by Alan Balkany

The alt.consciousness.4th-way FAQ is one of the earliest comprehensive introductions to the Gurdjieff-Ouspensky system written for a general audience. Compiled by Alan Balkany at Fermilab in 1994, it distills the core ideas of the Fourth Way — the theory of mechanicalism, the practice of self-remembering, the concept of multiple I's, and the map of human centres — into language accessible to newcomers encountering these ideas for the first time. The FAQ served as the monthly orientation document for what was, in the mid-1990s, one of the only public forums where Fourth Way practitioners and students could discuss their practice openly. Its reading list, compiled with contributions from Richard Hodges and Eddin, remains a useful entry point into the primary and secondary Gurdjieff literature. The FAQ is marked as a "draft version" — a characteristically Fourth Way gesture of incompleteness, acknowledging that the document, like the seeker, is always in process.

What is the 4th Way?

The 4th Way is a theory of mechanicalism and a methodology for achieving higher states of consciousness, based mainly on the writings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky.

Why the 4th Way?

Traditionally, seekers of higher consciousness have used one of three approaches:

• The way of the fakir (the 1st way). Physical conditioning and endurance of physical discomfort for long periods of time are used to discipline the mind. Typical fakir practices are yoga, holding a posture for days at a time, or lying on a bed of nails.

• The way of the monk (the 2nd way). Development of emotional control is used to discipline the mind. Praying and the cultivation of intense religious emotions are typical practices.

• The way of the yogi (the 3rd way). Development of the intellectual part of the mind is used. Typical practices are meditation and studying theories of consciousness.

It has been claimed that these ways are slow, unreliable, and lead to imbalance, producing "stupid saints" (who can do anything, but don't know what to do) or "weak yogis" (who know what to do, but can't do anything).

The 4th Way (sometimes called "the way of the sly man"), emphasizes more direct practices (such as "self-remembering" and "self-observation"), and balanced development of the physical, emotional, and intellectual capacities.

The 4th Way is also the best suited for modern life; unlike the others, you do not have to renounce everything. You may begin to follow the 4th Way immediately under your present conditions.

Basic Ideas

A person in "normal" consciousness is not truly awake. In particular:

States of Consciousness

The vast majority of the time we are in one of several less-conscious states:

• Imagination (daydreaming)
• Identification (distracted/fixated)
• Considering (worrying about what others are thinking about us)
• Formatory (acting mechanically)

These states actually cause us to forget that we exist. The illusion of consciousness is maintained by a curious trick of the mind: when we examine our consciousness (as when protesting, "This is nonsense — Of course I'm conscious!"), we actually DO become conscious for a moment. Unexpected events and sensations also trigger momentary consciousness.

Multiple I's

We are unaware that our mind is actually divided into multiple entities, capable of acting independently. (Sort of like Sybil.) Of course, in most people, these entities are so well integrated that we rarely notice when control shifts from one to another.

The illusion of a single mind is further enhanced by the fact that all the entities are in the same body and have the same name; each one considers itself to be "I". The "I's" are most noticeable when they are in conflict with each other. We then have "mixed feelings": coexisting contrary attitudes.

There are a number of consequences of multiple "I's":

Generally only one "I" is in the "driver's seat" at a time. We "become" one "I" after another, sometimes shifting quite rapidly. The constant shifting among them makes concentration for extended periods of time impossible, preventing us from reaching our potential. A major goal of the 4th Way is achieving a "permanent 'I'": unchanging control over attention.

Multiple "I's" make us inconsistent: One "I" makes a promise or resolution, and others violate it, or never even "hear" about it. For example, one "I" may sincerely resolve to go to sleep early tonight. But when tonight comes, other "I's" are in control, and decide (feeling equally justified) to stay up later.

Multiple "I's" also interfere with achieving higher consciousness: One (or several) decide to do 4th Way work, there's a shift to another "I" that has made no such commitment, and presto — we're in imagination.

The Centres

The mind is also (normally) divided into four centres with different functions:

• Intellectual centre: controls rational thought
• Emotional centre: makes emotional judgements
• Moving centre: controls voluntary movement
• Instinctive centre: controls automatic movements (e.g. heartbeat, hiccups), and sensory perception

(There are two other centres that only show up in higher states of consciousness: higher emotional and higher mental.)

In "normal" consciousness, we sometimes let "I's" from one centre inappropriately take over functions that should be performed by "I's" from another centre. Some examples:

The emotional centre doing the work of the intellectual centre can result in biased or irrational decisions. The intellectual centre doing the work of the moving centre results in clumsy performance because the intellectual centre is by far the slowest of the centres.

Also there is a tendency to overuse the most mechanical part of the intellectual centre: the "formatory apparatus." The formatory apparatus thinks mechanically and dualistically (either/or). It contains ready-made opinions and ready-made phrases. It has attitudes about everything whether or not it knows anything about it.

While "formatory thinking" is easier, it produces superficial, automatic decisions. We do outrageous things when acting mechanically, that later we cannot imagine how we could have done.

4th Way Practices

The fundamental exercises of the 4th Way are "self-remembering" and "self-observation." Self-remembering is simply being aware you exist, and being aware of the impressions coming through your senses. Doing this for a moment is easy. Trying to do this for a longer period of time is hard, and reveals the insidious workings of imagination, identification, considering, and multiple "I's".

As hard as it is, self-remembering must be done regularly to make progress in the 4th Way. It is also necessary to develop the ability to self-remember in situations when it is not "convenient." You will find at first that the effort of self-remembering makes it difficult to accomplish other activities at the same time. Like anything else, it gets easier with practice.

Self-observation involves "observing" your thoughts and feelings, and determining which centre each originates from. It is particularly important to determine the thoughts and feelings that come from your emotional centre. Control of emotions is necessary for progress in the 4th Way.

Eliminating the expression of negative emotions (such as anger) is another important practice. Negative emotions drain energy that can be used for self-remembering. (Ouspensky observed that we can learn to enjoy almost any negative emotion. It is valuable to recognize when this is happening in ourselves.)

The Magnetic Centre

If you've read this far, a number of your "I's" are probably interested in 4th Way ideas. These "I's" are called the "magnetic centre," and can be used to facilitate your development in the 4th Way. The magnetic centre can facilitate discrimination and understanding, and can influence other "I's" that would otherwise be obstacles to development.

Development of the magnetic centre produces the "deputy steward," which can control and coordinate other "I's," giving a degree of control over your consciousness. Finally, development of the deputy steward results in the growth of the permanent "I."

History

Our knowledge of the 4th Way comes mainly from the writings of Gurdjieff, who brought the system from the East to the West, and P.D. Ouspensky, one of Gurdjieff's students, who studied, taught, and wrote about it approximately 1914–1947. The 4th Way is said to be several centuries old.

There are currently a number of 4th Way schools in existence. Some of them, however, are cults: Unethical behaviour and exploitation of students have been reported here by several people. Others have praised these same schools. Conclusion: a 4th Way school can be helpful (some say it is essential to have a school to make progress), but be careful!

Books

Primary Texts

The 4th Way by P.D. Ouspensky. The most comprehensive presentation of 4th-way ideas. It is a collection of transcriptions of Ouspensky's lectures, and answers to his students' questions.

The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution by P.D. Ouspensky. A much shorter summary of the ideas covered in The 4th Way, and is intended to be an introduction to the system. It is a set of lectures sometimes read aloud to prospective students, and presents the 4th Way ideas in the clearest order.

In Search of the Miraculous by P.D. Ouspensky. The story of Ouspensky's experiences as a student of Gurdjieff.

Further Reading

There is an excellent survey of all the significant Gurdjieff literature in the introduction to the book Bibliography of the Gurdjieff Literature, edited by Walter Driscoll. The writer establishes a framework for a serious evaluation of the literature, and places all the primary, secondary, and tertiary works within this framework.

Texts which might provide an introduction to Gurdjieff's teaching are:

• Views from the Real World: Early Talks of Gurdjieff — Triangle Publications
• In Search of the Miraculous — P.D. Ouspensky — Harcourt, Brace & World
• Gurdjieff: Making a New World — J.G. Bennett — Harper & Row
• Deeper Man — J.G. Bennett — Bennett Books
• Undiscovered Country — Kathryn Hulme — Atlantic, Little, Brown
• Our Life with Mr. Gurdjieff — Thomas & Olga de Hartmann — Arkana (1983 ed.)
• Teachings of Gurdjieff: Journal of a Pupil — C.S. Nott — Samuel Weiser
• Waking Up — Charles Tart — New Science Library
• Venture with Ideas — Kenneth Walker — Samuel Weiser

But when all is said and done, it is best to return to All and Everything: Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson — attempting to make practical sense of Gurdjieff's teaching without it would not be unlike attempting to understand Christ without the Gospels.

It has been claimed that Ouspensky's writings are generally easier to understand than Gurdjieff's.

About alt.consciousness.4th-way

This newsgroup is dedicated to those who seek more understanding of themselves and others, and who wish to awaken from the narrow and twisted dream called "ordinary consciousness."

This newsgroup is intended to provide a forum for people to share insights and knowledge of the 4th Way, and higher states of consciousness in general.

About This FAQ

This is a draft version of the 4th Way FAQ, so may contain some errors. If you notice any inaccuracies or omissions in this FAQ, or have any other feedback, I would appreciate hearing from you! It would be particularly helpful if any newcomers to the 4th Way would indicate any sections of this FAQ they found unclear.

Thanks to Stella Wirk for many insightful suggestions. The sections on Gurdjieff references are from Richard Hodges and Eddin.

Colophon

Written by Alan Balkany ([address removed]) and first published on November 11, 1994, as the official FAQ for the alt.consciousness.4th-way Usenet newsgroup. The book recommendations were contributed by Richard Hodges and Eddin. Balkany worked at Fermilab (Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory) in Batavia, Illinois — a particle physicist who sought to understand consciousness as rigorously as quarks.

Preserved from the Usenet archive for the Good Work Library by the New Tianmu Anglican Church, 2026. This version was retrieved from a 2004 repost by an anonymous community member (Message-ID: <[email protected]>, February 15, 2004).

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