the FOURTH WAY FOUNDATION

Activities

Activities are a very important part of the ‘Work’, and perform the role of keeping theory in balance with practice.

In his book ‘The Fourth Way’, P.D. Ouspensky has some useful and meaningful comments to make in regard to ‘how’ to approach this subject (JEB) :

"Every kind of activity has its own way of thinking although we are not aware of it. But what happens is that people act in one way and think in another. Sometimes the two coincide but often they are in a wrong relation to one another." (page 328).

"Every action, every manifestation is the result of three forces. One should particularly avoid hurry and invention. We think only of motives, aims and results and not of the actions themselves." (page 326).

"Right thinking is a step towards right action"

"In self study you will see that the system always plays the part of the third force, between desire and inertia." (page 330)

"The objective of activities is ‘to work consciously: to not identify with a task regardless of how displeasing or appealing it is to our own personality."

"Activities that begin with negative emotions are always destructive." (page 328)

Activities and Exercises

Activities are supported by exercises for inner work.

A quotation from C.S. Nott’s book ‘Journey Through This World’……..

"In doing a physical job, like digging or sawing, one has to be constantly on the watch not to get caught up in the flow of associations. The feelings easily become involved and an argument with someone is started in one’s mind. One begins to work not even like a horse. In doing physical work like gardening or house-work one can, by sensing or counting and remembering oneself, save an enormous amount of energy." (page 89).

"As for the inner exercises, they never became easy. Each day I had to make an effort to start them and an effort to continue them. A fly, or a movement of something, a sound, would distract me and divert my attention; (Where my attention is, there am ‘I’), or I would find myself falling asleep, or tensing myself instead of relaxing. More often my attention would be caught up by something or other in the stream of associations, - physical, emotional or mental – which begin at birth and never stop until death." (page 186).

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