How do we move forward in The Work?

[Deleted member 11729]

Thank you all, I have been continuing those few days to be more focused on exploring the different concepts form The Work, going through the materials on TheCassWIki, and it is rewarding to see the progress happening every time when full effort and right intent is put into learning .. but still many questions are just popping up ... I feel like intensive month of every day real group classes on introduction at those topics will be very good indeed! As for me, and probably for most of the people, the consistent time needed to digest those things, to be able to have questions for the forum, is usually very very limited ... but :) ... but .. we keep one step at the time.

I'd say you could be more open here about your thoughts, ideas, beliefs, issues etc. and consider the feedback. Also keep reading the recommended material, keep thinking, challenging yourself, questioning yourself. Try to build within you a desire and drive to learn and know as much as possible about yourself, others and life on planet earth in general. That kind of striving tends to open new doors and new experiences that increase the learning curve.

Thank you Joe, yep ... I do ... and I think I do understand quite well many of the concepts, now after I experienced that, how it is important to be focused in learning ... something what still is for me a bit of "mystery" and it is explained in the G. 4th Way teachings there is a concept "Paying all in advance" - This 4th Way principle means that one cannot achieve objective results without sacrificing the subjective. More can be found here - https://thecasswiki.net/index.php?title=Paying_all_in_advance

Reading this chapter I wanted to ask regarding this quotation from G:

"No matter how intelligent, how endowed, how brilliant a man is, if he doesn't change his opinion about himself, he will be lost for inner development, for the work based on self-knowledge, for a real evolution. He will stay as he is all his life. The first demand, the first condition, the first test for he who wants to work on himself is to change his appreciation of himself. He cannot just imagine, or simply believe or think, but actually *see* things in himself that he did not see before, really see them. Never will his opinion about himself change as long as he will not see inside himself. And in order to see, he has _to learn_ to see: it is the first initiation of man into self-knowledge.
Before anything else, he has to know what to look for. Once he knows it, he has to make efforts, focus his attention, look constantly, with tenacity. By maintaining his attention on it, by not forgetting about looking, one day he may see."

And right now, I am bugging my mind with a question - How do we know what we are looking for?

So even though I do understand those points you mentioned and I bolded, and I can see how observing is something that will get us forward differently than we used to do it before, but also now I am bugging my mind, in terms of hyperdimensionally thinking, if FOTCM is on a way following G. teachings, is there something like this 3 circles?

Maybe there is. But I think in our isolated states, trying to work on ourselves, we ourselves unfortunately can't gauge where we are currently in the work.

I think that over time, whether we're moving forward or not can probably be discerned by the elders by our interactions with the network, but I think it's actually more helpful to take a pessimistic view of things. Obviously, I can only really speak for myself here, but what if I'm wondering which circle I might fit into (exoteric, mesoteric or esoteric) and I haven't even approached the first step on the ladder yet? What if I'm a sheep dreaming maybe he's an eagle?

Well, if we have unlimited lifetimes and an infinite amount of time to reach 7th density, then progress is unlimited, too.

G. said there is no standing still; you're either moving forward or moving backwards. So, we could test that: Is it enough to feel convinced that we're at least not moving backwards?

I'm currently reading, On Becoming a Person by Carl Rogers, and one of the paragraphs made me think of this thread you started, so I'd like to quote it for you as I think there's something important in what he said:

I find I am at my best when I can let the flow of my experience carry me,
in a direction which appears to be forward, toward goals of which
I am but dimly aware. In thus floating with the complex stream of
my experiencing, and in trying to understand its ever-changing complexity,
it should be evident that there are no fixed points. When I
am thus able to be in process, it is clear that there can be no closed
system of beliefs, no unchanging set of principles which I hold. Life
is guided by a changing understanding of and interpretation of my
experience. It is always in process of becoming.

I trust it is clear now why there is no philosophy or belief or set
of principles which I could encourage or persuade others to have or
hold. I can only try to live by my interpretation of the current
meaning of my experience, and try to give others the permission and
freedom to develop their own inward freedom and thus their own
meaningful interpretation of their own experience.

If there is such a thing as truth, this free individual process of
search should, I believe, converge toward it. And in a limited way,
this is also what I seem to have experienced.

Thank you T.C. for your thoughts, yep I can relate to those ... in general I am not worried do I belong to any of those circles, on a way it is also question of Identification, that is a biggest trap for self development ..... but if we look at 4th Way teachings, it is actually all about working towards, as I understand it right, very specific progression of your spiritual growth ... it is all about to fine tune your machine to find your real "I" and to allow higher Hydrogens to crystallize within your organic body, in order to enhance your spiritual being ... and that enhancement means that if crystallization is happening on a right way, through efforts of learning through shocks and self - remembering, your observation of outer world will become more and more objective, so actually any step forward that enhancement, means that you are working on your self to be less damaging for the outer world, indeed ... :). .. so from that point I am still wondering that probably I will need to set up for my self some tasks to get better focus and concentration when reading and learning ... and to network more here also, as the practice to get my self into someone else shoes, what actually helping a lot in my every day life and work, to bring better decisions, since I use it as a practice that helped me to get off the identification buzz in my work.

And in your quotation form the book, if I understand it right, and also can see it from my experience, anticipating is not gonna get us to the final destination in what ever we do, and that is a fine tuning how to make plans of "progression" but not anticipate the outcome, or how to work with people without anticipating their possible moves, but be aware of their present behavior ... etc ... heh ... just my thinking on the given material

 

[3DStudent]

Yeah, it is a good advice. And it was suggested by the C's in the past, that doing things for others may help with overcoming various inner blocks and feelings of "being stuck". And there is also this:

A: Security is found within, but it dwells within and without.

...(V) Do I feel this despair due to past life issues or due to this life?

A: Both.

Q: (V) Does this stem from my relationship with my mother?

A: Like another "slide" in the slide projector carrousel.[...]

(V) I don't think I can hear anymore.

A: Yes you can, and it would be wise if you did. You see, VG, there is nothing preventing you, or anyone else for that matter, from falling into the correct slot of their balanced contentment learning profile, but simply advancing that carrousel until the correct slot aligns, then just falling, or "sliding" into place!

Q: (L) You use this allegory; what would consist of advancing the carrousel?

A: Discover... because learning is fun!

Q: (L) Is there a physiological relationship to this carrousel, or is it just strictly psychic, psychological, or learning related?

A: Hide and seek, locate and retrieve.[...]

Q: (V) So, I should just stuff my feelings and stop complaining and then everybody will be happy? I don't understand.

A: Not point. Now all we are trying to do here is help you get your carrousel unstuck, VG. But we do not lead by the hand. You have no reason to feel guilty, so cut it out. Just resume your path and rejoice in each lesson learned.

Q: (V) Who said anything about feeling guilty? Did I say I felt guilty? (L) Yes, you said you felt guilty; that you were not doing your share... that's the whole thing behind it here. You feel like you have to do half the whole thing. (V) Why is guilt such a huge issue with me? Where does that come from?

A: Source is not important, solution is.[...]

Q: (L) Is there any one thing that VG could think, do, say, fantasize, imagine, practice, take as a pill, something to get her over this hump? Some therapy?

A: Listen to learn, learn to listen!

Q: (L) Maybe that is the crux of the matter? (V) Ummhmm! Are you saying that I am being just a little stubborn?!

A: Stubbornness is a sign of being blocked. So get that slide out of the projector and get on with the show!

Thanks for that excerpt. I had either not read or forgotten about that bold part. If you think about how everything is happening at the same time, then it seems that all there is really is just lessons! Maybe far fetched, but is time travel just completing and learning new lessons?

This is timely, because I'm in the process of "rearranging some slides". And I can be very stubborn, and thus blocked.

 

[petite femme]

First of all, thank you solarmind for this awesome thread! It was really thought provoking! I greatly enjoyed reading all the thoughts provided in all the posts!
To sum up what I got out of all the posts, the Work is a process and it takes time. It is safe to assume that it may be an ongoing endeavor that lasts the rest of our lives! Also, it can be uncomfortable and overwhelming at times. I certainly have experienced that myself. There have been times that I feel sooo inadequate and not up to the challenge. There have been times I've wondered "what do i do next!!!" or "I can't do this!!!" To get through these times I just remember I can't give up or give in. If I do I will most certainly not accomplish anything.
I think that what G is talking about in that quote is looking for the lies we tell ourselves, about who we think we are. Seeing ourselves for how we really are. I could be wrong, or maybe there is more to it. Maybe someone else can comment.
As for teaching, well I think we are all here to learn. I, myself, can share some of the things i have learned, but in all honesty, I think that is all any of us can "do". I could be wrong on this also, that's just what I think. We are all on our own path, in different stages of life and learning. That's why networking is such an important part of the work.
Thanks again for the thread, and thanks to everyone for they're posts!!

 

[Deleted member 11729]

dear all .. THANK YOU! .. hard for me yet to articulate all the thoughts and feelings, but ... I just continued to read G. and Castaneda and Ouspenski and right now one more time I am rereading "In the Search of the Miraculous" ...

... among other daily and ordinary explainable things, that I wrote about one in particular from my work last week, and as I wanted to come back here to share, I spotted this thread so related to my "worries", so I felt it is more useful to share it on that thread - http://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,42457.msg669094.html#msg669094

What I would like to share here is, that last week in one moment, as after your suggestions, I decided to meditate and read more in particular on "identification", and at one moment I just "clicked" and felt non identification with anything what so ever - HUH ... what a feeling ... well, just to say that I am not imagining that I am "free" now or what so ever, but obviously something happen, some change that was strong to be noticed more than strong ... this physicality of detachment from anything, physical, emotional, intelectual, just all of a sudden gave me such a strength and "cleanness" of mind ... that's it what I can say about that ... all other is non speakable

Also, since few days, I have some very physical experiences, flow of the energy makes me feel super energised, my brain is just working so sharp, I am waking up "awakened" ... seeing things so clear, and getting some daily things done quicker, and as well as jobs, that is getting to another level, a huge another level in all directions ... some of those experiences are probably due to the Qigong Distant Energy Healing, that some how I got as a gift by e-mail ( strange occasion either ) and accepted to participate in it week ago - last tuesday to wednesday ... and I am about to have 3 more "sessions"

as about physical sensations, this is really strange I never felt anything like this - so since 2 days ago I feel like my body is tall 2m, long hands, long legs, all is long and elegant, long fingers ... too long and too elegant, ( well my look is nothing like that ... I am actually more of a small round Hobit ;) ... actually I feel like from time to time to be embraced but someone else, who is like that, .. I feel like to be hold by someone, but the body touch feels from within, like I get hugged by someone like that and all of a sudden I feel the warmth and grace from the hug is coming inside of me, making me feel like my body is that other body???

eh ... time to focus and get back to daily plan ...

thank you!