The Fourth Way, Simplified.

[Cora'Sahn]

Masks

Don't be fooled by the face I wear, for I wear a thousand masks, And none of them are me. Don't be fooled, for goodness sake, don't be fooled.

I give you the impression that I'm secure, that confidence is my name and coolness is my game, And that I need no one. But don't believe me.

Beneath dwells the real me in confusion, in aloneness, in fear. That's why I create a mask to hide behind, to shield me from the glance that knows, But such a glance is precisely my salvation.

That is, if it's followed by acceptance, if it's followed by love. It's the
only thing that can liberate me from my own self-built prison walls. I'm afraid that deep down I'm nothing and that I'm just no good, And that you will reject me.

And so begins the parade of masks. I idly chatter to you. I tell you
everything that's really nothing and Nothing of what's everything, of what's crying within me.

Please listen carefully and try to hear what I'm not saying. I'd really like to be genuine and spontaneous, and me. But you've got to help me. You've got to hold out your hand.

Each time you're kind and gentle, and encouraging, Each time you try to understand because you really care, My heart begins to grow wings, feeble wings, but wings.

With your sensitivity and sympathy, and your power of understanding, You alone can release me from my shallow world of uncertainty.

It will not be easy for you. The nearer you approach me, The blinder I may strike back.

But I'm told that Love is stronger than strong walls, And in this lies my only hope.

Please try to beat down these walls with firm hands, But gentle hands, for a child is very sensitive.

Who am I, you wonder. I am every man you meet, and also every woman that you meet, And I am you, also.

-Author Unknown


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Perhaps 'masks' are tools of strength, vs. veil for weaknesses. I utilize archetypes in my personal practices. Archetypcal structures are 'tools' for personal growth, not a means to hide 'true identity'.

What is true identity? When we say 'I want...' which 'I' is making the demand?

Do we have collective I's? I've been working with The Fourth Way philosophies, and the 'work' is to work on oneself. Self-examine, self-awareness and personal growth.

Gurdjieff believed that there were 3 ordinary ways to growth and development:

fakir, monk, and yogi.


The fakir, works on the physical
The monk, works on the emotional
The yogi, works on the mental

but there's a fourth way.

Understanding.


If man does not understand, how does he know what to work on? How can he accept what must be changed?

As a fourth way student, I recognize the tools available to me and I use them for betterment of the self. I have no need to veil or hide who and what I am - because I understand who and what I am. I use the masks as tools, for the 'work' to be done.

The Fakir, comes from Sufi idealism.
The Monk, comes from Christian/Buddhist idealism.
The Yogi, comes from Hindi/Sikh idealism.

The Fourth Way, is highly Satanic.

* Conscious labor
* Intentional suffering as a means to an end.
* Self-awareness
* Constant self-observation
* Self-remembering, muscle memory


Activism is a Satanic act. If you are not active in your own evolution - you are passive, and continue to slumber.

Awaken, and understand.

Cora'Sahn
Wizard of the Terrible Darkness
Cult of Cthulhu

[Venger Satanis]

great post!

VS

[Brimestone]

I agree it was a great post.

[Cora'Sahn]

[Brimestone]

Great looking graphic.

[AzOtEp]

This is Acctualy Very good, Now your talking....

Tell the Vision and Void...

~AZ.*.

[Joseph Delaro]

that mask in the beginning is rad.

After study of yoga sufi and christ/bhudda/islam I would say these things are all included in part of the teachings by all of their masters

* Conscious labor
* Intentional suffering as a means to an end.
* Self-awareness
* Constant self-observation

But this --------->* Self-remembering, muscle memory<------------- Looks Egyptian. They all do this, but I'd like to think the Christ/Islam path avoids this, Sufi maybe only touches, and Yoga and Egyptian mystics dwell heavily upon.

I need to go out and walk within the temples of these other religions and see the people that reside there. I need to see as they see, not as I see each of these temples, because from my perspective I am missing that charm, that high that they get, that I can only get from the most common thing..


Irony

Thanks for the simplification.

[Cora'Sahn]

I think the only way to 'truly' experience what it is that they see, what they feel, and what they aspire towards - is to experience it with them. I do this as a general practice, but I wonder - what prevents others from doing the same?

In the spirit of 'remembering ourselves', perhaps we often forget that we only have an outside perspective. Just because something does not appeal to us on a personal level, doesn't mean we can't learn from it, or that it doesn't have value to us.

People are often surprised at the amount of knowledge I have about other religions. Why do I study them? Why do I venture to their places of worship and gatherings? I am curious. I want to know what keeps them captivated. I want to remember, that we are human and that we desire some of the same things, but seek them in different ways.

Ia Ia!

[Madguten]

IA! IA!

I must read thsi agian tomorrow when i am not as uber-sleepy.

its in the bookmarks :-)

[Cora'Sahn]

Did you get a chance to read it, and what do you think?

[Stormy]

Great post, and awesome masks, Did you make them yourself?

[Cora'Sahn]

No, I commissioned them from local artists in my area, but I do make masks myself.

[R'phanaot]

The Fourth Way, is highly Satanic.

* Conscious labor
* Intentional suffering as a means to an end.
* Self-awareness
* Constant self-observation
* Self-remembering, muscle memory

Activism is a Satanic act. If you are not active in your own evolution - you are passive, and continue to slumber.

So, are you comparing or contrasting then this Fourth Way to the beliefs espoused under LaVeyan Satanism?