Much has been written lately about the “Great Resignation.” People who were downsized due to Covid 19 are not coming back to work in the numbers expected; and people who are still at work are quitting in record numbers. Millions of jobs are open and employers are having a hard time filling them. It appears that people are tired of jobs that don’t provide decent benefits, a living wage or flexible work options. In short, they are sick of being exploited for lousy work and poor pay. Having time to reflect deeply on our lives has been one of unintended consequences of this pandemic.
Yes, one positive outcome of the Covid 19 pandemic is that the shock of it may have triggered a Great Reflection. The jolts to our lives may have been so disruptive that we finally lifted our heads above whatever “flow” we found ourselves in to notice that our lives did not have the purpose, joy and meaning we had always thought we were swimming toward. This post will address some of the causes of this existential pandemic and suggest some possible solutions.
On a national level, we are so pre-occupied and distracted by legislative dysfunction that we miss the machinations and manipulations going on beneath the surface by oligarchical titans to control our lives and expand their wealth – the biggest factor influencing what’s happening with climate change and species extinction.
On an organizational level, we are so focused on financial success that we ignore the importance of corporate culture – the biggest factor causing the great resignation.
On an individual level, we are so consumed by and addicted to the pings, rings and buzzes of our screens that we fail to take time to dig beneath the superficial newsfeeds in our narrow bubbles – the biggest reason fake news and conspiracy theories are able worm their way into our stressed-out brains.
On a cultural level, we are so dominated by physical and intellectual pressures that we have ignored our spiritual and emotional possibilities. We are bombarded by media messages related to appearance and acquisition; and we hear very little in our educational and work experiences about the spiritual importance of meaning, purpose, and joy or the emotional importance of respect, restraint, relationship, and recognition. We are so caught in the currents of our lives, that time for reflection gets swept away.
If you have joined the Great Reflection, here are some questions to ponder: How do we raise our heads and hearts high enough above this raging river -dragging our lives and our planet to extinction – to notice that life is more than making money, manipulating minds, and amassing material symbols of power and success? How do we find more balance in our lives and harmony in our worlds? How do we start connecting deeply with people? How do we give our lives a real sense of meaning and purpose?
In my long journey, I have taken many reflective paths. For example, I have studied Gurdjieff for over 40 years as I have mentioned in previous posts. Gurdjieff introduced the world to the Fourth Way, or what I would say is the Way of Reflection. To me, these four ways summarize the different paths people take to find meaning, purpose, joy, and harmony in their lives.
The First Way is physical – the way of the fakir who masters the physical body by enduring great suffering to achieve a higher state of consciousness, e.g. the 1,000 day challenge that some Buddhist initiates strive to achieve in Japan. It is essentially a marathon a day for 1,000 days without the benefit of the newest Nike shoes. Over a long history, only 46 monks have completed that challenge. Believe me, I have no desire to be number 47. The physical way can be a means of reflection and a path to growth.
The Second Way, the way of the Monk, is based on faith and feeling. This way is for the people who spend their entire lives in contemplation and never leave the compound. Seekers learn how to tackle anxiety and depression with serenity, wisdom, and humor. In some practices, monks focus on their personal life, their relationships, and their contributions to the world. Monks typically strive for emancipation through renunciation and service to humanity. A monk is more inclined to appreciate spirituality than religious doctrine. One does not necessarily need to think, one just knows. The emotional path can also be a means of reflection and a path to growth.
The Third Way, the way of the Yogi, focuses on development of the mind. This way is for those who spend their lives in study and who develop the discipline to master their thoughts. Some yogis are Buddhist hermits; others Hindu Shaivites; still others are Sikhs, Muslim mystics or Christians seeking personal sanctification. Western seekers are drawn to Hindu ashrams or Buddhist monasteries if they are inclined to follow this way. The intellectual path is still another opportunity for reflection and a path to growth.
Gurdjieff presented his teaching as a Fourth Way that integrates these three aspects into a single path of self-knowledge. Progress in the Fourth Way comes through conscious effort toward a quality of thinking and feeling that brings a new capacity to see clearly.
The most important aspect of the Fourth Way is to reflect deeply and remember yourself so that you experience higher levels of consciousness and harmony. The Fourth Way draws on prior traditions and practices. For example, the Upanishads emphasized the need to remember and bring consciousness to the forefront. Sufism refers to Remembrance of God or higher power.
All four ways lead to the same end: awakening of consciousness through deep reflection and remembering. In practice, the fourth way is a harmonious blend of all three ways through a heightened level of consciousness.
A fundamental aspect of the Fourth Way is its emphasis on linking spiritual evolution to a scale greater than a single human. A person does not evolve for his or her own benefit but for the greater good and the benefit to the Cosmos. The Fourth Way is a way for those disillusioned and disappointed with the world who have sought long, who know too much, and who yet haven’t found what they are seeking. Resonate?
I decided, for better or for worse, not to join a Gurdjieff or Fourth Way group. I once went to a Gurdjieff meeting in New York, but I found the participants took themselves too seriously and seemed to lack humor and lightness. I experienced the meeting as too dark and heavy, but it could have just been the group I attended. Still, I continued to read and study and benefit from the dozens of books I read. What has helped me the most from my learning is Gurdjieff’s notion of I am, I can, and I wish. I have used that construct as the basis for my mantra during meditation.
“I am” speaks to an aspiration of congruence in a culture that makes that aspiration difficult: I am at One. I am at peace. I am calm and still. I am here now. All of these statements can be true at moments, but our daily lives often take us out of those states. To be at One is difficult in an increasingly divided country. To be at peace with our life and death is a challenge when we are constantly jarred with unsettling events. To be calm and still seems almost impossible when the distractions and noise are deafening. To be here now (present in the moment) requires enormous focus given all the forces pulling and pushing on our attention.
“I can” speaks to our commitment to certain values and our capability to practice them: I can lighten being. I can be kind. I can extend love. I can smile on the world no matter what it brings me. It seems pretty simple to lighten up, treat people with kindness, love our neighbors, and play the hands we are dealt without complaint. And yet, if you are like me, I often find myself violating those values.
“I wish” speaks to our conviction to pursue a higher level of consciousness: I wish to awake. I wish to unify. I wish to harmonize. I wish to heal. These are all wishes because most of the statements are typically experienced rarely. Most of our “waking” hours are spent sleep walking. As Gurdjieff would say, we are three brained beings with no crystallized essence. Our lives are typically more cacophonous than harmonious, and we often hurt more than we heal.
If we are going to participate fully in the Great Reflection, then we must explore the gaps between our “I am,” “I can,” and “I wish” statements with our day-to-day behaviors. We will need to look at our level of congruence, our level of commitment to stated values, and our conviction to become conscious and whole.
In this period of Great Reflection, I’m hoping on a national level that we look beneath the dysfunction of government and take a hard look at the oligarchs who are feeding it and manipulating it for their own selfish purposes. I’m hoping on an organizational level we will focus as much on creating healthy, innovative and productive cultures as we do on healthy balance sheets. On an individual level, I’m hoping we can spend a little less time on our screens and on our physical and intellectual obsessions and spend more time on our emotional and spiritual evolution. May you find joy. May you find purpose. May you find love.
Also published on Medium.
We’ll done as usual Ricky-thank you!
Good, Rick: you focus on, “I am” as mantra, and nod to Gurdjieff as your source. Some of your readers may appreciate knowing where he got that phrase: it came from the voice out of the Burning Bush in the Bible, replying to Moses who asked, “Who shall I tell Pharaoh sent me to free the slaves?” The answer came, “I am that I am,” in the voice of God. So, how do your readers milk this knowing in the most the most fundamental and rewarding reflection ever? Maybe they will be aided by your sharing the question “WHO?” WHO are you in saying, “I am at one” or “I can” or “I wish”? WHO in you or as you becomes ONENESS? Or any and all possibility? Or whatever and however desire stirs most genuinely in you? And then, I know you originally wanted to include a link to my book. I thought that just a link would not tell your people clearly why you want to send them to read it. So, let me add: I have heard you say more than once that guidance in the revelation that came to me in our 5th decade after the Vietnam War helped you FEEL bodily, in experience, the felt meaning of enlightenment principles you had read about for decades. AND that this ability to experience deepened and filled out your living these principles invaluably. So while the book is not quite ready to link yet, my website and a free 10 min video to share that guidance is waiting for all who click here, with my loving blessings: HarmonizeAllofYouwithAll.com
Thanks for your wise and challenging comment. Yes, WHO is the big question. Gurdjieff implored us not to say “I” and think it is you. He pointed out that, without a crystallized essence developed through diligent work, “I” could represent any. one of three “brains” adapting to any given situation. Also, of course, Who am I is the fundamental existential question.
And, yes, my work with you to harmonize All with All has enabled me to better embody, elevate and experience. The movements help me to embody what’s in my head; moving energy through my body helps me transubstantiate Jing, to Chi, to Shen (primal to vital to spiritual energies); and harmonizing my energies with Universal Energy has helped me more fully experience the love, wisdom, power and joy available in the Universe.
So yes, I am looking forward to that link to your book and I hope whoever reads this blog will go to it and go with it.