Lost Coin Class Notes for 9/11/07

Meeting With Remarkable Men

Gurdjieff never made it easy to understand what he has learned.  When people are speaking a non-native language they sound "dumber".  The way you joke in another culture is different.  G. had group of skillful, literary translators.

"I Am"

There are different levels of states.  There is a state called "sleep", and another state called "waking sleep".  The "I am" exercise helps bring us out of waking sleep.

We forget to do the "I Am" because we're mechanical.  We can set mind to do "I Am" all you want, but we end up only doing it sometimes.  We don't do what we will ourselves to do, we do what we're conditioned to do.

We should keep the "I Am" even as new exercises are assigned.  If we just did this exercise for 10-20 years, life would be very different. Understanding increases when you do "I Am".  Then you will develop emotional feeling after noticing that the exercise generates positive results.  Keep doing it & it will in time divide you in a certain way where you recognize that it is your real life even if you're not there all the time.

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Famous Zen Koan - Rinzai is sweeping.  Another monk says "I see you're hard at it".  Rinzai replies "You should know that there is another one who is not hard at it."  Monk replies "So are there 2 moons?" (2 realities). Rinzai's answer is he just holds up the broom.  He's saying there is just this in front of you...1, 2, or whatever.

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With "I Am", suddenly you are there, but a lot is gone.  Fear, calculating, anger is gone...you just are where you are.

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Overview of first chapters of "Meetings With Remarkable Men" First father, then priest gave early education to Gurdjieff.  He had a traditional religious education & learned form family.  Believed to have been trained to be a priest and a doctor.

3rd chapter starts to get interesting.  Very end Bogachevsky says a simple thing: you need to develop conscience.  Until then Christian "Do unto others" is fine.  Read carefully it talks about how morality is completely relative.

Typically it is meant as when someone is sick bring them cupcakes, call mom once a week, etc. but he went deeper with conscience.

It's different to do unto others as you REALLY would like them to do, not what you think you want them to do. Need to make a study of what you really want.

Start by practicing not doing to others what you don't want others to do to you.

Looking for a deeper meaning, Jesus was a very advanced being, and meant it on a deeper level that most assume.

Before we can find out what is good for others, we need to know what negativity is.

Task: Watch your negative emotions in interactions w/ others.  Most uncomfortable discussions starts with one person not feeling good and bringing it into the conversation.  If there is a pattern in topics that lead to arguments, perhaps someone has a problem with that issue, or that subject has been designated as a "combat area".

The premise of what we do in general is not to find positive in situation or to analyze, just use consciousness.

Do unto others as you want them to do, not what you think they want you to do.

Internal considering is opposite.  Doing what others want you to do so they don't get mad at you is internal considering, not "doing unto others..."

There is no rule in "Doing unto tohers." You're the rule - that is what conscience is.

Every moment of the day you are doing unto others.  Every once in awhile someone will surprise you out of the blue saying that you've been doing unto them for months.

State is not about figuring out.  Go to "I Am".  When you have to figure out something about someone else, don't try to figure it out w/ intellect, look into yourself & state for answer.

Once you have a state, that intellection that comes out of that state is truth.

Words of accomplished teachers like Jesus & Buddha is a result of the state they achieved before saying the words, not the other way around.

Dogen quote: The Self's body of truth as it is, is empty sky.  In response to things, forms appear.  Thus is the moon in water.  Thusness of "Thus is the moon in water" is the moon in water.  It is water thusness, moon thusness, thusness within, within thusness.  "Thus" does not mean "like something".  "Thus" means "as it is".

This is a product of mind in a different state, not different intellection. Truth is found in things being exactly as they are.

Trust the state.
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In class exercise

Going around group we take turns giving 1 negative experience that recurs with others.

See the negative situations that you see yourself in over and over, it's mechanical.

The purpose of this group it a meticulous study of sleep.  We to exercises to wake up so we can compare different states.  it should scare you to results that you didn't want to create caused by your mechanical ways.

The more you wake up to others the less harmful karma you create.  The more you understand yourself, the more you understand humanity.

Task repeated: Look at negativity in relation to others.  "I Am" should be
ongoing.

I'm OK, You're OK Levels:
   1. I'm not ok but you're ok.
   2. I'm ok but you're not ok.
   3. I'm ok & you're ok.
   4. I'm not ok & you're not ok, and that's ok.

Need the 4th level, because while operating on the 3rd level it's too easy for people to fall out of 3 and switch to 2.

With this understanding you create less negative experiences, makes you feel
like part of the human race.  Without that you can't have warmth or love.
