The Moon, G.I. Gurdjieff
On another occasion, G. explained the idea of Moon from a wholly new direction.
“Up to now we have talked about the Moon as the growing branch of the cosmos, as the end, or destination, of the Ray of Creation, which originates in the Absolute.
“There is another level on which you must understand this idea. Given that man is the microcosm that replicates all that exists in the cosmos, this line from the Absolute to the Moon also exists in man. The representative of the Absolute in man is full consciousness, about which our knowledge is incomplete. We do know, however, that the effort to free oneself from identification creates a corresponding amount of free attention. The presence of free attention in a man is a second-order representative of the Absolute, it is a foretaste of what he might eventually come to know as full consciousness.
“The Moon in man is sensation. It is that broken-off part of the original consciousness of man, and it is that part toward which a man who wishes to work on himself has a primary responsibility, for sensation is the growing part of his inner cosmos. The Ray of Creation inside man extends from free attention to sensation.”
In response to a question about the relationship between the growth of being and the growth of sensation, G. explained:
“Just as the Moon in the sky requires vibrations from Earth for the growth of its atmosphere, the Moon inside a man requires particles of free attention for the growth of its atmosphere. Sensation is the atmosphere of being. No growth of being will take place with out a corresponding, prior growth in sensation.
“Of course, when we apply the term growth to sensation, we must understand that it refers to the growth of the roots, not of the leaves; that is, sensation is not only of a man’s skin, which we might think of as leaves, but of the entire inner structure, which includes the skeleton, muscles, and organs as well. In lifting his arm, everything on the other side of intention is sensation. A man must be able to radiate particles of free attention from the moment an intention enters his bloodstream and neurological system.
“This work on sensation is the infrastructure of being.”
The Reality of Being
65. Situating the center of gravity
At the beginning I have a tendency to experience this sensation predominantly in the solar plexus or in the head. But with the letting go, the sensation expands and takes the form of a whole Presence that is rooted in the abdomen. Gurdjieff always pointed to this place as the center of gravity of being, the point where the second body is attached to the first.
32. To be spriritualized
To go toward A conscious sensation, a sensation of what is, I need a new thinking, a thought that is free of all knowing and believing, free even of past experience. This thought sees at once all the contradictions and disorder and at the same time is able to remain absolutely still, tranquil. Then I may feel my body entirely passive, as though it no longer listed. To maintain this state of passivity is my first power over the body. It indicates that a new energy participates in my Presence. I no longer let myself be taken by any tension—any contraction, thought or feeling. I have only one aim in which all my centers participate: to perceive the fine vibrations to the extent I am able to discern their quality.
A conscious sensation of ourselves signifies and is proper to incarnation, in which the spirit materializes and takes on a definite density, becomes flesh. Experiencing a pure sensation within the physical body can lead to a spiritual experience. We penetrate the world of vibrations, of fine substances. Here is my body and here is energy, a life that is in me. Yet I feel them as one and the same. Is it possible? In front of this question, I can neither deny or affirm, and there arises a feeling of truth, of the real.
63. Centered through consciousness
The possibility of inner growth is opening to a new functioning that can connect the different centers. The thought needs to become independent to keep the idea of self-remembering, a remembering that passes to the moving center and then to the emotional center, and from there connects to the higher centers. For this there must be an inner center of gravity. I need to see what this requires.