The Fourth way -  Wrong Functions - 3 - PD Ouspensky

For me personally, in the beginning, the most interesting idea was that of self-remembering. I simply could not understand how people could miss such a thin g. All European philosophy and psychology just missed this point. There are traces in older teachings, but they are so well disguised and placed between less important things that you cannot see the importantance of the idea.For me personally, in the beginning, the most interesting idea was that of self-remembering. I simply could not understand how people could miss such a thing. All European philosophy and psychology just missed this point.

There are traces in older teachings, but they are so well disguised and placed between less important things that you cannot see the importantance of the idea.When we try to keep all these things in mind and to observe ourselves, we come to the very definite conclusion that in the state of consciousness in which we are, with all this identification, considering, negative emotions and absence of self-remembering, we are really asleep.

We only imagine that we are awake. So when we try to remember ourselves it means only one thing-we try to awake. And we do awake for a second but then we fall asleep again. This is our state of being, so actually we are asleep. We can awake only if we correct many things in the machine and if we work very persistently on this idea of awaking, and for a long time.

Q: Does bad physical pain distort one's mental ideas?

A: Certainly. That is why we cannot speak about it. When we speak about man, we speak ab out man in his normal state. Then we can speak about obtaining these new functions, consciousness and so on. Exceptional cases cannot be taken, because these distort the whole picture.There are many interesting things in connection with that. This group I met in Moscow used oriental metaphors and parables, and one of the things they like to speak about was prison-that man is in prison, so what can he wish for, what can he desire? If he is a more or less sensible man, he can wish for only one thing-to escape. But even before hye can formulate this desire, that he wants to escape, he must become aware that he is in prison. 

Then, when he formulates this wish, he begins to realize the possibilities of escape, and he understands that, by himself he cannot escape, because it is necessary to dig under walls, and things like that. He realizes that first of all he must have some people who would like to escape with him-a small group of people . So he realizes that a certain number of people can perhaps escape. But all cannot escape. One cannot and all cannot, but a small number of people can.

Again, in what conditions? He comes to the conclusion that it is necessary to have help. Without that they cannot escape. They must have maps, files tools and so on, so they must have help from outside. This is exactly, almost literally, the position of man. We can learn how to use the unusual parts of our machine. This prison means really that we can sit in the kitchen and basement of our house and cannot get out. One can get out, but not by oneself. Without school one cannot.

School means that there are people who are already escaping or, at any rate, are preparing to escape. School cannot begin without help from another school;, without help from those who escaped before. From them we can get ncertain ideas, a certain plan, a certain knowledge-these are our tools. I repeat, all cannot escape. There are many laws against it. To put it simply, it would be too noticeable, and that would immediately produce a reaction from mechanical forces.

School means that there are people who are already escaping or, at any rate, are preparing to escape. School cannot begin without help from another school;, without help from those who escaped before. From them we can get ncertain ideas, a certain plan, a certain knowledge-these are our tools. I repeat, all cannot escape. There are many laws against it. To put it simply, it would be too noticeable, and that would immediately produce a reaction from mechanical forces.

Q: The wish to escape is instinctive, is it ?

A: No only the inner work of the organism is instinctive, it must be intellectual and emotional, because the instinctive function really belongs to the lower, the physical functions. Still, in some conditions, there may be a physical wish to escape. Suppose it is too hot in the room and we know it is cool outside, certainly we may wish to escape needs reason and feeling.

Q: It seems difficult, without greater self-observation, to know what your objective is in escaping.

A: Yes, cerainly, Prison is just an example.

For us prion in our sleep and, without metaphors, we want to awake when we realize that we are asleep. It  must be realized emotionally. We must understand that we are helpless in sleep; anything may happen. We can see pictures of life, see why things happen in one way or another-both big and small things-and realize that it is because people are asleep. naturally they cannot do anything in sleep.For us prion in our sleep and, without metaphors, we want to awake when we realize that we are asleep. It  must be realized emotionally.

We must understand that we are helpless in sleep; anything may happen. We can see pictures of life, see why things happen in one way or another-both big and small things-and realize that it is because people are asleep. naturally they cannot do anything in sleep.You know, in relation to these ideas and these methods, we live in a rather stange time in one sense, because schools are disappearing quickly.Thirty or forty years ago you could find many kinds of schools which practically do not exist now or are much more difficult to find.

Q: Are they disappearing in the East as well as the West?

A: I mean the east, of course. In the West there ceased to be any long ago. But about schools I think we had better speak separately. It is a very interesting subject, because we do not know how to make the right divisions. There are different kinds of schools.

Q: When you are first trying to observe, it is better to choose a lot of short occupations rather than getting involved in long ones? Does it make a difference?

A: No. You must try to observe yourself in different conditions, not only in the same conditions.

Q: Is it good, then, to analyse afterwards?

A: No. Generally speaking, in the beginning and for a long time, there should be no analysis. In order to analyse you must know laes; why things happened in that way and could not happen in another way. So before you know the laws, it is better not to try to analyse. Just observe things as they are and try to classify them more or less into intellectual, emotional,centre or mind through which it manifests.

Reference: The Fourth Way: P.D. Ouspensky