Part of the Casswiki article series Fourth Way
Unlike other schools of thought that see man as mechanical, the Fourth Way does not see this as a permanent or necessary condition, and least of all as desirable. Man is called to evolve past mechanicality – to develop internal unity and a permanent, real I – in order to become a conscious assistant to creation.
The Fourth Way teaches that ordinarily, man’s so-called inner life is a chaos of multiple little ‘I’s, each pulling in its own direction. These are mechanical and we cannot speak of an immortal soul – rather we have a complex machine which only reacts and adapts to environment as a function of its innate and acquired tendencies.
The real I is not, however, a synthetic product of fusing little ‘I’s. It is something of a qualitatively different nature which may or may not exist as a potential in an individual. The Fourth Way Work aims at creating internal conditions where the real I might manifest. This means creating internal cohesion and order but it would be wrong to say that a real I is simply an amalgamation. It is a part of a higher world which may take residence in man if the vessel is well prepared. In the [analogy of the coach](Analogy of the coach), the real I is the master. The seat of the real I are the higher emotional and higher intellectual centers. The real I can be compared to soul, although the terms are not exactly synonymous. The real I can have free will while the lower components of the self cannot. We could say that if there is something unconditioned that may take place through man, this is the domain of the real I. No matter how learned, smart or capable man is, he remains a reaction machine as long as there is no contact with a real I. We could say that the Work only prepares the soil where the pre-existing real I can take root. It is thus that man can bridge between the world of matter and spirit. We may compare this process also with the Cassiopaean idea of alignment with a thought center or archetype.
Preparing the soil for the real I may also correspond to growing the higher being bodies as understood in the Fourth Way. These processes collectively may transform man into something that can survive physical death and reincarnate if he so chooses.
The efforts of the lower centers do not create the higher. They are however necessary for preparing a place for it. This is somewhat akin to the eternal theological question of grace vs. merit.