I am speaking of blending an emotional feeling with a separate physical sensation. Recently, I have realized that I’ve never given real attention to nor fully practiced the art of blending. In fact, I kind of skipped over practicing blending as such. I practiced sensation in the early days until I could call it up … Read more
In Fourth Way work, sensation is a building block. To use it, one must understand sensation differently than the common definition. The usual way of thinking about sensation is something from outside ourselves that sets off our skin sensors: heat, cold, touch, wind, water, etc. We touch a hot surface and burn our finger. We … Read more
I’d forgotten about returning over Labor Day weekend. That might have been why going through customs at LaGuardia in New York provided such vivid impressions of Americans. One woman, who’s orange-red hair, red lipstick, clunky jewelry, tons of luggage, and a voice as big as she was, seemed to epitomize who we were as a … Read more
Claymont’s 50th Event took place October 16 to 20th, 2024. Was it a Reunion, a Work Weekend, a Conference? Many had voiced opinions beforehand. Some wanted a party, some a work weekend. Others wished to discuss the future of Claymont while many reminded us of the past. “We needed to honor our teachers.” “We needed … 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
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
May today be merry and bright May you fill it with depth and delight Let the light from above Shine down below, In the pool that reflects in the night
What is the “truth” of my life? Every week, I prepare myself to write this blog. I have a set practice that I do, and it ends with a writing prayer I wrote in India, during the writing of my memoir. At the end of the prayer, I say, “and may the flow from my … Read more
Being available, as in being open to another’s state of being, is tough for me. Like multitasking in the kitchen when my kids are visiting during a Holiday. Putting dishes away and thinking that just by being in the same room as my young grandson, I’m “being” with him. My whole operating mode has always … Read more
The horse, the carriage, and the driver is an analogy Gurdjieff uses to illustrate the three centers, the roles they play, and our relationship to them. The horse, representing my emotions, is rather spirited and unruly of late. It’s been rearing at odd moments. The carriage, my physical body, remains in good shape because I … Read more