Other People
- smcculley
- May 25, 2024
- 1 min read
Other People
"The single greatest technique for work on Self is to embrace the unpleasant manifestations of others without resentment, expressions of displeasure, or the demand for intelligence, reason, justice or conscience on the part of others. Embrace silently and cheerfully and suffer in the stew pot of tension."
-E. J. Gold
"If everyone were nice and pleasant I would have no opportunity for practical training; so I should be glad to have people to practice on." -Gurdjieff
Other people provide a tremendous opportunity for practical work on emotional centre.
The ‘horse’ (emotional centre), as we find it, simply reacts habitually to other people. Gurdjieff stated that a shock from the outside causes the horse to bolt, dragging the carriage (body) and driver (mind) after it, careening and racing, ultimately winding up in a ditch.
Can you see examples in your own life? What goes on inside you when someone is rude to you or insulting? Do your spouse or coworkers have any habits that routinely irritate you?
We don't have to look very hard. Other people provide plenty of useful friction for our work, friction which we would not intentionally subject ourselves to.
What do you do with this friction?
Image: An Allegory of Passion, by Hans Holbein the Younger
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