The Horse, the Carriage and the Driver

This is the story of the horse, carriage, and driver. The parable begins by supposing that the driver
of a horse and carriage has abandoned and forgotten his duties. He is drunk in a public bar, wasting
his money, and in his drunken state, he thinks that his statue is that of the master instead of a
servant. The horse is unfed and weakening, and his reigns are in disarray or lost. The carriage has
fallen into poor condition. The master is away from the scene and will not return to ride in the
carriage until the driver is back on the box of the carriage and everything is in order. This parable
exposes the inner human state, we are shown how three components of the self, the body, emotion,
and mind are not in a balance with one another.


In this parable, the carriage represents the human body, the horse represents the emotions, and the
driver the intellectual mind. The state of drunkenness depicts the typical condition of our human
minds. It stands for kind of imagining perception, which is based on sensory perception, past
trauma, future expectations, the constant flow of mental images and how we identify ourselves by
our ob, relationships, possessions, monetary value etc. In our !drunkenness! we mechanically shift
from one sub"personality to the next, reacting to perceived influence that affect the image of our
personal sovereignty. #e are under the illusion that we are masters of ourselves and of our destiny,
when in fact these three basic components of our being are not at all in harmonious relationship
with each other. $ody, emotion, and mind are kept out of balance and unsynchroni%ed as the
illusion of control flip"flops form one component to another.


&ccording to this parable, what must happen' (irst, the driver must wake up to understand his
state. He must stop his drunken imagining)s and momentarily disidentify from his familiar state of
mind long enough to recogni%e the condition into which he has trapped himself. Then he must leave
the public drinking house and go out and repair the carriage *care for is physical body+, and attend
to the needs of the horse *the emotional self+. ,nce this is done, the driver can lift himself up onto
the box. Then he can regain the reigns and hold them firmly in hand. It is only at this point when the
driver has done everything he can to set things in proper order that the master can return to the
scene and occupy his position within the carriage. However, in this parable the master does not
immediately return and give directions for proceeding. The driver must begin the movement of
horse and carriage in the direction that he thinks best and then listen intently for corrective guidance
from the master within the carriage.


This is a parable of extraordinary depth and insight it illustrates a number of places in which the
human will plays a critical role. The dual function of the human will is an indispensable agent in
initiating the changes in conditions that leads to awakening ones higher awareness. It is the will,
which directs attention and allows certain thoughts and emotions to shape our sense of identity. It is,
therefore, through an active will that we are able to disidentify from old familiar personality states
and awaken enough to reorgani%e from a different point of view than the hopeless condition into
which we have placed ourselves. This is accomplished through the systematic practice of an
exercise -urdieff *the author of this parable+ called !self"observation!. It is a matter of creating a
kind of inner separation so that one stands aside and watches the self interact with life.


How to do this is what this paper is all about. (irst, a little insight, the mind)s process of
interpreting perceptions to fit within ones worldview works the same way optical illusions trick
your eyes. The process is automatic self programmed and modified based on ones core and current
beliefs. Therefore, what one assumes is reality is in truth ones interpretation of sense perceptions
modified by ones memories, expectations, thoughts, emotions, feelings etc. .ust noticing, how you
interact with everything that is going on, begins to update the process of consciously modifying
ones process of interpretation. Through an active will we are able to create and observing identity
which can with little practice become an obective and non"critical alternate or /ilent #itness able
to separate from the strong habit patterns which have kept us in a !drunken state.! The notable part
of the process is the modification of ones interpretation0 this is the aspect one can alter with the
/ilent #itness. #e use the silent witness to discern how we are experiencing ourselves in our
environment, the thoughts, feelings, emotions and triggers that are altering the interpretation of
sense perceptions.


The awakening of the silent witness brings with it an awareness of reality that was unnoticed in the
drunken or 1go /tate of consciousness. 2evertheless, even when moments of this self"remembering
is achieve, there remains a problem. The driver does not yet have the reigns in hand. The reigns
symboli%e a connection or link between the emotions and thought. Haven)t we all fre3uently
experienced a lack of these reigns' ,ur emotions rarely seemed to follow the direction that our
thoughts would like, so some connecting discipline is needed. ,nce again we find an important role
for the will to play. & link between the horse and the driver can be created by the use of purposeful
directed imagination and visuali%ation. The language of the horse is not the same as that of the
driver. ,ur mind operates by reasoned thought but the emotions speak the language of imagery.
2icoll puts it this way4 !the horse understands visual language, the driver words and the parable
connects the two!. 5isual imagery is a universal language it)s the language of signs. The horse only
understands a universal language of visual images. That is why, if you wish to control the horse
from the mind, you must visuali%e and not merely think. ,ne of the things that we are taught in this
work is visuali%ation. 6ou must visuali%e what you have thought of in regard to your behavior and
be diligent at noticing when the horse reacts or the mind begin its imaginings throwing the self out
of balance. The role of the will in helping to create these reigns is also twofold. ,n the one hand,
we can use the conscious will to purposely direct the mind towards specific visuali%ation. ,n the
other hand, we might expect a deeper will, what we have called the silent witness or the real will to
influence us in a similar way through a conscious awareness. This is a kind of second sight in other
words, the real will can operate on the intuitive forces of the mind to create the very energies that
can harmoni%e the activities of thought and emotion.


This work of self"observation will lead us to a new respect for our mental, physical and emotional
bodies. #e can find it possible to start changing many of the ways in which we treat ourselves
mentally, physically and emotional and begin to achieve a balance and new health at these levels.
However, the actual goal of self"observation is something even more specific4 to remember the true
/elf. Through this exercise of will, we can stand aside and observed the habit patterns of our
personality)s and we can finally reach a state in which we remember the real /elf " that essential
identity beneath ones individuality.

It is at this point that the will leads us to a dramatic shift in consciousness, symboli%ed in the
parable by the driver climbing up to a new level and sitting on the box of the carriage. &t the onset
of this level, the created /ilent #itness is transforming into the /piritual #itness. The /piritual
#itness is aware of and connected to the true spiritual components in ones being and
circumstances. It prompts the self into noticing specific coincidences, the experience of deavu or to
get flashes of intuition. &s one becomes attuned to the /piritual #itness the prompting gives you a
much clearer view of the direction to go in and actions to take that are more in alignment with the
true purpose of how and why the 2,# is unfolding as it I/. & personal note4 you may not know
the true purpose of how and why the now is unfolding. However, by following the guidance, you
might understand an aspect of the how and why that applies to you, this is usually in hindsight and
is followed by the &H experience of ! I get it!.
The parable illustrates another role of the human will concerning the problem of obtaining
guidance. #e should take careful note that in this allegory the driver is re3uired to first start the
horse and carriage moving, based upon his own best understanding, before the master returns to
give guidance. This shows us something about how to work with inner guidance. #e should expect
that often times the master or true /elf should make its intentions evident to us only after we have
consciously initiated a intervention to set things in motion. ,nly after we can maintain a balance,
and initiate a direction we intuitively feel is right will the master return to the carriage and begin to
give guidance. This is evident when the silent witness begin to transform into the 7ermanent
#itness. The awakening of the permanent witness brings with it an awareness of energy and forces
within reality that are not normally noticed, even by the silent witness. The permanent witness is a
conscious aspect of the true /elf and is directly connected to the creative forces of the universe.
8oreover, where the silent witness prompts us as conscience or flashes of insight and the spiritual
witness can be called upon for guidance, the permanent witness as implied is a permanent
connection to the &ll of creation, the goal of all religions and spiritual disciplines throughout the
world. &t this point, we conclude the parable and its final teaching to us about the will. ,nce the
carriage is set in motion, the driver must be attentive. The Hallmark of the will is attentiveness. #e
can develop a relationship with real will, witnesses or true /elf, only to the extent that we are able
to be receptive and responsive to its prompting. ,nly then, the intuitive forces begin to wake up.
This shows a paradox of how the will is experienced in our lives, in an active as well as receptive
mode. &nd exposes the truth that the master has always been in the carriage, reaching out and trying
to get our attention, however the unbalanced controlling self has no awareness of the masters
presence)s. The connection is made only when we reach out to the master, and then only when we
bring a willingness to learn and understand the truth of the compound totality of the reality we exist
within. #ithout the presence of the master within all creation, both seen and unseen, everything in
existence would immediately cease to be.
#ord 9ist
self : self spelled with a small s denotes the physical identity we reference to as me.
balance : in regard to ones mind, emotions and body that no one part rules the others.
The human will : will power or directing ones attention towards a desire or goal.
higher awareness : The term higher is misleading we are spirit and spirit is pure &wareness.
self"observation : directing ones attention and awareness on inner and external triggers.
/ilent #itness : a self created internal, obective and non"critical observing identity.
1go /tate of consciousness : one is stuck in the belief that the physical is all there is.
conscious awareness " dual functioning awareness of the events on the temporal ; causal realms.
second sight : a constant awareness of intentions and energy forms in causal reality.
true /elf : spiritual or causal /elf, pure awareness, god spark, spelled with a capital /.
/piritual #itness : transitional state of the created inner witness, a stronger connection to spirit.
2,# : the eternal is constantly unfolding into the 2,#, this view is both within ; outside of
time.
I/ : the I/, is not subect to belief, interpretation, temporal view or perception. #hat I/ : I/.
7ermanent #itness : inbeing identified and referenced as /elf, pure awareness connected to <nity.
/econdary awareness : the consciousness we normal associate with temporal existence.
7rimary awareness : or =nd Cight, ones consciousness constantly aware of the causal realm
/ynergistic awareness : a consciousness connected to other consciousness) working in unison.
&ll my life I have been in love with the spirit of truth. This paper strives to explain the first three"
way balance act of three cubed levels that re3uire understanding to awaken ones consciousness to
the truth of the multidimensional reality we exist within.