Gurdjieff Studies

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"...There cannot be continuous tension and there cannot be continuous relaxation. These two aspects are the very life of the movement of energy, the expression of our life." (Jeanne de Salzmann - "The Reality of Being," p.250)

"The movement of energy in us is continuous. It never stops. Rather it passes through phases of intense projection which we call tension, and phases of returning to oneself which we call letting go, relaxing..."

Maurice Nicoll makes the memorable statement that one must will the work. He also describes this in terms of consciously willing what happens, what is inevitable, what you have to do out of necessity, what you are afraid of and so on...

...Further, in various of his Commentaries, he links will with love. For example, “To love is to will: we do what we love to do.” ...

(Maurice Nicoll - "Commentaries on the Psychological Teachings of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky," Vol.V, p.1743)

"…his love-life—that is, his emotional side—is in a wrong state & it will be the same if he is in a state of fear and feels compelled to do something against his will. To do a thing willingly, from a delight in doing it, will effect a change in you."

"It is only through some kind of delight, some feeling of joy or pleasure or some genuine affection or desire, that a person can work and bring about any change of being in himself. Fear, for example, will not act in this way…"

"Your reality is underfed." ("The Notes of Jane Heap," p.121)

“All bad temper is only energy running to waste." (A.R. Orage - "Psychological Essays," "On the Control of Temper")

@TriadNerd Yes.

@GurdjieffStudy Did Gurdjieff talk more about the enneagram in Ouspensky's In search of the miraculous?

"All knowledge can be included in the enneagram and with the help of the enneagram it can be interpreted...in this connection only what a man is able to put into the enneagram does he actually know, that is, understand..."

"...What he cannot put into the enneagram he does not understand." (Gurdjieff in "In Search of the Miraculous," by P.D. Ouspensky, p.294)

One of the "Nature series" of posts, in full at the following link for a time: journalgurdjieffstudies.substack.com/p/nature-will-…

"Nature is more intelligent than you; she knows better than you which are the best conditions for your work." (Gurdjieff - Paris Meetings, January 16, 1944.)

[Full post looking at an aspect of Nature in Gurdjieff's teaching in link for a limited time.] journalgurdjieffstudies.substack.com/p/what-is-natu…

"Only thought as theoretical and as far removed from fact as modern European thought could have conceived the evolution of man to be possible apart from surrounding nature, or have regarded the evolution of man as a gradual conquest of nature." (Gurdjieff)

(As found in "In Search of the Miraculous" by P.D. Ouspensky, p.57)