LAW OF THREE (50) The Universal Dance

LAW OF THREE (50)

THE UNIVERSAL DANCE

"Triads are connected with further triads. These connecting triads go on and on: nothing is free from this Law and nothing exists in isolation. It is no exaggeration to say that by tracing from triad to triad it is possible to plot the connection between any two phenomena in the Universe, from a doorknob to a galaxy, from a fish to a table, from a chimney-pot to the moons of Saturn; taken that we have sufficient knowledge to do so" George Jeffery

"Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid..." Luke 12.7

We are counted and we count. The Universe is a vast entity of interconnected triads. We participate in the universal dance as a force in a triad

A triad consists of the active interaction of  three forces. Science recognises two forces, but it is unaware of a third one. Yet a third force is implicit in scientific formulation. To avoid stalemate there must be a third element which weakens the automatic 'action reaction' and enables further progression.

Man can act either as a necessary false third force or as a conscious true third force. Acting as a false third force we lend our powers to one of the conflicting sides ensuring automatic repetition (like-dislike, right-wrong, good-bad, etc.) When we act as a true reconciling third force we hold in ourselves the tension between two poles, and become the gate through which creative powers may enter and change for example the stalemate of war.

The action of a true reconciling third requires the sacrifice of the ego.* 

 

*The ego is not an independent force, but it is a force, except that it can only operate through the active or resisting forces. It cannot be an independent or true reconciling force because its view is dual. The ego cannot love both friends and enemies and become a neutralising force at the same time. Love your enemies is beyond its comprehension.

LAW OF THREE (49) The Gap

THE LAW OF THREE (49)

THE GAP

"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy..."

Hamlet 1.5.167-8

What am I ? A conscious exploration into depths of our being can reveal that I am nothing tangible. 

What can I do?  Wisdom teacher stated that we spend our lives trying to do what we cannot do, and avoid doing the only thing that we can do..

Which is? To give conscious attention.

Conscious attention separates subject from object by becoming aware of the space between the two.  The space between the Observer and the Observed reveals that we are neither the Observer nor the Observed but the 'observing presence' which brings the Observer and the Observed into a relationship.

In the Upanishads the Observer is Spirit.  Spirit is described as the Seer that sees though all eyes but needs no eyes to see. Spirit experiences itself through seeing.

The Christian tradition speaks of God experiencing himself in the human form. Man becomes the point of encounter of God with Himself.

Reflecting on the Rule of St. Benedict, an old Abbot pondered: Where is man in the activities performed by the monks in this monastery?  Only Christ is involved in all activities; Christ prays in the monk; Christ is the stranger that comes through the door, Christ is all in all.  But of course, he added, 'it takes Christ to recognise Christ'.

 'God in us is serving God in others.' Sta. Teresa of Avila

LAW OF THREE (47) A Three Fold Operating System

LAW OF THREE (47)

A THREE FOLD OPERATING SYSTEM.

In the Gurdjieff tradition, we speak of Man number 1,2,3,4,5, etc. up to number 7. Man no.1.  is dominated by the moving centre; Man no.2, by the feeling centre;  and Man no. 3,  by the thinking centre; Man no.4,  has all three centres in balance. According to the Gurdjieff scheme, it is possible for the 'real I' to enter such a balanced man, when he becomes Man no.5, a true 'individual' .

From the Gurdjieff tradition.

Gurdjieff uses numbers to differentiate the stages of self-development leading to the entering of the true 'I' at Man num.5.  The entering of our true 'I' or "individuality" is only possible when Man nos. 1, 2, 3 are in balance (Man no 4)

Nos 1,2,3 represent three sides of a triad. A triad is a dynamic unit showing the cooperation between three independent forces. The triad only manifests when the three forces are integrated in a dynamic whole. In the Gurdjieff scheme a balanced man, man no. 4, arises out of the balanced triadic articulation of thought, feeling, and sensation.

Man nos. 1,2,3 could be referred to as the three powers which when they come together articulate the evolving mind.

St. John of the Cross with the voice of Man. no 5:  speaks of rest and freedom.

In a dark night,

inflamed with love,

o delightful wonder!

I left and non saw me,

my house being now at rest..."

St. John of the Cross

* "En una noche oscura, con ansias en amores inflamada, ¡oh dichosa ventura! salí sin ser notada, estando ya mi casa sosegada."

THE LAW OF THREE (46) The Arising of Meaning

THE LAW OF THREE (46)

THE ARISING OF MEANING

"The task of the triad is to make a unity, though every action produces a reaction. In the mechanical world, Newton's laws apply, particularly that 'action and reaction are equal and opposite' and their sum is zero. In real life we have to do something more than what we are expected to do. The 'something more' is the third force. It is the secret of 'doing'. It may not actually have to be done by us. We can 'wait' until it arises of itself -when we speak of the 'propitious time' or the 'cubic centimetre of chance', etc.- before we act." Anthony Blake

The third force brings two opposing forces into a relationship and gives movement to the triad. The movement may be conscious or automatic.  When we, as carriers of the third force, take sides and lend our power (automatically) to only one of the opposing forces we act as a false reconciling force and the triad unfolds in an automatic and repetitive pattern,

We need to understand the difference between reacting and relating.  If someone insults us or attacks us we get upset. We react or criticise and then we learn nothing from the situation. Action and reaction are equal and opposite. To learn from the situation we need to encompass the energy of the 'attacker' and bring it inside ourselves. This requires us to bring something from our deeper self, something that is impartial and aware.

The arising of a unity is the arising of new meaning. Meaning arises when the thinking processes  continuously going on in ourselves, in the form of dialogues between thoughts, feelings and sensations, come to unitive perception. Only when the three mental functions see through a single eye meaning enters and the triad becomes one.  With the entering of new meaning triad takes an evolutive direction. We grow in understanding.

"When two or three are gathered in my name I am there in their midst" as a reconciling force.

LAW OF THREE (45) Not my will but yours.

LAW OF THREE (45)

NOT MY WILL BUT YOURS.

"We human beings naturally try to achieve satisfaction in all things through our own autonomous

effort and control. This is just as true in our search for spiritual fulfilment as it is in the rest of life.

We may yearn to "let go and let God" but it usually doesn't happen until we have exhausted our own efforts." Gerald May

St. Teresa of Avila. says "el centro del alma es Dios" (The centre of the soul is God"). St. Teresa reminds us that God shares with us all the tribulations of our life.

The discovery of the hidden immanent presence does not come through our own efforts.  It comes when we have exhausted all our own efforts. It may come over when we realise that nothing we have been trying works and that we need help.

"Let go and let God" requires change of signs in the triad. From acting as an initiating force to acting as receptive force.  From closing our hands to opening our hands. From feeling proud of our achievements to feeling humbled by our shortcomings.

God's evolution in us* needs our receptive cooperation. It needs letting God do in us and through us with our conscious consent. It requires letting go our own autonomous efforts to accomplish our aims and allowing God accomplish in us his aims.

This interdependence of God and Man makes us co-creators:

"God Is but cannot Do. Man can Do but Is not. So God Does in Man and Man Is in God. (Father S. Jordana)

An "inter-abading" experience that requires an eternal space to manifest.

* "God will bring people and events into our lives and whatever we may think about them they are designed for the evolution of HIS LIFE in us." Thomas Keating

LAW OF THRE (44) Time-Space-Consciousness

LAW OF THREE (44)

TIME-SPACE-CONSCIOUSNESS

"Consciousness give us an added dimension to our mental experience, a dimension that is "in depth" rather than time and space. J.G. Bennett

Traditional wisdom schools indicate that to function properly we need to become receptive to three independent sources of "information". The two primary sources of information come from the world of time and space. We start learning that two solid bodies cannot occupy the same space at the same time, and so on,  but in order to move further or to grow up we need to realise that consciousness or depth resides in a deeper dimension than space and time.

"Christianity must accept unreservedly the new dimensions (spatial, temporal and psychological)

of the world around us" Teilhard de Chardin.

Our presence or our being, is neither located in the dimension of time nor in the dimension of space. Presence can´t fit in the dual world of cause and effect or the world of bodies.

Spiritual work referred sometimes as the practice of developing consciousness, lead us to the perception of inner depth. Depth leads us into the word of presence. We are here. Now!

The experience of our being here, now, is not a transcendental or third world experience; but the experience of "the third dimension of the one and the same world, opening us up to a more real union with reality" Raimon Panikkar, * 

The experience of the third dimension of the world we are living in, is a wake up call that may lead us to the search for higher levels of receptivity.

LAW OF THREE (43) Time-Space-Eternity (2)

LAW OF THREE (43)

TIME-SPACE-ETERNITY (2)

" I am Absolute, I am timeless, infinite, and I am awareness, without being aware of awareness... Unless there is space and duration I cannot be conscious of myself." Nisargadatta Maharaj

Humanity suffers from a chronic case of mistaken identity referred to as the False Self, the Finite Self, the Ego-memory, the Personality, etc., all of which are inhabitants of the dual world of time and space

This temporal identity does not obscure completely the dimension of that Self which is present beyond time and space. The spiritual way could be described as the path which leads from a transient self  to the transcendental Self, or the journey from time to eternity.    

The transient identity of the ego is relativised  with the awareness of the presence of a third dimension of time (eternity) 

"The spiritual experience that we may call "mystical" does not put us in touch with a third world, but let us experience the third dimension of the one and the same world, opening us up to a more real union with reality" Raimon Panikkar, The Rhythm of Being, The Unbroken Trinity.

We identify ourselves with the transient and the finite. We derive our identity from the changing or the world of time and space, the next step consists on the awareness of the underlying presence of the third dimension of the one and the same world would open us up to a more real perception of reality.