Theos-Talk Archives (December 2002 Message tt00312)

Hi Paul. I hope you like this message better than my last ones. The human
brain works by association, and maybe it can work in another way that is
more efficient. Association means that something reminds you to do something
else and there is an illusion that "I" am doing this, but it is actually
just a reaction on your part.

What people do not realize, and it is sad that most people who THINK they
have studied the teaching of Gurdjieff do not have even a glimmer of this,
is that association does not lead to non-association. The fork in the road
where so -called -observation becomes for you "analysis" is the juncture
where a genuine impartial observation of yourself as you are in present time
can begin. Does this make sense?

I am sure someone on here will get something or other out of your message,
especially after reading this response, but for me, your message is too
intellectual, and in this way it loses any potential force. As I have stated
previously, we will know each other by our acts. Therefore, by the act of
impartial observation, which is pure as driven snow, you will know yourself
and by the act of impartial observation, I will know myself and in this way
we can begin to be together, Another "ancient" saying, for Santa Buffs (
see my previous message): "The snow flies at midnight."

You do not need to analyze why observation stops at a certain point and
DETERIORATES into the common dirt of analysis rather than transmutes to the
inner earth of a material that can be a basis for human development, because
I am going to tell you, as though, generally speaking, it is an act of love
to show rather than tell, you are a unique and special case: the observation
does not continue because it HURTS. I did not read this in a "fourth way"
book or figure this out by thinking about it or asking my friend.

What your message means to me is that you are a good, but misguided person,
attempting to be on a spiritual path. My guess is that someone explained to
you a little bit about certain ideas and told you this is the way Gurdjieff
approached material. Unfortunately, or actually, very fortunately, this is
not the case. Maybe I should start a Gurdjieff email list or even a web site
on the internet so we learn a different approach that will help us to
discover what the teaching of this great man is really about. Anyone who is
interested, please email me and I will let you know if and when I ever
decide to do so. As this list, if I ever start it, will be by invitation
only, we will find or start a preliminary list where we can get to know each
other better and get an idea of how we each handle material, but actuallyI
like it here, and if a certain affect can be created where people can
develop, I will have no need to pursue this line of activity any further
(for the time being).

The good news about your message, for me, is that you have attempted to use
your own life experience to formulate a question. The bad news about your
message, for me, is that deep in my gut there is a sensation that there is
not a real question, but more of a contrived attempt to teach. I hope you
are able to turn my message into something that is useful for yourself and
others, as I have attempted to do with yours. Sincerely and genuine best
wishes, your new friend, Wry p.s. I think of you as a friend because you
have greatly facilitated me in achieving my aim. You can access some of the
future message I may be leaving on the subject of Gurdjieff under "Gurdjieff
Salted."


----- Original Message -----
From: <kpauljohnson@yahoo.com>
To: <theos-talk@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Monday, December 09, 2002 7:53 AM
Subject: Theos-World Three levels of exploration


> Good morning,
>
> Some reflections of this weekend which I hope may be of meaning to
> someone. Thinking about the alternation of reading books of
> local/regional, national, and global/universal focus, I realized that
> this pattern is replicated in my outdoor recreation. Two strong
> compulsions that guide my life are to explore new territory on a
> regular basis via reading books, and via paddling a kayak. There is
> a definite urge to seek variety, that is not to read the same kind of
> book or paddle the same kind of waterway as the last couple of
> explorations. With paddling, the alternation is between whitewater,
> blackwater, and blue water. That is, between clear fast-moving
> streams with rocky bottoms (plentiful in the Piedmont of NC/VA), slow
> moving cypress swamps (plentiful in the adjacent coastal plain), or
> wide open bodies of water in the form of bays or large lakes.
> Fortunately all are within a couple hours drive. It's as if a pair
> of heretofore unconscious rules have determined both my reading and
> paddling: 1) explore something different than last time and 2) keep a
> balance between three levels of focus (small/medium/large, kinda.)
>
> What interests me about recognizing the same pattern in these two
> overpowering drives is that in each case there is a dynamic
> equilibrium and a mutual encouragement that occurs. Hence, a book of
> global interest on genetic history will point towards a book of local
> interest on race relations; paddling a whitewater stretch will plant
> the idea of exploring a blackwater tributary of the same waterway
> downstream. And so on.
>
> At this point I've only observed, not really interpreted this
> pattern, and would welcome comment on what it might mean to anyone
> else.
>
> Cheers,
>
> Paul
>
>
>
>
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>
>