Somewhere about this time I was very much struck by a talk about the sun, the planets, and the moon. I do not remember how this talk began. But I remember that G. drew a small diagram and tried to explain what he called the “correlation of forces in different worlds.” This was in connection with the previous talk, that is, in connection with the INFLUENCEs acting on humanity. The idea was roughly this: humanity, or more correctly, organic life on earth, is acted upon simultaneously by INFLUENCEs proceeding from various sources and different worlds: INFLUENCEs from the planets, INFLUENCEs from the moon, INFLUENCEs from the sun, INFLUENCEs from the stars. All these INFLUENCEs act simultaneously; one INFLUENCE predominates at one moment and another INFLUENCE at another moment. And for man there is a certain possibility of making a choice of INFLUENCEs; in other words, of passing from one INFLUENCE to another. Fragments: One

“To explain how, would need a very long talk,” said G. “So we will talk about this some other time. At this moment I want you to understand one thing: it is impossible to become free from one INFLUENCE without becoming subject to another. The whole thing, all work on oneself, consists in choosing the INFLUENCE to which you wish to subject yourself, and actually falling under this INFLUENCE. And for this it is necessary to know beforehand which INFLUENCE is the more profitable.” Fragments: One

“The advantage of the separate individual is that he is very small and that, in the economy of nature, it makes no difference whether there is one mechanical man more or less. We can easily understand this correlation of magnitudes if we imagine the correlation between a microscopic cell and our own body. The presence or absence of one cell will change nothing in the life of the body. We cannot be conscious of it, and it can have no INFLUENCE on the life and functions of the organism. In exactly the same way a separate individual is too small to INFLUENCE the life of the cosmic organism to which he stands in the same relation (with regard to size) as a cell stands to our own organism. And this is precisely what makes his ‘evolution’ possible; on this are based his ‘possibilities.’ Fragments: Three

“What is ‘world’ for all the planets taken together? The sun, or the sphere of the sun’s INFLUENCE, or the solar system, of which the planets form a part. Fragments: Four

“This means that he is first of all INFLUENCEd by the nearest world, the one immediate to him, of which he forms a part. Worlds further away also INFLUENCE man, directly as well as through other intermediate worlds, but their action is diminished in proportion to their remoteness or to the increase in the difference between them and man. As will be seen later, the direct INFLUENCE of the Absolute does not reach man. But the INFLUENCE of the next world and the INFLUENCE of the star world are already perfectly clear in the life of man, although they are certainly unknown to science.” With this G. ended the lecture. Fragments: Four

On the next occasion we had very many questions chiefly about the INFLUENCEs of the various worlds and why the INFLUENCE of the Absolute does not reach us. Fragments: Four

“The INFLUENCE of the moon upon everything living manifests itself in all that happens on the earth. The moon is the chief, or rather, the nearest, the immediate, motive force of all that takes place in organic life on the earth. All movements, actions, and manifestations of people, animals, and plants depend upon the moon and are controlled by the moon. The sensitive film of organic life which covers the earthly globe is entirely dependent upon the INFLUENCE of the huge electromagnet that is sucking out its vitality. Man, like every other living being, cannot, in the ordinary conditions of life, tear himself free from the moon. All his movements and consequently all his actions are controlled by the moon. If he kills another man, the moon does it; if he sacrifices himself for others, the moon does that also. All evil deeds, all crimes, all self-sacrificing actions, all heroic exploits, as well as all the actions of ordinary everyday life, are controlled by the moon. Fragments: Five

“But surely those who realize this can do something?” said the man who had asked the question about war. “If a sufficient number of men came to a definite conclusion that there should be no war, could they not INFLUENCE others?” Fragments: Six

The third thing, which at once attracted my attention and of which I began to think the very first time I heard of it, was the idea of the moving center. The chief thing that interested me here was the question of the relation in which G. placed moving functions to instinctive functions. Were they the same thing or were they different? And further, in what relation did the divisions made by G. stand to the divisions cus­tomary in ordinary psychology? With certain reservations and additions I had considered it possible to accept the old divisions, that is, to divide man’s actions into “conscious” actions, “automatic” actions (which must at first be conscious), “instinctive” actions (expedient, but without consciousness of purpose), and “reflexes,” simple and complex, which are never conscious and which can, in certain cases, be inexpedient. In addition there were actions performed under the INFLUENCE of hidden emotional dispositions or inner unknown impulses. Fragments: Six

Then a great deal was elucidated for me by the idea that each center was not only a motive force but also a “receiving apparatus,” working as receiver for different and sometimes very distant INFLUENCEs. When I thought of what had been said about wars, revolutions, migrations of peoples, and so on; when I pictured how masses of humanity could move under the control of planetary INFLUENCEs, I began to understand our fundamental mistake in determining the actions of an individual. We regard the actions of an individual as originating in himself. We do not imagine that the “masses” may consist of automatons obeying external stimuli and may move, not under the INFLUENCE of the will, consciousness, or inclination of individuals, but under the INFLUENCE of external stimuli coming possibly from very far away. Fragments: Six

“The study of inner octaves, the study of their relation to outer octaves and the possible INFLUENCE of the former upon the latter, constitute a very important part of the study of the world and of man.” Fragments: Seven

Then much talk arose about the notes mi, re, of the lateral octave. We could not, of course, define what re was. But it was clearly connected with the idea of food for the moon. Some product of the disintegration of organic life went to the moon; this must be re. In regard to mi it was possible to speak quite definitely. Organic life undoubtedly disappeared in the earth. The role of organic life in the structure of the earth’s surface was indisputable. There was the growth of coral islands and limestone mountains, the formation of coal seams and accumulations of petroleum; the alteration of the soil under the INFLUENCE of vegetation, the growth of vegetation in lakes, the “formation of rich arable lands by worms,” change of climate due to the draining of swamps and the destruction of forests, and many other things that we know of and do not know of. Fragments: Seven

“It has been said before that self-study and self-observation, if rightly conducted, bring man to the realization of the fact that something is wrong with his machine and with his functions in their ordinary state. A man realizes that it is precisely because he is asleep that he lives and works in a small part of himself. It is precisely for this reason that the vast majority of his possibilities remain unrealized, the vast majority of his powers are left unused. A man feels that he does not get out of life all that it can give him, that he fails to do so owing to definite functional defects in his machine, in his receiving apparatus. The idea of self-study acquires in his eyes a new meaning. He feels that possibly it may not even be worth while studying himself as he is now. He sees every function as it is now and as it could be or ought to be. Self-observation brings man to the realization of the necessity for self-change. And in observing him-self a man notices that self-observation itself brings about certain changes in his inner processes. He begins to understand that self-observation is an instrument of self­change, a means of awakening. By observing himself he throws, as it were, a ray of light onto his inner processes which have hitherto worked in complete darkness. And under the INFLUENCE of this light the processes themselves begin to change. There are a great many chemical processes that can take place only in the absence of light. Exactly in the same way many psychic processes can take place only in the dark. Even a feeble light of consciousness is enough to change completely the character of a process, while it makes many of them altogether impossible. Our inner psychic processes (our inner alchemy) have much in common with those chemical processes in which light changes the character of the process and they are subject to analogous laws. Fragments: Eight

“‘Buffers’ are created slowly and gradually. Very many ‘buffers’ are created artificially through ‘education.’ Others are created under the hypnotic INFLUENCE of all surrounding life. A man is surrounded by people who live, speak, think, and feel by means of ‘buffers.’ Imitating them in their opinions, actions, and words, a man involuntarily creates similar ‘buffers’ in himself. ‘Buffers’ make a man’s life more easy. It is very hard to live without ‘buffers.’ But they keep man from the possibility of inner development because ‘buffers’ are made to lessen shocks and it is only shocks that can lead a man out of the state in which he lives, that is, waken him. ‘Buffers’ lull a man to sleep, give him the agreeable and peaceful sensation that all will be well, that no contradictions exist and that he can sleep in peace. ‘Buffers’ are appliances by means of -which a man can always be in the right. ‘Buffers’ help a man not to feel his conscience. Fragments: Eight

“If essence is subject to the INFLUENCE of fate, does it mean that compared with accident fate is always favorable to a man?” asked somebody present. “And can fate bring a man to the work?” Fragments: Eight

“The action of the Absolute upon the world, or upon the worlds created by it or within it, continues. The action of each of these worlds upon subsequent worlds continues in exactly the same way. ‘All suns’ of the Milky Way INFLUENCE our sun. The sun INFLUENCEs the planets. ‘All planets’ INFLUENCE our earth and the earth INFLUENCEs the moon. These INFLUENCEs are transmitted by means of radiations passing through starry and interplanetary space. Fragments: Nine

“It must be observed that, although there are six ‘intervals’ in these three octaves, only three of them actually require to be supplemented from outside. The first ‘interval’ between do and si is filled by the will of the Absolute. The second ‘interval’ do-si is filled by the INFLUENCE of the sun’s mass upon radiations passing through it. And the third ‘interval’ do-si is filled by the action of the earth’s mass upon radiations passing through it. Only the ‘intervals’ between fa and mi have to be filled by ‘additional shocks.’ These ‘additional shocks’ can come either from other octaves which pass across the given point or from parallel octaves which start from higher points. We know nothing about the nature of the ‘shock’ between mi-fa in the first octaoctave Absolute-Sun. But the ‘shock’ in the octave Sun-Earth is organic life on earth, that is, the three notes la, sol, fa of the octave which starts in the sun. The nature of the ‘shock’ between mi and fa in the octave Earth-Moon is unknown to us. Fragments: Nine

“We have followed the development of two octaves. The third octave, that is, the octave of impressions, begins through a conscious effort. Do 48 passes to re 24; re 24 passes to mi 12. At this point the development of the octave comes to a stop. “Now if we examine the result of the development of these three octaves, we shall see that the first octave has reached si 12, the second la 6, and the third mi 12. Thus the first and third octaves stop at notes which are unable to pass to the following notes. “For the two octaves to develop further, a second conscious shock is needed at a certain point in the machine, a new conscious effort is necessary which will enable the two octaves to continue their development. The nature of this effort demands special study. From the point of view of the general work of the machine it can be said in general that this effort is connected with the emotional life, that it is a special kind of INFLUENCE over one’s emotions. But what this kind of INFLUENCE really is, and how it has to be produced, can be explained only in connection with a general description of the work of the human factory or the human machine. Fragments: Nine

“The results of the INFLUENCEs whose source lies outside life collect together within him, he remembers them together, feels them together. They begin to form within him a certain whole. He does not give a clear account to himself as to what, how, and why, or if he does give an account to himself, then he explains it wrongly. But the point is not in this, .but in the fact that the results of these INFLUENCEs collect together within him and after a certain time they form within him a kind of magnetic center, which begins to attract to itself kindred INFLUENCEs and in this manner it grows. If the magnetic center receives sufficient nourishment, and if there is no strong resistance on the part of the other sides of a man’s personality which are the result of INFLUENCEs created in life, the magnetic center begins to INFLUENCE a man’s orientation, obliging him to turn round and even to move in a certain direction. When the magnetic center attains sufficient force and development, a man already understands the idea of the way and he begins to look for the way. The search for the way may take many years and may lead to nothing. This depends upon conditions, upon circumstances, upon the power of the magnetic center, upon the power and the direction of inner tendencies which are not concerned with this search and which may divert a man at the very moment when the possibility of finding the way appears. Fragments: Ten

“Here again there are many possibilities. But this will be spoken of later on. For the moment let us imagine that he has met a man who really knows the way and is ready to help him. The INFLUENCE of this man upon him goes through his magnetic center. And then, at this point, the man frees himself from the law of accident. This is what must be understood. The INFLUENCE of the man who knows the way upon the first man is a special kind of INFLUENCE, differing from the former two, first of all in being a direct INFLUENCE, and secondly in being a conscious INFLUENCE. Influences of the second kind, which create magnetic center, are conscious in their origin but afterwards they are thrown into the general vortex of life, are intermixed with INFLUENCEs created in life itself, and are equally subject to the law of accident. Influences of the third kind can never be subject to the law of accident; they are themselves outside the law of accident and their action also is outside the law of accident. Influences of the second kind can proceed through books, through philosophical systems, through rituals. Influences of the third kind can proceed only from one person to another, directly, by means of oral transmission. Fragments: Ten

At one of the following meetings, in the presence of G., when he made me repeat what he had said about the way and about magnetic center, I embodied his idea in the following diagram: V …life; H … an individual man; A … INFLUENCEs created in life, that is, in life itself — the first kind of INFLUENCEs; B … INFLUENCEs created outside life but thrown into the general vortex of life — the second kind of INFLUENCEs Hi … a man, connected by means of succession with the esoteric center or pretending to it E … esoteric center, standing outside the general laws of life M … magnetic center in man C … INFLUENCE of man h1 on man h; in the event of his actually being connected with the esoteric center, directly or by succession, this is the third kind of INFLUENCEs. This INFLUENCE is conscious, and under its action at the point m, that is, in the magnetic center, a man becomes free from the law of accident H2 … a man, deceiving himself or deceiving others and having no connection, either directly or by succession, with the esoteric center. Fragments: Ten

“The final substance in the process of the food octave is the substance si (‘hydrogen’ 12 in the third scale), which needs an ‘additional shock* in order to pass into a new do. But as three octaves have taken part in the production of this substance their INFLUENCE is also reflected in the final result by determining its quality. The quality and quantity can be regulated by regulating the three kinds of food received by the organism. Only in the presence of a full and harmonious conformity between all three kinds of food, by a strengthening or weakening of the different parts of the process, is the required result obtained. Fragments: Fourteen

“Everything I have said till now I have said about the whole of humanity. But as I pointed out before, the evolution of humanity can proceed only through the evolution of a certain group, which, in its turn, will INFLUENCE and lead the rest of humanity. Fragments: Fifteen

“But it must be understood that in order to bring into action a sufficient strength of will to keep a man in an unaccustomed position an order or command from the outside: ‘stop,’ is indispensable. A man cannot give himself the command stop. His will will not obey this command. The reason for this, as I have said before, is that the combination of habitual thinking, feeling, and moving postures is stronger than a man’s will. The command stop which, in relation to moving postures, comes from out­side, takes the place of thinking and feeling postures. These postures and their INFLUENCE are so to speak removed by the command stop — and in this case moving postures obey the will.” Fragments: Seventeen

“Stop” had an immense, INFLUENCE on the whole of our life, on the understanding of our work and our attitude towards it. First of all, attitude towards “stop” showed with undoubted accuracy what anyone’s attitude was to the work. People who had tried to evade work evaded “stop.” That is, either they did not hear the command to “stop” or they said that it did not directly refer .to them. Or, on the other hand, they were always prepared for a “stop,” they made no careless movements, they took no glasses of hot tea in their hands, they sat down and got up very quickly and so on. To a certain extent it was even possible to cheat with the “stop.” But of course this would be seen and would at once show who was sparing himself and who was able not to spare himself, able to take the work seriously, and who was trying to apply ordinary methods to it, to avoid difficulties, “to adapt themselves.” In exactly the same way “stop” showed the people who were incapable and undesirous of submitting to school discipline and the people who were not taking it seriously. We saw quite clearly that without “stop” and other exercises which accompanied it, nothing whatever could be attained in a purely psychological way. Fragments: Seventeen

“You must realize that there are three kinds of breathing. One is normal breathing. The second is ‘inflation.’ The third is breathing assisted by movements. What does this mean? It means that normal breathing goes on unconsciously, it is managed and controlled by the moving center. ‘Inflation’ is artificial breathing. If for instance a man says to himself that he will count ten inhaling and ten exhaling, or that he will inhale through the right nostril and exhale through the left — this is done by the formatory apparatus. And the breathing itself is different because the moving center and the formatory apparatus act through different groups of muscles. The group of muscles through which the moving center acts are neither accessible nor subordinate to the formatory apparatus. But in the event of a temporary stoppage of the moving center the formatory apparatus has been given a group of muscles which it can INFLUENCE and with whose help it can set the breathing mechanism in motion. But its work will of course be worse than the work of the moving center and it cannot go on for long. You have read the book about ‘yogi breathing,’ you have heard or have also read about the special breathing connected with the ‘mental prayer’ in Orthodox monasteries. It is all one and the same thing. Breathing proceeding from the formatory apparatus is not breathing but ‘inflation.’ The idea is that if a man carries out this kind of breathing long enough and often enough through the formatory apparatus, the moving center which remains idle during this period can get tired of doing nothing and start working in ‘imitation’ of the formatory apparatus. And indeed this sometimes happens. But so that this should happen many conditions are necessary, fasting and prayer are necessary and little sleep and all kinds of difficulties and burdens for the body. If the body is well treated this cannot happen. You think there are no physical exercises in Orthodox monasteries? Well, you try to carry out one hundred prostrations according to all the rules. You will have an aching back that no kind of gymnastics could ever give. Fragments: Eighteen