I was at the same café where I had met G. the next day, and the dayfollowing, and every day afterwards. During the week I spent in Moscow I saw G. every day. It very soon became clear to me that he knew very much of what I wanted to know. Among other things he explained to me certain PHENOMENA I had come across in India which no one had been able to explain to me either there, on the spot, or afterwards. In his explanations I felt the assurance of a specialist, a very fine analysis of facts, and a system which I could not grasp, but the presence of which I already felt because G.’s explanations made me think not only of the facts under discussion, but also of many other things I had observed or conjectured. Fragments: One

“Why, of course not!” I said. “Art, poetry, thought, are PHENOMENA of quite a different order.” Fragments: One

I was particularly attracted by his sense of humor and the complete absence of any pretensions to “sanctity” or to the possession of “miraculous” powers, although, as we became convinced later, he possessed then the knowledge and ability of creating unusual PHENOMENA of a psychological character. But he always laughed at people who expected miracles from him. Fragments: Two

All these things taken together had created in him at a very early age a leaning towards the mysterious, the incomprehensible, and the magical. He told me that when quite young he made several long journeys in the East. What was true in these stories I could never decide exactly. But, as he said, in the course of these journeys he again came across many PHENOMENA telling him of the existence of a certain knowledge, of certain powers and possibilities exceeding the ordinary possibilities of man, and of people possessing clairvoyance and other miraculous powers. Gradually, he told me, his absences from home and his travels began to follow one definite aim. He went in search of knowledge and the people who possessed this knowledge. And, as he said, after great difficulties, he found the sources of this knowledge in company with several other people who were, like him, also seeking the miraculous. Fragments: Two

“There are periods in the life of humanity, which generally coincide with the beginning of the fall of cultures and civilizations, when the masses irretrievably lose their reason and begin to destroy everything that has been created by centuries and millenniums of culture. Such periods of mass madness, often coinciding with geological cataclysms, climatic changes, and similar PHENOMENA of a planetary character, release a very great quantity of the matter of knowledge. This, in its turn, necessitates the work of collecting this matter of knowledge which would otherwise be lost. Thus the work of collecting scattered matter of knowledge frequently coincides with the beginning of the destruction and fall of cultures and civilizations. Fragments: Two

“The Absolute, that is, the state of things when the All constitutes one Whole, is, as it were, the primordial state of things, out of which, by division and differentiation, arises the diversity of the PHENOMENA observed by us. Fragments: Four

“Before examining these influences,” began G., “and the laws of transformation of Unity into Plurality, we must examine the fundamental law that creates all PHENOMENA in all the diversity or unity of all universes. Fragments: Four

“This is the ‘Law of Three’ or the law of the three principles or the three forces. It consists of the fact that every phenomenon, on whatever scale and in whatever world it may take place, from molecular to cosmic PHENOMENA, is the result of the combination or the meeting of three different and opposing forces. Contemporary thought realizes the existence of two forces and the necessity of these two forces for the production of a phenomenon: force and resistance, positive and negative magnetism, positive and negative electricity, male and female cells, and so on. But it does not observe even these two forces always and everywhere. No question has ever been raised as to the third, or if it has been raised it has scarcely been heard. Fragments: Four

“Examples of the action of the three forces, and the moments of entry of the third force, may be discovered in all manifestations of our psychic life, in all PHENOMENA of the life of human communities and of humanity as a whole, and in all the PHENOMENA of nature around us. Fragments: Four

“But at the beginning it is enough to understand the general principle: every phenomenon, of whatever magnitude it may be, is inevitably the manifestation of three forces; one or two forces cannot produce a phenomenon, and if we observe a stoppage in anything, or an endless hesitation at the same place, we can say that, at the given place, the third force is lacking. In trying to understand this it must be remembered at the same time that people cannot observe PHENOMENA as manifestations of three forces because we cannot observe the objective world in our subjective states of consciousness. And in the subjectively observed PHENOMENAl world we see in PHENOMENA only the manifestation of one or two forces. If we could see the manifestation of three forces in every action, we should then see the world as it is (things in themselves). Only it must here be remembered that a phenomenon which appears to be simple may actually be very complicated, that is, it may be a very complex combination of trinities. But we know that we cannot observe the world as it is and this should help us to understand why we cannot see the third force. The third force is a property of the real world. The subjective or PHENOMENAl world of our observation is only relatively real, at any rate it is not complete. Fragments: Four

“The three forces of the Absolute, constituting one whole, separate and unite by their own will and by their own decision, and at the points of junction they create PHENOMENA, or ‘worlds.’ These worlds, created by the will of the Absolute, depend entirely upon this will in everything that concerns their own existence. In each of these worlds the three forces again act. Since, however, each of these worlds is now not the whole, but only a part, then the three forces in them do not form a single whole. It is now a case of three wills, three consciousnesses, three unities. Each of the three forces contains within it the possibility of all three forces, but at the meeting point of the three forces each of them manifests only one principle — the active, the passive, or the neutralizing. The three forces together form a trinity which produces new PHENOMENA. But this trinity is different, it is not that which was in the Absolute, where the three forces formed an indivisible whole and possessed one single will and one single consciousness. In the worlds of the second order the three forces are now divided and their meeting points are now of a different nature. In the Absolute the moment and the point of their meeting is determined by their single will. In the worlds of the second order, where there is no longer a single will but three wills, the points of issue are each determined by a separate will, independent of the others, and therefore the meeting point becomes accidental or mechanical. The will of the Absolute creates the worlds of the second order and governs them, but it does not govern their creative work, in which a mechanical element makes its appearance. Fragments: Four

“As has been said already, the study of oneself must go side by side with the study of the fundamental laws of the universe. The laws are the same everywhere and on all planes. But the very same laws manifesting themselves in different worlds, that is, under different conditions, produce different PHENOMENA. The study of the relation of laws to the planes upon which they are manifested brings us to the study of relativity. Fragments: Five

“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 observation of what is taking place at a given moment, is the most important material in the work of self-study. When a certain number of ‘records’ have been accumulated and when, at the same time, laws to a certain extent have been studied and understood, analysis becomes possible. Fragments: Six

“When he begins to observe himself, he must try to determine at once to what group, to which center, belong the PHENOMENA he is observing at the moment. Fragments: Six

First of all he completely rejected “conscious” actions because, as it appeared from what he said, there was nothing that was conscious. The term “subconscious” which plays such a big part in the theories of some authors became quite useless and even misleading, because PHENOMENA of quite different categories were classified under the category of “subconscious.” Fragments: Six

“This parallel study of the world and of man shows the student the fundamental unity of everything and helps him to find analogies in PHENOMENA of different orders. Fragments: Seven

“The number of fundamental laws which govern all processes both in the world and in man is very small. Different numerical combinations of a few elementary forces create all the seeming variety of PHENOMENA. Fragments: Seven

“In order to understand the mechanics of the universe it is necessary to resolve complex PHENOMENA into these elementary forces. Fragments: Seven

“If we grasp its full meaning the law of octaves gives us an entirely new explanation of the whole of life, of the progress and development of PHENOMENA on all planes of the universe observed by us. This law explains why there are no straight lines in nature and also why we can neither think nor do, why everything with us is thought, why everything happens with us and happens usually in a way opposed to what we want or expect. All this is the clear and direct effect of the ‘intervals,’ or retardations in the development of vibrations. Fragments: Seven

“The law of octaves explains many PHENOMENA in our lives which are incomprehensible. Fragments: Seven

“Upon the law of octaves in its three principal manifestations depend many PHENOMENA both of a psychic nature as well as those immediately connected with our life. Upon the law of octaves depends the imperfection and the incompleteness of our knowledge in all spheres without exception, chiefly because we always begin in one direction and afterwards without noticing it proceed in another. Fragments: Seven

“In order to understand the laws of relativity, it is very useful to examine the life and PHENOMENA of one cosmos as though looking at them from another cosmos, that is, to examine them from the point of view of the laws of another cosmos. All the PHENOMENA of the life of a given cosmos, examined from another cosmos, assume a completely different aspect and have a completely different meaning. Many new PHENOMENA appear and many other PHENOMENA disappear. This in general completely changes the picture of the world and of things. Fragments: Ten

But the miraculous was still far from ended. There were new and very strange PHENOMENA again late in the evening of that day and I “conversed” with him while seeing him in the compartment of the train going to Moscow. Fragments: Thirteen

One thing I understood even then with undoubted clarity, that no PHENOMENA of a higher order, that is, transcending the category of ordinary things observable every day, or PHENOMENA which are sometimes called “metaphysical,” can be observed or investigated by ordinary means, in an ordinary state of consciousness, like physical PHENOMENA. It is a complete absurdity to think that it is possible to study PHENOMENA of a higher order like “telepathy,” “clairvoyance,” foreseeing the future, mediumistic PHENOMENA, and so on, in the same way as electrical, chemical, or meteorological PHENOMENA are studied. There is something in PHENOMENA of a higher order which requires a particular emotional state for their observation and study. And this excludes any possibility of “properly conducted” laboratory experiments and observations. Fragments: Thirteen

Trying to draw out as much as possible the beginning of the “diagrams,” as we called a part of G.’s system, dealing with general questions and laws, I began to convey the general impressions of my journey. And all the time I was saying one thing, in my head another thing was running: How shall I begin — what does the transition 1, 2, 3 into 1, 3, 2 mean? Can an example of such a transition be found in the PHENOMENA we know? I felt that I must find something now, immediately, because unless I found something myself first I could say nothing to the others. Fragments: Thirteen

“But objective knowledge, the idea of unity included, belongs to objective consciousness. The forms which express this knowledge when perceived by subjective consciousness are inevitably distorted and, instead of truth, they create more and more delusions. With objective consciousness it is possible to see and feel the unity of everything. But for subjective consciousness the world is split up into millions of separate and unconnected PHENOMENA. Attempts to connect these PHENOMENA into some sort of system in a scientific or a philosophical way lead to nothing because man cannot reconstruct the idea of the whole starting from separate facts and they cannot divine the principles of the division of the whole without knowing the laws upon which this division is based. Fragments: Fourteen

“Symbols were divided into the fundamental and the subordinate; the first included the principles of separate domains of knowledge; the second expressed the essential nature of PHENOMENA in their relation to unity. Fragments: Fourteen

“Among the formulas giving a summary of the content of many symbols there was one which had a particular significance, namely the formula ‘As above, so below,’ from the ‘Emerald Tablets of Hermes Trismegistus.’ This formula stated that all the laws of the cosmos could be found in the atom or in any other phenomenon which exists as something completed according to certain laws. This same meaning was contained in the analogy drawn between the microcosm — man, and the macrocosm — the universe. The fundamental laws of triads and octaves penetrate everything and should be studied simultaneously both in the world and in man. But in relation to himself man is a nearer and a more accessible object of study and knowledge than the world of PHENOMENA outside him. Therefore, in striving towards a knowledge of the universe, man should begin with the study of himself and with the realization of the fundamental laws within him. Fragments: Fourteen

“The understanding of symbols can be approached in the following way: In studying the world of PHENOMENA a man first of all sees in everything the manifestation of two principles, one opposed to the other, which, in conjunction or in opposition, give one result or another, that is, reflect the essential nature of the principles which have created them. This manifestation of the great laws of duality and trinity man sees simultaneously in the cosmos and in himself. But in relation to the cosmos he is merely a spectator and moreover one who sees only the surface of PHENOMENA which are moving in various directions though seeming to him to move in one direction. But in relation to himself his understanding of the laws of duality and trinity can express itself in a practical form, namely, having understood these laws in himself, he can, so to speak, confine the manifestation of the laws of duality and trinity to the permanent line of struggle with himself on the way to self-knowledge. In this way he will introduce the line of will first into the circle of time and afterwards into the cycle of eternity, the accomplishing of which will create in him the great symbol known by the name of the Seal of Solomon. Fragments: Fourteen

“We have spoken earlier of the law of octaves, of the fact that every process, no matter upon what scale it takes place, is completely determined in its gradual development by the law of the structure of the seven-tone scale. In connection with this it has been pointed out that every note, every tone, if taken on another scale is again a whole octave. The ‘intervals’ between mi and fa and between si and do which cannot be filled by the intensity of the energy of the process in operation, and which require an outside ‘shock,’ outside help so to speak, connect by this very fact one process with other processes. From this it follows that the law of octaves connects all processes of the universe and, to one who knows the scales of the passage and the laws of the structure of the octave, it presents the possibility of an exact cognition of everything and every phenomenon in its essential nature and of all its interrelations with PHENOMENA and things connected with it. Fragments: Fourteen

“Passing on to the examination of the complicated figure inside the circle we should understand the laws of its construction. The laws of unity are reflected in all PHENOMENA. The decimal system is constructed on the basis of the same laws. Taking a unit as one note containing within itself a whole octave we must divide this unit into seven unequal parts in order to arrive at the seven notes of this octave. But in the graphic representation the inequality of the parts is not taken into account and for the construction of the diagram there is taken first a seventh part, then two-sevenths, then three-sevenths, four-sevenths, five-sevenths, six-sevenths, and seven-sevenths. Calculating these parts in decimals we get: 1/7=0.142857 . . . 2/7=0.285714 . . . 3/7=0.428571 . . . 4/7=0.571428 . . . 5/7=0.714285 . . . 6/7=0.857142 . . . 7/7=0.999999 . . . Fragments: Fourteen

“This is connected with Kant’s ideas of PHENOMENA and noumena,” I said. “But after all this is the whole point. — The earth as a three-dimensional body is the ‘phenomenon,’ as a six-dimensional body, the ‘noumenon.’ ” Fragments: Fifteen

Some of our party could not at the time clearly realize what was happening but they felt and experienced in an emotional way something that was outside the ordinary run of PHENOMENA. All this lasted only a few seconds. The third bell followed the second bell almost immediately, and the train moved out. Fragments: Sixteen

“In speaking of the work of the factory in general it is indispensable to establish that it is necessary to stop useless waste before there can be any sense in increasing the production. If production is increased while this useless waste remains unchecked and nothing is done to stop it, the new energy produced will merely increase this useless waste and may even give rise to PHENOMENA of an unhealthy kind. Therefore one of the first things a man must learn previous to any physical work on himself is to observe and feel muscular tension and to be able to relax the muscles when it is necessary, that is to say, chiefly to relax unnecessary tension of the muscles.” Fragments: Seventeen

Exercises on this occasion were much more difficult and varied than during the preceding summer. We began rhythmic exercises to music, dervish dances, different kinds of mental exercises, the study of different ways of breathing, and so on. Particularly intensive were the exercises for studying various imitations of psychic PHENOMENA, thought-reading, clairvoyance, mediumistic displays, and so forth. Before these exercises began G. explained to us that the study of these “tricks,” as he called them, was an obligatory subject in all Eastern schools, because without having studied all possible counterfeits and imitations it was not possible to begin the study of PHENOMENA of a supernormal character. A man is in a position to distinguish the real from the sham in this sphere only when he knows all the shams and is able to reproduce them himself. Besides this G. said that a practical study of these “psychic tricks” was in itself an exercise which could be replaced by nothing else, which was the best of all for developing certain special characteristics: keenness of observation, shrewdness, and more particularly for the enlargement of other characteristics for which there are no words in ordinary psychological language but which must certainly be developed. Fragments: Eighteen

Public lectures were arranged in our house twice a week to which a fair number of people came and once or twice we gave demonstrations of imitation psychic PHENOMENA which were not very successful since our public submitted very poorly to instruction. Fragments: Eighteen

In the Prieuré also they carried on very intensive mental exercises for the development of the memory, of attention, and of the imagination, and further, in connection with these exercises, in “imitation of psychic PHENOMENA.” Then there was a lot of obligatory work for everyone in the house and connected with the housekeeping which required great strenuousness, thanks to the speed of working and various other conditions. Fragments: Eighteen