“Only the person who possesses four fully developed bodies can be called a human being in the full sense of the word.” …

Fourth Way

“Only the person who possesses four fully developed bodies can be called a human being in the full sense of the word.” – George Gurdjieff

The Fourth Way is unique to each individual and must be found in ordinary life. Gurdjieff was very clear about the fact that it is precisely in ordinary life that enlightenment, ascension, or a meaningful life can be achieved.

According to Gurdjieff, finding meaning requires constant self-observation, developing awareness, and applying inner work in daily life (the Fourth Way), whereby struggle, earthly life, is transformed into a moral quest for truth and authenticity, rather than an escape from life, as monks, yogis, and other spiritual practitioners sometimes tend to do in order to achieve enlightenment.

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Frist, Second and Third Way

1st Way – The path of the fakir – The path of the fakir is that of the struggle with the physical body, the path of working on the first chamber.

2nd WAY – The path of the monk – This is the path of faith, the path of religious feeling, the path of religious sacrifice. By subjecting all his other emotions to a single one, faith, he develops unity within himself.

3rd Way – The Way of the Yogi – This is the way of knowledge, the way of the mind. In order to be able to do this, he must first learn to control his body and emotions, that is, the first and second chambers.

What do the paths have in common? They all begin with the most difficult thing: a complete change of lifestyle, a renunciation of all worldly things.

“The fourth path does not require retreating into the desert, does not require a person to give up and reject everything they used to live for. The fourth path begins much further than the path of the yogi. This means that a person must be prepared for this fourth path, and this preparation must be obtained in ordinary life and be very serious, encompassing many different aspects. And above all, it must be found. Ouspensky p. 60”

The fourth way also differs from the other ways in that the main requirement placed on a person is that of understanding. A person should not do what he does not understand, except as an experiment under the supervision and guidance of his teacher. Ouspensky p. 61