67. Nicoll does not directly attribute this to Gurdjieff, but I am fairly sure it is from either Gurdjieff or Ouspensky: “… the Work says that understanding is the strongest force we can create in ourselves and the more understanding that we have in our personal Work the more results we shall get.” (799-800, 10 October 1945, 186^th commentary)

 

68. This can only be from Gurdjieff, and it shines a light on the Kundabuffer story in Beelzebub. “I have heard it said in the Work that at one time humanity on Earth was going forward too quickly in proportion to the rate of development of the Moon and the Earth and had to be held back. The Overseer called the Chief Engineer and explained to him the difficulty. The result was that Man was given imagination. Then from that time everything went on without difficulty. The imaginary began to replace the real.” (824, 22 December 1945, 193^rd commentary) Clearly, this raises the possibility that Gurdjieff meant the story as history, not just mythology.

 

69. Again, this could only be Gurdjieff or Ouspensky, but it reminds me that Gurdjieff said to Bennett that sometimes people “work in order to avoid work.” Further, its lapidary and enigmatic quality is more redolent of Gurdjieff: “On one occasion it was said in answer to some question that I have forgotten: “It will be work for you not to work”. I understood this to mean, at least in one sense, that always dimly thinking of the Work in the midst of life-affairs and worrying about it is quite useless. Either work or do not work. And remember that all work is always a relatively conscious action.” (843, 2 February 1946, 198^th commentary)

 

70. “On one occasion I heard G. say: “We must destroy our Emotional Centre.” Being still very young in the Work I thought what a terrible thing this would be and how harsh and cruel everything would be if one’s Emotional Centre were destroyed. When I became older in the Work I realized so very clearly what was meant. Our Emotional Centre, as it is, is nothing but self-emotions with the resultant negative emotions arising from them. The purification of the Emotional Centre must, practically speaking, destroy the Emotional Centre in us as it is now, with all our little personal, sensitive, difficult reactions, our little personal feelings about everyone, our bundle of sensitive likes and dislikes—in short, our very small petty emotions, that we have as long as self-emotions govern us.” (855, 16 February 1946, 200^th commentary)

 

71. This is probably from Gurdjieff or Ouspensky, but is referenced only as a “Work-myth.” “You remember the Work-myth that we are all in a hall of mirrors? In it everyone is rushing, as they think, straight ahead, to progress, but owing to the mirrors constantly changing their angle everyone is only going round and round in a repeating circle.” (863, 2 March 1946, 202^nd commentary)

Nicoll adds some of his own comments to this “work-myth” in the 203^rd commentary, 865, 9 March 1946.

 

72. “G. once said that the whole of the external world, all that is going on now, all that you read in the papers, is maintenance of False Personality—i.e., it is all a maintenance of what is unreal, invented.” (893, 11 May 1946, 212^th commentary)

 

73. “G. once said: “A man should be able to turn round in himself.” Now this means that he is stuck to nothing in himself. When we identify we stick to things and so cannot get free and cannot turn round.” (926, 3 August 1946, 223^rd commentary)

 

74. This saying may be from Gurdjieff, but the commentary is from Nicoll: “The level of being, the Work teaches, attracts the life—that is, you attract your problems and typical situations because of your level of being and if you seek to change things you must begin by working upon and changing your own being—that is, the kind of person you are.” (963-964, 11 November 1946, 235^th commentary)

 

75. “… I remind you that G. said it is necessary to move the brain once a day – apart from the bowels.” (972, 30 November 1946, 238^th commentary)

 

76. Possibly alluding to Gurdjieff: “Have you seen a view of yourself marching along as a crowd of ‘I’s, some good, some evil, some in tatters, some over-dressed, some well-meaning, some slanderous, some brave, some self-pitying, some intelligent, some stupid, some a little developed, some undeveloped, and childish, and so on? This marching column, marching anyhow, now some leading, now others, this haphazard crew, is leading one’s life for one. This is a phrase in the Work not used recently. I was reminded of it by a letter I received from a person once in the Work years back. He wrote: “…a small fragment, a phrase you used, touched something in me and has haunted me ever since—a partial understanding of what you meant when you said that one contains within oneself a group of conflicting ‘I’s which lead one’s life for one.” (975, 7 December 1946, 239^th commentary)

 

77. “The Work means work—inner work—many inner and outer readjustments —many self-realizations and slow difficult periods during which you will the Work, as a small guarded plant, between your two hands, and keep your eyes on it enough. That means your attention and the two hands mean inner and outer consciousness—consciousness of yourself and consciousness of others. This plant begins to die if you do not look at it enough. G. compared it with an egg hatching out that you must not allow to get too cold. One ancient teaching says: “not more than 8 hours.” Well, it is something like that.” (985, 4 January 1947, 243^rd commentary) I suspect that the “ancient teaching” is an alchemical one.

 

78. “No one can change through negative ideas—through vague self-accusations, for example, or through a certain kind of miserableness. All this is negative. Do not listen to miserable ‘I’s that love to drag you down. “There is much in everyone,” said G., “that seeks to destroy him.” Well, it is something like that.” (986, 4 January 1947, 243^rd commentary) I can hardly overstate the significance of Gurdjieff’s comment as well as Nicoll’s comments.

 

to be continued