Gurdjieff’s Early Talks, 1914-1931,
Sayings:
Before seeking the way, we must realize our nothingness.
Aphorism #7:
Know that this house can only be useful to those who have already recognized their nothingness and who believe in the possibility of altering.
Beelzebub’s Tales
on the Society of Akhldanns…
“In the course of my investigation of all the inner and outer being-impulses and manifestations that led this Belcultassi to form the truly great society of ordinary three-brained beings – ‘envied’ in its day throughout the whole universe as ‘worthy of imitation’ – it appeared that one day while this future Sacred Individual was engaged in contemplation, according to the practice of every normal being, and by association his thoughts were concentrated on himself, that is, on the meaning and aim of his existence, he suddenly sensed and cognized that the functioning of the whole of him had been proceeding until then not as it should have proceeded according to sane logic.
“This unexpected realization shocked him so profoundly that thereafter he devoted the whole of himself exclusively to becoming able at any cost to unravel this and understand it.
“First of all, he decided to attain without delay the ‘potency’ that would give him the force and the possibility to be absolutely sincere with himself, that is, to be able to overcome those impulses which had become habitual in the functioning of his common presence from the many heterogenous associations arising in him from all sorts of accidental shocks, coming from outside and also engendered within, namely, the impulses called ‘self-love,’ ‘pride,’ ‘vanity,’ and so on.
“And when after incredible what are called ‘organic’ and ‘psychic’ efforts, he had attained this, he began, without mercy for these being-impulses that had become inherent in his presence, to think and recall just which being-impulses had arisen in him on just what occasions in the course of his past existence, and how he had, consciously or unconsciously, reacted to them.
“Analyzing himself in this manner, he began to recall exactly which impulses had provoked this or that reaction in his ‘independently spiritualized parts,’ that is, in his body, in his feelings, and in his thoughts, and the state of his essence when he reacted to something more or less attentively, and how and when, in consequence of such reactions, he had manifested consciously with his ‘I’ or had acted automatically under the direction of his instinct alone.
“These conscious observations and impartial verifications at last convinced Belcultassi that in his common presence something was proceeding not as it should proceed according to sane being-logic.”
In Search of the Miraculous, p. 156
Conscience is the same for all men and conscience is possible only in the absence of ‘buffers.’ From the point of view of understanding the different categories of man we may say that there exists the conscience of a man in whom there are no contradictions. This conscience is not suffering; on the contrary it is a joy of a totally new character which we are unable to understand. But even a momentary awakening of conscience in a man who has thousands of different I’s is bound to involve suffering. And if these moments of conscience become longer and if a man does not fear them but on the contrary cooperates with them and tries to keep and prolong them, an element of very subtle joy, a foretaste of the future ‘clear consciousness’ will gradually enter into these moments.
The Reality of Being, p. 65
The possibility of receiving a more subtle vibration arises only at the moment when I know my incapacity and my refusal. Because I know it, there is an opening to vibrations of a different density, as if passing a threshold. By an action that comes from an immediate understanding of being insufficient, the body as a whole lets go in order to be attuned to this Presence. I begin to see that there are infinite degrees of sensation which represent an unknown world.
The Reality of Being, p. 259
To believe, to hope, to love are all indispensable for evolution of being. But they can only be lived if, at the same time, voluntary suffering allows true, higher feeling to appear. It is necessary to feel remorse of conscience. The voluntary effort is to prepare conditions and stay in front of my inadequacy – to suffer my insufficiency. In this way a will develops that would not otherwise be produced, and a feeling arises that is not a reaction. When one is touched by a higher force, the experience of suffering is not the same.
In moments of inadequacy, unable to approach the reality of myself, I feel behind all my manifestations a constant suffering, as if something precious were missing. It is a sign. Until now my awareness has not been true consciousness. I have been living only with my ordinary functions. Now I know I can go further, I can reach a deeper level in myself. And at certain moments I succeed in touching my essence, as though feeling a new center of gravity. This essence is like a newborn child that I have to nourish and strengthen. It is here that I need to concentrate, to hold myself in my work.
My deep wish is to submit entirely to an inner voice, the feeling of the divine, of the sacred in me. I know that a higher energy. – what religions call God or Lord – is within me. It will appear if the mind and the body are truly relaxed. God is here when two forces are opposed and a third unites them. We can ask for help in order to unite these forces in us. We can say, “Lord, have mercy,” in order to Be.