Conscious Impressions: Transforming Automatic Reactions

Now when you take in impressions voluntarily the associative paths they follow are different from the paths followed when you take in impressions involuntarily. In this Work we gradually learn to take in impressions more and more consciously—-that is, to take in impressions voluntarily.

What does this mean? Voluntarily means this: "I see myself taking in this impression in this way and notice what response it makes."  If you are in that state something is added to your way of living. You realize you need not take things as you always have taken things. This is the First Conscious Shock.

Maurice Nicoll, “Intelligence and Instinct" in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 3, p. 1054)