Exercises Part I

[Russell Smith]

DOG TRAINING EXERCISES EXPLAINED

Exercises come in 3 parts: Magnetic Center, Deputy Steward and Steward.

MAGNETIC CENTER

Note: Exercises 1-8 from The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution; 9, 11 & 12 are RAS created; and 10 comes from Views from the Real World, Chapter: “Liberation leads to liberation…”

The first thing we need to do is just discuss is what a magnetic center is.

Magnetic Center are the moments in life when a man comes into contact with something he perceives as real.

He sees the beauty of a sunset and is touched by it because it is real.

He senses something great in it.

He sees a mother bird with a baby bird in its nest and is feeding it.

He senses the reality in that; that it means something.

1. READ:
We have all many I’s in us, and some of those I’s are interested in real things. Those are our Magnetic Center I’s.

There is a good way to develop Magnetic Center and that is to read.

We can read about other people’s quests and journeys, people who asked questions, and can learn what they pondered and thought.

This will help feed our Magnetic Center.

One of the best books to start with is, The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution.

It is packed, word for word, page for page; there is so much in that little book, it is a great place to start.

2. STUDY POSSIBLE EVOLUTION:
In The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution, we learn much about the psychology and evolution of man. Not about his mechanical evolution, but how he is not a complete being; that nature developed him only up to a certain point and then left him to develop further, by his own.

3. STUDY OF ONESELF (self-observation):
Also in that book we read about the study of our self, how it begins with self-observation.

4. STUDY OF LYING:
We read about the study of lying, how every time we say the word “I” we really lie because we think it means all of us, when, usually, it is just one little I that just happens to be expressing itself at the moment.

5. WORK ON UNCONTROLLED IMAGINATION:
We learn about work on uncontrolled imagination; how we have this property of imagination, but it runs away with us. We get an idea in our head and we believe in it. “There is a monster under the bed” or whatever it says, and imagination takes us away.

6. STUDY OF CENTERS:
We also learn about the study of centers in Psychology. That man has these centers that need to be studied, that are separate entities, each with their own memory, each with their own will, each with their own desires.

We have all experienced, somewhere in our life, that moment of losing our car keys and cannot find them. And, we say, “Where did we put them? I do not know.”

So what do we do? We go back to the front door and pretend like we are walking in the house. Maybe the memory of it is hidden in the moving center; but if we don’t find them in the moving center, we go back to the front door and we try to go through the emotions we had when we entered the house. Now we remember! The neighbor boy left his bicycle in the driveway and we had to get out of the car and move it, which was an inconvenience, and we were slightly miffed when we came into the house, and now remember tossing them on the counter. yep they slid off and are on the floor beside the trash can.

It was not a memory that was in the intellectual center; it was not a memory in the moving center; it was a memory in the emotional center.

Each of those centers has its own memory and its own will.

If we were unified, our memory would be in all centers.

7. STUDY OF NEW LANGUAGE:
Any field of pursuit will require its own language. For instance, golf uses bogey, par, tee, and green. Computer technology uses binary language; compact discs, gigabytes, software, and so on.

Each field has a unique and specific language.

The Fourth Way is no different: for an exact study, an exact language is needed.

And, I have added even more language to the Fourth Way with my own discoveries such as, oscillations, cosmic rumple, range of existence, cosmic loop, the sequence, and so forth.

8. NOT SAY “I”:
Psychology talks about the exercise of not saying the word “I”.

A student can make great force to not say the word I. However, I can make him say I. Because all I have to do is, somewhere during his great force, is to look at him and say, “You said I,” even though he did not.

And, what does he immediately say? “I did not, or no I didn’t.”

He defends himself.

There is nothing greater than a false accusation to turn a man into a machine. If you are falsely accused, you will become mechanical faster than anything. After all, you are making this great effort to not say “I” and now you are accused of saying “I”; and you had not said it!

You are going to defend that, you are going to become a machine, “No, I didn’t, I didn’t, I did not!” The “I” will jump in there instantly, because a false accusation will push a man to mechanicality faster than anything else.

9. TWO ENDS OF THE STICK:
The 9th exercise for Magnetic Center is called “two ends of the stick.”

In this exercise one keeps oneself free from the results of any encounter by imagining the best and the worst that could happen.

For example, if you have to meet a client and sell them something; before you go in, you should think about what is the best that can happen, and what is the worst that can happen.

What are both ends of that particular stick?

One end is: “I am going to go in and the person is going to buy ten million tons of what I am selling. It is going to be the biggest order ever! In fact, they are going to recommend me to 72 other companies, and they are going to buy as well. I am going to make 80 million dollars in commissions. From just one account. I’ll be rich! The rest of my life will be taken care of. Oh my goodness!!

But the exercise also requires that we look at the other end of the stick.

The client is going to think I look like some salesperson, who came through their town last year, never delivered their product, and defrauded everyone. They are going to call all the towns around and warn them about me. Thus, everywhere I go, I’m going to find a mob of people waiting to greet me. I mean, it’s not looking good. I probably won’t make any sales at all in this town, or in any of the nearby towns.

Ok, now I am ready to make my sales call

Or, let’s say I’ve been called in to see the boss. What’s the best that could happen?

The company gets turned over to me. They see me as the best employee they’ve ever had, and the chairman of the board is there to congratulate me and give me the keys to it all.

OK, so what’s the worst that could happen?

Well, they tell me I’m the worst employee that they’ve ever had, and fire me on the spot. Furthermore, they inform every company engaged in this line of work, how terrible I am, and to make sure that I never work in this industry again! I lose my job, my home, and my relationships. I am destitute.

In both examples, I have prepared myself by considering both ends of the stick.

Now, in the first model, if the client says, “I really don’t want to buy your product,” that’s okay. I had it figured worse! I had it figured that I was going to be the local money-robber, and be in big, big trouble.

And, if they buy a nice amount of what I’m selling, that is okay too. I won’t get a big head because I already imagined it being even better.

So, by having both ends of the stick available to me, nothing will be able to influence me. Why? Because I am already prepared for the worst, and the best.

Or, in the second model, if I go in to see the boss, and they offer me a raise, that’s great. I won’t be too self-aggrandized, because I envisioned better.

And, if they cut back my working hours or salary because of budget cuts, or promote someone else over me, I won’t be too distraught either, because again, I was prepared for the worst.

More than likely, in both models, the results won’t be either the best or the worst. They will be somewhere in between.

Most people have a tendency to swagger too much when good things happen or become too dejected when bad things happen.

But, if people would see both ends of the stick, they would be prepared, and thus be immune to every possible outcome.

They would not feel rejected, because they already envisioned worse. And, they would not be too puffed up, because they already envisioned better.

So, use two ends of the stick whenever you are going into an encounter.

Stop before you go in, and imagine the best and the worst that could happen. Play it farther than you would normally expect. Envision it being tremendous or terrible. Then, no matter what happens, you will be okay, because it will most likely be somewhere in between, and thus, will not affect you.

10. ACTIVE REASONING:
The next exercise is called “active reasoning.”

It is more of an action than an exercise.

It originated in Gurdjieff’s book Views From the Real World, and can be found in the Chapter titled: “Liberation leads to liberation…”.

It is a great tool, which can be instantly applied, allowing oneself to free oneself from any worldly encounter.

And, it only requires two realizations.

I shall paraphrase the process for you.

Let’s say, someone calls me a fool.

Normally, if someone called me a fool, I would be upset (and, my upset would be directed to the person who called me a fool).

OK. How can I NOT be upset?

I know, I will use “active reasoning.”

Boy, this will be easy. Why? Because, in order to active reason, I only need to consider two possibilities.

First, I will acknowledge that, someone called me a fool. Gosh, why did they do that?

THEN, I USE REASON AND CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING: The person that called me a fool does not know me that well, which means, they probably heard some gossip or rumors that were said about me; and, they believed them.

How foolish… to believe in what you hear said about someone – without verifying it for yourself – is a very foolish thing to do. So, in reality, the “someone who called me a fool,” is actually the real fool… because they blindly believed in gossip or rumors without verifying them for themselves.

Eureka, since I now know that it was a fool who called me a fool, I will not be affected.

Who could be affected if a fool calls you a fool…? No one.

But active reasoning also demands that I not only acknowledge that someone called me a fool; but, I also acknowledge that it is possible that I, actually, acted foolishly.

Yikes! No one wants to act foolishly.

In fact, one of my aims in life is to not act foolishly. That is, I don’t want to be a fool.

And now, someone has come along and called me a fool… perhaps, because I was acting foolishly. Wow! Unbeknownst to them, they have reminded me of my aim, of which I am very thankful.

I certainly cannot be upset by someone who has reminded me of my aim.

So, either way I am free.

11. INSULATE YOURSELF:
The 11th exercise is called “insulate yourself.”

This exercise is a little like “Two Ends of the Stick”, which was designed to free us from the results of any unknown encounter. Whereas the “Insulate Yourself” exercise is designed to grant us immunity from some specific known encounter.

We’ll begin with the model of the Family Reunion. Lots of people attend Family Reunions; and, in their family, somewhere, they all have an “Uncle Bob”. And, Uncle Bob always reminds them, loudly, and when they are surrounded by a bunch of other family members, that they should have gone to a certain school, or bought specific shares of a certain stock, or gone into this career or that career, or not have married that girl, etc., etc. And, if they had just listened to what he told them, their lives would have been so much better.

And every time they go to the Family Reunion, they know it is going to happen. So, here they are, at the Reunion, and here comes Bob, and the same thing happens, again; and they get embarrassed and disturbed. Well, wait a minute. They knew they were going to the Family Reunion. And they knew that Bob was going to be there. Why didn’t they insulate themselves?

Why didn’t they envision what Bob was going to say the same things he always says, after all, they have heard it so many times before; and, therefore, should have been prepared for it, been expecting it, and actually be looking forward to it… knowing that it is going to happen.

Then, it would not come as a surprise.

Now, every time Bob walks by during the Family Reunion, they kind of have a little smile on their face because they know it’s coming, they just don’t know when. He didn’t say anything that time, that’s okay… it’s coming.

The Reunion goes on a little bit, and sure enough, an hour later, people are standing together and here comes Bob, and this time he says to them, “Hey did you ever buy that stock I told you about? You should have been as smart as me and bought it!”

However, this time, they are prepared, and being prepared, they say something like, “You know, that was really a good deal Bob. Have you got any other good stocks that I can take advantage of?”

And, all of a sudden, because they have insulated themselves, they have no adverse reaction to what Bob says, there is no irritation, there is not a “something” there that disturbs their inner world.

In fact, they encouraged him to give them some other advice, and he goes away happy. It takes all the force away from Bob and the things he normally says, because they insulated themselves.

I suppose we do this instinctively when we meet a dog. As we go to pet the dog, something in us says, “Insulate yourself, the dog could growl.” Don’t jump. Don’t act excited. Don’t make any big, sudden movements if he happens to start growling. Just go slow.

You are insulated. You are ready for any response. So now, if the dog does growl, you are prepared for it. You are insulated. Instead of going, “Oh!” and jumping and screaming, or something else, because you are not insulated, you don’t further agitate the dog.

So, talk to yourself in advance to nullify that force, the force of Bob or the force of the dog.

It is a little like “Two ends of the Stick” but it is more specific because you know what you are going to encounter: dogs, Uncle Bob, your boss at work, or that one client, etc. And every time you see that client, they are always the same way. So, you insulate yourself against it. And, since you are going to see that client today, and hear their repetitive complaints, you will be expecting what they are going to say, be ready for it, and have no adverse or unexpected reaction.

Now, what they say only provokes a smile because you are expecting it.

12. SUBJUGATE WILL:
Number 12 on the list of exercises is “subjugate will.”

In the process of a man developing his or her Magnetic Center and gathering I’s that are interested in work, there is going to come some point in his work where, if he wants to advance, he is going to have to subjugate his will.

It would happen in any field of endeavor.

If we decided to be violin players, we could do a lot of violin on our own: get a violin, get a book, read some stuff, but at a certain moment if we are really going to become a violin player we are going to have to go to Juilliard or study with Heifetz or somebody. 

And, when we make that move, when we take that position, we are going to have to subjugate our will. 

We are going to have to hold the violin like he tells us, we are going to have to play the little ditties that he tells us to play. We can’t say, “Well, I don’t want to do that. I want to do it my way.”

He will say, “Get out! You came here to learn, didn’t you? Then you have to subjugate your will and do it the way I want.”

So in any great field, no matter what it would be, the person has to subjugate their will to an authority, to the person who knows.

Most of us have seen the movie The Karate Kid. 

When the little kid wants to learn Karate, Mr. Miyagi says, “Sand the floor”. 

The kid isn’t too happy because he wants to learn Karate; but he sands the floor. 

Then, the next day it’s “Paint the fence.” Then, it’s “Paint the house” “Wash the car” “Wax off” “Wax on.” 

The kid keeps subjugating his will; he does not know why he is doing it, but the kid is trying. 

Then the kid finally gets pushed a little too far and says, “I am not going to do your housework anymore.” Of course Mr. Miyagi shows him that all the things he was doing were developing the rotations and the muscles needed to punch and block. 

He says, “Show me ‘sand the floor’”, then immediately tries to punch the kid. 

The “sand the floor” movement blocks the punch, and all of a sudden, the kid is going, “Yeah, I like this stuff. This is pretty cool.” 

It came because he was willing to subjugate his will, even though he did not know what it was for… he was just washing cars and painting houses. He wanted to learn Karate and he was willing to subjugate his will to Mr. Miyagi.

And, because he was willing to subjugate his will, he was able to put himself under the tutelage of someone who knows; and, himself, advance.

That is when a school really opens up for a man.

Real work starts with the subjugation of will, as it signifies the beginning of the formation of Deputy Steward. 

Until a person has somebody objective to show him what to do, he will never know how to manifest. His actions will always be suspect. His would be Deputy Steward will say, he needs to do Gurdjieff movements, needs to eat vegetables, or do that guy’s exercises. But without a guide, without someone who has already made the journey and can show him the way, he will try all sorts of things. 

Whereas, if he went to Juilliard, the master violinist would give him exercises that would make his fingers move just the right way, just enough times, that soon his machine would start working in the right fashion, to where he could finally make beautiful music.

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