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.

In this podcast we will give you a taste of the contents of The Blueprint of Consciousness, an Accelerated Path to Awakening by Russell A. Smith. We will share with you the audio version of the Introduction to this amazing book, which in all reality is more than just a book, it is a complete journey to enlightenment and personal liberation, one where a guru, teacher or individual guide is no longer required, and where it is now fully in the hands of you, the reader. People can do remarkable things if they have remarkable things to do. So, let’s get remarkable.

The Blueprint of Consciousness, An Accelerated Path to Awakening by Russell A. Smith.

First Edition, Published May 2021

We begin with a dedication

This book is dedicated to George I. Gurdjieff, on whose shoulders we stand. 

Seventy years ago, Gurdjieff left his amazing work to the world. Unfortunately, Gurdjieff awoke subjectively, and as such, his teachings remained dormant because by law, subjective ways cannot be taught in books, nor replicated by others.

Fortunately, thirty years after Gurdjieff’s death, Russell A. Smith deciphered the secrets that Gurdjieff had left behind, and as a result he awoke. Ten years later, he discovered an objective way to awaken others.

Realizing the magnitude of this discovery, he wanted to protect it, as he saw how Gurdjieff’s teachings had become distorted. Thus, in order to prevent it from exploitation, Russell chose to control the narrative, and as such, personally and individually began showing others how to awaken, and since then, hundreds have.

The Blueprint of Consciousness is an objective testament to what Gurdjieff intentionally left behind, and provides, for the first time, a repeatable way for everyone to realize the meaning and truth of their existence, which was what Gurdjieff wished for us all.

So, if you are seeking Truth, rejoice, because an objective and accelerated path to awakening now beckons you.

Letter from the Author

Thank you for purchasing The Blueprint of Consciousness – An Accelerated Path to Awakening ... and The Objective Exercise. 

Over the past 30 years, I have taken hundreds of students through Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets and shown them how to awaken.

Now, as my life winds down, I place The Blueprint of Consciousness … and The Objective Exercise in your hands, confident that they will do for you what they have already done for so many.

To give you a taste of the journey, let me share with you the day-by-day agenda that those students followed, as well as their results.

Day 1: Chapter 1. When we began Chapter 1, most were afraid of the math, but by the time they did the homework at the end of Chapter 1, and the octave worksheets, they confidently said, “Give me another one. This is easy. I can do this.”

Day 2: Chapter 2. They started to grasp Creation; and when we stretched and rumpled the fabric of the Universe, and created the Diatonic Ratios, they began to sense that there was something very objective about this work.

Day 3: Chapter 3. At the end of Chapter 3, they realized that it just might be possible for them to awaken. After all, it was their right, and they had the parts which were necessary. As such, they began doing the THEDOG exercises with great force, so that they would be super prepared for the perceived real possibility of success.

Day 4: Chapter 4. Harmonic stability became a reality, and the exquisite math of tRNA set them a shaking. In fact, they often uttered, “Oh my God, it’s incredible.”

Day 5: Chapter 5. Assisting forces appeared, which further put a nail in their coffin of uncertainty; after which, they started expecting to awaken.

Day 6: Chapter 6. A matrix of outer octaves unfolded before their eyes, and when it did, everything in the Universe began to make sense. To where they no longer expected to awaken but started demanding it.

Day 7: Chapter 7. Everything not covered in the first 6 chapters was finally unveiled in Chapter 7. That is, all the knots were tied, and all the bows were affixed. Then, when they self-discovered the lines of supervision in an Enneagram, most of them began to tremble. They were ready!

Day 8: After one final night of polishing their centers, the ones that they needed for awakening, we met the next morning around 11 AM. At that time I explained The Objective Exercise to them. When I did, they got it, they understood it, and they saw that it was infallible, and as such, they knew they were going to awaken.

So, I locked the door, disconnected the phone, dimmed the lights, and played some “I can barely hear that” instrumental, New Age/Zen type music (something they could not easily focus on, nor recognize) ... and then, I led them through The Objective Exercise, which normally took us about 15 minutes.

When I did, they awoke. They usually sat there, silently, for some time. Their random thoughts stopped, and they felt the presence of their Steward. Most were afraid to move, or to even open their eyes, as they did not want to do anything that might cause their awakened state to go away. Fortunately, when it did not, they eventually opened their eyes, looked at me, and smiled. I smiled back.

Then, in silence, they went up to the guest room, and exhausted, usually took a nap.

When they awoke from their nap and realized that their Steward was still there, they found their way back downstairs … smiling like the Cheshire Cat. We nodded, and they became students of THEDOG.

After which, they usually asked me, “Can you show me how to awaken the Higher Mental Center too?”

I said, “I can.”

Enjoy….

Sincerely, I Am,

Russell A. Smith

Foreword 

Welcome, you are about to embark on an incredible journey.

In the late 1970’s, Russell Smith happened upon the teachings of George Gurdjieff, which he initially encountered in the printed works of P. D. Ouspensky. Mr. Smith saw so much truth contained therein that he immersed himself in their writings, spending sixteen hours a day reading, studying, and observing himself. He tells the story of how, during that time, he would start reading Ouspensky’s The Fourth Way on Monday and finish it on Friday, and then read it again the next week … and the next week … and the next week, etc. 

This behavior continued for several months, until one day something amazing happened: Mr. Smith found himself standing five feet beside himself, watching himself. 

He just stood there for some time, watching himself watch himself. His thoughts stopped. He likens it to a statement from the Book of Revelation where it says, “There was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour.”

On that day, after that moment, his life changed, and his efforts multiplied. He continued to read, study, and observe himself. The only difference was, there were now two people reading, studying, and observing himself. It was, indeed, an amazing time.

Having awoken, Mr. Smith then put his attention on the other side of the work, the side regarding the Law of Three and the Law of Seven, which he had mostly passed over while he was concentrating on the Being side of the Work. However, he reasoned that if the Being side of the work could cause him to awaken, what secrets might be found on the other side? So he then put his efforts into understanding the Laws of World-creation and World-maintenance.

Amazing discoveries were made, which later proved to be the secret behind finding an objective way to awaken; after which, they became the bedrock of his book Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets (hereafter, often referred to as “Cosmic Secrets”). Much later, it became evident that anyone who understood the Rules and Laws could perform a simple exercise and awaken.

Over the next several years, the people who came into Mr. Smith’s life, began to ask him questions about this Work. At first, he refrained from answering them; but as they continued to approach him and ask him questions, he finally gave in and began answering them. After which, they became his students, and he became their teacher.

They studied with him for many years, and during that time he shared with them his knowledge and understanding of the Fourth Way, and of the Laws of World-creation and World-maintenance. After many years of observing him, they came to realize that he was in fact awake, which was something that they themselves wished for. So, they asked him again and again, “How do we awaken?”

Motivated by their prompting, Mr. Smith put that question to his higher observer and got an answer! And, when he shared that answer with his students, they awoke! 

Later, Mr. Smith will reveal that answer, and explain why finding an objective way to awaken is so important.

After that event, it became collectively understood that the awakened state they were experiencing was truly remarkable, which prompted many of them to make the following request, “We want you to be here full time ... so quit your job and stay home. We will support you.” They further suggested that he should write a book and share his discoveries ... saying, “There must be other people like us out there, who also wish to awaken. So let’s buy some land, and have a place, a school, where people who are seeking an objective way can come and awaken.”

So, they bought some land, built some houses, and Mr. Smith wrote the book, Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets. It is self-published by his school, THEDOG, which is located just outside of Sanger, Texas - 50 miles north of Dallas. 

After Cosmic Secrets was published, it drew global interest from the Fourth Way community, and in 1996, an international conference was held in Bognor Regis, England, to discuss his discoveries. 

In 1997, a second conference was convened. 

At that conference, Mr. Smith informed the assembled audience that there was an objective way to awaken, but it required a ten-day journey studying Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets one-on-one with him.

He explained to them that he would show everyone, who came to Texas, how to awaken, and that there was no charge, no fee, for him showing them how to awake. When they asked him why there was no charge for something so valuable. He responded, saying, “How can I put a price tag on consciousness?” 

Law-conformably, immediately after the second conference, people from all over the world began finding their way to Texas to complete their ten-day journey. Since then, hundreds have come, awoke, and became students of THEDOG.

Fortunately over the past 20 years, many of the one-on-one sessions, of Mr. Smith taking others on the ten-day journey, were recorded. Later, they were transcribed. After which, he meticulously edited them and merged them with Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets, producing a PDF called Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets – The Teaching Guide. This publication made it possible for everyone to take the journey, even those who could not come to Texas; allowing Mr. Smith to personally guide them - as if they were sitting across the table from him - saying, “Let me show you what you need to know in order to awaken.” It also allowed the teachers of his work to take their students through Gurdjieff: Cosmic Secrets in the same way Mr. Smith does; thus eliminating any deviations. 

Finally, the hardback, The Blueprint of Consciousness – An Accelerated Path to Awakening, was produced, so that those who wish to hold the truth in their hands can now do so.

The Blueprint of Consciousness – An Accelerated Path to Awakening, and all supporting material, can be found on our website at thedogteachings.com.

In addition, the aforementioned “simple exercise” that causes students to awaken, is available at the end of the book in the appendices. 

So find yourself a comfortable chair, put on your reading glasses, and let Mr. Smith take you on the journey of a lifetime … your journey to awakening.

You should know that when students came to THEDOG to awaken, one of the first things Mr. Smith did, after picking them up at the airport, was to stop the car on the road - before turning down the driveway - and asked them to get out of the car and symbolically leave their belief structures, that is, all that they think they knew, on the road. He did so because he wanted them to be a clean sheet of paper on which objective truths could be written. He then, jokingly told them not to worry, at the end of the journey, when they left, he would stop the car again, so that they could recover anything they still believed had value.

In furtherance of that aim, one of the first video tapes that Mr. Smith had students watch … just in case they were still holding on to any such false beliefs, was called the Critical Eye. It was a television series from 2003, which scientifically explored the origins, methods, and truths behind Acupuncture, Homeopathy, Reiki, Crystal Therapy, Gemology, Magnetic Therapy, Alien Visitations, and so forth.

It does the same thing to mans’ false beliefs that Gurdjieff intended to do to mans’ general beliefs, as indicated at the beginning of his book, Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson, which says, “To destroy, mercilessly, without any compromises whatsoever, in the mentation and feelings of the reader, the beliefs and views, by centuries rooted in him, about everything existing in the world.”

Why do that? Well, it is almost impossible to awaken someone if they are filled with false beliefs. That is, to give truth to someone who still believes in ghosts, psychic abilities, mind reading, telepathy, horoscopes, crop circles, planetary influences, etc. So Mr. Smith, from the very beginning, tries to help every student “kill their sacred cows.” So that they will emerge unencumbered, without any false beliefs. 

When people meet an awakened man, they often sense there is something different about him. As a result, they pursue him in the hopes of learning how they themselves can become different. 

That is what happened to Russell. It began with his awakening. Here is how he describes it:

I started studying the Gurdjieff work in the late 1970's ... and in 1980, I awoke, a pretty cool moment. Thoughts stopped, and the silence was deafening. There was a presence in the presence of myself that I could not shake. Wow, what the heck just happened? I was awake, and it has been that way ever since. I was not out to attract students, nor to become a teacher, nor to start a school. 

You must understand, before I awoke, I was eager to share my beliefs with others, to let everybody know what I was doing, what I found, and what I liked. I would tell them, “You should read this book, watch that movie, come to my church, or be interested in this or that.” Then, if they did read that book, watched that movie, attended my church, or became interested in this or that, it validated my beliefs. And the more people I persuaded to like what I liked, the more valuable what I liked became.

But after I awoke, I no longer felt compelled to share what I had found with others. I no longer needed my beliefs to be accepted by others for them to be valuable. They were valuable. Being awake was valuable. Being able to stop thoughts was valuable. Having reason, impartiality, and inner silence was valuable. My awakened state needed no validation. For the first time in my life I was outwardly silent and did not need to convince anybody to do what I was doing.

Thereafter, when people came into my life and questioned me about higher things (I guess because they sensed something higher in me) I resisted talking to them about this work or my inner state, because I did not want to proselytize the work; it was too precious. It needed to be protected … not diluted.

However, some of the folks with whom I had frequent contact, kept approaching me and asking me questions. Questions about who I was, why I seemed so different, what I studied ... and, if I were studying something, could they study it too?

Eventually, a persistent few drew a response from me ... and I gave them the book The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution by Ouspensky. Those who read it and wanted more, I gave The Fourth Way, also by Ouspensky - a book I have read a hundred times. After that, if they came back and still wanted more, I began to answer their questions. So, like it or not, I was forced to become a teacher.

Soon, a group of seekers gathered at my home whenever I was in town, as my employment required extensive travel. Those seekers became serious about their work and the teachings of Gurdjieff. Over the next several years, they asked many questions and made exceptional efforts.

During that time, I made many discoveries about the inner world of man; about the laws of World-creation and World-maintenance. Discoveries that would ultimately lead to The Objective Exercise, that caused the parts of a man to unify, and the man himself, to awaken.

It happened on March 30th, 1990. I was in New Orleans training a salesman. That night, when I went back to my room, I put this question to my Higher Center, “Why are the students, who have been studying with me, not awake? They read the books I read. They do the exercises I do. They are honorable folks. They are sincere hard workers. Why are they not awake?”

The answer illuminated my inner world like the sun! The Higher Center said: 

“You awoke subjectively. All teachers awake subjectively. All schools die when their teacher dies. No one can teach the subjective way in which they awoke, to others.”

My Higher then told me the following story about a man who was desperately trying to awaken. Wishing. Praying. Seeking. 

“One day, that man was walking through a forest, his eyes were on the heavens, his thoughts were on his God, his mind was on his quest, and his prayers were on his tongue. However, he was not watching where he was walking, and in sandaled feet, his toe struck a root. He had kicked the root with such force, the pain was excruciating. So, he grabbed his toe and started hopping around on one foot. 

“At that moment - that event (coupled with his search, his quest, his wish, and his prayers) caused his machine to align, and the man to awaken. It was glorious, and he became enlightened.

“After that, everyone who met the man recognized his Being, and questioned who he was and what he was studying. Eventually, he told them of his quest, his wish, and his prayers, and how he had kicked the root and awoken.

“Soon, a school formed around the man (a school based on his quest, his wish, and his prayers) with hundreds of students walking through the forest, in sandaled feet, all trying to kick a root just like he had done, in hopes that they too would awaken.

“But no one ever did! When the man died, his school died.”

I repeat, “You cannot pass on a subjective way!”

My Higher proved to me that all enlightened men had failed to show others how to awaken, because they were unable to pass on the subjective way in which they, themselves, awoke. It made it clear to me, that no matter how sincere my students were, nor how hard they worked, I would be unable to pass on to them the subjective way in which I awoke.

When I realized that truth, I was saddened, disappointed, and dismayed; but for some unknown reason, I looked back at my Higher, with deep concern, and yelled, “If no one can pass on a subjective way … then give me an objective way!” And ... it did.

It said, “As you have already figured out the structure, that is, the rules and laws which underlie the Universe, here is how to apply them.” It then arranged everything I had discovered into a simple dynamic model and said, “Everyone who comprehends this model, and then performs the following exercise, will awaken.” 

It then gave me a remarkable exercise. When it did, I realized that I had been given an objective way to awaken others. I knew that my students would awaken, and that my school would not die when I died. What an incredible moment that was!

I arrived back home in Dallas, the evening of March 31st, in time for our weekly class on April 1st. At that class, I told the students about the conversation I had with my Higher, and then shared with them the exercise I had received. 

When I did, they awoke. After the silence, they were ecstatic. From that day forward, they began referring to the exercise as the “April Fools” exercise, or simply “The Objective Exercise.”

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.