Part of the Casswiki article series Fourth Way
The term fusion, as used in Boris Mouravieff’s [[Gnosis (book trilogy)|Gnosis books]], is the process of forming a ‘real’ or ‘permanent I’ out of the multiple little ‘I’s which generally constitute man’s personality.
The process is explained with the analogy of a vase filled with iron filings. In the default situation, each filing points in its own direction. Shocks may cause displacement and rotation of the filings, causing ‘heat’. This heat is elsewhere referred to as the struggle between ‘yes’ and ‘no’. Shocks and internal struggle may in time heat the filings to be hot enough so that they melt into a single block of iron.
From left to right: 1. the initial state of many little ‘I’s; 2. ‘friction’ becoming strong enough to potentially ‘melt’ and remold the self; 3. a solid, permanent real I as the result of successful fusion. (Illustrations from [[Gnosis (book trilogy)|Gnosis]] book one.)