Buddha explained that all our problems and suffering arise from confused and negative states of mind, and all our happiness and good fortune arise from peaceful and positive states of mind.
Buddha means awakened one, and the Buddha saw that man severely suffered, and he also saw that it was possible to transform man’s suffering to achieve peace, happiness and fulfillment. However, if you have tried the Buddha way and found that you have not found peace or happiness and that Buddhism has not really solved your emotional states of fear, anger, envy, hatred, or depression than maybe our school will help. Though the words that we use may be similar, from my own experience as a student and teacher of Gurdjieff’s and Spinoza’s philosophy in these past 40 plus years, it requires a deliberate conscious effort on our part to gain the knowledge and understanding for us to see how our nature actually works: what buttons are triggered and why? You see, life offers us opportunities to gauge where we are – we just have to dig deeper than what is normally suggested so that we can see clearly and understand. Our emotional buttons are triggered when we have expectations that are not met and that we only see a little part of reality.
How do we come to this knowledge you may wonder? When I found Gurdjieff and Spinoza philosophy through my teacher over 44 years ago, what I wanted most of all is to find a way that will help me feel better about myself. My strong desire was to overcome my emotions such as fear, anger, envy and my negative self-talk. The idea of achieving self-mastery was a promise by my teacher that I never let go.
Yes, I agree mediation with the right practice has its place in calming us by quieting the mind, and requires much patience and practice. Yet, to know how the emotions work and how they control our lives is truly significant and is the direction that we must want to embrace. Spinoza’s method teaches us a method of self-examination and reflection which must be applied from an active mind. Our goal is to awaken the true essential intelligence that’s within all of us: however, it lies dormant deeply within us. This intelligence is absolutely necessary to look into our own mind by examining its thoughts, beliefs, premises, and attitudes so that we can come to true peace, happiness and fulfillment..
