Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky. Volume 2
The doctrine of 'I's is the most important part of the psychological
teaching of this Work. Unless a person begins to see that he is not one
he can never be otherwise than completely identified with himself. Just
think what this means. I repeat that unless a person begins to see that
he is not one but many different 'I's he cannot be otherwise than completely
identified with himself in everything that he does and thinks and
feels. Now such a man cannot evolve. Being fixed to himself as he is,
he cannot separate himself from himself. When you speak to a man like
this he is very surprised when he is told to observe himself and he is
quite incapable of understanding what it means.
Now all evolution in the Work-sense depends on a certain number of
'I's moving into new positions and gradually gaining an increasing
control over the remaining 'I's. If a man were just one and the same
'I' it would be impossible of course for this to happen.
The new position
into which these 'I's, upon which a person's evolution depends, have
to move, is towards a more central position in the person and at the same
time, if it is possible to explain it, they must have a special place, they
cannot be on the same level as the other 'I's, they must be given a
certain rank, a certain distinction, or, as the Work puts it, a certain
valuation—otherwise immediately a man gets immersed in the affairs
of life, making money, etc. these 'I's will all get scattered and in a short
time a man will not know what on earth this Work is about, even if he
caught some glimpse of it before. Of course this depends on the kind
of man he is.