Part of the Casswiki article series Cassiopaean Experiment and Esoterica
Sitting on the fence means being in a state of indecision where esoteric information is not applied and one effectively lives in an inner contradiction.
The same idea is sometimes referred to in other ways, an example being the dictum that one cannot serve two masters. George Gurdjieff also spoke about the problem of “sitting between two stools” when someone has encountered the Fourth Way Work.
If one were to literally sit on the fence, one would likely fall and anyway be in an unstable and uncomfortable situation whose main feature is lack of advance. Procrastination, wasting of energy on circular internal debates and frustration are typical of this. Also a certain excessive skepticism or confusion of spiritual and material concepts, such as dwelling on proofs of things which cannot be proven within the student’s current level of being, understanding or experience is characteristic of sitting on the fence. This often tends in the direction of decreased valuation of spiritual concepts and leads away from the Work.