Gurdjieff Quotes

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

In order to awaken, first of all one must realize that one is in a state of sleep. And in order to realize that one is indeed in a state of sleep, one must recognize and fully understand the nature of the forces which operate to keep one in the state of sleep, or hypnosis. It is absurd to think that this can be done by seeking information from the very source which induces the hypnosis.
... One thing alone is certain, that man's slavery grows and increases. Man is becoming a willing slave. He no longer needs chains. He begins to grow fond of his slavery, to be proud of it. And this is the most terrible thing that can happen to a man. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

There do exist enquiring minds, which long for the truth of the heart, seek it, strive to solve the problems set by life, try to penetrate to the essence of things and phenomena and to penetrate into themselves. If a man reasons and thinks soundly, no matter which path he follows in solving these problems, he must inevitably arrive back at himself, and begin with the solution of the problem of what he is himself and what his place is in the world around him. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

You are in prison. If you wish to get out of prison, the first thing you must do is realize that you are in prison. If you think you are free, you can't escape. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Without struggle, no progress and no result. Every breaking of habit produces a change in the machine. ~ George Gurdjieff

What is possible for individual man is impossible for the masses. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Laughter relieves us of superfluous energy, which, if it remained unused, might become negative, that is, poison. Laughter is the antidote. ~ George Gurdjieff

Try to understand what I am saying: everything is dependent on everything else, everything is connected, nothing is separate. Therefore everything is going in the only way it can go. If people were different everything would be different. They are what they are, so everything is as it is. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Every - real - happiness - for - man - can - arise - exclusively - only - from - some - unhappiness - also - real - which - he - has - already - experienced. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

A miracle is not the breaking of physical laws, but rather represents laws which are incomprehensible to us. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

The greatest untold story is the evolution of God. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Study institutions may become visible when the head is more emptied of imaginings. ~ Idries Shah

You can never awaken using the same system that put you to sleep in the first place. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Never think of results, just do! ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Better to die than live in sleep. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

He who has gotten rid of the disease of "tomorrow" has a chance of achieving what he is here for. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

A man can only attain knowledge with the help of those who possess it. This must be understood from the very beginning. One must learn from him who knows. ~ George Gurdjieff

Meat is necessary when there is hard physical work to be done, or in a very cold climate, or when edible plants cannot be found ... Animal flesh provides all the substances we need, both for the intensive working of our organism and for maintaining a normal temperature in cold climates. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Every ceremony or rite has a value if it is performed without alteration. A ceremony is a book in which a great deal is written. Anyone who understands can read it. One rite often contains more than a hundred books. ~ George Gurdjieff

There is a cosmic law which says that every satisfaction must be paid for with a dissatisfaction. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

If a sufficient number of people who wanted to stop war really did gather together, they would first of all begin by making war upon those who disagreed with them. And it is still more certain that they would make war on people who also want to stop wars but in another way. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Love without knowledge is demonic. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

One of the best means for arousing the wish to work on yourself is to realize that you may die at any moment. But first you must learn how to keep it in mind. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

In properly organized groups no faith is required; what is required is simply a little trust and even that only for a little while, for the sooner a man begins to verify all he hears the better it is for him. ~ George Gurdjieff

I also very well remember that on another occasion the father dean said: 'In order that at responsible age a man may be a real man and not a parasite, his education must without fail be based on the following ten principles. 'From early childhood there should be instilled in the child: Belief in receiving punishment for disobedience. Hope of receiving reward only for merit. Love of God - but indiference to the saints. Remorse of conscience for the ill-treatment of animals. Fear of grieving parents and teachers. Fearlessness towards devils, snakes and mice. Joy in being content merely with what one has. Sorrow at the loss of the goodwill of others. Patient endurance of pain and hunger. The striving early to earn one's bread. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Man must use what he has, not hope for what is not. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Time began when you were born. It will end when you die. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

One of man's important mistakes, one which must be remembered, is his illusion in regard to his I. Man such as we know him, the 'man-machine,' the man who cannot 'do,' and with whom and through whom everything 'happens,' cannot have a permanent and single I. His I changes as quickly as his thoughts, feelings and moods, and he makes a profound mistake in considering himself always one and the same person; in reality he is always a different person, not the one he was a moment ago. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Man has no individual i. But there are, instead, hundreds and thousands of separate small "i"s, very often entirely unknown to one another, never coming into contact, or, on the contrary, hostile to each other, mutually exclusive and incompatible. Each minute, each moment, man is saying or thinking, "i". And each time his i is different. just now it was a thought, now it is a desire, now a sensation, now another thought, and so on, endlessly. Man is a plurality. Man's name is legion. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Practice love on animals first; they react better and more sensitively. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Common aim is stronger than blood. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Now everything that you do is written in red or black in Angel Gabriel's book. Not for everyone is this record kept, but only for those who have taken a position of responsibility. There is a Law of Sins, and if you do not fulfil all your obligations, you will pay. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

It is only by grounding our awareness in the living sensation of our bodies that the 'I Am,' our real presence, can awaken. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

The first reason for people's slavery is our ignorance, and above all, our ignorance of ourselves. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Two things in life are infinite; the stupidity of man and the mercy of God. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Those who have not sown anything during their responsible life will have nothing to reap in the future. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Every grown-up man consists wholly of habits, although he is often unaware of it and even denies having any habits at all. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Life is real only then, when "I am". ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

A 'sin' is something which is not necessary. ~ George Gurdjieff

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

Live a life of friction. Let yourself be disturbed as much as possible, but observe. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Many people who are in reality dead are walking in the streets; many who are in their graves are in reality alive. ~ Idries Shah

When my grandmother - may she attain the Kingdom of Heaven - was dying, my mother, as was then the custom, took me to her bedside and, as I kissed her right hand, my dear grandmother placed her dying left hand on my head and said in a whisper, yet very distinctly: "Eldest of my grandsons! Listen and always remember my strict injunction to you: In life never do as others do." Having said this, she gazed at the bridge of my nose and, evidently noticing my perplexity and my obscure understanding of what she had said, added somewhat angrily and imperiously: "Either do nothing - just go to school - or do something nobody else does Whereupon she immediately, without hesitation and with a perceptible impulse of disdain for all around her, and with commendable self-cognizance, gave up her soul directly into the hands of His Faithfulness, the Archangel Gabriel. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Everything existing in the world "falls to the bottom." The "bottom" for any part of the Universe is its nearest "stability," and this stability is the point toward which all the lines of force from all directions converge. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Modern art is childish - not childlike, remember, childish; not innocent but stupid, insane, pathological. We have to get rid of this trend. We have to create a new kind of art, a new kind of creativity. We have to bring to the world again what Gurdjieff calls objective art. ~ Rajneesh

If you can serve a cup of tea right, you can do anything. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

I ask you to believe nothing that you cannot verify for yourself. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

The degree of consciousness corresponds to the degree of density or the speed of vibrations. The denser the matter, the less conscious it is. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

What you need to know is very little, but to know that little takes very very much. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Humanity is moving in a circle. The progress in mechanical things of the past hundred years has proceeded at the cost of losing many other things which perhaps were much more important for it. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Love of consciousness evokes the same in response
Love of feeling evokes the opposite
Love of body depends only on type and polarity. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

The one great art is that of making a complete human being of oneself. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

LIBERATION LEADS TO LIBERATION. These are the first words of truth - not truth in quotation marks but truth in the real meaning of the word; truth which is not merely theoretical, not simply a word, but truth that can be realized in practice. The meaning behind these words may be explained as follows: By liberation is meant the liberation which is the aim of all schools, all religions, at all times. This liberation can indeed be very great. All men desire it and strive after it. But it cannot be attained without the first liberation, a lesser liberation. The great liberation is liberation from influences outside us. The lesser liberation is liberation from influences within us. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Sincerity is the key which will open the door through which you will see your separate parts, and you will see something quite new. You must go on trying to be sincere. Each day you put on a mask, and you must take it off little by little. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

If a man could understand all the horror of the lives of ordinary people who are turning around in a circle of insignificant interests and insignificant aims, if he could understand what they are losing, he would understand that there can only be one thing that is serious for him - to escape from the general law, to be free. What can be serious for a man in prison who is condemned to death? Only one thing: How to save himself, how to escape: nothing else is serious. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

I will tell you one thing that will make you rich for life. There are two struggles: an Inner-world struggle and an Outer-world struggle ... you must make an intentional contact between these two worlds; then you can crystallize data for the Third World, the World of the Soul. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Consciousness is a state in which a man knows all at once everything that he in general knows and in which he can see how little he does know and how many contradictions there are in what he knows. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

The highest that a man can attain is to be able to do. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

It is necessary to observe yourself differently than you do in ordinary life. It is necessary to have a different attitude, not the attitude you had till now. You know where your habitual attitudes have led you till now. There is no sense in going on as before. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Let us take some event in the life of humanity. For instance, war. There is a war going on at the present moment. What does it signify? It signifies that several millions of sleeping people are trying to destroy several millions of other sleeping people. They would not do this, of course, if they were to wake up. Everything that takes place is owing to this sleep. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Remember yourself always and everywhere. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

When you come to the realization that the totality of yourself, what you have treasured, what your friends have admired, is totally useless, you will suffer, but we say, that it is only from this point that there is any hope for your becoming. We are so incredibly small, mere specks in our whole solar system. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Religion is doing; a man does not merely think his religion or feel it, he lives his religion as much as he is able, otherwise it is not religion but fantasy or philosophy. ~ George Gurdjieff

Self-observation brings man to the realization of the necessity of self-change. And in observing himself a man notices that self-observation itself brings about certain changes in his inner processes. He begins to understand that self-observation is an instrument of self-change, a means of awakening. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

If you are meditating and a devil appears, make the devil meditate too ~ George Gurdjieff

Consider everything belonging to another as if it were your own, and so treat it. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

From looking at your neighbor and realizing his true significance, and that he will die, pity and compassion will arise in you for him and finally you will love him. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Patience is the mother of will. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Listen, you have now found the conditions in which the desire of your heart can become the reality of your being. Stay here, until you acquire a force in you that nothing can destroy. Then you'll need to go back into life, and there you will measure yourself constantly with forces which will show you your place. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Everyone is familiar with the phenomenon of feeling more or less alive on different days. Everyone knows on any given day that there are energies slumbering in him which the incitements of that day do not call forth, but which he might display if these were greater. Most of us feel as if a sort of cloud weighed upon us, keeping us below our highest notch of clearness in discernment, sureness in reasoning, or firmness in deciding. Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake. Our fires are damped, our drafts are checked. We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources. In some persons this sense of being cut off from their rightful resources is extreme, and we then get the formidable neurasthenic and psychasthenic conditions, with life grown into one tissue of impossibilities, that so many medical books describe.

Stating the thing broadly, the human individual thus lives far within his limits; he possesses powers of various sorts which he habitually fails to use. He energizes below his maximum, and he behaves below his optimum. In elementary faculty, in co-ordination, in power of inhibition and co ntro l, in every conceivable way, his life is contracted like the field of vision of an hysteric subject - but with less excuse, for the poor hysteric is diseased, while in the rest of us, it is only an inveterate habit - the habit of inferiority to our full self - that is bad. ~ Colin Wilson

A moment's reflection will show you that you play many roles in the course of a day . . . and that who you are from moment to moment changes. There is the angry you, and the kind you, the lazy you, the lustful you - hundreds of different you's. Gurdjieff points out that sometimes one "you" does something for which all the other "you's" must pay for years or possibly the rest of this life. ~ Ram Dass

When you are still fragmentated, lacking certainty - what difference does it make what your decisions are? ~ Idries Shah

Never will he understand the sufferings of another, who has not experienced them himself, though he have divine Reason and the nature of a genuine devil! ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Nothing can be attained without suffering but at the same time one must begin by sacrificing suffering. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

My way is to develop the hidden potentialities of man; a way that is against Nature and against God. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

you see it." Gurdjieff, a great spiritual teacher who taught in Europe and America in the early decades of the twentieth century, noted that if you think you're free and you don't know you are in prison, you can't escape. Gurdjieff saw us as being in a prison of our own habits of mind. Unless we understand how we are conditioned by our desires, we remain stuck in the reality they create, like a television program with an ad that keeps repeating over and over, implanting a subliminal message while we watch the show. BEYOND THOUGHT In the West we get rewarded for rational knowledge and learning. But only when you see that the assumptions you've been working under are not valid, ~ Ram Dass

Believe nothing, not even yourself. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

The evolution of man is the evolution of his consciousness, and 'consciousness' cannot evolve unconsciously. The evolution of man is the evolution of his will, and 'will' cannot evolve involuntarily. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Practice love first on animals, they are more sensitive. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

As long as our ideas are the same, we will never be apart. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

You are here having realized the necessity of contending with yourself; then thank everyone who provides an opportunity. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

A man must first of all understand certain things. He has thousands of false ideas and false conceptions, chiefly about himself, and he must get rid of some of them before beginning to acquire anything new. Otherwise the new will be built on a wrong foundation and the result will be worse than before. To speak the truth is the most difficult thing in the world; one must study a great deal and for a long time in order to speak the truth. The wish alone is not enough. To speak the truth one must know what the truth is and what a lie is, and first of all in oneself. And this nobody wants to know. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Only super-efforts count. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

Begin with the possible; begin with one step. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

To know all, it is necessary to know very little; but to know that very little, one must first know pretty much. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

From my point of view, he can be called a remarkable man who stands out from those around him by the resourcefulness of his mind, and who knows how to be restrained in the manifestations which proceed from his nature, at the same time conducting himself justly and tolerantly towards the weaknesses of others. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

If you are working inwardly, Nature will help you. For the man who is working, Nature is sister of charity; she brings him what he needs for his work. If you need money for your work, even if you do nothing to get it, the money will come to you from all sides. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

For the growing number of people seeking to approach the ideas of Gurdjieff, Toward Awakening by Jean Vaysse offers reliable guidance, as well as evidence of the continuing vitality of this remarkable teaching. It may be counted as among the small handful of books that communicate something of what Gurdjieff brought. ~ Jacob Needleman

Of course, there can be clear indications that a teacher is not worth paying attention to. A history as a fabulist or a con artist should be considered fatal; thus, the spiritual opinions of Joseph Smith, Gurdjieff, and L. Ron Hubbard can be safely ignored. A fetish for numbers is also an ominous sign. Math is magical, but math approached like magic is just superstition - and numerology is where the intellect goes to die. Prophecy is also a very strong indication of chicanery or madness on the part of a teacher, and of stupidity among his students. One can extrapolate from scientific data or technological trends (climate models, Moore's law), but most detailed predictions about the future lead to embarrassment right on schedule. ~ Sam Harris

An honest being who does not behave absurdly has no
chance at all of becoming famous, or even of being noticed, however kind
and sensible he may be. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff

The first thing, the very very first thing, "Find out what your greatest characteristic is, your greatest undoing, your central characteristic of unconsciousness." Each one's is different. Somebody is sex-obsessed. In a country like India, where for centuries sex has been repressed, that has become almost a universal characteristic; everybody is obsessed with sex. Somebody is obsessed with anger, and somebody else is obsessed with greed. You have to watch which is your basic obsession. ~ G.I. Gurdjieff