Blog Posts - Panentheism

March 16th, 2017

3/16/2017

(Should one get this far in the blog, The Fourth Way, one can obtain the full book of this work minus the fourth way quotes within the '24 free books' of this site listed as 'panentheism addressing the journey of a soul' under the first classification titled 'Generically Oriented'.)

Taking a Peek: Viewing the void
Part III

The diagram can be easily misinterpreted. One would think, having reached such a state that one was in the void but this is not the case. The above represents a deep state of meditation but ...

… Figure 2.9 has an outside, has an outside which is filled with ‘something’ most of us don’t give any thought to as we step into meditation. Figure 2.9 is enclosed by ‘expectation’. Expectation is a state of meditation entered into preceded by the hopes, desires, and expectation of finding ‘something’ within region 4.

Meditation filled with expectations is sometimes referred to as ‘waiting for’.

Moving into a state of meditation with an ‘expectation to receive or to find’ is not a true state of mediation.

If and when one learns to truly step into the void, truly step into nothingness, truly step into region 4, leave behind all three levels/regions as well as leave behind all expectations, leave behind the state of ‘waiting for’ then one has the potential to ‘find’ one’s true essence. Truly stepping into region 4 appears as:

One is sure to notice there are no apparent bridges ‘into’ level 4. The bridge exists as a process. The process is one of balancing the three regions of physical desires, emotional feelings and mental thoughts followed by quieting all three.

The concept of gaining entrance into region 4 through a ‘process’ is no different than walking the bridge from the region of the emotional into the region of the mental. Moving from the emotional to the mental involves a process of quieting the emotional and then stepping into the mental.

Being completely immersed within the void, surrounded in the infiniteness of pure nothingness is often experienced with breathtaking awe and sometimes with great fear. If, however, one experiences either awe or fear one has not truly entered the void in its purity for fear and awe are elements of one’s level two, elements of emotion and as such one has carried an aspect of one’s emotional self/level 2 with one as one entered the void.

The silence/void is only pure silence if one has carried no elements of levels one, two and/or three with them as one allows the silence to envelop one’s self.

March 15th, 2017

3/15/2017

(Should one get this far in the blog, The Fourth Way, one can obtain the full book of this work minus the fourth way quotes within the '24 free books' of this site listed as 'panentheism addressing the journey of a soul' under the first classification titled 'Generically Oriented'.)

Taking a Peek: Viewing the void
Part II

… appears as a black hole, appears as the void of all, appears as a bottomless chasm.

Fear may be the first thing that comes to the mind of the observer, after all who in their right mind would like to step into a bottomless pit? Who in their right mind would like to experience eternal sensory deprivation? Who in their right mind would even think about shrouding themselves in a suffocating blanket of darkness?

It is, however, within region 4 that one finds their true essence. Our true essence is shrouded in the fog and chaos of sensory, emotional and mental bombardment which completely cloaks our true essence, our true self, making it virtually invisible to the individual.

So how does one begin the process of gaining access to region 4?

The process begins with self-observation for self-observation allows one to understand oneself. Self-observation allows one to bring the three regions, sensory, emotional and mental into balance which in turn keeps any one of the three from dominating one’s life. Self-observation keeps emotions, physical cravings and mental thoughts in check, not eradicated but in check.

Once the three regions are in balance one can begin the process of quieting the three regions. The process of quieting the three regions is not a new concept. The process of quieting the three centers has been practiced for thousands of years by the yogis, monks and fakirs.

The process of quieting the physical, emotional and mental can, through practice, patience and instruction be accomplished by ordinary people.

Once one learns to quiet the three regions, the diagram of the four regions takes on the following appearance:

March 13th, 2017

3/13/2017

(Should one get this far in the blog, The Fourth Way, one can obtain the full book of this work minus the fourth way quotes within the '24 free books' of this site listed as 'panentheism addressing the journey of a soul' under the first classification titled 'Generically Oriented'.)

Taking a Peek: Viewing the void
Part I
Fear is out greatest enemy.

And the greatest ally of fear is the word ‘can’t’.

We use the word ‘can’t’ to assuage our fear, to provide the excuse for not doing what we fear to do for, if what we wish to do, but fear to do, is perceived to be impossible to do, then we need not try to do what we fear to do and having left behind what we sense we should do, but fear to do, we can turn away from the task without a sense of guilt. (Whew!)

Why is it difficult to enter region/level 4? Entering region/level 4 requires the successful accomplishment of three tasks:

Quieting the physical body
Quieting the emotional body
Quieting the mental body

If one allows any one of the three regions to occupy one’s attention, one can only look at region 4 from afar.

Region 4 appears mysterious for region 4 does not involve any of the most common tools we as a species have for gaining experiences.

At first glance quieting the sensory, emotional and/or the mental may sound like a simple task; however, quieting the physical senses is very difficult and requires a deep form of meditation. Once the physical senses are quieted the emotional becomes even more pronounced and must in turn be quieted. Then the problem becomes the mental, thoughts inundate us constantly while we are ‘awake’ (Awake in the generic sense as opposed to sleeping at night).

Sleep is not the answer. Entering region 4 must be done on a conscious level yet without conscious awareness. It is only when all is quieted, even the conscious must be quieted, that region 4 can be entered. It is only when there is no input from the physical, emotional and mental that the bridge to region 4 can be built.

There is as much to be experienced in region 4 just as there is to be experienced through physical, emotional and mental experiencing.

The experiencing in region 4, however, begins with pure silence, begins with no experiencing which in itself is a form of experiencing.

The view, however, of region 4 from outside region 4, suggests there is nothing worthwhile to experience in region 4. In fact the first impression upon entering the silence is that there is nothing to experience in the silence or it would not be the silence. Both perceptions are simply first impressions and as with everything else: Nothing is as it seems.

From outside region 4, region 4 appears as …

March 11th, 2017

3/11/2017

(Should one get this far in the blog, The Fourth Way, one can obtain the full book of this work minus the fourth way quotes within the '24 free books' of this site listed as 'panentheism addressing the journey of a soul' under the first classification titled 'Generically Oriented'.)

Preparation: Conquering the physical machine
Part IV

The question is not a silly question. In fact, as more and more people enter region/level 4, the easier it will become for those following to enter region 4.

Moving from the East side of the Appalachian Mountains to the West side of the Appalachian Mountains can now be accomplished using cars, buses and airplanes. To suggest using cars, airplanes, etc. to the early settlers of the fifteenth century would have been met with utter disbelief.

New techniques for reaching level 4 will evolve methods far beyond the ability of 2014 individuals to perceive.

The reason the journey to region 4 will become easier to accomplish as more people accomplish the journey is due to the evolutionary advancement of the process. As more people take the journey they will find nuances making the journey easier for those who follow. The nuances, once learned, can then be shared between individuals or in ‘a group’.

The sharing between individuals or in a group concept is an important one for it is only through sharing that the nuances can be learned by those who wish to follow. The process is similar to the old time wagon masters guiding settlers over the Appalachian and Rocky Mountains.

Initially the trip West through the Appalachian Mountains was tedious, precarious, littered with failure but eventually the process evolved through repetition and technology to the point where millions upon millions now make the journey daily.

This process of decreasing the difficulties of the journey to region 4 is an evolutionary spiral upward which we as individuals and as a species have been taking for thousands of years.

This is not to say we as a species have always been moving in an upward direction for there were many times we slid down the spiral as opposed to climbing upward.

Regardless of how many times we as a species have slid downward, our resultant direction overall historically has been upward not downward and the very point of groups is to continue humanity’s historical vector in terms of our evolutionary development regarding our knowledge and understanding of our species, the physical cosmos, the ethereal including the Absolute.

"The trouble is that until this time the aim of my inner world had been concentrated only on my one unconquerable desire to investigate from all sides, and to understand, the exact significance and purpose of the life of man."
Live Is Real Only Then, When ‘I Am’, G. I. Gurdjieff, All and Everything, Third Series, Penguin Arkana, 1978, p. 26

Next: Taking a Peek: Viewing the void

March 10th, 2017

3/10/2017

(Should one get this far in the blog, The Fourth Way, one can obtain the full book of this work minus the fourth way quotes within the '24 free books' of this site listed as 'panentheism addressing the journey of a soul' under the first classification titled 'Generically Oriented'.)

Preparation: Conquering the physical machine
Part III

Two dimensionally our diagram of regions 1, 2 and 3 with bridges looks like:

So where is region 4/level 4?

Region 4 is shrouded in fog and has no bridges presently linking it to regions 1, 2 and 3 but region 4 is there. If we demonstrate region 4 within the diagram we obtain:

As you can see the bridges to region 4 are missing and the island is covered with the heavy darkness of the unknown.

Figure 2.7 models region 4 from afar but how does one get to region 4?

To get to level 4 one must build bridges to region 4.

But wouldn’t it be easier to take a boat or take an airplane to region 4?

March 09th, 2017

3/9/2017

(Should one get this far in the blog, The Fourth Way, one can obtain the full book of this work minus the fourth way quotes within the '24 free books' of this site listed as 'panentheism addressing the journey of a soul' under the first classification titled 'Generically Oriented'.)

Preparation: Conquering the physical machine
Part II

The problem facing the initiate attempting to enter region 4 is three fold:

1. The initiate does not know where region 4 is, so the question becomes: Where do I go to find region 4? If there are no directions why even try to locate the island of region 4?

2. The initiate does not know what to expect if they manage to step into region 4 and as such the thought becomes: Why even spend all the time and effort to step into region 4 because if one does finally step into region 4, there may be nothing worthwhile to acquire after having expended vast amounts of energy.

3. The initiate can find no one who will admit having been to level 4 let alone find someone who is willing to help them on the journey other than to say: It takes time. Just quiet yourself and it (?) will come …

The point of this blog/book is to remove these three obstacles. Removing the three obstacles has the potential of drawing more initiates into the process, encouraging the participants already on the journey and increasing the success ratio of those making the journey.

If this primer is successful it will be because it has partially resolved the three issues listed above.

So now let’s address issue one and two: Where is region/level 4 and what one can potentially find in region 4.

In Part II of this blog/book we will expand our knowledge and understanding of region/level 4 and what hidden treasures are opened to those who acquire level 4.

In Part III of this blog/book we will examine what lies beyond Gurdjieff’s teachings, examine what may well be the next evolutionary stage of development which can be built upon the foundation of The Fourth Way.

In Part I we diagramed regions 1, 2 and 3 as three dimensional regions connected by bridges. We will now go back to two dimensional diagrams in order to conserve space.

February 27th, 2017

2/27/2017

Preparation: Conquering the physical machine
Part I

Self-observation is done for a reason. If one does not know why one goes through the exercise of self-observation then let it be simply said one simply observes self because others tell them self-observation is ‘the way’.

Unfortunately, the specifics of traveling the path called, ‘The Way’, are avoided as a topic of discussion by those having made the journey. The successful individual travelers of the way who have sought truth and found truth fear being labeled ‘arrogant’.

Level 4s fear being labeled arrogant, fear being called deceivers, fear being rejected, fear being ostracized, and fear taking a risk, fear the risk of sharing.

So it is many seeking answers to the forever haunting questions regarding life are condemned to remain in the dark because level 4s are afraid for themselves and mask their fears in the excuses: The seekers are not ready, the answers are meant for only a few and we will decide who they should be.

The first step to knowing one’s true essence lies in a haunting sense of a need to know. Self-observation, after sensing the need to know, after questioning the apparent meaninglessness of life, is the second step to finding truth, finding the truth regarding reality.

Self-observation is the initial step one takes to find one’s true essence for ‘the haunting need to know’ either exists within the individual or it does not. The need to know is not a conscious step one takes while self-observation on the other hand comes only through personal decision to do so.

Self-observation is the gateway to finding the knowledge and understanding regarding not only the purpose of one’s life but the very meaning of life itself.

Self-observation is a step preceding finding the silence, finding the void, finding the nothingness wherein one finds one’s true self, one’s true essence.

It is through self-observation that one can put one’s life in balance which then allows one to quiet the three levels affecting one’s life.

It is through quieting the three levels that one initiates entrance into the silence.

"Among other things, I said that the most important work for a man who has already cognized with his Reason his real significance – that is to say, who has cognized his error in the sense of the exaggerated importance given to his individuality … that is, to exercise what is called “self-observation.”
Live Is Real Only Then, When ‘I Am’, G. I. Gurdjieff, All and Everything,
Third Series, Penguin Arkana, 1978, p. 81 - 82.

"In order to see, I must learn to see. This is the first initiation into self-knowledge. …
… My effort is made with something that does not belong to my ordinary means. I need a certain will and desire unknown to my ordinary self. My ordinary “I” must give up its place.
The Reality of Being, The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff, Jeanne De Salzmann, Shambhala, 2010, p 17.

Some would have you believe one can’t find the meaning of life, can’t find truth/absolute truth/truth existing outside relative truth, can’t find any self other than the sensory, emotional and/or mental self. Such people would have you believe (again the doubter’s religion comes into play – their belief comes into play) nothing exists other than the physical universe.

Ridicule, ostracism and scorn are used as tools of the secularists as a means to divert the seeker’s energy from a journey they feel compelled to take but hesitate to risk.

February 23rd, 2017

2/23/2017

The Silence: The Void
Part VI

Region 4 is something altogether different from regions 1, 2 and 3.

Level/region 1 was the region of physical sensation experienced (for humans) through the five senses.

Level/region 2 was the region of emotions experienced (for humans) through feelings.

Level/region 3 was the region of mental thought experienced (for humans) through conscious reasoning, cerebral analysis, rationalization …

We examined what level 1 then level 2 and then level 3 were. Now we must examine what level 4 is.

Level/region 4 must be void all of the experiencing incorporated by levels 1, 2 and 3. If this were not so, then level 4 would simply be a continuation of levels 1, 2 and/or 3.

But just as levels 1, 2 and 3 are unique unto themselves level/region 4 is unique unto itself and thus is its own island, its own region.

We can diagram region 4 in relationship to regions 1, 2 and 3 in the following manner.

Some would say region 4 should be diagramed as:

At our present stage of understanding, Fig. 2.5 would be correct but as we progress in our knowledge and understanding of self this will prove to be incorrect.

Region 4 is a form of sensory, emotional and mental deprivation.

Here then lays the understanding regarding the previous statement as to the difficulty of entering region 4. Region/level 4 is, as stated previously, difficult to attain, seldom visited and frightening to experience initially, for region 4 is isolation in the truest sense.

Level/region 4 is the void itself, is the realm of the black endless abyss and is the suffocating blanket of nothingness. To enter region 4 is to release everything one holds dear, release the only reality with which one is familiar. Entering level/region 4 is to stare into the face of eternal death, eternal non-existence.

Next: Preparation: Conquering the physical machine

February 21st, 2017

2/21/2017

The Silence: The Void
Part V

Can or will all level 3s reach a level 4 state, step into region 4 in order to have a level 4 experience, in order to find their true essence, in order to find their true self and find their ‘I’?

Most level 3s will not find their level 4, but having said this one can also be fairly certain level 3s will never find their level 4, realize their true selves if they do not try to do so.

The potential to find one’s true essence increases with effort and further increases if one has a roadmap given to them by those who have traveled the journey before them.

This blog cannot replace the effort required of the individual seeking their true ‘I’, but this blog can provide ‘a’ roadmap for the seekers.

The initial map of the Cumberland Gap providing ‘a’ way through the Appalachian Mountains has, at this point of the twenty-first century, been expanded to include thousands of ‘ways’ to cross the Appalachian Mountains.

As time passes, the same will take place with regards to finding one’s true essence, the ‘a way’ will give way to several ways, which will give way to hundreds and then thousands of ways to attain level 4.

For now, however, let us stick to ‘a’ way in hopes that this will assist you in your journey just as the map of the Cumberland Gap assisted the early travelers.

The question becomes how does one find their true essence, find their ‘I’?

Gurdjieff, de Salzmann, Ouspensky and others have already addressed this question but they have done so in a general manner as opposed to a specific manner.

This blog lays out the specifics using Gurdjieff, de Salzmann and Ouspensky quotes as one means of attaining level 4 and at the same time simultaneously validating the process being presented. The most significant means of validation, of course, comes through personal experiencing of what is being professed.

To lay out the specifics regarding the means of finding one’s true essence requires specific instructions if the process of finding one’s true self is to become more accessible to others just as the Cumberland Gap laid out many trail markers to guide the travelers along the way.

The specifics guide the seeker of truth just as the trail markers on the Cumberland Gap guided those seeking a way through the Appalachian Mountains.

This blog is written in hopes of providing enough encouragement to a few in order to increase the numbers reaching their destination in the search for truth. Just as a deluge begins with the first drop of water, followed by a few more drops of water, followed by a torrent of rain, so to begins the deluge of understanding regarding the true essence of human individuals begins with the few leading to the many leading to a torrent of the number of individuals understanding/experiencing their true essence.

So again the question is presented: How does one enter level 4? In fact why would one even wish to enter level 4?

And again in terms of why enter region 4: Region 4 is where one finds one’s true essence, where one becomes ‘the master’ of one’s self as opposed to being ‘the slave’ of life. Entering region 4 is the key to understanding versus confusion and desperation.

February 20th, 2017

2/20/2017

The Silence: The Void
Part IV
Belief in the lack of truth, in the lack of absolute truth becomes, for many level 3s, becomes an excuse to avoid returning to the silence, becomes an excuse to avoid the quest, becomes an excuse to avoid the need to know.

Physical sensations, emotional obsessions and mental preoccupations dominate the individual’s life, cause the individual to react. Human existence is one of constantly reacting to stimuli, of being a slave to life, of existing in a state of sleep, of being reactive as opposed to being proactive.

If the physical, emotional and mental are regions where the true self is not found, the question is: Where is the true self to be found?

The fakirs, monks and yogis require one to dedicate their all to the quest of finding one’s true self, require one dedicate their life’s energy to the journey of mastering the silence. All three understand that esoteric knowledge and understanding comes only after mastering the silence.

All three methods offer the sleeping individual the means of awaking to reality and becoming the master as opposed to being the slave to life.

"Man has the possibility to awaken from this sleep, to awaken to the higher, to be. The means is the attention. In sleep the attention is taken. It must be freed and turned in another direction. This is the separation of “I” and “me.”
The Reality of Being, The Fourth Way of Gurdjieff, Jeanne De Salzmann, Shambhala, 2010, p22.

Level 3 individuals, the individuals reading this book, are capable of entering the region of silence and finding their true selves, finding their true ‘I’ while remaining within the realm of normal life. The fourth way offers Level 3s the opportunity of attaining a level 4 experience while remaining immersed in ordinary life.

primer_for_the_fourth_way_minus_most_of_gs_quotes.pdf
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Part I: For the novice
Intro & General Comments
10/16/16 - 12/31/16
The work begins:
Reality 1: World One: The physical
1/1/17 - 2/6/17
The Silence: The Void
2/7/17 - 2/23/17
Preparation: Conquering the Physical Machine
2/24/17 - 3/11/17
Taking a Peek: Viewing the void
3/12/17 - 3/17/17
Stepping into the silence:
Walking over the abyss of fear
3/2o/17
The silence: The region between two worlds
3/21/17
The void is not a reality: The void is nothingness
3/22/17 - 3/26/17
Entering the void: A regionless region
3/27/17 - ...