Welcome to a series of podcasts on how to achieve an awakened state through practising various intellectual, emotional and physical exercises, and through the gaining of understanding into the laws of world creation and world maintenance, specifically as described within the works of George Gurdjieff and the Fourth Way

Each episode in this series focuses upon a particular element of this teaching and aims to bring simple understanding to what was frequently hidden in plain sight within the various subject areas of the Fourth Way.

PICKING UP FROM WHERE WE LEFT OFF IN OUR LAST PODCAST…

We were discussing the changing of the two fundamental laws of three and seven, and how Gurdjieff’s discourse on the greater change in the Law of Seven led the fellow in Texas to create a model that could show what Gurdjieff actually meant with creation of a Diatonic Universe, the Universe as we know it. 

A model that lays out before your very eyes the effect of this greater change in the law of seven, so you can witness in action how the Universe possibly came to be. 

No small order. 

How to make a model of the Diatonic Universe

So, with that, here is HOW to make the same model that the Fellow in Texas used to create the Diatonic Universe. 

You will need some material for this.

To create the diatonic scale, take a poster board, drop down 1 inch and mark a vertical line 21 inches long and ¼ inch to the left of center. Divide the line into seven 3-inch segments (8 points). To the left of the line label the points DO, TI, LA, SO, FA, MI, RE, and DO from the top down. Mark the line again in 1/8-inch segments; thus, making the ascending DO-0, RE-24 (1/7), MI-48 (2/7), FA-72 (3/7), SO-96 (4/7), LA-120 (5/7), TI-144 (6/7), and the descending DO-168 (7/7) .

Next, divide the line into three equal segments to identify the three separated forces. Draw and label the force lines at 0, 7 inches, 14 inches, and 21 inches, or in 1/8-inch increments at 0, 56, 112, and 168 on the scale.

At this point, drop down 1 inch and draw another 21-inch vertical line, but this time draw it ¼ inch to the right of center, keeping parallel with the other 21-inch line. Using the same scale of 1/8 inches, label the notes on this line diatonically. Thus, making the ascending DO-0, RE-21 (1/8), MI-42 (1/4), FA-56 (1/3), SO-84 (1/2), LA-112 (2/3), TI-147 (7/8), and the descending DO-168 (1).

Complete the model

To complete the model, take a ½ inch wide, 12 & 1/2 inches long elastic strip, and staple it, at and even with the descending DO leaving ½ inch above the DO, in which to put the staples (put one staple at 168, even with the descending DO). Note: The bottom of the elastic should fall even with the FA of the left line at 72, exactly 12 inches from the descending DO.

Also, cut a ½ inch wide strip of typing paper 9 & 1/2 inches long. Tape it between the two lines, but this time, at and even with the ascending DO, leaving ½ inches below the ascending DO, on which to put the tape, and 9 inches above. Note: The top end of the ½ inch wide paper strip should meet exactly with the bottom end of the ½ inch wide elastic strip, at 72 on the scale.

Finally, mark the center strips the same as the left line. The elastic should now be marked with lines representing descending DO-(7/7), TI-(6/7), LA-(5/7), SO-(4/7), and FA-(3/7). The paper strip should be marked with lines representing FA-(3/7), MI-(2/7), RE-(1/7), and ascending DO-(0). The bottom of the elastic strip and the top of the paper strip are marked FA-(3/7) since they meet at this point.

Observe the shifting of the notes

To observe the shifting of the notes, simply stretch the FA-72 (3/7), at the end of the elastic, down to the force line at 56 (1/3). You will discover that the lines on the elastic strip have moved, and now align with the diatonic scale (except for TI, which is diatonically positioned by the shortening of the last Stopinder). Likewise, if you push the top end of the paper strip FA-72 (3/7) down to the force line at 56 (1/3), you will produce a close facsimile of the cosmic rumple. It identifies that the resulting new positions of MI and RE are also in perfect alignment with the diatonic scale, by virtue of a perpendicular line drawn back to the plane of the poster board.

The fellow in Texas had imagined the fabric of the Universe to be flexible, stretchable, but non-compressible. So the elastic and paper strips worked perfectly.

When he first pushed the FA at 3/7 to the force at 1/3 and witnessed that the notes on the elastic became Diatonic, he was gobsmacked.

Then, since he had imagined the fabric of the Universe was flexible, stretchable, but non-compressible, when he pushed the paper strip, he witnessed the “Cosmic Rumple.” Amazingly, the notes that were at MI and RE, which were marked on the paper strip, were displaced… and also became Diatonic.

[Amazing]

One movement, pushing the FA at 3/7 down to the force at 1/3 also pulled the LA at 5/7 into alignment with the other force at 2/3…. causing the notes at 1/7, 2/7, 3/7, 4/7, and 5/7 to become 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, and 2/3 and created the Diatonic Universe.

A finger on the pulse of creation

Oh, my Jesus. The fellow in Texas freaked out.

He had his finger on the pulse of creation.

It all started because he had noticed, while reading Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson, in the chapter Purgatory, the chapter on the changing of the two great laws… that the changes Gurdjieff proposed involved one stopinder being lengthened in its “law conformable successiveness,” another being shortened in its “law conformable successiveness,” and a third being disharmonized in its “law conformable successiveness.” So, he got to thinking, well, what does “law conformable successiveness” mean? Then, he thought, oh, that means sevenths, like the sevenths that he had seen in the Enneagram. Law conformable even-sevenths. What if the Universe started off as even-sevenths, then there would be a “law conformable successiveness” to things? All the intervals would be the same, 24, 24, 24, 24, etc. He could not imagine a better model of “law conformable successiveness” than even-sevenths. So, he imagined that the Universe began as even-sevenths.

He had previously separated the forces into thirds… and saw them as magnets on strings; and, when he envisioned the Law of Seven as even-sevenths, he recognized that there was a problem. Thirds and even-sevenths did not work! He understood that he could not change the thirds, so he would have to change the Law of Seven. And, he then read where it said that the stopinder, which was lengthened in its law conformable successiveness, was between its third and fourth deflections – one, two, three, four. Hey, that is the one between MI and FA.

Something was moved farther away from the top DO

Lengthened, meant… if God was the top DO, that something was moved farther away from God.

Many people who read, “He lengthened the stopinder between its third and fourth deflections,” took that to mean that God pulled the notes MI and FA apart… and, then, they wrote books to that end.

No! It is not about pulling MI and FA apart! It is about a stopinder that needed to be pushed farther away from God, pushed farther away from the top DO, and it is actually about “lengthening the law conformable successiveness” of the stopinder that is between the third and fourth deflections, between MI and FA. This meant that the MI-FA stopinder needed to be moved, needed to be lengthened in its law conformable successiveness. So, the guy in Texas tried to look at it from God’s point of view, and reasoned that God needed to move the entire FA-MI stopinder farther away from Himself.  And, if that were true, where would God push… on the MI? Or, on the FA? Of course… on the FA. Then, if God did that, the entire stopinder would be pushed away. And, since the aim was to bring the structure of the Law of Seven into common alignment with the separated forces, God would most likely keep pushing on FA until it reached the force at one-third!

So the fellow in Texas was reading these Beelzebub passages, over and over and over; and trying to visualize them.

How stretching works

Fortunately, he knew how stretching worked and was able to envision the stretch being spread out evenly; if that guy moves 16, then, that guy will move 12, and that guy will move 8. He was in the zone of understanding. Three days later, the process he was going through finally completed itself; and, on the fourth day, he saw it. He saw the rumple, he saw the stretch, he saw the notes move from even-sevenths and become diatonic; and, he thought, oh my God!

He jumped up, ripped a poster board off the wall, turned it over, the back was clean, and he marked it off, in even-sevenths, in thirds, and diatonically. It took twenty-one inches to get the octave of 168 depicted in one-eighth-inch marks. He found a piece of elastic in the sewing kit, and stapled it to the top DO… then, he cut a paper strip, and taped it to the bottom DO. The elastic strip and the paper strip met at three-sevenths. He marked the elastic strip and the paper strip in even-sevenths…. Then, pushed on the spot where the elastic and the paper strips met; and, eureka! He saw the fabric of the Universe stretch and rumple and become diatonic.

A truly incredible moment!

As you are altered, so you became

And, we can go beyond the incredible, if we realize that the amount that each note was displaced… became what it now is. Just think of that concept: as you are altered, so you became. That is, indeed, incredible beyond belief.

And, it happened to every note!

The note SO moved into the FA-SO interval, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 twenty-fourths, dead center in the interval. Where is SO in an octave? Dead center. As you are displaced, so shall ye be!

The note LA moved into the SO-LA interval, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 twenty-fourths: dividing the SO-LA interval into two-thirds and one-third. Where is LA in an octave? Two-thirds up and one-third down. As you are altered, so shall ye become!

The note FA moved into the MI-FA interval, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16 twenty-fourths: dividing the MI-FA interval into one-third and two-thirds. Where is FA in an octave? One-third up and two-thirds down. As you are changed, so ye shall be!

Stretched notes are exact relationships, rumpled notes are reciprocals.

The notes that were stretched are exact relationships. The notes that were rumpled are reciprocals. As you are changed, so shall be your new name!

The note MI moved into the RE-MI interval, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 twenty-fourths: dividing the RE-MI interval into three-fourths and one-fourth. Where is MI in an octave? The reciprocal of that, one-fourth up and three-fourths down. Your position in the interval, reflects your position in the octave!

The note RE moved into the DO-RE interval, 1, 2, 3 twenty-fourths: dividing the DO-RE interval into seven-eighths and one-eighth. Where is RE in an octave? The reciprocal of that, one-eighth up and seven-eighths down. You are the mirror image of your movement!

The note TI got pulled back into the TI-DO interval, which we will cover in a moment. It moved, 1, 2, 3 twenty-fourths: dividing the TI-DO interval into one-eighth and seven-eighths. Where is TI in an octave? The reciprocal of that, seven-eighths up and one-eighth down. TI moved one-eighth into the TI-DO interval and God’s grace reaches down one-eighth into the octave!

How to achieve common alignment

The fellow in Texas’ inner world lit up like the sun. He saw creation, he saw even-sevenths, he saw how three separated forces did not align with the purity of even-sevenths, and he saw a way to alter the even-sevenths and achieve common alignment.

So, he pushed one stopinder further down in succession, which caused a stretch and a rumple to occur in the fabric of the Universe, and changed the even-sevenths into music, into an eighth, a quarter, a third, a half, and two-thirds… and, oh my God, even the amount you moved reflected what you are. That is, if you walked up to the note SO and asked, “What is your mathematical name?” He would answer, “A half.” You could then smile and say, “Well, that means you moved a half, because what you are reflects how you moved.”

“Busted!”

Your own model

OK. If you made the model for yourself, you stapled one end of the elastic strip to the top DO and taped one end of the paper strip to the bottom DO. Why? Well, the fellow in Texas imagined that whenever a note came in contact with a force, it bonded. The idea that God lengthened and shortened the law conformable successiveness of the intervals in an octave, implies that the ends of that octave were affixed to the DO’s. If not, then the elastic strip would just slide down the poster board when you pushed on the FA, and the paper strip would not rumple.

If you understand this, you will understand that when the FA, which was at 72, met with the force that was at 56, it bonded. After which, God could let go.

Why? Because it bonded; it locked in. When the FA, which was at 72, was pushed to the force at 56, it bonded. Also notice that the act of pushing the FA to the force at 56, also pulled the LA, which was at 120, to the force at 112; and, when the  LA contacted the force at 112, it too bonded.

When a note contacts a force, it bonds to it

Whenever a note contacts a force – it bonds to the force

So, the top DO, the bottom DO, and the notes LA and FA became bonded to the forces at 168, 0, 112, and 56, respectively.  When they did, God could let go and everything stayed locked in.

The notes had bonded to the forces… and the stretched elastic, and Cosmic Rumple became fixed in place…. But then, there was another change; a different stopinder had to be shortened in its law conformable successiveness.

The greater change in the Law of Seven was not done for the mere purpose of creating things outside the Most Holy Sun Absolute, because God thought that it would be cool to have a Universe to watch. The purpose of creation was to allow things to arise outside of the Holy Sun Absolute and flow back into it; thus, keeping the Holy Sun Absolute from diminishing in volume….

God needs a return

That is, God needed a return, so after He pushed the FA-MI stopinder away from Himself, He said, “I have successfully aligned the structure with the forces. The LA and FA are now bonded to the forces… and the forces that were separated are now in alignment with the structure. They cannot be in the same place, like they were when they were a singularity, but they can act like they are in the same place, because they can all be participants in the same octave. I did it. Ye-Haw!

But wait; I need to get a return. I mean, it is cool that things can get together out there in the Universe… that things can be independently created. However, I need to get something back. Oh my Me, what shall I do? I know, I will pull the last stopinder closer to Me.”

“And the Stopinder which HE shortened, is between its last deflection and the beginning of a new cycle of its completing process; by this same shortening, for the purpose of facilitating the commencement of a new cycle of its completing process, HE predetermined the functioning of the given Stopinder to be dependent only upon the affluence of forces, obtained from outside through that Stopinder from the results of the action of that cosmic concentration itself in which the completing process of this primordial fundamental sacred law flows.

“And this Stopinder of the sacred Heptaparaparshinokh is just that one, which is still called the ‘intentionally-actualized-Mdnel-In.”

The last stopinder had to shorten

God ascertained that He needed to shorten the last stopinder, the stopinder that was between TI and DO.

[But wait. Hold on. When a note comes into contact with a force, it bonds… and when it does, it stays put. There is no force for TI to lock on to and bond with. That’s elastic, if you pull the TI back up and let go, it will snap back]

Good observation. Let’s try it. Hold LA in place, because it is bonded with the force at 112. Then move the TI from 140 up to 147, to the position that TI occupies in the diatonic structure.

Then, if you let go, it snaps back

That means our Endlessness must be holding on to TI… in order to keep it from snapping back. Wow! There is Grace. God reached down, grabbed onto TI, pulled it back toward Himself, and held on. He cannot let go. Unfortunately, God cannot reach down any further and give mankind a hand. Man has to make it to TI on his own. The Grace of God has entered the Universe, but it only extends to TI.

If the constant hold on the note “Ti” is let go…..

If God lets go, TI will snap back… and creation will cease.

If we read Gurdjieff’s postulation, regarding the shortening of the last stopinder, again and again… a hundred times, maybe we would understand that the shortening meant that the force of the top DO could be felt at the TI. If something makes it up to TI, it will feel the force of the top DO reaching back “through that Stopinder from the results of the action of that cosmic concentration itself in which the completing process of this primordial fundamental sacred law flows.” And… the influence of the top DO reaching down, allows things that reach the note TI to complete themselves.

A story of a man lost in the desert

In order to better understand this idea, I will tell you the story of a man lost in the desert. OK, let’s put you out in the middle of the Gobi or Sahara Desert.

If you became lost in the desert, what would most likely happen to you?  If you said I would probably die… unless I found a way out.

You are correct. You would probably die… unless you found a way out. OK. Which way do you go? Do you go this way, or that way? Perhaps you orient yourself by the position of the sun, and try to always head West or head North, etc. I do not know which direction you are going to pick, or if it will be the right direction, but I do know that you will pick one; you will not just stand there until you die.

So, you start walking, in some chosen direction, trying to find your way out of the desert. You walk for a day, for two days, for three days, for four days, and maybe even for five days. But, at some point, you cannot walk anymore. You are out, you are spent, you are burnt, dehydrated, and exhausted; and, you realize that you are not going to make it out of the desert. You are going to die there. There is no hope left. There is no force left. You can hardly walk. You are just barely shuffling your feet, barely moving… and, you finally succumb… you fall face down in the sand.

to die

You are done. It is over. You fell down to die. You are not getting back up. The journey is over.

Moments before death

But, at the very last moment of your existence, you happen to peek out one of your swollen eyes… and there, over the next sand dune, you see the top of a palm tree.

What do you suppose happens then?  If you said I get up and start running, you are correct.

You are up on your feet and running. Wait a second… a minute ago, you were dead. You had no force. You could not go any further, and now you are on your feet and running.

Which way do you run? That way, toward the palm tree. You run to the DO, to the oasis. The DO, the oasis, has reached back to you and said, “Here I am! Here is how you can complete yourself. Here is how you can facilitate the commencement of the next cycle; come to me… run to the oasis.”

The Grace of God reaching down

The Grace of God has reached down… that palm tree has reached over the sand dune and said, “Here I am,” infusing you with an incredible energy. You are running in the desert; by the way, that is the only time that you should run in the desert… when you see the oasis.

You run with everything you’ve got. God has reached back through the stopinder and called your name…. Then, when you reach the oasis you fall face down in the water, and drink; your chapped and cracked lips revitalize a little bit, and you drink, and drink, and drink. You get under the shade of the palm trees and get out of the sun. Maybe, some of the trees have coconuts or dates that you can eat, maybe, there are some little lizards, that you can clunk with a coconut, and eat, maybe, you even make a fire. I don’t know, but I do know that you have a much better chance of surviving. You may even be capable, as Gurdjieff says, “…of facilitating the commencement of a new cycle of its completing process…” and continue your journey of trying to get out of the desert.

How long do you think that you will stay at the oasis? If you said, until I am strong enough to leave, you are correct.

The commencement of the next cycle

You are only there in order to facilitate the commencement of the next cycle of trying to get the heck out of the desert. So, you stay there for a day, for two, for three, for four, or for a week, preparing for the next journey.

While you are getting your strength back, you fabricate coconuts to carry water, you attach vines to them, so you can drape them over your shoulders; you amass a bunch of dried lizards, so you will have food to eat; and, you even fashion a hat made of palm leaves to help protect you from the sun. Then, at some point, you say, “It is time to leave the oasis and again try to get out of the desert.”

Or, if you were in the Olympics and were running the marathon, 26.2 miles, and you ran for about 23 or 24 miles and were dead exhausted… could barely move. Your feet were just shuffling along, and you started to question whether or not you should quit the race… because it was too long, it was too hard. Your heart was hurting, your legs were weak, you could not get enough oxygen, and you had lost a tenth of your body weight…. Then, at that moment, you, finally, came around a corner; and, there, in the distance, you see the Olympic stadium and, by so doing, you are able to finish the race.

Why? 

The top DO infuses you with energy

Well, when you see the Olympic stadium, you feel the DO reaching back to you and you become infused with energy… a smile comes to your face, and joy fills your heart. There it is, there is completion, victory is in sight; and, because of that, you have the force to make it to the stadium.

And, it all happens because the Law of Seven was changed… one stopinder was shoved down; and, another, pulled back up, which, when seen, allows you to finish the race.

That does it!

The universe, uncreated

By successfully uncreating the Universe, we have taken the first step towards answering the question:

“Why are things the way they are”?

In the next Podcast, we will begin a discussion on why men fell asleep and how they can awaken.

Thank you for listening, and, if you’d like to know more about the subjects and exercises we’ve been covering in these podcasts, including the book and guide that underpins all of this, and how we work with it, you can find us at The Dog Publishing, at the website The Dog Pub Dot Com. That’s T H E D O G P U B DOT COM

Hope you find it useful

Goodbye until next time.