by Asaf | Oct 4, 2013 | Fourth Way, Hinduism
“It is necessary to sacrifice something precious at the moment, to sacrifice for a long time and to sacrifice a great deal. But still, not forever…” – George Gurdjieff The word transformation comes from Latin and literally means ‘beyond form’. The Fourth Way...
by Asaf | Aug 31, 2013 | Fourth Way, Hinduism
“The fourth way differs from the other ways in that the principal demand made upon a man is the demand for understanding… The more a man understands what he is doing, the greater will be the results of his efforts.” – George Gurdjieff A person centered in the Work...
by Asaf | Aug 1, 2013 | Fourth Way, Hinduism
Let us take a backward glance: From February to April, we superimposed Gurdjieff’s work onto the legend of the life of Prince Siddhartha. The comparison taught us to realize our imprisonment in sleep (Liberation Part 1 – Realization); then formulate a resolve to...
by Asaf | Jun 29, 2013 | Esoteric Christianity, Fourth Way
The word reflection comes from Latin and literally means ‘bending back.’ Originally, reflection meant a sending back of light from a reflective surface (as in a reflective mirror or a reflective pond). With time, however, it’s usage extended beyond the physical to...
by Asaf | Jun 1, 2013 | Esoteric Christianity, Fourth Way
In last month’s topic, Gurdjieff on Creation Part 1, we discussed two states: the first, in which we are unknowingly governed by random thoughts, emotions and sensations; the second, in which we awaken and perceive our multiplicity. We superimposed these two states...
by Asaf | May 1, 2013 | Esoteric Christianity, Fourth Way
Ouspensky’s exercise of trying to be present uninterruptedly for two minutes showed us our multiplicity. All writers verified that their chief difficulty with this exercise lay in the thoughts, sensations and emotions that opposed it. We verified that we are not...
by Asaf | Apr 1, 2013 | Buddhism, Fourth Way
“Then Siddhartha, looking back on the city, exclaimed, ‘Until I have seen the other shore of birth and death, I will never again enter my Father’s city!” – Buddhacarita In our previous post on The Great Departure, we followed Siddhartha’s escape from the prison...
by Asaf | Mar 1, 2013 | Buddhism, Fourth Way
Novelty awakens us. Peter Ouspensky verified this in his first experiments with self-remembering. He realized that he had occasionally remembered himself throughout his life, but unknowingly, infrequently and unintentionally: “Moments of self-remembering did occur in...
by Asaf | Feb 1, 2013 | Buddhism, Fourth Way
In order to realize his possibilities, man must have a very strong desire for liberation and be willing to sacrifice everything, to risk everything, for the sake of this liberation. ~ George Gurdjieff The Palace of Sleep Gurdjieff likened awakening to escaping from...
by Asaf | Jan 3, 2013 | Fourth Way
In the previous set of posts, we explored what it meant to be. I highlighted two aspects of being: Be as a command used to invoke self-remembering and Be as an emotional reverberation used to amplify that command. Charles responded by raising the need of having...
