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

lunacy in ourselves, and the creation of discipline and self-discipline isstruggle against the tramp in us. And about the characteristics of thefirst class—first he is a practical man; he is not formatory; and he musthave discipline, otherwise he cannot be what he is—so a certain amountof self-discipline, and a certain amount of practical thinking. That isthe characteristic of the first man. He has enough for life, but notenough for work, so in work these two characteristics must grow.MRS. C. You said he had enough. . . .MR. O. He may have enough for life, but not for work. In the workexactly this capacity, if he has the capacity for practical work, mustincrease, must grow.MRS. C. Is there the possibility of the first man in everybody?MR. O. Not everybody. I said some already lost the capacity for practicalthinking or the capacity for development. Then they are full No. 2or 3, according to what they lost.MRS. C. You mean from birth?MR. O. That we don't know. We cannot speak about that. We speakonly about results. We know that in the work one must have thecapacity for practical thinking and practical attitude and one must havesufficient discipline to accept school discipline.MR. R. What do you mean by practical thinking?MR. O. Just what is called practical thinking in ordinary language. Thecapacity to calculate things in different circumstances, nothing more.And the same capacity he can apply to ideas of the work, schoolprinciples, rules, everything.MISS H . Can the tramp and lunatic be a complete personality or is it an'I' or a feature?MR. O. It is not necessary to think in that way. It is sufficient tounderstand the general chief characteristics. Details are not important.***