The idea of self-observation is to make one more widely conscious of oneself and what lies in oneself, in one’s being. It is a difficult and intermittent thing to do in the present moment. It is easier to notice yourself in retrospect, both immediate and remote. You thus get a new memory of yourself—a Work Memory. This gradually shows you that you are not what you thought. It alters your ideas of yourself. If you try to speak about your observations to others, it brings them forward to the external parts of centers, and your Work Memory is not formed in the right place. It cannot be formed in the external parts of centers.
Of course, you must be aware of a very simple trap that lies here. It is something like this: a person says to himself that he must not talk about his intimate self-observations, so he will keep silent about them and tell no one—the result being that the person ceases to observe himself at all. This is the case when you only do things for reasons belonging to external life and have no interior life that has any reality or seriousness to you. Our observations and our desires concerning what we wish to be changed in us must move inwards towards Higher Centers. Only then do we receive help. It is written in Matthew 6 that if prayer and almsgiving are kept secret “thy Father which seeth in secret shall recompense thee.”
Maurice Nicoll, “Work on Essence” in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 5, p. 1659).
Working Note: For Today’s Inner Effort
Orientation: Let self-observation become inward Work.
What to Notice:
An observation of yourself that you want to speak about.
Seeking recognition for a Work effort.
Forgetting an observation soon after it is seen.
A recurring fact about yourself returning in memory.
Work Effort for Today:
Keep one genuine observation inward.
Return to it quietly during the day.
Let it strengthen your Work Memory without expressing it.
Remember: Keep one observation inward and return to it without display.
For Your Reflection
What do you quietly remember about yourself?
Some of the most important discoveries aren’t meant to be announced. They arise in those quiet moments when we look back over the day and notice a reaction, a habit, or an attitude we had never really seen before. Held inwardly, without display or self-condemnation, these observations begin to form a different kind of memory—one that gently changes how we understand ourselves.
How does this show up in your own experience? Join the conversation in the comments below.
The Weekly Aim
Each evening, I will review the day for five minutes without judgment.
