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

instance, its curvature, the three dimensions of time, but take it as astraight line.MR. M . Is there any essential difference between time and space?MR. O. Just as we feel it. In the beginning of this system, as you haveprobably realized, simple, empirical sensations must serve as guides,because after all it is better to trust in them than just in theories. Wemust start simply with a yard-measure for space and a watch andcompass for time. Little by little we will not need them, but we have tobegin with them.MR. p. Is the length of a man's life always the same?MR. O. We do not know. We cannot compare. We must try to avoidquestions we cannot answer. I think it may be different. Why should itbe the same? There is a quite possible theory that man's life isdetermined from the day of his birth, that for everybody there is adefinite hour when he must die. Can this be changed or not? From thepoint of view of one theory it cannot, from another it can be changedup to a certain point, not much generally. These are simply differenttheories, and which is true we know only when we die ourselves.Perhaps we do not know then, probably we don't. There again thereare different theories.MR. L. I find, in trying to study myself, that I always want to avoidunpleasant emotions, and miss many opportunities of seeing myself.MR. O. That is your business. You must judge what is best.MR. L. How can one prepare for unpleasant emotions?MR. O. I do not know which emotions you mean, so I cannot answer.Sometimes one has to face them, sometimes one is right to avoid them.MR. R. I find it very difficult to avoid catching negative emotions fromother people.MR. O. Yes, it is difficult, but there is a good way to avoid it, which isnot to talk about unpleasant things. Most people cannot resist thetemptation to talk about unpleasant things and increase and increasetheir negative emotion.***