A Record of Meetings held by P.D. Ouspensky - HolyBooks.com

MRS. D. Does each action require a quite separate energy, or doenergies overlap?MR. O. May be mixed.MR. S. I can see very little difference between the activities of paintinga picture and that of invention. There appear so many similar actionsin both activities that I find it very difficult to formulate the undoubteddifference that I do feel. Can Mr. O. give me some line to think on?MR. O. At the same time they are essentially different. It is necessary tounderstand that. One thing is that invention, scientific discovery, canbe made by one centre. Another kind of activity needs all centres. Inany case one centre cannot do it, or it will be invention.MR. S. Need the activities connected with the burning of the housenecessarily be destructive?MR. O. Yes, that is what it is. This energy cannot build anything,cannot create anything. Every building needs constant effort betweenone triad and another. In this activity, one triad comes from anotherautomatically after the first start. You will understand that this is verydifferent. To build a house, every brick must be put in place with acertain effort. In burning a house there is only one effort—striking thematch. House cannot be built like that, by itself. They are two quitedifferent kinds of energy, two quite different activities.MISS K. Are the actions of catching a train, typing a poem (as distinctfrom composing it), in the same category as that of building a house?MR. O. That is not the way to think about it.MRS. S. Are not athletics and the use of sex centre both examples ofthe same triad, the same kind of action as burning the house, althoughneither is destructive?MR. O. Again it is wrong way of thinking.MR. C. Is reading a book like stealing a picture or like building a house?MR. O. No. Not the way to think about it.M R . H . How can one best work on considering?MR. O. One must try not to consider. But before that one mustobserve and have enough observation, enough understanding to beprepared for it. Like with all manifestations of negative emotion onemust think right when it is quiet. One must not justify, excuse, findreasons, explain. One must be sincere with oneself and know it canonly be weakening. If one thinks right for a sufficiently long time itwill disappear. Not at once, but little by little.