You must give up your suffering from the very beginning. All the thousand and one forms of identifying must become subjects of self-study through self-observation. Now if you observe that you are about to identify with, say, some negative state and at the same time remember the Work and your aim not to identify, you may separate from this state completely. You will then probably experience a moment of Self-Remembering either then or later on.
What has happened? I will try to explain. When you have practised self-observation for a certain time, you are more conscious of your inner state and in consequence you have, as it were, a moment of choice. You can see what is going to happen before it takes place. Self-Observation clears a space in your mind so that you can see things coming in and going out. If the energy which was about to go into a negative emotion is prevented from doing so, it may pass on and may create a moment of Self-Remembering. All this means that you have brought the Work up to the point of incoming impressions.
Maurice Nicoll, “The First Conscious Shock” in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 1, p. 198)
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 a moment of choice before identifying.
What to Notice:
Notice a negative state as it begins to form.
See it before it is complete.
Observe the invitation to enter it.
A Small Effort:
Pause and do not identify.
Remember your aim for a few seconds.
Stay present to both the state and yourself.
Remember: Do not enter.
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.
