We do not remember ourselves

It is necessary to realize that we do not remember ourselves. Only by sincere self-observation over a time can we begin to acknowledge that we do not remember ourselves. This is the starting point of being able to remember oneself. And this, in turn, is the starting point of being able to do.

“Self-Remembering,” said Mr. Ouspensky on one occasion, “means having an element of will-control. It is an act of doing. It is not dreaming of doing, but an action. At first it takes force because it is using something we are not accustomed to use. But later on it gives force.” He added: “Self-Remembering is action because it is not only self-awareness, but is the capacity to do what you want to do—at first on a small scale, as, for example, to control yourself in a fit of temper or to behave differently on some occasion when, mechanically, you would have behaved as you always do.”

Maurice Nicoll, “Note on Self-Remembering and Self-Acknowledgement” in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 3, p. 1183).