Quotes from G.I. Gurdjieff

how there are never crystallized in them any subjective being-convictions formed by their own logical deliberations—as in general is proper to three-brained beings—but instead, only those convictions are crystallized that depend exclusively upon the opinions of others.

Namely, to learn why and in what manner my suffering in this instance could assist in the increase of my labor-ability. The beneficent result for me from this "Inner-World Revolution" occurring within me was that from that moment on I could freely, without influence of partial feelings, again think in my habitual way.

I teach that when it rains the pavement gets wet.

Most of the contemporary beings acquire in their presence a very strange need to evoke the expression in others of the being-impulse 'astonishment' regarding themselves, or even simply to notice it on the faces of those around.

Only he will deserve the name of "man" and can count upon anything prepared for them from above, who has already acquired corresponding data for being able to preserve intact both the wolf and the sheep entrusted to his care.

Every man comes into the world like a clean sheet of paper, and then the people and circumstances around him begin vying with each other to dirty this sheet and cover it with writing... Gradually the sheet is dirtied, and the dirtier with so-called "knowledge" the sheet becomes, the cleverer the man is considered to be... And the dirty sheet itself, seeing that people consider its "dirt" as merit, considers it valuable.

To awaken means to realize one's nothingness, that is, to realize one's complete and absolute mechanicalness, and one's complete and absolute helplessness... So long as a man is not horrified at himself, he knows nothing about himself.

Personally I liked best of all the three-centered beings dwelling on the planet 'Saturn ' Their outer form is quite unlike ours, resembling that of the bird-being, 'raven. '"It is interesting to remark, by the way, that for some reason or other these raven-beings are found not only on *

In this connection, it is interesting to remark that I, as well as many others, noticed that when he himself used these sayings in conversation, it always seemed to every hearer that they could not have been more apt or better put, but that if anyone else made use of them, they seemed to be entirely beside the point or improbable nonsense.

You have dogs within you, you must become their master. If you find the animal that is within you, you can understand it. It is not a matter of scolding the animal, it is part of you. You must get to know its nature: it barks, it attacks; but if you understand it, and love it, it will be pleased to serve you, it will not have to be on the defensive, because it will feel loved, understood and it will love you.

There are two kinds of suffering - conscious and unconscious. Only a fool suffers unconsciously.

Ho sempre voluto farcela da solo, con i miei sforzi, senza chiedere nulla a nessuno.

I wish to speak about the overall unity of all that exists - about unity in multiplicity. I wish to show you two or three facets of a precious crystal, and to draw your attention to the pale images faintly reflected in them.

It means nothing if I say yes or no. If I say yes, you cannot verify it, if I say no, you are none the wiser. You have no business to believe me. I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself.

Owing to the combinations of sequences of sounds, there arose simultaneously in the presence of beings different sorts of impulses evoking various contradictory sensations, which in their turn gave rise to unusual experiencings and reflex movements not proper to them.

For instance, the development of the power of my thoughts had been brought to such a level that by only a few hours of self-preparation I could from a distance of tens of miles kill a yak; or, in twenty-four hours, could accumulate life forces of such compactness that I could in five minutes put to sleep an elephant.

And it was just in these unaccustomed impulses, evoked in the beings by their instrumental and vocal melodies, that the learned members of that group indicated what they wished to transmit.

As everything in the universe is one, so, consequently, everything has equal rights, therefore, from this point of view knowledge can be acquired by a suitable and complete study, no matter what the starting point is.

The theory of esotericism is that mankind consists of two circles: a large, outer circle, embracing all human beings, and a small circle of instructed and understanding people at the center. Real instruction, which alone can change us, can only come from this center.

On this piano, 'vibrations of extraneous origin' arise from different 'shocks,' 'noises,' 'rustlings,' and for the most part from what are called 'aerial momentum vibrations,' which are generally formed in atmospheric space from the natural vibrations already present there.

And the second reason is that the terrestrial being who made these experiments, thanks to the knowledge of cosmic vibrations he had acquired, was the sole and unique being who, during the many centuries that I existed upon the Earth, recognized and came to know my true nature.

The cause of every anomaly can be found in woman.

For some, religion is a law, a guidance, a direction; for others - a policeman.

The one great art is that of making a complete human being of oneself.