Sunday, May 13, 2012

Remorse, Self-Judgment and Conscience



Remorse, Self-Judgment and Conscience

As students we are trying to allow conscience to speak to us. 
This means being willing to suffer its "gnawings" which are 
not easy to bear. When it does get touched, it brings this 
"heart rending" emotion; a sorrow that is positive and loving 
and that demands action of some kind. It brings an energy that 
can be a force for Work.

The energy of the feeling is quite different from self judgement 
and the guilt that goes with it. Self judgement is basically negative 
and leads one away from right work. It drains one. But remorse 
fills  one with a tender bitter sweet energy; a longing directed to
putting something right to the best of one's ability. The gnawings
go on until something is done, which is why people in general can't 
bear the feeling and buffer it till it dies down. Even if one can't 
immediately put something right through external actions, still the 
deep feeling has great value in itself if experienced without negativity.

Mr Gurdjieff spoke often of remorse of conscience to his students and 
of how essential the process is as a purifier of being. He said 
the principle is the same on many levels--when something higher 
touches something lower--energy is released-- and this is remorse. 
It can be on a planetary scale such as when a higher world touches 
a lower one or on another level a teacher being in contact with a 
student in a certain way. Inside us its the soul or observing I seeing 
and feeling the gap between what we are in that highest place and the 
energy of the lower manifestations, when we have identified with them.


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