It seems fair to say we have lost our way and don’t want to do the work to find our footing. I am not alone in that belief. Over 65% of Americans believe we are “seriously off on the wrong track.” Given our current reality, I was thinking about how it might be possible to renew our sense of purpose and restore a sense of common values that might help us find a path back to sanity. To stimulate my thinking, I asked AI for some help.
I love to challenge AI with impossibly complex questions just to see what it comes up with. What we know about the current state of AI is that it goes out of its way to generate answers that will most likely be aligned with whatever bias lurks in the question being asked. AI also infamously makes things up when it has no clue about the subject at hand, i.e. it hasn’t been “trained” to answer many obtuse, abstract questions. In short, AI has a propensity for affirmation and hallucination, but the truth is that none of us has all the answers to all of life’s questions. AND, we are vulnerable to anything or anyone who feeds our delusions.
So, just for fun, I asked ChatGPT it’s “thoughts” on an absurdly complex esoteric question. Here’s the prompt.
“Write an essay on the complementarity of The Way based on Taoism and The Work based on Gurdjieff’s philosophy. Discuss how The Way is aimed at creating the right attitude toward life (e.g. non attachment, being fully present in the moment, practicing calm detachment) while The Work is based on right thoughts and behaviors (e.g. self-remembering, destroying illusions about self and the world, making effort and non-identification). The goal is to show how the state of effortlessness experienced through Taoism is not possible without the discipline of making effort through The Work.”
Now, if you have absolutely no interest in that question (completely understandable), I recommend you stop reading and find something else to do. Or skip the next six paragraphs. On the other hand, if The Way and The Work and their interrelationship are high on your reading priorities – and you think a turn to esoteric philosophy may help us get back on track – you may be interested in this response:
“The complementarity of The Way based on Taoism and The Work based on Gurdjieff’s writing presents a profound synthesis of seemingly contrasting yet ultimately harmonizing spiritual pursuits. At its core, The Way aims to cultivate an attitude toward life rooted in non-attachment, full presence, and calm detachment, emphasizing the importance of aligning oneself with the natural flow of existence. In contrast, The Work emphasizes active self-development through self-remembering, destroying illusions, making conscious effort, and avoiding identification with transient phenomena. Together, these approaches reveal a nuanced understanding: that true effort is necessary to attain effortless consciousness, and that effortless presence arises from disciplined effort.
Taoism’s fundamental principle, encapsulated in the concept of The Way (Dao), advocates for surrendering the egoic will and aligning with the natural order. It encourages practitioners to adopt an attitude of non-attachment, to remain fully immersed in the present moment, and to practice calm detachment from worldly desires and internal perturbations. This attitude fosters a state of harmony where actions are spontaneous and uncontrived, allowing one to experience life as it unfolds without resistance. Taoism teaches that by relinquishing excessive striving and ego-centric pursuits, one can attain a tranquil openness, a state where sustained effort becomes unnecessary because it is replaced by effortless alignment with the flow of life.
Conversely, The Work derived from Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way emphasizes the necessity of conscious effort and active engagement in self-transformation. It involves self-remembering—maintaining awareness of oneself in the present—and systematically dismantling the false self and illusions about the nature of reality and personal identity. Gurdjieff’s methodology insists that spiritual awakening demands effort: deliberate attention, inner work, and perseverance. The process involves an ongoing battle against the mechanical, automatic behaviors rooted in sleep and ignorance. It is through this effort that individuals can gradually dissolve false selves and attain higher states of consciousness, not through passivity but through active striving.
The apparent contradiction between effortless being and effortful striving is, in fact, a profound insight. The paradox is that effort is essential to reach a state where effort itself becomes unnecessary. In The Way, effortlessness arises when one internalizes the attitude of non-attachment and calm presence, but this internalization is rooted in disciplined practice—being attentive, non-reactive, and disciplined in one’s attitude toward life. Similarly, The Work involves effortful self-reflection and active effort to transform oneself, which then leads to a state of greater awareness and eventually to a sense of “naturalness” or “effortless being.” Without the initial and ongoing effort, the state of effortless presence remains inaccessible.
Both paths acknowledge that true freedom from internal conflict and suffering emerges through a process of disciplined effort. Taoism’s non-resistance and acceptance are supported by the understanding that resistance to life’s flow originates from internal attachments and illusions, which must be consciously relinquished. The Work offers methods to systematically destroy these illusions and to overcome mechanical patterns. Only by first engaging in effortful self-work can practitioners reach the stage where their attitude naturally reflects Taoist non-resistance—where effort subsides into effortless acceptance.
The synthesis of The Way and The Work reveals a deeper truth: that effort and effortlessness are two sides of the same coin. Effort is the gateway through which effortless states are realized. While Taoism teaches us to act with calm detachment and surrender, it also implicitly acknowledges that such surrender is cultivated through disciplined attitude and practice. Gurdjieff’s Fourth Way reminds us that sustained effort dismantles illusions, enabling us to experience a state of natural, effortless presence. Together, these paths illuminate that true spiritual progress involves a delicate dance—requiring effort to attain a state of grace where effort itself ceases to be necessary, leading to an authentic harmony with life’s flow.”
In my experience, the AI segment you just read is an accurate summary of what I know about Taoism and the Fourth Way, i.e. it didn’t just make something up. On the other hand, it clearly attempts to align its comments with the implicit biases contained within my prompt and it contains a lot of repetition. Bottom line, it saved me a lot of time, it helped me set up what I wanted to express, and it provided me with ideas which I could personalize and build upon. To me, that‘s a good use of AI. It reassured me that I was heading in the right direction and it freed me to do the real work of bringing the words alive.
So, If you made it this far, let me share with you my experiences with The Way and The Work that may make the theoretical overview above more personal.
My introduction to The Way (Taoism) came through an event I attended over 30 years ago with Master Luke Chan. As a consultant to a high tech firm sponsoring a wellness program promoting physical, emotional, and mental health, I arranged for Luke to teach a Qi Gong class to enhance a sense of spiritual well-being. Luke had been teaching Qi Gong for many years in the States, and I felt fortunate to have made his acquaintance. As is my tendency, I became an immediate convert and incorporated the practice into my daily routines. Soon after I worked with Luke, he returned to China to be with his family. After many years of practice on my own, Luke invited me to come to China for a month long retreat on Qi Gong and Taoism.
Qi Gong is rooted in Taoist philosophy and its practices serve as a way to cultivate and align with our life force to achieve spiritual and physical health. It embodies the experience of living in harmony with Tao or The Way. I took Luke up on his offer, flew to Hong Kong, and took a ferry to China where he picked me up. For the next 30 days, with four other participants, I was fully immersed from sunrise to sunset in a very intensive experience.
After I returned to the US, I wrote a book on Being at Home in the Universe which captured my experience with Luke in China. He wrote the forward to the book and a few years later asked me to edit his new book, The 8 Secrets of the Tao Te Ching, a distillation of Taoism based on his lifelong studies. All to say that I have had more than a passing fancy with Taoism or The Way.
My introduction to The Work came from an association with a mentor/friend of mine for over 50 years. He introduced me to Gurdjieff, founder of the Fourth Way or what is referred to as The Work. Naturally, I not only did a deep dive, I went a little off the deep end. I devoured several books by Bennett, Ouspensky, and Needham as well as six volumes by Nicoll and three books by Stavely. I also read All and Everything, Gurdjieff’s most seminal work, five times – which I can assure you is no small effort.
After diligent study and several experiences with Gurdjieff groups in New York, I found the practice too serious and humorless to continue as feverishly as I had for many years. Still, I keep a copy of All and Everything on my bed stand and refer to it when I need a challenging read or a deep insight. It’s an amazing body of profound writing. While I can’t even begin to claim that I conquered the depth of his teaching, my understanding of The Work is based on more than a superficial skimming.
But let’s get to the point. My primary motivation is this lifetime quest has always been to discover the esoteric core underlying all exoteric religions, i.e. understand the work required to find my way. While I have studied Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and many other spiritual paths, I have always looked for the mystical interpretations associated with all them. For example, Kabbalism is the mystical side of Judaism which explores the hidden meanings of the Torah; Sufism is the mystical offshoot of Islam; and Gnosticism is the mystical side of Christianity. What I have tried to discover is common ground among all the esoteric versions of great religions.
Based on my “work” on the “way,” I have found five common themes: Unity, Harmony, Inner Divinity, Wisdom, and Spiritual Evolution. These common themes reveal a shared understanding and underpinning for diverse spiritual traditions pointing to the true nature of reality and the divine:
Unity: There is a divine cosmic source and ineffable principles that connect all of us to All of the universe. We are all interconnected and at One. This is the ultimate reality that transcends the diversity of the material universe.
Harmony: The most important challenge we face as humans is to “achieve” some degree of harmony within ourselves among our physical, emotional, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions. Internal harmony is also the necessary prerquisite to experiencing harmony within our immediate circles of friends and family as well as the larger world and the universe. To illustrate, an orchestra will always sound discordant if one member or one group (stings, brass, percussion) is out of tune or off track.
Inner Divinity: Essence is more important than form. Beyond all external rituals and dogma, we all have an innate divine nature. It is the ultimate alignment with a nameless source and force that represents our true nature.
Wisdom: The purpose of our lives on earth is to unlock the mysteries of existence and discover deeper truths. Finding access to the divine spark is the real source of empowerment. Transcending ignorance is essential to liberation.
Spiritual Evolution: We have the possibility to transform our lives and transcend our egos. The journey involves overcoming ego and material attachment to experience a state of enlightenment. It is a mystical union achieved through love and devotion. Beneath external differences lies a common mystical foundation and shared aspiration. We can be both grounded through The Work and boundless through The Way.
This post is simply my humble opinion of what it might take to find our way. To me, the best way to get back on track is to combine ancient wisdom of The Way and The Work with modern technology powered by AI as a tool, not a tyrant. I don’t see another path – at least one worth following. At the beginning of each new day, I’m hoping we will all do the work to find our own way. May it be so.
