BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke fourth way gurdjieff ouspensky school www.geocities.

com/tokyo/1236/Home October 20, 2009

Introduction to the psychological ideas of the Work (fourth_way_gurdjieff_ouspensky_scho

psychology: the human condition
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/psychology1.html This is by no means a comprehensive presentation of the Work ideas, rather it is a starting point for further study.

Knowledge and Being

There is a difference between what we know and what we are and can do.

Knowledge and Being

URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/knowledgebeing3.html Man's inner development is dependent on the growth of both knowledge and being simultaneously; knowledge assists development of being and vice versa. If one outgrows the other, inner development sooner or later stops.

Knowledge and Levels of Knowledge

Knowledge is the function of one centre, the intellectual centre, and involves the study of one or various subjects. The knowledge that people have can vary, in that they can know more or less about a given subject. On the whole, knowledge in the West is greatly respected, and someone who has an in-depth knowledge of a subject, or who has made scientific discoveries, is often admired and respected, even if his or her being is weak, that is, he or she is forgetful, moody and so on. The work says there can be ordinary knowledge or real knowledge. Ordinary knowledge is knowing about details without understanding how they relate to the whole. For example, enormous amounts of detailed information on many branches of knowledge are available nowadays, and information is continually being added to it. However, this growing body of knowledge is not united by principles, and it is hard to see how the fragments of knowledge relate to the whole. Even knowledge that is united by principles, for example this Work, can degenerate into ordinary knowledge when certain ideas are only viewed from one side and others are omitted.

Real knowledge, on the other hand, is knowledge of the details or parts in relation to the whole, for example, looking at our daily experiences in relation to principles of the Work, consciousness, cosmic laws, processes, and so on.

Being and Levels of Being

The work distinguishes between mechanical being and real being.

Mechanical Being
Mechanical being is all that a man is, that is, his false personality (his imaginary I, which includes all qualities he attributes to himself, his many contradictory I's, attitudes), his personality, and his undeveloped essence. In other words, a man's being is characterised by multiplicity or lack of unity, lack of consciousness, lack of free will, lack of ability to do. This means that when life changes, circumstances change, at every event, our I's change and different ones surface; they take the centre stage and are unaware of the previous I or I's that were there; each I has its own desires and makes decisions accordingly; there is no control, no permanent Real I. In myself, I notice that my public face is friendly, helpful, cooperative, whereas my domestic face is argumentative, selfish, and small-minded. I am generally unaware of the transition and have little or no control over it. This is the state of my mechanical being. A person who changes rapidly between the I's, who is easily offended, or who easily beomes negative has a weak being.

Real Being
Real being is that of a conscious man. He is characterised by unity, by the possession of one permanent Real I; he has the power to be different, he can do. However, in extreme conditions a mechanical person may experience a moment of Real I. For example, in times of prolonged stress, great fatigue, extreme danger or illness, a person's usual fears, or worrying what others think of him, or usual self-preoccupations, disappear, and his feeling of himself changes. However, for such a state to become permanent a man must work very hard and long on himself.

Levels of Being
Different people have different levels of being. For example, someone doesn't know about self-remembering, but when told about it, thinks he can do it; another knows that he does not self-remember; and another is just beginning to self-remember. Each man represents varying levels of being. Not only do men have different levels of being, but also within ourselves I's are on different levels, some better, some worse; some are connected to magnetic centre and others are immersed in life. Therefore, at a given moment we can be more conscious or more asleep; more divided or more whole; more or less interested in something; tell lies more easily or with embarassment; have a feeling of mechanicalness or not; have comparatively fewer negative emotions or be immersed in them. The fact that our being is on different levels enables us to change our being, or at least experience things beyond our current level of being. For example, we can have flashes of understanding where we see quite clearly that certain I's are leading us down a welltrodden negative path, and also what we should do to avoid this, and yet we cannot do what we have seen. We are dragged down by our average level of being. This shows that

our ability to see is often greater than our ability to do. Our knowledge is greater than our being.

The Relation of Knowledge and Being

If knowledge outgrows being, then a man knows a lot but cannot put it into practice. If being outgrows knowledge, then a man can do a lot but doesn't know what to do. Therefore, the aim is for knowledge and being to develop simultaneously. This means that knowledge must not just remain words, but should enter into being which feels and senses what it knows in words. For example, I had heard about the idea of identification for a long time and had my own intellectual description of this state. However, one evening as I lay in bed I heard my flatmates mention my name and I saw myself becoming sucked into identification, so that where I was didn't exist for me anymore; it felt like my body had bent towards the door and I was eaten up by this desire to find out what they were saying. When this happens, when knowledge is experienced in three centres (thinking, emotional and instinctive/moving), understanding results. Likewise, being should also assist the growth of knowledge, so that when we have understood something about ourselves, we should be able to extract more from the knowledge we have. For example, rereading work books, we see something new in the ideas. Another aspect of being assisting the growth of knowledge, is that our being at a given moment is reflected in our state. That means that in one state we can receive knowledge, and in another state acquire even more. In other words, we make more connections with the knowledge we receive, we see connections on different levels.

Work on Knowledge and Being

Work on knowledge means study of the ideas, seeing how the separate ideas make up the whole; study of ourselves, study of the many I's to build up a picture of ourselves as a whole and how the I's are connected. Work on being first requires seeing our own being; seeing we haven't got one permanent I, that we have many prejudices, our mechanicalness, how we are driven by false personality and that we can't choose to react differently. Sincere self-observation will show us we are really nothing, just a confusion of different I's. Based on the self-knowledge we have gained of ourselves, work on being then requires a different effort; resisting certain manifestations in ourselves. Work on being means creating unity, not expressing negative emotions, self-observation, study of emotions, trying not to identify, trying to avoid unnecessary talking and so on. In other words, work and change of being requires payment in the form of inner efforts

Attention and Developing Attention

Our degree of attention in any moment is a function of what part of centre we are operating from. Attention can be cltivated and controlled with practice, will, and effort.

Attention and Developing Attention

URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/attention3.html

Attention and Parts of Centres

This system teaches that we don't have just one brain but at least three, namely the intellectual brain (centre), the emotional brain, the instinctive brain and moving brain. Each centre is further divided into parts, i.e. each centre has a mechanical part, an emotional part and an intellectual part. We are told that we can know which part of centre we are using by studying attention. With no or very little attention we are in mechanical parts, for example when something becomes effortless. When our attention is held by the subject, i.e. when we are interested or excited about something we are in emotional parts. When we hold and direct our attention with effort and will on what we are doing, thinking about or feeling, we are in intellectual parts. On the whole we operate mainly from mechanical parts of centres, and for some functions like driving that's appropriate. However, because we use mechanical parts with little or no attention for most daily tasks, we often make mistakes in what we're doing. For example we forget an important ingredient in the cake mixture, or muddle up the photocopying and staple the wrong sheets together. Consequently, we often expend more energy than necessary trying to correct our mistakes or becoming negative at the extra work we have created for ourselves, which with more attention we could avoid.

Developing Attention and Higher Parts of Centres

Although all parts of centres form the machine, there are degrees of mechanicality from more to less mechanical. Using intellectual parts means less mechanical, more intelligent, more awake and operating with a finer energy. Whereas using mechanical parts means more mechanical, less intelligent, more asleep. Therefore, part of work on oneself is to try and be in intellectual parts as often as possible. This requires directing one's attention with effort and will and holding it on the activity at hand. How can we try to develop higher parts of centres? Some examples for three of the centres are given below:

Moving Centre
Lifting a chair and placing it softly and making sure it's straight requires more attention than dragging it noisily across the floor, perhaps banging it into other furniture. Working on handwriting. I especially work on dotting my i's above the i instead of half way a long the word and trying to make the distinction between my n's and u's clearer. Embarking on a DIY (do-it-yourself) task, consider which tools you are likely to need and lay them out and arrange them in the best way to do the job. This requires visualising what you intend to do, rather than hastily starting and discovering you haven't got the right tools, or that you have to interrupt the job to fetch different things as you need them. This saves both time and energy. Think about how you can apply this to other moving-centred tasks.

Emotional Centre
Listen to classical music and putting your attention on it, try and feel the effects it has on you, what emotions it evokes, what pictures it evokes, for example waves or rolling countryside.

Try and listen to your own tones of voice (and others), how they can sound hurtful and blunt at times. Try and work with changing your tone to a more appropriate one. Try and recall painful events in your life as they actually happened, without distorting what you or another person said. This requires great inner sincerity with yourself. Try and show considerateness for other people. For example, if you're reading a book with someone, move the book over so they can read it easily too and hold it upright so they're not reading at an angle. When you can see what you can do to help another person and do it, it helps to reduce the 'me' or 'mine' or 'self' aspect of small emotions.

Intellectual Centre
Read a book that stretches you and which you have to hold your attention on in order to follow it. Try and recall what you have read in as much detail as possible.

Attention is like a Muscle

Initially, when you try and hold your attention on something, it may feel that you are using more energy than before and subsequently it's tiring. That perception is correct as you have to use energy to keep attention. However, attention is like a muscle and the more you flex it the stronger it becomes and the easier it is to hold it. In relation to attention: This is work, and work needs energy - it saves waste of energy in another direction. Doing things without attention will mean a greater loss. P. D. Ouspensky

External and Internal Attention and Impressions

Another idea in this work is that impressions, if taken in consciously, are a source of food to produce higher hydrogens. An important part of work on oneself is trying to do this through both external and internal attention. To observe a bus or a tree external attention is necessary. This is not the same as 'seeing' a bus or a tree in which no attention is needed. We might see same tree every day but couldn't describe it. To observe a tree is to look at it like an artist, observe its colour, shape, type of leaves and bark. This is taking in new impressions and requires directed attention. We should endeavour to study daily sights, ordinary impressions in detail and increase the conscious intake of impressions. For example, by noticing someone's elegant appearance and the impression it makes on you, you might become more attentive to your own dress, ensuring your clothes are neatly pressed or adding a small brooch to your jacket. This changes the external impression to one that is more refined and it could also change the internal impression of how you feel about yourself. I've also noticed how impressions affect how attentive I am. For example, sitting in an elegant room with fine furniture and beautiful music, help me to be more attentive, for example, not to clatter my cup on the saucer or to listen more carefully to the music or conversation. However, one must not mistake the acquisition of beautiful impressions as indicating corresponding inner work.

We also have the possibility of inner attention which is usually quite undeveloped in us. Thus, our inner life is a bit like the buses and trees we see in outer life, a rather vague, confused picture which we aware of but do not observe and therefore don't know it in any detail. The aim in the Work is to develop our inner attention called Observing I. Just as external attention increases our consciousness of external objects, internal attention or selfobservation increases our consciousness of inner objects, such as thoughts and feelings. However, self-observation is not an end in itself. It is a tool to help us separate from our many I's, not put all our feeling into the I's, because what you observe internally helps you to not identify with it. The development of internal attention or Observing I leads to the development of our consciousness that eventually leads us to an increasing sensitivity to Higher Centres and what they are communicating to us all the time.

Attention and Working with Identification and Imagination

Using directed attention can help to reduce both identification and imagination. Directed attention for 5 minutes, putting consciousness into every part of the body beginning with the face muscles will give definite results at any moment when it is done to prevent some difficult period of being identified. P. D. Ouspensky Another example is when you know you are experiencing a negative emotion, direct your attention on to something, for example, smell a flower, look at it's colour and so on, to try and push out the negative emotion, that is, to occupy the space with an intentional emotion so that there is no space for the negative emotion to occupy. When you observe that you are in imagination, you will often find that the imagination stops. If attention is fixed on something, imagination stops. P. D. Ouspensky

Essence
When we are born into this world, we come with certain qualities and capacities.

Personality
As we grow and develop, we acquire new knowledge and new abilities.

Essence and Personality

URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/esspers1.html

Essence
Human machine born with an essence: the structure of the lower centres, innate capacities, talents, and tendencies, the planetary body. Structure, capacities, strengths, and defects of lower centres belong to essence. Born with centres empty. Some aspects of essence might survive death of the planetary body, at least temporarily.

Personality
Personality is like a garment surrounding essence. Personality is acquired through exposure to impressions, education, experiences; fills centres. Contents of centres belong to personality (rolls, records, tapes, diskettes, RAM, ROM). Personality contains the Many I's Usually die with centres full. Personality dies with the death of the planetary body.

False Personality
A subset of personality. is acquired by the law of accident. is composed of layers of masks. is based on imagination and identification. cannot make efforts. feeds self-love. buffers impressions. is your imaginary picture of yourself, your `Imaginary I'. arranges circumstances to evoke itself. fights back against your Work I's. contains the expression of negative and unpleasant emotions. must become a passive force rather than an active force in the static triad of your psychology. is the source of buffers. contains features. is one of the chief obstacles to awakening. can be overcome only by remembering yourself always and in everything. Take A Short Ramble through False Personality.

Work Personality
A potential subset of personality. is based on magnetic centre. is acquired in school. is composed of Work I's that want to work. can make efforts. can digest impressions. knows that none of the Many I's are real.

 works with ideas to not express negative and unpleasant emotions. prepares the human machine for awakening. reminds you to make the efforts to remember yourself always and in everything.

The Four Possible States of Human Consciousness

There are four possible states of consciousness available to human beings, but usually we live in only the lowest two.

States of Consciousness
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/states1.html Each human has capacity to experience four states of consciousness, (we meet mostly the first and second states in ordinary life; third and fourth states states are rare and intermittent, can be reached reliably only through school work). States are cumulative, that is, states are added to each other. Each state has a range of values with a threshold at the transitions from one state to another. Each state can see all the states lower than itself. It is possible to damage the organism (for example, through the use of psychotropic drugs) and render it incapable of experiencing the third and fourth states.

First state = Sleep at night

Dreams. Vague impressions barely penetrating centres. Imagination Identification. Period when organism recharges accumulators. Operates usually on H24.

Second State = Waking Sleep (our usual state)

Usual human state wherein we conduct our daily lives. Characterised by imagination, lying, identification. Creates more or less permanent memories in the lower centres, depending upon the depth impressions penetrate. Operates usually on H24.

Third State = Self-Consciousness

Rare. Usually occurs in moments of extreme danger or extreme emotion (for example, grief). Creates an out-of-time memory. Can see the truth about oneself. Higher emotional centre operating.

 Operates on H12.

Fourth State = Objective Consciousness

Extremely rare. Creates an out-of-time memory. Can see the truth about everything existing. Higher intellectual centre operating. Cosmic consciousness, Divine consciousness. Operates on H6.

The Structure and Function of the Human Machine

The human body has several lower essential functions that we are born with, and other higher functions that we can connect with through work and effort.

Structure and Function of the Human Machine

URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/machine1.html Human machine has seven different functions, five ordinarily and two potential. four lower functions = centres = brains = minds, each has its own sphere of interest, range of speed of perception, observation, reaction. sex centre. potential connection with two higher centres (soul & spirit). Each function: is controlled by its own mind = brain = centre which develops independently. has its own sphere of interest, memory, associations, thinking. has a characteristic range of speeds of perception, observation, reaction. is a motive force and also a receiving apparatus. is a means or an instrument of knowledge. Lower brains are in essence and develop independently of each other, personality fills the brains. Structure, capacities, strengths, and defects of lower centres belong to essence. Contents of centres belong to personality (rolls, records, tapes, diskettes, RAM, ROM). Positive and negative parts in most lower brains (exceptions: emotional, sex). Centres can work for each other: right work and wrong work. To obtain a correct and permanent connection between the lower centres and the higher centres: Necessary to regulate lower centres to have right work. Necessary to quicken speed of working of lower centres. Each human being born with a dominant brain: man number 1 = instinctive or moving man man number 2 = emotional man man number 3 = intellectual man) Balanced brains indicate man number 4 = balanced man (only possible normally as result of school work).

Ordinarily, lower brains work independently and accidentally, connected mostly by accidental associations. Intentionally, and later, consciously, can learn to work together with will and effort. Physical body divided into three stories: upper, middle, lower. Each centre occupies whole physical body, with localization (centre of gravity) in specific area. Instinctive centre and moving centre develop first; localization in spinal cord (lower story). Emotional centre develops next; localization in solar plexus in chest (middle story). Intellectual centre next to develop; localization in head (upper story). Sex centre develops last, is conditioned by other lower centres; localization in lower abdomen (lower story). Higher emotional centre and higher intellectual centre are potential only unless connection is developed with them and they are educated; localization in and around head and chest (upper story). Subject of attention shows which centre is operating. Each lower centre divided into three parts, degree of attention shows which part is operating. Mechanical part (instinctive-moving principles) = little or no attention, attention wandering or absent. Emotional part = attention without effort, attracted or repelled, held by subject. Intellectual part = attention controlled and held on subject with will and effort. Important to remember that in observing different functions it is useful to observe at the same time their relation to different states of consciousness (first, second, third, and fourth states). Functions can exist without consciousness, and consciousness can exist without functions.

Human Being Bodies

We are born into a planetary body, but there are furtther bodies that can be developed.

Human Being Bodies

URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/bodies1.html

First Body = Planetary Body = Physical Body = Carnal Body = `Carriage'

Corresponds to Earth, instinctive centre and moving centre (magnetic field). Contains essence. Born with this body. Possesses all the functions necessary for life. Death of the planetary body occurs when all lower centres cease functioning.

Second Body = Astral Body = Kesdjan Body = Natural Body = `Horse'

Corresponds to All Planets = Solar System. This body must be cultivated. Can control itself and first body. Second body can survive death of the planetary body, at least briefly, depending on degree of development.

Third Body = Mental Body = Spiritual Body = `Driver'

Corresponds to Sun, higher emotional centre. This body must be cultivated. Can control itself, second body, and first body. Third body can survive death of the planetary body and the second body, at least briefly, depending on degree of development.

Fourth Body = Causal Body = Divine Body = `Master'

Corresponds to Galaxy, higher intellectual centre. This body must be cultivated. Can control itself, third body, second body, and first body. Fourth body can survive death of the planetary body, the second body, and the third body, at least briefly, depending on degree of development.

Levels of Man
We are born with a dominant lower essential function. We can achieve balance between these lower functions, and develop higher functions with work and effort.

Levels of Man
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/manlevels1.html Each human being is born with a dominant lower centre, called the dominant brain. We meet only the three lower categories (man number 1, 2, and 3) in ordinary life; higher categories (man number 4, 5, 6, and 7) can be reached only through work on oneself. Man number 1 = instinctive-moving centre, physical man. Man number 2 = emotional centre, emotional man. Man number 3 = intellectual centre , intellectual man. Man number 4 = balanced man (only possible normally as result of school work and school culture), has balanced centres and permanent centre of gravity (idea of acquiring unity, consciousness, permanent I, and will has become more important than all other interests), has valuation of the work, and values his relation to the school; begins to know himself and whither he is going, can lose everything. Man number 4 requires a certain number of men number 1, 2, and 3 to work with in order to develop. Man number 5 has already crystallized essence, has higher emotional centre operating (has self-consciousness), has one indivisible permanent I and all his knowledge belongs to this I

(has unity), has many extra functions and powers, can be the result of right work (becomes man number 5 from man number 4, can then become man number 6 and man number 7) or of wrong work (becomes man number 5 without having been man number 4, cannot develop further, cannot become man number 6 and man number 7), can lose everything. Man number 5 requires a certain number of men number 4 to work with in order to develop. Man number 6 has all qualities of man number 5 with addition of higher intellectual centre operating, (has objective consciousness), has many more new faculties and powers, virtually superhuman, can lose everything. Man number 6 requires a certain number of men number 5 to work with in order to develop. Man number 7 has all qualities of man number 6 with addition of both higher centres crystallized correctly, has permanent I and free will, can control all states of consciousness in himself, immortal within limits of solar system, superhuman, cannot lose anything he has acquired. Man number 7 requires a certain number of men number 6 to work with in order to develop. The presence of a man number 7 on the Earth indicates that all life is controlled by schools.

The Science of Human Types

Humans are born into a limited number of human types. BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke

human types
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/humantypes.html This system of studying the human machine is based on the endocrine system. We all are born with all the endocrine glands active - but some will be more active than others. This system is based on what is the most active endocrine gland in a person. For instance, someone with a active adrenal glands will behave in a certain way; this sort of person is referred to as an Adrenal type, or Martial, under this system. The overactivity of various glands is recognized by the medical profession to promote certain characteristics, for instance if you have an over active Anterior Pituitary gland, which produces an excess of the growth hormone while you are growing up, then you will end up being very tall. The type associated with the Anterior Pituitary is the Saturnine type, characterized by amongst other things, their height. Of course, in general, people have all the glands working, so they will display characteristics of all the associated types. The following list provides only extreme examples, which are actually rather rare. I would be interested to hear of any medical documentation on the endocrine glands, and their effect on character, as well as the more obvious effects on body shape, level of activity, etc. The human types are also associated with planets. I have not verified whether there is any direct connection between the planets and the associated human types, but they are at least useful as reminders of the characteristics of the types. Generally the associated Greek and Roman gods have the characteristics of the associated glandular type. For instance, Mercury, the planet has a fast speed of rotation about the sun, just as Mercury the God would move quickly about the heavens on his errands, and over activity of the thyroid gland produces hyper-activity. It may well be that the relation between the planets and the corresponding types is simply that they both obey the law of seven. The Planets form a pattern about the sun in the same way the associated glands form a pattern about the heart, or the gland closest to the heart, the thymus. The planets are sustained by the sun, and they are fed by different

characteristic radiations depending on how far they are from the sun. In the same way, the heart could be thought of as the source of life for the body, and perhaps the glands different distances from the heart get a different quality of blood.

Planets (plus the sun), and corresponding endocrine glands

The Moon: Pancreas Mercury: thyroid Venus: Parathyroids Mars: Adrenal Saturn: Pituitary Jupiter: Posterior Pituitary The Sun: Thymus Note, the planet image is from the great pages of Bill Arnett I drew the glands picture myself - don't seem to be able to find such good stuff on the WWW on glands as on planets. My favorite book to learn about the Glands, and other aspects of Physiology is The Physiology Colouring book, by Kapit, Macey and Meisami.

The Types
The diagram below shows six of the types (Solar not yet drawn). There is a flow between the types. Points on the lines represent possible combinations. The way to study types is to meet them in real life. It would be nice to have a scrap book of human types, but I've not had time to do this properly yet.

The Many I's: Man is not Unified

Our psychology is characterized by no one "I" being in control.

many i's
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/manyis1.html This is a picture of the general condition of the human machine.

It is a representation of the cage of the Many I's, part of the prison we are in. It shows that we are not unified beings, that we are actually a collection of `I's, each of which comes to the surface depending on the situation we are in, or the emotions or sensations we find ourselves having. The human machine is not a unified whole. The illusion of unity comes from having one physical planetary body, and usually one name, throughout our life. What we consider to be `I' (`I' am saying, `I' am doing) is actually one `I' or a group of perhaps thousands of I's. Each `I' or group of `I's takes control temporarily to meet a circumstance of life; we have no control over them whatsoever. The illusion of control comes from our identification with whichever `I' happens to be present at the moment. For example, one `I' may make a promise that another `I' has no intention of keeping, or doesn't even know about. How can this be so? Buffers exist between the I's, walls which enable most to operate without the knowledge of the others. An example of this: make an inventory of your `likes' you will probably find that some are in complete opposition to each other. `I' like getting up early, yet `I' like sleeping in. These I's form what is called `personality'. These are learned behaviours that fill and surround our essence; essence is that which truly belongs to us, from which our real `I', higher emotional centre and higher intellectual centre, can grow. Through work on oneself it is possible to form a group of Work I's that can have control over the others, to promote the growth of essence, and allow the growth of Real I, to eventually break out of the prison we are in.

I's and Groups of I's

The Many I's group themselves randomly according to the associations and experiences we have.

i's and groups of i's

URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/manyis3.html In the Work we are told that man is not one, he is many. This means he is not always the same: his thoughts, feelings, sensations, and movements are constantly changing. With self-observation we can start to see the reality of this in ourselves. For example, I can start the day cheerfully and then I resent someone telling me what to do and I feel irritated, a negative emotion. Then I receive an unexpected telephone call and I feel flattered, my vanity, and so on.

Gradually, with the light of self-observation, we begin to see our condition, that of many different people living inside us, which are driven by external circumstances and changing impressions.

The Illusion of Unity

Generally, we don't see the Many I's in ourselves because the illusion of unity is created by the physical sensation of one body, having one name during our life, and noticing the same habits and preferences in ourselves, so we believe we are the same. Another reason for the illusion of unity is because each I is surrounded by walls, known in the work as buffers. These are formed to prevent us seeing our contradictions. For example, I think I am a considerate person, and perhaps, when I want others to like me, I am. However, I might see that I am inconsiderate with people I know well, and to prevent the pain of seeing this contradiction, an I (a buffer) will say, "Well, that person is never considerate towards me, why should I be considerate towards her?" The main reason for not seeing our multiplicity is due to the power of identification. We identify with whatever I is present and give it so much power that we take the I of the moment as ALL of us. For example, when I feel annoyed with something/someone, I cannot think of anything else, I cannot feel anything but annoyance and I cannot do anything else but express it in some way. I forget that I have other sides of myself.

What is an I or a Group of I's?

An I is a unit of movement, feeling, sensation, or thought and there are hundreds of thousands to millions of them within us. Just as man is divided up into Man 1, Man 2, and Man 3, so we have I's in the intellectual, emotional, instinctive, and moving centres. As we observe more we will see we have I's in parts of centres too, for example, we see an I that is in mechanical part of the emotional centre. There are also large groups of I's that manifest in certain situations; when these groups of I's are large enough, they form a personality that plays roles. For example, I have many I's to do with teaching, on how and what to teach, how I relate to the students inside and outside the classroom and so on. All these I's go to form a teacher personality in me. Other groups of I's centre round my sister personality, my daughter personality, my wife personality and so on.

Where do I's Come From?

All I's are acquired mainly through imitation, education and upbringing. They belong to Personality. The acquired I's in personality fill essence which is what we are born with, such as our physical body, and certain innate qualities and tendencies. However, we may have I's which are nearer essence, for example, learning to play a musical instrument (which is acquired) might be close to a particular essence which shows a natural (inborn) inclination towards music. Similarly, I's may be further away from essence, such as someone trying to be thin (acquired) when their essence (inborn) is naturally plump.

I's are on Different Levels

I's are not all on the same level; some are useful, others are indifferent (neither useful or useless), and others are very harmful to us, such as those that express negative emotions and lead us to bad states in ourselves. From the point of view of the work we find that we have work I's that wish to help us, I's that hate the work, I's that are indifferent to it, and other I's that just don't know about it. We must practice self-observation to try and get to know these many I's, especially those hostile to the work and avoid them, and likewise strengthen work I's by going with them, listening to them. If we don't nourish work I's they can weaken. By choosing I's that are useful to our aim of awakening, we no longer act mechanically in sleep, but learn to choose I's deliberately, and later, consciously. The ultimate aim is to create one I, Real I, but to attain this, it is necessary to develop different levels of I. This a gradual process in order to gain greater control of the many I's.

Working with the Many I's

In working on oneself in relation to the many I's, we need to be able to see our true condition of being fragmented and full of contradictions. We need to see we have better and worse I's in ourselves to see what we need to improve. This requires observing ourselves, that is dividing ourselves in two where something watches impartially what we are doing, saying, thinking, feeling. It is a painful process to understand that not only is man disunified, but so am I; to see that I have become quite negative with someone, and then later, in different I's to feel very sorry, and in different I's again that can't understand why I got so upset over a triviality. The work says we must try and live more consciously both towards ourselves and other people. A step on the way to doing this is to get to know our many I's, and reach a state of consciousness in which we can see I's wishing to behave in a certain way, such as say something hurtful, and feel our work I's strongly enough to resist what we would say or do mechanically. This is called separating from I's and therefore not being under their power. Another useful way to approach certain harmful I's in ourselves, is to remember that we have hundreds of thousands of I's and not every one deserves attention, in other words, we don't have to express every I.

The Five Levels of I

The degree of control and consciousness we achieve determines what level of "I" we are living at.

five levels of i
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/ilevels3.html In this work 'I' can be spoken of in five different ways, on five different levels.

The Many I's

Man in his ordinary state is a multiplicity of I's.

The condition of the many I's can also be compared to a house full of servants. There is no master to look after them, so the servants do as they like. The house is in chaos, because all the servants try and do someone else's work which they don't know how to do.

Observing I
Observing I comes from Magnetic Centre. This is a group of I's that is not totally immersed in the interests of life; it thinks there must be something more to life, some higher meaning. Magnetic centre may look for a way or school in it's search for something higher. When a man meets a school, his magnetic centre begins to accumulate ideas about man which he tries to verify. When man begins to work, an observing I grows out of magnetic centre, and he begins to get to know himself, his mechanics and study his being. Gradually, by observing himself, man learns which I's can work, which I's or groups of I's are indifferent to the work, and those that are hostile and hate it.

Deputy Steward
If a man works, after a while, a small group of I's form, called Deputy Steward. This means that the person has a centre of gravity and there are a number of I's that want to do the work. However, they do not have control over all the I's yet and probably fail in an emergency, but they can hear the work. Deputy steward must be trained by resisting the I's that cannot work or prevent it, such as negative emotions, imagination, lying etc, by listening and acting on work ideas which it knows to apply. It means there is a choice whether or not to act from Deputy Steward. Acting from it strengthens it.

Steward
Steward has control of all the I's and is developed by working on Deputy Steward, by resisting mechanics.

Real I
Real I is also called permanent I or the Master. Real I is what you are. When Real I is operating, a person is awake and can remember himself when he needs it.

parables
Man is Asleep in a House on Fire
A parable likening the human condition to being asleep in a house on fire.

man is asleep in a house on fire

URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/houseonfire1.html There is an idea in this work that man, as he is, is incomplete. Nature only develops us to a certain point and we simply passively reflect the impressions that our environment has impressed on us. All this has simply `happened' as a consequence of our journey through life and quite automatically and mechanically and unconsciously, as if we were asleep. For man to become a completed being he must begin on the path to awaken from his sleep, to consciously form a certain something within himself. Our situation in life is akin to being asleep in a house that is ablaze---tragic and quite hopeless unless with a certain amount of luck and with certain efforts we can begin to awaken. `Man' (in quotation marks), the incomplete man, will be consumed by the blaze leaving no trace, never even aware of the dire peril he was in. But man does have the chance, as taught by the great religions and traditions of awakening. For this three things are required: Firstly, nothing can be done unless he has the realisation of the terror of the situation. Secondly, that he has enough time left to him to make the efforts and required preparation for escape. Time is counted. Thirdly, he needs to find a means of escape, a path that will enable him to escape this inferno.

Man is in a Prison
A parable likening the human condition to being in prison.

man is in a prison
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/prison4.html When I was younger, for my sins, I spent time locked up in several of Her Majesty's prisons. In this Work Mr Gurdjieff and others have often made use of the analogy that Man is in a Prison, of the need to escape his situation and of what realisations and efforts are required. When I look back upon my experiences of suddenly finding myself in prison---the austere and cramped conditions, the atmosphere and rules and regulations, the loss of what little dignity I had---I am immediately struck by how quickly one adjusts to the alien and hostile environment one finds oneself in. It immediately becomes normal and acceptable. The prison environment is a mirror and reflection of outside society on all levels. There are those who find it hard---even impossible---to deal with the situation they find themselves in. Likewise, some find the strain of outer life hard to bear. The wardens, bullies, barons, and bravado all have their reflection in the human types and interactions outside. But the majority with a modicum of intelligence and `suss' fit into the running of the machine from the first morning: just like in life, you do what is required. But in prison we had a certain advantage. We knew that we were in it. We all had experiences of, and were aware of, a life beyond the walls where there was far more choice, far more freedom. We would often yearn for that world. We could have a limited interaction with it via letters and visits.

Now if I had been born and raised in a prison---all of my experiences formed within it and it was my sole point of reference---I would accept my lot and the limitations of the life I led as perfectly normal. Hadn't we always lived like this? Didn't everyone? Occasionally rumours of something more beyond the confines of the walls might reach us--maybe even a rare visitor bringing news of broader horizons. Many of us would scoff, as we accepted and were happy in our environment; we knew what to expect and were safe. Some of us might suspect that something more may lay beyond the walls, but fear and lack of faith would lead us to inaction; after all, we might lose what little we had. But for some of us something would be awakened that would not allow us to sleep so easily. This is like our situation. We don't have the advantage of having the knowledge that we are indeed in a prison. We are born into this life and it is our sole point of reference. We have either forgotten or have no experience of any realities beyond the material sensory world. As this is all we know, the walls and the bars that restrict and confine us are invisible. We are imprisoned by our acquired patterns of behaviour and our learned attitudes---`I can't do that', `I already know that', etc. We are limited to manifesting the acquired behaviour that life and the situations we find ourselves in evokes. We do not act in life but simply re-act. Our responses are limited to whatever we have acquired and assimilated in a haphazard manner from our parents, family, friends, our peers, education, and the media. A certain situation calls forth in us a certain mechanical response. As these acquired responses are all we have ever known, we attribute them to ourselves, under the illusion that we consciously manifest our actions rather than their being mechanically evoked. Because there is no space between us and life we are hypnotised by the rush of events. We find ourselves in life and identified with it. We attribute consciousness to ourselves: we think we are aware and awake. In fact we are quite asleep, our lives just one not-so-long string of blind reactions. A man who has no awareness that he is in a prison cannot be expected to begin making the required efforts to escape. So the first thing that is required is the realisation that this is man's condition---My condition. He then needs to begin to study the layout of the prison and how it operates. A man is very limited in what he can achieve on his own, and in the course of studying the prison and looking for a means of escape he may come across others who have had similar realisations and with whom he can pool resources. Next they will need to make contact with those who have escaped before them. Maybe they will have left clues and knowledge for those that come after them. Most importantly he needs faith in the existence of something more and the courage and strength to make the required efforts and to bear the burdens of his task. Faith on its own will not dig the tunnel. You are asleep and you are in a prison. You need to realise this intellectually and emotionally and to begin to work towards escaping the terror of the situation. Only a few may escape, many have no wish to, and besides injustice is the rule and justice the exception in this world. This is how it is. Now, what needs to be done?

obstacles

Unnecessary Talking
One of the chief obstacles to inner development is talking without aim or attention.

unnecessary talking
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/talktoomuch1.html Unnecessary talking is one of the chief obstacles to awakening. If we want to awaken, we need to reduce unnecessary talking, and if you want to reduce it, you need to know what it is, both in theory and practice. Talking has many uses. We are the only animal on the planet that has this faculty. We can use it to communicate great ideas, to ask simple questions. To express emotions, in all kinds of forms, from simple greetings, to moving poems. We can use talking to ask someone to `Please pass the salt', to give the instinctive-moving brain what it needs. There's a lot of useful, necessary talking. On the other hand, there is also talking that has no use, that does not achieve any aim, that is simply talking for talking's sake. You aren't interested whether the other person is interested to hear what you're saying, you probably aren't aware of what's going on, engrossed in the conversation. You might well feel drained afterwards, and have no memory of what you said, it was so trivial. Talking like this can use a huge amount of energy, and is a sure sign of sleep. You don't even need to have another person around to be doing unnecessary talking. You can be talking to yourself, going over some old arguments, having an imaginary conversation in your head. You might be making mental notes on everything that you are doing. This should not be mistaken for self-observation---self-observation should involve all centers. If you just say what you are doing to yourself, you are probably missing a huge amount that can not be put into words. There is no rule to tell you what is necessary and what is unnecessary talking. You have to observe yourself, see if what you are saying is of any use, and how does it make you feel? Some people are more prone to unnecessary talking than others, and will need to work on it more. For some people it may be that they do very little talking at all, and really need to speak up more often. For myself, I fall into the first group, an endless talker. A little while ago, I went to see Notre Dame in Paris with some friends. We'd read what Ouspensky had written about Notre Dame in A New Model of the Universe, and were interested to try and see what we could see in it ourselves. My friends stood and looked at the statues on the front, while I went on: `That looks like so and so', `I wonder what that one is supposed to represent?', `They are supposed to be the seven human types with each of the four dominant brains.', `I've heard the original heads are in another museum, maybe these are not accurate copies'; And on and on. We walked away, on to find somewhere to eat, and one of my friends said how he'd felt quite moved by the figures. I was suddenly taken aback a little, as I'd not felt anything at all. I realised that all I had taken in, I had immediately given out in talking. I had not absorbed or digested the impression. I felt a loss, and a realization about the prison of my mechanics. Recently I was walking through a park with someone, talking incessantly. The other person tried to tell me to reduce this, but I couldn't. Eventually, we decided an exercise, not to talk at all for the rest of the walk. Gosh, what an interesting walk it became. I started to see what was around me, and have such clear memories of the beautiful trees. The walk only

lasted about an hour more, but it felt like a whole day had gone by, time was stretched. Less energy was lost. This kind of exercise is not useful in other situations, as one does need to talk. But I learnt a lot in just a little time. I would keep finding myself feeling I had something really desperately important to say, and I would just have to break my silence. But counting to ten, and thinking `Well, I can make a mental note of it and say it later'---by the time I had got to ten, generally the thing seemed to have lost all importance, and often, I could not recall at all what this `incredibly important' thing had been! To work with unnecessary talking, you need to begin with self-observation, to find out if you are a person who suffers from it, and to observe what you lose by indulging in it, and what you gain by refraining.

Lying
One of the chief obstacles to inner development is our tendency to talk about things we do not know, or can not know, as though we do know. BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke

Lying
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/lying1.html Tell a man that there are 300,000,000,000 stars in the universe, and he will believe you. Tell him that a bench has wet paint on it, and he will have to touch it to be sure. Anonymous Lying, in the work sense, is slightly different from lying as the word is usually used, a little more subtle perhaps. Perhaps we might think it is less damaging than what we normally consider as lying, but it is actually more damaging to one personally, as that without working to eliminate it, one can not expect one's personal work on oneself to go far. Lying in the usual sense, is generally connected with a feeling of guilt and concealment. One knows one is doing wrong by telling something untrue. Lying in the work sense is often associated with a feeling of vanity, and it's easier to buffer that no harm is done by it. By lying, in the work sense, I mean primarily talking about things one does not know, as though one does. Lying is associated with vanity, and also verification---verification being a possible cure. Lying comes from false personality, and the more you lie, the more you strengthen your false personality. Not lying can involve accepting humiliation, admitting one does not know everything, and thus opening the way to beginning to know things properly, especially oneself. For example, when I was learning Japanese, I was talking about it to a friend who had studied Chinese. He said how knowing some Chinese helped him when he visited Japan. For instance, he could guess the sign for Kyoto when he was trying to get on the right train in Tokyo to go to Kyoto, since one of the characters in Kyoto is the same as one of the characters in Beijing, and means `Capital', and Kyoto was the ancient capital of Japan. I immediately jumped to a superior position: `Oh, I've studied those characters in my class, the characters in Tokyo and Kyoto are the same, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference', with a `How stupid you are, how clever I am' in the back of my mind. False personality took the opportunity to bolster it`s position. Later, I checked what I'd said, and found that I was wrong, only one of the characters in Kyoto and Tokyo are the same, not both. False personality was loath to even mention it to the other person, to apologize for `living'. (To apologize, for me, was an example of voluntary suffering).

Another example, I heard someone ask anther person `At confession, does the Catholic priest say I forgive you your sins?' The reply was `No, the priest says Go and say ten `Hail Mary's' and ten `Our Father's', and your sins will be forgiven.' I wondered if this was an example of lying, from the certainty with which the reply was given, as if from an expert. I can't say. It also could be an example of not verifying on the part of the questioner. The question may have been from the mechanical part of the intellectual centre, from some association with the previous topic of conversation. It could have been unnecessary talking. If it was something the person really wanted to know about, the best way would be to find out by verification, for example, go to confession and listen to the priest, or go and find a priest who will discuss the matter of what confession and absolution of sins involves. Here's another example. Someone was asking about the work of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, from a position of assuming it makes claims without proving them (making this assumption is lying, if you have not seen it to be true). He was saying `There are people who claim that there are three old women who are hundreds of years old, who live in a cave in India, and I don't believe that sort of thing'. The answer `Well, you can go and look in the cave, see if they do or not, if you want to find out, and verify'. The person was not interested in verification, he was lying, in a sense, even though common sense might indicate that it is unlikely there are no such old women. He was lying because he was talking from the point of view that he knew the truth, though he had not verified. Here, false personality is clearly evident, since really, the existence of such old women is neither here nor there, it was not really relevant to asking about this work, and would have probably no effect on this person's life or well-being. Or recently, I was with a group of people, myself being the only native English speaker. Someone wanted to insist that the English used the word `cheese' as a farewell word, when saying goodbye. This was really quite obvious lying to a native speaker, `He doesn't know what he's talking about', think I. But to the others, what he said might have been an interesting piece of information for their false personalities to take in, and go home and tell to other friends. Vanity would display how clever it is. However, in this case, his statement was questioned, and finally we worked out he meant that Germans say `Tschuess'. He was talking about something he did not really know about, pretending that he did. This is lying to oneself, believing one is an expert, when one is not. It can prevent one from listening to people who really do know something, and can prevent one from learning, since one already believes one knows. Lying to oneself can be a little different again from the above examples, that involved other people. In lying to oneself, one may believe, for instance, that one is always on time, when in fact one is always late. Buffers will prevent the truth from being seen, for instance, telling oneself that `This occasion is quite exceptional'. `I'm always on time, so this is excusable to be late for once.' `It's all the fault of so-and-so, if it wasn't for them this would never have happened.' One may even call to mind some occasion when one was on time, and take that as the example one mentally refers to. Lying such as this is difficult to deal with. One does not want to see one's faults (again, vanity would like to believe we had none). If one persists in lying to oneself, one will not see one's true position, and if you can't see your current position, you can't change. Through being invariably late, one may miss many opportunities. But if one does not even know that one is late, one will not work to change things. How can things become visible that we are blind to? How can we stop lying? In the case of lying to ourselves, we need to be open to other people pointing out our faults to us. If your friend is annoyed---`You're late again', rather than start justifying, buffering, and disagreeing, one could ask oneself `Is she right?' We need to be willing to accept that we may not be perfect. Similarly in lying to others, one must be willing to admit to oneself that one does not know. To know, one must verify. BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke

Imagination
One of the chief obstacles to inner development is our imagining that we already possess qualities and abilities that we do not have, and that can only be developed through long efforts.

imagination
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/imagination1.html In its ordinary meaning, the term `imagination' does not allow for the distinction as to whether or not its functioning is under our control. If imagination is under our control, then its uses may be distinguished by such names as visualisation, creative thinking, inventive thinking. But when it comes by itself and controls us so that we are in its power, it is `imagination'. Imagination may be just ordinary daydreams or, for instance, imagining non-existent powers in oneself. But it is the same thing in that it works without control, it runs by itself. Negative imagination is imagining all kinds of unpleasant things, torturing oneself, imagining all the things that might happen to you or other people. This is distinct from real fear, an instinctive centre function, which is comparatively very rare. In most cases fear is imaginary---the fear is in you. Material is borrowed from the negative part of the instinctive function, and with the help of imagination, it creates negative emotion. When trying to explain new experiences, imagination enters because one may feel with with one very good apparatus, and explain with a very clumsy machine which cannot really explain. So one must try to deal with facts, as when imagination starts one is lost. Then one may be more completely under the power of imagination, imagining that one can decide what to do. Imagination does not mean conscious or intentional thinking, but imagination without any control or result. The idea is to control imagination. If, instead of that, by certain methods it is transformed into imagination in higher emotional states, one may experience bliss, but it is after all, only sleep on a higher level. And there is no way out. One must observe the many things that are in one's own imagination to see them. One can imagine that one is making efforts to awake. Only begin with the possible, with one step. Try to do a little and results will show you. There is always a limit. If one tries to do too much, imagination takes hold and one will do nothing. Everything cannot be changed at once. Struggle with imagination does not mean that it can be stopped, because this would require much more energy. One can only attempt to stop it. In fact, imagination takes up very much energy and turns thinking in a wrong direction. This is why verification is necessary. Imagination causes people to easily accept mechanical influences and they begin to imitate one another so that people can spend their lives studying systems and system words and never come to real things. Without verification it is imagination or simply lying. A large proportion of our ordinary knowledge exists only in imagination. It is necessary that this work be first and foremost practical. Life can provide a test as to whether personalities are imaginary or not. When life puts you into conditions where you can enjoy what you thought you liked, but instead you find that you do not enjoy it at all, only you imagined that you liked it, then you can see that this personality was imaginary. It does not really exist, but we imagine it exists. It exists in its manifestations, but not as a real part of ourselves. So we imagine ourselves really. Only we are not what we imagine ourselves to be. The right use of `imagination' then would be to `imagine', or use creative thinking and visualisation, to `imagine' oneself conscious. How would you act, think, speak and so on?

Identification
One of the characteristics of our psychology is that we lose ourselves by becoming absorbed into events, thoughts, and emotions.

Identification
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/identify5.html In the Work we are told to observe identification as it is one of the most powerful forces keeping us asleep and prevents us from awakening. Because we do everything mechanically and are not properly conscious, we identify all the time. We identify with our thoughts, feelings and what happens in outer life.

What is identification?
It is a difficult thing to describe because, as we are, we are never free from identifying so we think it is a normal condition. The idea is similar to what is described in Indian and Buddhist literature as attachment to things either externally---for example your job, the television, food---or internally---for example your thoughts, your emotions. In other words all our activities are accompanied by a certain attitude; we become too absorbed in things, lost in what we are doing. This is called identification. It begins with being interested in something and the next moment you are in it and you no longer exist. A good illustration of identification is the cat and mouse scenario, where the cat has spotted its prey and is oblivious to everything except catching the mouse. Other examples include: being identified with a task one is doing on the computer so that one is not aware of anything else around one cleaning the bath and you no longer exist---you have become the activity of cleaning the bath identification with one's emotions so that if you think you are depressed, all you feel is depression, you are your state identification with watching television where only the programme exists feeling bored---identification with oneself over-enthusiasm is also identification. So, when a man is asleep he is identified with every thought that he has, every feeling and mood, every sensation, every movement, because he thinks this is what life is about and above all that it is a necessary part of life. After observing yourself for a while and trying to remember yourself, you soon realise that you don't remember yourself and often do not even remember to remember yourself, the main obstacle to achieving this being identification with something or ourselves.

Working against identification

It's useful to think that we awake from sleep every morning with a certain amount of energy, probably quite a lot. In general this energy works by itself and makes us act in a certain way. The question arises why and how does it make us do the things we do and waste energy on useless things? Identification which glues us to the activity or thoughts or emotions is the link. Therefore, if we can stop identification we will have much more energy at our disposal.

The Work says we must struggle every day with identifying which can take different forms. One way is to apply a sense of scale to whatever you're identified with, i.e. turn your attention to something more important. Start by distinguishing important from less important, so that if you put your attention on more important things you become less identified with unimportant things. Observation of ourselves also helps with identification because by doing this we start to have something that stands behind us and helps us see ourselves on the stage in front of us, so to speak. We begin to see different I's in us behaving in certain ways as something unreal; we see we are mechanical. Although we may have glimpses of this, the power of identification is so strong that we are quickly sucked back down and once again believe we are the I's we manifest. As already mentioned, one of the main things we identify with is life events. Events bring objects and people into a relationship. For example, your neighbour may be someone you don't know very well, but when you hear he has said something bad about you, an event between you and him takes place. To work with identification with events it is useful to ask oneself: `What event am I in?' `Am I totally identified with it?' This puts you in attention and helps you to be less identified with the event. We must try and draw back from the event we are identifying with and try to summarise what's happening in terms that take the feeling of `I' out of it. For example: `This is called getting angry.' `This is called feeling hurt and left out.' `This is called being disappointed.' `This is called being disorganised.' BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke

Moments of non-identifying
When you are in a moment of not being identified you seem to be in a quiet, central place in yourself and you are aware of the different I's and events trying to advance and capture your attention. It's like having this gap, maintained by an invisible policeman, between you and the crowd. This can also be called a `Work-state' as opposed to a `Life-state'. So, in order to experience the blissful experience of a moment of non-identification it is necessary to put yourself in a `Work-state' every day, where you are protected from many unpleasant states which you would otherwise be in. There are many ways of doing this including: remembering your aim and trying to remember yourself at the same time; reviewing in your mind something you have read in connection with the Work; going over in your mind what happened the previous day or remembering something you want to be more conscious of regarding another person or a certain situation; trying to see events and people in light of the Work. In struggling against identification remember it needs practice first in easier moments. As P. D. Ouspensky said: You cannot learn to swim if you fall in the sea during a storm. You must learn in calm water. Then perhaps if you fall in you'll be able to swim.

Internal Considering
A special form of identification with oneself whereby we imagine we know what others think of us and make inner accounts against others.

internal considering
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/considerinner5.html

What is internal considering?

When we begin this work we are told to observe certain things in ourselves which leak our energy and thus keep us asleep. One of these psychological manifestations is identification which causes us to lose a lot of energy and prevents us from remembering ourselves. One form of identification is called inner considering which is identification with oneself. Inner considering can be divided into two aspects which are really two sides of the same thing.

Inner considering: What we believe others think of us

The first aspect is thinking what others think of us, feeling that one is not properly treated, that one does not receive proper recognition or is misunderstood. Or we feel insulted that we have not been estimated at our proper value and say, `Do you know who I am?', meaning that if the other person did know they would not behave as they do. A person who has a picture of him/herself as being valuable easily feels others do not estimate him/her at the same value and will inner consider. A person may be so preoccupied with whether he is treated rightly he will suspect others, for example, of laughing at him. Conversely, a man who has a low opinion of himself can also suffer from inner considering, constantly worrying if others can see he is stupid, worthless etc. Other people consider themselves worthy of special valuation because they have had all kinds of hardships, miseries and sufferings. They are offended if another person talks about his hardships and think they are selfish. Examples of this form of inner considering include: worrying that you might be seen doing something stupid and what other people will think of you, i.e worrying about making a fool of yourself worrying about inconveniencing others feeling embarrassed for someone else because you think they are making a fool of themselves feeling trapped by circumstances and wishing everyone or everything would go away and then it will be alright feeling irritated with people, the weather, events, when situations do not correspond to how we think they should go.

Inner considering: Making inner accounts against other people

The other aspect is making inner accounts against other people which comes from feeling one has not got one's rights. The result of making accounts is feeling that other people owe us, that we deserve better treatment, more recogniton, more rewards, more praise. We then write it down in a psychological account book, which we are constantly reviewing in our minds. Again this leads to self-pity which can spill out into a long list of all our sufferings. All accounts of this kind are based on feeling that we are owed by other people and that we owe nothing ourselves.

Examples of making accounts are: the waiter didn't come when you called him the shop assistant served another person first someone at a party didn't pay you enough attention or even seemed to ignore you wondering when someone is going to notice what you've done and thank you for it thinking that it's the other person's turn to pay for coffee wanting to make it known how much work you've done. When we are making accounts we start collecting materials and remembering unpleasant things about the person, to find words and phrases to use against him to make him realise he is just a piece of dirt. We know we have been making accounts as it always leads to singing our song, psychologically speaking. We sing how badly we have been treated, how we have never had a real chance, about our past successes, about how we married wrongly, how our parents never understood us, how we have been misunderstood etc. All this means how everyone is to blame except ourselves. Some people sing openly and almost as soon as conversation starts pour out their grievances against life. Others sing secretly or silently to themselves and they feel an inner sadness, a sense of monotony, a kind of inner tiredness or frustration.

Why do we internally consider?

It comes down to one's own valuation of oneself, where we identify with ourselves. The Work says that a man is only offended where he is identified with himself. First comes being identified with oneself, which is followed by being upset, hurt and offended, and thirdly comes making inner accounts.

What happens when we inner consider?

Feeling you are owed, feeling debts, wanting to get every pound of flesh from those people you think owe you, by making them apologise or make amends, puts you in prison, under greater number of unnecessary laws. As said in the Lord's Prayer: `Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors', a man can only grow through the forgiveness of others. If we inner consider all day long, secretly or openly, and are full of inner accounts two things will happen: firstly, we will be cut off from higher centres i.e. `help' as we cannot hear them over the noise of inner considering. The second is that we will lose a great deal of energy because it leads to negative thoughts and feelings and we will keep on imagining that people are doing things intentionally to us when they are not. Consequently, there will be no inner strength and saved-up force through which we can grow.

Negative Emotions
One of the chief obstacles to awakening is losing energy through the expression of negative and unpleasant emotions. BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke

negative emotions
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/negativeemotions5.html

There is nothing more mechanical in our life than negative emotions. P. D. Ouspensky Negative emotions are an example of the wrong work of the emotional centre. They are unnecessary, and an important part of awakening is to free ourselves from their grip. Negative emotions are things like fear, anger, envy, greed, sloth, and also pleasant things like enthusiasms, passions, and certain forms of love. They are based on identification and imagination---they keep us asleep. The pleasant type are characterised by a tendency to turn into their opposites---for example when we end up hating people we were formerly `in love' with. Real emotions do not turn into their opposites. Properly speaking, the emotional centre does not have a negative half. Negative emotions are tremendously powerful, despite being completely useless to us. We can poison our lives extremely quickly with them, destroying life-long friendships with a few words, or making disastrous choices because we are out to prove something. When we study the Food Diagram, we can see that man is rather like a chemical factory, refining food, air, and impressions into much finer, more volatile energies. These finest energies are used by the higher emotional centre, and the higher intellectual centre. When we express negative emotions, we plunder this store of finer substances. We can use up the factory's entire production for a day with one emotional outburst. It is possible to use even more energy, even damaging the factory beyond repair if we go too far (rather like the effect power surges have on computers). With this energy thrown away, we have no fuel available to think our highest thoughts, or to experience our highest feelings. So the first part of work on the emotional centre is non-expression of negative emotions--to stop this energy leak. This practise is exceptional in the Work, in that it is permanent, and available to all. (The methods and form of the Work are continually evolving, so it is usual for an exercise to be set for a specific length of time, in specific circumstances to specific people, and then only on the basis that they understand exactly why they are doing it.) As well as saving us energy, this practise also helps us in self-observation, because we need to resist our mechanics before we can see them. The second part of work on the emotional centre is transformation of negative emotions. This is advanced work. Briefly, we can see that the problem with non-expression of negative emotions is that we are still having the emotion---we are just not expressing it. If we are self-remembering at the moment when an impression enters that would normally cause a negative emotion, it is possible to use the resulting energy for ourselves, rather than seeing it disappear off down well-trodden paths. This is also known as the Second Conscious Shock. In the Work, long practice at non-expression of negative emotions and self-remembering are necessary before this becomes possible. Negative emotions often originate in the instinctive centre. If we are tired, or hungry, or in pain, these inner sensations can often be converted into negative emotions by our imagination. A cold, a headache, a late night or a missed meal are all enough to drastically alter our behaviour. We may be irritated by far less than usual. We may feel tearful at the slightest pressure. To work with this, we need to be more aware of the life of our instinctive centre. We need to remember our fatigue, our aches, and our appetite, so that we can digest impressions correctly. One way of doing this is to be small, to slow down, and be quieter. This gives our organism more time to operate, alleviating the unpleasant feeling of pressure everyday life creates in us when we are a little worse for wear. First take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Matthew 7.5 Negativity towards others is often caused by us seeing in other people exactly what we dislike about ourselves. This negativity is usually accompanied by thoughts such as, `I'm

not like that at all!' and `How on Earth could they do/say/think such a thing!' Such negativity will paint the victim as a `something', where the `something' label allows us to think of the victim as being different to ourselves---labels such as fool, drunkard, monster, and so on. These attitudes prevent us seeing what we, as humans, are really like; they prevent us from learning about and understanding the full variety of human expression. This we must do if we wish to become balanced men. We can tell that our reactions to others' shortcomings are subjective, because usually we are only bothered by certain things, and are able to remain calm in the face of other faults. We need to remember that negative emotions are a general law on this world. That is to say, virtually all people will express them, will glamorise them, will accept them as the normal. The violence of our `civilised' societies stands testimony to this. After thousands of years of history, man can walk on the moon, can harness the power of the atom, but still is unable to avoid going into a rage when his food is not cooked properly. So we should not be surprised when people are negative, and should not condemn them for it. We are all negative. To even begin to free oneself from this law takes great and continued efforts. One problem arising from the `normality' of negative emotions is that work on them sometimes involves behaving differently to conventional wisdom. Sometimes people do appear to behave badly towards us, and it is very easy to feel negative towards them. If we voiced our anger and frustration, people would assure us that they would feel exactly the same in our shoes. At times like these, it is especially important to remember why we are trying not to express negative emotions. We are not doing it to `be nice', or because it's `bad' to express negative emotions. We are doing it because we wish to study ourselves, and to save energy and time. We are doing it because we wish to wake up. We must observe the fact that we enjoy our negative emotions. Being in a towering rage can feel dramatic and exciting. We feel energised, passionate, and more alive. Sometimes we are moved to eloquence as our tongue lets fly, and caution goes to the wind. The truth is, when the Work tells us not to be negative, our unspoken reply is, `But I don't want to stop being negative!' Giving up negativity is part of the price we pay for awakening. We have to give up something if we wish to make space for something new in our lives. We can hardly be receptive to higher forces when we are busy flaying someone alive with our tongue. Also, we have to remember that being negative does not just mean having exciting passions. It also means being ruled by self-pity, depression, loneliness, boredom, dissatisfaction, inadequacy, and envy. We should not fool ourselves that saying we do not want to stop being negative means we could stop if we wanted to. We have no control, and cannot chose not be negative. Until we recognise this, we have no hope of changing. Work on negative emotions becomes easier when we see that our repertoire of negative emotions is quite limited. Although our circumstances change throughout our lives, and we continually encounter different situations, the basic causes of our resentments do not change. This will be things like not being recognised for one's true worth, or thinking that one needs a change in one's life. One student had been feeling bored and unappreciated in his job. He realised this was a negative emotion when he remembered that he had felt exactly the same about his college degree, several years ago. Although the justifications were couched in different term, the inner relationship to his main occupation had not changed. Recognition of these emotions can be enormously liberating, because we start to see where they are making the decisions in our life. We have an opportunity to live more intelligently, to stop fear and anger doing all our talking. To be in a passion you good may do, But no good if a passion is in you. William Blake

It is important to distinguish expressing negative emotions from standing up for oneself. Non-expression of negative emotions does not mean allowing people to exploit you. If someone is rude to you, or dominates you, or starts to bully you, you have to defend yourself, or you will store up only more of the same for yourself in the future. When we notice people probing for weaknesses, a shot across the bows at that moment can prevent a full-blown war in the future. It is possible to be firm and direct without becoming identified, without becoming negative. We can see this in the way a good mother treats a naughty child, or in the way a good dog-owner disciplines their pet. Every situation has a certain amount of power. Sometimes you are in control, sometimes the person you are dealing with is in control. We should not become negative when we discover people using power; rather we should learn the rules of the game, and play it intelligently, according to our aims in a particular situation. To know when to stop is to preserve ourselves from danger. Lao Tzu Sometimes in our lives, certain people become huge obstacles for us. Their shadow seems to fall across our whole existence. Every word they say acquires immense significance. We live in terror of them, and entertain all sorts of absurd fantasies about what they will say or do next. In these situations, we can end up with the unnerving feeling that we are in a play. We start to see every moment of our lives in relation to this drama. In this state, we may still be reminding ourselves that we should not be expressing negative emotions. Perhaps we do not allow ourselves to voice our feelings or change our circumstances, because we do not want to be negative, because we do not want to `fail'. We need to be intelligent here, and consider our own capabilities. It is almost certain that there IS a charm for our fears, that we can change our inner relationship to this person. But remember that non-expression of negative emotions is just one line of work. If a situation really is making the rest of our work and our life impossible, we ought to consider the `failure' option, be that walking away, or something else. We may need to learn more before we can deal with certain kinds of situation successfully. It is very important to understand the difference between talking about negative emotions, and expressing them. It can often be useful to describe our negativity to someone else, so that they can help us see the attitudes behind this. What is not useful, however, is when this discussion turns into a repeat of all the identification with unpleasant emotions originally experienced. Then we are simply reexpressing negativity, we are throwing more energy away, we are strengthening that certain undesirable something within ourselves. With enough repetition, this can become a negative attitude. This situation is actually far more common than the first. We have all witnessed people describing their woes, and the intensity and passion with which they explain themselves. To describe an incident in one's past when one was negative dispassionately requires effort, because negativity is mechanical, and to avoid it, we have to cease being mechanical with respect to the circumstance that originally lead to our negativity. Often this involves changing our relationship to an event. It involves seeing something new, such as seeing that the person we are negative towards has done nothing unexpected---nothing we wouldn't have done in their shoes. If we start to work in a group, we will certainly encounter and express negative emotions within that group. Sometimes we use work terminology to `score points', or to hurt people we are working with, or to impress the teacher. This occurs because the Work ideas have to enter through the lower parts of centres, and they become food for misuse by these parts in the same way as any other ideas does. Another form of negativity is resentment of the teacher or the Work when things start to get harder for us. Seeing this negativity can help us see that going to meetings is not the same as being more awake. When we realise that all of our petty resentments and motivations appear in a group situation, just as in real life (if not more so), we will begin to realise that the Work is not in the meeting room or the teacher, but is inside.

Introductory Reading:
The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution (Lecture 4), P. D. Ouspensky The Cosmology of Man's Possible Evolution (Lecture 5), P. D. Ouspensky

Vanity
Personal descriptions of vanity in action in ordinary daily life. BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke

vanity
URI http://www.geocities.com/tokyo/1236/vanity6.html Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity. Ecclesiastes 1.2 A few thoughts about (gasp) vanity. There is something very odd about vanity. It is very funny (to me) how vanity wants to be admired by people whom it thinks are inferior! One would think that vanity wouldn't have anything to do with a `lower class' (asssessed as `lower' by vanity). Hahaha. Maybe it is because vanity believes it really is better than everybody else and because of this thinks this superior position, albeit an invention of it's own, is admirable. Hahaha, when vanity is right `out there' in everyone's face, such as at a meeting when someone would preface a question with, `(clearing throat) Ahem, as a Man No. 4, I think' and other `snootyisms', the late Anna Gold and I would roll our eyes at each other. Anna, for those who remember, was rather outspoken in the eyball-rolling department (as well as vocally)! hahaha People attached to their vanity usually don't like me much. One of the reasons for this is that I do not `feed' that weakness in myself, thus I don't feed it in others. Ah, I take that back. I do `feed' vanity at my office, at the store, when I want something. I am, however, in the minor leagues where vanity is concerned---basically because one of my weaknesss is that I tend to under value myself (thanks, Mom). When I'm `trying to act uppity' for some silly reason, usually I'm on very shaky ground. My `hot air pie' is so fragile, it can collapse with a frown coming from someone obviously unhappy with my act. (G) So, most of the time in my dealings with people (especially work type people), I find the company to be third-force to keep that old pie in the pantry. (G) At the same time, vanity usually does not admire other people with vanity unless they have formed a `mutual admiration society' together somehow. Among the vain is also a pecking order as to who is the `highest'. Sometimes at those very late coffee shops, if, say, some hierarchy member was mentioned as being a good example of an overblown vanity feature, someone at the gathering would remark, `Well, I'm certainly glad I am AT this meeting!' (inferring if they were not we might be discussing THAT person in their absence)! hahaha So we find that vanity will defend observations of anybody's vanity. (G) Vanity also bows to stronger vanity, especially if the bowER thinks there is some personal advantage to be liked by the bowEE. (G) From Ecclesiastes, `the preacher', comes the line, `Vanity, vanity, all is vanity.' In this sense the way life is set up, everybody has to be in vanity of some sort because we all wear `masks'---the mask of our form and its actions which is seen by others covers everything. Humans cannot actually `see' each other in this `play of vanity.' The rock bottom `vanity' is

merely an attribute of the human condition, and at this level is not `being vain' in the sense of snootyism. I think I could turn and live with animals, they are so placid and self-contained, I stand and look at them long and long. They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago, Not one is respectable or unhappy over the whole earth. Song of Myself Walt Whitman BackUp from Geocities by Ivan Milke