Tag: G. I. Gurdjieff

Chasing My Tail Seeking Self Knowledge

 

“Self-observation is very difficult.
The more you try, the more clearly you will see this.”
– G.I. Gurdjieff

 

Can I contain myself
enough to see my contents?
Can I be content
with what I can see
or will it always be hazy?
Can I hazard a guess as to the rest?
Can I rest without having that inner knowledge?
Will I know that what I see and
what others see are just partial glimpses?
Can I glimpse more by allowing myself to be?
Can I become more than the sum of the shadows I’ve been?
Can I then be contained?

 

Blessings, G

 

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New JourneyNew Journey by G A Rosenberg

 

Direction UnresolvedDirection Unresolved by G A Rosenberg

 

Towards the Infinite (Real Eyes)

 

“Awakening is possible only for those who seek it and want it, for those who are ready to struggle with themselves and work on themselves for a very long time and very persistently in order to attain it.”
— G.I. Gurdjieff

 

Eyes Towards the Infinite
Yet hopelessly distracted
I seek to paint myself comprehension,
filling in spirit colours
that my eyes cannot yet see
I fear that I find myself in corners
staring out as the worm moves towards its tail
mouth open towards a complete loop
while mine has barely begun.
Still slow progress is made
and understanding grows
one day I too will know
my infinite self.
— G A Rosenberg

 

Blessings, G

 

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Through Red WindowsThrough Red Windows by G A Rosenberg

 

Eyes Towards the InfiniteEyes Toward the Infinite by G A Rosenberg

Do I Know what I Mean?

 

“People have a very firm conviction, or belief, that they speak the same language, that they understand one another.
Actually this conviction has no foundation whatever. The language which they speak is adapted to practical life only. People communicate to one another information of a practical character, but as soon as they pass to a slightly more complex sphere they are immediately lost, and the cease to understand one another, although they are unconscious of it.”
— G I Gurdjieff

 

Language is a tricky business. People talk at each other and seldom realize that they are using the same words to mean two or more different things. Words like war or freedom or love or concepts like free will, acceptable losses, faith, religion, or meme. The words that people use in conversation with each other without sharing meaning is nigh endless. What’s even stranger is how often we use these words without having a full understanding of what we ourselves mean when we use it and how for many of these ambiguous terms, our meaning changes from day to day, conversation to conversation or hour to hour. When we say God do we mean an all-knowing guy in a white beard strolling through the sky? Do we mean an archetype, one of several that is part of the shared unconscious of mankind, an all-loving compassionate being, an angry vengeful parent. Is he internal or external? Then we can talk about love. I love you. Do I mean by that that I feel affection towards you and am trying to elicit whether you feel affection back? Do I mean it in a general sense that I love all of mankind and since you are part of that you share in my love? Does it mean I want to make love to you? Does it mean I would lay down my life for you or put your needs above my own? What if I’m not sure and it just seems like a good thing to say at the time? It always seems somewhat miraculous that any of us are able to communicate with each other at all. I guess we should thank god (or gods or goddess) for small miracles.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Butterfly TrailsButterfly Trails by G A Rosenberg

 

Dark DreamingDark Dreaming by G A Rosenberg

Do I Know what I Mean?

 

“People have a very firm conviction, or belief, that they speak the same language, that they understand one another.
Actually this conviction has no foundation whatever. The language which they speak is adapted to practical life only. People communicate to one another information of a practical character, but as soon as they pass to a slightly more complex sphere they are immediately lost, and the cease to understand one another, although they are unconscious of it.”
— G I Gurdjieff

 

Language is a tricky business. People talk at each other and seldom realize that they are using the same words to mean two or more different things. Words like war or freedom or love or concepts like free will, acceptable losses, faith, religion, or meme. The words that people use in conversation with each other without sharing meaning is nigh endless. What’s even stranger is how often we use these words without having a full understanding of what we ourselves mean when we use it and how for many of these ambiguous terms, our meaning changes from day to day, conversation to conversation or hour to hour. When we say God do we mean an all-knowing guy in a white beard strolling through the sky? Do we mean an archetype, one of several that is part of the shared unconscious of mankind, an all-loving compassionate being, an angry vengeful parent. Is he internal or external? Then we can talk about love. I love you. Do I mean by that that I feel affection towards you and am trying to elicit whether you feel affection back? Do I mean it in a general sense that I love all of mankind and since you are part of that you share in my love? Does it mean I want to make love to you? Does it mean I would lay down my life for you or put your needs above my own? What if I’m not sure and it just seems like a good thing to say at the time? It always seems somewhat miraculous that any of us are able to communicate with each other at all. I guess we should thank god (or gods or goddess) for small miracles.
Blessings, G

 

Click on images to see full-sized:

 

Butterfly TrailsButterfly Trails by G A Rosenberg

 

Dark DreamingDark Dreaming by G A Rosenberg

The Nature of the Struggle

 

“Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself — only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.”
― G.I. Gurdjieff

 

We strike at our own shadows and then imagine they strike back. Oh we give these shadows names. We name them after people we believe slighted us or events that we could not control. Of course what drew those people to us in the first place. They came to express that part of ourselves we keep hidden away, that part that we need desperately to face and yet will avoid at almost any cost. Funny how often we consider them foe or nemesis when in reality they are perhaps kinder than any lover could ever be. For who else can show us so clearly what we most need to work on?
Blessings, G

 

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Daliesque Snake DanceDaliesque Snake Dance by G A Rosenberg

 

Red Detail Daliesque Snake DanceRed Daliesque Snake Dance Detail by G A Rosenberg

Quote of the Day – March 29 2012

“Without self knowledge, without understanding the working and functions of his machine, man cannot be free, he cannot govern himself and he will always remain a slave. ”
–G. I. Gurdjieff

A friend of mine was complaining about another friend, about how unfair and tyrannical he was and she really wanted me to agree. She even offered me a transcript of a conversation she had with him as proof. Therein lay the problem.
Within four lines of dialog she was calling him names, telling him what he meant when he said things, willfully misinterpreting his words in the most insulting way possible. In short acting in a manner that fit fully what she was accusing him of. What seemed like a classical case of projection.

How often I have found myself getting angry at someone with whom I’ve had some interaction only to find that not only was I getting angry at the other person for doing things I did myself but that the other person was not actually doing it. My subconscious was sending me a wakeup call by bouncing my own stuff back at me. Lately I have started listening more and more. It’s amazing how insidious our robots, the part of us that react on automatic pilot can be. Luckily, if we are working towards awareness and practicing reflection, meditation and self-knowledge it becomes easier to catch ourselves. Well, most of the time.
Blessings, G

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Colour Wars by G A Rosenberg

Bedazzled by G A Rosenberg