EXTENSION OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION THREAD George Gurgieff said: "A man will renounce any PLEASURE, but he will NOT give up his SUFFERING"--our many tears and broken hearts.
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ABOUT GURGIEFF AND THE FOURTH WAY:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Gurdjieff==========================================================
What distinguishes Gurdjieff, with his sacred dances and disappearing
fourth way, from what you called selling snake oil in your references to Maharishi Mahesh Yogi?
EXPERIENCE HAS TAUGHT ME: WHEN I ALLOW MY EGO TO HAVE ITS WAY WITH MY MIND AND MY BODY, PAIN AND SUFFERING OF MIND AND BODY IS BOUND TO FOLLOW.
How will you differentiate what the ego does and what you do as something other? How do you and your ego view the body differently, or how does ego become separate from you to where it becomes an entity of its own with its own ideas?
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In the 1960's I was a tobacco and sugar addict--on my way to becoming a neurotic, overweight and a diabetic, so I chose to do something about it. I knew I had to learn how to dissolve my ego by making the following three choices below.
The following is a summary of the twelve-step programs advocated by the AA programs. They are for all kinds of ego-based addictions, not just alcoholism:
1. I Choose to become a self-aware and a wide awake person--that is what I now call a pneuma being. I chose to become as aware as possible to what I was doing to myself, and others. I also chose to take personal responsibility for my life, in the NOW--as Eckhart Tolle tags it in his book, The Power of NOW.
2. I chose to stop being a selfish ego, and to tune in to my true and natural Being, or Nature, whatever one wants to call IT. See the note, below.
3. In tune with all Being, all Presence, whenever I felt uneasy and knew I was getting ill--physically and mentally--with the help of my conscious spirit (pneuma) I stepped back from what was going on in my painful body (soma) my noisy mind (psyche) and I paid attention to what was going on physically and mentally.
It took some time, study and experimenting, but this had a healing effect all over, and I was guided to find helpful doctors (medical and otherwise), teachers of helpful dietary and other programs, books, community groups and friends.
As I got results I also became very motivated to help others by setting up regular programs, not all by me, within the church community.
I soon became convinced thant anyone willing to practice the principles outlined here,for twenty-one days, will be amazed as the positive results and will be inspired to want to help others.
What is the link between what you began this article with (George Gurdjieff and his idea of esoteric Christianity, with his sacred dance movements and disappearing fourth way method) and the AA twelve step program?
How do you separate ego from spirit and whether a desire or experience is destined to imbue the soul (IF you believe in Pneuma as a soul, or characteristic of soul) with the contrast to know what life's purpose is?
Have you decided what has
God (or as you put it)
G~O~D in it, and what has not got any G~O~D in it?
In other words if a person was to entertain the idea of evolution (either spiritual or physical) is there anything in life that does not have meaning or purpose and should automatically be rejected?
Seems many like to approach their lives with the idea of
"If I were God" I would create my life and the world differently, in retrospect when one ruminates on their judgments of reality, (or in the middle of a [personal] crisis).
When it comes to the power of thought.. identified as positive or negative: Does the universe or
ALL THAT IS divide itself (or all that is) into positives and negatives? Or is that just an ego based idea stemming from the humans point of reference in reality and self?
If
all that is,
isn't something..., and ego stands outside of all that is... Then how did ego become what it is?
Who is choosing to identify what ego is and what is not?
IF Whatever is choosing to end suffering recognizes what suffering is, but attaches itself to its own ideas of what the cause is, and that differs from the opinions of others and their ideas of suffering, how is suffering and its cause eliminated?
Seems there have been numerous proselytizers who have prescribed the cure for what ails you but then no single cure is ever absorbed or put into practice when there are so many opinions of what the problem is, (if there is one) with life.
Perhaps mans biggest ill, is that one thinks that there is a problem and it is all because of lack of understanding with life and the way it is perceived.
"When you know yourselves, then you will be known, and you will understand that you are children of the living Father. But if you do not know yourselves, then you live in poverty, and you are the poverty." -Gospel of Thomas-
