P. D. Ouspensky
Russian esotericist, philosopher, and chief literary heir of G. I. Gurdjieff — the man whose 1949 In Search of the Miraculous became the canonical written record of Gurdjieff's oral teaching of the Fourth Way, and whose own books Tertium Organum (1912), A New Model of the Universe (1931), and The Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution (1950) developed an independent line of esoteric philosophy alongside the Work. Born 1878 in Moscow, Ouspensky encountered Gurdjieff in 1915, worked closely with him until their split in 1924, then taught his own groups in London for the rest of his life. He died in 1947, two years before In Search of the Miraculous was published. Through that book — and through his pupils, who include Maurice Nicoll, Rodney Collin, and Lord Pentland — Ouspensky became one of the principal channels through which Fourth Way teaching reached the English-speaking world.
115
quotes in library
Quotes by P. D. Ouspensky
115 quotes“Eternal recurrence is one possible understanding of higher time.”
recurrenceA New Model of the Universe
“That this same life repeats again and again, with subtle variation.”
repetitionA New Model of the Universe
“And that conscious work is the only way to escape this circle.”
consciousA New Model of the Universe
“This is the teaching of Pythagoras and the ancients.”
pythagorasA New Model of the Universe
“It survives in the Fourth Way under a different language.”
fourth-wayA New Model of the Universe
“What we call 'I' is not one but many.”
IThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“Every thought, every mood, every desire, every sensation says 'I.'”
thoughtThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“And in each case it seems to be taken for granted that this 'I' belongs to the whole.”
IThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“This is the chief feature of our being.”
featureThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“In place of one permanent and unchangeable I, there is a multitude of small, separate I's, very often quite unknown to one another.”
IThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“Often hostile to one another. Often working against one another.”
IThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“This explains why a man so often promises something and so often fails to do it.”
promiseThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“The I that promised is not the I that has to deliver.”
promiseThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“To create a real I requires unifying the small I's around a center.”
IThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“That center is what the Work aims to develop.”
centerThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“Without this center, change is impossible.”
centerThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“With it, real change becomes possible.”
centerThe Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution
“Identification is the chief obstacle to consciousness.”
identificationThe Fourth Way
“Man cannot be saved or changed by any external force.”
salvationIn Search of the Miraculous
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