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
What is my relationship with “unknowing” in Forth Way work? Especially since there is so much to learn and know about. Gurdjieff’s body of ideas encompass philosophy, psychology, cosmology, physiology, history, religion, metaphysics, musicology, science, math, dance, as well as practices. I’m sure I’m leaving something out. Starting with a handful of texts in the … Read more
What is this longing desire I sometimes feel? Where does it come from and what is it yearning for? When I was a young girl, I remember deciding I would become a nun. The notion of living a cloistered life of prayer and inner contemplation spoke to something in me. Later, at Sherborne House with … Read more
What makes an impression? Besides what comes in from the five senses, I mean. I’m getting a few clues, partly due to COVID, thank you very much. Background story: By day eight post COVID symptoms starting, even though I showed a faint pink line on the test, I figured I was no longer contagious. But … Read more
How Impressions Come In How do impressions come into us? Here are some recent experiences. Last week was my husband Jack’s birthday. I was concerned that it wouldn’t have that special “birthday” feeling for him since I’d tested positive for COVID the day before. That put a pall over the day which I’d worried might … Read more
Digesting impressions to grow something higher in myself, leads me to think in terms of conscious breathing. Done with intention, as opposed to mechanically. There needs to be an action, a receptivity, and a separation. Sure, I can appreciate the scenery and whip out my phone to snap a beautiful picture. I can do the … Read more
Impressions as food, in the way that Gurdjieff talks about it, has become a focus for me. I was especially struck by a story in the last chapter of Meetings With Remarkable Men. In this chapter, Gurdjieff recounts his on-going struggles with financing his enterprise. The strain he puts himself under to do this results … Read more