Work on oneself is comparable to digestion in the sense that digestion is transformation. Some transforming agency must be formed at the place of the intake of impressions. This is the First Conscious Shock and it is given the general description remembering oneself. If you can, through the understanding of the work, take life as work, then you are in a state of self-remembering. This state of consciousness leads to the transformation of impressions—and so of life as regards yourself. That is, life no longer acts on you in the old way.
You begin to think, and to understand, in a new way. And this is the beginning of your own transformation. For as long as we think in the same way we take in life in the same way and nothing changes in us. To transform the impressions of life is to transform yourself, and only an entirely new way of thinking can effect this. All this work is to give you an entirely new way of thinking. Let me give you one example. You are told in the work that if you are negative it is always your own fault. The whole situation as recorded by the senses must be transformed. But to understand this, it is necessary to begin to think in an entirely new way.
Maurice Nicoll, “The Idea of Transformation in the Work” in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 1, p. 52)
This Working Note offers a simple direction for practice — bringing the passage into your own observation and daily effort. Normally part of the supporting subscription; shared openly through February.
Working Note: For Today’s Inner Effort
Orientation: The passage points to the moment impressions enter and to remembering oneself there.
What to Notice:
Notice today the first second of reaction to an event.
A word, a look, a delay.
Watch the immediate thought that explains it.
Sense the body at the same time—jaw, chest, hands.
See how the situation is already shaped inwardly.
A Small Effort:
Once today, as an impression arrives, pause inwardly.
Feel the weight of the body.
Let the impression be there without adding the usual thought for a few seconds.
Include a faint sense of “I am here.”
Remember: Life acts as usual unless something meets it.
Thank you to those who replied “yes” to the working circle. The response has been strong and encouraging. I’ll be starting with a small pilot group of 6–7 people and will reach out personally. If this first group goes well, I’ll open another.
