As a preliminary note, I am aware that much of this material has been covered in other posts, and in other books by other authors. I think that part of the reason there is so much of this material is that we need to have fresh perspectives on our issues, if only because there is always a fresh element in our experience. Although we are always standing before something new, it is not completely and radically new: there are constants in human experience, and constants in our personal lives, what we might call features. Sometimes a person comes up with a formulation which precisely relates to our situation, sheds a light of truth upon it which otherwise we would have missed. For me, personally, I received significant assistance when I heard Mr Adie referring to “masochism,” delight in inflicting pain. I had heard it before, but I took it as referring only to other people, irrelevant to myself. But recently, it struck me: there are what Gurdjieff called “dogs” inside me which do indeed take “delight in inflicting pain.” I think we all have an element of this in ourselves, but I could not see it before I pondered it. But I pondered it with an awareness that comments by Mr Adie which I had thought were trite or commonplace were like gold mines: it relied upon me to enter the gold mine and search.

On Tuesday 26 April 1983, Pierre opened by saying: I saw on Sunday how small a movement was necessary to change my state. When I arrived in the morning, I was still mulling over, sort of mumblings of criticisms of people, mainly at work. And after the sitting and during breakfast—

Mr Adie:   Excuse me. (to Joel) You’re not here. It’s no good coming here and being away. You weren’t here, Joel, you’re looking around—just be present. Don’t waste your time, and don’t nod your head. Just rest. Be quiet, you’re all over the place. Alright. (pause) Took rather a long time but try it. Your eyes are going like this; it indicates what’s going on inside. Just be quite quiet. Nothing matters except you to be there. Same with everybody, just want to be here without any unnecessary goings on. (to Pierre) You said you were mulling over—

Pierre:   Yes, when I arrived, I was mulling over criticisms, which I’ve been working on for a few weeks.

Mr Adie:   I have to stop you again. Joel, could you bear looking at me? I know I’m not a very beautiful sight but try. Try. You know, just ordinary try, huh? And just be inside. You won’t get the answer looking, down there. Just be relaxed. Peter, for your sake, is going to start for the third time. Good. It’s very serious, really. It could be marvellous for him because he has this habit, like we all do, of getting in a bit of a fix and then remaining in it and not coming out.

Pierre:   Obviously the climate and the atmosphere and the surroundings are conducive to helping me. And I obviously recognise that, but how small a movement was needed, and what a relatively delicate movement was needed to change that to a better, more appropriate state.

Mr Adie:   It is, exactly saying what we need. You were able to hear that?

Joel:   Yes.

Mr Adie:   He said what a tiny movement necessary to give him what he needs to change the situation and cease the unnecessary goings on. The immediate answer is there. I haven’t arranged this conversation. You’re right, it wants a very small movement. But it’s a very definite movement.

Pierre:   But, I’m in a less favourable surroundings, such as at work, such as outside.

Mr Adie:   Yes, of course, I’m not in that atmosphere, and I haven’t come with that intention—enough. I could have it, to have both lives. I could go to my business wishing to be present.

Pierre:   I see a definite battle going on and some justification for the criticism. Where the criticism is being fuelled by outside circumstances, I so often lack the will to be able to move away from that.

Mr Adie: What you say describes exactly our difficulty. We are in it. All the explanations we put outside. We have this difficulty. We haven’t yet really simply got that we are in it. This is our material. We haven’t yet felt that it’s unconditional. Our work is absolutely unconditional. Whatever the circumstances are, that’s what they are. And we’re always trying to change them, explain by means of them and everything, instead of having the one thing necessary: my own presence. And of course, there’ll be mistakes and dirty looks and resentments and all those things. The dog will start yapping in me and barking and— but it’s alright. I’ll still be a little bit more present. A different kind of life, a different quality of life altogether. A life with some love in it. But one has to be very careful with that word. Hermes says in one place, “Unity and love together. Love is part of unity.” I separate myself through my criticism. I set myself apart. This is wrong, that is wrong, so on. There’s no unity.

I cannot tell myself This ‘tat tvam asi’— ‘I am that’— this is an example of the ‘tat tvam asi’. So then, what about a different idea, a practical idea of acceptance? To be present. I can leave that false idea of a gracious acceptance of this awful world and instead accept everything that’s given. But what a big realisation, how very simple, and what a very small movement to make if I’m in that place. You can make the movement. I have to find that place.

And for us, because we’re not in that place, we have to go to the one thing that is in the place, and that’s the body. Wherever our dreams have taken us, wherever our hate is racing us round the country, at least our body, the lump of dead animal that’s there, is there. So let’s go to it and sort of relax. Put the spine right, get the head straight, and then the breath can come, and then I can— already, of course, everything’s different. Well, thank you for your observation and your question.

P.S. I am aware that the prose could be smoothed out, but crunchy is good, too. Mr Adie often said that the Work is unconditional. It is something to remember.