We are continuing work with the theme of observing and transforming unpleasant emotions. To be present with observation and see the arising of reactions requires steady and vigilant work. As the character of Hamlet declares, "the readiness is all!" 

In our meeting we spoke about transforming knowledge into understanding through practice. Understanding is a depth of knowing that comes from experience. This comes through work at testing and applying the ideas and models of inner work. Once knowledge has been transformed it becomes part of our being and informs how we are and the quality of what we do. We 'stand under' what we have come to understand.

Feeling a strong connection with myself and the group with our pause together at noon. Going through the seven steps of sensing the limbs and 'brains' a force of attention begins to coalesce and gains force within my being. I try to divide the attention between the action of inner work and at the same time to be aware of what's going on in my immediate environment. The effect is amplified when I find an equilibrium of attention between inner and outer.   

We had a strong meeting on Thursday and spoke about levels of consciousness. Ordinarily, when we move from sleep to waking the dreams continue though the contents change. During the day we dream about the past and future, our worries and concerns, what others think of us or our judgments of others. 

We have begun our study of energies as we may observe and develop them within our living alchemical instrument. The energy or vibrational aspect is present in everything in the observable, objective sphere, as well as within our own subjective nature. 

We are continuing our exploration of Gurdjieff's psychological idea of many I's. As a lens for self-observation we are invited to notice what partial impulse is claiming to represent the whole of ourselves.

Gurdjieff was clear in his description of the need to strive to bring the parts of our inner life -- the intelligences of body, emotions, and mind -- into balance. "To perceive with one center is delusion; to perceive with two is hallucination. Only when presence in the three centers is balanced do we perceive the real world."

In our last meeting we spoke about a model of a human as a three-centered being. We make use of this model to observe and study our inner life. An aim of our work is to come to know directly, to understand our own nature and design for ourselves. Do I see three centers each with a unique intelligence, perception, associations?

In our last meeting we explored the concept of essence and personality. In short, essence is our being, the design and nature with which we are born. Personality is what is acquired--all our skills, and learned behavior. 

In our Harmonious Development meeting last Thursday we spoke about attention as a capacity of Being. Attention is a powerful force that can lead to suggestibility and obsession, or serve as a catalyst of inner work and transformation. 

In our meeting we talked about the practice of self-observation. This is the first step in our process of inner work, and a practice that continues and deepens over time. With self-observation we study ourselves directly, both the general design of our human instrument, and the features and patterns of our particular nature and personality. 

In last week's meeting we discussed the background and method of Gurdjieff's Fourth Way, and some of the principles and practices of inner work in this tradition. We also discussed the meaning of Being, as the term is used in this work, and experienced some of the means of working in our Being.