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

preciation in a quiet state, almost a complete "nullity"—is to acquire theableness to direct for a definite time all his possibilities and all hisstrength only for the purpose of constating as many as possible of thephysical as well as the psychic abnormal facts proceeding in his variousfunctionings, that is, to exercise what is called "self-observation."It is obligatorily necessary to do so chiefly in order that suchundesirable facts, cognized only by his mind, which are still empty ofsignificance for his common presence, gradually assimilating into hisnature, should begin to crystallize a steady conviction about everythinglearned, and through this, as it must lawfully proceed, should comeforth in his common presence for the possibility of further work uponhimself, an energy of great intensiveness, with the help of which aloneis a further work upon himself possible and which is manifested, by theway, in a persistent striving to achieve the "power" during the daytimein his so to say "waking state," for a definite time, to "rememberhimself."This is necessary in its turn so that such a man, who has cognizedonly in his mind the nullity of his individuality and who has decided tostruggle consciously with the abnormalities constated by him, whichhave crystallized in his individuality thanks to the unfitting surroundingconditions of his preparatory age, and which manifest themselves in allsorts of weaknesses that in totality give birth to his will-lessness,character-lessness, inertness and so on, could learn as much as possiblenot to identify with the surrounding conditions and, continuing toobserve his inner and outer manifestations with a simultaneousdomination in himself of various feelings of partiality which arebecoming inherent in him, and thus constating still more deeply variousfactors, abnormal even according to his own consciousness, andexisting in great number in his psyche as well as in his physical body:all this with the aim of convinc-