G.I. Gurdjieff Quotes
Awakening begins when a man realizes that he is going nowhere and does not know where to go.
The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness, and 'consciousness' cannot evolve unconsciously. The evolution of man is the evolution of his will, and 'will' cannot evolve involuntarily.
It is only by grounding our awareness in the living sensation of our bodies that the 'I Am,' our real presence, can awaken.
Conscious faith is freedom. Emotional faith is slavery. Mechanical faith is foolishness.
He who has gotten rid of the disease of "tomorrow" has a chance of achieving what he is here for.
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.
One of the best means for arousing the wish to work on yourself is to realize that you may die at any moment. But first you must learn how to keep it in mind.
In order to understand the interrelation of truth and falsehood in life, a man must understand falsehood in himself, the constant incessant lies he tells himself.
If you help others, you will be helped, perhaps tomorrow, perhaps in one hundred years, but you will be helped. Nature must pay off the debt. It is a mathematical law and all life is mathematics.
The first reason for people's slavery is our ignorance, and above all, our ignorance of ourselves.
Real love is a cosmic force which goes through us. If we crystallize it, it becomes the greatest power in the world.
You can never awaken using the same system that put you to sleep in the first place.
There is a cosmic law which says that every satisfaction must be paid for with a dissatisfaction.
One of the strongest motives for wishing to work on yourself is the realization that you may die at any moment - only you must first realize this.
It is the greatest mistake to think that man is always one and the same. A man is never the same for long. He is continually changing. He seldom remains the same even for half an hour.
I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself.
From looking at your neighbor and realizing his true significance, and that he will die, pity and compassion will arise in you for him and finally you will love him.
Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself — only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.
Consciousness is a state in which a man knows all at once everything that he in general knows and in which he can see how little he does know and how many contradictions there are in what he knows.
It is very difficult also to sacrifice one's suffering. A man will renounce any pleasures you like but he will not give up his suffering.
The only type of sexual relations possible are those with someone who is as advanced and capable as oneself.
Humanity is moving in a circle. The progress in mechanical things of the past hundred years has proceeded at the cost of losing many other things which perhaps were much more important for it.
Laughter relieves us of superfluous energy, which, if it remained unused, might become negative, that is, poison. Laughter is the antidote.
Without struggle, no progress and no result. Every breaking of habit produces a change in the machine.
Hope of consciousness is strength. Hope of feelings is slavery. Hope of body is disease.
Would a CONSCIOUS human being destroy himself through war, and crime, and quarrels? No, a man simply knows not what he does to himself.
Religion is doing; a man does not merely think his religion or feel it, he 'lives' his religion as much as he is able, otherwise it is not religion but fantasy or philosophy.