The Fourth Way in the light of the Sufi way

Psychology

1. Three centres in man: physical (movement, energy,

action); emotional and intellectual.
a. Each of them has three levels of functioning:
mechanic, normal and high
i. Intellectual: mental conditioning and chatter,
rational thought; wisdom from first principles
and prudence, and intuition.
ii. Emotional: emotional negativity, lack of
balance and unfinished things; emotional
balance and connection; deep heart emotions,
aesthetic.
iii. Physical: lack of action and bodily energy;
funcional energy and action; special amounts of
energy and focused action
b. Each centre also has an instinctive, emotional and
cognitive part. For example, the physical has a gut
intelligence and a sense of gut will; the emotional has
an intuitive part and a motivational part; the
intellectual, has will, and also has creativity and
imagination. Modern biology knows that emotion is
 in the heart, brain and body. Intelligence can also be
found in brain, heart and gut.
c. Each centre should do what is meant to do, and not
other things.
d. Importance of centres to work together and to be
balanced, though by temperament one will
bepredominant.
e. The strongest of the three is the emotional. That is
why, emotions should always be involved, through
the virtues.
f. Each of the centres is associated with fundamental
virtues: wisdom and prudence; fortitude and social
connection and compassion; temperance and gut
courage.

2. There is also a higher centre, called spiritual heart, with

two aspects: a higher emotional centre and a higher
intellectual centre.
a. The former -which includes higher feelings and
states and tasting- has to be awakened first.
b. Psychological and emotional negativity or unbalance;
sins; inner vices; lack of awareness of God and one’s
true self; identification with world and nafs: these
veil the higher emotional centre, and the higher
 intellectual centre. The later is also veiled by wrong
notions about reality.
c. The beginning of this higher centre is a kind
magnetic centre, characterised by aspiration and
sincerity and purity.

3. Difference between essence and nafs or personality.

a. The essence is the pure spirit, manifested in the
spiritual heart. Also, in each person it has a
particular colour, and vocation. The essence has to
grow too.
b. The personality or nafs is the secondary self. It is
necessary, but it must be purified and not to be at the
center.

4. The commanding nafs has certain traits:

a. It is asleep and mechanical, driven by conditioning
and the hypnosis of the world.
b. It is fragmented. It has clusters of I’s. It has facades
we present to the world.
c. It is self-centred and narcissistic. Vanity and pride
d. It tends to distort natural drives in the human being:
desire, anger, aspiration and follow passions and
whims, not being in harmony with moral laws.
 5. We also suffer from a set of disfunctions:
a. identification with the nafs, and with the different
fragments or tendencies in it. We cannot see these
compartimentation because there are buffers
operating in us.
b. We suffer from different forms of inner considering.
i. Self-justification, Self-pity, guilt. They are forms
of identification.
ii. Negative emotions and states. They make you
lose energy.
iii. Singing our song, the story of our lives.
iv. Being conditioned by the importance we give to
praise and criticism.
c. We talk and move unnecessarily and build
unnecessary tension.
d. We speak about things we do not really know.

6. There are four kinds of influences a person can receive:

a. Worldly influences and conditioning
b. Group-think conditioning, and satanic inspirations
c. Angelic influences, also from books
d. Influences from a teacher and a spiritual line

Method
7. Conditions to begin or qualify for the Work
a. to be a ‘householder’, that is, someone functional in
life, with work, etc. At least to be an expert at doing
some things.
b. to have an inner calling that ordinary life is not
sufficient
c. to be psychologically balanced or, at least, to be
working or willing to work on that area
d. to have a moral life

8. Difference between knowing and understanding. The

latter is accomplished through practicing what you know
and inner work. There should be an increase in the level of
being, parallel to this understanding

9. Methods of work:

Knowledge and teacher

a. Self-knowledge and awareness. To understand that

we have different I. To see our life and
characteristics.
b. Acquiring true knowledge and practising it. Right
form of reflection. Both transform knowledge into
true understanding and being.
 c. Listening truly to one’s teacher, practising what he
indicates and connecting in early with him.

Remembrance

d. Self-remembrance, having presence, breaking

identification and negativity in the midst of ordinary
life
e. Remembrance of God and connecting to one’s inner
core
f. Attention, as presence when we pray or remember;
to the present moment and task; to other people as
we communicate with them; to our inner world,
through observation.
g. External considering , which means empathy,
compassion, and also trying to see things objectively
and in proper scales.

Inner effort

h. Struggle with the nafs, seeing it clearly. Sometimes

we have to oppose what it commands completely.
Sometimes, we have to balance things. At the same
time, we have to keep emotional balance and right
love of ourselves.
 i. Psychological work of inner integration, which
specially affects the emotional centre

Positiveness

j. Preserving energy and keeping positive. Banning

negativity, complaining, criticising others,
sabotaging oneself.
k. Gratitude, the main foundation of positiveness.
l. Being able to change, to adapt, including to face
things in new ways, and not to get obsessed in
identification with problems.

Morality and discipline

m. Working with discipline. Prioritise.

n. Moral action and develop good character traits
without getting inflated.
o. Speak only of what you really know. Otherwise it is
a kind of lying. In the Work, this knowing is akin to
experience.

10. Work and service is in three areas:

a. With oneself, constantly. It includes fulfilling
responsibilities.
b. Service in the school or zaviye, always under the
direction of the teacher. Without this, it is not real
service.
c. Service for other brethren, for humanity in general.
There is here a venue for initiative.