TRABAJANDO CON FLECHAS

Una Gua Lingstica hacia la Mentacin Acti!a

Tus religiones, tus filosofas, estn ms apoyadas en tus patrones lingsticos que en cualquier otra
cosa. Y si puedes comprender tu lenguaje mejor, sers capaz de comprender mejor tus procesos
internos.
"nt#$%uccin&'
En el comienzo de Relatos de Belceb a su Nieto, Gurdjieff dice que cualquiera que desee ser un
pensador consciente tiene que saber que un hombre es capaz de dos tipos de mentacin !entacin
por pensamiento " !entacin por formas# !$s adelante dice que el si%nificado e&acto de todo
escrito tiene que ser atrapado por ambos tipos de mentacin#
'asta el d(a presente los )in%*istas se dan cuenta de este se%undo tipo de mentacin " lo asocian con
patrones %enerales compartidos por todos los seres humanos " tambi+n por los animales en cierta
e&tensin# )os )in%*istas lo llaman estructuras sem$nticas, aun a pesar de que este nombre es
estrecho " mal entendido# ,na estructura sem$ntica no slo es sem$ntica sino tambi+n indicati-a de la
confi%uracin %eom+trica de nuestra percepcin del mundo, donde formas (nomres! pueden e"istir
s#lo en su relaci#n con cierto tipo de acci#n ($ero!.
.o /te palpo a0112 3i
3 11/me miras a0112 !(
)os Nombres .o " 3 son etiquetas que pueden ser remplazadas por las foto%raf(as mentales de
.o " 3# )os 4erbos, tales como palpar " mirar apuntan a nuestra sensacin basada en la
memoria de acciones correspondientes# 4erdaderamente podemos decir que la mentacin por forma
es esencialmente una tarea no1-erbal aun " cuando pueda ser asistida por el uso de palabras como
etiquetas " apuntadores#
5uando establecemos un
uns such as 676 and 6.ou6 are labels that can be replaced b" the mental pictures of 676 and 6.ou6#
4erbs such as 6touch6 and 68atch6 point to our sensation1based memor" of correspondin% actions#
3hus 8e can sa" that 6mentation b" form6 is essentiall" a non-erbal tas9 e-en thou%h it can be assisted
b" the use of 8ords as labels and pointers#
:hen 8e ma9e a statement about a definite perception, the follo8in% process ta9es place
;bjecti-e realit" 1/<012 =ercei-ed realit" 1/>012 4erball"1formulated realit"
:hen someone else tries to understand the statement, the process is re-ersed the listener infers the
%eometrical structure of the spea9er?s perception b" anal"zin% the statement#
:ith this ac9no8led%ment of 6mentation b" form,6 a ne8 branch of lin%uistics 8as born that is no
more a borin% stud" of %rammatical rules# 7n this ne8 branch of lin%uistics, lin%uists stud" the la8s that
%o-ern the structure of our perception alon% 8ith the %rammatical rules applicable to the con-ersion of
that structure into a sentence structure /@rro8 > abo-e0#
3hese studies also re-eal the common limitations and errors of our mind that restrict the qualit" of the
t8o realit"1con-ersion processes /@rro8s < and > abo-e0# 7n fact, the con-entional 8a" of usin% an
arro8 as sho8n belo8 for describin% a perception includes a serious error that lin%uists toda" are a8are
of
7 112 the obser-ed phenomenon
Aince ;uspens9" chose this 8a" of usin% an arro8 8hen he described the 6di-ision of attention6 as the
characteristic feature of self1rememberin%, 7 8ill discuss about it in the second half of this essa" after
sho8in% "ou a different 8a" of usin% arro8s for describin% perceptions adopted b" lin%uists toda"#
@bout <B "ears a%o, 7 8as professionall" in-ol-ed in acti-ities in this field, dail" conductin% the paid
e&ercise of con-ertin% sentences /mentation b" thou%ht0 into structures of perception /mentation b"
form0 and -ice -ersa# 3his e&ercise substantiall" chan%ed the 8a" 7 thin9, read, 8rite, listen and spea9C
helped in m" career as a translator and 8riterC and more recentl" shaped m" unique 8a" of usin%
lan%ua%e in conductin% a joint e&ploration of our true nature in a %roup format# 3his essa" pro-ides "ou
8ith minimum information required for conductin% a similar e&ercise#
Linguistics an% (Mentati$n )* F$#+(
De acuerdo a esta informacin, fue costumbre en si%los pasados sobre la 3ierra
@ccordin% to this information, it 8as customar" in lon%1past centuries on Earth for
e-er" man bold enou%h to aspire to the ri%ht to be considered b" others and to consider
himself a 6conscious thin9er6 to be instructed, 8hile still in the earl" "ears of his
responsible e&istence, that man has t8o 9inds of mentation one 9ind, mentation b"
thou%ht, e&pressed b" 8ords al8a"s possessin% a relati-e meanin%, and another 9ind,
proper to all animals as 8ell as to man, 8hich 7 8ould call 6mentation b" form#6
/Gurdjieff, Beelzebubs Tales to His Grandson , p# <B0

6!entation b" form6 is the process of perception that precedes -erbal formulation# 6!entation b"
form6 can be assisted effecti-el" or ineffecti-el" b" the use of 8ords as labels, pointers, and holders of
attention# Ne-ertheless, 6mentation b" form6 can be conducted 8ithout rel"in% on or bein% constrained
b" %rammatical rules# 7t is essentiall" a non-erbal tas9 that depends more on our spatial a8areness,
mo-ement a8areness, relationship a8areness, and self1a8areness than on our lin%uistic proficienc"#
6!entation b" thou%ht,6 on the other hand, corresponds to mental processes that in-ol-e lan%ua%e,
8hich has much less capabilit" for representin% our potentiall" multi1dimensional perception of realit"#
3he qualit" of 6mentation b" thou%ht6 depends on its connection 8ith 6mentation b" form#6 :ithout
this connection, thin9in% de%enerates into 6associations#6
7n the field of machine translation, the phrase1to1phrase con-ersion method pro-ed to be successful
onl" bet8een lan%ua%es that ha-e identical %rammatical structures# 3o effecti-el" translate Eapanese
into En%lish, it 8as found to be necessar" to rel" on 6mentation b" form6 as had been predicted b"
Gurdjieff
3he second 9ind of mentation, that is, 6mentation b" form6 throu%h 8hich, b" the 8a",
the e&act meanin% of all 8ritin% should be percei-ed and then assimilated #
3he machine translation s"stem de-eloped b" m" former collea%ues con-erts a Eapanese sentence into
a semantic structure /%eometrical model of the correspondin% perception0 and then %enerates an
En%lish sentence out of it# 7n these processes, 8ords disappear into a form of perception and then
reappear from that form of perception#
3his problem is less li9el" to happen bet8een t8o lan%ua%es that share man" 8ords 8ith common
roots#
3he second 9ind of mentation, that is, 6mentation b" form6 throu%h 8hich, b" the 8a",
the e&act meanin% of all 8ritin% should be percei-ed and then assimilated after
conscious confrontation 8ith information pre-iousl" acquired is determined in people
b" the conditions of %eo%raphical localit", climate, time, and in %eneral the 8hole
en-ironment in 8hich the" ha-e arisen and in 8hich their e&istence has flo8ed up to
adulthood#
3hus, in the brains of people of different races li-in% in different %eo%raphical localities
under different conditions, there arise in re%ard to one and the same thin% or idea quite
different independent forms, 8hich durin% the flo8 of associations e-o9e in their bein%
a definite sensation %i-in% rise to a definite picturin%, and this picturin% is e&pressed b"
some 8ord or other that ser-es onl" for its outer subjecti-e e&pression#
3hat is 8h" each 8ord for the same thin% or idea almost al8a"s acquires for people of
different %eo%raphical localities and races a quite specific and entirel" different so to sa"
6inner content#6

:hen there is no pressin% need for communication as 8e face realit" 8ith clear a8areness, 6mentation
b" form6 depends less on lan%ua%e# 4erbal formulations can follo8 but 8ill not precede 6mentation b"
form#6 7n this sense, Fen masters? insistence on 6thin9in% 8ithout 8ords6 is not entirel" absurd#
Aimilarl", 8hen Gurdjieff uses the 8ord 6thin9in%6, it ma" not necessaril" mean a -erbal acti-it"#
=articularl" in the conte&t of some inner e&ercises associated 8ith Gurdjieff, li9e the one coupled 8ith
his last !o-ement, it is hardl" possible to connect the 8ord 6thin9in%6 8ith an acti-it" that in-ol-es
-erbal formulation#
Ne-ertheless, if 8e aspire to be a 6conscious thin9er,6 8e must maintain a stream of 6mentation b"
form6 8hile 8e are in-ol-ed 8ith 8ords 8hile thin9in%, readin%, spea9in%, and 8ritin%# !ore
specificall", it is a demand to maintain the spatial a8areness of the conceptual uni-erse 8e are pa"in%
attention to, alon% 8ith the a8areness of our current focus and the place of subjecti-it"#
M$!e+ents an% O),ects- Basic C$nstituents $. /e#cei!e% Realit*
Gurdjieff confirms this -ie8 8ith his emphasize on the !o-ements and his d"namic -ision of the
uni-erse as e&pounded in the Beelzebubs 3ales# 3he follo8in% 8ords come from ;sho
.ou see a ri-er# Does a ri-er reall" e&ist, or is it just a mo-ementG 7f "ou ta9e the
mo-ement out, 8ill there be a ri-erG ;nce the mo-ement is ta9en out the ri-er 8ill
disappear# 7t is not that the ri-er is mo-in%C the ri-er is nothin% but rivering # # #
)ife means li-in%# )ife is not a noun, it is a -erb# @nd e-er"thin% is a -erb# :atch and
"ou 8ill be able to see e-er"thin% is becoming, nothin% is static#
/;sho, The Discipline of Transcendence, 4ol# <, H<I0
;ur ordinar" mind, ho8e-er, lac9s capacit" to focus on more than one mo-ements at one time#
)in%uisticall", this limitation is manifested b" the fact that onl" a sin%le -erb functions as a hub of the
8hole sentence or of its each independent lo%ical unit# 3his -erb is called the main -erb# 7f the sentence
has t8o or more -erbs, the" usuall" form a hierarch" 8here the main -erb is at the top, or the -erbs are
ju&taposed in a simplistic 8a" in 8hich the" can been seen as formin% a unit, or the sentence is di-ided
into independent lo%ical units indi-iduall" presentin% a separate perception# ;ur lan%ua%e is limited in
its abilit" to present the manners of d"namic relationships amon% different -erbs# @ statement of a
simple perception usuall" consists of a sin%le -erb and multiple nouns that are connected to the -erb
7 lo-e "ou#
7 J11 )o-e 112 .ou
7n all t"pes of statements includin% this one, the main -erb in the sentence is li9e a hub that holds
different t"pes of relationships 8ith nouns 8ithin the sentence# Nouns are the objects or concepts that
are tentati-el" assumed to be static# 7n the mind of the percei-er, the" are usuall" associated 8ith a
static ima%e or 6form#6 E-en 8ith the %i-en limitation of our perception, a simple anal"sis of
%rammatical structures is enou%h to re-eal that mo-ements /-erbs0 are at the core of our 8orld
perception# 7n the abo-e e&ample, 6lo-e6 is at the center of the structure of perception, 8hich loo9s
more important than 676 and 6"ou# 6
7n spite of this, 8e usuall" %i-e less attention to mo-ementsK-erbs than to objectsKnouns# 3his is
understandable because mo-ements are less %raspable than objects that can be held as mental ima%es#
Aince "ou must be familiar 8ith usin% computers, 7 ta9e the follo8in% e&ample to sho8 a difference
bet8een -erb1centered perception and noun1centered perception
!A1D;A command s"nta& 5;=. L .
:indo8s Aelect L, select 5;=., and then select .#
Readers 8ho ha-e e&perienced the shift from the process1oriented interface /li9e !A1D;A0 to the
object1oriented interface /li9e :indo8s0 8ill be able to recall the bi% difference it caused in our
e&perience of usin% computers# :hile the object1oriented interface is closer to our habitual 8a" of
perception and therefore more user1friendl", its 8ide1spread use ma" further de%enerate our abilit" to
focus on mo-ements#
4erb1centered perception allo8s better appreciation of realit"# 4erb1centered perception can be -er"
different from noun1centered perception# :hat 8ould ha-e happened if Descartes %a-e more attention
to -erbs than to nouns 8hen he claimed 67 thin9, therefore 7 e&ist6G 'e must ha-e felt ashamed instead
of bein% proud in findin% out that his famous 676 8as nothin% but a b"product of his thin9in%, a false
entit" that appeared permanent onl" because of his limited perception# 7n other 8ords, 8here are "ou
8hen "ou are not thin9in%G
Case G#a++a# an% the St#uctu#e $. Ou# /e#ce0ti$n
3he case %rammar theor" is 8idel" used for relatin% lin%uistic patterns 8ith uni-ersal patterns of
perception# 3he case %rammar theor" stands on the reco%nition that major components of our lan%ua%e
fall into one of the follo8in% three cate%ories /<0 4erbs and their subordinatesC />0 Nouns and their
subordinatesC and /M0 :ords that define their relationships# 3his is similar to sa"in% that our -ision of
realit" consists of /<0 !o-ementsC />0 ;bjectsC and /M0 3heir Relationships#
Aemantic structure anal"sis usin% the case %rammar theor" re-eals the paramount importance of -erbs
and mo-ements in the structure of our lan%ua%e and perception# @ fe8 e&amples of semantic structure
anal"sis are %i-en belo8# @n asteris9 /N0 indicates a connection to the same 8ord %i-en in a line abo-e#
Names attached to the arro8s sho8 a particular t"pe of relationship bet8een a -erb and a noun /or
sometimes bet8een nouns0# 3hese different t"pes of relationships are called 6cases6 /or 6semantic
cases60 in lin%uistics#
7 lo-e "ou#
7 J1/e&periencer01 )o-e 1/tar%et012.ou
7 8ill bu" "ou beautiful flo8ers tomorro8 at the flo8er shop#
7 J1/a%ent0111 Bu" 1/recipient012 .ou
N1/tar%et012 Olo8ers J1/attribute01 Beautiful
N 1/time012 3omorro8
N 1/location012 Olo8er shop
7 am %lad to 9no8 that "ou lo-e me#
7 J1/e&periencer01 Pno8 1/content012 Q.ouJ1/e&periencer01 )o-e 1/tar%et012 !eR
N J1/state01 Glad
3hese e&amples sho8 us the structure of our lin%uistic uni-erse 8here -erbs are li9e suns and nouns
are li9e planets# 4erbs determine the structure because each -erb has its o8n set of relationships
/semantic cases0 that it can assi%n to nouns# ;ur ordinar" perception of lo-e, for e&ample, requires the
6e&periencer6 and 6tar%et#6 3he t"pes of relationships that nouns can e&pect to ha-e 8ith a -erb are
determined b" the -erb#
!oreo-er, some nouns chan%e their characters b" the 8a" the" relate 8ith a -erb# 7n En%lish, 676 am
676 onl" 8hen it relates 8ith a -erb as an 6a%ent6 or 6e&periencer# 6 676 am 6!e6 8hen it relates 8ith a
-erb as a 6tar%et,6 6%oal,6 6instrument,6 and so on# 3his seems to indicate that ho8 7 am depends on m"
relationship 8ith mo-ements#
3o illustrate the %o-ernin% role of -erbs in a %eometrical representation of semantic structure, a -erb is
depicted as a center from 8hich arro8s come out# @ noun is a place 8here each arro8 ends up, 8hich
s"mbolicall" can be ta9en as a place 8here our a8areness of mo-ements ends#
3he abo-e e&amples are probabl" enou%h to sho8 that an" sentence can be reduced to a %raphical
structure of 6nodes6 /structural components0 and 6arcs6 /arro8s0# Aince semantic structures are close
representations of our 8orld perception, the" are %enerall" common to all human bein%s 8ho share
similar modalities and limitations of perception# 3here are onl" limited numbers of semantic cases that
define a relationship bet8een different lin%uistic components# Grammatical rules specific to each
lan%ua%e are nothin% but the rules for con-ertin% uni-ersal structures of perception into -erball"1
communicable forms#
)oo9in% at the %eometrical confi%uration of semantic structures, it is clear to e-er"one that -erbs and
mo-ements deser-e more attention if 8e 8ish to ha-e a 8holesome picture of the percei-ed realit"#
:hen 8e thin9, read, 8rite, listen, and spea9, ho8e-er, 8e fail to realize this because of the linear
confi%uration of -erbal formulations#
E1e#cises in C$nsci$us Thin2ing an% (Mentati$n )* F$#+(
Oor those 8ho are interested in actuall" tr"in% out the method of semantic structure anal"sis based on
the case %rammar theor" as an e&ercise in 6!entation b" Oorm,6 7 pro-ide here a list of major semantic
cases that can be used for namin% arro8s#
3he follo8in% are major semantic cases that define a relationship bet8een a -erb and a noun# 3he" all
sho8 ho8 forms /nouns0 can participate in an action or mo-ement indicated b" a -erb# 3he list is
e&hausti-e and the definition of some terms o-erlap each other#
< @%entK5ause
> E&periencerK=ercei-er
M 3ar%et /direct object of an action represented b" -erb0
S RecipientKBeneficiar" /of the result of an action0
B =artnerK@ccompanimentK7nstrumentK!ethod
T 5ontentKAubstanceK!aterial
U )ocationKDirectionK;rientation
V 3imeKDurationKOrequenc"K;rder
W EffectKResultKGoalK=urpose
<I AtateK!annerK@ttitudeKXualit"KXuantit"KE&tentKDe%ree
@ -erb1to1-erb relationship can be -ariousl" named as 6condition6 /if0, 6s"nchronicit"6 /8hen0, 6time1
after6 /after0, and so on# 4erbs in a sentence /or its each lo%ical unit0 are in hierarchical order# @n
arro8 should ori%inate from a -erb hi%her in the hierarch"#
Noun1to1noun and adjecti-e1to1noun relationships can ta9e the form of 6attribute6, 6qualit",6
6quantit",6 6order,6 6equation6 /Y0, 6lo%ical inclusion,6 6o8nership,6 and so on#
3he tense /past, present, future, etc#0 indicated b" the modification of a -erb can be indicated b" an
open1ended arro8# 3he 6present6 tense arro8 is usuall" omitted#
7 bou%ht flo8ers#
7 J1/a%ent01 bu" 1/tar%et012 Olo8ers
N 1/past012
3o indicate ne%ation, simpl" add a similar 6ne%ation6 arro8 to the -erb# 3he st"le of speech
/declarati-e, imperati-e, interro%ati-e, etc#0 can also be indicated b" addin% a similar arro8, e-en
thou%h this 8a" of representation ma" not be quite correct# 3he 6declarati-e6 arro8 is usuall" omitted#
Do "ou lo-e meG
.ou J1/e&periencer01 )o-e 1/tar%et012 7
N 1/interro%ati-e012
Oor more correct representation of the abo-e, it is needed to add a deeper la"er of anal"sis to address
the state of the spea9er 8hose presence ma" not be e&plicit in the te&t le-el
7 J1/a%ent01 7nterro%ate 1/tar%et012 .ou
N1/content012Q .ou J1/e&periencer01 )o-e 1/tar%et012 7R
Aimilarl", it ma" be more correct to interpret such 8ords as 6probabl",6 6hopefull",6 and 6ar%uabl"6 as
pertainin% to the state of the spea9er e-en thou%h the" are %rammaticall" connected 8ith a -erb in the
sentence#
:hen 8e loo9 at our percei-ed uni-erse, 8e usuall" %i-e most of our attention to one part of it# :hen
8e sa" 67 lo-e "ou,6 our emphasis can be on 7, .ou, or )o-e# 7f "ou are a8are of the place of emphasis,
"ou can underline that part or use an additional arro8 called 6focus#6
7t is me 8ho sa8 "ou "esterda"#
7 J11111/a%ent011111 Aee 1/tar%et012 .ou
N J1/focus01 N 1/time012 .esterda"
:hat 8e ma" call 6the place of subjecti-it"6 or 6empath"6 is a lo%ical pair of the abo-e concept of
6focus#6 7t sho8s the position of the spea9er 8ithin or in relationship to his percei-ed uni-erse# 7n other
8ords, it sho8s a perspecti-e the spea9er is identified 8ith# 3he place of subjecti-it" is not al8a"s
identifiable in semantic structure anal"sis but is an important item to be a8are of it if 8e aspire to be
impartial in our thin9in%# 3his topic is also important in ps"cholo%ical application of the case1%rammar
perception model, 8hich is alread" attempted b" some ps"cholo%ists and therapists# 3he perceptions
formulated as 67 am his son6 and 6'e is m" father6 are objecti-el" equi-alent but can be -er" different
from each other subjecti-el" and ps"cholo%icall"# 3his re-ersal of -ision should be an interestin% topic
of stud" in the conte&t of the %estalt therap" and also in relationship to the double1headed arro8 model
of self1rememberin%#
3he -erb 6be6 is usuall" anal"zed in the follo8in% 8a"
7 am a man#
7 J1/attribute01 man
Ahe is beautiful#
Ahe J1/attribute01 beautiful#
7 am %lad#
7 J1/state01 %lad
3his is m" pen#
3his Y/copula0Y =en J1/o8ner01 7
7n the abo-e four e&amples, the sentences are considered to be dead because their semantic structures
do not include the real action of a -erb# 3he -erb 6be6 comes ali-e onl" in a sentence li9e this
7 am#
7 J1/result01 Be Qm" interpretationR
7 J1/e&periencer01 Be Qa common interpretationR
7 J1/a%ent01 Be Qa questionable interpretationR
Oinall", at the end of this section, "ou ma" 8ish to compare the %i-en list of semantic cases 8ith the
follo8in% description b" Gurdjieff of an e&ercise for conscious thin9in%
7t is important to 9no8 ho8 not to depend on associations, and therefore be%in 8ith the
thin9in% center# :e shall e&ercise the mo-in% center b" continuin% the same e&ercises
8e ha-e done so far# # # )et e-er"one ta9e some object# )et each of "ou as9 himself
questions relatin% to the object and ans8er these accordin% to his 9no8led%e and
material
< 7ts ori%in
> 3he cause of its ori%in
M 7ts histor"
S 7ts qualities and attributes
B ;bjects connected 8ith it and related to it
T 7ts use and applications
U 7ts results and effects
V :hat it e&plains and pro-es
W 7ts end or its future
<I .our opinion, the cause and moti-es of this opinion
/Gurdjieff, Views from the Real World, p#<IT0
7t seems si%nificant that Gurdjieff couples this e&ercise of conscious thin9in% 8ith the practice of 8hat
is no8 9no8n as the Gurdjieff !o-ements, 8hich can be seen as a language of forms# 3his e&ercise in
conscious thin9in% is an e&ercise of the second realit"1con-ersion process /@rro8 > in earlier1presented
model0 8hile the practice of the !o-ements has somethin% to do 8ith the first realit"1con-ersion
process /@rro8 <0#
C#itical E1a+inati$n $. Ous0ens2*3s A##$4s
3he state of self1rememberin% is sometimes described as bein% a8are of 6subject6 and 6object6 both#
'ere, lin%uists are probabl" more a8are than others about the arbitrar" nature of 8hat 8e consider as
6subject6 and 6object#6 @lso arbitrar" is the di-ision bet8een our inner 8orld and outer 8orld#
No8 let us ree&amine the common understandin% of self1rememberin% b" appl"in% the methodolo%"
that 7 ha-e introduced in precedin% sections# :e shall start b" re-ie8in% the ;uspens9"?s 8ell19no8n
description about self1rememberin%
7 am spea9in% of the di-ision of attention 8hich is the characteristic feature of self1
rememberin%# 7 represented it to m"self in the follo8in% 8a" :hen 7 obser-e
somethin%, m" attention is directed to8ards 8hat 7 obser-e 1 a line 8ith one arro8head
7 112 the obser-ed phenomenon#
:hen at the same time, 7 tr" to remember m"self, m" attention is directed both to8ards
the object obser-ed and to8ards m"self# @ second arro8head appears on the line
7 J112 the obser-ed phenomenon#
'a-in% defined this 7 sa8 that the problem consisted in directin% attention on oneself
8ithout 8ea9enin% or obliteratin% the attention directed on somethin% else# !oreo-er
this 6somethin% else6 could as 8ell be 8ithin me as outside me#
/;uspens9", n !earch of the "iraculous, 5hapter U0
Before readin% further, 7 8ould li9e "ou to thin9 criticall" o-er the abo-e description b" ;uspens9"
and ho8 it ma9es sense to "ou# 3hen 7 8ould li9e "ou to loo9 at the t8o arro81based representations
;uspens9" has made and see them in the li%ht of 8hat "ou ha-e understood so far
7 112 the obser-ed phenomenon
7 J112 the obser-ed phenomenon
)et us be%in b" questionin% the realit" of our ordinar" perception that he represented b" an arro8
pointin% to objects
/<0 7t is true in terms of our felt senses that somethin% seems to %o out of oursel-es 8hen 8e ma9e an
effort to pa" attention or somethin% dri-es us to pa" attention#
/>0 Acientificall" and in effortless moments, it is more correct to sa" t%at impressions come to us.
/M0 3he first arro8 of ;uspens9" ta9es onl" one of the t8o major t"pes of our self1perception 67
12.ou6 t"pe of percei-in% oneself and 6!e J1 .ou6 t"pe of percei-in% oneself# ;rdinaril", 8e s8itch
bet8een these t8o modes of perception almost unconsciousl"#
676 am 676 if the arro8 %oes out of itC 676 become 6!e6 8hen the arro8 points to it# Oor this reason, it is
rather misleadin% that ;uspens9" allo8ed the same old 676 sit at the left side of the double1headed
arro8 in the second representation that he associated 8ith self1rememberin%# 7s this an unintended
carelessness in description or did he reall" belie-e that this same old 676 had to be rememberedG Read
the follo8in% passa%e carefull" because it seems to %i-e us an clue
6!oreo-er this ?somethin% else? could as 8ell be 8ithin me as outside me6
3his statement of ;uspens9" seems to re-eal both his limitation and contradiction his limitation
consistin% in his stubborn clin%in% to his same old ;bser-in% 7 8hile turnin% his attention &it%in %im
and outside %im but ne-er to this same old 676 thereb" contradictin% his o8n double1headed arro8
model# ;uspens9" is as mista9en as Descartes in assumin% 67 obser-e, therefore 7 e&ist,6 as lon% as the
source of this obser-ation remains the same old ;bser-in% 7#
7t is not m" intention to completel" den" the merit of this ;bser-in% 7C at least it has a superiorit" o-er
the 676 assumed b" Descartes because this ;bser-in% 7 8ould be able to be an obser-er to different 7?s
that appear in conjunction 8ith different thou%hts# 7f this ;bser-in% 7 is firml" established at the center
in our head of impartial perception, or our real thin9in% center as a center of our 6mentation b" form6
and the %o-ernor of our 6mentation b" thou%hts6 and not the producer of our associations, it is indeed
somethin% 8orth" of praise# Atill, the ;uspens9"?s formulation seems to carr" the dan%er of
emphasizin% the functionin% of our head center as it is no8, in its state of isolation from other centers,
and moreo-er produce an identification 8ith out mental facult" as it is no8#
!ost probabl", 8hat ;uspens9" 8as attemptin% in the name of self1rememberin% 8as actuall" an
effort of self1obser-ation that should be represented b" a sin%le1headed arro8
7 112 somethin% in one?s so1called inner 8orld and outer 8orld
3he practice of self1obser-ation, if it is centered around our mind as it is, can be harmful rather than
beneficial
6:e feel that there ma" be somethin% 8ron% in the 8a" 8e are doin% self1obser-ation#
@re 8e 8ron%, !r# GurdjieffG6
6Ne-er "ou do self1obser-ation, 6 he said forcefull"# 6.ou do mind obser-ation# !ind
obser-ation "ou do# 5an e-en ma9e ps"chopath#6
/Ed8in :olfe, #pisodes with Gurd$ieff, p# <<0
@s 7 see, the practice of self'oser$ation is good and necessary in t%e eginning ut only ecause it
can ring one to t%e point of utter despair and sincere acceptance of t%e impotence of t%is (ser$ing
), as it is no8, in creatin% a real harmon" in oneself in spite of its capacit" to see -arious contradictions
and mechanical reactions in oneself and in others# 3he onl" mode of control a-ailable to it, in its state
of isolation from other centers, is to loc* t%e acti$ities proceeding in one+s general presence, a
repressi-e mode of control often 8ron%l" connected to the idea of ,not e"pressing negati$e
emotions.,
Aome people, especiall" intellectual males, do not li9e to accept t%e impotence of t%e (ser$ing ) in
its present state of isolation. :ith a lac9 of this acceptance and 8ith a mis%uided effort in controllin%
oneself, the so1called Oourth :a" can easil" become a 8a" to8ard more ri%idit" and polishin% of a
6:or96 personalit" 1 the outcome of bein% unable to eat the dilemma bet8een t%e (ser$ing )+s
capacity to see conflicts and its inaility to reconcile t%em.
3o follo8 the double1headed arro8 model be"ond the point ;uspens9" dared, &e must pay attention
%onestly to t%e state of t%is (ser$ing ) as it is no&# :hen 8e ma9e an effort of pa"in% attention,
&%ere does t%at attention come from- :e ma" call this source our ordinar" mind that has its center of
acti-it" in our head# .%at po&ers t%is mind- 7t is po8ered and conditioned mostl" b" our biolo%ical
needs to pay attention to t%e outer &orld in order to a-oid dan%ers and loo9 for food, shelter, and
matin% partners# 7n our attempts of so1called self'rememering, it is also po&ered y our desire to
ecome ,somet%ing one is not., 3he same mind can be po8ered b" somethin% hi%her but it cannot
happen as lon% as 8e ta9e self1rememberin% merel" as a &ay for personal de$elopment# Ao the nature
of 676 that 8e reach b" tracin% bac9 the flo8 of our ordinar" mental attention to its source is most
proaly our iologically'determined ego.
3his process of tracin% our mental attention to its source should brin% us to t%e %orrifying a&areness
of our ordinary mind+s sla$ery to our social and iological conditionings. :hen our mind accepts it,
it is no more the same old mind and then it ma" be%in to desire freedom from its %aitual &ay of
functioning. Atren%thenin% the po8er of our mind as it is, ho8e-er, is surel" not t%e purpose of self'
rememering. !oreo-er, self1rememberin% should not be understood in terms of our mental attention
onl"#
Using 5e#)'cente#e% /e#ce0ti$n M$%els
No8 let us see ho8 8e can use the method that 7 described earlier to produce a better representation of
our self1perception and 8orld1perception, and hopefull" a etter model of perception peculiar to self'
rememering# )et us be%in b" re8ritin% the ;uspens9"?s representation of our ordinar" 8orld1
perception usin% the -erb1centered approach of the case %rammar theor"
7 J1/percei-er01 ;bser-e 1/tar%et012 @n" object
3he placement of the -erb 6;bser-e6 at the center represents an understandin% that our ordinar" sense
of 676 is al8a"s the product of a certain action lin%uisticall" represented b" a -erb# 3hat action can be
the action of our mind, 8hich in this case is the act of obser-ation# 'ere, it is important to notice that
oser$ation is only one of innumerale actions t%at produce a sense of ,), in oursel$es
7 J1/a%entKe&periencerKpercei-er01 @n" @ction Q1112@n" objectR
3o e&perience it more realisticall", "ou ma" do the follo8in% e&ercise repeat pronouncin% aloud
rh"thmicall" an" -erb follo8ed b" the 8ord 676 8ith an e-en1tempo music of an appropriate speed#
E-en thou%h it is a%ainst the En%lish %rammatical rule, "ou should ha-e the sense of subjecti-it" in
relationship to the -erb "ou pronounced earlier# 7n other 8ords, e"perience t%e taste of ,), and not
,/e., .ou can start li9e obser-e17, thin917, read17, feel17, lo-e17, hate17, sense17, touch17, # # #
.ou ma" taste a common thread of subjecti-it" that persists throu%h different senses of ,), t%at arise
in conjunction &it% different $ers. 3his taste of subjecti-it", 8hich can e different from t%e sense
of (ser$ing ), ma" indeed ha-e somethin% to do 8ith self1rememberin%#
7n this e&ercise, b" the 8a", "ou ma" hit upon a subject of contro-ers" amon% the case1%rammar
theorists 7s the 676 in ,) gi$e, similar to the 676 in ,) recei$e,- 7n terms of realit", the 676 in 67
recei-e6 is assumin% the tar%et case or recei-er case e-en thou%h %rammaticall" it is assumin% the
a%ent case /other8ise one should sa" ,/e recei$e,!. Ao the felt sense of the 676 in such e&pressions as
67 recei-e6 should be associated &it% t%e sense of ,/e, rat%er t%an ,),. 3his obser-ation also
indicates that our sense of sujecti$ity can sometimes e t%e product of a delusion#
3he ;uspens9"?s representation of self1rememberin% ma" %i-e a 8ron% idea that the ;bser-in% 7 at the
left side of the arro8 has an unconditional superiorit" o-er other t"pes of 676 that can appear in
conjunction 8ith different actions /-erbs0# 7t should ha-e some superiorit" as 7 mentioned earlier but as
lon% as t%is oser$ation remains merely mental, it is not muc% of a superiority as t%e practice of t%e
/o$ements &ill s%o&. 3he illusion of superiorit" 8ill %ro8 if one chooses mental oser$ation as a
c%ief met%od for relating &it% ojects, 8hich lin%uisticall" can be seen as an adhesion to a sin%le
semantic case in relation to a sin%le -erb# Gurdjieff e&plicitl" 8arned a%ainst this t"pe of obsession
# # # the question of so1called 6self1obser-ation6# # # the 9no8led%e of 8hich is indeed
quite indispensable at the be%innin% for e-er"one 8ho is stri-in% to learn the truth, but
8hich, if it becomes the center of %ra-it" for the mentation of man, 8ill, as 8as lon% a%o
established and -erified b" me, unfailin%l" lead to just the result 8hich, to m" %reat
re%ret, 7 obser-e no8 in almost e-er" one of "ou#
/Gurdjieff, %ife is real onl& then, when ' am', p# WT0
3he -erb 6obser-e6 is onl" one of the -erbs that characterize one of t%e t%ree major modalities of
perception mentioned y 0urdjieff1
7 J1/percei-er01 ;bser-e 1/tar%et012 Aomethin%
7 J1/percei-er01 Oeel 1/tar%et012 Aomethin%
7 J1/percei-er01 Aense 1/tar%et012 Aomethin%
E-en thou%h 8e use the same 8ord 676 to describe the sense of subjecti-it" that arises out of these three
major modalities of our perception, t%e mentally'oser$ing'), feeling'), and sensing') are distinct
from eac% ot%er. 7n realit", for most of us, only t%e mentally'oser$ing') and sensing') are
e"perienced as %a$ing some co%erence of t%eir o&n. 2ince our emotions (as against our true feeling!
are t%e yproducts of conflicts and momentary peace et&een t%e mentally'oser$ing') and sensing'
), t%ey only %a$e temporary centers of t%eir e"istence in our presence# :e ha-e a center of %ig%er
feelings in us, but unfortunatel" in most of us, it is acti$ated only y dreams and fantasies or under
t%e influence of se". Ao, the first thin% the mentall"1obser-in%17 should do after accepting its
impotence in its current state of isolation is to loo* for situations in &%ic% it may e ale to %a$e a
taste of i'directional communication &it% t%e sensing'), 8hich a%ain can be represented b" a double1
headed arro8#
=otentiall", there are se-eral modalities of self1a8areness possible in a trian%ular relationship amon%
the mentall"1obser-in%17, feelin%17, and sensin%17# 3lacing oneself in t%e position of one+s mind to
oser$e one+s feeling and sensations is only one among se$eral modalities of self'a&areness#
T%oug%ts can e sensed and felt, feelings can e related to sensations, sensations can produce
feelings, and so on.
7n the presence of more than one 7?s and m"riad forms of self1a8areness, &%at is t%e place of one real
) and %o& its presence e"perienced- 3he follo8in% section of this essa" addresses this question b"
tr"in% to identif" t%e mec%anism t%at produces in us t%e $aried senses of ,), and ,/e.,
"'Me'A+
:hat is the mechanism that produces in us t%e sense of ,), or t%e sense of ,/e, in t%e moment of
all types of perception- )et us be%in our e&ploration b" acceptin% the fact that each perception requires
a distinction, 8hich is t%e act of di$iding reality# 7f "ou cannot distin%uish bet8een blac9 and 8hite,
"ou cannot read the characters "ou are readin%# 7f "ou cannot di-ide this sentence into 8ords and
phrases, "ou cannot ma9e sense of it# 3he basic form of our perception can be represented as follo8s
;ne side Z @nother side
@t an" moment, multiple perceptions are happenin% to us that are di-idin% the realit" in terms of
dualities such as near1far, hi%h1lo8, bri%ht1dar9, comfortable1uncomfortable, %ood1bad, ri%ht18ron%,
hea-"1li%ht, and so on# @mon% these di-isions are the di-ision bet8een our so1called inner &orld and
outer &orld.
7nner 8orld Z ;uter 8orld
)t is not really us &%o ma*e t%is di$ision# Rather, 8hat 8e consider as oursel$es is t%e result of t%is
di$ision t%at %appens automatically &it% our inorn faculty of perception# 7mmediatel" after this
di-ision of realit", &%ate$er side of t%e di$ision t%at is e"perienced as p%ysically, emotionally, or
mentally closer, familiar, or eneficial to t%e percei$er is considered to elong to t%e inner &orld#
3he di-idin% line bet8een the inner 8orld and outer 8orld is fle"ile and al8a"s tentati-e# :ith e-er"
ripple in our perception and 8ith e-er" shift in the modalit" of our perception, a order suddenly
disappears and reappears some&%ere else.
)n 4nglis%, &%en &e loo* at t%e outer &orld from t%e inner &orld, &e use t%e &ord ,)#6 'ere 7 use
the 8ord ,You, as a representation of t%e outer &orld1
7 112 .ou
3he En%lish %rammar demands the use of t%e &ord ,/e, &%en &e loo* at our inner &orld from t%e
perspecti$e of t%e outer &orld1
!e J11 .ou
T%e sense of ,), and t%e sense of ,/e, are s%oc*ingly distinct from eac% ot%er if &e can ecome
a&are of it. 3o ha-e its taste, "ou ma" 8ish to do a -ariation of the earlier1mentioned e&ercise of
-erbalizationC this time usin% the combination of 6an" noun [ 76 to e&perience the sense of subjecti-it"
as one stands before the person or object indicated b" the nounC and then 6an" noun [ !e6 to
e&perience the sense of self1a8areness or self1consciousness as one recei-es the %aze or presence of the
person or object indicated b" the noun#
Repeatin% the 676 e&ercise and 6!e6 e&ercise one after another and full" accepting t%e cogniti$e and
psyc%ological contrast et&een t%e t&o, "our breathin% ma" chan%e, a particular sense of humor ma"
arise, and somethin% ma" be sensed to settle do8n in "our elly# 7n m" opinion, these thin%s that one
percei-es mostl" throu%h sensations are the characteristics of an in$isile mo$ement closer to t%e
essence of our eing, and t%erefore s%ould e associated &it% self'rememering.
:ith re%ards breathin%, Gurdjieff e&plicitl" sa"s that t%e contact et&een t%e air octa$e and t%e
octa$e of impressions is t%e asic requirement of self'rememering. Ao particularl" if one insists on
startin% 8ith a mental effort, breathin% should be used as an indicator# )f one+s impartial oser$ation
of %is inner &orld, outer &orld, and t%eir relations%ips is so total t%at %is reat%ing c%anges, t%en %e
is proaly ma*ing a rig%t effort. 3his usuall" does not happen because the e&ertion of our mental
attention often inhibits our breathin%# 3his is natural because our ordinar" mind is a de-ice desi%ned to
ne%ate or compromise percei-ed dualities# @s 7 understand from 8hat 7 read, 0urdjieff discouraged
mental efforts for self'rememering.
@nother criterion should be t%e sense of %umor t%at s%ould arise in seeing t%e ot% sides of dualities.
!a"be "ou 9no8 the particular form of lau%hter that happens 8hen "ou smo9e %rassG 'enri !icheau,
a Orench 8riter, has correctl" identified it as comin% from the a8areness of contradictions that are
normall" i%nored unless &e &a*e up or ot%er&ise our stupid secretary (,formatory apparatus, or
our conditioned mind! is drugged to sleep.
Returnin% to the subject of co%niti-e and ps"cholo%ical dualit" bet8een 676 and 6!e,6 t%e impartial
a&areness and full acceptance of t%e ot% sides of duality &ill produce in us an in$isile mo$ement
to&ard t%e dept% of oursel$es. :hen 8e fail to accept the dualit", a ps"cholo%ical mo-ement to the
opposite direction ta9es place, 8hich usuall" results in clinging to an image of oneself t%at is
independent of t%e felt senses of ,), and ,/e, ut only ecause it %as not%ing to do &it% reality#
3here is one piece of Gurdjieff !o-ements titled 671!e1@m6 /or 6!e171@m60 the %estures in 8hich
appear to indicate a triangle 8ith ,), and ,/e, at sides and ,5m, at t%e top.
@!
7 !E
T%e placement of ,5m, at t%e top is appropriate in respect of its real $alue and t%e %ig%er
perspecti$e it offers# :hen 8e loo9 at the phenomenon in terms of p%ysical sensation, ho8e-er, the
trian%le has to be put upside do8n because a mo-ement to8ard this 6@mness6 is e&perienced as
6droppin% do8n6 or 6deepenin%6 8hile a mo-ement in the opposite direction is e&perienced as %oin%
up into the head#
7n reference to the chapter titled ,T%e (uter and )nner .orld of /an, in the third series of
Gurdjieff?s 8ritin%s /6)ife is real onl" then 8hen 7 am60, a similar trian%le can be constructed 8ith
67nner 8orld6 and 6;uter :orld6 at sides and ,6eal )nner .orld, at t%e top /or bottom in terms of
ph"sical sensation0# .it% t%is understanding, t%e di$ision of attention t%at is c%aracteristic of self'
rememering can e represented in t%e follo&ing &ay1
Real 7nner :orld
7nner 8orld J11112 ;uter 8orld
3his simultaneous a8areness of the inner 8orld and outer 8orld, if 8e can accept its intensity, 8ill
produce an in$isile mo$ement to a deeper layer of our eing. 'ere, 8e must remember that the
di-idin% line bet8een the inner 8orld and outer 8orld is specific to eac% perception and t%erefore
c%anging e$ery moment. (nly t%e fact of duality and t%e presence of a di$ision remain constant,
gi$ing us opportunities to ,rememer oursel$es al&ays and e$ery&%ere#6 Aelf1rememberin%
understood in this 8a" is a $ery dynamic act of alancing oneself in e$er'c%anging patterns of
dualities. 7%anges are %appening constantly on ot% sides of the e-er1fluctuatin% di-idin% line
5han%in% realit" of inner 8orld Z 5han%in% realit" of outer 8orld
3o be a8are of chan%in% realit" on both sides of the di-idin% line, t%e fi"ation to t%e (ser$ing ) can
e a %indarance. 3o ma9e this point more tangile, 7 ta9e the e&ample of t%e ,t%res%old e"ercise,,
8hich is usuall" formulated as 6rememer yourself eac% time you pass a t%res%old or door&ay., 7f
"ou are obsessed 8ith the ;bser-in% 7, "ou 8ill assume the same internal attitude of obser-ation or
establish "ourself around the ;bser-in% 7 each time "ou pass a thresholdC t%en you &ill miss %o& your
internal state %as c%anged &%en you recei$ed ne& perceptions as you passed t%e t%res%old &%ile
somet%ing in you %as remained t%e same standing &itness to t%ese c%anges# 3his somethin% is not
usuall" 8hat people call the ;bser-in% 7 because a certain type of letting'go at t%e source of attention
&ill e required for appreciating t%is somet%ing.
0limpses into t%e nature of our real self must e loo*ed for at t%e point of meeting or collision
et&een our constantly'c%anging inner &orld and outer &orld# 3his journe" is best started on the
p%ysical oundary of our presence# @s "ou sit on "our chair no8, be attenti-e to the interface bet8een
your %ip and c%air ecause it is e"actly on suc% an interface et&een t&o &orlds &%ere &e can find
oursel$es. @fter bein% a8are of this interfacing plane, "ou can eit%er turn your p%ysical attention to
your inner &orld starting from sensing your s*in against t%e c%air or turn your p%ysical attention to
t%e outer &orld t%roug% sensing t%e c%air against your s*in# 3r"in% to 9eep t%e t&o'&ay flo& of
sensations &ill produce an unusual intensity and c%ange your reat%ingC or "ou 8ill notice t%at
in%alation and e"%alation are closely connected &it% t%is t&o'&ay flo&.
@ similar e&perience can be produced b" trying to e a&are of ot% sides of any type of duality.
Atandin% erect and rela&ed, brin%in% t%e &eig%t to t%e rig%t foot produces a particular type of
sensation and mood8 ringing t%e &eig%t to t%e left foot produces a different type of sensation and
mood# 2%ifting t%e &eig%t r%yt%mically et&een rig%t and left &%ile eing fully a&are of t%e contrast
and t%en stopping in t%e e"act middle, you may drop do&n deeper into yourself.
T%e 0urdjieff /o$ements pro$ide us &it% ample opportunities to go deeper into oursel$es y eing
a&are of t%e t&o sides of dualities and y accepting ' e$en lo$ing ' t%e intensity of t%is a&areness# @
majorit" of people attracted to the !o-ements, ho8e-er, are initially more concerned &it% fig%ting
t%e dualities t%an accepting t%em. :ith the abo-e1mentioned e&ercise of shiftin% the 8ei%ht, almost
e$ery ne& student goes up into %is %ead instead of settling do&n deeper into %imself due to %is
unconscious resistance to t%e perception of dualities. :e ha-e t8o 8a"s of li-in% 8ith dualities,
bet8een 8hich t%e less'c%osen one is t%e &ay to&ard deeper realization of oursel$es.
Aome 8ords from t%e 0urdjieff /o$ements that "ou ma" no8 be able to assimilate etter &it%
appropriate mi"ture of air1
7, me, am 1 7 8ish to be m"self#
7 am
father, son
da", ni%ht
"esterda", tomorro8
Blue, red, blac9, "ello8
remorse, sufferin%, effort, hope
"esterda", toda", tomorro8, al8a"s
Before concludin% this essa", 7 8ould li9e to sa" somethin% about t%e sentence structures of
0urdjieff+s ,9eelzeu+s Tales to :is 0randson,, 8hich some people seem to re%ard %rammaticall"
outra%eous# @s a former lin%uist, 7 8ould li9e to sa" that the sentence structures of the Beelzebub?s
3ales are grammatically impeccale and geometrically of star* eauty, 8hich in themsel-es are
representations of uni$ersal la&s t%at %e descries in %is stories# 3he use of man" in-ented 8ords is
an intelligent c%oice because the meanin% of nouns and si%nificance of concepts can arise and best
con-e"ed onl" in their -arious relationships 8ith -erbs# Oollo8in% the comple& structures of sentences
is in itself is an e&ercise in 6mentation b" form,6 8hich demands a particular type of attention &e are
not used to ut required ne$ert%eless to see into t%e true nature of dynamic reality1
Ao, "ou put "our attention on Beelzebub, another attention than that to 8hich "ou are
accustomed, and "ou 8ill be able to ha-e the same attention in life#
/Gurdjieff, <WSM0
A%%iti$n- T#ans+utati$n $. the Bina#* int$ the 6uate#na#*
@fter readin% the first of t8o -aluable comments from @li /displa"ed at the bottom of this article0, no8
7 feel a need to add another dia%ram to clarif" the point# 3he dia%ram connects the content of our
discussion 8ith 0urdjieff+s lecture on symols, 8hich demand a hi%her form of 6mentation b" form6
5onceptual realit"
;ne side of dualit" J112 @nother side of dualit"
Deeper realit"
:hen loo9in% at this dia%ram, "ou should see ,deeper reality, closer to t%e center of an in$isile
circle and ,conceptual reality, furt%er a&ay# @lso note that t%e $ertical orientation of t%is diagram is
in terms of one+s p%ysical sensation1 dropping do&n into t%e deeper layer of our eing or going up
to&ard t%e %ead, &%ic% may or may not %a$e a negati$e connotation.
3his four'&ay diagram can be interpreted in man" 8a"s
/<0 !an" of our actions happen in pendulum1li9e mo-ements bet8een t8o sides of dualitiesC lo$e and
%ate, for e&ample#
/>0 3he t"pical reaction of our mind in seein% the dualities and the pendulum1li9e mo-ements bet8een
them is to compromise t%e dualities y ideas, e"planations, and a false image of oneself /or the ima%e
of 8hat one ma" become b" follo8in% ,&%at t%e .or* teac%es,!. 7n the dia%ram, this is an up&ard
mo$ement.
/M0 T%e center in our %ead of impartial perception, if de$eloped enoug%, may reac% an impartial
conclusion aout t%e situation, &%ic% in itself is an up&ard mo$ement# 7f this conclusion is po8erful
enou%h, ho8e-er, it &ill urge us to ta*e an action. 3his ur%e is e"perienced as a do&n&ard t%rust#
;r, it ma" happen the other 8a" around# T%e act of opening oursel$es to t%e impartial sensing and
total acceptance of t%e t&o sides of dualities may produce in us, as a result, an in$isile mo$ement
do&n&ard to a deeper layer of our eing. T%e center in our %ead of impartial perception may stand
&itness to t%is process and gain somet%ing from it in terms of real *no&ledge.
/S0 Oor the sa9e of our %ro8th, it is desirable that a alance is achie-ed bet8een the up8ard mo-ement
and do8n8ard mo-ement, thus producing anot%er doule'%eaded arro& along t%e $ertical a"is# 7
belie-e that this is t%e essence of &%at 0urdjieff descried as t%e ,transmutation of t%e inary into
t%e quaternary,, &%ere t%ere are1 plus, minus, conclusion (in our %ead center!, and effect (in our
eing!.
/B0 @ccordin% to Gurdjieff, the abo-e is only t%e first %alf of t%e formula &%en t%e inary %as een
transformed into t%e quaternary, ,t%e second part of it spea*s for itself and t%erey points out t%e
direction of t%e solution., 3his is further related to t%e construction of a pentagram in man &%ere
t%e functioning of fi$e lo&er centers is %armonized, &%ic% furt%er leads to t%e completion of t%e
2olomon+s 2eal.
@ccordin% to m" obser-ation, a major proportion of indi-idual and %roup efforts currentl" done under
the name of the Gurdjieff :or9 or Oourth :a" is going in t%e direction mentioned in t%e paragrap%
(;! ao$e. 3his is a sujecti$e direction and therefore different groups going in t%is direction cannot
&or* toget%er or %elp eac% ot%er. 7n contrast, smaller numer of groups and indi$iduals mo$ing in
t%e direction mentioned in t%e paragrap% (<! and later, as &ell as t%ose &%o ecame disappointed of
t%e direction mentioned in t%e paragrap% (;!, can &or* toget%er and %elp eac% ot%er, t%at is &%at )
propose to e$ery reader of t%is article.
C$++ents .#$+ Rea%e#s-
7 4a* attenti$n
'i =la-an and than9 "ou for a %reat essa"#
i thou%ht "ou ma" be interested in the idea proposed b" rodne" collin /;uspens9"\s student0 in 3he
3heor" of 5elestial 7nfluence p#><B#
5ollin su%%ests that as 8ell as eing a&are of (=!oneself and (;!some e"ternal impression, one
s%ould also rememer a t%ird principle, (<!some %ig%er po&er# 7n effect one di$ides ones attention in
t&o directions &%ilst rememering t%at one is immersed in a greater reality /8hate-er that ma" mean
to each particular indi-idual0#
3han9 "ou a%ain
ali, ,nited Pin%dom, >IIM1IW1I>
Re- 7'4a* attenti$n
7 than9 @li for his follo8in% remar9 65ollin su%%ests that as &ell as eing a&are of (=! oneself and
(;! some e"ternal impression, one s%ould also rememer a t%ird principle, (<! some %ig%er po&er.,
7 ha-e not chec9ed this a%ainst Rodne" 5ollin?s actual statement, but if he belie-ed that 6one should
also remember a third principle6 b" ma9in% a certain effort, 7 am afraid that he 8as %oin% further a8a"
from realit" into 8hat he belie-ed as a hi%her 8orld, 8hich corresponds to %eneral impressions 7
recei-e from his boo9#
7 8ould rather sa" that impartial a8areness of the t8o sides of dualit", as a result, produces in us an
in-isible mo-ement to8ard a deeper la"er of our bein%, throu%h 8hich 8e are a8a9ened to the
presence of the third principle# =lease refer to the addition 7 ha-e made to the main te&t of m" article
after readin% "our comment#
=la-an, >IIM1IW1I>
Re- 7'4a* attenti$n
'i =la-an 3han9 "ou a%ain# 7 belie-e "our formulation to be quite correct and m" paraphrasin% of
Rodne" 5ollin to be rather slopp", for 8hich 7 apolo%ize# 7 include here an ;5R e&tract from the
aforementioned boo9
,... it may e muc% more possile to rememer oneself and one+s surroundings in t%e
presence of somet%ing else# @s 8e ha-e seen, no phenomenon is produced b" t8o
forces e-er" phenomenon and e-er" real result requires three forces# 3he practice of
self'rememering or di$ision of attention is connected &it% t%e attempt to produce a
certain p%enomenon, t%e irt% of consciousness in oneself# @nd 8hen this be%ins to
happen, attention recognises &it% relief and joy not t&o ut t%ree factors ' one+s o&n
organism, t%e suject of e"periment8 t%e situation to &%ic% t%is organism is e"posed
in t%e moment8 and somet%ing permanent &%ic% stands on a %ig%er le$el t%an ot%
and &%ic% alone can resol$e t%e relation et&een t%e t&o.,
ali, ,nited Pin%dom, >IIM1IW1IS
T#ans+utati$n $. the )ina#* int$ the 8uate#na#*
'ello, @li# 7 find the abo-e comment of "ours -er" -aluable a%ain]
:ith the Rodne" 5ollin?s statement "ou quoted abo-e, 7 find his definition of 6three factors6 rather
subjecti-e and limited in scope# Atill 7 see fra%ments of truth in 8hat he 8rites
63he practice of self1rememberin% or di-ision of attention is connected 8ith the attempt to produce a
certain phenomenon, the birth of consciousness in oneself#6
Oor clarification and also for connectin% this statement 8ith the Oour18a" Dia%ram 7 presented, 7 8ould
li9e to point out that this 6certain phenomenon6 can e orn at eit%er a location closer to t%e center of
our eing or a location fart%er a&ay from it, or at ot%# 7n this respect, ,t%e irt% of consciousness in
oneself, &it% ,relief and joy, s%ould e strictly distinguis%ed from t%e irt% of a ne& t%oug%t in
oneself. 7t is %ood if the both happen simultaneously, then one?s 9no8led%e is matched b" his bein%#
:hen this happens, it ma" e possile to see it as a process t%at leads us to &%at 0urdjieff called
,transmutation of t%e inary into t%e quaternary.,
7 find that this subject is closel" related to the follo8in% statement in the Beelzebub?s 3ales /5hapter
MW0
6@s re%ards the third stopinder 8hich 8as chan%ed in its subjecti-e action and 8hich is
fifth in the series and called ?harnel1aoot,? its disharmon" came about b" itself, simpl" as
a result of the chan%e of the other t8o stopinders#
63his disharmon" of its subjecti-e functionin%, resultin% from its ?as"mmetr"? in relation
to the 8hole process of the sacred 'eptaparaparshino9h, consists in the follo8in%
67f the completin% process of this sacred la8 flo8s in conditions in 8hich it is subject to
man" ?e&traneousl"? caused? -ibrations, its functionin% produces onl" e&ternal results#
6But if this same process ta9es place in absolute quiet, in the absence of an"
e&traneousl" caused -ibrations 8hate-er, all the results of the functionin% of this
stopinder remain 8ithin that concentration in 8hich the process is completed, and these
results onl" become perceptible to the outside on direct and immediate contact 8ith it#
6But if durin% the functionin% of this process neither of these t8o sharpl" opposite
conditions predominates, the results of its action usuall" di-ide into the e&ternal and the
internal#6
)n reference to t%e last statement in t%e quotation ao$e, ,e"ternal, corresponds to t%e up&ard
direction in my >our'&ay ?iagram8 ,internal, to t%e do&n&ard direction closer to t%e center.