II
...we are called to turn to the
Source, to the Silence at the very core of our being, to the unmanifest that
informs all forms. To accept to be in question. And to open to the unknown
transforming force.
Reference: "A Return
to Tradition," an interview with Frank Sinclair,
president of the Gurdjieff Foundation of New York
in PARABOLA's Winter 2007 issue on The New World .
Our intention in
these pages is not to answer questions, but by discussing Gurdjieff’s ideas, to
raise them, both for ourselves and for the reader.
Gurdjeff asks us to put aside our assumptions and what we think we
know, and to study how we are. This is very hard to do. As human beings, we are
always looking for answers and conclusions. This is true even though we also
know, at least with our minds, that it is not possible to know something new if
I already think I know it. Even in ordinary life, the new insight appears as a
shock, something I hadn’t anticipated.
But it is very difficult to apply this to self-study. So Gurdjieff
brings us the idea and the practice of “remaining in question”.
When I believe that I know my situation, something is static. I know
and I don’t need more. On other hand, if I can stay open, I see that my inner
state is always changing. This in not
comfortable but it is the dynamic inner state where it is possible to observe
myself, and eventually, to change something.
Gurdjieff’s ideas say that we mostly live in a world of dreams and
interpretations –not reality. We drown in life’s problems and our reactions to
them, and forget ourselves. He says that we live our lives in sleep, on
automatic pilot. So the call is to be more awake; to be available to receive
more and more impressions of how I really am.
To stay in question means to make thinner the crystal through which I am watching
the reality. This inner state, gives us a true dimension of the things. The
important occupies the right place and the shallow goes leaving us a real inner
space that, perhaps, lets us change.
There are many ways to make the crystal thinner. When I experience a strong impression, cognitive process may break, and perhaps, I am able to see in another new way. But to be able to receive an impression I have to be available, I need to find in myself certain fine attention that will make it possible.
To remain in question cannot happen by accident. It is often a painful
effort because I can see parts of myself that I don’t like and I cannot accept.
But it is also an open door through which something new can come in.