Two fundamental pillars of the Fourth Way are ‘conscious labour’ and ‘intentional suffering.’ To Gurdjieff these were the basis for the possibility of human evolution.

 Conscious Labour is action undertaken with awareness.

 Intentional suffering is the act of struggling against automatic manifestations of the psyche that are the result of conditioning.  In Beelzebub’s Tales to his Grandson, Gurdjieff writes that “the greatest ‘intentional suffering’ can be obtained in our presences by compelling ourselves to endure the displeasing manifestations of others toward ourselves”

 Self-Observation is the attempt to observe one’s own behavior dispassionately, impartially and without judgement.

 “I never observe myself in action. I never see myself functioning mechanically, nor see that I like to function mechanically.  I need to be convinced of the detours – experiences and knowledge – that prevent me from observing myself. This kind of observation is the beginning of self- knowledge”.

                                                                                      The Reality of Being (pg. 24)

 The Need for Effort

Gurdjieff emphasized that awakening is possible through consistent and prolonged effort against the automatism of the body and mind. In the literature of the work, there are several examples of how Gurdjieff encouraged his pupils to experience new levels of energy in this way.

 The Many ‘I’s

Conditioned reactions produce a variety of images in in our psyche that are far removed from reality, and each of which asserts itself to be ‘me’.  These fragments have little in common with each other and may often have contradictory aims and desires. Gurdjieff says that we have the possibility of freeing ourselves from these reactions through intentionally undertaken, long hardwork upon ourselves.  In the process we have the possibility of acquiring an Indivisible ‘I’, with a will and consciousness which makes it possible to act from conscience.

 Centres

Gurdjieff classified plants as one centred, animals as two centred and humans three centered. There are three lower centers in a human being: intellectual, emotional and moving, and two higher centers: higher emotional and higher intellectual.

“Dividing the attention makes it possible to begin the observation of oneself. Self- observation must always be related to the idea of centres and their automatic functioning, in particular, the lack of a common direction. Our three centres – mind, body and feeling – work with different energies, and their disposition determines the influences that reach us. We can receive more subtle, higher influences only if our centres are disposed in a certain way. When we are wholly under the power of lower influences, the higher cannot reach us”.

                                                                           The Reality of Being (pg. 22)

 “The quality of influence that reaches me depends on the quality of my presence. And the quality of my Presence depends on the relation of my thought, my feeling and my sensation. In order to be attuned to a more subtle force, the attention of each part needs to concentrate, to become charged with a new meaning and power to relate voluntarily. In this way the thinking purifies itself, as do the feeling and the sensation. Each plays its own role and functions in concert with the others for the same goal of being attuned with a more subtle Presence. This Presence needs to shine, to animate my body.   It has an intelligence, a vision that is like a light in the darkness and thickness of my sleep”.

                                                                               The Reality of Being (pg. 49)

 “What does it mean to be present, to be here now? I have the sensation that I am present. I think it, I feel it. The three centres are present with the same force, with an intensity that comes from the same degree of activity. I feel an energy that circulates more freely between them, which is not held more in one place than another. This energy is nourished voluntarily by the three parts. There is a common direction, bringing the possibility of a conscious action in which the impulse comes from the three centres at the same time. I wish to know with all the parts of myself”

                                                                                The Reality of Being (pg. 55)

 Body, Essence and Personality

Gurdjieff divided people’s being into essence and personality. The essence is what one is born with and it has the ability to evolve. The personality is everything that one has learned or imbibed.