In
the previous post, we started with ‘Evolution –Next Stage’, Gurjieff and the 4th Way
Now
we will look at the principles behind this idea/philosophy.
The Three Centers
The Three Centers
We are familiar with concepts INSTINCT -Body, FEELING-Emotion and INTELLECT -Knowledge,
Gurdjieff calls them THREE CENTERS.
We can understand better relating to the expressions
- I acted Instinctively
- I acted out of Emotion
- I acted after giving sufficient thought
We can figure out which center is behind which expression.
Now a little detail about each Center and their Objectives.
INSTINCT – Primary Motivation and Objectives are dominated by Body i.e. Physical needs, pleasures etc..
EMOTION – Primary Motivation and Objectives are dominated by Emotions i.e. relationships, Art, Music etc.
INTELLECT – Primary Motivation and Objectives are dominated by reasoning and intellect.
Dominant Center
It is common knowledge that no person can be entirely Instinctive, Emotional or Logical
and we see people( and ourselves as well) reacting some time Instinctively sometime
Emotionally and some time with Reason.
Nevertheless we always tend to define a person. See the expressions below
- You can't reason with him, he is devoid of feelings as well (Instinct)
- He is an emotional guy (Emotion)
- He is a man of reason (Intellect)
Again one can see the connection between the expression and the corresponding Center.
It is also evident, if all the centers plays equal role , one can not categories anybody as above
Then how we categories the way we do.
Let us get Gurjieff here,.
According to Gurdjieff among the 3 Centers , one Center plays the DOMINANT role
with Other 2 Centers acting in a subtle and 'unconscious' manner(interference).
Now it is clear, how we categories people - Based on the 'Dominant Center ' (Without any of this
knowledge anyway)
In fact the DOMINANT CENTER more or less defines the personality traits of the individual or vice verso.
Interference from Other 2 Centers
Gurdjieff said one center plays dominant role and other 2 center acts subtly in an unconscious manner.
He says further, 2 other centers can interfere with dominant center.
What is this 'Interference' ?
Inteference is caused if non-dominant centers takes the contradictory position to the Dominant Center,
it causes disharmony in the decision making process.
Let us look into this with simple and uncomplicated situation
Take this situation, one is quite HUNGRY – Simple uncomplicated physical need
Thoughts raising in the mind
What decision one would take?
That is clear; person’s Dominant Center should prevail over the other two centers.
Let us say person's Dominant Center is Instinct. Then his decision would be to eat immediately ,but
the other 2 centers have taken a contradictory position.
This is the cause of disharmony.
This makes the person feel that he is not entirely with the decision he made or he would say it was hasty or
half baked decision.
If all the centers are in agreement , then there won't be any friction or residue of dissatisfaction.
These descriptions are only to understand the different aspects involved. We may have to visit them with more complex scenario to get to the bottom of things..
Now Let us recap !
we have seen briefly important 'principles'
1- Three Centers, 2- Dominant Center, 3 - Interference from other two centers.
Now we will add one more aspect to the above three i.e.
4. Awareness
Well,we won't discuss 'Awareness' now- I reserved it for future post deliberately because we need more input.
But keep it in mind 'Awareness' is most important aspect, we can even say that the ultimate factor which
makes the difference between 'Common People' and the 'Chosen ones' !..
In the next post we are going to see '7-Types' of Man living amongst us and possibly within ourselves as well.
We know only 3 types of Man (Instinctive,Emotional and Intellectual), who are the other 4 Types,
We will take a break
Gurdjieff calls them THREE CENTERS.
We can understand better relating to the expressions
- I acted Instinctively
- I acted out of Emotion
- I acted after giving sufficient thought
We can figure out which center is behind which expression.
Now a little detail about each Center and their Objectives.
INSTINCT – Primary Motivation and Objectives are dominated by Body i.e. Physical needs, pleasures etc..
EMOTION – Primary Motivation and Objectives are dominated by Emotions i.e. relationships, Art, Music etc.
INTELLECT – Primary Motivation and Objectives are dominated by reasoning and intellect.
Dominant Center
It is common knowledge that no person can be entirely Instinctive, Emotional or Logical
and we see people( and ourselves as well) reacting some time Instinctively sometime
Emotionally and some time with Reason.
Nevertheless we always tend to define a person. See the expressions below
- You can't reason with him, he is devoid of feelings as well (Instinct)
- He is an emotional guy (Emotion)
- He is a man of reason (Intellect)
Again one can see the connection between the expression and the corresponding Center.
It is also evident, if all the centers plays equal role , one can not categories anybody as above
Then how we categories the way we do.
Let us get Gurjieff here,.
According to Gurdjieff among the 3 Centers , one Center plays the DOMINANT role
with Other 2 Centers acting in a subtle and 'unconscious' manner(interference).
Now it is clear, how we categories people - Based on the 'Dominant Center ' (Without any of this
knowledge anyway)
In fact the DOMINANT CENTER more or less defines the personality traits of the individual or vice verso.
Interference from Other 2 Centers
Gurdjieff said one center plays dominant role and other 2 center acts subtly in an unconscious manner.
He says further, 2 other centers can interfere with dominant center.
What is this 'Interference' ?
Inteference is caused if non-dominant centers takes the contradictory position to the Dominant Center,
it causes disharmony in the decision making process.
Let us look into this with simple and uncomplicated situation
Take this situation, one is quite HUNGRY – Simple uncomplicated physical need
Thoughts raising in the mind
1. Eat
at the immediate restaurant (INSTINCT)
2. Don’t
FEEL like eating , not in mood (EMOTION)
3. Food
may not be hygienic , it is better elsewhere (LOGICAL/INTELLECT)
What decision one would take?
That is clear; person’s Dominant Center should prevail over the other two centers.
Let us say person's Dominant Center is Instinct. Then his decision would be to eat immediately ,but
the other 2 centers have taken a contradictory position.
This is the cause of disharmony.
This makes the person feel that he is not entirely with the decision he made or he would say it was hasty or
half baked decision.
If all the centers are in agreement , then there won't be any friction or residue of dissatisfaction.
These descriptions are only to understand the different aspects involved. We may have to visit them with more complex scenario to get to the bottom of things..
Now Let us recap !
we have seen briefly important 'principles'
1- Three Centers, 2- Dominant Center, 3 - Interference from other two centers.
Now we will add one more aspect to the above three i.e.
4. Awareness
Well,we won't discuss 'Awareness' now- I reserved it for future post deliberately because we need more input.
But keep it in mind 'Awareness' is most important aspect, we can even say that the ultimate factor which
makes the difference between 'Common People' and the 'Chosen ones' !..
In the next post we are going to see '7-Types' of Man living amongst us and possibly within ourselves as well.
We know only 3 types of Man (Instinctive,Emotional and Intellectual), who are the other 4 Types,
We will take a break
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