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 a dialogue between a student and Russell on imagining yourself conscious and giving right efforts

To begin:

Student:  Since our last visit, I have been working on “imagine yourself conscious”, which is starting to mean something to me.  If I can develop more skills in conscious imagination, it will take me from what I know now today, to what I might be able to know tomorrow, and will make things even more logical than they are now, because right now, everything is very logical.  As such, my work has been going great, absolutely great.  Of course there have been a few mechanical hiccups, where hours go by and I go, “oh, geez, where have I been?”  The interesting thing is that it is so easy to get back to the higher level; it is so tangible, so real, and so close, as opposed to being something vague, mystical, and far away; it is there the moment I want it, or the moment I realize I don’t have it.  So, my work has been great.

Russell:   Life is so incredible, a student and I were talking the other day, discussing the people who have come here to the school and gone through progress, most of whom had been in other groups or in other schools, wherein, they were told that only few people ever get results, that the best they could do was live their lives; and, maybe, perhaps, in the next life, if the work came around again, something could be done.  In many of those other groups and other schools, they don’t even read Beelzebub’s, because they were told it was “too sacred”.  It is like, wow, what the heck is going on?  Don’t they realize that Gurdjieff left us practical work, and by doing it, we found an objective way for almost everyone to awaken?

One of my students said it well, she said: “We have a 3-step process… a philosophy that allows for us to have a change of being, a structure that is conducive not only to our machine but to the Universe, and a teacher who knows the way.  What else could we want.”

Student:  I must say, that is a pretty nice all-encompassing tri-part statement.

Russell:   Yes sir!  Now all we need are good guys like yourself who are not afraid of making efforts.  Folks that will say…okay, I am going to watch my movements until I get down the hall to my office, I am going to watch my sensations while I eat, and I am going to take this minute and do something intentional with my day, instead of just letting the day do me like it has always done.  I am going to stick my head up and confirm my existence.

Student:  I am confirming your statement.  I am not going to let the day do me…. Instead, I am going to do the day, which is way more than what I was doing a week ago.  Being intentional is what changed me; of course, studying Cosmic Secrets with you, and your objective exercise started it all.

Russell:   I would say, “Yee-Haw” to that.  You indeed have your foot firmly on the path; and, if you keep making the exceptional efforts you have been making, and keep doing the exceptional things you have been doing, nothing will keep you from attaining even higher things, because they are your right.  Again, what we seek to accomplish is not something unique or special, it is our right.  We have a right to have both higher centers functioning in us, and to have their properties of conscience, reason, and impartiality.  We do not seek special treatment; we just want what is rightfully ours.  I am a human being; and, as such, I have a higher nature.  In order to experience it, I just need to unify my lower centers and cause my higher centers to begin functioning; like what happened to one of my students today.  She was sitting here, and I asked her if she had done any exercises today and she said no, so I suggested that she try to do an “I am” exercise like her life depended on it; so she became very still and said, “I”—“am”, with force.  After which, she was silent.  Then she said, “Holy schmoly”, you can’t believe what is going on in my being.  There are vibrations going from my toes to my fingers.  So, she did it again, but this time, I had her do it in a very soft voice, like a whispered command.  She looked over at me and asked, “Are you helping me?”  I said, “No ma’am, I am not doing anything.”  She said, “I can’t believe this.  It is like trumpets are going off inside of me, this is incredible.  Now I know why it is so hard to explain this state to others, but I can see why everybody ought to want it.  I could spend the rest of my life like this.  This is pretty cool.”  She sat there and glowed, just laughed, and glowed.  She said things like, “Well, you can keep my car, because I am going to ‘fly’ to work!”

She was like a little kid with a new toy.  It is so wonderful.  God, it is so wonderful to be a part of something like this and watch it take place in other people’s being, to watch them make efforts and to watch them change.  And, by the way, I am tickled pink with the force you made.  You deserve to be exactly where you are.

Student:  Well, good.  Because I sure enjoyed it.  I sure liked it.  There is also another kind of peace that came in from seeing the progress I have made; knowing that, in time, I will make even more progress, because it is law-conformable, and it is my right.  Like in this uncertain world, you never know what is around the corner, and if you are filled with anxiety about the unknown, it will be very hard for you to ever make progress.… However, if you stay in the present moment, and don’t indulge in the anxiety of the unknown, in time, things will unfold exactly the way they are supposed to unfold.  Right?

Russell:   Yes, sir!  That’s right.  Things will unfold exactly the way they are supposed to unfold; and, you cannot be afraid of the unknown… that is senseless.  I learned that lesson many years ago in sales.  Early in my sales career, I was terrified of being rejected.  One day, I got out of my car and walked up to the door that I was supposed to enter next in order to make a sales call.  But, due to my fear, I froze and just stood there.  I looked at my watch.  I looked up and down the street.  I was scared of rejection; of being told that they didn’t want to buy my product.  I even contemplated getting back in my car and quitting.  I waited, a good 10 or 15 minutes… pondering the situation; and then, finally, when I mustered enough courage to open up the door and make the call… the door was locked!  I said to myself, there, and then, that I would never again be terrified of a locked door, afraid of a locked door, how foolish.  Being afraid of a locked door was just stupid.  So from that moment forward, I ran to every door and flung it open; and, needless to say, I became very successful in sales.

So, everyone here is doing incredibly well.  And the students in Arizona are doing well.  Their meetings have changed; and, there is a new momentum in the group because of this objective way.  They have a speakerphone now, so I am able to communicate with the entire group when they call.  I am able to speak to them as a group, which kind of brings our school a little closer to Arizona. 

In addition, I have everything ready for my trip to London.

Student:  I am sure it will be a great trip.

Russell:   You bet!  And I will be able to spend another week with two of the students from Arizona who recently awoke.  So, if nothing else comes out of the conference, having some additional time with them will make for a just reward.  Then, the day I get back, I have a new student coming in from Russia.  Who knows what will happen after that?

As to your work, I cannot see you doing anything other than keeping the great momentum you have created.

Student:  I can’t imagine it ever stopping; or you ever stopping.

Russell:   Well, I have been very fortunate to be able to do this work for many, many years; and I can’t imagine anything being able to stop the momentum we’ve created!

Student:  Yee-Haw for that!  I am certainly going to do everything I can to keep my momentum going; that’s for sure.

Russell:   There you go, sir.  That is the key.  Like one student said, “This is a precious thing, and I now understand why you will never abandon us, that is, go to some higher place and never return.” 

“Not yet”, I said, “There are a lot more people I need to awaken, and a lot more things I need to share.”

Student:  It is going to be very interesting.

Russell:   Indeed it is.

Well, do you have any questions for me about the exercises, or about your efforts on bringing intention?

Student:  OK, I see, you are going to make me get down to doing some work, huh!

Russell:   Yes, sir.  Did you think this was a social call?  Ha

Student:  Well, I thought we could just chat and “call it work!”  

Actually, though, I don’t think I have any questions, as it has been a really good week.

Russell:   There is nothing wrong with that, I hope all of your weeks are that way.  Weeks of saying, “Russ, I am making great efforts, and keep getting great results, so I don’t have any questions.”

Student:  It may be a bit naive for me to think that I won’t have a bad week.  But I do feel that I have got a notch up on it now; I can get to a higher place in myself whenever I wish.  Hopefully, I won’t lose that.  It’s not the highest place I hope to be, but it is certainly higher than it was.

Russell:   Well, if it is just one notch up, from where you used to be, that is wonderful.  You don’t have to build a house; you just have to put on another row of bricks, and if you do… sooner or later the house will be built.  

As long as you keep making efforts, and keep moving up, that is all you really need to focus on.  You don’t need to read minds or levitate… just be a little more conscious than you were the day before.

Student:  You know, it is so interesting, all of the misconceptions one carries around in oneself.  Certainly, when I first started this work, I dreamed of reading minds, of course, which is totally irrelevant now.  Even this week, I realized that I can’t remember some of the little veiny misconceptions that I used to carry around, they have dropped away.  

With the functionality of this objective way, I have a new language, and am constantly having new experiences.  

For years I studied Gurdjieff’s language, and although it was quite specific, it didn’t tell me much until I found you and understood what it meant.  That is, you have to first wake up and experience it strongly enough to relate to it.  

Even a week ago, some of the things I was thinking about, like, what does this do, and what center or part-of-center is that, etc., is becoming more and more clear, I can almost sort of identify certain parts now, which is pretty exciting.

Russell:   Not the same Cord.

Student.  No, not the same Cord.

Russell:   I should probably insert here, for you listeners out there, what it means to a student when I say, “Not the same Cord”.  

Oftentimes, when students come here for their ten-day journey, we watch a movie called “Circle of Iron.”  It was conceived by Bruce Lee.  It is about a seeker, an arrogant martial arts guy named Cord, who fights in an annual competition.  The winner of which gets a medallion, which not only identifies him as the winner, but also allows him to go on a quest to find some guy named Zetan, who possesses the book of all truth; a book which contains all the knowledge of the World.  Cord wins the competition, but because he struck his opponent after he was down, they declare his opponent to be the winner, which upsets our hero; who decides to go on the journey by himself, even though he does not possess the medallion.  

Along the way, he faces many trials, competes in many battles, and passes many tests. 

During his sojourn, Cord encounters a blind man who has a bell on his toe and a long bamboo-like wooden, walking-stick-flute in his hand (played by David Carradine).  During the movie, the many times they randomly encounter each other, the blind man often shares many words of wisdom with Cord.  

In one scene, when Cord witnesses the blind man being attacked by bandits and sees how he easily defeats them, he is rather impressed.  Cord kills the last guy, but by taking his attention off of the blind man, the blind man is able to disappear without being noticed.  Cord later finds him by following the sound of his flute; and, eventually, asks him to be his teacher, but the blind man, once again, seems to vanish.  Later on, Cord sees his initial, medallion-carrying-opponent, who was mortally injured at the first trial, die; but not before giving Cord the medallion and asking him to complete his quest.  

Anyways, during the many trials that Cord faces he is transformed.  Later on, when he encounters a previous adversary, the adversary looks at him and questions his arrival saying, “Cord?”  Then confirms his own question by saying, “Ah yes, the same Cord.”  Then, after an exchange, the adversary senses Cord’s transformation, which prompts him to state, “No, ‘Not the same Cord.’”

So, my students clearly understand what it means when I say to them, “No, ‘Not the same Cord.’”  It means that, just like in the movie, I sense their transformation.

I won’t divulge the end of the movie, as I do not want to reveal what Cord sees when he finally finds Zetan and looks in the book, as such, I shall leave that for you to discover.

You can find a link to this video on our website at thedogteachings.com under Resources Videos.

Now, back to the conversation with the student who was, “Not the same Cord.”

Russ continuing:  When you finish Chapter Four in The Fourth Way, go on to Chapter Five.  Personally, Chapter Five was one of the most compelling chapters for me.  It probably wasn’t until my 5th or 6th reading that Chapter Five started to illuminate my inner world.  

It is all about self-remembering.  

Chapter Five, and then later, Chapter Ten.  Chapter Five and Chapter Ten were real biggies for me.  There is so much in those chapters.  They pretty much tell you everything you need to know.  So, when you finish Chapter Four, go right into Chapter Five, I think you are ready for that one. 

Student:  Yes, I am pleased with what I have read so far.  I am starting to understand.  Everything is opening up.  I haven’t seen any Angels yet, but things are opening up.  

I heard your latest student had a great awakening.  Is she still doing well?

Russell:   Yes, I called her at work the other day to see if she was still “there”, and she said, “Yes, it is incredible, everything is different; work is different; things come up that used to bother me, and now I find that I am no longer bothered by them.  I am so free.”  

We talked and talked.  

It seems that what had transpired was her center of gravity had moved from outside to inside.  That is, after she had a realization that Work on self was really Work for self.  As such, she became impartial to outside things, to where… they are, simply, “Okay”, and no big deal; rather than her having a mumbling, complaining voice about them.  

So, she has none of the usual nonsense.  Many things don’t seem to matter to her anymore, just the Work; which she now recognizes she needs to get done.  Once she recognized that the Work was something that needed to be done, something changed in her.  So, a whole bunch of things in her have changed, from just one realization.

Student:  What triggered the event?  Do you know?

Russell:   Yes, the event was triggered when another student went to the hospital, and I went to visit them.  The student, who had the realization, was a nurse at the same hospital; and, having me show up kind of put her on the ‘spot’, “Oh, my gosh… the teacher is here, observing me, catching me in my environment, seeing me standing around talking with the other nurses, etc.”  She was afraid that I was going to see that she was not as busy as she always claimed to be, and that I was going to know whether or not she had been remembering herself.  

So, I guess my visit just shocked her.  

Then, after my visit, as I was walking to the elevator, she started walking with me, and then, suddenly, stopped and said, “I can’t go any further, I am the charge nurse.”  

After which, I stated, “You can’t take one more step?  I mean, if you do, will they start yelling at you or something?”  She said, “Well, I am supposed to stay close to the nurse’s station in case they need me.”  To which I inquisitively replied, “They have a rule that says you can’t cross a certain point?”  She said, “No, I just don’t feel comfortable being too far from the nurse’s station… but I guess I can go a little further.”  Then, we walked on.  But, when we got to the corner of the hallway, she once again said, “I can’t go any further.”  I said, “Really?  You can’t even turn the corner?  Well, okay, no problem…. If you can’t turn the corner, you can’t turn the corner.” 

So, the impression of me being there, and the impression of me pointing out the lessons of taking one more step, hit her quite hard.  

That was when she realized that she couldn’t go further in her work unless she was able to overcome being a nurse.  That is, as long as she was bound by not being able to take one more step, she would never go further.”  

So, as a result of her contemplating the purpose of her existence, her center of gravity shifted from being on the outside, to being on the inside.  When it did, she truly understood that she needed to develop herself spiritually.  And, by doing so, something in her stepped down, like when she did the Objective Exercise… and something died… and moved out of the way, and allowed the higher to enter.  

All that was a result of my visit and her simple realization. 

It is amazing, although law-conformable, that with the right realization, something can be transformed in us and allow something higher to enter.  Perhaps it is just the realization that we are not as high and mighty as we think we are, and with that realization we allow ourselves to become higher.  Before that, we usually imagine that we can read minds, are very clever, and possess the ability to “do”.  But, after doing real objective work, and realizing that we are not what we think we are, we create the catalyst that allows us to become higher.

Student:  Sounds law-conformable to me.

Russell:   So, I will visit with her when she gets home.  If she is still in that place, I would say that she’s arrived; if not, she will most likely be able to reclaim it with just a small push.

Student:  Ah, a small push, eh?

Russell:   Yes, once you know the way to the clearing, it is hard to forget the way to the clearing!

Student:  Indeed it is!

Russell:   Yes sir!  Just like you, I don’t care what situation comes up in the future.  I know that if something does come up, something in you will step forward and say, “Wait a minute, I can do something here…. I can change how I think; and, if I change how I think, I will change my perception, change my chemistry, and change my clarity.”

As to her, when she called the other day, even her speech was different;  everything was very concise.  

She… may not have known what was going on, but I certainly did.  So, I grabbed the tape recorder, turned it on, and got it all on tape.  Later that day when I played the tape for her, she said, “Wow, that is really amazing, I can actually hear myself awakening.”  

So, it has been a great day for her, for students, and for you.

And, by the way, don’t forget to sit in a new posture. 

Student:  I won’t forget.  Thank you.

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 [email protected], 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.