THE POWER OF CHANGING ONESELF LIES NOT IN THE MIND, but in the body and the feelings. Unfortunately, however, our body and our feelings are so constituted that they don’t care a jot about anything so long as they are happy. They live for the moment and their memory is short. The mind alone lives for tomorrow. Each has its own merits. The merit of the mind is that it looks ahead. But it is only the other two that can “do.”

~ G. I. Gurdjieff
Views from the Real World pp.222

"It is almost impossible to grasp the extent to which our notions and perceptions of space and time are dependent upon the fact that we have this kind of body."

~ J. G. Bennett

Recording of Session 1:
Follow this link for a recording of the first session. (45 minutes)

Theme for this weeks topic:

For those of you familiar with using themes, the theme leading up to this week's topic is "Containers".

Try to observe the fact that whatever happens, happens inside a container.

Whether that container is a cooking pot, a meeting room, a wood stove, a cell, a solar system, a company, a nation, a car, a group, a stomach, a family, a universe, an atom; a container is needed in order that something can happen.

What are the universal characteristics of containers? What do they allow? What do they not allow? How are they made? How do they break down? How do they work? Why are they needed?

(Link to some theme observations...)

Exercise for this week:
"Perfect your ability to stand."
Whenever you have a moment of just standing, whether you're standing in line at the grocery store, waiting for your tea water to boil or waiting for an elevator simply take a moment to become aware of your posture. Then allow your body to assume a "perfect" stance.

 

Session 1: Bodies Possible for Man
January 6th


Description:
Almost all spiritual traditions, including Gurdjieff, speak of four vehicles or ‘bodies’ that man can develop. Gurdjieff calls them the physical body, the kesdjan body, and higher being bodies. The Theosophical terminology is physical, astral, mental and causal bodies. In Christianity they are called the carnal, natural, spiritual and divine bodies. Buddhist, Hindu, Sufi, Jewish and other traditions all have a parallel cosmology and set of names.

We will explore how these bodies are created, their functions, the energies that hold them together and the worlds in which they operate. We will also look at how an understanding of these different vehicles answer some of the more perplexing and confusing questions about reincarnation, immortality, life after death and so on.

Here are some of the other questions we will be addressing during this session...

  1. Which body do we experience when we are asleep?
  2. Is there an easy way to experience the second and third being bodies?
  3. What are the possible functions of the Kesdjan body?
  4. Which worlds do each of the bodies operate in?
  5. Can there be a transfer of intelligence to Kesdjan Body.
  6. What are the connection points between our physical body and kesdjan body(there was something in “In Search of the Miraculous” about some “joints” in the neck? Chakras?)
  7. What is the difference between body and “center”.
  8. Life without a body? Out-of-body experiences?
  9. When I exercise my physical body I can ‘see’ how I am doing as things progress. I can notice it strengthening and I can tell by various pains if I am veering off-course in exercises. Is there any equivalent when doing exercises which are done to build higher bodies (i.e. how can one gauge how one is doing - are there any signposts along the way?)

Finally, we will look at why we should commit to the extraordinary effort, suffering and sacrifice to develop these bodies in ourselves.

Reading List:
Gurdjieff's description of the possibility of developing four bodies.
In Search of the Miraculous, pp 40-44

Gurdjieff's description of crystallizing the astral body.
In Search of the Miraculous, pp 31-33

For a more in-depth treatment here are links to A. E. Powell's books on the Astral, Mental and Causal Bodies. While they differ from Gurdjieff's ideas in several important ways, there is much that is quite similar. (Note: These books were on-line and publicly available, but the original hosting server does not appear to be operating. I have reposted these books on this site, but some links may not be working.)

Astral Body - Part 1
Astral Body - Part 2
Mental Body - Part 1
Mental Body - Part 2
Causal Body - Part 1
Causal Body - Part 2

Table of Correspondences from the perspective of Bodies:
This modified table of correspondences my be helpful in understanding how the different bodies relate to energies, worlds, and other elements. It differs in certain significant ways from the original table of correspondences. Trying to reconcile these apparent contradictions will aid in moving beyond a mechanical understanding of these topics.

Table of Worlds and Bodies:
The table of worlds and bodies lists a number of traditions and the different terminology that each tradition uses to describe a fairly universal and agreed upon cosmology.
Link to table