Gurdjieff

In this connection it must be noted that the ideas were not given us in the form in which they are set out in my lectures. G. gave the ideas little by little, as though defending or protecting them from us. When touching on new themes for the first time he gave only general principles,…

Acontece frequentemente que, ao coexistirem, o destino, para qualquer indivíduo separado no processo de sua existência pessoal, acaba sendo para ele pessoalmente absolutamente injusto, mas para todos os outros que coexistem com ele, obtêm-se disso, no sentido objetivo, uma abundância de frutos justos. (RBN p. 908) O ‘homem-máquina’ está no poder do acidente. (FED p.133)…

“The application of the ‘table of hydrogens’ for the determination of the different properties of things and of living creatures which consist of many ‘hydrogens’ is based on the principle that in each living creature and in each thing there is one definite ‘hydrogen’ which is the center of gravity; it is, so to speak,…

That schools existed I did not doubt. But at the same time I became convinced that the schools I heard about and with which I could have come into contact were not for me. They were schools of either a frankly religious nature or of a half-religious character, but definitely devotional in tone. These schools…

“No WORK OF GROUPS is possible without a teacher. The WORK OF GROUPS with a wrong teacher can produce only negative results. Fragments: Eleven “Besides these general rules there are certain individual conditions which are given to each person separately and which are generally connected with his ‘chief fault,’ or chief feature. “This requires some…

When I asked what was the system they were studying and what were its distinguishing features, I was answered very indefinitely. Then they spoke of “WORK ON ONESELF,” but in what this work consisted they failed to explain. On the whole my conversation with G.’s pupils did not go very well and I felt something…

“It was said, for instance, that somebody wanted to help people. In order to be able to help people one must first learn to help oneself. A great number of people become absorbed in thoughts and feelings about helping others simply out of laziness. They are too lazy to WORK ON THEMSELVES; and at the…

In this connection it must be noted that the ideas were not given us in the form in which they are set out in my lectures. G. gave the ideas little by little, as though defending or protecting them from us. When touching on new themes for the first time he gave only general principles,…

“It is difficult to explain in two words,” answered G. “First of all the man is not, of course, a ‘fakir’ in the sense in which I have been using the word. At the same time you are right in thinking it is not altogether a trick. But he does not know himself how he…

“But even apart from this, attempts to analyze separate phenomena without a knowledge of general laws are a completely useless waste of time. Before it is possible to analyze even the most elementary phenomena, a man must accumulate a sufficient quantity of material by means of ‘recording.’ ‘Recording,’ that is, the result of a direct…

“From this point of view, then, the world consists of VIBRATIONs and matter, or of matter in a state of VIBRATION, of vibrating matter. The rate of VIBRATION is in inverse ratio to the density of matter. Fragments: Five “In this connection according to the usual views accepted in the West, VIBRATIONs are continuous. This…

“Man number four is not born ready-made. He is born one, two, or three, and becomes four only as a result of efforts of a definite character. Man number four is always the product of SCHOOL WORK. He can neither be born, nor develop accidentally or as the result of ordinary influences of bringing up,…

“Man number five has already been crystallized; he cannot change as man number one, two, and three change. But it must be noted that man number five can be the result of RIGHT WORK and he can be the result of wrong work. He can become number five from number four and he can become…

“It does not mean that all the ways are closed to him. The way of the fakir and the way of the monk, which do not require any intellectual development, remain open to him. But the methods and the means which are possible for a man of a developed intellect are impossible for him. Thus…

“The moving center works with ‘hydrogen’ 24. ‘Hydrogen* 24 is many times quicker and more mobile than ‘hydrogen’ 48. The intellectual center is never able to follow the WORK OF THE MOVING CENTER. We are unable to follow either our own movements or other people’s movements unless they are artificially slowed down. Still less are…

“When a man comes to realize the necessity not only for self-study and self-observation but also for work on himself with the object of changing himself, the character of his self-observation must change. He has so far studied the details of the work of the centers, trying only to register this or that phenomenon, to…

“The teaching of the three forces is at the root of all ANCIENT SYSTEMS. The first force may be called active or positive; the second, passive or negative; the third, neutralizing. But these are merely names, for in reality all three forces are equally active and appear as active, passive, and neutralizing, only at their…

It is difficult for me to reconstruct the beginning of the conversation with G.’s pupils. Some of the things I heard surprised me. I tried to discover in what their work consisted, but they gave me no direct answers, insisting in some cases on a strange and, to me, unintelligible TERMINOLOGY. Fragments: One “These four…

(FED) “Outra ideia que nos é necessário assimilar é a ideia da materialidade do universo, considerado na perspectiva do “raio de criação”. Tudo, nesse universo, pode ser pesado e medido. O próprio Absoluto não é menos material, menos ponderável e mensurável que a Lua ou o homem. Se o Absoluto é Deus, isto significa que…

“I could accept such a condition only temporarily,” I said. “Of course it would be ludicrous if I began at once to write about what I learn from you. But if, in principle, you do not wish to make a secret of your ideas and care only that they should not be transmitted in a…