For years I’ve wondered what is meant by Gurdjieff’s “active mentation,” or “three-centered thinking.” That is, thinking with all three centers: the mind, the emotions and the body. The Setup Here is an example of what might be called active mentation: It began with working on a new morning exercise concerning Gurdjieff’s Law of Three. … Read more
How old is the concept of demiurge and can we connect to it? Bennett’s use of the term demiurge preceded Sherborne, where I assumed he had made the term up. I had not read his Dramatic Universe. As his student, I understood he meant demiurge to be a force in the realm of angels. Mr. Bennett also … Read more
The term solioonensius, from Gurdjieff’s book All and Everything, seems to be at work in today’s world. This is one of many words Gurdjieff made up so that readers would come to new understandings without the associations we attach to familiar words. Solioonensius represents the notion of large catastrophic events which affect the human psyche, … Read more
What is meant by the term relaxation in Fourth Way work? Here is another word that we “think” we understand, but do we? Typically, when stressed and tense, we think in terms of taking an external action to address the issue. Exercising, vegging out with a book or a movie, taking a yoga or meditation class. … Read more
I’d like to share how to work with an inner Theme. Every week on my course at Sherborne House, Mr. Bennett presented themes . However, DONE is my own theme, which came to me unbidden. The Concept of a Theme “Live each moment as if it were your last.” Mrs. Popoff, my first teacher in … Read more
What is my relationship with my moving center, as Gurdjieff calls one’s physical body? Why does Gurdjieff say each center has its own brain? [See the last two blogs on feeling center and intellectual center.] My Relationship to Moving Center I’ve always thought of myself as a Man #1 primarily centered in my physical self. … Read more
What does Gurdjieff and the 4th Way have to offer when it comes to the feeling center? Gurdjieff presented the idea that, “Man is a three-brained being.” That each of our centers— moving, thinking and feeling, have their own intelligence. The problem is, we don’t recognize the truth of this. We don’t allow our centers … Read more
Gurdjieff uses the word “mentation” when referring to what he calls the intellectual or thinking center in man. When it comes to intellect, I’ve always had a bit of an inferiority complex. My sister was the brainy one, I had to struggle for my A’s in school. My relationship with the thinking center started early-on … Read more
OUSPENSKY AND SMALL ACCUMULATORS Before talking about Gurdjieff’s Great Accumulator, let’s review Ouspensky’s introduction to the Small Accumulators. The notion that we can collect and store energy in ourselves. To fill our small accumulators, we plug “leaks” – avoid gabbing, a certain tone of laughter, nervous gestures, spinning daydreams, etc. We each have our own … Read more
Mrs. Popoff introduced me to the practice of morning ablutions sometime around 1971. Living weekends at her home in Long Island, I worked to earn money towards the second Basic Course at Sherborne House in England and attended group meetings Monday evenings. Tuesday mornings I returned to school in New Jersey. Jack, my boyfriend, lived … Read more