Frequently Asked Questions for alt.consciousness.4th-way
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This newsgroup is dedicated to those who seek more understanding of
themselves and others, and who wish to awaken from the narrow and twisted
dream called "ordinary consciousness".
What is the 4th Way?
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The 4th Way is a theory of psychology and a methodology for achieving
higher states of consciousness, based mainly on the writings of Gurdjieff
and Ouspensky.
Why the 4th Way?
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Traditionally, seekers of higher consciousness have used one of three
approaches:
- The way of the fakir (the 1st way). Physical conditioning and
endurance of physical discomfort for long periods of time are used
to discipline the mind. Typical fakir practices are yoga, holding
a posture for days at a time, or lying on a bed of nails.
- The way of the monk (the 2nd way). Development of emotional control
is used to discipline the mind. Praying and the cultivation of
intense religious emotions are typical practices.
- The way of the yogi (the 3rd way). Development of the intellectual
part of the mind is used. Typical practices are meditation and
studying theories of consciousness.
It has been claimed that these ways are slow, unreliable, and lead to
imbalance, producing "stupid saints" (who can do anything, but don't know
what to do) or "weak yogis" (who know what to do, but can't do anything).
The 4th Way (sometimes called "the way of the sly man"), emphasizes more
direct practices (such as "self-remembering" and "self-observation"), and
balanced development of the physical, emotional, and intellectual capacities.
The 4th Way is also the best suited for modern life; unlike the others,
you do not have to renounce everything. You may begin to follow the 4th Way
immediately under your present conditions.
Basic Ideas
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A person in "normal" consciousness is not truly awake. In particular:
- The vast majority of the time we are in one of several less-
conscious states:
"imagination" (daydreaming),
"identification" (distracted/fixated),
"considering" (worrying about what others are thinking about us),
"formatory" (acting mechanically).
These states actually cause us to forget that we exist. The
illusion of consciousness is maintained by a curious trick of
the mind: When we examine our consciousness (as when protesting,
"This is nonsense -- Of course I'm conscious!"), we actually DO
become conscious for a moment. Unexpected events and sensations
also trigger momentary consciousness.
- We are unaware that our mind is actually divided into multiple
entities, capable of acting independently. (Sort of like Sybil.)
Of course, in most people, these entities are so well integrated
that we rarely notice when control shifts from one to another.
The illusion of a single mind is further enhanced by the fact
that all the entities are in the same body and have the same name;
each one considers itself to be "I". The "I's" are most
noticeable when they are in conflict with each other. We then
have "mixed feelings": coexisting contrary attitudes.
There are a number of consequences of multiple "I's":
Generally only one "I" is in the "driver's seat" at a time. We
"become" one "I" after another, sometimes shifting quite rapidly.
The constant shifting among them makes concentration for extended
periods of time impossible, preventing us from reaching our
potential. A major goal of the 4th Way is achieving a
"permanent 'I'": unchanging control over attention.
Multiple "I's" make us inconsistent: One "I" makes a promise or
resolution, and others violate it, or never even "hear" about it.
For example, one "I" may sincerely resolve to go to sleep early
tonight. But when tonight comes, other "I's" are in control, and
decide (feeling equally justified) to stay up later.
Multiple "I's" also interfere with achieving higher consciousness:
One (or several) decide to do 4th Way work, there's a shift to
another "I" that has made no such commitment, and presto -- we're
in imagination.
- The mind is also (normally) divided into four centers with
different functions:
intellectual center: controls rational thought,
emotional center: makes emotional judgements,
moving center: controls voluntary movement, and
instinctive center: controls automatic movements (e.g. heartbeat,
hiccups), and sensory perception.
(There are two other centers that only show up in higher states
of consciousness: higher emotional and higher mental).
In "normal" consciousness, we sometimes let "I's" from one center
inappropriately take over functions that should be performed by
"I's" from another center. Some examples:
The emotional center doing the work of the intellectual center
can result in biased or irrational decisions. The intellectual
center doing the work of the moving center results in clumsy
performance because the intellectual center is by far the slowest
of the centers.
Also there is a tendency to overuse the most mechanical part of the
intellectual center: the "formatory apparatus". The formatory
apparatus thinks mechanically and dualistically (either/or). It
contains ready-made opinions and ready-made phrases. It has
attitudes about *everything* whether or not it knows anything about
it.
While "formatory thinking" is easier, it produces superficial,
automatic decisions. We do outrageous things when acting
mechanically, that later we cannot imagine how we could have done.
4th Way Practices
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The fundamental exercises of the 4th Way are "self-remembering" and
"self-observation". Self-remembering is simply being aware you exist, and
being aware of the impressions coming through your senses. Doing this for
a moment is easy. Trying to do this for a longer period of time is hard,
and reveals the insidious workings of imagination, identification,
considering, and multiple "I's".
As hard as it is, self-remembering must be done regularly to make
progress in the 4th Way. It is also necessary to develop the ability to
self-remember in situations when it is not "convenient". You will find at
first that the effort of self-remembering makes it difficult to accomplish
other activities at the same time. Like anything else, it gets easier with
practice.
Self-observation involves "observing" your thoughts and feelings, and
determining which center each originates from. It is particularly
important to determine the thoughts and feelings that come from your
emotional center. Control of emotions is necessary for progress in the 4th
Way.
Eliminating the expression of negative emotions (such as anger) is
another important practice. Negative emotions drain energy that can be
used for self-remembering. (Ouspensky observed that we can learn to
enjoy almost any negative emotion. It is valuable to recognize when this
is happening in ourselves).
If you've read this far, a number of your "I's" are probably interested
in 4th Way ideas. These "I's" are called the "magnetic center", and can be
used to facilitate your development in the 4th Way. The magnetic center
can facilitate discrimination and understanding, and can influence other
"I's" that would otherwise be obstacles to development.
Development of the magnetic center produces the "deputy steward", which
can control and coordinate other "I's", giving a degree of control over your
consciousness. Finally, development of the deputy steward results in the
growth of the permanent "I".
History
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Our knowledge of the 4th Way comes mainly from the writings of
Gurdjieff, who brought the system from the East to the West, and P.D.
Ouspensky, one of Gurdjieff's students, who studied, taught, and wrote about
it approximately 1914-1947. The 4th Way is said to be several centuries old.
There are currently a number of 4th Way schools in existence. Some of
them, however, are cults: Unethical behavior and exploitation of students
have been reported here by several people. Others have praised these same
schools. Conclusion: a 4th Way school can be helpful (some say it is
essential to have a school to make progress), but be careful!
(In a future version of this FAQ, we will compile a list of the current
known schools, their strengths, and quirks).
Books
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"The 4th Way", by P.D. Ouspensky. IMHO, the most comprehensive presentation
of 4th-way ideas. It is a collection of transcriptions of Ouspensky's
lectures, and answers to his students' questions.
"The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution", by P.D. Ouspensky, is a much
shorter summary of the ideas covered in "The 4th Way", and is intended
to be an introduction to the system. It is a set of lectures sometimes
read aloud to prospective students, and presents the 4th Way ideas in
the clearest order.
"In Search of the Miraculous", by P.D. Ouspensky, is the story of Ouspensky's
experiences as a student of Gurdjieff.
Other books:
There is an excellent survey of all the significant Gurdjieff literature,
in the introduction to the book, "Bibliography of the Gurdjieff Literature",
edited by Walter Driscoll. The writer establishes a framework for a
serious evaluation of the literature, and places all the primary, secondary,
and tertiary works within this framework. The bibliography itself may be
out of print, but it can probably be obtained easily enough at an esoteric
bookstore or major library. (From Richard Hodges)
Texts which might provide an introduction to Gurdjieff's teaching are:
"Views from the Real World - Early Talks of Gurdjieff" - Triangle Publications
"In Search of the Miraculous" - P.D. Ouspensky - Harcourt, Brace & World
"Gurdjieff: Making a New World" - J.G. Bennett - Harper & Row
"Deeper Man" - J.G. Bennett - Bennett Books
"Undiscovered Country" - Kathryn Hulme - Atlantic, Little, Brown
"Our Life with Mr. Gurdjieff" - Thomas & Olga de Hartmann - Arkana - (1983 ed)
"Teachings of Gurdjieff - Journal of a Pupil" - C.S. Nott - Samuel Weiser
"Waking Up" - Charles Tart - New Science Library
"Venture with Ideas" - Kenneth Walker - Samuel Weiser
But when all is said and done, it is best to return to "All and
Everything - Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson" - attempting to make
practical sense of Gurdjieff's teaching without it would not be unlike
attempting to understand Christ without the Gospels. (From Eddin)
It has been claimed that Ouspensky's writings are generally easier to
understand than Gurdjieff's.
alt.consciousness.4th-way
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This newsgroup is intended to provide a forum for people to share
insights and knowledge of the 4th Way, and higher states of consciousness in
general.
This FAQ
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This is a draft version of the 4th Way FAQ, so may contain some errors.
If you notice any inaccuracies or omissions in this FAQ, or have any other
feedback, I would appreciate hearing from you! It would be particularly
helpful if any newcomers to the 4th Way would indicate any sections of this
FAQ they found unclear.
Thanks to Stella Wirk for many insightful suggestions. The sections on
Gurdjieff references are from Richard Hodges and Eddin.
Alan Balkany (kdkd@eecs.umich.edu)