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

Thursday. April 28th 1938. (Warwick Gardens.)MR. A . I find as a result of contact with the system that I am reallyquite nervous about doing many intrinsically harmless things as beingbound to involve leakage of energy. Am I right in thinking thistendency to be wrong and that any harmless outlet of energy isdesirable since this energy has to be used up somehow?MR. O. I cannot answer that without more factsMISS C. In trying to consider other people and give them what theyexpect, it seems possible when they expect a certain manner and kindof conversation—old jokes, well known phrases, etc —but when theyexpect certain spontaneous feeling and sincerity external consideringseems to mean control of emotional attitudes and their expression. Isthis so?MR. O. Quite right. And people can expect too much, in which case noexternal considering will help.MISS C. What must be the inner state of a person before he can makethe desired impression, for instance, leaving the room unnoticed byanyone?MR. O. That is difficult to describe. Certainly it must be a state of notidentifying, but at the same time it must be different in different casesMRS. N. I find it difficult not to get external and internal consideringmixed up. I feel I do always try not to make people negative, but onlybecause I want them to like me. How should I begin to distinguishbetween one and the other?MR. O. By observation. You must try to find the difference once andthen you will be able to see it afterwards. Try observing it, not inrelation to yourself but in other people's relations one with another.MRS. N. I do not see how it is possible to attain any degree ofinvisibility without will. Is this misunderstanding on my part?MR. O. That is far, far, far. You cannot become invisible yet, so this isnot a practical question.MISS L. I find that even the most helpful things in me are mechanical