The Next Level of Being: Closer Than the Neck-Vein

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.

That is why it is such a good thing to work on yourself. That is why once you begin to see this you feel that you have something that no one will ever take away from you. You begin to understand what the Work is about, what the Kingdom of Heaven is about, what the Conscious Circle of Humanity is about, on your own scale. Each one of you can become a little more conscious than you are. Each one of you, whether man or woman, can live a little more consciously than you do. Each one of you can feel the force of the Work entering you in the ordinary affairs of the day. You can do this Work, remember. You cannot do in life, but you can do this Work.

Maurice Nicoll, "On Changing Our Level of Being" in Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky (Vol. 2, p. 728-729)