Self State

Recently a growing number of people have expressed their difficulties in understanding why they can’t find the energy to study, or why they can’t stop smoking even when it harms them, or why they can’t focus on their goals, and instead end up doing things that distract them.

In essence these are all referring to an inability to Master themselves, and having become familiar with the teachings of Gurdjieff on the relationship between the emotional, intellectual and physical centres of our beings,I wanted to share some interesting points in this post that might help to guide the way.

Gurdjieff made an interesting analogy where he compared the body, intellect and emotions, to a carriage with a driver and horses. The carriage is the body, the horses are the emotions, and the driver is the intellect.

This analogy is designed to show you that something very important is missing without which, the horses, the carriage and the driver, can wander around aimlessly, without serving a particular purpose. Each with their own idea of what they should be doing.

Therefore when the intellect says lets not smoke anymore, lets wake up early in the morning and go for a run, lets meditate, lets study etc etc.. the body says I’m too sleepy, tired, cold, hot etc.. and the emotions say but I’m too angry, sad, tense or happy to.

Such is the relationship between the horse, carriage and driver, that they cannot rule over one another. They often steal one another’s energy to do their own work, and they have a broken communication between themselves, that is, they do not speak the same language.

The missing figure is the Master, the Master which now gives a purpose to the very existence of the horse, carriage and driver.

We know that the carriage represents the body, the horses represent the emotions and the driver represents the intellect. And what does the Master represent? Awareness.

Awareness is the very substance of Consciousness, it is the part that is able to Observe, Witness and Discern. It is also the part that is meant to rule and be the will for the horses, carriage and driver to carry out their functions.

This means that without Awareness, or the Master telling the driver where to go, the driver may wander aimlessly, going near or far, with no point to its exercise. As the function of the driver is to drive, he doesn’t care where he goes, he was made for driving and nothing else, he may enjoy driving well, but that still does not give him a purpose, only a refined ability.

Without the Master the horses would get no training, emotions run wild,  the intellect only drives the carriage, it can’t tame the emotions, they will wander haphazardly running wild one minute, still the next, always sloppy and unrefined, causing a scene!

Without the Master making sure that the carriage is kept clean, it would soon become wrecked and uninhabitable.

We are all only Awareness that is carried and expressed by the body, intellect and emotions.

It is the Master’s responsibility to look after, train, nourish and maintain the horses, carriage and driver. The Master must feed to nourish the body that carries him, making sure it’s kept clean, the mechanisms work properly, and it is habitable. He must communicate with precision and clarity to his driver where he wants to go, so that his driver can plan the journey ahead, and make the necessary calculations. The emotions that energise, accompany and carry him forward on his journey, need to be trained and learn to respond with availability and presence to different stimuli.

The Master is the Awareness that is embodied in the physical body. This physical reality is an organism that the Master animates, without him, it would cease to exist. He is Awareness.

When there is confusion, and the driver wanders off the path way, it is because the intellect is trying to direct the way for the Master, wandering off aimlessly, costing him time and resources, getting  lost and confused. It can’t discern the way because it does not share the purpose of the Master, it is the driver of his carriage, and it can only organise what it is told to.

When there is an outburst of negative emotions, it is because the horses tried to direct the way, without his guidance this isn’t possible, for they are only reactive to stimulants, and have not got the ability to discern when to roam, and when to be still.

When the body is lazy, addicted, and ill, it is because the carriage tried to take charge, and couldn’t maintain deliberate actions, habitual in its manner, it got used to being without discipline, and unknowing of the difference between that which is good for it, and that which makes it ill.

Without the Master, they each tried to execute their will upon the other. The intellect tried to rule over the emotions, and failed miserably because they did not speak the same language. So for a while the intellect ignored the emotions, and tried to pull the carriage alone, but found that without the energy of the emotions, there was no movement, like a carriage without its horses.

The emotions then tried to direct they way, but crashed and rose inconsistently, wasting energy, and causing fatigue and illness in the body. The body then tried its hand at ruling, and got lost in consuming and achieved nothing.

They didn’t know how to work together, they didn’t know what language the other speaks, they didn’t share a common goal, and they didn’t have a common direction.

They only lived to satisfy themselves. They soon learned that each has its own specific functions, and that they could only determine their own work, and not the work of the others. But they needed training to do their jobs properly.

The struggle between these three, and their broken relationship is clear to the Master and invisible to the eyes of those who have not yet seen it. Most people go through their whole lives living in this struggle and eventually wear themselves out, never becoming aware of which part of their horses and carriage they are satisfying. Certainly they lack Awareness and no matter how hard they try, without Awareness, the results are just incomplete.

The Master’s throne was empty for a long time, when they had enough of squabbling amongst themselves, they prepared for him to come in. When the Master first came to take charge, they were afraid, lazy, arrogant, ignorant and failing. After the Master has been there a little while, they listened to his direction, and now they are tamed. Now they know their rightful owner, and they know that they must be directed or else they will cause havoc. Now they serve willingly and happily, for they love the Harmony they share together, and the fulfilment of achieving their purpose individually.

With the ability of his insight, the Master knows what each of them needs to take him on his journey efficiently, he put them on a regime and following it, they are content in his service.

With his input they have all come to learn about themselves, they know what’s good for them and how to produce efficient and useful efforts. He knows how far to stretch them, and when to give them rest, what kinds of foods to nourish them with, and when to say no!

Once it becomes clear though, it is impossible to ignore, and with a regime of constant Observation, which requires the Master to be fully Awake and Present, which the Master does naturally, it is possible to identify when each part is doing their own work, and when they are not. In those times it is possible for the Master to intervene, and train the parts to manage and deal with their own work efficiently, and not become a hindrance to the work of the others.

In all, once the three have begun to function properly, a good functioning horse and carriage, with a ready driver, they can take the Master where he wishes to go. As for the purpose of the Master, well, now that would be telling!