Self-Remembering: 2. The Metaphysics

"Strictly speaking, you cannot as yet speak of knowledge because you do not know with what knowledge begins. Knowledge begins with the teaching of the cosmoses.”

— Gurdjieff, ISOTM

UNDERSTANDING THE MESOCOSMOS

In order to know himself, Man needs to know the Cosmos above him, as well as the Cosmos directly below. Man — the Tritocosmos — is surrounded by the Earth (the Mesocosmos) above him in scale, and he is also made up of “atoms” (Microcosms) within, or below, him. Man’s physical body is a product of the Earth, and it lives upon the planet Earth. However, as the Tritocosmos, Man is a World in his own right. The Earth as a World is infinitely greater than the World of Man; just as Man is infinitely greater than an Atom.

We need to understand our own physical bodies; our bodies and everything they entail make up the “Tritocosmos”. However, when we start to understand our own minds, we are beginning to explore and develop our Astral Bodies, which correspond to the level of the World above us — the Mesocosmos, or Earth. The Earth, according to Gurdjieff, is a living, breathing being: “Each cosmos is a being which lives, breathes, thinks, feels and dies.” However, as I said, the Earth in relation to a Tritocosmos is infinitely greater than a Man.

"THE DIAGRAM OF EVERYTHING LIVING"

"Ahimsa (non-violence) is not causing pain."

-- Sri Swami Satchidananda, The Yoga Sutras of Patanjali

"And as for these factors, which are the sole possible means for the assimilation of the cosmic substances required for the coating and perfecting of the higher being-bodies, today we call them 'conscious labor' and 'intentional suffering. '"

-- Beelzebub's Tales   

"Fusion, inner unity, is obtained by means of 'friction,' by the struggle between 'yes' and 'no' in man.”

— Gurdjieff, ISOTM 

Perhaps one key to understanding Man -- and his Bodies -- in relation to the Earth might be an interpretation of "The Diagram of Everything Living", found on page 323 of Ouspensky's In Search. In this chart, every form of intelligent Being is listed on a stair step ladder, starting from Metals at the bottom and going up to Archangels, with two Higher entities listed above even them: Eternal-Unchanging and the Absolute.

                                             The Diagram of All Things Living

If one takes "Vertebrates" on the diagram, as potentially referring partially to human beings (since they qualify as Vertebrates), one might hypothetically postulate that the “Vertebrates” square might perhaps encompass what Gurdjieff calls Men Numbers 1, 2, and 3 (physical, emotional, and intellectual men). The square marked “Man”, then could possibly denote Gurdjieff’s Balanced Man (Man number 4): a man with the ability to use all his Centers — Intellectual, Emotional, and Moving. I’ll have more to say about Balanced Man in a future blog. "Angels", on the diagram, might represent a Man having a perfected or developed kesdjan/Astral body. And "Archangels" might represent a Man having a perfected Soul/Highest Being Body. 

This interpretation syncs to an extent with Ouspensky's comment that his group had come to the idea that "Angels" represented Planets, and "Archangels" represented Suns. Gurdjieff's chart on page 94 of In Search neatly summerizes all three points of view: my interpretation of Man and The Diagram of Everything Living, the teaching of the Cosmoses (which has the Earth as the representation of All Planets), and Ouspensky's view of "Angels" and "Archangels" as Planets and Suns. 

The chart on p. 94 aligns Man's four "Bodies" with the Ray of Creation. Man's Physical Body aligns with the "Earth". His Astral Body aligns with "All Planets". His Mental Body aligns with the "Sun". And The Divine Body aligns with "All Suns".

A LIVING EARTH

"As a way of talking about the mystery teachings, furthermore, ecology has a special advantage, because the mystery teachings themselves are a science of whole systems. It is not going too far to call the mystery teachings an ecology of the spirit, just as the science of ecology could well be called the mystery teachings of nature."

-- Greer, John Michael. Mystery Teachings from the Living Earth: An Introduction to Spiritual Ecology (p. 12). Red Wheel Weiser. Kindle Edition. 

The key to understanding the Earth as a living Being, is to look at it Ecologically. Ecology is the science of understanding the Earth from a whole systems point of view, and is the best way we have to understand exactly what the Earth is. When the Earth, of which Man is a part, is viewed Ecologically, Man can better know how to live in relation to the larger Cosmos. And from that understanding, and the life changes that follow, Man can start to gain knowledge of that part of himself which corresponds to the level of the Mesocosmos: that is, his developing Astral Body. 

When we have Self-Evolved to a certain point, our Astral Bodies can start to develop from the middle parts of our Intellectual and Emotional Centers. The middle parts of these Centers are sustained through the energies of the “breath octave”, the series of Hydrogens arising from the breath. This is what Gurdjieff meant by saying we “coat” the kesdjan (Astral) body with our breath. However, the “essence” of the Astral Body is provided by the Higher Emotions proceeding from the Higher Emotional Center. These Emotions are wed to specific Hydrogens within the body, along the Breath Octave, and then fused together. This process develops the middle parts of our Centers, and over time forms the kesdjan or Astral Body.

Humans within society don’t function in relation to the Earth as it exists objectively. And certainly not in relation to an Earth which is a living, breathing, thinking, feeling Being. But that is the way we need to look at the Earth; and we need to adjust our relationship to it accordingly. When we adjust our lives in relation to a truer conception of the Earth, our Minds have more ability to grow into an accurate Spiritual essence. And at that point our Astral Bodies can begin to develop.

THE MOON’S INFLUENCE ON THE EARTH

“The idea was roughly this: humanity, or more correctly, organic life on earth, is acted upon simultaneously by influences proceeding from various sources and different worlds: influences from the planets, influences from the moon, influences from the sun, influences from the stars. All these influences act simultaneously; one influence predominates at one moment and another influence at another moment. And for man there is a certain possibility of making a choice of influences; in other words, of passing from one influence to another.”

— In Search of the Miraculous 

According to Gurdjieff, life on Earth exists to serve the Moon’s needs. And Mankind is not exempt from that servitude, although He does have a chance to escape the Moon's influence. Psychologically, Man operates mostly in the external parts of his mind. The forces which come from the Moon keep Man fixated on externals and keep his mind colored with a negative tint. Not only that, but Mankind as a whole is kept from Evolution by lunar and cosmic forces, according to Gurdjieff. Man generally exists in a state of unconsciousness Gurdjieff called “sleep”.

The key to breaking this sleep is Self-Remembering. Self-Remembering represents the next level above the unconsciousness which Man is in. And Self-Remembering is a way of relating in a very real way to the next World above Man: the Mesocosmos, or Earth. Every time we Remember Ourselves we are getting in touch with higher influences.

Our immersion in duality is a constant state. Our minds struggle to do “good” in the world, but, failing at that, we end up doing “evil”. These constant efforts, to do one thing and prevent the other, are our “discursive thoughts”, which go up and down in a cycling motion. This cycling motion of our minds, and our lives, is a symptom of our sleep, our life under the Moon’s influence, and our undeveloped state as Tritocosmoses.

When we Self-Remember, we lift ourselves above the discursive mind and elevate ourselves up nearer the Mesocosmos, and even the Deuterocosmos — the Sun. The transmutation of Self-Remembering that takes place at the point of Do 48 is the start within us of the Impressions Octave. The Impressions Octave is the seed of our Mental Body, which corresponds (according to Gurdjieff) to the level of the Sun. Through Remembering Ourselves — and the development of the breath and impressions octaves — we come up out of the Moon’s influence, and out of the tedious cycling of our mental lives. Also, having as our Aim the wish to form a Higher Body, gives our efforts at “being good” a new dimension. Our search for Higher Bodies gives that “goodness” a Reality, as well as a chance to have it adhere to us permanently.

REMEMBERING OUR “SELF”

"In Self-Remembering which self do you wish to remember?"

— Gurdjieff, as related by Nicoll 

There are any number of ways to Self-Remember; and it can become a complex effort at certain times. Initially, though, it’s easiest to double one’s attention back on to one’s physical body. The idea is to simply be aware of one’s body. The awareness of one’s body has much to be said for it. It provides an anchor for the mind. It can produce a grounding effect. And exploring the body with one’s awareness can be a doorway to much wisdom. A practice of sensing the body can lead to the ability to sense and identify the different energies within the body, represented by the “Hydrogens” on the Food Transformation Chart. This ability is an essential key to the “crystallization” and correct development of the Higher Bodies.

Self-Remembering of the physical body is good. However, if one studies the Food Transformation Chart one will see that there are four or five higher energies (or Hydrogens) which come about through Self-Remembering. All these higher energies fuel the Intellect and inner parts of the Emotional Center; and can only be created with an inner effort at Self-Remembering, an effort of the Mind. The deeper into one’s Mind one searches for one’s “Self”, in Self-Remembering, the more effective Self-Remembering will be, in creating these energies. One will be able to “feel” the influx of new energies within one’s mind.

The Work says that along with Remembering Ourselves, we must avoid negative emotions. The inner and middle parts of Centers that these newly created energies work with are not suited to negative emotions. Avoiding negative emotions is preparation for the “Second Conscious Shock”. We are told in the Work, that we must do the First Conscious Shock (Self-Remember) for a very long time. And this is true, in that our Minds are cloudy and impure at first: our “machines” don’t function well. But gradually, over time, Self-Remembering helps clear our Minds and Emotions, allowing us to access a little bit of positivity into our Being. We can begin to bring in the positive influences, which can be accessed through small efforts with the Second Conscious Shock.

The prelude to the Second Conscious Shock is an approach of utilizing the First Conscious Shock in a slightly new way. At first the First Conscious Shock can be used for a variety of reasons, from simply trying it out, to gaining a greater consciousness, to a way of redirecting one’s attention to oneself. But there is a method of holding in one’s mind an ideal, or a virtue, or a positive quality, or anything of a superior inner nature and then sealing it inside one’s being by Remembering Oneself. Remembering Oneself in relation to a positive emotion, thought, or ideal is a specific technique to increase one’s inner positive qualities.

After holding an ideal in one’s mind and then Remembering Oneself in order to fixate the ideal within Oneself, one can logically see the next step, which is “Remembering” the positive quality directly.

APPROACHING THE SECOND CONSCIOUS SHOCK: AN INITIAL STEP

“Seal” : Something that confirms, ratifies, or makes secure.

— Webster’s Dictionary 

There is a way of moving very tentatively into the Second Conscious Shock. This type of intentional shock deals with the emotions. The Second Conscious Shock is a technique used to “seal” a “virtue”, thus making it permanent. Basically, it entails, in a like fashion to “Remembering Oneself”, one placing one’s Attention on and “Remembering” a “good quality”, “positive trait”, or “virtue”.

To try it, one starts first with avoiding a particular negative thought or deed by Remembering Oneself, as an alternative to being negative; ideally by Remembering one’s own Mind. At that point one has hopefully avoided this “negative thought”. But then, if one can come up with an opposing “positive thought”, or antidote, to replace it, one can “Remember” that positive thought, sealing it in place into one’s mind. These two steps: avoiding a negativity through Self-Remembering, and then “Remembering” its antidote, are an early movement or introduction into the Second Conscious Shock. 

This is spoken of by Nicoll as, “going with our better 'I's”. The idea or principle is to gradually replace the unpleasant qualities in ourselves with more virtuous qualities. The method is to “see” these good qualities within one’s Mind, and then to “Remember” them with one’s Attention. This is the beginning of the Second Conscious Shock.

The initial act of Remembering Oneself produces the two higher Hydrogens Mi 12 & Sol 12. At this initial stage, however, one is generally working with the Emotional Center, and Astral Body formation. So one is likely dealing with the subtle emotional transformation of just Sol 12 into La 6, along the breath octave. This transformation technically requires no “second shock”. At a certain point soon after the two higher being bodies have crystallized, and which I’ll describe in detail later, one should initiate work with all three bodies (physical, astral, and mental) separately and in conjunction with one another. Actual work in a more intensive — and direct — way with the Second Conscious Shock comes later.

There are variations on this “seal”, or introductory second conscious shock, one can try. After attempting to Remember a “virtue” in one’s mind, one can then immediately “Remember” one’s physical body, thus “sealing” the “virtue” more securely onto oneself. One can also “Remember” another person who’s in one’s presence, if one is aware of a virtue in that person; thus sealing a virtue onto that person’s being or “Self”. Also, one can reinforce a part of oneself: for instance, one can “Remember” one’s “Intellectual Center” — “sealing” that as well.

After Remembering Oneself, both Mi 12 and Sol 12 have been created. Sol 12, which is a part of the breath octave, can be brought up to the heart area and used as an emotional energy along with the energy Fa 24, thereby generating higher and subtler emotions. And Mi 12, which is part of the impressions octave, can be brought up to the level of the Head and transmuted, to function with the energy Do 48 which is already there, thus serving to facilitate subtler and more refined thoughts. I personally find the energy Mi 12 also seems to work within the “heart area” of the mental body.

 

I'm still learning about all these things, thank goodness, but I have an inkling that the transmutation of Si 12 into Do 6 has to do with the Physical Body itself: the Aim which one keeps for one's physical body on Earth, the Holiness of that Aim, and the Actions one carries out in fulfillment of that Aim.

I hope these mentions of the different numbers — H 12, H 6 and so on — aren’t frustrating to my reader. I will try to tackle the details that explain them later. I feel the numbers are important because I base my system of Astral and Mental body formation on the inner recognition or “taste” of the various Hydrogens. My strong belief is that the Higher Bodies can be formed without a knowledge of the “numbers”. But I find the Hydrogen system and Food Chart helpful in approaching the formation of the higher intellect and emotions, and eventually the “Bodies” themselves.

In my next blog I’ll finally get to my theories of the structure of the mind. I’ll hopefully have a couple of charts, and apply my approach of Self-Remembering to my views on the architecture of the mind. I believe knowledge of the mind’s structure is important for “building” the Higher Bodies.