Jogging with Deer Flies buzzing around my head in New Hampshire the other day taught me something. What I already knew, was that I don’t like Deer Flies—they bite. Of course, there’s working with Like and Dislike—yes, that. Then there was the arrogance of thinking I didn’t need to apply bug repellent before setting out. … Read more
It’s all about right life. I’ve been listening to Bennett’s book, Long Pilgrimage, which introduces the Shivapuri Baba and his teaching. Bennett was able to meet with this extraordinary sage who, at a hundred and thirty-six years old, had a clear message. “Think only of God and strive to live a right life.” In Fourth … Read more
Death and learning can be linked. With the death of an old friend the other day, I learned something new. Even when the body is the last thing to go, it doesn’t have to hold on. I’ve been reading about the Shiva Puri Baba in Long Pilgrimage by J.G. Bennett. The account of his death, … Read more
I never considered the thinking center my strong suit. Yet it was the ideas as I first read about them in, In Search of the Miraculous, that caught my interest. Learning about worlds and laws, octaves and vocabulary, was right in line with where I was in life. My thinking center was being exercised and … Read more
I’d like to come into a new relationship with my body. Last week I mused about manifestation. I’m still chewing on the notion of seeing my physical self as a tool with which to manifest. All my adult life I have heard Gurdjieff’s belief that the “sense and purpose” of our existence as human beings … Read more
Manifestation and what it means to manifest has been rolling around in me lately. Specifically, seeing my body as a tool for manifestation. How grand does the manifestation need to be to count? Or, how outside of my comfort zone does it need to be. In other words, in terms of the Work, what exactly … Read more
I don’t mean “where am I now” in the sense of waking up and remembering myself. Although that is always a good idea. No. I mean “where am I now” in my Work. It’s been almost six months since the deep dive into participating in collective leadership of Claymont’s three-month Course of Study. I stepped … Read more
The struggle between yes and no is a basic theme in the Gurdjieff work. It can also be framed as working with likes and dislikes. “Do what ‘it’ doesn’t like and don’t do what ‘it’ does like. We worked with this intensively during Lent on our course at Sherborne, many giving up all forms of … Read more
Three in one. Reminds me of the Musketeer’s slogan, “One for all and all for one.” Isn’t that just what we’re trying to get to in this fourth way work? Figure out how to get our three separate centers (physical, emotional, intellectual) to work together, so we can become one Self? One “I”? It also … Read more
