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EspañolCENTERS (FOURTH WAY)
In G.I. Gurdjieff's Fourth Way teaching, 'centers' refer to apparatuses within a being that dictate specific organic functions. There are three main ones: 'intellectual', 'emotional' and 'physical'. While Ouspensky personally categorized two more as main centers: 'sex' center and 'instinctive' center.
Gurdjieff classified plants as having one center, animals two and humans three.
In the book ''The Fourth Way'', Ouspensky refers to the "center of gravity" as being a center which different people primarily operate from (intellectuals, artists, and sports enthusiasts, for example, might represent each of these centers).[1]
Gurdjieff acknowledges the existence of the following three main Centers:
★ 'Intellectual' or thinking center. This center is the faculty which makes a being capable of logic and reasoning. This one is located in the head.
★ 'Moving' or physical center. This makes beings capable of physical actions. This brain is located in the spinal column.
★ 'Emotional' or feeling center. This faculty makes beings capable of feeling emotions. This brain is dispersed throughout the human body as nerves which have been labeled as the "nerve nodes" . The biggest concentration of these nerves is in the solar plexus. [2]
In ''Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson'', Gurdjieff greatly expanded his theory of humans as "three brained beings".
All centers could be divided into three further parts, while the moving center's division is the only one which is focused on (largely for greater understanding by Ouspensky).
★ 'Moving subcenter': Controls motor functions. The acts of walking, the physical aspects of talking, as well as even functions that are considered "reflexive," are all part of this sub-center.
★ 'Instinctive subcenter': Controls faculties which are completely involuntary. This does not typically encompass "knee-jerk" reactions, nor what we would typically consider reflexes. A common example of the functioning of this center is the contracting of blood vessels to facilitate the pumping of blood.
★ 'The sexual sub-center'. Controls sexual functions. This one is exceeding complex, encompassing conversion of energies within a being. This center is implicated in abnormal human development. ''The Fourth Way'' uses the disharmonious functioning of this sub-center to explain a very large array of issues.
The higher-emotional, and higher-intellectual centers.
While the lower centers are considered separate faculties of one's material body, one can think of these higher centers as being faculties for "higher bodies".
★ 'Higher-emotional center': faculty of the 'astral body'. It enables one to have sustained states of self-consciousness, self-awareness, and other deep feelings. It does not replace, nor is it an "upgraded" version of the emotional center, as it a completely separate center. The higher emotional center is not bound by the same laws of subjectivity and automation of the lower emotional center.
★ 'Higher-intellectual center': faculty of the 'mental body'. It enables one to have sustained states of objective consciousness and superior intellect. As above, it does not replace, nor is it an "upgraded" version of the intellectual center. The functioning of this center is bound by yet even less laws than that of the higher emotional center.
The Fourth Way acknowledges the existence of four bodies of man, composed of increasingly rarefied matter, inter penetrating one another. The bodies are as follows:
★ 'The Material Body' (Normal Human Physical Body). This body is considered the seat of the lower five centers: intellectual, emotional, physical, instinctual, and sexual. The material body's actions are purely automatic and depend completely on the influences coming from outside factors, and its perception is confined to observation in a "subjective" manner. When the material body dies, then it returns to the earth from which it came, and nothing of it remains.
★ 'The Astral Body' This body is also sometimes called the 'Emotional body' or the 'Kesdjan Body'. This body, by itself is not subject to the laws of automation; that is to say, the astral body is capable of a degree of free will. Also, the perceptions of the astral body are capable of being of an objective nature in matters regarding one's self. An astral body is considered a prerequisite to maintaining a state of "self-consciousness". The lifespan of the astral body is unknown exactly, but it is far larger than the lifespan of the Material Body due to the fact that it continues living after the death of the material body. According to the Fourth Way, a man is not born with an astral body and an average man does not have one, while even if someone does, its in a very immature state, and has no contact with it whatsoever in his daily life.
★ 'The Intellectual Body' This body, by itself is not subject to the laws of automation; that is to say, the intellectual body is capable of a degree of free will beyond that of the astral body. Also, the perceptions of the intellectual body are capable of being of an objective nature in matters regarding both one's self, and things outside of one's self. An intellectual body is considered a prerequisite to maintaining a state of "objective consciousness" which is the fourth possible state of man. The lifespan of the intellectual is also rather incalculable. According to Gurdjieff, an average man does not have one.
★ 'The Divine Body' Gurdjieff, in his writings, sometimes referred to this body as a "higher being body" or "highest being body,". Many aspects of this body are largely unclear. What is known is that this body is in no way subject to the laws of automation. It possesses complete free will. All perceptions of the divine body are in their very nature objective. A divine body can solidify a state of "objective consciousness" in a being which is entirely permanent. The divine body has no lifespan. It is entirely immortal within the confines of the universe. According to Gurdjieff, an average man does not have one. The fact that the divine body is not used as a "seat" of any functions of a higher nature (such as the higher emotional, and higher intellectual centers) further demonstrates is drastic departure from anything else in the nature.
P. D. Ouspensky stated in his books ''"The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution"'' and ''"In the Search of the Miraculous"'' that man has five lower centers - thinking, emotional, motor, instinctive, and sex, and two higher ones: higher emotional and higher intellectual. While four of the lower centers have a positive and a negative half, the sex center and the two higher centers are unified. He also wrote how each of the four lower centers with a negative half can be divided into three parts: a mechanical or instinctive-moving part, an emotional part and an intellectual part.
Rodney Collin in his book ''"The Theory of Celestial Influence"'' says that he believes that the three centers seem to be a simplification of four centers: the emotional center, the instinctive center, the moving center, and the intellectual center.
He believes that there is a clear separate existence of an instinctive and a moving center, as the instinctive center is born complete: nobody teaches the newborn baby how to breathe at birth, or to suck to be fed some hours later; however, it has to learn how to hold his feeding bottle some months later, or to stand and walk by himself some time later yet.
Susan Zannos in her book "''Human Types: Essence and the Enneagram''", writes that the four suits of the common deck of playing cards represent the four lower centers: diamonds for the intellectual center, hearts for the emotional center, spades for the moving center, and clubs for the instinctive center. She shows how the three court cards (jack, queen and king) are used to represent three levels of attention within man for each of the lower centers. She states that the sex center is represented by the ace of each suit, indicating how sex energy enters the other four lower centers.[3]
1. Ouspensky, P. D., ''The Fourth Way'', Vintage new edition (February 1971), ISBN 0394716728
2. Gurdjieff, G.I., ''Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson'', Chapter 17, Penguin (Non-Classics); new edition (August 1999), ISBN 0140194738
3. Susan Zannos, ''Human Types: Essence and the Enneagram'', Weiser Books (September 1997), ISBN 0877288836
★ Enneagram of Process
★ The Fourth Way
★ Ray of Creation
★ The Laws (Fourth Way)
Gurdjieff classified plants as having one center, animals two and humans three.
In the book ''The Fourth Way'', Ouspensky refers to the "center of gravity" as being a center which different people primarily operate from (intellectuals, artists, and sports enthusiasts, for example, might represent each of these centers).[1]
| Contents |
| Centers |
| Moving Sub subcenters |
| Higher centers |
| Subtle bodies |
| Different approaches |
| Peter D. Ouspensky |
| Rodney Collin |
| Other authors |
| References |
| See also |
Centers
Gurdjieff acknowledges the existence of the following three main Centers:
★ 'Intellectual' or thinking center. This center is the faculty which makes a being capable of logic and reasoning. This one is located in the head.
★ 'Moving' or physical center. This makes beings capable of physical actions. This brain is located in the spinal column.
★ 'Emotional' or feeling center. This faculty makes beings capable of feeling emotions. This brain is dispersed throughout the human body as nerves which have been labeled as the "nerve nodes" . The biggest concentration of these nerves is in the solar plexus. [2]
In ''Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson'', Gurdjieff greatly expanded his theory of humans as "three brained beings".
Moving Sub subcenters
All centers could be divided into three further parts, while the moving center's division is the only one which is focused on (largely for greater understanding by Ouspensky).
★ 'Moving subcenter': Controls motor functions. The acts of walking, the physical aspects of talking, as well as even functions that are considered "reflexive," are all part of this sub-center.
★ 'Instinctive subcenter': Controls faculties which are completely involuntary. This does not typically encompass "knee-jerk" reactions, nor what we would typically consider reflexes. A common example of the functioning of this center is the contracting of blood vessels to facilitate the pumping of blood.
★ 'The sexual sub-center'. Controls sexual functions. This one is exceeding complex, encompassing conversion of energies within a being. This center is implicated in abnormal human development. ''The Fourth Way'' uses the disharmonious functioning of this sub-center to explain a very large array of issues.
Higher centers
The higher-emotional, and higher-intellectual centers.
While the lower centers are considered separate faculties of one's material body, one can think of these higher centers as being faculties for "higher bodies".
★ 'Higher-emotional center': faculty of the 'astral body'. It enables one to have sustained states of self-consciousness, self-awareness, and other deep feelings. It does not replace, nor is it an "upgraded" version of the emotional center, as it a completely separate center. The higher emotional center is not bound by the same laws of subjectivity and automation of the lower emotional center.
★ 'Higher-intellectual center': faculty of the 'mental body'. It enables one to have sustained states of objective consciousness and superior intellect. As above, it does not replace, nor is it an "upgraded" version of the intellectual center. The functioning of this center is bound by yet even less laws than that of the higher emotional center.
Subtle bodies
The Fourth Way acknowledges the existence of four bodies of man, composed of increasingly rarefied matter, inter penetrating one another. The bodies are as follows:
★ 'The Material Body' (Normal Human Physical Body). This body is considered the seat of the lower five centers: intellectual, emotional, physical, instinctual, and sexual. The material body's actions are purely automatic and depend completely on the influences coming from outside factors, and its perception is confined to observation in a "subjective" manner. When the material body dies, then it returns to the earth from which it came, and nothing of it remains.
★ 'The Astral Body' This body is also sometimes called the 'Emotional body' or the 'Kesdjan Body'. This body, by itself is not subject to the laws of automation; that is to say, the astral body is capable of a degree of free will. Also, the perceptions of the astral body are capable of being of an objective nature in matters regarding one's self. An astral body is considered a prerequisite to maintaining a state of "self-consciousness". The lifespan of the astral body is unknown exactly, but it is far larger than the lifespan of the Material Body due to the fact that it continues living after the death of the material body. According to the Fourth Way, a man is not born with an astral body and an average man does not have one, while even if someone does, its in a very immature state, and has no contact with it whatsoever in his daily life.
★ 'The Intellectual Body' This body, by itself is not subject to the laws of automation; that is to say, the intellectual body is capable of a degree of free will beyond that of the astral body. Also, the perceptions of the intellectual body are capable of being of an objective nature in matters regarding both one's self, and things outside of one's self. An intellectual body is considered a prerequisite to maintaining a state of "objective consciousness" which is the fourth possible state of man. The lifespan of the intellectual is also rather incalculable. According to Gurdjieff, an average man does not have one.
★ 'The Divine Body' Gurdjieff, in his writings, sometimes referred to this body as a "higher being body" or "highest being body,". Many aspects of this body are largely unclear. What is known is that this body is in no way subject to the laws of automation. It possesses complete free will. All perceptions of the divine body are in their very nature objective. A divine body can solidify a state of "objective consciousness" in a being which is entirely permanent. The divine body has no lifespan. It is entirely immortal within the confines of the universe. According to Gurdjieff, an average man does not have one. The fact that the divine body is not used as a "seat" of any functions of a higher nature (such as the higher emotional, and higher intellectual centers) further demonstrates is drastic departure from anything else in the nature.
Different approaches
Peter D. Ouspensky
P. D. Ouspensky stated in his books ''"The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution"'' and ''"In the Search of the Miraculous"'' that man has five lower centers - thinking, emotional, motor, instinctive, and sex, and two higher ones: higher emotional and higher intellectual. While four of the lower centers have a positive and a negative half, the sex center and the two higher centers are unified. He also wrote how each of the four lower centers with a negative half can be divided into three parts: a mechanical or instinctive-moving part, an emotional part and an intellectual part.
Rodney Collin
Rodney Collin in his book ''"The Theory of Celestial Influence"'' says that he believes that the three centers seem to be a simplification of four centers: the emotional center, the instinctive center, the moving center, and the intellectual center.
He believes that there is a clear separate existence of an instinctive and a moving center, as the instinctive center is born complete: nobody teaches the newborn baby how to breathe at birth, or to suck to be fed some hours later; however, it has to learn how to hold his feeding bottle some months later, or to stand and walk by himself some time later yet.
Other authors
Susan Zannos in her book "''Human Types: Essence and the Enneagram''", writes that the four suits of the common deck of playing cards represent the four lower centers: diamonds for the intellectual center, hearts for the emotional center, spades for the moving center, and clubs for the instinctive center. She shows how the three court cards (jack, queen and king) are used to represent three levels of attention within man for each of the lower centers. She states that the sex center is represented by the ace of each suit, indicating how sex energy enters the other four lower centers.[3]
References
1. Ouspensky, P. D., ''The Fourth Way'', Vintage new edition (February 1971), ISBN 0394716728
2. Gurdjieff, G.I., ''Beelzebub's Tales to His Grandson'', Chapter 17, Penguin (Non-Classics); new edition (August 1999), ISBN 0140194738
3. Susan Zannos, ''Human Types: Essence and the Enneagram'', Weiser Books (September 1997), ISBN 0877288836
See also
★ Enneagram of Process
★ The Fourth Way
★ Ray of Creation
★ The Laws (Fourth Way)
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