You must work alone and also with other people—often."
(Jeanne de Salzmann; Heart Without Measure; p 36)
POSTED DECEMBER 22, 2017
When I find myself listening to someone speaking on something I have strong feelings about (a political or social stance, for instance, or feelings about an event, something read or heard, etc.), can I see my reaction and use it to come inside to check and see how I’m listening, where I am in that moment?
To be in touch with the help that comes from being centered with the body?
POSTED NOVEMBER 18, 2017
Each day I renew/revise my decision to try something intentionally for ~10”, recalling the words of Mme de Salzmann: “It is absurd to pretend in my sleep that I wish to work.”
In addition to this study of intentional efforts, some of us may also be interested in working with the suggestion that between tasks we try to hold onto some degree of sensation of the body. For those who would like a suggestion as to how to work with this, you might want to consider the following:
In unanticipated moments when I find myself waiting for a moment or two, either alone (e.g., waiting for water to boil, standing in line, filling a pot or bucket, etc.) or out in life (waiting in a line, caught in traffic or a traffic light, etc.) I simply come back to following (taking in impressions of?) my breath moving through my nostrils to the abdomen and out again.
Can I catch a glimpse of myself in these moments. Can I begin to distinguish between the taste of ‘thinking’ about my breathing and moments of truly observing myself breathing?
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POSTED NOVEMBER 10, 2017
Task Suggestion:
In advance, each day:
I choose as a “when” one or two ~10” periods where I will be alone but in some way manifesting…e.g., taking a walk, doing the dishes, riding a bike, raking leaves, etc.
As a “what” I try to notice (listen to?) the impressions of the part of the body I’m using (or, as an alternative, parts of the body I’m not using).
Can I begin to catch a glimpse of different states of myself in these moments, some states that might be what Gurdjieff calls being ‘identified’ and others that might approach what Mme de Salzmann calls ‘a free attention’ that allows me to see myself as I am in that moment.
* * * * * * *
POSTED NOVEMBER 5, 2017
Suggested task:
As I continue to work with the effort of being clear about when and what I will try in a given moment, I include trying in the moment to catch a glimpse of myself...an actual impression...of what takes me away.
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POSTED OCTOBER 29, 2017
Suggested task with variation:
In advance...
...I decide on one or more times during the day when I will try something for ~10”
...I decide what I will try in terms of a connection between mind & body.
Each day I renew or revise my decision.
In our continued attempt to understand the nature of a conscious effort, I try to work with the following question:
What do I see in the moments of coming back?
* * * * * * *
POSTED OCTOBER 20, 2017
Task Suggestion:
For those wishing to continue working with the effort of being clear as to when I will try and what I will try, here’s a suggestion of something we could add…
Taking mental notes about the when…do I begin to see that some of my choices of activities and/or situations seem to offer more potential for a brief, active effort (e.g., when alone and quiet, or when alone and active, or when working with another, in a group of people, etc.).
Taking care to design the what in such a way that it includes an exploration of a connection between mind and body…(e.g., in the chosen ~10” I might explore a relationship with the breath, or a taking in of impressions (sensing?) of a part or the whole of the body, or an awareness of posture, or noticing muscles being used and/or unnecessarily tensed, etc.).
As the reading above suggests, it may be interesting to continue noticing our strong wish for results from our efforts…working with the idea that success is not measured by whether or not I achieve the chosen what, but rather by whether or not I engaged in making the effort for the allotted ~10”.
* * * * * * *
POSTED OCTOBER 13, 2017
Task Suggestion:
In advance, I decide on one or more times during the day when I will try the task for ~10”.
Task: During the ~10", each time I catch myself daydreaming I come back to noticing the body and the tensions that have arisen.
What do I see in this moment of coming back?
* * * * * *
POSTED OCTOBER 1, 2017
Since everyone seems to be so interested, we will continue working with trying to be clear and intentional with our effort, but at the end we will add the suggestion from the LR wknd:
In advance...
I decide when I will try.
I decide what I will try.
For 10”? Once or more each day?
Each day I renew or revise my decision.
Addition: Notice how you are before the effort, during and after.
Do I find a relationship between "a balanced work of the three lower centers" and the receiving of an impression of myself before, during, and after an effort?
* * *
POSTED SEPTEMBER 22, 2017
Exercise alluded to at several past mtgs: 1-4-2-8-5-7
1 sense right arm
4 sense right leg
2 sense left leg
8 sense left arm
5 sense head
7 sense all body below head
(Always keeping the same body part assigned to a particular number, I progressively move through the multiplications... 1-4-2-8-5-7 2-8-5-7-1-4 4-2-8-5-7-1 etc )
When am I sensing? When am I imagining it? What are the different tastes?
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
POSTED SEPTEMBER 2, 2017
I continue to explore what it means to be clear in my effort:
In advance...
I decide when I will try.
I decide what I will try.
For 10”? Once or more each day?
Each day I renew or revise my decision.
* we have so many examples of what to try in our repertoire…e.g., coming back to an awareness of my posture, an awareness of my breathing, sensing a part of my body, listening for the silence, etc. Here’s a possibility for anyone wishing for a more specific suggestion:
I identify in advance an ~10” activity involving my hands that I expect to engage in later in the day. During this activity I will repeatedly return to sensing (taking in impressions) of my hands as they work.
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POSTED AUGUST 25, 2017
Lots of questions about impressions this past Thursday… what they are, can we experience them as a food, is there a relation between ‘sensing the body’ and ‘taking in of impressions,’ etc. A picture of the Food Diagram including reception of impressions as the third food has been added below. In fact it may be interesting, in light of the many questions/comments that were brought up on Thursday, to revisit all the brief readings posted here from past weeks.
Anyone wishing to continue an exploration related to impressions, while further working with our attempt to understand the nature of intentional efforts, might consider this modification to last week’s task:
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While sitting comfortably in a posture that I associate with ‘working,’ with eyes open and for the duration of drinking a cup of coffee, tea or a cold drink…
I come back repeatedly to the experience of sensing/taking in impressions of some part(s) of my body. Do I discover in some moments the taste of what might be an actual connection between mind and body and in others the realization that I’m only thinking about sensing?
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POSTED AUGUST 20, 2017
Saturday Workday, August 19, 2017
Some questions that came up:
- What is an intentional effort?
- Can making intentional efforts help me to taste the difference between passive and active work efforts?
- Is an active effort needed? Does this relate to Mme de Salzmann’s statement that ‘what is too often missing is knowing what I want’?
- Can I experience in myself a difference between making an effort because I think I should and making an effort that I’m truly interested in trying?
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POSTED AUGUST 19, 2017
In light of Thursday’s discussion and continued interest in the topic of making efforts that are actually possible for us as we are at this time...one question that seemed to surface was: Is my aim to make an effort, or do I find myself measuring the value of the effort by the results…by my success or failure at what I was trying ‘to do?’
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Suggested task for week of Aug 20:
While sitting comfortably in a posture that I associate with ‘working,’ with eyes open and for the duration of drinking a cup of coffee, tea or a cold drink…
I come back repeatedly to simply taking in impressions of myself as I sit.
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THE FOOD DIAGRAM
