Centers (Fourth Way) - Centers - Subtle Bodies

Subtle Bodies

The Fourth Way says that there are four possible bodies of man, composed of increasingly rarefied matter, interpenetrating one another; all people have the first body., while the other three are obtained through the correct type of effort. The bodies are as follows:

• The Material Body (Normal Human Physical Body). This body is considered the seat of the lower five centers: intellectual, emotional, physical, instinctual, and sexual. The material body's actions are purely automatic and depend completely on the influences coming from outside factors, and its perception is confined to observation in a "subjective" manner. When the material body dies, then it returns to the earth from which it came, and nothing of it remains.

• The Astral Body This body is also sometimes called the Emotional body or the Kesdjan Body. This body, by itself is not subject to the laws of automation; that is to say, the astral body is capable of a degree of free will. Also, the perceptions of the astral body are capable of being of an objective nature in matters regarding one's self. An astral body is considered a prerequisite to maintaining a state of "self-consciousness". The lifespan of the astral body is unknown exactly, but it is far larger than the lifespan of the Material Body because it continues living after the death of the material body. According to the Fourth Way, a man is not born with an astral body and an average man does not have one, while even if someone does, it's in a very immature state, and has no contact with it whatsoever in his daily life.

• The Intellectual Body This body, by itself is not subject to the laws of automation; that is to say, the intellectual body is capable of a degree of free will beyond that of the astral body. Also, the perceptions of the intellectual body are capable of being of an objective nature in matters regarding both one's self, and things outside of one's self. An intellectual body is considered a prerequisite to maintaining a state of "objective consciousness" which is the fourth possible state of man. The lifespan of the intellectual is also rather incalculable. According to Gurdjieff, an average man does not have one.

• The Causal Body