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

Wednesday. July 16th 1941. (New York.)MRS. H. In walking I use the moving centre. What else is used?MR. O. No, no, you observe one thing. You can't observe all things.But if you walk slower or quicker, or take longer steps and so on, thenyou can observe. If you change things a little you begin to seesomething.MISS D. You said last week that by observation alone one cannot doanything. What can you do then?MR. O. It changes something but not enough. And that depends on theobservation. But some things are quite definite that we must change,like expression of negative emotions, imagination, etc.MRS. F. Could anger appear as a dream in sleep?MR. O. Yes, but it's harmless there. Sleep is a dustbin where we throwwhat we don't want.MISS D. If we want to increase energy we have to learn how?MR. O. Before we try to increase anything we have to study how wewaste. Then we must stop this waste. And then we can increase thisenergy only by self-remembering.MRS. B. Are leaks mostly negative emotions?MR. O. Negative emotions, mechanicalness of many kinds—talking,for example.MRS. B. I know that one can work better with other people, but I waswondering if one could work by oneself?MR. O. Try—no, you ask me; that means that you don't want to do itby yourself.MRS. B. But then you mustn't be identified?MR. O. One mustn't identify. In any case one must notice the forms ofidentification.MRS. S. Does a person ever remember themselves in sleep?MR. O. Only in a dream. Normally, in sleep, if one remembers orpronounces one's name, one awakes.MRS. D. Why does self-remembering act on metabolism?