The Three-Headed Man

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN reflects on their shared spiritual practice of treating everyone they meet as their own mother. This exercise is designed to cultivate remorse of conscience and emotional patience by encouraging participants to bypass their typical reactive judgments. Freddie details his struggle to remain compassionate while his wife dealt with the aftermath of a car accident...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN discusses the spiritual concepts found in Chapter 14 of E.J. Gold’s book, Practical Work on Self , specifically focusing on the remorse of conscience. They explore a specific exercise that involves treating every person they encounter with the same care and devotion one would show their own mother. The participants share vulnerable stories regarding the diffic...

In the episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores the psychological challenge of becoming an intentional illiterate to break the habit of automatic reading and decoding. They discuss their struggles to view written words and icons as pure shapes or squiggles rather than immediate sources of meaning. They distinguish between machine attention, which instinctively categorizes sensory input for survival,...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN discusses a psychological exercise focused on intentional illiteracy and the concept of thinking by form. They explore how to bypass the mind’s automatic decoding of language, which typically categorizes information based on habitual associations and emotional identification. By viewing written words or objects as mere physical forms rather than carriers of pr...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN'S discussion centers on the metaphysical experience of sensing and how it differs from ordinary thought or physical feeling. Their conversation begins with observations about a temporary second moon orbiting Earth, leading the speakers to wonder if its electromagnetic fields can be physically perceived as ringing or buzzing. This inquiry evolves into a broader...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores the concept of sensing as a foundational element of spiritual self-work. They contrast the act of sensing with the often-problematic realms of thinking and feeling, suggesting that physical sensation offers a more direct and objective path to presence. The conversation highlights the difficulty of defining sensing, as participants debate whether it in...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN reports upon their experiences with the "centrum of gravity question". They reflect on their personal fears regarding higher states of consciousness, debating whether they fear the "god state" itself or the potential inability to return to ordinary reality. They evaluate specific spiritual exercises, such as the "I am one" mantra and the "centrum of gravity" e...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores spiritual concepts like total immersion without identification and the sacrifice of suffering. Jimmy, Jazzy, and Fred examine the difficulty of remaining fully present in life’s abrasive events without becoming lost in personal reactions, judgments, or "the machine" of habit. Jimmy shares his personal struggle with expectations and acceptance, noting...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores the practice of collected attention as a means to achieve mental clarity and deeper focus. They use the concept of "mentating" on, for instance, peppermint, to illustrate how a simple, sensory anchor can help steady the mind against a constant stream of distracting thoughts. They compare the human mind to a computer with too many open programs, sugges...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores the concept of mentation, defined as the disciplined focus of attention to activate higher mental centers and move beyond mechanical thinking. PRACTICAL WORK ON SELF contrasts the automatic associations of the ordinary mind—often distracted by primal desires like sex—with the intentional processing of ideas, using the analogy of a blacksmith skillfull...

THE THREE-HEADED MAN reflects on their attempts to observe personal habits as part of an exercise from PRACTICAL WORK ON SELF. They describe the difficulty of maintaining self-awareness while occupied by professional roles or entrenched emotional states, such as grumpiness or resentment. They share specific examples of mechanical behaviors, including physical gestures, verbal fillers, and lifestyl...

THE THREE-HEADED MAN reflects on their long-term spiritual journey and the evolution of their motivations. They discuss transitioning from a desire for personal gain or "secrets" to a focus on service and presence following the absence of their teacher, EJ. Central to their conversation is the study of habitual behaviors as outlined in the book Practical Work on Self , where they examine how small...

THE THREE-HEADED MAN reflects on spiritual exercises designed to cultivate conscious will and pure attention. By performing "harmless whims," such as tugging an earlobe or scratching the forehead, the guys attempt to interrupt their automatic behaviors and "awaken the machine" of the physical body. They describe how these brief moments of intentionality cut through the "hamster wheel" of daily lif...

The THREE-HEADED MAN'S discussion centers on the concept of developing conscious will through the practice of "harmless whims." Jimmy, Jazzy, and Freddy explore the idea that human actions are typically involuntary habits or driven by biological desires rather than true independent volition. To counteract this mechanical nature, they discuss a method from E.J. Gold’s writings that involves intenti...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN discusses their experiences practicing a self-observation exercise centered on the phrase "I am not this." Jazzy describes how the mantra helped neutralize performance anxiety during a musical session, leading to a more stable emotional state. The conversation explores the difficulty of remembering spiritual homework and the tendency to treat such tasks as mer...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores the concept of identification, defining it as a state where individuals "fall into" various temporary personas without awareness. Jimmy, Jazzy, and Phreddie analyze the term "blithely" from EJ Gold’s Practical Work on Self , describing how people use intellectual excuses to remain disconnected from their deeper, animalistic natures. They contrast the...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN discusses their inner psychological work based on the teachings of EJ Gold. The group explores the concept of "buffers," which they define as internal walls that prevent different facets of one’s personality from interacting or recognizing each other. They struggle to interpret the symbolic roles of the Prince of Light and the Prince of Darkness, eventually vi...

In this episode, participants, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores their own nature. They examine the struggle of the sorcerer, a conceptual framework involving the Prince of Light and the Prince of Darkness who represent opposing internal forces of sleep and awakening. A central theme is the presence of organic buffers, which are psychological mechanisms that separate contradictory identities within a...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN discusses the challenges of maintaining mental clarity and spiritual discipline in daily life. Freddy shares a metaphor about getting new glasses, comparing the sudden sharpness of vision to the rare moments of heightened awareness that occasionally interrupt their typical "fuzzy" state of mind. The conversation transitions into their struggles with a "sacrifi...

In this episode, THE THREE-HEADED MAN explores the personal motivations and psychological obstacles involved in their spiritual practices. They discuss the heavy burden of external expectations and the emotional toll of "blaming" others, which Jim describes as a draining, cyclical addiction . To combat these mechanical behaviors, the group examines concepts from a text regarding the "work wish," a...

The Three-Headed Man reflects on their spiritual paths, specifically their attraction to the teachings of G.I. Gurdjieff and his modern successor E.J. Gold . They share personal anecdotes about searching for meaning through books and music before finding a community that uses conscious movement and communication as a method of growth. A significant portion of the conversation focuses on a specific...

In this episode, The Three-Headed Man explores themes of self-observation and the mechanical nature of human behavior. They discuss the concept of "fainting" into unconscious routines, suggesting that people often move through life in a trance-like state without true presence. To combat this, they propose "voluntarizing" automatic habits, such as fidgeting or unconscious gestures, by performing th...

The Three-Headed Man discusses their experiences practicing self-observation exercises from PRACTICAL WORK ON SELF chapter three negative manifestation . The conversation centers on the concept of the human machine , with the participants exploring how much of their daily behavior is merely automatic habit rather than conscious action. They share personal anecdotes, such as Jim's heightened awaren...

This podcast features a deep dive into Chapter 3, "Negative Manifestations," from the book Practical Work on Self by E.J. Gold . The Three-Headed Man explore the idea that human life is often lived in a dream-like state, and "waking up" requires a disciplined study of what the sources call the "machine" —the automatic, conditioned personality. The Three-Headed Man explores the fundamental concept...

In this continuation of their discussion on Chapter 2 of Practical Work on Self by E.J. Gold, Jim, Jazwant, and Freddy focus on the difficulty of maintaining an internal state of neutrality amidst a changing world and personal "undercurrents" of negativity. The conversation shifts from theoretical understanding to the messy reality of trying to "get in front" of emotional shocks before they "splas...