From the Diary Notes of Thomas C. Daly
In June, 1954… to their newly constituted Toronto Group… Madame de Hartmann questioned each and all of us together, especially deeply: “Why are you here?—What is your aim?—And what do you wish?”
Typical answers: “To be free from ups and downs” … “To get rid of negative emotions” … “To become something real” …
To each answer she countered with: “Yes, but why? Why do you want that?—One can want all such things just to be approved of by others, just to get on better in life—but why do you want that?”… —Attention—Wish—Will—Free Will, A Talk by Mr. de Hartmann
It’s Up to Ourselves, Dushka Howarth
* “Mme. O(uspensky) said, ‘If our aim is not formed, we are not in the work yet. If a man has aim he makes demands on himself—a man in the work knows what he wants, knows right from wrong and is determined to achieve his aim—hates sleep, and desires to remember himself, and takes everything relative to that.’
“Question: If one’s aim is not formed yet, and one cannot start work until one knows what one wants, it seems to be a circle. How can one get out?
(Mme. O.) “‘It is a vicious circle but a way out does in fact exist. But for very few people. Only for those who realize that they are in a circle, have decision and determination to come out, and are willing to pay a high price to escape. You cannot come to consciousness unconsciously. If we see what we have not got, we will know what we want…
“We can always gauge how much we want something by the price we are willing to pay for it. Mme. describes us now as ‘People without (a) railway ticket who come up to the gate but who won’t be let through.’
“‘Everything depends on whether you really want, or you only think you do. Work is not living in (this) house, or coming into special conditions, or reading books, or coming to lectures, or listening to readings. None of this leads in (the) direction of work or aim, from (the) system(‘s) point of view. People are divided in two categories: those who think and those who really want. If one really wants, one does.’ God gives one free choice. No one forces you to do it… And all this has nothing to do with high ideas and imagination about yourself. Until one sees oneself as one is, and it may mean going many steps backwards from what one thought one was, one has no starting point.
“Before it is possible to work on attention a person must know why and what they want—to direct attention towards—because ‘attention is like a tool, like a knife which can be used for right purpose or wrong purpose.’ —*Mme. O. at Mendham, between 1946-50, from notes of Daphne Ripman Matchelajovic, who cared for Mme. during her last years
1938 Wartime Meetings With Gurdjieff
Gurdjieff: You have not the right to have desire only. This is not enough. It will give nothing… Aim. Always have an immediate aim. This is your objective. You must achieve this. There are many zigzags on the way. Do not delay. Always see the aim. Know where you are going, and you will find the means to get there… (T)he aim should be clear and always before you. —Meeting Eighteen
Views From the Real World
…Bear in mind that… Beguiled by the nearness of the aim toward which you strive… and ignorant of the measure of your own strength, you will not notice the obstacles on the way; you will not see the numerous ditches across the path. In a green meadow covered with luxuriant flowers, in the thick grass, a deep precipice is hidden. It is very easy to stumble and fall over it if your eyes are not concentrated on the step you are taking.
Yet do not forget your aim. Remember it the whole time and keep up in yourself an active endeavor toward it, so as not to lose the right direction…
Do not be overcurious nor waste time on things that attract your attention but are not worth it. Time is precious and should not be wasted on things which have no direct relation to your aim. Remember where you are and why you are here. —Essentuki, about 1918
All and Everything
Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson
“…to all three-brained beings…of our Great Universe…the fundamental meaning and aim of…existence is to serve as the vehicle for the transmutation of cosmic substances necessary for the ‘common-cosmic trogoautoegocratic process.’ —Chapter 16 – The relativity of Time
“This system, which maintains everything that arises and exists, was established by our Endless Creator…so that the merciless Heropass would no longer have its maleficent effect on the Sun Absolute. —Chapter 17 – The arch-absurd
“…(T)he results of the ‘evolution’ and ‘involution’… actualizing the trogoautoegocratic principle of existence…by means of reciprocal feeding and maintenance, produce the common-cosmic… ‘universal exchange of substances.
“So…the cause for the divine anxiety of our Almighty Uni-Being Endlessness concerning the wholeness of His eternal place of dwelling disappeared forever.—Chapter 39 – Purgatory
A Normal Being Wishes To Live Forever
– G.I. Gurdjieff, Essentuki 1918
Conscious labor consists of having an objective in life, as a life aim, an Aim which can be pursued the whole of your life. It does not depend on the vicissitudes of life. It is the aim for which you took the trouble to be born. You are an immortal being if you keep this aim…