You should always remember yourself but as you are you have not the force and even cannot remember that you have to remember yourself. The most important thing is to remember yourself. Self-Remembering puts us into a different state of consciousness. In that state of consciousness you cannot do certain things without going to sleep at once and you can see it happening—that is, you can see yourself becoming identified. Or, to put the matter differently, if you do certain things and remember yourself at the same time, you will do them in quite a different way.

Full Self-Remembering is consciousness of real 'I' which stands above all the 'I's artificially created by life in us. Finally, no one can remember themselves unless they feel that there is something higher than themselves. Unless you feel this, your Self-Remembering will always lead you into False Personality.

Now the Work teaches that you have to do certain things which takes the form of not doing certain things as, for example, in general, not identifying—that is, not putting your feeling of 'I' into all your mechanical reactions. So the Work consists for a long time in not doing things, according to the instructions laid down so clearly in this Work on its practical side.

The Work teaches we can awaken, we can remember ourselves, we can change ourselves. How then is all this possible? It is only possible by following what the Work teaches. The Work begins with self-observation whereby gradually we may realize how we are machines and how we react mechanically to everything.

The Work teaches us that we have to go against our mechanicalness and also how this is impossible unless by long observation we can see our mechanicalness. This is the introduction to the Work. A man, a woman, who cannot observe themselves and their mechanical behavior cannot work on themselves. They take their mechanical behavior for granted, being certain that their automatic condemnations, their criticisms, their prejudices, their contempts, and so on, are absolutely right. In short, they take life in the only way they can as long as they do not observe how they take it.

The Work says that you as you are cannot do and that this is one of the things you have to become aware of through self-observation. If you still imagine you can do, if you still think you can always remember and keep your aim, then you will make no room for the Work in yourself and the Work will not be able to help you. You will not feel your inner helplessness. If you begin to feel your inner helplessness in a right way, you will feel the need of the Work to help you.

The Work is about developing the internal side of you so that it is so governed by the power of the Work that you cannot behave badly to anyone in your mind, heart, and soul without feeling a loss of force. We stand between two realities, one given by the senses and the other given by our relationship to Higher Centers. One is external and the other is internal and, I would add, eternal. It has often been said that this Work is to prepare the lower centers for the reception of Higher Centers.

There are three lines of Work: (1) work on oneself, (2) work in regard to relationship to other people in the Work, and (3) finally work that helps the Work in general. The first two lines are really all to do with conscious relationship, which, as I said, is based on mutual understanding through the study of a system such as this Work which enables you to speak to one another in the same language and not in terms of Babel.

A person sitting in this room, appearing just as others, can be in a quite different inner state and experience quite different emotions and thoughts from everyone else and yet show nothing outwardly unusual. Often Mr. Ouspensky emphasized that there were better states of ourselves and that everyone knew it. Asked once what the Work is all about, he said: "It is about reaching a better state of oneself, learning how to, learning what efforts are needed and what to avoid and knowing how to maintain it. Reflect on all the Work-teaching practically, if you have not done so already.”

We must remember that we can do this Work. What would be the good of teaching a system of Work that no one could do? Gurdjieff once said: "All call out in loud voices and say: I can work." We did this and I think we all got force from it. So every one of you say to yourselves sometimes just this phrase: "I can work," because this is what we can do. I can remember myself according to my own level; I can separate from negative emotions according to my own state and my own level; I can stop making internal accounts; I can practice non-identifying; I can stop fantasies; I can stop self-justifying; and so on.

Now let me speak about the next level of Being awaiting you. What for you is the Kingdom of Heaven? What for you is the Conscious Circle of Humanity? It is no good thinking about matters very remote from you. The whole thing is very close to you—in fact, "closer than your neck-vein". Your Kingdom of Heaven, your Conscious Circle of Humanity, is your next level of Being, which lies very close to but very distinct from your present level of Being.

Now we identify through the unobserved petty feelings of ourselves which cause us to make endless internal accounts and build up endless negative systems in us. These negative systems, once formed, are very difficult to deal with. On this level we do everything in a pseudo way, from our self-love, our self-liking, to advance ourselves in some way, to merit praise, and so we are very easily hurt and dejected. Remove this stimulus and we scarcely exist, and may seem to have no objective. This is being a machine. All this basis of self-feeling does not lead far in the Work eventually.

To be taught in this Work about negative emotions is one thing, but as mere knowledge it is useless. It remains theoretical only—in the memory. You have to apply the knowledge to yourself and this is only possible through observing yourself. Unless you connect the knowledge of this Work with Self-Observation, nothing can happen to you. The Work will remain purely theoretical and not practical. The function of Self-Observation, therefore, is something that can be understood quite logically. Its object is clear.

As the Work is received with the understanding, it moves inwards in centers so that its truths are seen internally as truths. So does your attitude to the Work enlarge itself and you receive more force from your attitude. A small and narrow attitude to the Work can give only a superficial relation to it. The strength behind the Work from its foundations cannot communicate itself through small and exacting 'I's. Your own state of Being holds you up. Negative 'I's stand in the way.

When we are introduced to the Work and after many years begin to feel there may be something in it, we are close to the possibility of acting from the Work-ideas instead of those ideas that have been laid down in us automatically, and a person awakening to the Work and evaluating it will begin to think in a new way—that is, to undergo metanoia.

Now things exist and have power over us because we are not properly conscious of them. The more unconscious a thing, the more power it exerts on us and the more mechanical our behaviour. To bring a thing up into the light of Consciousness is to rob it of its power. For this, long self-observation is needed and much patience with oneself. We observe—but not fully. Full self-observation takes time—years—one life-time perhaps.

If a person is not conscious of the fact that he or she speaks or acts in a certain way, can that person change it? No—it is quite clear that it is impossible. Now suppose you point out to the person that he or she speaks or behaves in this particular way— what will happen? Most likely you will be accused of unfairness. Why? Because the person concerned has no idea that it is true. The matter is not conscious to the person's mind. It is unconscious.

Notice that to really want is to be independent of local, temporary, outside criticism. False Personality depends on what others think of you—that is, an audience. Real aim needs no audience. It is deeper, more genuine, essential. If you make an aim in the Work—as, for instance, not to feel always this background of tears, discontent, of being not appreciated— which is one form of inner accounting—then, if you really want not to have it, after some time it will be given you not to have it—usually in short flashes.

Remember that the Work is not by addition to what you are, but by transformation of what you are. The Work is to change you, not to add something to you as you are, but to change completely what you are now. You cannot do this Work and remain the same. You cannot add the new wine to the old bottle of yourself. Ask yourselves, some of you, have you really changed at all, and do you really wish to change yourself? Or are you full of self-merit? And if you wish to change, what is it you have to change, from what you understand of the teaching of the Work?

Now in this Work, as it was once taught, we learn that before we can have something we must earn the cash to pay for it. In this Work we pay beforehand. How? By working on the Three Lines of Work—work on yourself, work in connection with others, and work for the Work itself. What is work on yourself? It is, in my case, work to make Dr. Nicoll passive. What is work with others ? It is exactly the magic power of external considering. What is work for the Work itself? It is to see, to understand, what we are trying to do, what direction is being given, what will help the Work itself.