I Attended a Real Life Hogwarts is the tile of an interview Rebekah Berndt had with me for her new podcast, The Unfolding, Faith Without Borders. The interview centers around Gurdjieff, Bennett, and my experience at Sherborne. It also includes an overview of Claymont. There is an extended part of the interview which is accessible … Read more
What is the Truth of My Life? This comes at the end of a prayer that I composed. The prayer became part of my practice before sitting down to work on my memoir, Real People. Now I say it before I sit down to write this blog each week. There is something that happens with … Read more
“Eat, drink and be merry.” Or so the Roman God, Bacchus, supposedly advises. “For tomorrow you shall die.” I have always taken this sentiment to mean, live it up now baby, ‘cause heck, we’re all going to die in the end! The antithesis to a spiritual practice in life, right? Eating and Drinking on the … Read more
Something extraordinary happened at the grocery store yesterday. As always, I started out in the vegetable and fruit aisle. It’s been a long time since I’ve witnessed a woman who did not know how to manage her children in public. But there she was, with two young daughters, perhaps six and nine. Her voice was … Read more
How do I Work on myself? I’ve taken the phrase, “work on oneself” for granted for so many years. My first teacher, Mrs. Popoff, told us about the three lines of work—work on myself being the first line. She gave us “tasks” like brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand, or “remembering yourself” as you … 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
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 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