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. GurdjieffRead
In order to understand the interrelation of truth and falsehood in life, a man must understand falsehood in himself, the constant incessant lies he tells himself.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding one's own dishonesty is essential for grasping the nature of truth and falsehood.
This quote by G. I. Gurdjieff emphasizes the importance of self-reflection and honesty in one's own life. To truly understand the concepts of truth and falsehood, one must first recognize the lies and deceptions they tell themselves. This self-awareness is crucial for personal growth and for navigating the complexities of life, as it enhances one's perception of reality and fosters a deeper understanding of human nature.
Themes
TruthFalsehoodSelf-AwarenessLiesHonesty
In practice
Example use cases
During a motivational speech about personal growth, one might use this quote to highlight the importance of introspection.
More from G. I. Gurdjieff
All quotes βConscious faith is freedom. Emotional faith is slavery. Mechanical faith is foolishness.
G. I. GurdjieffRead
Remember you come here having already understood the necessity of struggling with yourself β only with yourself. Therefore thank everyone who gives you the opportunity.
G. I. GurdjieffRead
It is the greatest mistake to think that man is always one and the same. A man is never the same for long. He is continually changing. He seldom remains the same even for half an hour.
G. I. GurdjieffRead
Laughter relieves us of superfluous energy, which, if it remained unused, might become negative, that is, poison. Laughter is the antidote.
G. I. GurdjieffRead
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. GurdjieffRead
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It is incredible how as soon as a people become subject, it promptly falls into such complete forgetfulness of its freedom that it can hardly be roused to the point of regaining it, obeying so easily and willingly that one is led to say that this people has not so much lost its liberty as won its enslavement.
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No man chooses evil because it's evil. He only mistakes it for happiness, the good he seeks.
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We thank Him less by words than by the serene happiness of silent acceptance. It is our emptiness in the presence of His reality, our silence in the presence of His infinitely rich silence, our joy in the bosom of the serene darkness in which His light holds us absorbed, it is all this that praises Him.
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As the eldest son of an Alabama sharecropper family, I was constantly troubled by a collage of North American southern behaviors and notions in reference to the inhumanity of people. There were questions that I did not know how to ask but could, in my young, unsophisticated way, articulate a series of answers.
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Thus it happens in matters of state; for knowing afar off (which it is only given a prudent man to do) the evils that are brewing, they are easily cured. But when, for want of such knowledge, they are allowed to grow so that everyone can recognize them, there is no longer any remedy to be found.
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Man is appealed to be guided in his acts, not merely by love, which is always personal, or at best tribal, but by his perception of his oneness with each human being. In the practice of mutual aid, which we can re-trace to the earliest beginnings of evolution, we thus find the positive and undoubted origin of our ethical conceptions; and we can affirm that in the ethical progress of man, mutual support- not mutual struggle- has had the leading part.
Peter KropotkinRead