Welcome to a series of talks about objective consciousness, an objective universe, and an objective way to awaken, expanding upon the works of George I. Gurdjieff and Russell A. Smith.

Continuing our talks on Work questions and answers, in this podcast, we narrate dialogues between a student and Russell covering the topics of Deputy Steward, efforts, Time-Body, sexual center, speeds of centers, parabolic/symbolic language, what is a school, and the food diagram

To begin:

Student:  I find I need to put my will under somebody else’s – to tell me where to go and what to do; I am willing to work, but I need someone to show me how.

Russell:  We all do. That is why second line and third line work is so necessary. And why Deputy Steward is so important. If you have a strong enough Magnetic Center, which wishes to work on yourself, you must then appoint a Deputy Steward who tries to carry out those wishes. 

With Deputy Steward, Work is not up to accident. You have appointed something; somebody is in charge.  Before that, it was just you; and you could make any decision you wanted. However, you cannot do that anymore, because now, there is something higher there, something that pesters you into getting things done.

Student:  I try, but sometimes I forget things, and other times I feel overwhelmed.  I guess my Deputy Steward needs to be there more often; I guess that is what happens when I fail.  For example: I did not complete the paper I told you about, and I sometimes wonder… will I ever reach a level where things like that will not slide by, and I will be less of a slacker?

Russell:  Well, once Steward firmly sits in your carriage, it will become a whole lot easier, because Steward is a real authority, not a temporary, appointed one. 

It is like my memory, I don’t miss things, months can go by, and I bring up some event that happened, or recall what someone said word for word, and the person says, “Wow, you remember that?” 

Of course I remember that, how could I not remember that?  It is part of being awake. That is just the way it is; you don’t forget things. It is nice

It comes from Steward. But with Deputy Steward, well okay, you may remember things while he is present; but when he is gone, you forget them, and you end up just pouring from the empty, into the void. 

Student:  I got up at 5 AM. to do my I-Am’s. It definitely had an impact. It was really enhancing, in terms of insulating myself. 

Is it good that I got up at 5 AM to do that? 

Russell:  The answer is simple. Making efforts is what is valuable. You got up and made efforts. You made efforts before you started your day, which generated something in you that you wouldn’t have had, had you not got up and made efforts. So, it is not whether you got up at 5 AM, it is whether you got up and made efforts. 

But getting up early does have an advantage, you have time to make efforts before the day begins, which, as you said, definitely had an impact. 

What if you set the alarm on your watch to vibrate every hour or so, so that you could be reminded to stop for a few minutes and confirm your I Am’s. Then, the enhancement of the morning may last all day long.

Student:  That is a great idea; I will do that.

Ouspensky said that we see time in a linear sense. Is it possible to see time any other way? 

Russell:  Yes it is, we may be able to see time in a loop. Perhaps, that is what is meant by time-body. Going back in time and reliving a moment from the past, as if one was actually living it again. 

If a conscious person does that, they may be able to change the influences of the past. Which is an interesting concept… that one can change the influences of the past; and therefore, change the present.  

For instance, if I was rebuked, when I was 6-years-old; told I was a total idiot, which made me feel really bad, and I had interpreted that event in such a way that it created a chief feature in me; one that conditioned me for the rest of my life. Then, what would happen if I went back in time and changed the interpretation?

Well, now that I am conscious, I may be able to go back and relive that event through the eyes of my Steward; and, as such, interpret the event differently. 

And, if I interpret the event differently, the influence of that event will also be different. 

Therefore, I can change the past; and, as such, recondition the present.  Do you see the idea?

Student:  Yes. I like it. Time loops, stellar.

I also read in Nicoll about elevating the Sex Center, transmuting it, and making it more like the Emotional Center.

Russell:  Ah yes, the Sex Center.  So many people have questions about the Sex Center, which I suppose is law-conformable, since most people spend their entire life driven by sex. 

I once bought a copy of The Fourth Way, in a second hand book store, and every passage in it that contained the word sex was underlined. 

So, I shall do my best to answer your question, and I shall try to answer it in a way that makes sense. 

Are you ready?

Technically, there is no Sex Center. Sex is the whole octave. It is the DO at the beginning of an octave, and the DO at the end. 

There is a big difference between the DO at the beginning of an octave, and the DO at the end. The DO at the beginning of an octave is sex; sex in a physical sense, that is, sex as duplication. And the DO at the end of an octave is crystallization, that is, sex in relation to the creation of higher being bodies. 

So, since sex is the whole octave, there is a component of sex in the Emotional Center as well; the same as there is in every center, because, again, sex is the whole octave.  

So, yes, the transmutation of sex energy is a big thing; but it is not the actual transmutation of sex energy, but rather what one can experience if every center participates. That is, if each center contributes what it is supposed to contribute. If they do, there is a good chance that the octave will reach its proper completion, and create a higher being body. 

Note: you cannot manifest sex properly with just one center; you have to manifest it with all centers.  

The bottom DO is the potential of duplication, and the top DO is its completion, which itself, is the bottom DO of the following octave, that is, the spiritual octave beyond. 

DO is the only note that is in two octaves simultaneously. RE  is not; RE is only in one octave, and MI is not; it too is only in one octave, etc. Whereas DO, is both the end of the octave before it, and the beginning of the octave beyond it. 

As far as sexual energy is concerned, if you do not realize that sex is not a center, but rather, the whole octave, you will be destined to only serve the bottom DO; instead of serving the top DO, and completing yourself.

Student:  I have heard so much about sexual energy.  It is refreshing to comprehend the role that it actually plays, that is, in terms of our evolutionary development and of our higher development.  And there is more to see, I can’t wait! 

Russell:  Great, keep looking. You are making the right connections. 

Regarding sex, keep trying to comprehend what each center’s proper function is.  That is, what is the Instinctive Center’s proper function, and what is the Moving Center’s proper function, etc?  

Student:  I will, it sounds like a fascinating assignment. One, which I know I can do. 

Russell:  Wonderful!

Student:  As we become more conscious and use higher centers, the perception of time seems to change. 

Higher centers seem to perceive things faster. 

Russell:  That is correct. Higher centers work at a faster speed. Thus, they have more time. 

I have a diagram called the Speeds of Centers, which explains Ouspensky’s postulations about their speeds, which are: the Moving and Instinctive Centers work 30,000 times faster than the Intellectual Center, that is, they function 30,000 times faster than thought. Which means, in 1 second of intellectual thinking, the Moving Center and Instinctive Center have been thinking about it for 8 hours and 20 minutes, which explains how they can regulate the bodily functions so rapidly. 

And the Emotional Center, if it worked properly, would work 30,000 times faster than the Moving and Instinctive centers. That is, for every 1 second of intellectual thinking, the Emotional Center has been thinking about it for 24 years, which explains why we can hold a grudge against someone for what seems like an eternity. 

And higher centers are even faster still, explaining how a Yogi-martial-artist can reach out and catch an arrow, etc. 

I will email you the diagram, and I will explain it to you in detail. 

This diagram can be found on our website with this podcast episode, by clicking the episode link in the podcast description.

Student:  Terrific! 

I also read in Views from the Real World that with faster time, you can kind of become a Magician, and do things that look like a miracle. 

Russell:  That is correct. One of the things I try to encourage everyone to do if they have an illness or if something happens to them, is to bring in a faster center to combat the illness or deal with the something. 

For instance, if you know you have breathed in a pathogen, which you can know if you are a conscious being, and then, tell your emotional center to attack it, your Emotional Center, if it is working properly, will attack the pathogen 30,000 times faster than the Instinctive Center; and, as such, will destroy it within moments of the Intellectual Center realizing that it has entered. 

Personally, I have not seen a doctor in 30 years. I do not get colds, the flu, or sore throats, etc. 

Our bodies can do remarkable things, if we assist them in doing them.

Student:  Today I had a real good experience. I was cleaning out my desk at work, and came across a Bible, which a friend had given me. I opened it to the Book of Hebrews, and started reading; and wow, it made so much more sense, now that I understand the laws of World-creation and World-maintenance; and, as a result, I began to feel love. 

Russell:  Yes, that sounds amazing. However, it is law-conformable. 

Since I awoke, I have had many experiences like that, and they too were “wow” moments. 

I would start reading Corinthians, Matthew, Revelation, or one of the other Books of the Bible, and remarkably would understand it! 

Everyone who awakens will experience the same thing. That is, as they raise their state, they will start to understand the language of parables.  And hopefully, will raise their state even further, to where they will understand the language of symbols as well. Which means, when they see a symbol, they will see a thousand parables, and when they read a parable, they will know a thousand stories!

Student:  What comes forth to me, is schools; whatever that means. 

Russell:  I suppose that is somewhat similar. Afterall, schools are supposed to be able to teach us a plethora of things. However, the schools we should be interested in need only teach two things.  Firstly, how a man number 4 can become a man number 5; and secondly, how a man number 5 can become a man number 6.  And, if they cannot, they are not real schools.

Student:  I have been to many schools like that, and you are right; there were no men number 5 there. That is, folks who could raise a student past just being a seeker; schools with no men number 5, no men number 6, and no men number 7… nothing.  

Thank God, I found you!

Russell:  Well, I don’t know if I will ever become a man number 7. I would like to reach for that; but I am happy that man number 6 is firmly within my grasp. That is, I have had enough glimpses of it to recognize its presence.

Student:  I hope I am around, if you do make it to man number 7! That would be a privilege. 

Russell:  Well, even if I don’t, you will at least get to say, “I got to climb the mountain with a man number 6. I did not just meet one, but I got to climb the mountain with him. That is, I got to go up the mountain and discover how to become a man number 5, and then later, how to become a man number 6.” 

Student:  Yes sir, for what you have given me, I shall always be your constant climbing buddy. 

By the way, I am making progress in my emotional center, but I still find it difficult. However, the idea of three centers is becoming more familiar to me, and I now see that development of my Emotional Center is the crux of me moving forward. 

Russell:  That is a great observation, and fairly law-conformable; as the Emotional Center is often the last center that gets developed, because the horse is harder to control.  

We wake up every day, and there is the carriage, we wash it, give it food, grease its wheels, and put it in the barn during inclement weather. 

In addition, we send the driver to school, and teach him how to spell and how to multiply. We do almost everything for the carriage and the driver, but nothing for the horse. That is, there are no schools on how to feel, and if there were schools on how to feel, they would probably distort it, and implant wrong ideas. Like the student who once told me that he went to a school that claimed to be able to teach him how to be emotional; after they taught him; and, when it was his turn to be emotional, it took six people to hold him down. What the heck does that have to do with emotions, or with feeling meaning?  Or in the schools we send our children to, they tell the kids, if such and such happens, you are expected to be traumatized, “The kids are traumatized, bring in the counselors.” Holy-schmoley.

Student:  Yes, I can see that now.

For me, when I get in touch with my emotions while I am doing the Objective Prayer Exercise, I still see the blue light. And I noticed, since I first saw it, that it is becoming more permanent, and is like a confirmation; an indication that permanent higher states are coming.

Russell:  They are not coming. You… are approaching them, because you are making efforts.  

That is what you need to remember; they do not come to you, you go to them.  

You have to appoint a Deputy Steward, who then convinces the machine to make efforts, “What am I going to do… am I going to do exercises; part of me says, ‘I don’t want to do an exercise,’ and part of me says, ‘I should.’”  

Fortunately, once you have appointed your Deputy Steward, you can let him come in and decide for you, “Okay guys, since you cannot make a decision, I will make one for us, ‘We are going to do exercises.’” 

Now, there is somebody there to help, your Deputy Steward. 

In addition, groups and other students will provide additional force. Just like, knowing that I was going to call today, provided additional force. “What if Russell asks me if I have been doing my exercises? I can’t lie to him. As such, I better do some exercises.” So, all those things will add additional force, and help you overcome the tendency to not make force. 

By the way, if we could, independently, make force, we would have finished doing what needed to be done, a long time ago. Because, we have to assume, on some fundamental level, that everyone wants to awaken. That seems like a natural aim to me, doesn’t it to you? If so, then, why have we not all accomplished that?

Businesses face the same problem. 95% of all businesses fail because their owners are unable to manage themselves. 

Why? Well, before going into business for themselves, they worked for somebody else; somebody, who told them when to be there, “Be here at 8:00, or I will fire you.” So, they showed up at 8:00. But once they became their own bosses, it was, we don’t feel like getting up today, so we will sleep a little longer. Thus, as soon as the decision was left to their will, they failed. 

Before THEDOG, there were no schools for waking up. That is, there were no schools that told folks what to do and how to do it, in order to awaken. And, as such, it was left up to them to try to figure it out on their own, and to make appropriate efforts; or to trust in Christianity or in some other esoteric gibberish that was based on belief… “belief that ‘all you have to do is believe.’”

But people of any common sense say, “Wait a minute, I don’t think it works that way. What you are telling me seems if-ish, and lacks certainty; I need more than just ‘belief.’ Besides, if what you say is true, then everyone would be able to manifest it, and the changes in their being would be recognizable, but they are not” 

So, unfortunately, there is no one out there that is capable of leading us, other than ourselves; and, when we lead ourselves, we always lead ourselves to failure, because we do not know what to do. And, since we don’t know what to do, we don’t do anything. That is, we hesitate, or go and buy another esoteric book, in hope that the speculation, conjecture, and guess, contained in that book, will hit us in the head; rather than doing the things that were written in the book we just finished.  

Gurdjieff put it this way, you must bring this Work down to the practical. If you do not do that, it will only be theory; something you read about, and read about, but never did; because, as it is, it is just theory, just mental masturbation with no practical application. 

When we first heard about self observation, we did observe ourselves for a moment. That is, we looked at ourselves and said, “Okay, I did that, now what do I do?” However, we never really made sufficient efforts 

Fortunately, the Work has become practical, because of what I discovered, and is now something that everyone can do, every day. Something that gets results, and allows them to awaken. 

Not to mention the fact that when it became practical, they no longer needed to just believe.

Student:  It is like the group here, we have an incredible library, but there has never been any true work on self observation. 

Then you came along, with your objective way, and started waking people up. 

Wow! I can see the future. The future is going to be great! We are going to have THEDOG in Phoenix, THEDOG in Texas, THEDOG in Europe, and THEDOG everywhere… let THEDOG grow, and grow, and grow!  

I feel so fortunate, I feel like I have been chosen by fate. 

Russell:  Fate may have set you up, but you chose yourself; and for that, you deserve a pat on the back. 

And, of course, you also have to deal with the curse that I have given you… the curse, that the more efforts you make, the more efforts you will be required to make. 

That is, true work is both a blessing and a curse. Firstly, you found the truth; and, as such, are expected to do something with it. And secondly, the more you do, the more you will be expected to do, that is, until you reach the top. 

I expect nothing less of you.  

So, if I push you a little bit harder than I push others, it is only because I expect great things from you.

Student:  Thank you.  Thank you very much.  I appreciate the pushes, I really do.  

Okay, I will talk to you again next week. Thanks again.

The next week. 

Student:  Good evening. Let me adjust my recorder. 

Russell:  Testing. Testing, testing. This is a test of the emergency teaching system; you will soon be directed to your inner world.

Student:  Laughing.  

By the way, how is your current student doing, I wanted to ask because she is a close friend of mine? 

Russell:  I know she is; and, since you asked, I am proud to tell you that she is doing great. How could she not be; she has just completed her first day at the dog pound! 

We have already gone through the first two chapters of my book. She has been playing with the math, doing the calculations, and her eyes are beginning to open. 

We went over some of the exercises; and she is like, “I can do this, I didn’t think I would be able to do this, but I can do this.” 

Then, after I explained to her that all she needed to know was to understand two premises, and to memorize six things, she got quite excited. 

I said to her, “The first premise you need to know is the Universe began with three forces, and the second premise you need to know is all forces are diatonic; and the six things you must memorize are: 1/8, 1/4, 1/3, 1/2, 2/3’s, and 7/8’s. And, once you know them, you will know as much as me.” 

After hearing that, her eyes lit up, she got a little giddy, and almost fell off her chair.

Later on, after discussing a few final ideas I said, “Well, that concludes day 1, how are you doing so far?”  She smiled and said, “God, it is so incredible, we have six more days to go, and after only one day, I already know as much as you!”

Russell:  I laughed, and said, “Growing a soul is not as difficult as we were led to believe, is it. After all, it is in our nature. We are human beings; and, as such, have a right to consciousness.  And fortunately, with the laws of World-creation and World-maintenance, I will be able to show you how to achieve that right.” 

She just grinned and said, “During the flight coming here, I saw a show on the plane, and the narrator said, ‘You have to remember that God created the heavens and the earth in just 6 days.’” I laughed, and thought, “Well, I am going to Texas, and I am going to create myself in just 7 days.” 

Russell:  “Bravo,” I said.

Student:  I am glad for her. She deserves it.

On another topic, I was doing an exercise, and realized that I try to force the results rather than just let them happen. 

Russell:  That is common. 

I learned that lesson well. I had to stop telling students that their breathing might change if they properly did a certain exercise; and that if it did change, to not worry, because that often happens to students. 

Then, when they did the exercise, they tried to either make it change, or inhibit it from changing.  So, I learned not to mention that before they did the exercise. 

Then, after they did it, if they then informed me that during the exercise their breathing became shallow and started going very fast, I would explain to them how that often happens to students who do the exercise properly; and then would tell them why.  

Student:  Smart move.

I have another question. When I looked at the Food Diagram, and the forces in an octave, the first shock and the second shock octaves, I noticed that DO-144 of Impressions is the shock for MI-150 of Air. However, the frequencies are not the same, they are very close, but they are not the same; am I missing something?

Russell:  Yes, you are. 

DO-144 is the second shock octave, but it doesn’t enter in, relative to Air; it enters in, relative to food. 

The SO of Food is at 144, which is where the second second shock enters. That is why the DO of Impressions is at 144. When DO-144 goes to RE-162, it picks up Air, which has stalled at MI-150, and carries it to FA-160, then Impressions continue on, by themselves, to RE-162. 

Remember, we are replicating the way up; because the way up was the way down. So assisting octaves, or shock octaves, do not enter at the vibrations relative to every octave, they only enter at the vibrations relative to the octave that they are assisting. Another octave may benefit from someone else’s assisting octave, and be carried along by it, even if that assisting octave is not their assisting octave.  

Or, another example: Food goes DO-RE-MI, just by blending, but needs help at MI to overcome the “Obligatory Gap” at MI-FA; and what enters at MI-120? DO-120 of Air. Then, DO-120 of Air goes to RE-135, and in the process of going to RE-135, it carries the Food with it, which too has stalled at MI-120, and then drops it off at FA-128, after which, Air continues on, by itself, to RE-135. 

The same structure, relative to the Food octave, is produced on the way up that was produced on the way down. Intentionally creating assisting octaves, or shock octaves, at its notes MI and SO, which are at the vibrations MI-120 and SO-144.

Student:  Ah, yes. I see it now. I got it. 

Another thing I noticed, regarding myself, is that I am beginning to have thoughts, and see thoughts that I did not see before, which at first are very clear, but once they go by, they are gone, and I cannot bring them back, and remember them. Is that normal? 

Russell:  Indeed it is. It sounds like you are experiencing momentary glimpses coming from higher centers. That is, moments of looking down from the top. 

However, when those moments occur, they come at such great speeds that the lower centers can not grasp them; and, as such, they are only observable when they first occur, and can only be seen by higher centers. 

I will tell you a story. Before I permanently awoke, I had several moments like that, moments of knowing that if everyone saw and understood what I just saw and understood, there would be peace on earth. Then a minute later, I was going, “How did that go again?” And, I could not see, nor understand, what I had just seen and understood.

Student:  Yep, that sounds like what has been happening to me. 

One more thing. At work, I am faced with a very hard task; a project is coming up, which I have been working on for some time, but it feels like I am walking into an ambush.   

Russell:  Congratulations, everybody should have opportunities like that, opportunities to practice their prowess. I am sure you will come out on top, smelling like a rose.

Student:  I have to pull myself together, and that is rather difficult because I have been doing a lot of inner considering, and am afraid that I am going to botch it and fail miserably. 

Russell:  Well, don’t think that. 

Instead, embrace it, and make it an adventure.  

Besides, if you do fail, are they going to fire you?

Student:  No, of course not.

Russell:  Alright then, the worst that could happen, won’t happen.  

So, I say, go after the task tooth and claw, with confidence. That is, get up to the plate and swing. You might foul out, you may hit a home run. But, either way, it really doesn’t matter. What matters is that you took your turn at bat.

Student:  I have no other recourse then do I.

Russell:  No, you do not. 

So, I advise you to address the task, believing that you can do it. That is, go up to the plate believing that you will hit a home run. Just like Walter D. Wintle advised in his poem The Man Who Thinks He Can, which I shall leave you with.

“If you think you are beaten, you are

If you think you dare not, you don’t,

If you like to win, but you think you can’t

It is almost certain you won’t.

If you think you’ll lose, you’re lost

For out of the world we find,

Success begins with a fellow’s will

It’s all in the state of mind.

If you think you are outclassed, you are

You’ve got to think high to rise,

You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

You can ever win a prize.

Life’s battles don’t always go

To the stronger or faster man,

But soon or late the man who wins

Is the man WHO THINKS HE CAN!”

That ends the question and answer session for this episode.

Thank you for listening.

If you have any questions that you would like answered, then please send them to information@thedogteachings.com, and we will endeavour to answer them and include them in future podcasts.  

And, if you would like to know more about the subjects and exercises we have been exploring, including the book and guide that underpins it all, which is also available for PDF download, you can do so, by going to thedogteachings.com.

That’s T H E D O G teachings DOT COM.

There, you will be able to obtain Mr. Smith’s diagrams, models, videos and listen to other talks, as well as learn all the mathematics that supports them, and much, much more.

But, most importantly, you will have real time access to the material we are discussing.

That’s thedogteachings.com

Goodbye until next time.