GURDJIEFF, G.I. – Life is real only then, when I am - Integral Book

salem for Russia not by water, as normal people ordinarily do, but byland, on foot.From such wandering, continuing about four months nearly alwaysthrough places almost impassable, with my health still in precariouscondition, there must, of course, have been implanted in my organismfor the rest of my life some "chronically manifesting" factors of evilinfluence upon my health.In addition to everything else, during this foolish trip, there visited meand found delight in my body, for quite a long stay, some specific"delicacies" of local character, among which, by the way, were thehonored and famous "Kurdistan tzinga" [scurvy], the not less famous"Armenian dysentery" and, of course, that common and omnipresentfavorite of many names: la grippe, or influenza.After this, willy-nilly, I had to live some months, without absentingmyself, at home in Transcaucasia, and then again began, animated ofcourse as always by the idee fixe of my inner world, various tripsthrough all kinds of bush and jungle.And this time in my unfortunate physical body I again played host,during their long visits, to many other specific delicacies of localcharacter.Among such new guests were the honored "Ashkhabadian bedinka,""Bokharian malaria," "Tibetan hydropsy," "Belu-chistan dysentery" andmany others who also left their calling cards permanently wheneverthey called.In the following years my organism, although it had already acquiredimmunity from all such local delicacies, nevertheless could not, ofcourse, due to its increasing tenseness, eradicate the consequences ofthese old delicacies.