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

fully conscious process all the time; one cannot become consciousunconsciously. But conscience can awake simply by a strong impactcoming from B influences, or from C influences, only one cannot keepit awake.At the same time there are many things in one's personality that tryto stop conscience, try to put it out. This is why so few people areinterested in the attempt to find truth. Because one has to find thetruth about oneself first.MR. A . Is it possible for conscience to grow in a person?MR. O. I don't know how to answer that. I think it is better to speakabout conscience keeping awake, and this is difficult, because there aremany appliances for keeping it down, keeping it asleep.MR. H. Does effort at self-remembering help to keep conscienceawake?MR. O. It is already awake. Effort of self-remembering is for conscious­ness. Conscience needs a shock, and one cannot keep such a shock.One is too sympathetic to oneself; one does not want to hurt oneself.One sees so many unpleasant things in life; why be unpleasant withoneself?MISS O. Some of us are influenced a great deal by being sympathetic,and by being afraid to hurt other people. How do you connect thiswith conscience?MR. O. Why hurt other people? I spoke of hurting yourself. Youcannot do anything to other people—it is all imagination. Try only notto express negative emotions, and so on. One can do nothing to othersunless one is in school, and one has enough knowledge, and they alsoare in school. We have to change many of our views as to what we cando and what we cannot do.MISS S. Does it necessarily follow that a person who has frequentattacks of conscience knows himself better than others?MR. O. Very doubtful. I never met such a person. In any case, frequentattacks of conscience are very dangerous. One must go to a doctor,and he will cure it quickly.MISS R. Did I understand you to say that a shock from conscience willhelp us awake?MR. O. No, I did not say that. It cannot happen. I said conscience canawake, and the shock can be given by B influences. In another case wecan get it from C influences, but that is another thing.