Gurdjieff:
“Freedom, liberation, this must be the aim of man. To become free, to be liberated from slavery: this is what a man ought to strive for when he becomes even a little conscious of his position. There is nothing else for him, and nothing else is possible so long as he remains a slave both inwardly and outwardly. But he cannot cease to be a slave outwardly while he remains a slave inwardly. Therefore in order to become free, man must gain inner freedom… —In Search of the Miraculous – Chapter 6
“So long as a man identifies, or can be identified, he is the slave of everything that can happen to him. Freedom is first of all freedom from identification… —In Search of the Miraculous – Chapter 8
“A man consciously and unconsciously struggles for freedom as he imagines it, and this more than anything else prevents him from attaining real freedom. But a man who is capable of attaining anything, comes sooner or later to the conclusion that his freedom is illusion, and he agrees to sacrifice this illusion… He is not afraid of losing anything because he knows that he has nothing. And in this way he acquires everything. Everything in him that was real in his understanding, in his sympathies, tastes, and desires, all comes back to him accompanied by new things, which he did not have, and could not have had before, together with a feeling of unity and will within him. But to arrive at this point, a man must pass through the hard way of slavery and obedience. And if he wants results he must obey not only outwardly, but inwardly. This requires a great determination, and…a great understanding of the fact that there is no other way, that a man can do nothing himself, but that at the same time, something has to be done… —In Search of the Miraculous – Chapter 17
C. S. Nott:
Someone once asked a question about ‘freedom’, and Gurdjieff began: ‘Freedom leads to freedom… The freedom I speak of is the aim of all schools, of all religions, of all times. It is a very big thing. Everyone, consciously or unconsciously, wishes for freedom. There are two kinds, the Lesser Freedom and the Greater Freedom. You cannot have the Greater Freedom until you have attained to the Lesser Freedom. The Greater Freedom is the liberation of ourselves from outside influences; the Lesser, from influences within us.
‘For us beginners, the Lesser Freedom is a very big thing; it is not subject to our dependence on outside influences. Inner slavery comes from many sources; it depends on many independent things… There are so many that if we had to struggle with each one separately in order to free ourselves from them, half a lifetime would not be enough. So we must find a means, a method of working, that will enable us to destroy simultaneously as many as possible of the enemies within us… —Teachings of Gurdjieff: A Pupil’s Journal, C.S. Nott – New York and Fontainebleau 1923-5
Gurdjieff:
You divide yourself in two parts. Inwardly you must not identify, outwardly you must play a role… Your task now is to acquire inner freedom. This is the starting point for going further… What does it mean, to play a role? Try to understand it in a broader sense… Subjective role. With each person a different role. You accustom yourself to fulfill obligations. It is one of the aspects of the future of a free man… In future, with each man you must play a role; for your egoism… You do not do what you like, but what he likes… —Transcripts of Gurdjieff’s Meetings 1941-1946 – Tuesday, 8 February 1944
Do everything without identifying yourself internally and, externally, play a role. This role is to be exactly as you were before… No one must notice that you do something. Expect nothing. Do only your task. Do not identify internally with anyone or anything. This is your task…(I)t is the role that you must play… Do not let him see that you are doing something exceptional. Search not to enlighten, to send rays outside, you are not strong enough; you have not the possibility of doing it… Your friend was idiotic? Let him be idiotic, and keep the same relationship. He was intelligent? Let him be intelligent. Show him that nothing has changed. This is called playing a role… —Transcripts of Gurdjieff’s Meetings 1941-1946 – Meeting Seventeen
You must understand today that in order to work, to make this “I” grow, to give it strength, you must be free to work. You are never free. My freedom becomes a goal, for a minute first, then two, then five. And then I will look for what are my greatest identifications, those which prevent me internally from being entirely present. I want to be free to work, to work on being. If I am not free I cannot be. “I” need to be… —Meetings With G.I. Gurdjieff in Paris, 1944 —Friday February 4, 1944
Mme. de Salzmann:
Freedom is not freedom from something, but freedom to be in the present, in a moment that never existed before. —The Reality of Being, 130. The miraculous in action
Michel Conge:
Freedom is the freedom to serve a purpose infinitely greater than anything I can imagine. And if I serve… I am freed from certain…laws. I am released from the power of a certain world, and I am related to what is greater, to what is above ‘me’… I consent to submit to a Will, to an infinitely higher power. I serve it…
There is no other freedom… It is clear that an order is established, and that I find my place in this order. Until then, I have…neither place nor being… —Inner Octaves: Talks and Exchanges, Michel Conge – What Freedom?