En busca de Peradams Those familiar with Rene Daumal's Mount Analogue 1 will recognize the reference to the only real means of payment in that far-off country. Aquellos que estn familiarizados con el monte Ren Daumal es analgica 1 se reconoce la referencia a la nica forma real de pago en ese pas lejano. The peradam was described as a clear and extremely hard stone . El peradam fue descrito como "una piedra clara y extremadamente duro. . . . . a true crystal . un cristal de verdad. . . . . harder than diamond, so transparent that it was almost impossible to see and extremely difficult to find. duro que el diamante, "tan transparente que era casi imposible de ver y muy difcil de encontrar. The discovery of a peradam was never accidental, but resulted from some kind of inner effort. El descubrimiento de un peradam nunca fue accidental, sino resultado de algn tipo de esfuerzo interno. At such a moment, its brilliant sparkle like that of a dewdrop might catch the eye of those who truly and sincerely sought the truth. En un momento, su "chispa brillante como la de una gota de roco" podra llamar la atencin de los que verdadera y sinceramente buscar la verdad. In the world of Mount Analogue, all authority came from above. En el mundo del Monte Anlogo, toda autoridad viene de arriba. Since these peradams were the only currency accepted as payment by the mountain guides, those who wished to climb the mountain would need to find some in order to move on. Ya que estos fueron peradams la nica moneda aceptada como pago por los guas de montaa, los que queran subir a la montaa tendra que encontrar alguna con el fin de seguir adelante. Most peradams were found on the rough and dangerous trails up the mountain. La mayora de peradams se encontraron en los caminos speros y peligrosos de la montaa. However, to everyone's astonishment, the leader of the band of adventurers whose story is told in the book uncovered one in the sand on the beach, seconds after he renounced his authority over the group he had gathered together and led for many months. Sin embargo, para sorpresa de todos, el lder de la banda de aventureros cuya historia se narra en el libro descubierto uno en la arena de la playa, segundos despus de que renunci a su autoridad sobre el grupo que haba convocado y guiado durante muchos meses. The editors invited a number of people in groups all over the United States, Canada and Europe to write a few paragraphs about the inner jewels they have gathered in their attempts at what we call Work in Life. Los editores invitados un nmero de personas en los grupos de todas partes de Estados Unidos, Canad y Europa para escribir unos cuantos prrafos acerca de las joyas de interior se han reunido en sus intentos de lo que llamamos trabajo en la vida. A Vanilla Latte Un caf con leche de vainilla I own a caf on 42nd Street in New York City. Soy dueo de una cafetera en la calle 42 en Nueva York. It's a busy place which attracts people from all walks of life. Es un lugar muy concurrido, que atrae a gente de todas las clases sociales. My aim is to increase sales by maintaining operating standards, creating a welcoming atmosphere and promoting harmony amongst the staff. Mi objetivo es incrementar las ventas mediante el mantenimiento de las normas de funcionamiento, la creacin de un ambiente acogedor y promover la armona entre el personal. I have been working on developing a more expansive attention while keeping larger goals in mind in the face of reactions and events which steal my attention. He estado trabajando en el desarrollo de una atencin ms amplia, manteniendo grandes objetivos en mente en la cara de las reacciones y los acontecimientos que roban mi atencin. My caf is a people intensive experience, a great laboratory for self-study! Mi caf es un "pueblo intensiva" la experiencia, un gran laboratorio para el estudio! As manager, I sometimes feel I just can't listen to one more problem, or remind an employee one more time about the right sequence for putting the syrup, milk and espresso in the cup for a vanilla latte. Como gerente, a veces siento que no puedo escuchar a un problema ms, o recordar a un empleado una vez ms sobre la secuencia correcta de poner la miel, leche y caf en la taza de un caf con leche de vainilla. My reactions pile up quicker and quicker over smaller and smaller things. Mis reacciones se acumulan ms y ms rpido sobre las cosas ms pequeas. My inner dialogue becomes more repetitious, including threatening to fire the employee as I become more closed within myself. Mi dilogo interno se vuelve ms repetitiva, incluyendo la amenaza de despedir al empleado que me vuelvo ms cerrado en m mismo. To deal with my reactions, I sometimes try to slow down my movements ever so slightly and open to the other person while maintaining a connection with the sensation of the lower half of my body. Para hacer frente a mis reacciones, a veces trato de frenar mis movimientos muy ligeramente y "abierto" a la otra persona mientras se mantiene una conexin con la sensacin de la mitad inferior de mi cuerpo. Something begins to relax. Algo empieza a relajarse. If I can stay with it, or try again and again, there's a kind of blending of the reactive movement and another possibility, not denying one for the other, but opening to the reality of both. Si me puedo quedar con l, o intentar una y otra vez, hay una especie de mezcla de los movimientos reactivos y la posibilidad de otra, sin negar uno para el otro, pero la apertura a la realidad de ambos. The larger aims of the caf begin to reappear, and the relations with staff often become stronger. Los objetivos ms grandes del caf comienzan a reaparecer, y las relaciones con el personal a menudo se vuelven ms fuertes. The next exchange with that latte-deficient employee can be surprisingly effective for both of us, and the day ends in a way I never thought possible. El prximo intercambio con ese empleado latte con deficiencia puede ser sorprendentemente efectivo para los dos, y termina el da de una manera que nunca pens posible. Glen A., Caf Owner/Manager Glen A., propietario de Caf / Gerente The Work Has Changed Me El trabajo me ha cambiado I try to be as present as possible as I go about my daily activities, to actively live my life in this body. Trato de ser lo ms actual posible, ya que tengo que hacer mis actividades diarias, para llevar una vida activa de mi vida en este cuerpo. There are practical tasks we've been given over the years like sensing, which can develop into an awareness of my whole body; attention to breathing; awareness of my surroundings and the people I am with; listening to others or the sound of my own voice; doing things in unusual ways, etc. Perhaps it doesn't matter what I try, as long as I try something. Hay tareas prcticas que nos han dado en los ltimos aos, como sensores, que pueden convertirse en una toma de conciencia de todo mi cuerpo; atencin a la respiracin, la conciencia de mi entorno y las personas que yo estoy con, escuchar a los dems o el sonido de mi propia voz, hacer las cosas de manera inusual, etc Tal vez no importa lo que yo trato, siempre y cuando hago algo. I have always had trouble with the idea of coming into contact with the higher in any direct way, of me managing to 'do it,' or to undertake something which leads me there. Siempre he tenido problemas con la idea de entrar en contacto con el ms alto de manera directa, de mi gestin 'hacerlo', o para llevar a cabo algo que me lleva all. Whenever I have had an experience which seemed out of the ordinary, which seemed to be a connection with something higher, it has always come as a surprise and not directly related to any particular effort that I was making. Siempre he tenido una experiencia que pareca fuera de lo comn, lo que pareca ser una conexin con algo superior, que siempre ha sido una sorpresa y no directamente relacionadas con ningn esfuerzo especial que yo estaba haciendo. It also seems to happen only when I'm aware of my inability to work and in some way am suffering that fact. Tambin parece ocurrir slo cuando estoy consciente de mi incapacidad para trabajar y de alguna manera estoy sufriendo este hecho. The knowledge that others are also trying adds strength to my efforts. El conocimiento de que otros tambin estn tratando aade fuerza a mis esfuerzos. When I first heard the theme for this publication, I thought of how my involvement in the Work has affected the way I am, who I am. Cuando escuch por primera vez el tema de esta publicacin, me acord de que mi participacin en el trabajo ha afectado a la forma en que estoy, quin soy yo. I haven't changed anything in myself but the Work has changed me in many little ways over the years. Yo no he cambiado nada en m mismo, pero el trabajo me ha cambiado de muchas maneras poco en los ltimos aos. For example, I now have a little more tolerance for how others are and must be. Por ejemplo, ahora tengo un poco ms de tolerancia para los dems cmo son y deben ser. Ethelda B., Manager Ethelda B., Gerente The Beginning Point El punto de partida A conversation in a hot apartment in lower Manhattan (since torn down), with bathtub in the kitchen and bright paper flowers stuck all over the doorways. Una conversacin en un apartamento de calor en el bajo Manhattan (ya derribado), con baera en la cocina y brillantes flores de papel pegado en todo las puertas. I was a college student working in a Third Avenue coffee shop, midnight to eight AM. Yo era un estudiante universitario que trabaja en un caf de la Tercera Avenida tienda, la medianoche hasta las 8 a.m.. A friend said, There's a book you might like to read. He bestowed the title as if it were a gift or an honor: In Search of the Miraculous . Un amigo dijo: "Hay un libro que le gustara leer." l le otorg el ttulo como si se tratara de un regalo o un honor: En busca de lo milagroso. I went to Weiser's bookstore off Union Square, but hadn't enough money and came back to get it the next day. Fui a la librera de Weiser en Union Square, pero no haba suficiente dinero y volvi a conseguir al da siguiente. I read it straight through without stopping. Lo le directamente de forma continua. This book addressed the enormous questions I'd been suffering with, and like nothing else, it seemed true . Este libro se dirigi a los enormes cuestionamientos que haba estado sufriendo, y como ninguna otra cosa, pareca cierto. It explained my experience. Explic mi experiencia. It explained itself. l mismo explic. It explained the failure of all the other explanations that had promised so much and disappointed so sadly. Explic el fracaso de todas las otras explicaciones que le haba prometido tanto y tan decepcionado tristemente. The missing link was the idea of Self-remembering. The beginning point, wrote Ouspensky, is the search for self-knowledge; and the pathway is the movement out of sleep towards a state of consciousness which includes my self in the contents of awareness. El eslabn perdido fue la idea de "El recuerdo de s." El punto de partida, escribi Ouspensky, es la bsqueda de auto-conocimiento y el camino es el movimiento de su sueo a un estado de conciencia que incluye a mi "yo" en el contenidos de la conciencia. Then the friend said, There's a man you might like to meet. I had no idea what he meant, no concept of groups or schools existing in present-day America, and certainly no confidence in my ability to sustain a conversation about consciousness, particularly with an expert. Entonces el amigo le dijo: "Hay un hombre que te gustara conocer." No tena idea de lo que quera decir, ningn concepto de grupos o escuelas existentes en la actualidad en los Estados Unidos, y ciertamente no hay confianza en mi capacidad de mantener una conversacin acerca de la conciencia , sobre todo con un "experto". When I met this man in his office on Columbus Circle, that's exactly what I told him. Cuando conoc a este hombre en su oficina en Columbus Circle, que es exactamente lo que le dije. I didn't know why I was there, what I wanted, what anything meant. No saba por qu estaba all, lo que yo quera, lo que significaba algo. I only knew that my life did not seem real, and I desperately wanted something real. Slo saba que mi vida no pareca real, y quera desesperadamente algo real. I asked him to help fasten my dress, which had come undone in the back. Le pregunt para ayudar a sujetar el vestido, que se haba deshecho en la espalda. SomehowI understand much better now, howhe saw an authentic wish behind the confusion. De alguna manera, entiendo mucho mejor ahora, cmo vio a un autntico deseo de detrs de la confusin. Conversation flowed with a tangible quality of his putting more into his responses than I felt my questions merited. La conversacin fluy con una calidad tangible de su puesta ms en sus respuestas que me senta a mis preguntas merecen. At the end, he gave me something to try, something we might now call a task: an exercise that related mind and body, attention and presence. Al final, me dio algo para tratar, algo que podramos denominar una "tarea:" un ejercicio que la mente y el cuerpo relacionados con la atencin y presencia. I could practice it invisibly, privately, in any circumstance, exactly in the context of my ordinary day. Pude practicarlo de forma invisible, en privado, en cualquier circunstancia, precisamente en el contexto de mi da comn y corriente. This was not like anything else. Esto no era como cualquier otra cosa. And it was for real; it wasn't just words. Y fue de verdad, no era ms que palabras. Right there the light broke: this is what was meant by a Way in Life. And the journey began that I now call working. All mismo, la luz se rompi: esto es lo que se entiende por Y comenz el viaje que ahora llaman "camino en la vida." "Trabajo". Barbara D., CPA Barbara D., CPA Inner Acrobatics with a Business Rival Acrobacia interior con un rival de negocios Work in Life seems like a trapeze act in my marketing firm, with another acrobat edging out to the center of the same high wire I am on. Trabajo en la vida parece un acto de trapecio en mi empresa de marketing, con otro acrbata bordes hacia el centro del mismo cable de alta estoy. Someone will fall. Alguien va a caer. My largest client once required that I share some project with another company that clearly wanted to take away my account. Mi cliente ms grande que antes requera que comparten algn proyecto con otra empresa que claramente queran quitar mi cuenta. My rival was an aggressive executive well versed in corporate combat. Mi rival era un ejecutivo agresivo bien versado en el combate corporativa. We hated each other on sight, and I realized that this was an opportunity for some real work in life. Nos hemos odiado tanto a la vista, y me di cuenta de que esta era una oportunidad para el verdadero trabajo en la vida. From our first meeting I decided to listen carefully to everything she said and see what I could find in it to agree with. Desde nuestro primer encuentro, me decid a escuchar atentamente a todo lo que dijo y ver qu poda encontrar en ella de acuerdo. Beyond that I wanted to discover what it was like to be in her shoes, how to connect as a human being. Ms all de que yo quera descubrir lo que era estar en sus zapatos, cmo se conectan como un ser humano. Mostly I had to deal with my reactions of rage and disbelief that I should be forced to deal with such a negative woman. Ms que nada tuvo que lidiar con mis reacciones de rabia e incredulidad que yo debera ser obligado a tratar con una mujer tan negativo. But the feelings could not overpower my resolve, and I never showed any sign of my anger or fear. Pero los sentimientos no poda dominar mi resolucin, y nunca mostr ningn signo de mi enojo o miedo. This inner struggle gave me plenty of material as we worked together for more than a year, traveling to half a dozen cities and staging various promotions. Esta lucha interna me dio un montn de material que hemos trabajado juntos por ms de un ao, viajando a media docena de ciudades y puesta en escena de varias promociones. Outwardly I treated this woman as a respected colleague. Exteriormente he tratado a esta mujer como un respetado colega. Inwardly I had to remember my aim over and over again. Interiormente yo tena que recordar mi objetivo una y otra vez. After some time she stopped attacking me and began to take me into her confidence, even sharing many of her professional secrets. Despus de algn tiempo dej de atacarme y me empez a tomar en su confianza, incluso compartir muchos de sus secretos profesionales. The strange part of this exercise was that due to the efforts she had forced me to make, not only could I no longer hate her but I had a feeling for my former enemy very much like love. Lo extrao de este ejercicio fue que, debido a los esfuerzos que ella me haba obligado a hacer, no slo podra ya no la odio, pero tuve la sensacin de mi antiguo enemigo muy parecido al amor. My struggle not to react in a habitual way, to pay a close and objective attention to my feelings of rage gradually transformed them. Mi lucha no reaccionar de una manera habitual, a pagar una atencin ms cercana y objetiva a mis sentimientos de ira poco a poco los ha transformado. I did not try to love my enemy, I would not have been able to do that. No trat de amar a mi enemigo, no habra sido capaz de hacer eso. It was the struggle itself that transformed the relationship and taught me the power and the price of an inner effort. Era la misma lucha que transform la relacin y me ense el poder y el precio de un esfuerzo interno. Lillian F., Marketing Executive Lillian F., Director de Marketing The Horseshoe Dervish El derviche Herradura Konya, Turkey in the late 1970s was a spiritual focal point for the seekers who had managed to survive the '60s. Konya, Turqua, en la dcada de 1970 fue un punto focal espiritual para los buscadores que haba logrado sobrevivir a los aos 60. I was living in a no-star hotel near the tomb of Jelaluddin Rumi. Yo estaba viviendo en un hotel sin estrellas, cerca de la tumba de Rumi Jelaluddin. This was an out-of-time experience for a good white boy like me from the Midwest. Esta fue una experiencia fuera de tiempo para un buen chico blanco como yo desde el Medio Oeste. Rumi's tomb, now a museum, used to be one of the last Sufi schools in Turkey before modernity moved in during the 1920s, shutting down many of the old traditions. La tumba de Rumi, ahora un museo, que sola ser una de las ltimas escuelas sufes en Turqua antes de la modernidad se traslad en la dcada de 1920, el cierre de muchas de las viejas tradiciones. Despite this, there was still enough spiritual juice present to sustain an inner sense of questioning and not knowing. A pesar de ello, todava queda suficiente energa espiritual presente para sostener un sentido interno de cuestionamiento y de no saber. Konya was exceptionally hot that day. Konya fue excepcionalmente caluroso aquel da. The road was dusty. El camino estaba lleno de polvo. I was on my way to study at the home of Suleyman Hayati Dede, the leading Sheikh of the Mevlevi order of Sufis, when my life took a detour. Yo estaba en mi manera de estudiar en la casa de Suleyman Hayati Ded, el lder el jeque de la orden Mevlevi de los sufes, cuando mi vida dio un rodeo. The heads of slaughtered sheep lay across the street in the smell of their own blood. Los jefes de las ovejas sacrificadas cruzaba la calle en el olor de su propia sangre. The 'horseshoe dervish' as he was called, also a Mevlevi, was standing in the doorway of his blacksmith shop looking in my direction. El 'derviche herradura ", como le llamaban, tambin Mevlevi, estaba de pie en la puerta de su taller de herrera mirando en mi direccin. Without any explanation he stopped me and I was invited in for a glass of tea. Sin ningn tipo de explicacin que me detuvo y me invit a tomar una taza de t. Slightly disarmed, I soaked in all the impressions. Un poco desarmado, me empap de todas las impresiones. His room was simple, a compacted dirt floor with an anvil and fire in the cornerbare bonesthe smell of smoke infusing everything. Su habitacin era sencilla, un piso de tierra compactada con un yunque y fuego en la esquina-desnudos huesos, el olor del humo de la infusin de todo. His English was minimal, my Turkish was nonexistent, however our communication was very clear. Su Ingls fue mnima, mi turco era inexistente, sin embargo, nuestra comunicacin es muy clara. Life is like electricity he said, as he flicked the light switch on and off. "La vida es como la electricidad", dijo, que accion el interruptor de la luz dentro y fuera. We are all connected to the same current. For a brief moment it sounded a little simplistic, but while the horseshoe dervish quietly talked, his being drew me into the clear depth of his true understanding. "Todos estamos conectados a la misma corriente." Por un breve momento que sonaba un poco simplista, pero mientras que el derviche herradura en silencio habl, su ser me llev a la profundidad de su clara comprensin verdadera. I looked again at the walls of his blacksmith shop. Me mir de nuevo a las paredes de su taller de herrera. Horseshoes hung on nails in the neat room. Herraduras colgadas en las uas en la sala limpia. Small works of art row upon row, reminding me of paintings hanging in an art gallery. Pequeas obras de arte fila tras fila, me recuerda de cuadros colgados en una galera de arte. Uncluttered. Despejado. Simple. Simple. Michael F., Teacher of the Alexander Technique Michael F., profesor de la Tcnica Alexander On Active Service En servicio activo For 20 years I worked for a commercial company with companions from our group, under someone committed to the principles of Mr. Gurdjieff's Work. Durante 20 aos trabaj para una empresa comercial con los compaeros de nuestro grupo, en una persona comprometida con los principios del trabajo del Sr. Gurdjieff. She claimed no interest in how much money the company made, so long as it paid for itself as we tried to put Work ideas into practice. Afirm ningn inters en la cantidad de dinero que la empresa hace, siempre y cuando se pag a s mismo como hemos tratado de poner en prctica las ideas de trabajo. Working together that way may sound easy, but as so often in business, competition and ambition creep inthe salesman who exceeds his target sees himself as more important than the administrator who produces the estimates. Trabajando juntos de esa manera puede parecer fcil, pero como tantas otras veces en los negocios, la competencia y la ambicin de fluencia en el vendedor que supera su objetivo se ve como ms importante que el administrador que produce las estimaciones. Nevertheless we tried to respect each other's work according to the saying, If you can't respect the person, respect the place. Sin embargo, tratamos de respetar el trabajo del otro de acuerdo con el dicho: "Si no puedes respetar a la persona, el respeto del lugar." Could we arrive at the office every morning fully awake, active both outside and within? Podramos llegar a la oficina cada maana "est completamente despierto," activo tanto dentro como fuera? I'd call it being on active service. We contacted prospective clients, related to customers, listened to their needs and generally build a basis of trust. Yo lo llamara ser "en el servicio activo." Se estableci contacto con los clientes potenciales, relacionados con los clientes, escuchar sus necesidades y, en general construir una base de confianza. We also learned to play a role. Tambin aprendi a jugar un papel. After a long time orders began to roll in, so we had to become efficient, give attention to every detail, deliver the goods and services on time. Despus de mucho tiempo los pedidos comenzaron a rodar en, por lo que tuvo que ser eficientes, dar atencin a cada detalle, entregar los bienes y servicios a tiempo. Attention was called for at every point, no matter how trivial the details. Se llam la atencin porque a cada momento, sin importar lo trivial de los detalles. At weekly meetings we had exchanges about our problems and difficulties and tried to look at what lay behind them. En las reuniones semanales que tenamos intercambios sobre nuestros problemas y dificultades, y trat de ver lo que haba detrs de ellos. More often than not the problems lay in us, not outside. Ms de las veces los problemas reside en nosotros, no afuera. The work was hard and intensive, and there was little time for office politics and gossip. El trabajo era duro e intenso, y haba poco tiempo para la poltica de la oficina y el chisme. It seems to me the workings of an organization are similar to the functioning of a healthy organism. Me parece que el funcionamiento de una organizacin son similares para el funcionamiento de un organismo sano. Both need to work in a harmonious and balanced way. Ambos necesitan trabajar de una manera armoniosa y equilibrada. If one part tries to do the work of another, confusion soon sets in. So many times in company work, one person thinks he or she can do the job better than another, just as in inner work when one center tries to do the work of another center. Si una parte trata de hacer el trabajo de otro, la confusin pronto fija adentro As que muchas veces en el trabajo de la empresa, una persona piensa que l o ella puede hacer el trabajo mejor que otros, como en el trabajo interior, cuando un centro de trata de hacer el trabajo de otro centro. Often chaos is the result. A menudo, el caos es el resultado. After a time we began to accept what it was to work under discipline for the sake of the good of the whole. Despus de un tiempo empezamos a aceptar lo que era trabajar en la disciplina en aras del bien del todo. Although some of us eventually retired from the business as those whom we had trained took over, that feeling of mutual respect and shared endeavor we had built still persists today. Aunque algunos de nosotros con el tiempo se retir del negocio como aquellos a los que haba entrenado tom el poder, esa sensacin de respeto mutuo y el esfuerzo compartido que haban construido an hoy persiste. And the new employees never suspected the presence of Gurdjieff's Work. Y nunca a los nuevos empleados se sospecha la presencia de trabajo de Gurdjieff. David G., Artist David G., artista An Expression of Conscience Una expresin de la conciencia For the first ten years my work was connected with seeing my automatic movements, habits and thoughtsto set a specific task for the day and to face what happened when I met it and what happened when I didn't; and to study my reactions. Durante los primeros diez aos, mi trabajo estaba relacionado con ver a mis movimientos automticos, los hbitos y pensamientos, para establecer una tarea especfica para el da y para hacer frente a lo que sucedi cuando lo conoci y lo que ocurri cuando yo no, y para estudiar mis reacciones . Then to search for a willingness to start again. A continuacin, la bsqueda de la voluntad de empezar de nuevo. The next decade was the struggle to understand that the Work is not about fixing anything in life, nor judging what I saw, nor adopting an acceptable code of behavior. La dcada siguiente fue la lucha por entender que el trabajo no se trata de fijar algo en la vida, ni juzgar lo que he visto, ni la adopcin de un cdigo de conducta aceptable. What I needed was to struggle to see the movement of automatic energies in myself. Lo que necesitaba era que luchar para ver el movimiento de las energas automtica en m mismo. More and more I experienced the Judge or the Fixer within myself, and my work became trying to stay with those movements of energy for just a few seconds more. Cada vez ms experiment el Juez o el fijador dentro de m, y mi trabajo se trata de quedarse con los movimientos de la energa de tan slo unos segundos ms. Now my work touches more deeply the movement behind my manifestations, the automatic forces of thoughts, of emotion, of physical habits. Ahora mi trabajo toca ms profundamente el movimiento detrs de las manifestaciones, las fuerzas automtica de pensamientos, de emociones, de los hbitos fsicos. But who sees? Pero, quin ve? I experience that I am shown to myself. Yo la experiencia que se me muestra a m mismo. I wish to follow the energy that goes out, and I see that it is not me following it, but another attention that has somehow been given in the moment. Me gustara seguir la energa que sale, y veo que no me est siguiendo, pero otra atencin que de alguna manera ha sido dada en el momento. I am beginning to face the question of: Where is my place? Estoy empezando a enfrentar la pregunta de: "Dnde est mi lugar? What is required of me? There appears what I can only call an expression of Conscience. Lo que se requiere de m? "Parece algo que slo puedo llamar una expresin de la conciencia. I am not alone. No soy el nico. I begin to feel others, and I wish to work more for some unknown but important need that I cannot label or formulate. Empiezo a sentir los dems, y desean trabajar ms, para alguna necesidad desconocida, pero importante, que no pueden etiquetar o formular. Carol H., Educator Carol H., Educadora Chain of Beings Cadena de los seres Walking along a quiet city street, leaves blowing restlessly about my feet, I was reminded suddenly of the Sunday evening walks I used to take with my parents. Caminando por una calle tranquila y silenciosa, deja que sopla sin cesar sobre mis pies, me acord de repente de la noche del domingo paseos que sola tener con mis padres. As a young woman in my twenties, I often felt uneasy at the beginning of these walks. Como una mujer joven en mis veinte aos, a menudo me senta incmodo al principio de estas bases por bolas. I was acutely aware of the lack of common material that could be exchanged safely with middle-aged parents. Yo era muy consciente de la falta de materiales comunes que pueden ser intercambiados de forma segura con padres de mediana edad. But as we walked along briskly in the dark, our breath visible in droplets of fog, a silent communal exchange took place. Pero mientras caminbamos rpidamente en la oscuridad, el aliento visible en las gotas de niebla, un intercambio comunal se llev a cabo en silencio. Time seemed to expand. El tiempo pareca expandirse. Frictions were absorbed, perhaps in the vastness of the night sky, as we walked along in increasingly companionable silence. Las fricciones fueron absorbidos, tal vez en la inmensidad del cielo de la noche, mientras caminbamos en silencio cada vez ms sociable. Now, as I walked my dog along the unusually empty New York City street, I felt extraordinarily close to my parents. Ahora, mientras caminaba a mi perro a lo largo de la inusualmente vaca calle de Nueva York, me sent extraordinariamente cerca de mis padres. I was thousands of miles from my rural home town and my parents died several years ago. Yo estaba a miles de kilmetros de mi pueblo rural y mis padres murieron hace varios aos. But now I felt their presence quite vividly as I passed beneath a flickering street lamp, aware of my breath condensing in the cold air. Pero ahora senta su presencia vvidamente al pasar debajo de una lmpara parpadeante calle, conscientes de la respiracin de condensacin en el aire fro. And then I understood something about my connection to them and my own children. Y entonces comprend algo acerca de mi relacin con ellos y mis propios hijos. I realized quite clearly that my children will exist on Earth after I am gone and their children also. Me di cuenta muy claramente que mis hijos van a existir en la Tierra despus de que yo me haya ido y sus hijos tambin. And I felt something about this connection. Y sent que algo acerca de esta conexin. Flesh of my fleshwhere does that come fromthat miracle that makes out of one's cells a quite new person, who yet contains part of oneself? Carne de mi carne-de dnde viene eso de-ese milagro que hace que las de las clulas de una persona completamente nueva, que an contiene parte de uno mismo? I am placed now in a long chain of beings who have been on Earth before me. Estoy colocado ahora en una larga cadena de seres que han estado en la Tierra antes que yo. Now it is my turn. Ahora es mi turno. Why am I here? Por qu estoy aqu? I found myself alive in a world full of meaning: aware of the dimly lit street, with the smell of winter in the air, connected to the past and future at the same time. Me encontr a m mismo vivo en un mundo lleno de sentido: conscientes de la calle poco iluminada, con el olor del invierno en el aire, conectados con el pasado y el futuro, al mismo tiempo. I felt a longing for this recognition to infuse my life; a wish not to return to the empty, the trivial, but to experience this depth in my daily life, in place of relentless reaction. Me sent un anhelo de este reconocimiento para infundir mi vida, un deseo de no regresar al vaco, lo trivial, pero para experimentar este profundo en mi vida diaria, en lugar de la reaccin implacable. Patricia H., Reporter Patricia H., reportero The Commuter Between Two Worlds El viajero entre dos mundos He walks out through his doorway into the street. l sale a travs de su portal en la calle. Caught up by the crowd, he is hurled in the direction of his daily work. Atrapado por la multitud, que se lanz en la direccin de su trabajo diario. At supper-time the current carries him back the way he came. A la hora de cenar la corriente lo lleva de regreso por donde vino. All the while, inside himself, he is making another journey, moving along the hidden path toward what is most true in himself and then away again. Al mismo tiempo, dentro de s mismo, est haciendo otro viaje, pasando por el camino oculto hacia lo que es ms cierto en s mismo y luego de nuevo. With every move of attention toward his own centre, he is paying tribute to the current of human ardour that flows toward the source. Con cada movimiento de la atencin hacia su propio centro, que rinde homenaje a la corriente de fervor humano que fluye hacia la fuente. From time to time there comes from an immeasurable distance (from what is closer to him than himself), a response: a moment of insight, a flash, a clear-eyed vision of himself as he is. De vez en cuando no viene de una distancia inconmensurable (de lo que est ms cerca de lo que l), una respuesta: un momento de inspiracin, un flash, una visin lcida de s mismo tal cual es. Bent over his work, attentive to the job at hand, attentive to himself, he moves in the company of those who circle the spiral-terraced mountain of transformation. 2 Inclinado sobre su trabajo, atento a la tarea a la mano, atento a s mismo, se mueve en la compaa de los que el crculo en espiral terrazas de montaa de la transformacin. 2 Martha H., Writer Martha H., Escritor The Subway El metro Finding myself on the subway, I am reminded again that I wish to work, so I try sensing the hand holding the strap over my head and at the same time sensing my feet. Al encontrarme en el metro, me record una vez ms que desean trabajar, as que trato de sentir la mano que sujeta la correa sobre mi cabeza y, al mismo tiempo sentir mis pies. The arc between the two creates something stable inside of me so that I no longer feel threatened by all the strangers around me, as if nothing can harm me. El arco entre los dos crea algo estable dentro de m, as que ya no se sienten amenazados por los desconocidos a mi alrededor, como si nada puede hacerme dao. Otherwise, when I don't try, I feel the aggression of the other ridersthe rudeness as people jostle or try to press past me. De lo contrario, cuando no lo intentamos, me siento la agresin de los otros pilotos, la mala educacin que las personas se empujan o tratan de prensa junto a m. One cold day I had to wait longer than normal before going home. Un da fro, tuve que esperar ms de lo normal antes de ir a casa. I looked at all the people rushing to the subway, and I also wanted to join that movement, to go home, a movement so strong that it was hard to resist. Mir a toda la gente corriendo hacia el metro, y yo tambin quera unirse a este movimiento, para ir a casa, un movimiento tan fuerte que era difcil de resistir. Looking around at everyone rushing and running, I realized that this, too, was my habitual life. Mirando a su alrededor a todo el mundo corriendo y corriendo, me di cuenta que esto tambin era mi vida habitual. David K., Salesman David K., vendedor I Was Not Chosen I no fue elegido I am attending an academic conference at an internationally recognized university. Estoy asistiendo a una conferencia acadmica en una universidad reconocida internacionalmente. In the late afternoon I listen to a panel discussion on a field in which I consider myself to be an expert, although I was not chosen to be a member of this panel. Por la tarde escucho a un panel de discusin sobre un campo en el que yo me considero un experto, aunque no fue elegido para ser miembro de este panel. The session ends, and I am walking across an open courtyard to my hotel. La sesin termina, y estoy caminando a travs de un patio abierto a mi hotel. There is something going on. Hay algo que hacer. I discover disappointment and self-righteous indignation. Descubro la decepcin y la indignacin de justicia propia. I recognize this state and am familiar with these feelings. Reconozco que este estado y estoy familiarizado con estos sentimientos. I come to myself. Me vienen a m mismo. Something registers the fact of myself in this condition. Algo que registra el hecho de m mismo en esta condicin. The emphasis of this registration is not on a description of my state, or a criticism of my state, rather it is on the fact that I exist in this state . El nfasis de este registro no se encuentra en una descripcin de mi estado, o una crtica de mi estado, sino que es en el hecho de que yo existo en este estado. Is this an experience of what Gurdjieff meant by the subtitle to his First Series of writings, namely, An Objectively Impartial Criticism of the Life of Man? 3 Something present to me recognizes the nature of life existing in this form with the influences from my education and cultural background. Es esta una experiencia de lo que Gurdjieff quera decir con el subttulo de su primera serie de escritos, es decir, una crtica objetivamente imparcial de la vida del hombre? 3 Algo me presentan reconoce la naturaleza de la vida existente en esta forma con las influencias de mi educacin y antecedentes culturales. The feelings and reactions continue, but there is something else. Los sentimientos y las reacciones continan, pero hay algo ms. I see this state of myself and my reactions to itwhich happens all the timeas a necessary opportunity for Work. Veo que este estado de mi mismo y mis reacciones a ella, que pasa todo el tiempo-como una oportunidad necesaria para el trabajo. That is, in addition to the reactions, there is a Wish for Living, based partly on a recognition of what I am and partly on a glimpse of what could be. Es decir, adems de las reacciones, hay un deseo de vivir, basada en parte en el reconocimiento de lo que soy y en parte de una idea de lo que podra ser. A wish to change, as Gurdjieff writes, from the Itoklanos 4 principle of being-existence to the Foolasnitamnian 5 principle of being-existence. El deseo de cambio, como Gurdjieff escribe, desde el Itoklanos 4 principio de ser-existencia a la Foolasnitamnian 5 principio del ser-existencia. I continue walking. Contino caminando. Robert K., Mathematician Robert K., matemtico Into the Boiling Pot En la olla hirviendo The Gurdjieff Work is not a self-improvement society. El trabajo de Gurdjieff no es una sociedad de auto-mejora. Neither is it a train station full of timetables and destinations. Tampoco es una estacin de tren lleno de horarios y destinos. A sublime and elusive teaching, it proves itself so subtle that it always comes as a shocksometimes the shock of the small, quiet voice; sometimes like a mallet striking me hard enough to knock the sense both out of and into myself at the same time. Una enseanza sublime y difcil de alcanzar, se prueba a s misma tan sutil que siempre viene como una sorpresa, a veces la impresin de la voz pequea y tranquila, a veces como un mazo de huelga me dura lo suficiente como para golpear el sentido tanto de dentro de m mismo y al mismo tiempo tiempo. Our Work in life is supposed to be invisible. Nuestra labor en la vida se supone que es invisible. Whereas in Hatha Yoga there are well-defined postures to be taken and held, in the Work it's the position you are already in which must be explored. Mientras que en el Hatha Yoga hay posturas bien definidas que deben tomarse y sostuvo, en el trabajo es la posicin que ya estn en el cual debe ser explorada. Changing your posture, emotional tone, or associative subject matter doesn't count. Cambiar de postura, el tono emocional, o la materia asociativa no cuenta. If anything, it betrays a judgment of oneself. En todo caso, revela un juicio de uno mismo. Mostly my efforts show me the strength of the forces that hold me in placeI get a better look at the bars of my cell and the personality of my jailers. Sobre todo mi esfuerzo me muestran la fortaleza de las fuerzas que me mantienen en su lugar, puedo obtener una mejor visin de los barrotes de mi celda y la personalidad de mis carceleros. If I want to escape, I must follow a different pathwhose first step is to stop trying to escape. Si quiero salir, tengo que seguir un camino diferente, cuyo primer paso es dejar de tratar de escapar. But I do change, and the important changes are the ones I can't see. Pero lo que s cambia, y los cambios importantes son los que no pueden ver. I change because I'm one among many in a boiling pot called the Work. Puedo cambiar porque yo soy uno entre muchos en una olla hirviendo llama la Obra. We live in relationships. Vivimos en las relaciones. Our umbilical cord is separated at birth, which takes us from the tight bond with our mother and gives us to one another. El cordn umbilical se separ al nacer, que nos lleva desde el estrecho vnculo con nuestra madre y nos da el uno al otro. It's an interesting fact that there are no movements for individuals in Mr. Gurdjieff's Work. Es un hecho interesante que no hay movimientos de personas en el trabajo del Sr. Gurdjieff. As we lend ourselves to it, after some time we see that we are as our neighbor. A medida que nos presten a ello, despus de un tiempo vemos que son como nuestros vecinos. I am the same I am that you are when you say I am . Yo soy el mismo yo que usted es cuando usted dice que yo soy. Richard L., Musician Richard L., Msico My Two Realities Mis dos realidades In my dream I'm in a part of Manhattan I've never seen before, inexplicably peaceful, with open fields and sunlight and no trace of the chaos and commotion of the surrounding city. En mi sueo, estoy en una parte de Manhattan que nunca he visto antes, inexplicablemente tranquila, con campos abiertos y la luz del sol y no hay rastro del caos y la conmocin de la ciudad que lo rodea. The presence of the city is palpable, yet it has no sway over this secluded spot, and there's the sense that this is as it should be, that the city could not exist without this place. La presencia de la ciudad es palpable, sin embargo, no tiene influencia sobre esta zona apartada, y all est el sentido de que esto es como debe ser, que la ciudad no podra existir sin este lugar. The moments when reality seems completely transformed bring a taste of greater clarity, inner silence or peace, pointing to the possibility of a world that is usually unnoticed and unseen. Los momentos en que la realidad parece completamente transformado traer una muestra de una mayor claridad, el silencio interior y la paz, que apunta a la posibilidad de un mundo que generalmente pasan inadvertidas e invisibles. We touch it in moments of silence, when we experience a particular relaxation in the mind, body and emotions. Lo tocamos en los momentos de silencio, cuando experimentamos una relajacin en particular en la mente, cuerpo y emociones. As I respond to the call of this inner world, I retreat from my everyday life, withdrawing to this quiet place. A medida que responden al llamado de este mundo interior, me retiro de mi vida cotidiana, de retirarse a este lugar tranquilo. Yet as soon as I start to attend to the needs of the physical world, I lose contact with that inner world. Sin embargo, tan pronto como empiezan a atender a las necesidades del mundo fsico, pierdo el contacto con ese mundo interior. A thought, a physical discomfort, an emotion, however trivial, is all it takes to sever the connection. Un pensamiento, una incomodidad fsica, una emocin, por trivial, es todo lo que se necesita para cortar la conexin. Once lost, it's as though the inner world never existed. Una vez perdida, es como si no existiera el mundo interior. It's not surprising, then, that I view these worlds as two separate realities, with no point of contact. No es de extraar, entonces, que yo considero que estos mundos como dos realidades separadas, sin ningn punto de contacto. Just as naturally, I trust the world I can touch, and am far less certain about the elusive inner realm. Con esa misma naturalidad, confo en el mundo que se puede tocar, y estoy mucho menos seguro sobre el mundo interior difcil de alcanzar. To begin to trust the inner world, I must touch it, so I find ways to gain a little freedom from the distractionsseeking out quiet places, engaging with communities of like-minded individuals, exploring means for quieting the mind, relaxing the body and allowing the emotions to settle. Para comenzar a confiar en el mundo interior, tengo que tocar, as que encontrar la manera de ganar un poco de libertad de las distracciones, la bsqueda de lugares tranquilos, con la participacin de las comunidades de personas con ideas afines, explorando los medios para calmar la mente, relajar el cuerpo y permitir que las emociones a un acuerdo. Gurdjieff emphasized the value of a search in the midst of everyday life. Gurdjieff hizo hincapi en el valor de una bsqueda en medio de la vida cotidiana. Accounts of his last years tell of gatherings in Paris and New York, largely unnoticed by the outside world, a life of an entirely different quality hidden in these vast cities. Cuentas de sus ltimos aos hablan de reuniones en Pars y Nueva York, en gran parte desapercibido por el resto del mundo, la vida de una calidad totalmente diferente oculto en estas grandes ciudades. By example and in his teachings, Gurdjieff challenges us to be related to these two realms simultaneouslyto rediscover the inner world and to engage in the struggle to sustain the connection in whatever circumstances we find ourselves. Por ejemplo y en sus enseanzas, Gurdjieff nos desafa a estar relacionado con estos dos mbitos al mismo tiempo-a redescubrir el mundo interno y participar en la lucha para mantener la conexin en cualquier circunstancia en que nos encontramos. In meeting this challenge, there is the possibility that a new communication between the two worlds can appear, a relationship indispensable for both. En este desafo, hay la posibilidad de que una nueva comunicacin entre los dos mundos pueden aparecer, una relacin indispensable para ambos. Tom M., Agricultural Engineer Tom M., Ingeniero Agrnomo A Momentary Absence of Babel Una ausencia momentnea de Babel When I was given an introductory biology laboratory class of bright, attentive college students, I asked myself, what was I supposed to teach them? Cuando se me dio una clase de laboratorio de biologa introductoria de estudiantes brillantes, la universidad atenta, me pregunt, qu se supona que iba a "ensear" a ellos? On one level, my job required that I become a bridge connecting the students with the scientific ideas they were about to explore. Por un lado, mi trabajo requiere que me convierta en un puente que conecta a los estudiantes con las ideas cientficas que iban a explorar. But was there something more essential that needed to be done? Pero haba algo ms importante que haba que hacer? The students, a different 30 each day of the week, silently asked for something else. Los estudiantes, otro 30 por cada da de la semana, en silencio peda algo ms. What was it? Qu era? Affirm the being of the child, was the advice Madame de Salzmann gave to a team of adults in New York who were working with children. "Afirmar el bienestar del nio", fue el consejo de la seora de Salzmann dio a un grupo de adultos en Nueva York que estaban trabajando con los nios. Could I try this with my students? Puedo probar esto con mis alumnos? As I moved among the students at their laboratory benches, I tried to see what this idea meant in action. Mientras me mova entre los estudiantes de sus bancos de laboratorio, trat de ver lo que significaba esta idea en accin. It was apparent that I had no idea what to affirm the being of another person meant. Era evidente que yo no tena idea de lo que "para afirmar que el" significado de otra persona. What did to affirm mean? Qu "afirmar" significa? What was being? Cul fue el "ser"? The only thing visible to me was the wall between myself and the students. Lo nico visible para m fue el muro entre m y los estudiantes. With these questions in mind and without any answers, I tried nevertheless to practice the injunction. Con estas preguntas en mente y sin ningn tipo de respuestas, sin embargo, trat de practicar la medida cautelar. Somehow the wall between myself and the students began to melt, and in its place an avenue of exchange was created. De alguna manera la pared entre yo y los estudiantes comenzaron a derretirse, y en su lugar una va de intercambio fue creado. Time stopped, and the faces around me were no longer a blur. El tiempo se detuvo, y los rostros a mi alrededor ya no eran un borrn. Each student stood out as an individual, and each one had enormous value. Cada estudiante se destac como un individuo, y cada uno tena un enorme valor. One day after class, a young man came to me to ask for help with the data that his experiment had produced. Un da despus de clase, un joven se acerc a m para pedir ayuda con los datos que su experimento haba producido. While speaking with him about this, and at the same time trying to practice Madame's injunction, I suddenly found myself standing in a stream of light. Mientras hablaba con l sobre esto, y al mismo tiempo, tratando de practicar orden de la seora, de repente me encontr de pie en una corriente de luz. Where his confusion lay became clear and the guidance that would truly help him was right in front of me. Dnde estaba su confusin se hizo evidente y la orientacin que de verdad le ayudara a estaba justo en frente de m. As I spoke to him, his confusion instantly gave way to understanding. It was as though a light flowed through me into him and illuminated the topology of his thinking. The result was a different quality of sight for both of us. This exchange went on for what seemed like a long time. Then suddenly it was as though a cloud appeared, and the connection with the light was broken. The student became confused, and I no longer saw what would help him. I began to understand the root of the story of the tower of Babel. Lise M., Teacher of Biological Sciences How Does Work Affect My Art? How does Work affect my art? There is always plenty of noise in life, that's a given. But what am I serious about? For me there are three serious interests: my relationship to Work; my relationship to my art; my relationship to my family. Although each serious interest runs in a separate direction from the others, they affect each other nonetheless. But you can't say they are in a stream. Work affects my photography, photography affects my Work. El trabajo afecta mi fotografa, la fotografa afecta a mi trabajo. When Minor White started talking about conscious camera work he just lost me. Cuando Minor White empez a hablar de "trabajo de cmara consciente" l me perdi. For me the connection is not a specific application from Work to art. Para m la conexin no es una aplicacin especfica de trabajo con el arte. It's an atmosphere, and I want to leave the connection between Work and photography as something graceful, happening in that atmosphere. Es una atmsfera, y quiero dejar la conexin entre el trabajo y la fotografa como algo gracioso, pasando en ese ambiente. Look at Gurdjieff and his pupils. Mira Gurdjieff y sus discpulos. They are our teachers, but they had very active lives in the world. Ellos son nuestros maestros, pero que tenan una vida muy activa en el mundo. Life feeds Work. La vida se alimenta de trabajo. Engagement in the world is where real self-knowledge comes from, and from that comes the possibility of finding real simplicity in the midst of engagement. Compromiso en el mundo es donde el auto-conocimiento verdadero viene, y de ah procede la posibilidad de encontrar la sencillez real en el medio de trabajo. Photography is my path in life. La fotografa es mi camino en la vida. When I am in the darkroom developing a print, I move the tray as I watch the image develop, and I make simple work attempts. Cuando estoy en el cuarto oscuro el desarrollo de una impresin, que mover la bandeja cuando veo la imagen de desarrollar, y hacer simples intentos de trabajo. Art is a form that contains content. El arte es una forma con contenido. (Work is not a form.) Photography is not Work. (El trabajo no es una forma.) La fotografa no es trabajo. Which is not to say it cannot be transcendent. Lo cual no quiere decir que no puede ser trascendente. When I look at a Vermeer, or a Bonnard, I see in it something transcendentnot like in a Dali or a Gregory Crewdson, where the artist has put in symbols that mean something. Cuando veo a un Vermeer, o un Bonnard, veo algo trascendente-no en l como en un Dal o un Gregory Crewdson, donde el artista ha puesto en smbolos que "decir" algo. If there is something in my photographs that is transcendent I didn't put it there. Si hay algo en mis fotografas que es trascendente que no lo puso en su lugar. It comes from something more inner. Se trata de algo ms interno. Look at Edward Weston's Pepper. You see the pepper. Mire a Edward Weston "Pepper". Ver la pimienta. It's a pepper. Es un pimiento. And then it transcends the pepper, and you see it. Y luego que trasciende la pimienta, y usted lo ve. Seeing without thought is creation. Ver sin el pensamiento es la creacin. Philip P., Photographer Philip P., fotgrafo Musings on the Battlefield Reflexiones sobre el campo de batalla A man free from the chains of selfish attachments, free from his lower I am, who has determination and perseverance, and whose inner peace is beyond victory or defeatsuch a man has pure Sattva. 6 Un hombre libre de las cadenas de los apegos egostas, libre de su baja "Yo soy", que tiene la determinacin y la perseverancia, y que la paz interior est ms all de la victoria o la derrota-como un hombre ha Sattva puro. 6 At this moment, while I sit alone in my place of work where I serve as the president of a successful internet company, I stop and ponder the way I am. En este momento, mientras yo me siento solo en mi lugar de trabajo donde me desempeo como presidente de una compaa de Internet con xito, me detengo a reflexionar sobre la forma en que estoy. It was in this very seat that I spent the weekdays in the midst of action. Fue en este mismo asiento que me pas la semana en medio de la accin. I try to taste my inner reality in the quiet of an empty building and find that my entire body, mind and feelings had served the demands of my livelihood as a clenched fist, reacting automatically to events and serving imagination, fear, ambition and a false sense of duty. Yo trato de probar mi realidad interna en la tranquilidad de un edificio vaco y encontrar que todo mi cuerpo la mente y los sentimientos haban servido las exigencias de mi vida como un puo cerrado, reaccionar automticamente a los eventos y servicio de la imaginacin, el miedo, la ambicin y un falso sentido del deber. I had made it an intention to sit in this very place early on Saturday morning not only to sense its vibrations but also to sense myself here in a state of inner calm and quiet being. Me haba hecho la intencin de sentarse en este lugar muy temprano en la maana del sbado, no slo para detectar las vibraciones, pero tambin a m mismo sentido aqu en un estado de ser interno tranquilo y silencioso. Much of me wishes to leap back into the habitual and fragmented state of mind that exists when I sit in this seat during the week. Gran parte de m desea dar un salto atrs en el estado habitual y fragmentada de la mente que existe cuando me siento en esta silla durante la semana. But at this moment, those tendencies are tethered by a feeling of remorse and tears form in my eyes as I watch these forces work in me. Pero en este momento, estas tendencias estn atados por un sentimiento de remordimiento y forma las lgrimas en mis ojos cuando veo estas fuerzas de trabajo en m. I realize how powerful the forces of sleep are, and how weak is the wish to stand before them. Me doy cuenta de lo poderoso que las fuerzas del sueo son, y lo dbil que es el deseo de estar delante de ellos. The role of an executive is often associated with strong-willed action, ambition, decisiveness, force; qualities that are inherent to a strong sense of ego. El papel de un ejecutivo se asocia a menudo con fuerte voluntad de accin, ambicin, decisin, fuerza, cualidades que son inherentes a un fuerte sentido del ego. Drive, determination, and achievement, based directly on the action brought to bear on forces in the world, are valued in this field of action. Unidad, determinacin, y el logro, basado directamente en la accin ejercida sobre las fuerzas en el mundo, se valoran en este campo de accin. However, in the Bhagavad Geeta , Krishna speaks to the warrior Arjuna of a quality of action that is intrinsically different in nature. Sin embargo, en el Bhagavad Gita, Krishna le habla al guerrero Arjuna de la calidad de la accin que es intrnsecamente diferente de la naturaleza. A quality of work in which one sacrifices the results of action and the machinations of the ego. A la calidad del trabajo en el que se sacrifica los resultados de la accin y las maquinaciones del ego. Given the close approximation between Arjuna in the battlefield with the situation of an executive in business, I am filled with hope that I may meet my obligations with a different quality of being. Teniendo en cuenta la aproximacin entre Arjuna en el campo de batalla con la situacin de un ejecutivo de negocios, me lleno de esperanza para que pueda cumplir con mis obligaciones con una calidad diferente de ser. In the quiet and empty building, the mind is more easily tethered and the forces of identification to the I am are visible and apparent, but when the battle begins and the forces of business are arrayed, what I tasted in this quiet is easily lost. En el edificio tranquilo y vaco, la mente es ms fcil de atado y de las fuerzas de la identificacin de los "Yo soy" es visible y evidente, pero cuando comienza la batalla y las fuerzas de los negocios estn dispuestos, lo he probado en esta tranquila es fcil de perdidos. Yet, with hope in hand I will begin again each day, each week, to find moments to gather the subtle and weak voices to work. Sin embargo, con la esperanza en la mano voy a empezar de nuevo cada da, cada semana, para encontrar momentos para recoger las voces sutiles y dbil para trabajar. It seems that even in this field of action, each moment, each day, each week, is an invitation to a journey from myself to my Self. Parece que incluso en este campo de accin, cada momento, cada da, cada semana, es una invitacin a un viaje de m mismo a mi auto. Ram R., CEO Carnero R., Director General Lead into Gold El plomo en oro I'm standing in a line at the post office. Estoy de pie en una fila en la oficina de correos. It's a long line. Es una larga lnea. There aren't enough clerks. No hay suficientes empleados. I'm already late to meet with someone. Yo ya estoy tarde para reunirse con alguien. I'm impatient, annoyed, spurred inwardly by my hurry. Estoy impaciente, molesto, impulsado interiormente por mi prisa. I can chafe in the line, mutter about its slowness, inwardly or aloudor I can work. Me puede rozar en la lnea, murmurar acerca de su lentitud, internamente o en voz alta, o que pueden trabajar. Wasting time while waiting is a chance to transmute the quotidian dross of lifewaiting, tedium, irritationinto something valuable. "Perder el tiempo" mientras esperan una oportunidad para transmutar la escoria de la vida cotidiana en espera, el tedio, irritacin en algo valioso. It's a chance for inner alchemy. Es una oportunidad para la alquimia interior. It's something I know and too often forget. Es algo que saben y se olvidan con demasiada frecuencia. This time, at the post office, I remember. Esta vez, en la oficina de correos, lo recuerdo. I turn my attention inward, dividing it to take in my sensations, my feelings, the fullness of the moment as I stand in line, minute after minute. Me dirijo mi atencin hacia el interior, que divide a tomar en mis sensaciones, mis sentimientos, la plenitud del momento en que yo estoy de acuerdo, minuto a minuto. Here's my impatience manifested as muscular tension. Aqu est mi impaciencia se manifiesta como la tensin muscular. My irritation is a keening in my nerves. Mi irritacin es un lamento de mis nervios. I take it in; I take an impression of it. Lo tomo, me tomo una impresin de ella. I keep my center of gravity dead center in my sensations. Puedo mantener mi centro de gravedad del punto muerto en mis sensaciones. I'm receptive to my feelings. Estoy receptivo a mis sentimientos. I see my reactions to waiting in the line but now I'm no longer identified with themseeing those reactions as impressions of my inner state, while keeping myself grounded in the sensation of the body, sets me free. Veo mis reacciones a la espera en la lnea, pero ahora ya no me identificaba con ellos, ver las reacciones de las impresiones de mi estado interior, mientras que mantenerme basa en la sensacin del cuerpo, me hace libre. I experience them without being burdened by them. Les experiencia sin tener que responsabilizarse por ellos. Something arises from this new condition: something is briefly sparked. Algo que surge de esta nueva condicin: es algo brevemente despert. Another quality of energy arises. Otra cualidad de la energa surge. As I leave the post office I run into a neighbor, a man I've always felt an antipathy for. Al dejar la oficina de correos me encuentro con un vecino, un hombre al que siempre he sentido una antipata por. Normally I'd become identified with my antipathy, but my efforts in the post office have refreshed my state, and I'm more sensitive, more present to myself than I normally would be. Normalmente yo se identifican con mi antipata, pero mis esfuerzos en la oficina de correos han refrescado mi estado, y yo soy ms sensible, ms presente a m mismo de lo que normalmente sera. Because I don't like himexactly because I don't like himhe represents another opportunity for me. Porque no me gusta l, precisamente porque no me gusta lo que-representa otra oportunidad para m. I keep some attention for my inner world as I talk to him and some for my emotional center, the place where my feelings resonate. Sigo un poco de atencin por mi mundo interior que yo hable con l y algunos de mi centro emocional, el lugar donde mis sentimientos resuenan. As a result of these efforts, I see him differently than I usually do, more three-dimensionally, more humanely. Como resultado de estos esfuerzos, lo veo de manera diferente que de costumbre, ms de tres dimensiones, ms humana. I get a glimpse of his condition and sympathize with him in a way I never have before. Tengo una idea de su condicin y simpatizar con l de una manera que nunca antes. Two unpleasant encounters became opportunityalchemy: lead into gold. Dos encuentros desagradables se convirti en la oportunidad-la alquimia: el plomo en oro. John S., Writer John S., Escritor In Front of the Fourth Striving En frente de la Cuarta Esforzarse How to work in life is a fundamental question for our generation and requires all the re-examination we can bear. Cmo trabajar en la vida es una cuestin fundamental para nuestra generacin y requiere que todos los re-examen de lo que podemos soportar. One obstacle is the insidious crystallization of Work becoming 'a way of life' rather than 'a way in life.' Un obstculo es la cristalizacin insidiosa de trabajo llegar a ser "una forma de vida" ms que "una forma de vida". If I do not strive to integrate the practice of Work in the raw conditions of my nitty-gritty life, something in me will involve even though I may be promoted up the tiny ladder of titled positions in a given work organization. Si no nos esforzamos por integrar la prctica de trabajo en las condiciones de mi prima esencial y bsico de vida, algo en m se implican a pesar de que puede ser promovido por la escalera pequea de las posiciones de ttulo en una organizacin determinada obra. My gut feeling/thought is that we are in front of the next step, and it all has to do with service: how to pay for the labors of our teachers, all the way back? How to prepare for those who come after us? How we pay has much to do with actualizing our own individuality. Toddy S., Editor Open Your Heart Abre tu corazn A few years ago a Frenchman named Dominique visited our dojo. He held a high rank in aikido and was also a skilled practitioner of kyudo , Japanese archery, which had given him broad shoulders and well-developed pectoral muscles. Dominique led our practice one morning and watched me meet up with a vigorously striking partner. Open your arms! Open your heart! he called out, stretching wide his supple arms as if embracing the atmosphere of the dojo. The timing of that dramatic command, delivered in a French accent, brought me to an instantaneous awareness of how closed-in and tense my chest was. When it relaxed I felt re-connected to myself. In one way or another, I've received that reminder often. Each time there comes a moment of denial. Wasn't my chest already open? Wasn't I already aware of the need for that? Yes, but not aware enough, the answer keeps coming. You're not as open as you think you are. Look again, and you'll see that. There's a kind of joy in these moments when I take that message in and can welcome that bittersweet recognition. For a little while something in me will be more open. I need help to see how closed down I've become, a reminder that my movements are not meant to be small and constricted, but generous and full. Mary S., Writer Catering to People's Vanity I would prefer that most people take me for a shallow type interested only in appearances. What could I possibly understand in my role of catering to people's vanity? I know very well the effect that appearance has on one's moods, sense of self. When someone says they don't care what they look like, you can be sure they are lying. They are very much invested in their picture of themselves. Change their appearance and everything has a possibility of change. Working all day in front of a mirror, I can't avoid catching unexpected sight of myself as I work on a customer. It is always a shock, never appearing in the mirror as I do in my mind's eyeand the contrast between the two evokes a moment when I can come back to myself strongly. This happens over and over during the day. Nobody knows this about me, and I feel no need to speak of it. But as far as my clients are concerned, I'm the complete service person. My inner life is invisible and this enables me to work in my salon freely and unhindered. And the word 'pride' has a more positive meaning in my work. Richard S., Hairstylist To Nourish Myself When I speak of work in life, what comes to mind is the difficult terrain of my everyday existencechallenged by distractions, habits, and lack of resolve. Set aside from my work in the everyday world are efforts made with the support of others sharing a common aim, where more seems possible in circumstances purposely apart from the outside world. And in those special circumstances, I often ask myself: How can I bring this quality of effort to my daily life? The apparent distinction is further reinforced by the extraordinary moments of clarity and openness in that context as compared to moments in life where I see my efforts are partial and fleeting. Inevitably these moments of clarity become an unconscious goal, one to be strived for, a kind of underlying standard for my inner work. They lead to the repeated lament: I don't work often enough or deeply enough. Certainly the conditions which support my inner work are essential. Experiences in these conditions reappear as reminders to begin again and somehow reinforce my efforts. Yet at closer examination, I see that all my efforts are in life. Seen this way, there appears to be a continuum along which my inner relationships, my attention, my attitude vary in intensity and duration at any given moment. The outer circumstances necessarily affect a changing inner state and results follow lawfully. My work with others is seen in a new light, not to be recreated when I'm on my own, but to nourish a place within myself where an effort might begin and be supported. What emerges as most important is seeing this beginning, regardless of the circumstances of its arising or where it leads or how long it lasts. I am reminded of the need to see this movement, not to orchestrate it, but to know it and, above all, to experience my place in it from moment to moment. My attention, then, is brought to bear on the only meaningful ground it has: my life as it is. Barry S., Architect Agendas and Reality I stare at the screen and consider this interesting question of Work in life and quite soon I'm lost in daydreams. Yet the question touches me even though my mind produces nothing but random thoughts. I see how pretentious they are. They have their own agenda, not the truth, because they are programmed to support the ego. For this they have an endless supply of insincere, but plausible, material. Yet they and I both know that if I quieten inwardly they also quieten. For example right now my body instinctively sits straighter and relaxes. I breathe deeply and gratefully as tensions in mind and body dissolve. It's not such a big deal. Anybody serious who meditates knows this process and realizes they have to find such a quiet moment two or three times a day. And it's true that when we are quiet and inwardly open the complex patterns of thoughts, feelings and tensions are revealed. If I study them I see that they are the machinery that drives my life. The three centers are my reality and the only surprise is that I'm not more interested and more intelligent in finding out more about them. But I lack the stamina to remain in front of this world of ego, lies and insincerity. I am weak to the point of non-existence, so I permit myself to believe in a substitute for reality, a pseudo-life in which I assert myself against a hidden background of insecurity and weakness. Work cannot appear in this charade because it's not life. But there's something else besides the ego. Strictly speaking it is unknown to my ordinary mind but I call it the soul. It's always there: silent, still, unmoved by the mechanism of the lower centers. It has the natural power, as soon as I awaken to its presence, of transforming their energy. They are life and its action could be called work. Attention is the medium in which this event can happen. Work is knowing where my attention is; life is where my attention goes. Dick T., Art Gallery Owner Tasting the Water The fact that my very own life is the perfect place to study touches me deeply. With all the flaws, lacks, obstacles and shortcomings that are apparent to me, to suggest that I need not 'change' anything but, rather begin where I am, as I am, turns everything upside down. My mother was a simple welfare mom and my father spent several years in jail. The oldest of seven siblings, I was raised by hard-working grandparents whose sincerity and earnest beliefs indicated a direction to me. Now, as a wife, educator and theater artist, I'm intrigued by the idea that every life situation is an adventure that can lead me toward my aim. I am alive, here where I am, whether that's in the Foundation, a school, on stage or with family. As a solo theater artist who plays multiple characters on stage in front of hundreds of people, I've had some very 'alive' moments of work. Everything is so tightly woven together between text, choreography and the interplay of characters that one moment of distraction will unravel the whole thing. One time, in the midst of performance, I lost the thread of attention. Instead of trying to remember the text I came back to the Work, back to my body, I held on to the moment and suffered what felt like an eternity, but my whole body began to tingle with life. Memory returned so vividly that I and the audience shared an electrifying impression. The ideals and efforts I bring into my daily life working with hundreds of students, elders, people of all ages have an influence. For instance, when working with high school students who struggle with volatile emotions that interfere with their classroom work, I can see that they are stuck in one center, so I try to engage their attention in a new waychanging postures (shaking up the physical dynamic of the group), or introducing an exercise that calls on greater mental skills, or tapping into their poetic abilities to free them from negative emotions. Maybe I can just help keep something open, a potential for essence to grow. For me, the Work ideas together form a container like a bowl does for water. Mr. Gurdjieff gave us the means to taste the water. Peggy T., Actress, Playwright, and Educator Feeding the Soul My husband and I get up together in the morning, and I prepare coffee while he showers. He sits on the sofa, and I bring in our cups. I try to be present as I hand him his coffee. We have our daughter, her husband and new baby living with us. When she comes upstairs with the baby I try to make the effort to stop and to be available to what is taking place. I can feel my rising impatience to get on with the next thing. If I allow myself to stop and remember, I come to an awareness that these are fleeting and precious moments which feed my soul. In a word, this represents for me what it is to learn how to bring the Work into life. Does the possibility for opening, stillness, presence and attention exist at every moment, or do I have to be in a particular building or amongst certain people for this to happen? Through our work activities, we learn how to strengthen our attention, find energy to make efforts and to feed our wish. Without the help, demand and example of others who make these kinds of efforts, I forget. I need practice, and this takes a long time. Our first encounter with Work ideas was through a couple who, unbeknownst to us, were in the Work. It was the attention they brought to speaking, listening, and preparing food that attracted us again and again to the wish to be in their presence. We wanted to be like them. Carla V., Homemaker with Home Business Cell Phone Symphony Telfono celular Sinfnica Nothing pulls me into the world outside myself more than the ring of a cell phone. It has become habitual for me over the last few years to respond with an urgency bordering on panic to get the shrilly, demanding machine out of my pocket and flipped open so I will be connected. To what? My life. Mi vida. On Sunday mornings, I often join a meditation circle at our house of Work in order to be for a short time in a place I can best describe as inside myself; inside my body, observing my thoughts and associations. Even, sometimes, experiencing what I really feel about my life. Last Sunday we were well into the meditation, slowly letting go of outer concerns, when I realized I'd forgotten to shut off my cell phone. It was in the breast pocket of my shirt and would probably ring any second and disturb everyone in the sitting. I would have to scramble to get it out and shut it off and I'd look like a total loser who has no respect for the finer, inner things in life. I would be humiliated and have to crawl from the room into a small hole somewhere. I went down that path so quickly that I almost gasped aloud. Then I woke up to the reality of sitting in a circle of energy created by the people around me and, yes, still felt by me somewhere inside myself. If it rings, it rings. If it rings I will reach into my pocket, shut it off, and return to the meditation, having included that event as if it were part of any other event in my outer life but looking at it from inside where my real life is lived. At this point I almost wished the phone would ring so I would have a chance to struggle with myself; to work on my considering. But right away voices in me were pleading No! Please don't ring! Not now! I almost laughed to see so many parts of myself, all manifesting within seconds of each other in so many different directions. Now that's something to talk about, even on a cell phone! Don V., Film Set Designer Desert Rock I've had an abiding interest in photography for thirty years. This image was not visible to me at first, but finding it was not altogether an accident. It involved a search. In a sense, the photo and I found each other. How that works is not altogether clear. Something announces itself to some part of me, sometimes faintly, sometimes all at once in a single moment. What that part is which sees before my ordinary awareness has gotten involved is not clear, but there is a certain taste I've learned to trust. The rocks here did not announce themselves loudly. At first, I was inclined to regard them as ordinary. But, nevertheless, I walked toward them and something in me began to come to life. It was the response to something present. What was there? This question immediately realigned something in my way of looking. It placed me in a new state of openness. Without that new state of openness and an active search for what had touched me, this particular image would never have come about. What does this photo say to others? Does it somehow embody anything of the experience I had? This remains unknown. On the other hand, there is some measure, perhaps purely subjective, that is content to allow the photo to stand on its own. Richard W., Editor Unripe and Incomplete Near the end of the film, Meetings with Remarkable Men, Prince Lubovedsky says to Gurdjieff, You have found conditions in which the desire of your heart can become the reality of your being. Stay here [at the Sarmoung Monastery] until you acquire a force in you that nothing can destroy. Then you will need to go back into life and measure yourself constantly with forces which will show you your place. As students of Mr. Gurdjieff's teaching, we discover that a new relationship can appear among our partsmind, body, and heart. More importantly, at such a moment we sense the descent of something, as Madame de Salzmann often said, from on high. Thus open . . . . . quiet . . . . . related to myself and the world . . . . . I begin to intuit the meaning of my life. But as I return to the movements of outer life, all this is shattered in a moment. The automatic arising of impulses and reactions creates a fog, obscuring the vital truth so recently felt. I reawaken moments, hours, or even days later, perplexed. How could I have forgotten? Why is it so difficult to be present amidst the currents of life? Thus begins a lifelong search for a way to plumb the depths of stillness and at the same time to move through the demands of my life. This quest is at the heart of all traditions, even Zen, which on the surface appears dedicated to seeking enlightenment through meditation. In fact, the satori experienced sitting on a cushion in the meditation hall is considered unripe or incomplete by the Zen master. Years of additional practice are needed before students are able to live in all conditions in accord with what has been experienced in silence. The Ten Ox Herding Pictures are a beautiful expression of this truth. In the last illustration, the mature seeker passes through the Marketplace doing nothing special but, as he passes by, blossoms burst forth from the cherry trees in the middle of winter. How will I be able to stand up and cross the room without forgetting? John W., Business Manager ~ ~ ~ ~ 1 Ren Daumal, Mount Analogue: A Novel of Symbolically Authentic Non-Euclidian Adventures in Mountain Climbing, translated by Roger Shattuck, Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1986. 2 First published in A Journal of Our Time , No. 2, 1979, Toronto: Traditional Studies Press. 3 GI Gurdjieff, Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson , New York: Harcourt Brace, 1950. 4 Ibid., p. 131. 131. 5 Ibid., p. 130. 130. 6 Bhagavad Geeta , Chapter 18, Verse 26, translation by Juan Mascaro.