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 will narrate a dialogue between Russell and one of his students, who just returned home after awakening, explaining her day of rejoicing. 

Let’s begin:

Student:  Hello. How are you?

Russell:  I am great, and you?

Student:  Doing great. Kind of a day of rejoicing. Rejoicing that my Steward is still present after arriving home from Sanger. 

I just finished the 1-hour laying still exercise and it was amazing.

Russell:  I bet it was.

Student:  I can see how this exercise will aid me in identifying various parts of my Instinctive Center.

Russell:  Yes, ma’am.

Student:  Which is wonderful. 

I will continue reading and memorizing, as everything I do, enlivens me.

Russell:  That is terrific. 

Keep your other exercises going as well. 

Did you breathe while you ate today?

Student:  Yes, I did; at every meal. 

Tonight, I will do the 3-fold attention exercise. And, in the morning, I will start a regime of doing the other exercises, in order to make sure that I keep them all active. A little bit of me already wants to deviate, but I will not allow that. 

Today, I mowed the lawn and stayed occupied with thinking, thinking, thinking, it was quite nice.

Russell:  Wonderful. I am excited about your growth, not for me, but for you.

Student:  Me too. I don’t mean to compare, and maybe it is just a matter of the student being ready, but it seems to me that in the week I spent with you, I received more than I received in twenty years of being in the work.

Russell:  Yes. Well, that is what happens when you find an objective way. 

Student:  Before working with you, I used to say, I just want to find a drop of truth, I just want to find a drop of truth. Then, you doused me with a whole bucket! And for that I am extremely grateful.

Russell:  I am humbled, but very proud to be the douser. It is rewarding to be able to help others to find the truth and establish their center of gravity. 

Student:  Yes, I can feel that happening.

Russell:  Has your center of gravity gotten away from you since you left?

Student:  No. It tried once, but I quickly brought it back. 

There is a guy that I work with who came over to drop some things off, and I noticed that, since he is cute and I like him, my habitual tendency is to give away my center of gravity, but that did not happen.

Russell:  Great!

Student:  Yes, I thought so too.

Russell:  Soon, your center of gravity will stay inside of yourself, and when that happens, you will remain in the here and now. 

Student:  I believe you. Afterall, you showed me more in one week than I learned in twenty years.

Russell:  That is kind of you to say. It is exciting to watch those who come here walk away with something real. It truly is. To be able to show others how to awaken, find inner peace, and attain their birthright is truly a blessing.

Student:  I bet it is. There is no question about it.

Russell:  Indeed. It was fantastic when I awoke, but to help others awaken is even more fantastic.

Student:  That sounds very exciting.

Russell:  It is, it really is. In fact, a student and I talked about that just this afternoon. Years ago, we discussed the way our work would unfold, once we published the book; and how, if we stayed right, what would happen. And this afternoon she said to me, “Wow, it is happening just like we talked about. Honor and truth has won out. Just like you said it would in your book, when you proclaimed, “Truth conquers all things.”

Student:  I agree … set us free, set us all free.

Russell:  That is my aim. But, unfortunately, people have to want to be free. I can’t go out and pluck someone off the street and say, “You have been chosen.” They have to choose ‘themselves.’ And then in pursuit of that aim, they must find and buy my book. 

Okay, enough about that. 

Do you have any questions from your ‘one day’ away from this place?

Student:  No, other than what I already asked: about verifying the various parts of my Instinctive Center.

Russell:  Yes. That is an exciting process. 

When you lay still for an hour, you take away your Moving Center; and as such, you start to notice the nuances of your Instinctive Center, since the Instinctive Center is the trigger behind your Moving Center.

Student:  Is the King the ability to relax the muscles?

Russell:  The King of Diamonds, or the King of Clubs?

Student:  The King of Clubs.

Russell:  No, I would not put that in the King of Clubs. The King of Clubs is responsible for controlled movement, whereas, the King of Diamonds is responsible for regulating important bodily functions; functions that are only contactable with consciousness.

Student:  Oh, so it has to be controlled movement for it to be in the King of Clubs.

Russell:  Correct. All three parts of the King of Clubs, the 8, 9, and 10 of clubs, function with controlled attention. However, the intellectual part of the Queen of Clubs, the 7 of clubs, also functions with controlled attention, so it might come from there as well.

Student:  How about the 4 of clubs, is it an intellectual part?

Russell:  Well, possibly, but the 4 of clubs is the intellectual part of a mechanical part, the Jack of Clubs, which functions without attention. So, if it comes from there, you would probably not notice it.

Student:  Oh, I see. Movements like, when we walk, that are so automatic they keep us from falling on our face, and we don’t notice them. 

Is it the same in the Instinctive Center? 

Russell:  Yes. In the mechanical part things happen automatically, even though - in the intellectual part of the mechanical part - something is exercising great control, like telling the heart when to beat. 

The emotional part is basically our five senses, which requires drawn attention. 

And, if we used the intellectual part, we would have control over things that are supposed to be mechanical. Gurdjieff said that only a conscious person is able to access that part.

Student:  Yes. That is probably why I know when my hour of lying still is up, even though my eyes have been shut. However, I try to stay an additional 10 minutes and push things a tad longer. 

Sometimes, in those 10 minutes, my inner world gets agitated and says, “We have done what you asked, now get up, get up!”

Russell:  That’s right. We made a deal, “You said, if I lie still for an hour, that after an hour, you would let me move .… Well, it’s been an hour!”

Student:  Yes. That is exactly what it says. This work is amazing. Everyday I have new insights.

Russell:  Yes. Everyday is a day of rejoicing, and a day of learning; and, if we look through the eyes of the structure, we will know in advance what we will find. Because of that, it is no longer ‘guess Work.’ Now there is verification: we can see our Instinctive Center, we can see our Moving Center, as well as their parts. We can also see where our attention is and where it is not; and as such, we have something extremely valuable.

Student:  Yes, that is for certain.

I now know that I am not a healer.

Russell:  Fantastic. That is where we must begin. We are just ordinary human beings who have awakened and are able to get rid of the special things that we believed we can do, like being clairvoyant, or possessing the ability to heal others. Instead, we now focus on helping as many people as possible to free themselves from those same illusions.

Student:  Yes, indeed.

Russell:  So, what else?

Student:  Well, I threw away a flower. I took the most beautiful flower from in front of the house, and pulled it out of the ground and threw it away, and it was fine ... there was no identification.

Russell:  Wonderful.

Student:  Another experience occurred, when I was doing the Viewing Without Verbalizing Exercise, changing my gaze quickly in order to not label things, when all of a sudden, I became disoriented. 

Russell:  Yes, that is law-conformable. We are so dependent on having labels that, when they are absent we become disoriented. 

Student:  Ah, yes. That is precisely what happened. 

Will the glimpses I am having lead to something permanent? 

Russell:  Indeed they will. Glimpses always come before permanence. 

If we played billiards, we would have days where we cannot make a shot, and other days where we make every shot we attempt. 

We all have experienced moments like the latter, where something connects and allows us to manifest with great precision. Such encounters put us on the path of attempting to repeat them. The problem is, they are usually not easily repeatable. 

My Work is about bringing objective results within our grasp, to where they are easily repeatable. It is not a mystery.

Student:  Oh yes. You nailed it on the head.

Russell:  We do not have to wake up in order to have moments of being awake. We start having moments of being awake before we wake up. 

The current student had a moment like that this morning. While she was doing her morning exercises, a second presence came. She said it was as if there was someone there watching her. No matter what she did, she could not shake the feeling of being watched. 

Student:  That is what happened to me when Steward arrived. 

Russell:  Yes ma’am, it is. That is exactly what happened. 

Okay, those are the rudiments. 

Steward can appear if circumstances are right, but he usually fades away. However, after one awakens objectively, he will be permanent. 

Both represent his appearance, the former is temporary, the latter is not.

Student:  I look forward to having him remain. I have so much hope for that possibility.

Russell:  Well, the hope lies in the fact that you are willing to make efforts, and once you realize that it is down to nothing other than that, there will be no mystery. It cannot be otherwise. It is law-conformable. It is simple to keep ... but requires right knowledge to grasp. 

It is like walking, it may have taken you a year or so to master the art of walking, but once you did, it never abandoned you. 

The Bible says the same thing about marriage; however, it applies to acquiring Steward as well, “What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”

Student:  That is so wonderful. 

It makes me want to start running!

Russell:  That’s the spirit. 

Okay, how are the other things in your life going? I know you are looking for a new job, and are thinking about moving.

Student:  I had some interviews the day I got back, but so far, nothing of interest. However, I will keep sending out resumes. As to moving, no actions have been taken except towards my ex-husband, about him taking the house and helping with our child, so that she is not displaced. 

Currently, I am taking it one day at a time, staying in the here and now, and trying not to be identified.

Russell:  I understand. Sometimes life is harder than just throwing away a flower!

Student:  Indeed, it is. But to be able to confront it without being identified is a Godsend. And for that I am very thankful.

Russell:  You are most welcome.

Student:  What an opportunity. After working with you, the experience for me is as though I have never been in the work: the context was given, the words were given, the language was given, but to have the mathematics of the structure guide me to an objective striving, and to have the exercises handed to me on a silver-platter, is priceless; and, it is entirely different from my past experiences. When I read things now, they have a different meaning than when I read them just a few weeks ago.

Russell: That is wonderful.

Student:  So, I encourage people, if they have the opportunity, to take advantage of your teachings.  

Russell:  Thank you.  

Are there any other questions that you would like to ask?

Student:  I had one other question, but I failed to write it down; and at present, it has slipped my mind. That being said, it has taught me a lesson: to write them down from this point forward. 

So, instead, I will just ask you this: How is everyone at the school doing?

Russell:  We are all doing wonderful. 

I received a nice letter from a lawyer in Virginia who posed 10 questions. So, I have been busy writing a response. 

He said he has read every book written by Gurdjieff, as well as by those who studied with Gurdjieff; and, has been through Beelzebub’s three times. As such, his questions seem legitimate. He also asked questions about my book, which he too has read. So I am writing him a very telling letter which everyone here really likes.  

Would you like to hear it?

Student:  Oh, yes. Indeed I would.

Russell:  Okay. My response: 

Thank you for your interesting letter ... and for your thoughtful questions. 

Everyone, who engages in serious work on themselves must sooner or later come to such questions. 

I hope you find the answers that you seek in the following:

Question 1:  On page one of your book, you say that the third striving is the only one that remains objective throughout. Are all of Gurdjieff’s dogs objective truths?

Answer:  There can be objective truths about subjective things and objective truths about objective things. Objective truths about subjective things will only apply to that which is under the influence of their subjectivity. Whereas, objective truths about objective things will remain objective throughout. Gurdjieff’s dogs traverse the gamut of both. The approach to one is through that which is subjective; and the approach to the other is through that which is objective. The onus on discovering which is which is on you.

Question 2:  On page three of your book, does the final fundamental law have all of its names listed: the law of 7, the law of vibrations, the law of octaves, and Law of Heptaparaparshinokh?

Answer:  No. But those names are sufficient to begin studying that law.

Question 3:  Does the word Heptaparaparshinokh have any hidden significance?

Answer:  Hepta or ‘Epta is Greek and means “Seven.” Parapar or Berabar is Turkish and means “Together.” Parapar is also Armenian and Farsi and means “Equals.” And lastly, Shinokh is Armenian and means “Maker” or “Creator.” Thus, Heptaparaparshinokh translates to, “Seven together equals the maker,” or “Seven together equals the creator.” However, if we use Gurdjieff’s definition of the Law of Heptaparaparshinokh, as found in Beelzebub’s Tales, Book Two, page 342, which is: “The-line-of-the-flow-of-forces-constantly-deflecting-according-to-law-and-uniting-again-at-its-ends,” and look at the 6p octave on page 135 of Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets, you will see that the vibration, which is at the top DO of the 6p octave, unites with six other octaves. 

Those seven octaves constantly deflect - run alongside each other - and then reunite at the bottom DO. Revealing how the forces, which unite at the beginning, reunite at the end.

Similarly, the seven octaves that unite at the 6p’s TI, will unite at every TI, and those at its LA’s, at every LA, etc. 

When an octave completes its 7th deflection, it then and there reunites with the forces that were present at its conception.

Question 4:  From my readings of Gurdjieff, I understand that God created the Universe and the living things therein to neutralize time, the heropass, and its diminishing effects on the Holy Sun Absolute. Is this correct?

Answer:  Yes. The separation of the three holy forces, and the greater change in the Law of Seven’s structure, caused creation to begin flowing outside of the Holy Sun Absolute - beyond the will of our Endlessness, as indicated in Beelzebub’s Tales, Book Two, page 348, whereafter, things could independently arise and flow back into it (Book Two, page 345), and as such, the Holy Sun Absolute would begin to grow in volume. Thus, even decay, which is a function of time, would not diminish it. 

Life, living things, are the independent results that arise, within this independent creation.

Question 5:  The living things in the Universe grow and develop a substance, a soul, that at death is released for the stabilization of the megalocosmos, is that correct?

Answer:  The soul is not for the megalocosmos’ harmony. 

In Beelzebub’s Tales, Gurdjieff tells us that it wasn’t until after the Tetartocosmos’ began to move on the surface of the planets, that God realized that there was a possibility of creating two-natured arising; and as such, how He might utilize their higher nature, their soul, to assist Him in the administration of the ever-enlarging World, Book Two, pages 344, 345, and 384. If after the shock of death, the soul is not able to remain independent, it is dispersed and consumed via the common cosmic exchange of substances, Book Two, pages 356 and 360. However, if after the shock of death, the soul remains independent, we are told that the Absolute has taken certain corresponding measures to allow for, and utilize, its independent existence. 

So ‘creation’ stabilizes the Megalocosmos, and ‘souls’ assist God in the maintenance of it.

Question 6:  Many Mystics discuss dying before death. Is that concept in any way related to Gurdjieff’s fourth striving?

Answer:  To wake, to die, and to be born again is an exacting process. You cannot be born until you die, and you cannot die until you wake. “If I die before I wake,” is the simple concern of a child’s prayer, as is the fourth striving, which begins with awakening. 

You have to awaken in order to adjudicate the first three strivings properly. Without awakening, you cannot know what “everything satisfying and really necessary” means in the first striving. 

One has to first know oneself, and for that, much self-observation is needed, that is, one must have total exposure to one’s own mechanicalness. 

Then, when one finally contacts their machine, they will be able to see what they are, and by so doing, will manifest that knowledge in their everyday “ordinary being existence,” implying that they have become awakened to that existence. 

The second striving: “a constant and unflagging instinctive need for self-perfection in the sense of being,” is sentenced to run concurrent with the first striving. Thus, after one’s awakening, not only is learning of self taking place, but there is a desire for self-perfection aimed at changing one’s being. 

This ‘constant and unflagging instinctive need,’ enters as the third force in the awakening process, and it is there that dying takes place - as one acquires more truth of self from the first striving. Additionally, one also applies the aforementioned self-perfection to the things which are “not really necessary” and dies to them as well. 

The third striving is the only striving which begins consciously and remains objective throughout, that is, it is not dependent on whether a man is conscious or not, but rather on rules and laws which remain objective. 

Its consciousness is in its objectivity. Afterall, it is an objective look at an objective structure. 

The first two strivings are subjective, because the first two strivings deal with individual machines. There, seekers can only see themselves subjectively. That is why they need an objective teacher, one who is proficient in the fifth striving. 

Fortunately, the third striving remains objective throughout; and as such, it may lead them to awakening, but having an objective teacher is a better course of action. 

However, even without an objective teacher, the third striving’s objectiveness will provide structure to their observations. The structure is in everything, Beelzebub’s Tales, Book One, page 123, “God and microbe are the same system, the only difference is in the number of centers.” 

The fourth striving is the born-again stage, where a person awakens to themselves and begins dying to the ‘unnecessary.’ They become good householders; normal human beings, and are no longer under the influence of the maleficent actions of the organ Kundabuffer. They fulfill their responsibility “from the beginning of their existence” and “pay for their arising.” That is, they become what they have a right to become - self-developed organisms capable of crystallizing two higher being bodies, Beelzebub’s Tales, pages 355 through 357, “in order afterwards to be free to lighten as much as possible the Sorrow of our Common Father.” 

Question 7:  What is the Sorrow of our Common Father as mentioned in the fourth striving?

Answer:  When we understand how creation continues without the participation of the will of our Endlessness, Beelzebub’s Tales, page 348, and that, within that creation, independent conscious beings begin to arise, then, we will be able understand the Sorrow of our Endlessness. 

The answer is simple. God cannot be here. Therefore, HE is counting on “US” to be here. 

We must claw our way out of ignorance and discover what is real. 

God is counting on us to find the truth.

As a parent, you may have experienced this firsthand: 

If your child was in the school play, you probably helped them learn their lines; and as such, you memorized them. 

Then, sitting in the middle of the auditorium, the play starts … and at a certain scene, your son or daughter walks out onto the stage and goes blank. They do not remember their lines. You know what they are, but there is nothing you can do to help them. Your child is standing there with their mouth open and their head blank, and you cannot help. Maybe the teacher can whisper their lines to them from the wings, but you cannot help. 

That is the sorrow of our Common Father.

Question 8:  If we learn and understand Gurdjieff’s subjective truths, will that help us in the fourth and fifth strivings? If so, how?

Answer:  The fourth striving is your obligation to pay for your objective arising, and the fifth striving is your obligation to help others walk the same objective path. Objectivity permeates both processes. 

Man will come to nothing if he only studies artificial flowers, The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution, page 41.

Question 9:  On page 17 of your book, you state that the three centers should be correlated 12-10-8, do you mean mental (12), emotional (10), and physical (8); or is it the other way?

Answer:  Correct. 12 mental, 10 emotional, and 8 physical. Gurdjieff refers to this in Life is real only then when “I Am,” when talking about the affirmation of the head brain, the denying of the spinal marrow, and the reconciliation of the nerve nodes of the solar plexus. 

Question 10:  How does one perfect and maintain a 12-10-8 balance? And how can one know when that balance is reached?

Answer:  It starts with the first two strivings. 

Throw in the guidance of an objective teacher (or the conscious wish to master an objective structure), and the results will be a properly working machine. 

After which, a man can wake, die, and be born again; and if that happens, his machine will be in the 8, 10, and 12 ratio.

Student:  Phew. That was awesome! Thank you for sharing.

Russell:  It is like a recantation of the journey. Isn’t it?

Student:  Yes, it is. 

It was so clear and simple, it was wonderful.

Russell:  Clear and simple, which is all we need to do, make clear and simple efforts. Gurdjieff may have buried some dogs, but nonetheless, they are all right there, just waiting to be dug up. We just have to say I-Am, and at that moment, realize there is something more in us than just 4-1/2 billion years of microcosmic development. We are independent creations which possess the ability of pushing ourselves up. Yee-Haw!

Student:  Yee-Haw, indeed.

Russell:  All right, any difficulties on any of the other exercises?

Student:  No, not so far. There has been some resistance; but, so what!

Russell:  That’s the right attitude. 

Everything likes to take the path of least resistance, even us. After all, we have been doing that all our lives. Isn't it about time we stopped flowing with the current and learned how to swim. 

Student:  Yes sir! 

Fortunately for me, the current is beginning to flow in reverse. 

I have anxiety if I do not perform the exercises, which is great.

Russell:  Yes ma’am, it is.  

Well, keep up your exercises, and of course, keep up your reading.

Student:  I will. And thank you for everything.

Russell:  You are most welcome. Good night.

That ends today’s podcast.

Thank you for listening.

If you have any questions that you would like answered, please send them to [email protected], and we will endeavor 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 available for PDF download, and now available in hardback, 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 materials we are discussing. 

That’s thedogteachings.com 

Goodbye until next time.