Awakening and Observing

Even if we briefly manage to awaken, our automatic habits and associations will put us back to sleep quickly. In order to be able to awaken for longer periods of time we need to understand how this happens for us. For this we need to observe ourselves. But what to observe and how?

Gurdjieff proposed a system of observation based upon easily defined functions of our organism. He defined thesefunctions, which he called "centers", as follows:
- instinctive: all of the physical functions of our organism thatare involuntary such as heartbeat, breathing, etc
- moving: physical functions that require voluntary effort, prettyself explanatory
- sexual: also pretty self explanatory
- emotional: positive or negative emotions
- intellectual: our thoughts
- higher emotional: visions, powerful dreams, etc.
- higher intellectual: symbols

The higher emotional and intellectual centers are generally not available for observation. In the practice of Gurdjieff's teachings (commonly called the "4th way" or simply "the Work") you first awaken (called self-remembering)and then you observe. Initially the observation consists of labelling the functions as they are observed. This should be transitioned into identifying them by "taste" as soon as possible.The ultimate goal is to be able to see all of your functions at onces o that you can see your own habitual postures which include not only the body but also the thoughts and emotions. Self observation allows us to see ourselves and to identify the obstacles to awakening.