LAW OF THREE (54) The I and the Will

LAW OF THREE (54)

THE I OR THE WILL

"We have various, of what Gurdjieff called, 'centres' or 'intelligences'; but, ordinarily, these are in 'discord' They do not agree with each other in what they see or want. They are at cross purposes. The aim of 'work on oneself' was to clean up the centres and bring them into a co-operative state. It is so that they then coalesce and create something new, this is to create or realise one's true 'I'."

Gurdjieff's psychology

From the perspective of the Law of Three we may consider a car to be a three-fold unit in which three independent and mutually necessary forces give rise to an instrument capable of operating in the world of time and space. In this example the accelerator is the active force, the brakes the resisting force and the steering wheel the neutralising force. When these three powers are in tune, the driver, that is, the true I or the will, can direct the car in the direction he choses. We may consider the driver to be a 5th force which can only operate when the three sides of the triad are brought into a co-operative state (a triadic unit or No.4)

Why the 5th force?

Gurdjieff's example of Man nos. 1,2,3,4,5 etc, (blog 47) may help to answer this question. According to his scheme man number 5 can only manifest when Man, nos. l,2,3 are in balance giving rise to Man No.4. When the three have become one, at Man no 4, Man no. 5, a true "individual" or 'will' can operate.

Another useful example of three forces giving rise to one unit or 'articulation' can be found in the arising of understanding. In the arising of understanding, when sensations (no.l) feelings (no2) and thoughts (no.3) have become one, 'understanding' (no.4) , then the I or the will (no.5) can enter and act.

Metaphorically speaking...

If I can manage my three energy centres I can manage everything else. If I cannot, then everything is hard and has to be forced. If I do not know that the engine can take a car from one place to another, I push it, and this is how most of us do things: we push our machine about like a person pushing a motorcar, and then it can easily happen that the steering wheel is out of reach.