The System of the Fourth Way

'If we imagine humanity in the form of four concentric circles we can imagine four gates on the circumference of the third inner circle, that is, the exoteric circle, through which people of the mechanical circle can pe*****te. These four gates correspond to the four ways'.

Gurdjieff

Adam and Eve were never cast out of Paradise, rater simply put asleep to it. Paradise is before our eyes every day.

If one’s goal is enlightenment or awakening, the more one looks for it outside what is before one's eyes, the further one would be from achieving that goal.

The use of shocks as a tool for awakening

From the point of view of the work on oneself, shocks naturally created by life can be used as a tool for awakening.

A shock by its nature is unpredictable, unexpected, otherwise of course it would not be such.

Shocks are simply a collection of impressions that form an experience at a certain moment.

Regardless of whether a person is on a spiritual path or not, shocks are part of everyone's life, with the work one simply has specific tools to make use and work with the shocks.

Some shocks are relatively universal (that is, they are such for everyone), others are individual; what impacts one person may not impact another in the same way.

And shocks can be both negative or positive in nature. Although actually this dual nature is the result of one's subjective reaction to an event and an experience that in itself is neutral.

One can create one's own shocks for awakening, but the unexpected and unpredictability is a factor, so the most effective ones are those that come from the outside unexpectedly.

Mainly, taken in the right way, shocks can be used as a third force for self-remembering.

The effort to be present is the first force, the part of us that doesn't want this, or doesn't know about it, is a denying orce. A shock absorbed in the right way can be a third force in favor of the first force. Two forces directed toward one purpose can produce the desired result.

If on the other hand, one identifies with the reaction to the shock, the third force may go in favor of the denying force.

As soon as the experience of shock pe*****tes ourselves , the impact of it has an immediate influence in the inner psychology and the mental activity.

If the shock is negative in nature, the work would be to try not to identify with the negative emotions and negative imagination that comes as a natural reaction to it.

Absorption or digestion of the shock (through self-remembering and non identification) also naturally leads to an understanding of what needs to be done about the shock itself. In other words, shocks can also be used as lessons in one’s life.

Depending on the severity of the shock, and depending on the individual's level of being, the process of absorbing the shock will take more or less time.

At first it is normal that the shocks that reach our awareness are more obvious, then, with training in the work, one will naturally begin to be more sensitive toward more subtle ones.

If one is able to wake up through the use of shocks, after that, further shocks can be used to support and deepen the level of consciousness.

(painting by Jusepe de Ribera - 1626 - Jerome and the Angel)

So as a cell is within the human body, so as a human being is within the Absolute.

States of consciousness

The system defines four states of consciousness. Sleep, the waking state, self-consciousness, and objective consciousness.

Since these are states, levels or degrees of consciousness, then in a sense consciousness is always present. But, broadly speaking, we can say that each higher state of consciousness is a state in which consciousness shines more brightly than a lower state, to the extent that each higher state, when experienced, can almost feel as if a lower state has no consciousness compared to a higher one. This can clearly be seen with the difference between the first and the second state.

According to the system, consciousness constantly moves, fluctuates also within each of the individual four states.

If we take the first state, at the lowest stage, in the first part of sleep, consciousness is very feeble, all the functions of the machine are reduced to a minimum. A state similar to death, but obviously not completely since consciousness is what gives life and animates the machine (this can be seen clearly when somebody faints, or loses consciousness, the body collapses as if it has been unplugged from the energy source).

If we consider the first state, sleep, in its deepest state, is almost a lifeless state, as soon as consciousness starts to rise a bit, then one starts to have dreams. Then it goes down again, but to a higher step than the first part of sleep, then it goes up again and the dreams come back. So on in an undulating and ascending way until the morning when one wakes up, i.e. when one passes from the first to the second state.

Usually one remembers the dreams of the morning because consciousness in that period is closer to the second state, the waking state.

The system says that states of consciousness are added to each other, the fist state is added to the second, the second to the third and so on. For example, if we take dreaming, as one of the characteristics of the first state, it will continue to function in the second by taking the form of what is called imagination or daydreaming.

The second state, or state of wakefulness, is characterized by the so-called state of identification, which intermixes consciousness with functions. The state of identification also leads to what is called incorrect or wrong work of centers.
With the work on oneself, especially with the development of the Steward, the second state can be organized in such a way as to decrease the wrong work of functions, and to bring them to work in such a way as to get one closer to the third state of consciousness.

In the second state itself, consciousness fluctuates continuously. In some moments it is more acute, in others it gets low to the extent that one almost falls asleep; as it can happen while in a car or in an airplane.

One of the greatest illusions in the second state is that one possesses self-consciousness which is actually one of the characteristics of the third state. This is an illusion that can only be broken when one experiences the third state.
Efforts on self-remembering draw one's attention together and bring one closer to the threshold of the third state. Repeated efforts on self remembering, no matter how sincere they can be, can still leave one within the realm of the second state.

When one’s efforts are finally rewarded by the third state then one will finally be able to see the difference between the second and the third state. Experienced practitioners are also shown the difference between high states of consciousness within the second state, where still some fog or veil remains, and when , in the third state, consciousness is fully separated from functions.
The third state differs from the second because it sees the appearance of the higher emotional center, master or real self. As Gurdjieff would say, 'It has a completely different flavor'.

With the third state one can really gain self knowledge, knowledge of one’s machine and mechanics, features etc because in the third state one becomes objective toward one’s self.

The fourth state of consciousness is also called the state of objective consciousness. It is what is often described especially in the Indian tradition. Another name for this state is cosmic consciousness. The fourth state also sees the presence of the higher intellectual center.

Organically, the fourth state of consciousness is experienced through prolonged and deep third states.
However, it is actually quite common for people to experience a jump from the second state directly into the fourth state. This can occur as a result of accidents, emotional shocks or through drug use.
Some schools in the past used drugs to show individual potential. In general, it is not recommended to use drugs in order to achieve higher states of consciousness, because they may prematurely open up certain perceptions and cause fears and phobias towards higher states of consciousness.

The natural development would be to first deepen self-awareness, and then gradually enter objective consciousness. That would be the ideal development, although obviously the path to awakening is not an exact science.

(Photo: Mosaic in San Marco, Venice)

About the system

This post aims to remind or inform about some basic principles on what is called the 'system', the fourth way system.

First among these principles is the idea that the system is 'objective'. Objective and subjective are two opposed terms used repeatedly throughout the system. For example, as in the case of the division of states of consciousness into subjective (first and second state) and objective states (third and fourth states). Other examples are as in the case of subjective or objective art or language.

The fact that the system is objective makes it opposed and one of its kind compared to other subjective systems , or, as our teacher says, homemade.

Another term that can help in understanding what is meant by objective, is the term 'universal', as is often used in the case of 'universal language' for example.

So something objective, or universal, is valid and is the same, for everyone who has reached a similar or the same level of consciousness and level of being.

Another of the basic principles of the system is that this comes from a higher mind. 'Higher mind' has multiple meanings, we will return to this point. Simplest among them is that higher mind means higher centers.

The higher centers appear, or are triggered, in higher states of consciousness, hence in objective states of consciousness. Consequently they have an objective view of the world.

Certain laws of mechanics about how the world or the machine is constructed can only be seen through higher centers, especially the higher intellectual center. So the same is true of laws such as the law of three or the law of seven.

In the light of all that has been said, the difference between objective and subjective now becomes more clear. If we take knowledge as an example, objective knowledge is produced by the higher centers as a result of their objective observation of the outer or inner world. Subjective knowledge is produced by the lower centers. The lower centers at their highest work (at the level of kings) produce right practical knowledge. However this knowledge is useful to higher centers as well, it remains subjective because it is detailed knowledge of the part with the lack of scale in relation to the whole. At their lowest level of work, with the entry of imagination, identification and negative emotions, the lower centers produce very subjective knowledge with little foundation in the real world.

Another of the principles of the system is that because of its objective and impersonal nature it belongs to no one, so to speak the system has no author. It is true that each conscious being brings about further developments of the system, but these developments are nothing more than an unraveling of new pieces of the puzzle. It is not a process of inventing but a process of revealing.

Lack of understanding of this principle generally leads to common mistakes, the first of which is the crediting of the ideas of the system to Gurdjieff, which leads to identifying the system as the teaching of Gurdjieff. If there is a teaching of Gurdjieff it is in relation to the dances and movements that are more the 'result' of working on the principles of the system. It refers more to the 'form' of the group or school (we will talk more about this) rather than to the system itself.

I conclude with the last of the principles I want to mention. That is, the idea that the system must be given cannot be discovered by oneself. It is clear that for the one who is ready to receive them, these ideas will not sound new to him, he will, to a certain degree, have already observed such manifestations as identification, imagination and negative emotions, but however much effort he may have put into putting into words a certain description of his observations, this will be a long way from the complete structure of the system and its objective language.

The form in which the system can be given varies from period to period. In the past the most common method was by word of mouth, and this also relates to the idea of the tradition of master and disciple. Other methods involve various vehicles, stone, parchment or paper, as in the case of 'Fragments of an Unknown Teaching'.

The essential point is that it does not matter 'how' the system is passed on as much as the very fact that it is passed on.

Furthermore, this passage does not need to happen through a teacher or a living conscious being, it can happen from a conscious being who is no longer alive, as in the case of 'Fragments' or 'The Fourth Way'. Here, however, it is good not to confuse the fact of receiving these ideas with the possibility of working with these ideas in order to change the level of being. Working on the principles of the system requires intensive work (at least for a certain period of time) within an organization based on those principles. Moreover, the lack of work on being, in the prescribed conditions, inevitably will lead in the long run, to a subjective interpretation of the system and even to its distortion. In the right order, receiving the system ideas is a prelude to finding an organization structured around it.

Usually, the principle that the system must be given and passed on, leads to trying to discover its origins, which in turn leads to another common error, that is, trying to discover where Gurdjieff collected this system, hence the attempt to discover who his teachers were and so on. In my opinion, a waste of time.

Personally I would investigate and reflect rather on what it means that the system comes from a higher mind. I've already given above its simplest meaning, but as I said it can have other meanings as well. For this I refer to a nice quote from Paracelsus.

Paracelsus: If you ask a man where he learned to plow the land, to cultivate the vine or to make cheese, he will not be able to do anything but point to his master, this in turn will point to his teacher, and so on until we get to the first master. And to whom can this point? To none but to Him who created man; for He has also given him his knowledge.

( Image: Arunachala Temple 1336-1485 AC South India)

One of the paths to objective knowledge, is observation without judgement.

Transformation, and the digestion of experiences, rejuvenate us because, besides refining the energies for higher centers, also nourishes our essence.