Centers (Fourth Way) - Importance in The Fourth Way

Importance in The Fourth Way

In the Fourth Way, study of the centers is an important part of self-development. Students of that path must observe themselves. Study of the centers gives a framework and context for two things:

  • What to observe. In the Fourth Way, dispassionate self-observation must begin somewhere. The study of centers gives students a place to begin.
  • What is actually being observed. When observations are made, students may frame the observations using the concept of "the centers." For example, a student may observe an increased heart rate and increased respirations while watching a sporting event. In Fourth Way terminology, the student might say, "The body had a definite reaction when the team made the touchdown." Placing self observations within the language of the centers helps students become dispassionate about what they observe, or, to use Fourth Way terminology further, it helps students "not identify" with what they observe.

Read more about this topic:  Centers (Fourth Way)

Famous quotes containing the words importance in, importance and/or fourth:

    Coming together again after a long day apart can be an experience where joy, relief, anger, and fatigue are all present in different degrees both for the parent and for the child. Because of their importance in marking the resumption of direct contact, reunions deserve as much attention and care as separations to enhance the relationship between parent and child.
    Alicia F. Lieberman (20th century)

    Society is the stage on which manners are shown; novels are the literature. Novels are the journal or record of manners; and the new importance of these books derives from the fact, that the novelist begins to penetrate the surface, and treat this part of life more worthily.
    Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)

    We are playing with fire when we skip the years of three, four, and five to hurry children into being age six.... Every child has a right to his fifth year of life, his fourth year, his third year. He has a right to live each year with joy and self-fulfillment. No one should ever claim the power to make a child mortgage his today for the sake of tomorrow.
    James L. Hymes, Jr. (20th century)