"Another law should be observed concurrently with the Law of Proportional Returns. It is the Law of the Ladder. The ladder is here used as a symbol to show that there should be a selective giving of goods, energy, or spiritual help. The Law of the Ladder simply says that you should not reach below the rung upon which you stand, except to the first rung below you - in order to help people. If you reach down too low, your efforts will be wasted, and you may be hurt. Or crucified.
The Law of the Ladder also says that you connot be helped by anyone too far above you, because you are not prepared to work with that person on the same level at which he is working."
- p.199 of The Albigen Papers by Richard Rose
"The Law of Extra-Proportional Returns can be effected only with the cooperation of friends. The Law of Proportional Returns tells us that we can count the number of yards that a gallon of gas will take a truck. It adds, that if we put two gallons in, we can expect only to go twice as far. The Law of Extra-Proportional Returns implies an unexpected increment. To draw an analogy, two factors (human) will accomplish more results together, than will either of the two factors in twice as much time.
This is also known as the Contractor's Law. If this law did not exist, no contractor would hire men. The work would all be done by individuals working alone. It was only when Henry Ford progressed to the assembly line production that he really started making money.
Th e principle works in somewhat the following manner. One man can build a certain type of house in ninety days. Two men working together will be able to build it in forty-two or forty-three days. And five men, each specializing in a particular trade, may buld it in fifteen days, or seventy-five man-days. And with more men, the work will be closer to perfection.
We apply the same principle to spiritual work. Since we are working with inadequate tools, in the hope of doing something more difficult than building a rocket for the moon, it is a good idea to give some of these laws a practical appraisal. Especially in view of the fact that men, - whom we have recognized as being spiritual authorities, - have found that employment of the Law of Extra-Proportional Returns to be expedient in the same way that it is recommended here. We must work in groups, in other words. You can call them brotherhoods or societies, or you can work in groups without a name.
Gurdjieff called it the school. It is very difficult for a man to work alone. He tends to drift. If he does not drift, he may slip off on a tangent, become hallucinated, self-hypnotized, or plainly obsessed. He needs a mirror to watch for his own possible deviations, and he finds such a mirror in the minds of his colleagues, if nothing else. And when he realizes the value of cooperation, the only sensible thing to do is to form a pattern for cooperation, which pattern should allow for new brothers on the path.
Now the Law of the Ladder has more meaning. We do not visualize a single man upon each rung, reaching down, pulling up the man below. We find that the ladder is "A" shaped, pyramid in form, for on thing. There are less people on the higher rungs than on the lower rungs. We will be lucky if we can find one man who can help us, but we should be working with six or more on the rung below. We also find a new meaning for the brotherhood now. The man above may be pulling up the man below, - but they are pushing him a bit, at the same time."
- p.200 - 201 of The Albigen Papers by Richard Rose
