Five of Swords: The Hollow Conquest of the Mind
About This Reading
Explore the Five of Swords through Fourth Way inquiry. Uncover how spiritual ego mimics awakening and learn the quiet labor of genuine self-observation.
Five of Swords.
He holds the swords and presses a hand to his own chest. He won, and something in there is hurt.
You ask what Gurdjieff was pointing to. Your own attention. What you hope a teacher could give you is confirmation: yes, you are awake. No one can hand you that. Only your attention can, one moment at a time.
Where do you run on habit while believing you are awake? Often right here, describing your sleep perfectly, and winning the argument with yourself.
Jung would say the intellect makes a fine servant and a lonely king.
In the Fourth Way, knowing about the machine is not yet seeing it.
The Sanskrit word is Mātsarya, the spite of keeping score.
So put the swords down for one breath. Feel your feet. That is the awake you were asking about.
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