Remembering Death

[Jimbo]

I recently found this interesting little document entitled "Gurdjieff on Remembering Death". You can download it for free _http://www.4shared.com/file/28980086/16f5fe5b/Gurdjieff_on_remembering_death.html?s=1

GURDJIEFF ON REMEMBERING DEATH (6 FEBRUARY, 1931, NEW YORK CITY)

There are two parts to air, evolving and involving. Involving part only, gives vivifyingness to "I". Only enough of this part is taken now for the Trogo-auto-ego-crat. Not until you have a conscious wish can you assimilate more of this good part of air. This involving part comes from the Prime Source.

The secret of being able to assimilate the involving parts of air is to try to realize your own insignificance, and the insignificance of those around you. You are mortal and will die someday. The person on whom your attention rest is your neighbor. He will also die. Both of you are nonentities. At present, most of your suffering is "suffering in vain" which comes from a feeling of anger and jealousy toward others. If you gain data to always realize the inevitability of their death, and your own death, you will always feel pity towards others and be just, because most of their manifestations which displease you are only because of someone having stepped on their "corns" or also because of the sensitiveness of your own "corns", but you cannot see this. Put yourself in the position of others. They have the same insignificance as you. They will die, like you; they suffer as you do.

Only if you always try to sense this insignificance until it becomes a habit whenever you see anyone, only then, you will be able to assimilate the good part of air and have a real "I."

Every man has wishes and things which he holds dear that he will lose at death.

From looking at your neighbor and realizing his insignificance, that he will die, pity and compassion will arise in you for him and finally you will love him.

By continually doing this exercise real faith will arise in some part and spread to other parts. Then, already, man will be happy because from this faith objective hope will arise, hope of a basis for continuation.

 

[Jimbo]

Also, _http://www.4shared.com/account/file/20786416/ecb09d05/gi_gurdjieff_-_48_exercises.html here is another document entitled 48 exercises, by Gurdjieff from the same source. I have no clue what it says though, but if you can, see if it's helpful.

 

[SeekingtheTruth]

The following is what I could make of the 48 exercises: ( I'm not sure about "monkey cells" in #35.)

From, _http://www.4shared.com/get/20786416/ecb09d05/gi_gurdjieff_-_48_exercises.html

[edit: corrected mistakes]

First and last: self-observation and non-identification

1. The effort to realize: I have a body.
2. The effort to realize that I descended into and became attached to this organism (this animal) for the purpose of developing it.
3. The attempt to realize the organism’s mechanicality.

(a) Its habitual reaction to recurrent situations.
(b) The magnetic relationship of the centers.

4. Experiment on the part of the driver, in order that he may learn his business.
5. The formulatory center reporting the behavior of the organism to the “I.”
6. Formulation of observations concurrent with the act of observation.
7. Formulation of the ideas.
8. The attempt to understand the ideas.
9. The attempt to relate the ideas and understand the relationship.
10. The attempt to define terms in accordance with Insitute ideas.
11. The attempt to interpret life, human beings etc., in terms of mechanicality, type, springs, centers, etc.
12. Describe experience; reflect on the ideas.
13. Triangulate, that is, have a three-fold purpose for each act.
14. Assemble all you know of a given object at the moment of perceiving it.
15. Constructive imagination

(a) Image the great octave.
(b) Attempt to realize man’s position in the universe.
16. Relate each object to its position in the scale. For instance, a cigarette belongs to the vegetable kingdom (mi) of the organic scale. Trees belong to the vegetable kingdom. The gold of a watch to metals (do). Man (si). Etc. The whole natural kingdom is interposed between earth (mi) and plante (fa) of the great octave. Etc.
17. Attempt to realize the fact of two thousand million people.
18. Attempt to realize the fact of death
19. Be aware of the weight of opinion.
20. Apply the law of the octave to one’s own behavior. Attempt to know when any given impulse has reached mi.
21. Peel the onion, that is, make notations of the various attitudes towards life, stripping off the superficial ones in an effort to reach the fundamental attitude.
21. Note likes and dislikes.
22. Find the essential wish.
23. Find the chief feature.
24. Make gratuitous efforts.
25. Cast a role for oneself.
26. Pursue an impossible task.
27. Go against inclination.
28. Push inclination beyond the limits of its natural desire.
29. If a man force you to go one mile, go with him twain.
30. Determine what it is you really want in any given situation. Deliberately get it, or deliberately oppose the “I” to this wish. At any event, non-identify with the wish.
31. Practice the mental gymnastics relative to time, space, and motion.
32. Seek for concrete illustrations and examples (in experience) of the ideas.
33. Try to perform, consciously, instinctive, emotional, and intellectual work at the same time.
34. Try to keep mind that at any given moment you are actualizing one of several possibles.
35. Try to keep in mind that when you talk these ideas to someone or to a group, human cells are at that moment instructing a group of [monkey????] cells. – within each brain.
36. Try to realize that man, oneself, is a cosmos. That this organism is the planet or globe of this “I.” That it (the organism) contains cells corresponding to the categories of nature.
37. Try to become aware of the operations of sub-centers; the emotional and moving sub-centers of the intellectual, the intellectual and instinctive of the emotional, the intellectual and emotional sub-centers of the instinctive.
38. Try to keep in mind and realize that we are constantly receiving influences from our entire universe.
39. Try to realize that this organism is, in reality, a mere bubble. That, in fact, the whole material or actualized universe is related the potential universe as shadow is to substance.
40. Give all five points the necessary activity.
41. The attempt to use the formulatory center as a muscle, directly, and independent of sub-vocalizing.
42. The attempt to repeat a poem and a series of numbers, simultaneously, using the formulatory center for the poem, the vocalizing apparatus for the numbers.
43. Unroll the film.
44. Evoke in pictures the objects to which ideas are related.
45. Supply the base, the third force, the neutralizer, in all and every situation. That is, improvise.
46. Cast spells.
47. Try to practive conscious morality.
48. Try to think of the reasonable thing to do or say in any given situations.

 

[Jimbo]

Quite impressive SeekingtheTruth. If I would have tried, I would have been performing #26. :)

 

[Nightmajic]

SeekingtheTruth~ number 35 does indeed say "monkey cells!"

However, since I have no idea who actually wrote these exercises or where they come from, I am only left to guess what it could mean. My guess, and I'd love to hear some others, is that a connection is being drawn between those cells in the brain which are concerned with 'the ideas' as being much closer to truly being 'human cells,' whereas the parts of the brain that are involved in communicating with other people are those parts which are closer to being 'monkey.'

Here is another question which has been percolating in me since I first found these exercises ... just what is meant by number 46 -- "cast spells." Gurdjieff only makes a couple of references to magic, but never to actually casting spells. If anyone has information on where these exercises came from or what might be meant by number 46, please respond :)

 

[Gimpy]

SeekingtheTruth~ number 35 does indeed say "monkey cells!"

However, since I have no idea who actually wrote these exercises or where they come from, I am only left to guess what it could mean. My guess, and I'd love to hear some others, is that a connection is being drawn between those cells in the brain which are concerned with 'the ideas' as being much closer to truly being 'human cells,' whereas the parts of the brain that are involved in communicating with other people are those parts which are closer to being 'monkey.'

Here is another question which has been percolating in me since I first found these exercises ... just what is meant by number 46 -- "cast spells." Gurdjieff only makes a couple of references to magic, but never to actually casting spells. If anyone has information on where these exercises came from or what might be meant by number 46, please respond :)

I think that exercise is appealing to your monkey cells.

Ritual of any kind isn't the point, in fact, it can be detrimental to the Work.



Oh, and welcome aboard! :)

Gimpy
PS
Thank you for changing your font from green to plain black.
The green was giving me headaches.

 

[Tigersoap]

olating in me since I first found these exercises ... just what is meant by number 46 -- "cast spells." Gurdjieff only makes a couple of references to magic, but never to actually casting spells. If anyone has information on where these exercises came from or what might be meant by number 46, please respond :)

There is a whole list of spells for you to try out here : _http://dndsrd.net/wizardSpells.html

 

[Nightmajic]

Thanks, Tigersoap! It looks like the fourth-level spell 'dimensional anchor' could really come in handy! :P