|
from
Bonnie'sLinks Website
"In Search of the
Miraculous"
Chapters
1-6
Chapter 1
Page 21
Man is a machine. All his deeds are the results of external
influences, external impressions. What is being done, and
particularly what has already been done in one way, cannot be,
and could not have been, done in another way.
Page 22
Everything is dependent on everything else, everything is
connected, nothing is separate.
Page 24
What is war? It is the results of planetary influences.
Somewhere up there two or three planets have approached too near
to each other; tension results. Everything that happens on a big
scale is governed from the outside, and governed either by
accidental combinations of influences or by general cosmic laws.
Page 24
Organic life on earth is acted upon simultaneously by influences
proceeding from various sources and different worlds; influences
from the planets, influences from the moon, influences from the
sun, influences from the stars. All these influences act
simultaneously; one influence predominates at one moment and
another influence at another moment.
Page 26
In real art there is nothing accidental. It is mathematics.
Everything in it can be calculated, everything can be known
beforehand. The great Sphinx in Egypt is such a work of art.
Chapter 2
Page 31
And G.'s chief motive became clearer
to me. He by no means wanted to make it easy for people to
become acquainted with his ideas. On the contrary he considered
that only by overcoming difficulties, however irrelevant and
accidental, could people value his ideas.
Page 37
Knowledge is material. There is a definite quantity of it in a
given place at a given time. Taken in a large quantity by one
man, it produces very good results; taken in a small quantity by
a large number of people, it gives no results at all.
Page 39
Knowledge cannot come to people without effort on their own
part.
Page 40
A man who has attained the full development possible for man
consists of four bodies:
-
Physical body -- a carriage
-
Astral body (the emotions)
-- a horse
-
Mental body (the mind) -- a
driver
-
Causal body -- the master
Chapter 3
Page 53
A man is never the same for very long. He is continually
changing.
Page 57
There exist special forces (of a planetary character) which
oppose the evolution of large masses of humanity, and keep it at
the level it ought to be.
Page 59
Man has no permanent and unchangeable I. Man is a plurality.
Man's name is legion.
Chapter 4
Page 67
Knowledge by itself does not give understanding. Understanding
depends upon the relation of knowledge to being.
Page 71
Seven types of man:
-
Man #1 is the man of the
physical body.
-
Man #2 is the emotional man.
-
Man #3 is the man of reason
whose knowledge is based on scholastics.
-
Man #4 is a man who has
ideals.
-
Man #5 is a man who has
reached unity and has already been crystallized.
-
Man #6 is very close to the
ideal man, but some of his properties have not yet
become permanent.
-
Man #7 is the man who had
reached the full development possible to man.
Page 72
Every man is born number one, number two, or number three. Man
number four is always the product of school work.
Page 73
The same order of division into seven categories must be applied
to everything relating to man -- art, religion, science,
philosophy, etc.
Page 75
It is impossible to study a system of the universe without
studying man. At the same time it is impossible to study man
without studying the universe. Man is an image of the world.
Page 77
Every phenomenon is the result of the combination of three
forces -- positive (active, "1"), negative (passive, "2"), and
neutral (neutralizing, "3").
Page 79
The Absolute is designated by the number "1" because the three
forces are united. Let us image the Absolute as a circle and in
it a number of other circles, worlds of the second order. The
small circles will be designated by the number "3", because in a
world of the second order the three forces are already divided.
The three divided forces in the worlds of the second order
create new worlds of the third order. Six different forces will
be acting upon the worlds of the third order.
Page 80
Orders of the "world"
-
1st order world is affected by 1
force -- the single, independent will of the Absolute
-
2nd order world is affected by 3
forces (all the galaxies)
-
3rd order world is affected by 6
forces (Milky Way) - (3 [from 2nd] + 3 new forces)
-
4th order world is affected by
12 forces (our Sun) - (3 [from 2nd] + 6 [from 3rd] + 3 new
forces)
-
5th order world is affected by
24 forces (planets in our solar system) - (3 [from 2nd] + 6
[from 3rd] + 12 [from 4th] + 3 new forces)
-
6th order world is affected by
48 forces (Earth) - (3 [from 2nd] + 6 [from 3rd] + 12 [from
4th] + 24 [from 5th] + 3 new forces)
-
7th order world is affect by 96
forces (Moon) - (3 [2nd] + 6 [3rd] + 12 [4th] + 24 [from
5th] + 48 [from 6th] + 3 new forces)
Page 80
The chain of worlds which links the Absolute to the Moon forms
the "ray of creation" in which we find ourselves.
Page 81
The number of forces in each world indicates the number of laws
to which the given world is subject. We live in a world subject
to 48 orders of laws.
Chapter 5
Page 83
According to the "ray of creation", the Moon is still an unborn
planet.
Page 84
A miracle is the manifestation in this world of the laws of
another world.
Page 85
The influence of the Moon upon everything living manifests
itself in all that happens on Earth. Man can not tear himself
free from the Moon. All his movements and consequently all his
actions are controlled by the Moon. The mechanical part of our
life is subject to the Moon.
Page 87
The world consists of matter in a state of vibration. The rate
of vibration is in inverse ratio to the density of matter.
Page 87
An "atom" of the Absolute is smaller than an "atom" of a
1st-order world. An "atom" of a 1st-order world is smaller than
an "atom" of the 2nd-order world, etc.
Page 90
Every substance has four aspects or states which correspond to
fire, air, water, and earth
-
Substance which conducts the
active force is called 'carbon' -- "1"
-
Substance which conducts the
passive force is called 'oxygen' -- "2"
-
Substance which conducts the
neutralizing force is called 'nitrogen' -- "3"
-
Substance without force is
called 'hydrogen' -- "6"
Page 90
Force is divided into "three" types, and matter is divided into
"four" types.
Page 95
The laws of a game make the essence of the game. A violation of
these laws would destroy the entire game. The Absolute can not
interfere in our life and substitute other results in the place
of the natural results of causes created by us, or created
accidentally.
Page 95
The Moon is the weight on a clock. Organic life is the mechanism
of the clock brought into motion by the weight. If the weight is
removed, all movements in the mechanism of the clock will at
once stop.
Chapter 6
Page 99
Until a man has defined his own aim for himself, he will not be
able to begin 'to do' anything. There are many aims of
existence.
Page 100
What happens to us may depend upon three causes:
(1) upon accident
(2) upon fate
(3) upon our own
will
Such as we are, we are almost wholly
dependent upon accident.
Page 103
Wars cannot be stopped. War is due to cosmic forces, to
planetary influences.
Page 104
Without self-knowledge, man cannot be free. Self-observation is
the work or the way which leads to self-knowledge.
Page 111
Daydreaming is absolutely the opposite of 'useful' mental
activity. Observation of the activity of imagination and
daydreaming forms a very important part of self-study. The next
object of self-observation must be habits in general.
Page 112
Man is a machine controlled by accidental shocks from outside.
Top of Page
"In Search of the
Miraculous"
Chapters
7-12
Chapter 7
Page 116
You can only know consciousness in yourself.
Page 117
In order to really observe oneself, one must first of all
remember oneself. In self-remembering, one's attention is
directed toward the object observed and toward oneself.
Page 122
The first fundamental law of the universe is the "Law of Three".
Every phenomenon is the result of simultaneous action of the
three forces -- the positive, the negative, and the
neutralizing.
Page 122
The next fundamental law of the universe is the "Law of Seven"
or the "Law of Octaves". In order to understand the meaning of
this law it is necessary to regard the universe as consisting of
vibrations.
Page 123
In ancient knowledge, the understanding of vibrations is based
on the idea of the discontinuity of vibrations. All vibrations
in nature do not develop uniformly, but instead develop with
periodic accelerations and retardations. The force of the
original impulse in vibrations does not act uniformly, but
becomes alternately stronger and weaker. The periods of uniform
action of the momentum are not equal, and the moments of
retardation of the vibrations are not symmetrical. One period is
shorter; the other is longer.
Page 124
In order to determine these moments of retardation, the lines of
development of vibrations are divided into periods corresponding
to the doubling or the halving of the number of vibrations in a
given space of time. It has been found that in this interval of
vibrations, between a given number of vibrations and a number
twice as large, there are two places where a retardation in the
increase of vibrations takes place. One is near the beginning,
and the other occurs almost at the end.
Page 124
These laws were incorporated into a formula. In this formula,
the period in which vibrations are doubled was divided into
eight unequal steps corresponding to the rate of increase in the
vibrations. The eighth step repeats the first step with double
the number of vibrations. This period of doubling the vibrations
is called an octave, i.e., composed of eight. The separate
"steps" of an octave show acceleration and retardation at
different moments of the development of the period.
Page 125
The seven-tone scale is the formula of a cosmic law which was
applied to music. In the ascending octave, we will designate the
low end "do" and the point at which the vibrations have doubled
also as "do". The period between one "do" and the next is
divided into seven unequal parts because the frequency of
vibrations does not increase uniformly.
Page 125
The ratio of the pitch of the notes is as follows:
-
do: 1
-
re: 9/8
-
mi: 10/8, or 5/4
-
fa: 4/3
-
sol: 12/8, or 3/2
-
la: 5/3
-
si: 15/8
-
do: 16/8, or 2
Page 125
The difference in acceleration is as follows:
-
do -> re: (9/8 : 1) =
9/8
-
re -> mi: (10/8 : 9/8) =
10/9
-
mi -> fa: (4/3 : 10/8) =
16/15 [increase retarded]
-
fa -> so: (3/2 : 4/3) =
9/8
-
so -> la: (5/3 : 3/2) =
10/9
-
la -> si: (15/8 : 5/3) =
9/8
-
si -> do: (16/8 : 15/8)
= 16/15 [increase again retarded]
Page 126
The differences in the pitch of the notes are called intervals.
There are three kinds of intervals in an octave: 9/8, 10/9, and
16/15. The smallest interval 16/15 occurs in the places of
retardation in the octave. In music, one semitone is found
between the following pairs: do-re, re-mi, fa-sol, sol-la, and
la-si. A semitone does not exist in the mi-fa and si-do
intervals.
Page 127
The law of octaves explains why there are no straight lines in
nature. At the moment of the retardation of vibration a
deviation from the original direction takes place. Let us assume
that a movement begins at "do". It will continue in a straight
line through "mi". But a deviation occurs between "mi" and "fa"
which causes a change from the original direction. From "fa"
through "si", the movement continues in the new direction.
Between "si" and "do" the second interval occurs which causes a
new change in direction. The next octave gives an even more
marked deviation so that the line of octaves may eventually
complete a circle.
Page 129
The "intervals" cause the line of the development of force to
constantly change. Think how many turns the line of development
of forces must have taken to come from the Gospel preaching of
love to the Inquisition.
Page 129
The law of octaves explains many phenomena in our lives:
-
The principle of the
deviation of forces
-
The fact that everything in
the world is moving and changing
-
In development rises and
falls are constantly taking place
Page 130
Nothing can develop by staying on one level. Ascent or descent
is the inevitable cosmic condition of any action.
Page 131
The consistent development of an octave is based on what looks
like an accident. If octaves are going parallel to a given
octave and intersect its "interval", they can "fill up" the
"interval". This "additional shock" must correspond in force and
character to the interval it is filling. In the ascending
octave, the second interval si-do is much larger than the first
interval mi-fa. In the descending octave, the greatest
"interval" occurs at the very beginning of the octave. A
descending octave develops much more easily than an ascending
octave.
Page 132
The lines of development of forces which are straightened out by
accident give man the illusion of straight lines. If by accident
man's activity gives a result, he assumes that he can attain his
aim.
Page 134
Man can learn to recognize the moments of the "intervals" in all
lines of his activity and can learn to create the necessary
"additional shocks". Descending cosmic octaves are creative, and
ascending cosmic octaves are evolutionary.
Page 134
Octaves are divided into fundamental and subordinate. The
fundamental octave is like the trunk of a tree. The seven
fundamental notes and the two "intervals", the bearers of new
directions, give altogether nine links in a chain, three groups
of three links each. The human body has nine basic measurements
expressed by the numbers of a definite measure.
Page 135
Within vibrations, other vibrations proceed. Each note of any
octave can be regarded as an octave on another plane.
Page 138
Organic life takes in those influences coming from the planetary
sphere which otherwise would not be able to reach the earth. All
great events in the life of the human masses are caused by
planetary influences.
Chapter 8
Page 141
There are four states of consciousness possible for man:
(1) sleep
(2) clear
consciousness
(3)
self-remembering
(4) objective state of
consciousness (enlightenment)
Page 145
Self-observation brings man to the realization of the necessity
for self-change.
Page 150
A man identifies with a small problem which confronts him, and
he completely forgets the great aims with which he began his
work. He fails to see the forest for the trees.
Page 151
Identifying is the chief obstacle to self-remembering. On the
most prevalent occasions a man is identified with what others
think about him, how they treat him, what attitude they show
towards him.
Page 153
By considering externally a man does that which makes life easy
for other people and for himself. Right external considering is
very important in the work.
Page 155
Buffers are created slowly and gradually so that man will not
feel the "shocks". They are created artificially through
"education" and through the influence of the surrounding life.
"Buffers" make a man's life easier and help him not to feel his
conscience. Consciousness is a state in which a man knows all at
once. Conscience is a state in which a man feels all at once.
Page 156
Conscience is a general and a permanent phenomenon. It is
possible only in the absence of "buffers". Morality consists of
buffers. There is no general morality. Morality is merely
self-suggestion.
Page 160
The consciousness of one's nothingness alone can conquer the
fear of subordination to the will of another.
Page 161
Fate is the result of planetary influences which correspond to a
man's type. Fate only relates to a man's essence. A man consists
of two parts: essence and personality. Essence in a man is what
is his own. Personality in man is what has come from the
outside, what he has learned or reflects. Essence is the truth
in man.
Page 164
It happens fairly often that essence dies in a man while his
personality and his body are still alive.
Page 165
Collective accident and collective fate are governed by general
laws. General laws are by no means all obligatory for man.
Page 165
Nothing shows up people so much as their attitude towards money.
They are ready to waste as much as you like on their own
personal fantasies but they have no valuation whatever of
another person's labor.
Chapter 9
Page 167
All suns of the Milky Way influence our sun. The sun influences
the planets. All planets influence our earth, and the earth
influences the moon. These influences are transmitted by means
of radiations passing through starry and interplanetary space.
Let us study these radiations in an abridged form of the "ray of
creation" -- Absolute --> Sun --> Earth --> Moon. This forms
three octaves of radiation.
Page 169
The "shock" in the octave Sun --> Earth is organic life on
Earth.
Page 178
Man never on any account wants to pay for anything; and above
all he does not want to pay for what is most important to him.
Everything must be paid for, and it must be paid for in
proportion to what is received.
Page 179
It is necessary to learn how to save the greater part of the
energy we possess for useful work instead of wasting to
unproductively. Energy is spent chiefly on unnecessary and
unpleasant emotions, on the expectation of unpleasant things, on
bad moods, on unnecessary haste, and so on.
Page 180
"Learn to separate the fine from the course" -- this principle
from the "Emerald
Tablets of Hermes Trismegistus" refers to the work of
the human factory.
Page 181
The human organism receives three kinds of food:
(1) ordinary
food we eat
(2) the air
we breathe
(3) our
impressions
Page 182
The process of transforming the substances which enter the
organism into finer ones is governed by the law of octaves.
Page 189
An old alchemical law states that "in order to make gold, it is
first of all necessary to have a certain quantity of real gold".
Chapter 10
Page 199
Man lives in life under the law of accident and under two kinds
of influences again governed by accident. The first kind are
influences created in life itself -- race, nation, climate,
family, and so on. The second kind are influences created
outside this life -- religious systems, philosophical doctrines,
works of art, and so on.
Page 201
The moment when the man who is looking for the way meets a man
who knows the way is called the first threshold or the first
step. From this first threshold the stairway begins. The way
begins when the stairway ends.
Page 203
The pupil cannot go on without the teacher, and the teacher
cannot go on without the pupil or pupils. No one can ascend onto
a higher step until he places another man in his own place. What
a man has received he must immediately give back; only then can
he receive more. Otherwise from him will be taken even what he
has already been given.
Page 205
Knowledge begins with the teaching of the cosmoses -- "as
above, so below". There are actually seven cosmoses:
-
Protocosmos -- the first
cosmos (the Absolute, "1")
-
Ayocosmos or Megalocosmos --
the holy cosmos (all worlds, "3")
-
Macrocosmos -- the large
cosmos (Milky Way, "6")
-
Deuterocosmos -- the second
cosmos (the Sun, the solar system, "12")
-
Mesocosmos -- the middle
cosmos (all planets, "24")
-
Tritocosmos -- the third
cosmos (man, "48")
-
Microcosmos -- the small
cosmos (atom)
Page 206
Each cosmos is a living being which lives, breathes, thinks,
feels, is born, and dies. All cosmoses results from the action
of the same forces and the same laws. Laws are the same
everywhere. The interrelation of the cosmoses is permanent and
always the same. One cosmos is related to another as zero is to
infinity.
Page 207
The manifestation of the laws of one cosmos in another cosmos
constitutes what we call a miracle. There can be no other kind
of miracle. A miracle is not a breaking of laws, nor is it a
phenomenon outside laws.
Page 209
We have a perfectly clear example of the relation of zero to
infinity. In geometry this is the relationship between a body of
dimension "n" to a body of dimension "n+1" -- a point to a line,
a line to a plane, a plane to a solid, and so on.
Page 210
The plane is only a projection of a body, the line is a
projection of a plane, and the point is a projection of a line.
When we say a thing "exists", we mean by this existence in time.
Time, as we feel it, is the fourth dimension. Eternity is the
fifth dimension. The sixth dimension is the line of the
actualization of all possibilities. As every cosmos has a real
physical existence, every cosmos therefore is three-dimensional
for itself or in itself.
Page 213
Time is different in different cosmoses. Time is breath.
Twenty-four hours constitute the "breath of organic life".
Page 214
It was later decided to take man as the Microcosmos, and
to take Tritocosmos as organic life on earth.
Chapter 11
Page 217
"To awake", "to die", and "to be born".
These are three successive stages. If a man dies without have
awakened he cannot be born. Being "born" relates to the
beginning of a new growth of essence. In order to do this, man
must "die" -- he must free himself from the attachments to
everything in his life. Then one must "die" all at once and
forever.
Page 220
Kundalini is not anything desirable or useful for man's
development. It is the power of imagination, the power of
fantasy, which takes the place of a real function. Kundalini is
a force put into men in order to keep them in their present
state.
Page 222
Therefore a man who wants to awake must look for other people
who also want to awake and work together with them. The work
must be organized and it must have a leader. All the members of
a group must keep secret everything they hear or learn in the
group. The next demand which is made of the members of the group
is that they must tell the teacher of the group the whole truth.
Then they must remember why they came into the group. Finally,
the members in the group must actually work.
Page 226
"Doing" is magic and "doing" can be only of one kind. There
cannot be two kinds of "doing". Therefore in true work, the
producing of infatuation in people is not allowed. "Black"
magic is based on infatuation and on playing upon
human weaknesses.
Page 228
In properly organized groups no faith is required; what is
required is simply a little trust. In the beginning, only very
simple tasks are given. More difficult tasks, called "barriers",
can cause a man to stop between two barriers and be unable to
move forward or backward. This is the worst thing that can
happen to a man. Having stopped before some barrier, people turn
against the work, against the teacher, and against other members
in the group.
Page 229
Every effort a man makes increases the demands made upon him.
Nothing a man did yesterday excuses him today.
Page 230
Lack of considering in relation to the teacher and the other in
the group is the first barrier. The second barrier is very often
the conquest of fear. Positive efforts and even sacrifices in
the work do not justify or excuse mistakes which may follow.
Things that could be forgiven in a man who has made no effort
will not be forgiven in another who has already made great
sacrifices. A man's efforts and sacrifices are written down on
one side of a book, and his mistakes and misdeeds on the other
side. What is written down on the positive side can never atone
for what is written down on the negative side. What is recorded
on the negative side can only be wiped out by the truth.
Page 231
A group is a big thing. In a group all are responsible for one
another. A mistake on the part of one is considered as a mistake
on the part of all. Members of a group are responsible not only
for the mistakes of others, but also for their failures. A group
must work as one machine.
Page 233
In the human machine there are two small accumulators near each
center filled with the particular substance necessary for the
work of the given center. In addition, a large accumulator feeds
the small ones. The large accumulator contains an enormous
amount of energy. Connected with the large accumulator a man is
literally able to perform miracles. Small accumulators suffice
for the ordinary everyday work of life. But for the inner
growth, we must learn how to draw energy straight form the large
accumulator. This is possible only with the help of the
emotional center.
Page 236
Yawning is the pumping of energy into the small accumulators.
Laughter is the pumping out and the discarding of superfluous
energy collected in the accumulators. Laughter is an antidote
for energy which we are unable to use and which might become a
poison.
Chapter 12
Page 239
A man has a role for every kind of circumstance in which he
ordinarily finds himself in life -- one or two for his family,
one or two for the office, and yet another one for friends in a
restaurant. Outside his repertoire, a man feels very
uncomfortable. To begin to work and to continue to work is very
difficult because life runs too smoothly.
Page 243
There is only one thing incompatible with work and that is
"professional occultism", in other words, professional
charlatanism. A man must be disappointed in ordinary ways and he
must be able to accept the idea that there may be something --
somewhere. These ideas could either unite people or separate
them.
Page 246
There are twelve fundamental types of people. According to
legend, the twelve apostles represented the twelve types.
Page 250
Ouspensky says to Gurdjieff "what does it matter
how we shall call things. You never answers the questions I
ask".
Page 251
Planetary influences can change. They are not permanent. There
is a definite time, a definite term, for everything.
Possibilities for everything exist only for a definite time.
Page 255
Everything people do is connected with sex. Cosmic forces have
created this state of affairs and cosmic forces control this
state of affairs. "New birth" depends as much upon sex energy as
do physical birth and the propagation of species.
Top of Page
"In Search of the
Miraculous"
Chapters
13-18
Chapter 13
Page 266
It is a complete absurdity to think that it is possible to study
phenomena of a higher order like "telepathy", foreseeing
the future, and so on, in the same way as electrical, chemical,
or meteorological phenomena are studied. Phenomena of a higher
order require a particular emotional state for their observation
and study. This excludes any possibility of "properly conducted"
laboratory experiments and observations. The impossibility of
violence to produce anything positive is an esoteric principle.
Page 272
People fear silence more than any other thing.
Page 274
In order to do the work, people must sacrifice only what they
imagine they have and which in reality they do not have. They
must sacrifice their fantasies. People must also sacrifice their
suffering. A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he
will not give up his suffering.
Page 277
You must learn to get information from jokes, from stories. You
must know how to take when knowledge is not given, to steal if
necessary, but not to wait for somebody to come and give it to
you.
Chapter 14
Page 278
All our ordinary knowledge which is based on ordinary
observation he called subjective. Knowledge based upon ancient
methods -- knowledge of the All, he called objective knowledge.
One of the most central ideas of objective knowledge is the idea
of the unity of everything, of unity in diversity. With
objective consciousness it is possible to see and feel the unity
of everything.
Page 279
"Myths" were designed to transmit ideas to the higher emotional
center; "symbols" were designed for the higher thinking center.
Page 280
Symbols were divided into the fundamental and the subordinate;
the first included the principles of separate domains of
knowledge; the second expressed the essential nature of
phenomena in their relation to unity. One formula which had
particular significance, "As above, so below", can from
the "Emerald
Tables of Hermes Trimegistus". This formula stated
that all the laws of the cosmos could be found in the atom or in
any other phenomenon which exists as something completed
according to certain laws.
Page 281
Man must first see the manifestation of two principles, one
opposed to the other, which, in conjunction or in opposition,
give one result or another. He will introduce the "line of will"
into the circle of time and afterwards into the cycle of
eternity. When this is accomplished, it will create in him the
great symbol known as the "Seal of Solomon". A symbol becomes a
synthesis of a man's knowledge.
Page 281
The more simple symbols are as follows:
-
Number 2 -- two parallel
lines
-
Number 3 -- equilateral
triangle
-
Number 4 -- square
-
Number 5 -- 5-pointed star
which points upward, the pentagram
-
Number 6 -- 6-pointed star,
the Star of David, Seal of Solomon
Page 281
Man, in the normal state natural to him, is taken as a duality.
He consists entirely of "pairs of opposites" -- positive and
negative, useful and harmful, good and bad, pleasant and
unpleasant. Thoughts oppose feelings. Moving impulses oppose
instinctive craving for quiet.
Page 282
The creation of a permanent third principle is for man the
transformation of the duality into the trinity.
Page 282
A man has five centers:
(1) thinking
(2) emotional
(3) moving
(4) instinctive
(5) sex
If a man brings the work of these
five centers into harmonious accord, he "locks the pentagram
within him" and becomes a finished type of the physically
perfect man. When man becomes directly and permanently connected
with objective consciousness and objective knowledge, the man
becomes the six-point star -- the Seal of Solomon. A symbol can
never be fully interpreted, it can only be experienced.
Page 283
The law of octaves gives another system of symbols. Every
completed process is a transition of the note "do" through a
series of successive tones to the "do" of the next octave. The
seven fundamental tones of the octave express the law of seven.
The seven fundamental tones, the two "intervals" or "shocks",
and the "do" of the next octave, generate ten steps -- the
decimal system of numbers.
Page 283
The symbology of number is based on this idea. In "theosophical
addition", the definition of a number consisting of more than
one digit is the sum of those digits -- "casting out nines".
Numbers are connected with definite geometrical figures. In the
Cabala, a symbology of letters and a symbology of words are
used. There also exists a symbology of magic, a symbology of
alchemy, and a symbology of astrology. A symbol can never be
taken in a final and definite meaning.
Page 284
Exact knowledge concerning details, communicated to a man before
he has acquired an understanding of the essential nature of a
thing, makes it difficult for him to understand this essential
nature. A man will attain knowledge only by his own efforts. No
one can ever give him what he did not possess before; no one can
do for him the work he should do for himself.
Page 285
The law of octaves connects all processes of the universe, and
it presents the possibility of an exact cognition of every
phenomenon in its essential nature. The symbol which unites the
idea of the octave is a circle divided into nine equal parts
with lines connecting the nine points on the circumference in a
certain order. The symbol takes the following form:
Page 287
This symbol expresses the law of seven in its union with the law
of three. The octave possesses seven tones, and the eighth is a
repetition of the first. Two additional "shocks" fill the
"intervals" mi-fa and si-do so that there are nine elements.
Page 288
The circle symbolizes a uninterruptedly flowing process. The
separate points in the division of the circumference symbolize
the steps of the process. The symbol as a whole is "do". It is a
circle -- a completed cycle, the zero of our decimal system. The
stages in the process are connected with the remaining numbers 1
through 9. Every beginning and ending of the cycle is situated
in the apex of the triangle. Since it is the ninth step which
closes and begins a cycle, the upper point of the triangle
corresponds to the number 9.
Page 289
We must take a unit and divide it into seven equal parts. These
decimal divisions generate a series of fractions which consist
of exactly the same six digits in a definite sequence. If you
know the first digit of the period, it is possible to
reconstruct the whole period in full. The fractions are as
follows:
-
1/7 = 0.142857 . . .
-
2/7 = 0.285714 . . .
-
3/7 = 0.428571 . . .
-
4/7 = 0.571428 . . .
-
5/7 = 0.714285 . . .
-
6/7 = 0.857142 . . .
-
7/7 = 0.999999 . . .
Page 289
If we start with the first number in a fraction and connect in
sequence to the remaining numbers in the fraction, we shall
obtain the figure found inside the circle. For example, we will
follow the digits in "1/7th". We start at "1" on the circle, and
connect it to "4", then to "2", then to "8", then to "5", and
finally to "7". The final step would be to connect the "7" back
to the "1". The numbers "3", "6", and "9" are not included in
the period. They form a separate triangle -- the free trinity of
the symbol.
Page 289
The divisions of the circle are also related to the notes and
"intervals" in an octave.
Page 294
Each completed whole, each cosmos, each organism, each plant, is
an enneagram. The inner triangle stands for the presence
of higher elements. The enneagram is a universal symbol. All
knowledge can be included in the enneagram. The enneagram is
perpetual motion, and it is also the philosopher's stone of the
alchemists.
Page 296
There are two kinds of art -- objective art and subjective art.
In subjective art everything is accidental. I measure the merit
of art by its consciousness.
Page 297
Objective music is all based on "inner octaves". It can obtain
definite psychological and physical results. Such music can
freeze water and can kill a man. The music used to destroy the
walls of Jericho was objective music.
Chapter 15
Page 299
Religion is a relative concept; it corresponds to the level of a
man's being. Religion is "doing"; a man should "live" his
religion. Man should think about what God is and what he is.
These thoughts do for him what he asks God to do. The Christian
church is a school. Prehistoric Egypt was Christian many
thousands of years before the birth of Christ. Schools of
repetition were taken as a model for Christian churches.
Page 304
Every real religion consists of two parts. One part teaches what
is to be done. The other part teaches how to do what the first
part teaches. This part is preserved in secret in special
schools. This secret part exists in Christianity.
Page 305
Organic life transmits planetary influences of various kinds to
the earth, and it serves to feed the Moon and to enable it to
grow and strengthen. But the Earth is also growing in the sense
of greater consciousness, greater receptivity.
Page 306
The cessation of evolution may mean the destruction of humanity.
Humanity is moving in a circle. In one century it destroys
everything it created in another. The growth of knowledge in one
domain evokes the growth of ignorance in another.
Page 307
A balanced process cannot be changed at any moment it is
desired. It can be changed and set on a new path only at certain
"crossroads". In the law of octaves, these "crossroads" are
called the "intervals" mi-fa and si-do.
Page 309
Life is governed by those who are the least conscious, by those
who are most asleep. In life we see a preponderance of vulgarity
and stupidity of all kinds. Contemporary culture requires
automatons. Man is becoming a willing slave.
Page 310
The whole of humanity is composed of several concentric circles.
The inner circle, the "esoteric", consists of people who have
attained the highest development possible for man. The next
outer circle, the "mesoteric", is the middle circle. The third
circle is called the "exoteric". There also exists an outermost
circle.
Page 312
There are four ways to enter the innermost circle:
-
Way of the fakir -- the
physical body
-
Way of the monk -- the
religious way
-
Way of the yogi -- the
way of the mind
-
Fourth way -- the way of
the work
Page 314
Transitions from one level of being to another were marked by
ceremonies of presentation of a special kind, that is,
initiation. But a change of being cannot be brought about by any
rites.
Page 315
Systems and schools can indicate methods and ways, but no system
or school whatever can do for a man the work that he must do
himself. Inner growth, a change of being, depends entirely upon
the work which a man must do on himself.
Chapter 16
Page 316
Everything happens; no one does anything. The human mind is
incapable of even realizing its own helplessness.
Page 317
The density of vibrations and the density of matter express many
other properties of matter. The speed of vibrations shows the
intelligence or the consciousness of matter. There is nothing
dead or inanimate in nature.
Page 320
In ordinary science, classification is made according to
external traits -- bones, teeth, and so on. In exact knowledge,
classification is made according to cosmic traits. The cosmic
level of being is determined by
(1) what the
creature eats
(2) what he
breathes
(3) the medium in
which he lives
A man can not improve on his food or
air, but he can improve on his impressions.
Page 329
A breath is 3 seconds. In a normal state, a man takes about
twenty full breaths in a minute. The "breath of organic life" is
twenty-four hours.
-
Breath Day and Night
Life
-
Small Cells - - 3
seconds
-
Large Cells - 3 seconds
24 hours
-
Man 3 seconds 24 hours
79 years
-
Organic Life 24 hours 79
years 2,500,000 years
-
Earth 79 years 2,500,000
years 75,000,000,000 years
Page 336
Time goes beyond four dimensions. The Minkovski formula,
[sqrt(-1) * ct], denotes time as the fourth "world" coordinate.
Page 343
Why didn't these ideas come earlier when Russia was at peace?
Probably precisely because these ideas could come only in such a
time when the attention of the majority is distracted in some
other direction and when these ideas can reach only those who
look for them.
Chapter 17
Page 347
Schools are imperative because of the complexity of man's
organization. A man is unable to keep watch on the whole of
himself. A man is much too lazy. He will never attain the
necessary intensity by himself. In work, only super-efforts are
counted. A super-effort is an effort beyond the effort that is
necessary to achieve a given purpose. Another form of
super-effort is carrying out any kind of work at a faster rate
than is called for by the nature of the work.
Page 348
The three principal centers -- the thinking, the emotional, and
the moving -- are connected together, and in a normal man, they
are always working in unison. This unison is what present the
chief difficulty in work on oneself. Everything is connected,
and one thing cannot exist without another thing. In life
everything is always arranged far too comfortably for man to
work.
Page 350
Man must learn to relax the unnecessary tension of his muscles.
He gave us many exercises for gradually relaxing the muscles
always beginning with the muscles of the face.
Page 352
A man is unable to change the form of his thinking or his
feeling until he has changed his repertory of postures and
movements. All our movements are automatic. Our thoughts and
feelings are just as automatic. The "stop" exercise was used to
"freeze" the student in whatever position he was caught. He had
to hold that position exactly until "enough" was called.
Page 356
The chief difficulty for most people was the habit of talking.
Voluntary silence can be the most severe discipline to which a
man can subject himself. With everything there is a limit to
what is necessary. After this, "sin" begins. "Sin" is something
which is not necessary. People are afraid of suffering. They
want pleasure not, at once and forever. They do not want to
understand that pleasure is an attribute of paradise and that it
must be earned.
Page 358
When one fasts, he must expend as much energy as possible so
that the strong solutions normally used to digest food will not
poison his system. A man begins any exercise with his mind; only
when the last stage of fatigue is reached can the control pass
to the moving center.
Page 362
People of the objective way simply life in life. They are those
whom we call good people. They do not of necessity do much good,
but they do no evil.
Page 364
There is only one thing which should be serious to a man --
escaping from the general law, to be free. People who are not
serious live by fantasies, chiefly by the fantasy that they are
able to do something.
Page 366
A man always wishes to begin with something big. We must begin
with the things of today.
Page 366
Astrology deals with only one part of man, with his type, his
essence -- it does not deal with personality, with acquired
qualities. In the same situation, one man sees and does one
thing, another -- another thing, a third -- a third thing, and
so on. Each one acted according to his type.
Chapter 18
Page 372
We began rhythmic exercises to music, mental exercises, the
study of different ways of breathing, and so on. We also studied
psychic phenomena.
Page 376 He began to separate G. and his ideas. Ouspensky
had to go. It was very difficult for him to reject the idea of
working with G.
Page 377
Ouspensky began studying the enneagram. He
inserted the "do" of the three octaves at the location of the
"shocks". He found that there was no wrong place for a "shock"
at all.
Page 378
He also found that the seven points could represent the seven
planets of the ancient world. The enneagram could be an
astrological symbol. He took the order of the planets in the
order of the days of the week.
Page 379
Ouspensky published his ideas in a book called "A
New Model of the Universe".
Page 380
Ouspensky had acquired a strange confidence in the
unimportance and the insignificance of self, that self which we
usually know.
Page 387
Without mastering breathing nothing can be mastered. There are
three kinds of breathing:
(1) normal
breathing
(2) inflation
(3) breathing
assisted by movements
Top of Page
|