‘Views from the real world’ by G. Gurdjieff, part 7 of 7

Chapter 6: The Aphorisms

Recorded using a special form of writing with the “Study House” in Prieuré:

1. Like what others do not like.
2. The greatest achievement for man is the ability to create.
3. The worse the conditions of life are, the greater the results will be of the work done.
4. Remember yourself always and everywhere.
5. Remember that you are here because you have already understood the need of the struggle with yourself, and only with yourself. Therefore, thank whoever gives you the opportunity.
6. Here we can only guide and create conditions, but we cannot help.
7. You must know that this house can only be useful to those who have recognized its uselessness and for who believe in the possibility of change.
8. Continuing to do something incorrectly while knowing that it is incorrect is a sin that is difficult to mend.
9. The best way to be happy in this life is by having the ability to always reflect externally, never internally.
10. Do not love art with your emotions.
11. A true sign of a good man is that he loves his father and mother.
12. Judge others as you would yourself and you will rarely be wrong.
13. Help only those that are not idle.
14. Respect all religions.
15. I love those who love to work.
16. We can only strive to become capable of being Christians.
17. Do not judge a man by the stories of others.
18. Consider what people think of you and not what is said of you.
19. Use the understanding of the East and the knowledge of the West, then search.
20. Only he who can take care of what belongs to others can in turn possess his own.
21. Only conscious suffering makes sense.
22. It is better to be selfish sometimes than to never be fair.
23. First practice loving animals, they are the most sensitive.
24. By teaching others, you will also learn.
25. Remember that we do not work only to work, but only do so as a means.
26. One can be fair only when he puts himself in someone else’s shoes.
27. If you do not naturally have a critical mind, then your presence here is useless.
28. He who has liberated himself from the illness of “tomorrow” has the possibility of receiving what he is looking for.
29. Happy is he who has a soul, happy is he who does not, however there is pain and sorrow only for the one who had a soul while an embryo.
30. Rest does not depend on the quantity of sleep, but in the quality.
31. Sleep less without remorse.
32. The energy spent on active inner work is transformed instantly into a new reserve; the energy spent on passive work is lost forever.
33. One of the best ways to awaken the desire to work on yourself is to realize that you can die at any moment. But first you must learn how to keep that in mind.
34. Conscious love evokes the same response. Emotional love evokes the opposite. Physical love depends on the type and on the differences.
35. Conscious faith is freedom. Emotional faith is slavery. Mechanical faith is foolishness.
36. Hope, when bold, is strength. Hope, with doubt, is cowardice. Hope, with fear, is weakness.
37. Man is given a set number of experiences and can prolong his life by conserving them.
38. Here there are no Russians or Englishmen, Jews nor Christians; just people pursuing a common goal: becoming capable of being.

• Book: “Views from the real world” part 7 of 7
• Author: G.I. Gurdjieff