEARCH OF THE MIRACULOUS at the age of 16, the certainty that Gurdjieff was the teacher of this age and the one whom I would follow the rest of my life.
energy becomes concentrated, vibrations become higher, and the understanding of the ideas and phenomena grow. At the same time continuous, consistent efforts of regular meetings are also necessary. Once Alan said about it—that the consistency of weekly meetings is not less (and may be even more) important than participation in a two-day seminar.
Every group meeting is a concentrated life experience. Where else could I see my illusions so completely? Or meet with my negative parts and become aware of them? Has someone in his ordinary life an idea how to see his own ugliness and powerlessness?
AI Summary
Secrets of the Fourth Way by Alan Franciscus presents key insights from the Gurdjieff tradition. The 10 passages above capture the essential teachings.
Core Themes:
- [To be expanded]
Key Passages: Highlights 1, 3, and 10 are particularly representative.
This entry was generated from Readwise highlights. Expand with additional context as appropriate.