Psychological Thinking

Psychological Thinking

“I’ll think about it.” Such an everyday expression. Would it be a surprise if we were to say that there are at least four types of thinking, before we even address psychological thinking?

The machine is a conglomerate of four lower centers. Each center has it’s own way of reasoning. The instinctive center applies biological thinking. One’s partner serves a delicious meal and the instinctive center says ‘I love you’. The intellectual center applies logical thinking. It functions on a binary scale; ‘yes’ or ‘no’. Don’t imagine an elephant on a bicycle. It’s almost impossible not to now that this image has been evoked. Just like even the most advanced computers (machines), we’ve programed the intellectual center. I wonder how many of us will begin envisioning elephants on bicycles throughout the day? The same often happens when we hear a catchy tune and it lives on in our heads. The moving center applies motion as it’s method for evaluation and expression. How many times do we talk with our hands, as if gesticulating or nodding in agreement makes an opinion any more or less objective? And the emotional center, at least when it works at it’s natural speed, which is hardly ever, employs intuitive thinking. The problem though, is it’s heavily influenced by the mechanical parts of centers, especially the mechanical part of the intellectual center, and finds comfort in ready made phrases and slogans or easy one-dimensional solutions.

More often than not, we approach subjects using perhaps one or two centers at best, and again, more often than not, from the mechanical and emotional parts of centers, and rarely from the intellectual parts. Psychological thinking is rooted in the kings of centers; that is the king of hearts, king of diamonds, king of clubs and king of spades. It begins with self-remembering, observing oneself and the external world objectively, and one’s relationship to both.

George Gurdjieff plainly stated that psychology refers to a fully developed man or woman, or those who are making the necessary efforts to develop higher centers. He further observed that a machine has no psychology, only mechanics. Not very flattering at all. This is one of the reasons that the system and an esoteric fourth way school is not so popular or sought after. The fourth way system provides the means to think psychologically, so that we learn about, know about, and Be ourselves in relation to our own conscious evolution.

The system is a body of objective knowledge, so in that sense psychological thinking may also be called objective thinking. By applying psychological thinking, rather than contemplate, for example asking ‘Why’, we are able to calculate by working with the question ‘How’. This is another characteristic of a fourth way school.

One example of psychological thinking is my attitude towards a particular student was that he is slow, and sometimes thoughtless or lacks the ability to think on his feet. Espying him a few weeks ago at lunch, in a moment of presence, the realization occurred that he is centered in a king of a center. It struck me that this student and my wife shared the some of the same essential characteristics. Kings of centers assess, strategize, then execute. They look at problems from many sides, then strategize a solution before taking any action. My own center of gravity is a jack of a center. For want of a better expression, the jacks are wind-up. You tell them what needs to be done, they get on with it without too much wanting to know the why’s and wherefore’s. They’ll figure it out on the fly. The outcome between these two centers of gravity may be the same, but their methods are quite different. Nine and a half times out of ten, someone centered in a king, will bring a flawless result, and whatever may be missing is usually due to an unforeseen element. But executing their strategy takes them time because each step is assessed in relation to the whole. The jacks of centers on the other hand simply go, do, go, do, go, do….Not too much thought and if the task is repetitive so much the better. The jacks will accomplish the same task that the king is working with in a third of the time. Except that seven out of ten times, mistakes are made and things are missed which results in an imperfect completion of the octave at hand.

Psychological thinking allows objective observations. There is, of course, the further effort of applying what we’ve learned. Psychological thinking eliminates judgement, opinions and guesswork. It also means working with others. We do not evolve on our own. Outside help is needed at every stage of development, and in a school, there is an abundance of assistance available. Another way to say this is from the Teacher. Only a few days ago he stated that our collective presence strengthens our individual presence immediately.

Thank you for taking the time and effort to read an unusually long, and hopefully useful, post.

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