Secret Talks with Mr G.
by E.J. Gold
BK003
$35
Out of Print and Quite Rare. (Facsimile Edition)
Secret Talks with Mr. G.
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Briefing Notes
This collection of talks, created and published as a tribute to G.I. Gurdjieff and his teaching methods, created a furor during the '70's and early '80's. By the author's request, the book is not to be re-published in its original form.
Main Themes:
The Law of Octaves: This esoteric law governs the development of all phenomena, both inner and outer. Understanding and utilizing the Law of Octaves is crucial for advancing in "the Work," a system of self-development aimed at achieving higher states of consciousness and being.
Obligation and Voluntary Suffering: Progress in the Work requires taking on increasingly larger scales of obligation and engaging in voluntary suffering. These actions generate the "enabling substance" necessary for the formation of higher bodies, including the soul.
Mastering the Animal: The "animal" refers to our mechanical nature, driven by instinctual desires and automatic reactions. A key aspect of the Work involves recognizing and transcending these limitations through self-observation and intentional effort.
The Formation of the Soul: The soul is not given but must be consciously developed through specific practices and efforts. The Work provides a framework and guidance for this challenging undertaking.
Key Ideas and Facts:
The Work is not for everyone: It demands a genuine desire for transformation and the willingness to sacrifice comfort and habitual patterns. ("...they simply wish to hear about this and then philosophize about the possibility for the remainder of their useless lives." - p. 128)
Dissatisfaction with ordinary life is a necessary starting point: Recognizing the limitations and ultimate meaninglessness of life as it is typically lived fuels the search for something more. ("Dissatisfaction is the result of many years of immersion in life and the final realization that nothing offered in life is worth anything in itself." - p. 16)
Center of Gravity Questions: Formulating and focusing on a question of vital importance serves as an anchor for directing attention and effort towards the Work. ("To mentate means temporarily, at least, to make a question center of gravity." - p. 16)
Taking on Obligation: Aligning oneself with the laws of the Work requires accepting responsibility and fulfilling specific tasks or commitments. ("The whole secret rests with obligation." - p. 62)
The Law of Octaves and Shocks: Development unfolds through a series of stages (notes in an octave) and requires external influences ("shocks") to overcome inherent inertia and transition to higher levels. ("In order to truly complete an octave, and then to bring that octave to the next higher octave, one must allow oneself the luxury of remaining in that octave longer than one would like, in order to make two more notes." - p. 58)
Three Types of Food: Besides physical food, humans utilize "air food" (impressions) and "impression food" (higher influences) to sustain and develop their being. ("Everything man chews and swallows he calls food automatically. This is not food at all." - p. 115)
Reversing the Pump: Instead of passively consuming impressions and expending energy outwards, the Work teaches how to consciously transform lower substances into "higher food" for the development of higher bodies. ("For ordinary man, what would be his astral body is his denying force, because he allows his physical body to be the active part of himself. In this effort we must strive to be outerly passive and innerly active." - p. 79)
The Necessity of Struggle: Conscious effort and the overcoming of resistance are fundamental for generating the energy and "enabling substance" required for transformation. ("Through struggle with yourself can you become able to do this. Not, however, through ordinary struggle." - p. 81)
Quotes of Note:
"Everything you do, do in such a way that it exposes you to great danger, so that either the cosmos to which you are subject presently makes you tchick or you make it tchick." - p. 60
"To reverse the pump it is necessary to first learn to 'passify the outside', and then to learn to take from air and impressions those substances necessary for the transformation of shit into higher food not for the moon." - p. 79
"To understand a soldier one must suffer as a soldier. One must know completely the potential of everyone under one's command, subjective and objective." - p. 136
"To be drone is much bigger than to be man in quotation marks." - p. 148
Conclusion:
Secret Talks With Mr. G. presents a complex and challenging system of esoteric knowledge and practices. The book emphasizes the necessity of conscious effort, self-observation, and the willingness to engage in voluntary suffering for the sake of achieving higher levels of being and contributing to a cosmic purpose. It offers a glimpse into a hidden world of possibilities and a path for those seeking genuine transformation.