Inspirational Quotes: I Find So Much Truth in the Teachings of Gurdjieff

"In his talks, Gurdjieff gave a keen analysis of the modern dilema. There is a growth of personality', he said, 'at the cost of essence', that is, a growth of the artificial, the unreal and what is foreign, at the cost of the natural, the real and what is one's own.

'Man's possibilities are very great.  You cannot even conceive a shadow of what man is capable of attaining.  But nothing can be attained in sleep.  In the consciousness of a sleeping man his illusions, his dreams are mixed with reality.  He lives in a subjective world and he can never escape from it.  And this is the reason why he can never make use of all the powers he possesses and why he lives in only a small part of himself.'"

"Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave."

"When we begin to observe ourselves sincerely our whole fate begins to change. But this means noticing, over a long period, the way we talk, the way we think, the criticisms we make, the resentment of what is said to us, the way we react to others, the opinions from which we argue, the way we are flattered, how we judge others, our vanity, cruelty, moods, emotions. Unless we detach ourselves from these things, we remain mechanical. We have to have an observing part and an observed part. When the observing I is established in us, it is from this I that everything else follows. Small to begin with, it is like a window to let in the light."

"Within oneself one bears the seed of one's own divinity, and one must become a willing co-operator with the creative power behind the universe if one is to achieve one's real destiny.  We must exercise our will to become conscious."

"To live in a truly creative and dynamic way, that is, according to the basic laws of one's being, most of us would need to feel, and think in a completely new way." ~Harry Benjamin based on the teachings of Gurdjieff

"Only by knowing oneself can one come to understand the Universe.  Most people feel unfulfilled and don't understand why, many using mass excitements to solve their problems of inner boredom, frustration and futility.  As most psychology deals only with mental and emotional phenomena, and not with the whole human being, it too cannot solve these problems.  The solution is to engage in one's own conscious evolution by tapping into the vast store of inner peace, beauty and harmony."  ~Harry Benjamin based on the teachings of Gurdjieff

"Self-Remembering - Our older, fundamental, greater, nobler self has always been there; it has just been smothered by our newer, false personality.  We can become aware of it by self-remembering, by recalling the existence of our fundamental self as often as possible each day, particularly when we are stressed, as this breaks the hold of our false personality on us, and wakes us up.  In this way, we will find that our lives will be gradually transformed." ~Harry Benjamin based on the teachings of Gurdjieff

"Personality and Essence -Our personality is made up of a false personality, which is concerned with our ego (pride, vanity, self-conceit, imaginations and day-dreams about ourselves, etc.), and personality proper, which is developed through education, vocation, training and study of all kinds, and which enables us to earn our living.  The source of our fundamental self or Real I, is our essence.  In primitive peoples, and people who live close to nature or who do creative work, it is often less smothered by the false personality, but its development is still usually limited.

This "Work" (on oneself) seeks to weaken the false personality or make it passive, thereby enabling the essence to become active (feeding, as it were, on the weakened false personality).  As one needs a well developed personality proper to support the growth of the essence, it is important that one is able to earn one's livelihood (support oneself) before entering the Work.  In addition, this helps prevent the Work from becoming an escape from everyday life.  It is not a matter of working to make ourselves perfect; the Real I is already perfect, and its development is guided by its own laws.  All we can do is make our false personality increasingly passive.

The idea that we already have the key distinguishes this Work from Eastern religions, in which students must search for the key; and the idea that one is not engaging in a battle between "good" and "evil" distinguishes the Work from most orthodox religions in which one is visualized as engaging in a struggle for "salvation".  According to Gurdjieff, our mental "body" (Man No. 3: thought), emotional "body" (Man No. 2: feeling) and instinctive/moving or physical "body" (Man No. 1: body maintenance) each have external, middle and inner parts.  The first two are also divided into higher and lower spheres.  In the ordinary unevolved human the higher spheres are hardly ever contacted, as the false personality prevents our receiving information from them.

Most of us live chiefly in one body, or "centre", i.e. creating unbalance.  One of the aims of this Work is to make us "balanced man" (Man No. 4), i.e. to have all centres developed and working in harmony.  This is said to be "The Fourth Way" of development; the other three ways being The Way of the Fakir (1. Physical), The Way of the Monk (2. Emotional) and The Way of the Yogi (3. Mental).  People attracted to this Work are also said to have a "magnetic centre", i.e. an authentic inner desire or longing for self-discovery and the purpose of one's being." ~Harry Benjamin based on the teachings of Gurdjieff

"Man as a Self Developing Organism - The Gurdjieff system also includes a belief in the existence of purpose and meaning in the Universe.  Rather than being inert, matter is regarded as being a vehicle for a higher intelligence or "Greater Mind".  The seen is always regarded as a product of the unseen.

Although minerals, plants and animals work in harmony with the Universal or Cosmic Plan, only human beings are free to consciously co-operate or not with the Cosmic Plan.  "The Kingdom of Heaven" is regarded as being a present reality rather than a future reality.  Those who operate fully from their fundamental selves or Real I are considered to be part of "The Conscious Circle of Humanity" and are, as it were, "The Masters of Wisdom", capable of helping others to become their Real I.  Such learning can come through: "A influences", that is, from life (environment, education, society, etc.); "B influences", that is, from the communications of the prophets, sages, seers, esoteric schools, etc., including all great works of art, literature, and drama; and "C influences", that is, from direct communications from living teachers from "The Conscious Circle of Humanity", for example, the Christ or Buddah in their times." ~Harry Benjamin based on the teachings of Gurdjieff

"Negative Emotions - Our emotional life is directed largely by our lower emotional centre, which is dominated by such negative emotions as fear, anger, jealousy, hatred, impatience, worry and self-pity.  We are not born with these emotions, but pick them up from our early environment.  By becoming conscious of them and not identifying with them, and by recognizing them only as aspects of our false personality, we create a space for the Higher Emotional Centre, which is characterized by awe, wonder, appreciation of beauty and the mystery of creation, compassion and real love, to develop and operate.

As this happens, we develop a reverence for nature and feel more at home in the Universe.  Our feelings (Higher Emotional Center) begin to reach out in all directions and we feel that, rather than just existing, we are beginning to live at last.  Fear is the most established negative emotion, which is often recognizable as our false personality craving for security in a world that must be accepted as being insecure. Another is violence, which appears when the personality feels threatened.  Eliminating this violence within ourselves is the prerequisite for the achievement of world peace.  Ironically, we attract the problems that we worry about most. ~Harry Benjamin based on the teachings of Gurdjieff

"Man and the Cosmos - Most people have no real philosophy of life.  Political interests, for example, are merely expressions of external searching for something that can only be found within.  Once we realize that we are related to the Creative Power that brought the Universe into existence we find meaning and purpose everywhere; we become aware that we and the Universe are, in fact, one.  For example, Gurdjieff, in this state, perceived that life does not only exist on the Earth, but all over the Universe.  Also, that man is an essential factor in the development of the Universe, working on a reciprocal basis with the cosmos itself (but for this relationship to operate one must be aware).  Awareness of this brings a sense of attunement with the Cosmos.  Processes that bring one "up" towards this state may be regarded as good, and those that lead one "down" away from this as evil.

According to Esotericism, the Universe was created to give expression to the creative urge of The Absolute.  Thus, within oneself one bears the seed of one's own divinity, and one must become a willing co-operator with the Creative Power behind the Universe if one is to achieve one's real destiny.  We must exercise our will to become conscious.  This is different from a desire within the context of the personality, as one desire is readily replaced by another as circumstances change.  Rather, one is setting out on a path of inner unfoldment, knowing that the progress will not be even and that there may be much conflict and obstruction (which actually provide the opportunities for growth and for transcending our false personalities).  It is important to realize that every path is unique, indeed the Universe itself is a symbol of unity in diversity. ~Harry Benjamin based on the teachings of Gurdjieff