carlos - el intervalo mi-sa

7/27/2019 Carlos - El Intervalo Mi-sa

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The MI - FA Interval: Decision

A Talk Given by Tim White at Camp Caravan on 8/20/02

Why are we here? I do not ask this as a rhetorical or philosophical question. I want you to take a

moment to look at this question for yourselves. What answer comes to you, from your own experience,when you ask yourself the question, Why are we here? There is little doubt in my mind that most

of us will come up with different answers and that these answers, in large measure, depend on the way

in which we understand the question. Some will see the question as relating to our being here together,

today, at this seminar. Others will understand it on a more personal, existential level and askthemselves, Why amI here on the Earth? In the bookMaking a Soul, Mr. Bennett approaches this

question by asking What is the reason and purpose for mans existence?[1]

I begin this talk with such questions because I am convinced that therei sa reason and a purposefor our

being here on the Earth and that it is possible for us to come to an understanding of this through our

own experience. While the question Why are we here? provides a starting point for discussion, itdoes not put us in front of the experience of the reason and purpose for our existence. The experience

of the reason and purpose for our existence begins with an understanding of our place in the structureand scale of the cosmos. With this in mind, I can now ask the two questions that will serve as bothintroduction and theme for this talk. Today, I want to look at the questions, Why is it necessary for

three-brained beings to be here on the Earth, to occupy the place in the scale of the cosmos that we

occupy? and What is required of us in this place in the scale of the cosmos?

In order to answer these questions we must first come to know, Where is here? that is to say, What

place in the scale of the cosmos do we occupy? In a talk given at Sherborne House, Mr. Bennett spokeof a theme in Beelzebubs Tales[2]where he said that creation was in a state of balance and the

whole purpose of it could fail and because it was in a state of balance and the purpose of it could fail it

was also possible for it to achieve more than was put into it.[3]This points out that there is aplace of

balance in the scale of the cosmos where the outcome of the purpose of creation is determined, where iteither fails or becomes capable of accomplishing its purpose. This reinforces the idea that the outcome

of the creative process is hazardous, unpredictable and unknowable in advance.[4]Because the

outcome is unpredictable and hazardous, it is necessary for some agency to be active, to take someintentional and purposeful action at this precise point in the scale of the cosmos. It is this place of

balance in the scale of the cosmos where three-brained beings are brought into existence and where

they are required to play their role in the world.

While man has a role to play in both the Involving and Evolving cycles of creation, it is his role in theEvolving cycle that allows creation to achieve more than was put into it. Three-brained beings have

been given the responsibility for providing a shock at the MI-FA interval in the Evolving cycle. The

shock that is required of man is decision. It is decision, at the MI-FA interval of the Evolving octave

that alters the balance of creation allowing something new to come in that was not present from thebeginning. Today, I want to speak about this place of balancethe MI-FA interval in the Evolving

cosmic octave, the decisive and creative acts that occur there and the agencies through which these

actions must manifest.

The shock necessary to allow creation to achieve more than was put into it must come at the place of

balance because a shock applied at either side of the balance point can give only a predictableresult.Only a shock at the balance point can allow the event to unfold in a non-mechanical way that

allows the possibility for something new to enter. The impulse to accomplish this must be a shock,
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delivered from outside, because any impulse that comes from inside the cycle itself, cannotadd any

possibilities to the event that were not present from the beginning. This is not to say that all outside

shocks will give the right results. It is possible for an outside shock to give only mechanical andpredictable results. An example of this type of result is found in the food diagram. For example, air is

an outside shock and it is necessary for the further digestion of ordinary food, however, the result of

this shockfrom the point of view of ordinary foodis mechanical and predictable.[5]In addition tocoming from outside the cycle, the shock necessary for enabling creation to achieve more than was

otherwise possible must also have the quality of being intentional. As we have seen, while a

mechanical shock can give significant evolutionary results, nothing new is created, there is merely aseparation of course from fine. The difference here is that the effect of an intentional shock at the MI-

FA interval in the Evolving octave comes not only as a transformation ofsubstance, but also as an

increase in being. In this way, decision, at the place of balance of creation accomplishes an increase in

being on the cosmic scale.

It is clear that manas a three-brained beingis needed to perform intentional and decisive acts in theworld. Mankinds place and role in the scale of the cosmos can be best illustrated in the context of the

nature of shocks in general and their connection to the enneagram of Evolution. A shock is an impulse

that enters into the present moment of an event described by an enneagram, from outside the present

moment of that event. The triad within the enneagram shows theplaces where these shocks occur. Theshocks indicated by the different points of the triad have different purposes, qualities and experiences.

The shock that initiates an event occurs at DO as the result of the SI-DO interval of the previous cycle.

A second shock occurs between MI and FA and a third shock occurs between SOL and LA. These

shocks provide the points of connection between the Law of Three and the Law of Seven.

In Psychological Commentaries on Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, Maurice Nicoll says that From the

standpoint of this teaching, the Universe is created: we live firstly in a createdand secondly in an

orderedUniverse.[6]He said that the Law of Three has to do with the way in which the cosmos is

created.[7]The Law of Three describes three fundamental forces, Affirming, Denying and Reconciling

which are combined into six triads which form the fundamental laws of creation.

Gurdjieff spoke of Affirmation as First Force, Denial as Second Force, and Reconciling as Third

Force.[8]We usually speak about triads by listing the three forces insequence, for example 123

or 23 - 1. Putting the three forces in sequence introduces the idea that while the nature of the force is

always the same no matter what position it is in, theposition of each force in the triad has as muchsignificance as the nature of the force itself. When we speak about triads in this way we say that the

force in the first position acts on the force in the second position and that the force in the third position

is the resultormanifestation of the first two. I will caution you here that while this model seems toindicate that there is a linear, temporal or causal relationship between the forces in the triad, that is that

these forces act in sequence and in time, this is not the case at all. It is simply convenientto speak of

triads in this way. It is very important to remember that triads define relationships that are neither

linear nor temporal.

Nicoll goes on to say that the Law of Seven shows the way in which the cosmos is ordered.[9]Thisorder is constant and so the arrangement of the octave or the Law of Seven is also constant. The figure

of the enneagram shows the way in which the Law of Seven and the Law of Three interact with one

another.

The triad within the enneagram represents the fundamental law of creation working within that cycle.Today I want to take a close look at the triad within the enneagram of a cycle of transformation. The

triad within this enneagram is the 213 Triad or the Triad of Evolution. I will start with a brief
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description of the Triad of Evolution followed by a discussion of the three shocks that this triad brings

to an event. From there we can look at how these shocks relate to the quality, nature and experience of

the MI-FA interval, that is, the place ofdecision.

The Triad of Evolution is the triad that shows how cosmic purpose is realized through transformation.In an event of transformationthat is an event driven by the Triad of Evolutionthepossibility exists

that something more, or something higher, may result than that which was present from the beginning.

It is this triad that enables theseparation of the coarse from the fine, allowing the fine to rise everhigher in the scale of the cosmos. It is possible, in this separation of coarse from fine, that something

new can enter that allows for creation to achieve more than was put into it. To better understand the

shock that comes at the MI-FA interval, or the point of decision, it will be necessary first to understand

the relationship between the shocks at the three points in the Triad of Evolution.

The Triad of Evolution, or the 213 triad is one in which the Receptive or Denying Force acts on anAffirming Force resulting in Reconciling Force. In an Evolving cycle, the event is initiated by the

Receptive force in the first position. Here the Receptive Force initiates or begins an event when it

becomes connected with the SI-DO interval of the previous cycle. One of the qualities of an event of

transformation is that it is always initiated in response to a need. The second shock in the Triad of

Evolution is provided when the Affirming Force comes in between MI and FA and manifests asdecision. The third shock comes at point 6, where the Third Force enters as help to allow and enable

transformation to take place.

To complete this description of the Triad of Evolution, I will need to introduce an idea from Mr.Bennetts study of Systematics. Mr. Bennett suggested that we could examine any triad more closely

by looking at each shock in turn with the idea that the force at the point of each shock is, in itself, the

initiating force for its own triad within a triad.[10]That is to say that for each of the three forces thatprovides a shock in an enneagram, there is a corresponding triad initiated by the force that provided

that shock. In this way the Denying Force, which initiates the Evolving Triad, also initiates a

subordinate triad at DO. The Affirming Force, in the second position of the Evolving Triad initiates a

subordinate triad at the MI-FA interval. Finally, the Reconciling Force, in the third position of theEvolving Triad, initiates a subordinate triad at the interval between SOL and LAthe place that

Gurdjieff calls the Harnel-aoot.[11]

If we apply this to the shock at the MI-FA interval of the Evolving Triad, we may be able to better

understand the action of the Affirming Force there, especially as it relates to the role of human beingsin the cosmic octave of creation. There are two ways that Active Force can manifest here, that is to say

that there are two triads that are initiated by Active Force. The first is the 1 23 triad or the Triad of

Involution. This is a triad in which Active Force acts on a Passive Force to obtain a result. The result

obtained in this way is forced without choice or decision. The second Triad initiated by the ActiveForce is the 132 triad or the Triad of Interaction. Here the Third Force stands between Affirmationand Denial, between two opposing possibilities. The Third Force in the center position of this triad

allows fordecision to be taken, for a choice to be made between the two opposing possibilities. It iswith the Triad of Interaction within the Triad of Evolution that we can see the action of decision at

point three on the Enneagram.

Some of you will find this technical description of a triad within a triad within an enneagram helpful,

while others will not. At this point I would like to step away from the technical language of triads and

enneagrams and try to describe these same ideas using a series of mental images or pictures.
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In his book, Meetings With Remarkable Men, Gurdjieff writes about being blindfolded and guided

though an unknown wilderness in his quest to reach the Sarmoung Brotherhood. At one point along the

way his progress is stopped by a nearly impassable gorge. The only way across the gorge is over aflimsy, treacherous, suspended bridge with no handrails. The gorge and bridge represent the place of

decision. It is here that Gurdjieff must decide the outcome of his questhis lifes ambition to reach the

Sarmoung Brotherhood. On the one hand there is safety and relative comfort camped out by the rocknext to the bridge. On the other hand there is hazard both in crossing the bridge itself as well as in the

lack of certainty about what he will find on the other side. He knows that he cannot stay camped out at

the rock forever; he must decide either to risk it all and cross or give up the opportunity and go back.He knows that if he chooses to go back, he will never be able to come this way again. At the same time,

he also knows that in order to pass this point, he must leave behind everything associated with his

previous life even though there is no certainty that he will make it across the bridge or reach his goal.

Gurdjieff makes his decision, crosses the bridge and, in the end, reaches the Sarmoung Brotherhood.

There are a number of points to be drawn from this image. The first point is that it is necessary to makea decision! While this is an obvious point, we should all be aware by now that often, when we reach the

point of decision, we become satisfied with our illusions and dreams of making a decision and never

take any action at all. We are often tempted to avoid making decisions by camping out at the rock,

where it is safe and we never go any further for fear of the risk or hazard involved in the commitmentof making a decision.

Another important element that I want to bring out here is that it is impossible for Gurdjieff to cross the

bridge until his blindfold is removed. In other words, it is necessary to be awake in order to make a

decision. This means that we must be conscious and we must have intention in order to make adecision. If we are asleep or if we lack intention, nothing at all is decided, and we fall back into

mechanicallity and from where a mechanically predictable outcome or failure is certain. It is only by

being awake in the moment that we can understand and accept the hazards of our decisions.

Another way of illustrating the role of man in making decisions at the MI-FA interval in an event of

transformation is by using a sequence of images from Mr. Ouspenskys description of the Tarot deck.The first image in this sequence is that of the Fool. The Fool is pictured as a young man with his

possessions bundled on a stick on his shoulder shown walking along with one foot on the edge and

other foot about to step off a cliff into the void. He appears to be paying no attention to where he is

going, looking up and away with a carefree expression. There is a small animal nipping the heel of thefoot that is still on solid ground. In Ouspenskys description of the Fool, there is an alligator, at the

bottom of the cliff waiting to eat him when he falls.[12]The Fool stands at the place of decision. If he

makes his decision in the wrong way, he steps off the cliff, falls to the bottom and becomes lunch foralligator. If he makes his decision in the right way, he will not fall at all; he will be transformed into the

figure of the Juggler.

The Juggler is able to walk across the void without falling. In crossing he must walk on air as if he was

walking on a tightrope because if he takes one wrong step, he too will fall and become lunch for thealligator. The Juggler must step carefully keeping all of his balls in the air, even as pieces of him arebeing torn awaybecause he cannot cross the void without losing a part of himself. There are many

ways in which the Juggler can fail. If he becomes discouraged and loses his determination or if he tries

to go back, he will fall into the abyss and be eaten by the alligator.[13]On the other hand, if hebecomes satisfied with what he has gained along the way, he is changed into the figure of the Chariot

this is an image that shows someone taking a gain that they are not entitled to. The Chariot soars off the

path and seems to go in an upward direction at first. The path of the Chariot leads to destruction,[14]as

seen in the figure of the Tower. Here we see lightening striking a castle, breaking it in two and a man
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falling from the top in complete ruin.[15]But, if the Juggler perseveres, bears the pain as the false and

useless parts of himself are torn away in his passage over the abyss, he finds himself at SOL, point 5 on

the enneagram. Here, if he is pure at heart, he may be transported directly across to LA, point 7 on the

enneagram, and is transformed into the figure of the Hermit.

The image of the Hermit is that of an old man, high on a cliff, looking down at a small figure crawling

upward toward him.[16]The Hermit stands at point 7, the point of transformation, where he is looking

back at his old self with the new eyes of his experience. On the enneagram this is represented by theline from LA, point 7, looking back to the beginning at MI, point 2.

These images may be helpful, but it remains necessary for us to connect with the place of decision in

our own personal experience. In the Dramatic Universe, Mr. Bennett says that an ordinary man may

act from deliberate choiceincluding here the most trivial instancesperhaps 10,000 times during the

course of a whole life[17]He goes on to suggest that decisions are few in childhood and in old age,leaving the ordinary man, in adulthood, an average of only 2 or 3 opportunities for choice or decision in

the course of each day. How many of our daily choices or decisions can be said to be in any way

conscious choices or decisions?

This should be very simple, yes? But can you remember the experience of the moment of your lastdecision? Can you find yourselfin the momentof that decision once again? Was it a decision ofconsequence or was it a trivial choice? I know that all of you have some experience with decision

because each of you has already made at least one significant decision. At some point you decidedto

come here, to step into this Work, to see if it held something of value for you. Take a moment now to

see if you can remember the moment when you decided to come to the Work

When you are able to make contact with this (or any other) moment of decision, you will see that there

is a second aspect involved the experience of decision and that is time. You will see that it is impossible

to see the moment of decision. There was a moment when the decision was not made, then there was

a moment in which the decision was made. This is because the actof making a decision takes placeoutside of time. This is connected with the nature of shocks in general, which are moments outside of

time. We can re-live,

re-experience these moments of decision because we are able to expand our present moment to include

any moment that we have experienced outside of time no matter how far in the past.

I will conclude by speaking about the experience of the moment of decision in terms of what Mr.

Bennett calls the Fundamental Triad of Experience: Function, Being and Will.[18]In this case, theFunctional aspect of the triad is related to the decision itself and is composed of three elements. The

first functional element of decision is a strong dyad. A dyad is formed by the separation of two

completely opposing possibilities. Yes and no, like and dislike, pleasure and pain are all examples of

dyads. If one side of the dyad is accepted, the other side must be completely rejected. Energy is

generated when the two possibilities of the dyad are held apart. When the tension within the dyad hasgenerated enough energyand it requires a great deal of effort to maintain that tension long enough to

generate enough energythere comes a moment when decision is possible. A second functionalelement of decision is hazard. If there is no hazard in the choosing of one possibility over the other,

then it is not a decision at all, but simply the following of the only course available. When there is

hazard involved, there is an opportunity for something new to come into the process. A final element iscarrying the decision out to the very end. If any one of these elements is not present, if a strong dyad is

not formed, if there is no hazard in the decision or if the decision is not followed through to the end

then all of the possibilities of the event will be lost.
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If the Functional aspect is related to the decision itself, what can be said about the aspect of Being?

Rather than trying to speak about this directly I will try to illustrate it in the context of a decision that I

recently faced. A moment of decision came for me when we were preparing for the seminar that washeld in Massachusetts last summer. We had made all usual decisions already: when the seminar was

to be held, where it was to be held, who was in charge of the food and a general idea of the activities

that would take place. The only question left, the only question to be decided was who would be incharge of the seminar, set the schedule, be responsible for the themes and decide the course that the

seminar would take on a daily basis? For some reason, no one stepped forward to do this. We

discussed it for a long time without resolution. Many suggestions were made, but it became clear to methat none of the suggestions were right. There was a great deal of tension in the meeting as this

question had to be decided nowthere would not be time laterand yet there was no clear solution.

For me, the theme and direction of the seminar was clear, but I was afraid that I was completely

unqualified and unprepared to take on the role. The choice in front of me was to either let it fall tochance, or to take it on myself, even though I knew that it was beyond my capability and I had no clear

idea of how to accomplish it. I knew that if I took this role, that I would be on my own to succeed or

fail. At the same time I also knew that I could not do it alone, that I would need help in order to

accomplish the aim of the seminar. After a long inner struggle, I decided that the right thing for me to

do was to take on the role.

Later, when I looked back at the decision that I had made, I asked myself, What was my intention in

the moment? I had to sort carefully through the answers that came in response to this question. It was

clear that I did not think that I was going to do the role of running the seminar. I had taken the rolebecause I knew that it was up to me to do it. I saw that I was called in some way, to take on this

task and role, in the face of my uncertainty about being able t accomplish it. I saw that there was

intention in this decision, but that it was not intention in the way that I ordinarily think about it. Itbecame clear that this intention was not something that I wished or wanted, but rather it was a

connection, in me, with the Will of the higher. In this way, I found myself at the MI-FA interval of the

octave of the seminar with the intention to carry out the task of running it.

Through this experience I slowly came to see the third element connected with decision. As I ponderedon the question of intention the clearer it became that something more was present that just decisionand intention. I knew that I had taken the role with the intention of accomplishing it, to the best of my

ability, in the right way. I slowly began to realize that this third element had to do with conscience.

The connection between decision and conscience was very difficult to understand at first. It only made

sense to me when I began to see how conscience is a manifestation of the presence of that which is

higher in myself.

In the first ruku or ritual bow that we perform at the end of our morning exercise, we acknowledge

that which is higher in ourselves. What is this? What is that which is higher in ourselves? Mr.

Bennett says, in one of his talks, there is this third part of man, which is his will or his I or his

spirit.[19]It is this third part of man, his Will, which corresponds to that which is higher inourselves. This Will is not something that we possess, or that we are, but it exists in us as a particle

of the Divine Will. It is this Will, or our I, or our Spirit that is the manifestation of the cosmic Third

Force within man.It is through conscience that this higher part in man, his Will, manifests in the world.It is through the action of conscience that man is able to step out of time and space and to come into

contact with the Will of the higher. It is connection with this impulse of Will, through conscience, that

guides us in making the right decision in the moment.

This experience of the moment of decision can be spoken about in terms of the Fundamental Triad of

Experience: Function, Being and Will where the function is the decision, being corresponds to intention
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and conscience is the manifestation of Will. When these elements are in place, we can experience a

decision to take the right course of action in the face of uncertainty and hazard. The shock of decision

at the MI-FA interval is the result of a relationship between the three elements of the triad of Decision,Intention and Conscience. The working of this triad is a covenant, a sacred promise that is spoken of in

the phrase, Thy will be done. This covenant is nota contract or a bargain or an exchange, it is a

sacred promise that is given in both directions. Mr. Bennett spoke of decision as the committing thewhole of oneself to action.[20]Mans part in the covenant of decision is committing the whole of

oneself to action. It must be understood that the higher powers are already wholly committed to action

and will provide help when man reaches the point where such help is necessary.

In Beelzebubs Tales, Gurdjieff says that, in the beginning, the cosmos was mechanical, and because itwas mechanical, it was found that it was slowly wearing away to nothing. Because of this, he says, His

Endlessness caused certain changes to be made in the laws governing the creative process.[21]While

these changes left the outcome of the cosmos hazardous, they also made it possible for creation to

achieve more than was put into it. This wasaccomplished by leaving holes or gaps[22]in thecreative process where the application of an outside shock would cause the necessary result. It is the

responsibility of human beings to provide the shock of decision at the gap that occurs at the MI-FA

interval of the Evolving Cycle. We must wake up, find intention in the moment, bear the spark of

conscience and make a conscious decision. The decisions that we make in this way will be hazardous,but without that hazard, the outcome of creation will be predictable and without value. Only by our

consciously facing hazard in this way will it be possible for creation to achieve more than was put into

it.

Tim WhiteSanto Domingo, Dominican Republic

January 2002
http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn20http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn20http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn21http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn21http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn21http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn22http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn22http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn22http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn22http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn21http://www.campcaravan.org/d_fourth_way/TW-Decision.html#_edn20

carlos - el intervalo mi-sa

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