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

you are told. It often happens that people go on studying and missthese moments. They think they work when nothing happens. Andwhen such moments come, they miss them. We cannot work equallyalways. At one moment passive study, theories are sufficient. Atanother moment it is necessary to oppose your movement, to stop.MR. R. What causes these moments?MR. O. Desire. Resultant of desires is will. If one strong desire conquers,it gives direction to desires.MR. R. It comes unexpectedly?MR. O. Sometimes one can foresee that a man is reaching something.I speak of such desire that may have connection with work. One hasto work on three lines. If one works on the second or third line, hisdesires may affect other people.MISS S. How can one work, except at self-observation?MR. O. This is study. When your moment comes, you will see. If youdon't understand now, leave it, talk with other people. Perhaps yourmoment has not come yet.MISS M . Has obeying something to do with breaking up of personality?MR. O. Sometimes, in serious cases. No orders will be given you thatare not connected with work. Your personality has its own opinions.If you find it necessary to go against that, it will be work against personality.***[Written questions.]MR. D. Is the reason why it takes so much longer to obtain results infollowing objective ways that one is under the Law of Accident,whereas in any of the four ways one is under the direction of consciousinfluences?MR. O. The question answers itself. One is under the Law of Accidentin everything. Everything happens in life, and even in relation to thiswork. Look at your life and see if you come to the realization ofnecessity of a school.MR. D. If knowledge is material, I don't see how even the smallestamount of it can be communicated through a book, for example theNew Testament. Surely something material must always be communicateddirectly by a human being?MR. O. We speak about knowledge contained in influences C. In books