In Search of the Miraculous
“(T)he ‘Law of Three’ or the law of the three principles or the three forces…consists of the fact that every phenomenon, on whatever scale…from molecular to cosmic…is the result of the combination, or the meeting of, three different and opposing forces… Contemporary thought realizes…the necessity of…force and resistance, positive and negative… male and female…and so on. But… No question has ever been raised as to the third, or if it has been raised, it has scarcely been heard.
“According to real, exact knowledge…it is only with the help of a third force that the first two can produce what may be called a phenomenon, no matter in what sphere…
“…(B)y studying himself, the manifestations of his thought, consciousness, activity—his habits, his desires, and so on—man may learn to observe and to see in himself the action of the three forces…
“Examples of the action of the three forces, and the moments of entry of the third force, may be discovered in all manifestations of our psychic life, in all phenomena of the life of human communities and of humanity as a whole, and in all the phenomena of nature around us. — Chapter 4
Toward Awakening – Jean Vaysse
…(M)an’s nature…(is) a being who functions in three ways—organically, emotionally and intellectually—and who is endowed with three brains…
This three-brained structure…is what offers each man the possibility of relating to the three fundamental creative forces of the universe, and…
makes…individuality possible for man… (I)t allows him to participate fully on his level in the fundamental interactions of life’s creative forces; but since his three parts are independent of each other by nature, individuality is not given to man at birth. It can only be attained as a result of a long work on himself… —The conditions, means and significance of real self-observation
Views From the Real World
Everything is the result of three forces: everywhere there is affirmation and negation, cathode and anode. Man, earth, everything is like a magnet… Everywhere two forces are at work, one attracting, another repelling. As I said, man is also a magnet… (E)verything attracts or repels. Always there is push and pull, or pull and push. When you have your push and pull well-balanced with another, then you have love and right adjustment…
…There is a law that after a push there is a pause. We can use this pause if we can prolong it and not rush forward to the next push. If we can be quiet, then we can take advantage of the vibrations which follow a push.
…Everything happens in this way. A shock to the brain, and vibrations start. Vibrations go on by momentum, similar to rings on the surface of water if a stone is thrown in. If the impact is strong, a long time elapses before the movement subsides. The same happens with vibrations in the brain. If I don’t continue to give shocks, they stop, quiet down. One should learn to stop them… —New York, February 24, 1924 – Man is subject to many influences
…Combinations of positive and negative principles can produce new results, different from the first and the second, only if a third force comes in… —God the Word
Gurdjieff’s Emissary in New York:
Talks and Lectures with A.R. Orage 1924-1931
The neutralizer is the invisible plan, idea, form, or organization, within which positive and negative function. For example, hydrogen is the form of two elements, a nucleus, and a part that moves about it. The pattern of this relation is the neutralizer. We are third force blind because we can never see the neutralizer. The form contains positive and negative, but is not visible in itself… —Monday, 21 December 1925
…(In a) tug of war…(on a) rope (you) tie (a) handkerchief in middle and watch (the) stress of both forces. Everything is tug of war between positive and negative forces. All we see is (the) handkerchief.
(Our) emotional center, where we feel alternate pulls between (the) other two centers, equals (the) handkerchief. (We d)on’t see strength or agents that pull… —Orage meetings, Monday, 4 January 1926
The neutralizer is meaning or significance. At the present time, we usually only see objects; being third force blind we do not “see” their significance. But since all the forces are necessarily present in all objects, all objects have significance. As we advance in this work, significance will be more and more manifest to us in all things. —Monday, 22 March 1926
Views From the Real World
…I have shown you how the law works outside; now you can find out how it works in you. In accordance with the law, you can follow either the law of evolution or the law of involution. You must put the outside law inside. —God the Word
…Education needs time, needs suffering…
Here again, the law of three works. Between the positive and the negative principles there must be friction, suffering. Suffering leads to the third principle.
Every man dislikes suffering, every man…chooses what is easiest, least disturbing, tries not to think too much… —New York, February 22, 1924
The Reality of Being
In man it is the mind that is opposed to the body. The neutralizing force is the wish that unites them, connects them. Everything comes from the wish, the will. To represent God, it is necessary to represent these three forces. Where the three forces are reunited, God is. Where our attention is, God is. When two forces are opposed and a third unites them, God is here…. Our aim is this, to contain, to unite these three forces in us … to Be. —12. The sacred manifests as inner consciousness