The Subtle Art of Forgetting Oneself to Remember

One must try to remember oneself—at least once a day, and deliberately. To give ourselves this shock, the First Conscious Shock, is a thing we can try to do. It is possible. But we have no time. There is always the roar of things, the torrent of thoughts and worries. There is always something to worry about.

Yet Self-Remembering is not going against the flood-stream of inner and outer things. It is raising oneself—not contending. Contending is another kind of effort. Self- Remembering is a non-identifying with oneself—for an instant—as if one were merely acting and had forgotten. When one remembers oneself one forgets oneself. One is no longer in a picture. However it is possible to form a picture of oneself remembering oneself. Just notice here how you work and what is the quality of your effort.

Maurice Nicoll, “Pictures and Imagination" in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 2, p. 461)