Opening, William Segal
Self-observation and self-remembering are the prime, quintessential processes in the transformation of a human being.
Self-observation is not easy. We are well cushioned from seeing ourselves. Our egoism insulates us; our self-image prevents seeing in depth. I may see a gesture, but do I see where it comes from? I can hear the tone of my voice, but am I able to trace back and observe from where the inflection comes, what thoughts and feelings it is connected with? Do I see the source of a negative emotion? The very question, “What is self-observation?” needs to be kept alive. —The Structure Of Man – On Transformation
In Search of the Miraculous
“… to learn the methods of self-observation…requires a certain understanding of the functions and the characteristics of the human machine…it is necessary to…be able to define them exactly and at once… by taste, by sensation, in the same way as we define all inner experiences…
“…a man must differentiate between the four basic functions of his machine… Every phenomenon that a man observes in himself is related to one or the other of these functions. Therefore, before beginning to observe, a man must understand… what intellectual… emotional… moving… and… instinctive activity means.
“Observation must begin from the beginning… A man must begin observing himself as though he did not know himself at all, as though he had never observed himself…—Chapter 4
Talks and Lectures with A.R. Orage 1924-1931
The first step is observation of your own behavior. The three centers no one sees. We will never see our own centers. When you look at someone else you do not see three brains; you see five manners of behavior… —VII Monday, 18 November 1929
Observe concurrently… tone of voice, posture, gesture, movements and facial expressions…
(W)e—and others—can check up on them; we are not reporting on introspection, we are reporting on something objective.
Our movements are few in number. Our habitual postures are only three or four. The range of our tones of voice, instead of being what it should be… is limited to four or five notes. Our facial expressions… We have one face for the breakfast table, another for the office, etc. Gestures: We have all suffered from gestures in others we do not like. Marriages have been broken up because of some little gesture…
When you can report on these you can report on the kind of person under your hat. —II Monday, October 14, 1929
Self-observation may be aided by thinking of yourself as third person… Make the observation entirely impersonal, with no idea of correction or criticism… Our automatic bodies are the vehicle. We must learn to be the driver, not the driven.
At the end of the day, we should be able to (review) by mental pictures the day’s activities… to follow…as closely as possible that figure which is you, as he goes through the day… (S)tick to just recalling the visual presentation of your day’s behavior in sequence…
This is called the daily review, and it is an important exercise…
Our makeup is of our essence…and…our personality. We must discover, if possible by self-observation, what this essence is; people’s way of life must be in accordance with their essence to produce a balanced and happy life. There is no success or happiness in working against essence… —Gurdjieff’s Emissary in New York: Talks and Lectures with A.R. Orage 1924-1931, Mrs. Hare’s Notes
Psychological Commentaries, Maurice Nicoll
As long as a man takes what he observes as himself he cannot separate from it. It is like standing on a plank and trying to lift it…
Many of you think that Self-Observation consists merely in noticing that you feel… unwell… or depressed and so on. Let me assure you that this is not Self-Observation. Self-Observation begins with the establishing of Observing in your own inner world. Observing ‘I’ is not identified with what it observes. When you say: “I am feeling negative,” you are not observing yourself. You are…identified with your state… You are taking it and you as the same. Try to…feel the sense of ‘I’ in the observing side, and not in the observed side… It is this observing side that is the new point of growth in you… —Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, Vol-1, Birdlip, July 3, 1943 Commentary on Self-Observation and ‘I’s
The Reality of Being
Gurdjieff taught the necessity of self-observation, but this practice has been mostly misunderstood. Usually when I try to observe, there is a point from which the observation is made, and my mind projects the idea of observing, of an observer separate from the object observed. But the idea of observing is not the observing. Seeing is not an idea. It is an act, the act of seeing… This observation is…one complete act, an experience that can take place only if there is no separation between what sees and what is seen…
The truth of what I am can only be seen by a fine energy, an intelligence in me that sees… —10. Self-observation
Toward Awakening, Jean Vaysse
Right self-observation…is…dependent upon the participation of three factors… and…on the quality of each of these three factors. They are: I who observe… what I observe within myself; and… an attention which connects the two…—The conditions, means and significance of real self-observation
Attention—Wish—Will—Free Will
A Talk by Mr. de Hartmann
…Man has two natures: a lower, and a higher. The lower nature is like an animal’s… The higher nature is… incomplete, but capable of growing into a full and complete Man. For the higher nature, there is another Attention…not born outside of us, but born in us. This Attention is the beginning of real Consciousness… With this Attention, we can observe ourselves; with this Attention we can remember ourselves… —From the Diary Notes of Thomas C. Daly