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

MRS. C. Can you take it as an exercise watching the speed of centres?MR. O. No, I said—no exercises. Certainly to verify speed of centres isuseful. Also perhaps sometimes one can create special conditions forobservation. But usually one must take what each day gives.MR. K. If I try not to identify with one 'I', so, having no permanent'I', I identify with another.MR. O. When we speak of man out of the work, we say that he has no'I'. If man starts to study, this already means a certain state. He hasmagnetic centre. Magnetic centre is the beginning of 'I'. He hasalready no right to say he has no 'I'. Man in the street has no 'I'. Inthe study he certainly cannot say that he has a complete and permanent'I', but he must already have a line of action. This must mean an 'I'. Itis not yet fully conscious, but it grows. This is the difference betweenknowledge and being. 'I' belongs to being.MRS. C. Are different states of consciousness different scales? Objectiveconsciousness seems to belong to a philosophical idea?MR. O. Quite the reverse. It is very practical. But if you mean for us,then, certainly objective consciousness is a philosophical idea. At thesame time the study of descriptions of glimpses of this state arepossible. If one studies these descriptions and tries to find similarities,it can become theoretical.MISS C Are efforts to self-remember practical?MR. O. May be practical, may be theoretical and may be philosophical.MRS C In writing down lists of philosophical, theoretical and practicalthings one becomes convinced that they are almost indissoluble.MR . O Some things can be taken in all three ways, some things only intwo ways or one.MR. L. Is there any connection between these three ideas and reality?MR. O. What do you mean by reality? If we have an experience, then ithas reality; reality as opposed to imagination.MR. R. Is it possible to create something in oneself to survive afterdeath?MR. O. We cannot say We can suppose only. Theoretically we canspeak about it, but not from the point of view of this system Thissystem does not speak about it. But we have nothing to lose—so wecan risk. In this state we cannot be sure, we don't know what happensafter death. There are different theories: one theory that man disintegrates,another theory (spiritualistic) that there are spirits. Theosophists