The Academy of European Arts and Culture
"A Being a
beginner in the work."
What should a beginner do in our
school?
Mervyn
"A beginner in this work means
someone who has begun. It means that they have begun again where they left off
the last time. For each student this is a very different starting point. For
one on a 9th lifetime the starting point is very different than a one meeting
the work for the first time. This is one reason why longevity in this work is
not an accurate picture of where one stands in relation to it. Every angle is
important, as we do not always know, or can judge from how deep within one it
came from. Some of the most refreshing angles I have heard are from people
right at the beginning of their re-entry."
Student
I have been reading the first 9 pages of "Fourth Way" over and
over
for a few weeks now. It appears to be a transcript of a
particular meeting of O's school in London. My guess is that
it was an introductory meeting: a meeting for beginners.
Mervyn
"Once again if we call them
Re-entries then it allows for different
levels of being."
Student
O taught his students the same thing Mervyn taught me in my
introductory meetings: the four centres. The idea that we are not
one, we are at least four.
Mervyn
"We are of course a lot more than 4,
when one considers all the
other laws such as body type chief feature etc."
Student
Once we grasp this basic idea, our endless task becomes to observe it.
Mervyn
"There is a point, further on, where
one keeps an eye on the mechanics,
and has to be careful that the work does not degenerate into
self fascination with self. After several years in the work one sees
the machine is like a car. You have to have a basic knowledge of it
and have to keep upgrading one's manual, however the idea is to
Drive it and make it serve our inner worlds. Some people become
"Machine
Mechanics or Engineers". We need them in a school to
keep us abreast of new developments", but most important we
need
rally drivers who will take this work to its limits."
Student
As our machines live out their lives, we observe them switching
continually from one centre to the next. The continued observation
of ourselves in this
manner is 'self remembering.' That is the beginner's
task.
Mervyn
"Actually this is "Self
Observation." Self-Remembering is completely
different on a cosmic scale. One, is the machine, watching and learning
about itself, and the former is the Soul watching the machine and learning
about its
prison, the guards and how to hatch an escape plan"
Student
One student noted that each of the
four centres seems to have its own
agenda, its own desires, memories, its own life.
Mervyn
"Each center creates its own I's,
remembers them as fact and will continue
to operate as long as the machine is alive"
Student
Out of this discussion came the
concept of "will." What is the difference
between "will' and
"desire?" At last week's New Years Eve party, a part
of us had
the desire to eat too much. Another part of us has the desire to
restrain our
eating. Is one "will" and the other only "desire?" Is
"desire"
a thing of the machine and "will" of something
higher?
Mervyn
"Desire was seen by the ancients as
a God called Eros. Each person
was given an allocation of Eros at birth. The idea is to allocate Eros
to various parts
of the living experience and it had to be directed.
If we are not present, and
therefore do not direct this force, it will
sink to the lower parts of the
machine and leak out as wanting a
cream pie more than anything in the world.
For some, Eros ends up
in the Sex Center,(Hence, the connotation with the word
and sex).
One
of the things wrong with mans condition is Eros does not reach the
higher parts, (because they are asleep), and therefore he does not awaken
because HE DOES NOT DESIRE IT.
It
is essential to bring Eros to our work, i.e. DESIRE to awaken.
There
is a saying; "Eros gives wings to Psyche." Without desire we will
never fly. So check out your desires. Where is your Eros going? If you are
in
this work and your Eros is going to "Other Parts", then you will
flounder."
Student
One student pointed out that the duality of conflicting desires can be
resolved by a third force. If this is true, "will" doesn't have to be
there at all.
Mervyn
"I have seen many people fail over
this "Will" thing. Active types feel it
means to become more active and get more done. Will in this work means
having the Will to pick up a spoon consciously or to Remember-Yourself for
another 30 seconds. I often see machines veering off and showing off their
will by some amazing feat. For me, Real Will is when the Soul can make the
machine DO something.
Start
with something simple like Remember yourself for the next hour, then
talk about WILL. Otherwise, we are mixing up mechanics and machine operating
skills with what we are really trying to do i.e. Wake UP the Soul"
Student
Mervyn often tells the story about the person who wanted to paint the living
room,
but never seemed to find the time. (the duality) Then, her mother in- law
called
and said she was coming over next week for a visit. (3rd force) The
living room
was painted immediately. This story tells us that many things can
get done without
the use of "Will."
Mervyn
"If you are serious about awakening
the Soul and freeing it from its prison,
this piece of information is invaluable. It is how the Soul can get the
machine to work to its advantage. It is turning a steering wheel on a car
instead of trying to turn it by pushing the side."
Student
As a beginner, I can observe the I's, the desires of the four centers,
look for
third forces.
Mervyn
"This you CAN do."
Student
I can self-remember.
Mervyn
"This you cannot on a long term
basis"
Student
But I have no will.
Mervyn
"Right now you don't need one from
one angle."
Student
On page 8 and 9, O explains that in order to develop will, one has to
develop
unity. One has to become "one" instead of four.
Mervyn
"Yes, DO this and then, as Ouspensky
says, you can talk about will. For a
man No.6, that translates as, "Now I have will. What do I want to
DO"?
Student
Is the task of "becoming
one" a beginner's task in our school?
Or is "becoming one" more
advanced work than "self remembering?"
Mervyn
"It is everybody’s task and it IS
Self-Remembering because without
one you cannot have the other"
