THE STATES OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS

THE STATES OF HUMAN CONSCIOUSNESS
C. DALY KING

GURDJIEFFThe War Against Sleep

GURDJIEFFThe War Against Sleep
Colin Wilson

WITNESS THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN BENNETT

WITNESS THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF JOHN BENNETT
A great read for all

TRANSFORMATION

TRANSFORMATION
SYSTEMATICS of BENNETT

Monday, December 10, 2012

THE 3RD LECTURE OF MR. OUSPENSKY

I wish to discuss the THIRD LECTURE OF MR. OUSPENSKY which is found in his book,entitled: THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MAN'S POSSIBLE EVOLUTION.   In my copy which is around 1981, although I had an earlier copy that I do not have here where I am now, the work was copyrighted in 1950,1973,1981 by Tatiana Nagro, and this copy is a Vintage Books publication.   You should also read the Publisher's note on this volume to get a better picture.I wish to quote from this chapter:: "A very good description of man's mechanicalness was given the so-called 'PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGY' of the second part of the nineteenth century."                           Mr. Ouspensky then continues to get to the heart of the matter, which in recent years has received a number of experimental attentions and discoveries that I shall further discuss.  These tend to fall under the topic of 'SENSORY DEPRIVATION' which takes several forms and considerations. Mr. Ouspensky discusses this topic but in his time, little had been done to extend what he meant and felt was the gist of this sort of thing, but now that has changed somewhat a bit drastically since he wrote on this subject.   It is my intention to cover some of this ground since I feel it substantiates what Mr. Ouspensky said and wrote about THE FOURTH WAY and its implications have somewhat of a profound significance for the ideas and work that Mr. Gurdjieff brought to the West. Of this I shall add more to the discussion when I have more time.                                 I have an 1886 volume entitled OUTLINES OF PSYCHOLOGY by  Hermann Lotze which have much to say about CONSCIOUSNESS and sensation and other things of that time which are still relevant, perhaps, to this discussion. I do not have the other significant work by HARTMANN on CONCIOUSNESS here with me and will have to locate my copy wherever it is among my many volumes on such subjects. In the meantime, may I suggest those who are interested in finding out more about all of this, that you read the above works by Mr. Ouspensky and, if possible, that of the Lectures (DICTATED PORTIONS ) of Hermann Lotze.                                                                                          

13 comments:

  1. According to what Mr. Ouspenskii wrote in this THIRD LECTURE,the 'scientists' of the time he mentions claimed and believed that man could not move without receiving EXTERNAL'IMPRESSIONS'and if it wwere possible to keep men from being exposed to BOTH INTERNAL and EXTERNAL IMPRESSIONS, MOVEMENT OF THE SMALLEST KIND WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. Of course, you have to read the lecture itself to appreciate what he has written, but an article in the magazine, IDEAS & DISCOVERIES February 2013 issue has an article on pages 56-58 entitled:TOTAL SILENCE:HOW IT STEALS YOUR SANITY..IN THE ID LAB. The question asks what happens when it suddenly goes silent..One should read this article rather carefully since it supports the notions mentioned concerning SENSORY DEPRIVATION which has since Mr. Ouspensky's time become an important topic of study,discussion,experiementation, etc. Since WWII,such things as : Conditioning,Brain Washing,Sleep learning, Hypnotism, etc. have become more widely discussed and studied and have influenced many government and civilian acttivities around the world and still do, as some clandestine and secretive studies and other things have been revealed in certain circles, as many in the general public arena know these days.

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  2. The 'experiments' that have been done with 'sensory deprivation' in special 'tanks' and venues and areas, show that we need 'IMPRESSIONS' as 'FOOD' to survive or grow mad,etc. and that we can be controlled in various ways by such methods that are employed. Of course, adverstising and suggesions, plus subliminal cues and the like, are fairly well known but we seldom acknowledge their actual influence in and over us beyond a 'theoretical' basis...we seldom see the practical basis of such. We often tend to follow what we call, 'ASSOCIATIONS' which also have an important place in the 'WORK' or 'SYSTEM' of THE FOURTH WAY. Influences and Impressions as 'FOOD' or 'fuel' for the HUMAN MACHINE(S) have been explained and mentioned in various published works by both Mr. Ouspensky, Mr. Gurdjieff, and others and so I shall not at this time expand upon that area as everyone who is interested should consult whatever existing works they have available to show this and do their own 'work' in this area.

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  3. "MATERIALISTIC' & 'MECHANICAL' views and theories of PSYCHOLOGY tend to dismiss 'METAPHYSICS',which many, if not most, people want more than 'MECHANICS'. That is why people all tend to favor 'SOUL'(its existence) over 'BODY'(material) regardless of how they act, speak, or live theri lives, often affirming and stating, however nebulous and incoherent their notions of 'soul' may be.

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  4. In the introduction of HERMANN LOTSE's book,OUTLINES OF PSYCHOLOGY it is stated that 'sensations,ideas, feelings and acts of will' are, basically, designated as that entity 'THE SOUL'. I shall discuss this further as I proceed methodically on these topics here.We consider the actions of animals, for example, to teh the result of 'NATURAL INSTINCTS' but those of MEN we tend to attribute to 'WILL' and important distinction since philosophy since the time of Descartes considered animals as 'souless','mechanical' and the like as animal lovers know and vivisectionists thought when they planned their 'animal experiments' for the 'benefit of mankind' which still go on in modern labs these very days and which we tend to ignore for notions of 'progress' as long as the creatures utilized in these things are 'disposed of humanely' whatever that means. BUT THE NOTION OF WILL still remains to be elucidated and in the FOURTH WAY and by Mr. Gurdjieff, an important aspect since most men lack 'true' will.

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  5. In this THIRD LECTURE,Mr. Ouspenskii discusses the Nineteenth Century SCIENTIFIC notion that MAN IS A MACHINE whose movements(motions) are under EXTERNAL INFLUENCES! He also brings in the topic of CENTERS and mentions of great importance THE MAGNETIC CENTER,which is simply A GROUP OF INTERESTS,which can be a controlling as well as a guiding factor,which DOES NOT REPLACE THE WORK OF AN ACTUAL SCHOOL!

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  6. A CENTER in man can replace another center in man, but not in entirety and often centers do the wrong work and do not function correctly, although they were set up to work correctly or properly, though this may be difficult for those who rely on centers to understand or utilize in a practical way. A review of the centers in the listing found in the FOURTH WAY is something those who are studying it and wanting to work on should be done. A lot of preparation may be necessary and those who hastily open up centers in artificial ways or other system ways may experience the 'difficulties', the 'perils', the 'hazards','danger's, 'trials','ordeals' mentioned in various works and systems,usually of an occult nature or those created by 'contemporary imaginations',etc.

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  7. Quite often, those who are involved in the other three ways, and particularly that of YOGA,study and manipulate CENTERS in various ways, and come up with some interesting,complex,elaborate, and intricate ideas and practices as well as theories, but tampering with CENTERS as some do have their risks as has been stated many times so that many tend to disregard such and 'storm' the 'centers',etc. If they report their experiences objectively, which few tend to do and not turn them into 'revelations','prophecies' and other similar things to ensnare persons and create followers and other 'dependents' all well and good. Reading such can help one get to sleep at night better, perhaps,especially if tainted with Biblical phrases and concepts.

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  8. THE INSTINCTIVE CENTER: on page 61 of THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MAN'S POSSIBLE EVOLUTION, Mr. Ouspensky writes: "IT IS VERY DANGEROUS TO INTERFERE WITH NORMAL FUNCTIONS OF THE INSTINCTIVE CENTER" . What does this mean? And why did he write this? In this we see what is often called the danger of 'YOGIC' BREATHING EXERCISES which Mr.Gurdjieff mentioned in some of his writings that also should be read and studied in light of this. In this, the EMOTIONAL & INTELLECTUAL CENTERS CAN ATTEMPT TO DO THE WORK OF THE INSTINCTIVE CENTER. When, and Mr. Ouspensky does not mention this, THE SEX CENTER BECOMES INVOLVED IN THIS PROCESS, we find COMPLETE MISUSE OF THE SEX CENTER AS FOUND AMONG CONTEMPORARY PEOPLES TODAY,ESPECIALLY IN WESTERN SOCIETY...that some might moderately call 'decadent' or 'corrupt' even 'sinful' etc. depending on other things. The EMOTIONAL CENTER might well create problems in all these areas as a conflict with emotions and intellect might arise and if we delve deeper we see that in the UNCONSCIOUS the conflicts, phobias, complexes, and other 'Jungian' aspects arise from all of this or some 'FREUDIAN'considerations come to mind ...

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  9. THE INFLUENCES ON MAN & HIS CENTERS are basically THREE: which are classified in several ways within the work and by Mr. Gurdjieff and also elucidated by Mr.Ouspensky. Related to THE LAW OF THREE, as well as THE LAW OF ACCIDENT, the one that concerns us the most in the FOURTH WAY is that of INFLUENCE C, which,apparently comes from SCHOOL OR SCHOOLS,about which I shall not discuss here at this time. For those who are trying to contact, locate, find, etc. SCHOOLS of the FOURTH WAY as well as those of others, INFLUENCE C must be,to use a modern parlance here, 'DOWNLOADED' INTO THE MAGNETIC CENTER....that is,when and if INFLUENCE C IS ABSORBED BY MAGNETIC CENTER INTO A CERTAIN POINT IN THAT MAN,HE BECOMES FREE FROM THE LAW OF ACCIDENT...provided his magnetic center works properly, that he maintains it, that he does not leave the WORK OR THE SCHOOL, unless sent out by such with a certain 'authority' that is not 'self-appointed' etc. THIS MEANS THAT THE MAGNETIC CENTER IS REPLACED ENTIRELY BY THE SCHOOL TEACHING & IDEAS...so ask yourselves if this has been the case with any of you who feel drawn to the WORK,etc. or who claim such?

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  10. On a personal, practical basis, one of my interests has been, since very early childhood, BOOKS and, also movies, magazines, reading, etc. etc. In a sense I can tell that this 'center' attracts me to magazine racks and book racks in various stores more than other things and also libraries and bookstores, and so on, Plus I have a fair collection of these things, though not all I once had or read,etc. Others will also experience being drawn to certain people,activities, etc. at times, an almost compulsion at times. Strong intense emotions can also indicate this center.

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  11. LOTZE in the book mentioned here in this blog, discusses between pages 130 to 132,including some material further down this last page, CONSCIOUSNESS, 'WAKING STATE',UNCONSCIOUSNESS, & NORMAL SLEEP...which items and subjects can be found in a slightly different discussion in Mr. Ouspenky's book containing his lectures on THE PSYCHOLOGY OF MAN'S POSSIBLE EVOLUTION. On page 132, section 89, Lotze writes: "From experiments in hypnotism it has been concluded that, by THE COMPLETE EXCLUSION OF EXTERNAL SENSE-STIMULI ,and by THE PREVENTION OF MOTION, the whole spiritual movement becomes so depressed that the WAKING STATE cannot be maintained,but complete unconsciousness takes place..." On page 137,under section 93, LOTZE then considers TEMPERAMENTS,which he puts under the differences,in kind and degree,of the 'excitability' for EXTERNAL IMPRESSIONS...and classifies them in the traditional listing of FOUR TYPES: SANGUINE;PHELGMATIC;CHOLERIC;& MELANCHOLIC...which I shall not discuss further since the readers of this should do their own study and research of these, which indicate that Mr. Ouspensky was abreast of many things and somewhat made use of them in his works when applicable.

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  12. On page 138, LOTZE mentions PHRENOLOGY and on page 133,MESMERISM, topics of which appear in many medical books in the early 20th Century,incidentally, that I have sometimes discussed or mentioned elsewhere, and which, no doubt,interested Mr.Oupsensky along with the subjects of dreams. In the last chapter of LOTZE'S BOOK, entitled, THE REALM OF SOULS, mention is made of another fascinating area that is now studied and researched,'THE SOUL-LIFE OF PLANTS'. Some of you may recall the experiments of BOSE, the Indian Nobel Prize winner and his instruments and inventions which involved plants and their motions,etc. along with other similar studies that came nearer to our present time. Lotze then goes on to 'instinct',intellect, reason,etc. and their relation to animals and man,etc.

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  13. PHRENOLOGY was a system of PSYCHOLOGY based on faculties that had a materialistic base or foundation that led to many researches in the BRAIN. INITIALLY, Phrenology made the brain the CENTER OF THE MIND by locating mental faculties in the BRAIN, which had several areas or seats of the faculties...so that insanity became known as 'the loss of one's faculties' and phrase we still use today, along with 'losing one's mind'. Psychology has since that time gone on to more exacting researches and studies, of course, though controversy still rages about some things and the consequence of technological devices and operations involving brain studies..The shape of the skull led to the belief that the shape determined the faculties or the various organs and that these shaped the brain itself. THE HISTORY OF PHRENOLOGY is most interesting and somehow attracted many famous people until it became, perhaps, too popular and declined, though some aspects of it are in use today by some groups. I shall discuss some of this a bit further, but the material basis of thought, the brain, etc. was a strong contrast to the other Psychology, that of THE SOUL.

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