MARCH 23 — GEORGE GURDJIEFF QUOTES
'I WISH THE RESULT OF THIS SUFFERING TO BE MY OWN FOR BEING'
Katie said [to Gurdjieff] she had found out things about herself in the exercise that she had not known before and she thought it was because he had deprived her of cigarettes.
He said, "Then you already know that a million dollars not buy what you find out from not having just one cigarette. You must now put the wish for cigarettes into your wish for being. And this is useful for all of you. Say four times daily, 'I wish the result of this suffering to be my own for being'."
~ "Gurdjieff and the Women of the Rope"
...
HE HASN'T YET DRUNK ANY ALCOHOL. ALCOHOL OPENS, IT SHOWS MANY ASPECTS OF YOUR INTERIOR; IT IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR KNOWING SOMEONE
[While the man is writing his question, Mr. Gurdjieff asks someone to take the seat of a second person who is in the kitchen. That person comes back from the kitchen, and sits behind Mr. Gurdjieff who asks a third person to change places with him.]
Gurdjieff: You understand, I do not know him yet. If he asks a question and he is not facing me, I do not see his face and I cannot make an answer that will be subjectively good for him. It is a rule that has not yet been formulated. Here it is: new people should sit here [in front]. For example, he hasn't yet drunk any alcohol. Alcohol opens, it shows [me] many aspects of your interior; it is very important for knowing someone.