I work as a city planner in Portland, Oregon.
I have been involved in the Fourth Way, a spiritual path, for 30 years. Of that time, I spent 20 years living with others studying the same teachings, and 13 of those years I led groups.
I do not currently work actively with a group, but the Fourth Way and its teachings remain a foundation of my inner life and approach to the sacred.
March 12, 2009 at 5:35 pm
Hi Tom!
I also enjoyed spending a comfortable Sunday afternoon with you, Mary & the others!
I like your blog … very delicious & nutritious food for thought (and for action!)
Thank you for thinking of me.
August 6, 2010 at 1:25 pm
what is the fourth way?
August 7, 2010 at 9:51 pm
Hi, ~L,
The Fourth Way is a spiritual “way” introduced in Europe by a man named George Gurdjieff. He was born in about 1870 in what is now Armenia to parents of Greek ethnicity. He became consumed by wanting to know “what is the meaning of life on Earth?” and also why there is war. He spent many years traveling in Asia and North Africa, and perhaps parts of Europe as well. In about 1912, he started teaching in Russia a group of ideas about waking up. During the Russian revolution, he went to France, where he lived until his death in 1949.
He called his teachings the Fourth Way. He said that he didn’t create the Fourth Way, but learned it. The name comes from the idea that there are three traditional “ways,” which he referred to as the ways of the monk, the yogi, and the fakir. He meant by this that monks try to approach the divine through the emotions, the yogi through the mind, and the fakir through the body, such as fasting or physical practices (at least in the early part of their paths). These “ways” exist within all religious traditions.
Monks, yogis, and fakirs leave their ordinary lives and go into monasteries or similar retreats. There is a “Fourth Way” followed in the conditions of ordinary life, without leaving your job or family. His teachings were about this sort of spiritual practice.
I hope this information is helpful. Let me know if you have other questions about it.
August 8, 2010 at 12:58 am
hauh…. sounds interesting:) I believe in the One way… It’s been something that has proven to be true. I feel that my God is real and it’s thee most amazing feeling to know that their is a God who love you!
~L