A collection of notes on Wisdom.

The end of the cycle is that of the independent, clear-minded, all-seeing Child. That is the level known as wisdom.

To be a philosopher is not merely to have subtle thoughts, but so to love wisdom as to live according to its dictates, a life of simplicity, independence, magnanimity, and trust.

five rings

• Think of what is right and true.
• Practice and cultivate the sciences.
• Become acquainted with the arts.
• Know the principles of the crafts.
• Understand the harm and benefit in every thing.
• Work to see every thing clearly.
• Pay attention to subtleties.
• Be careful even in small matters.
• Don't do anything useless.

Gurdjieff's self-remembering

Put simply, one is to remember themselves as much as possible. A portion of your conscious action should be of being conscious of being conscious of being. Self-remembering and being-present are not the same, though abstractly they serve the same purpose. When one becomes overly emotional, overly attached, or identified with some idea of brand to the extent of a personal automatism, they have lost their self - they have forgotten themselves.

When the Hyperpresent begins to attend to your reality, begins to barrage you with the minute and incessant comings-and-goings of modernity, do not let your self be pulled by that which you never asked for in the first place. Remember to self-remember. Remember yourself, focus on being. Whether or not there is an emotion, a thought, a presence, an analysis, there is still something observing, and that which is observing you should turn your attention towards.

A collection of notes in regard to Action.

Ahimsa, or Cause no injury, do no harm, is a Buddhist concept referred to as nonviolence, and it applies to all living beings — including all animals. Also, the limits of non-violence.

• Control of actions and speech to avoid unwholesome actions.
• Effort to work as much as possible for the good of others, even at the risk of one's life.
• Decision to devote oneself to beneficial actions and to remain steadfast on it.
• Maintaining a state of mind turned to the happiness of others, to practise love for all beings without exception.
• Development of knowledge and understanding through study and analytical reflection. To teach knowledge to others. To use one's wisdom for a maximum of benefits.
• You may compete to the full extent of your capabilities, but you may not hunt down your competitors.
• The creatures who act as though they belong to the world follow the peace-keeping law, they give the creatures around them a chance to grow toward watever it's possible for them to become. That's how man came into being, the australopithecus didn't imagine that the world belonged to them, so they let him live and grow.
• You must absolutely and forever relinquish the idea that you know who should live and who should die on this planet.

What I tell my students, when they feel singularly unfortunate to be born in this moment, is this is your moment, the moment your soul showed up incarnate. In this world. It is an astonishing moment to be alive. You could have been born into a lull — instead you were born into a tipping point. It’s your one life and you’ve entered it at a flexion point — a point when everything you do matters. How often in history does a soul get to live in such an era? Don’t waste it. Show up for it. With everything you’ve got.

Some will invent, some will organize, some will witness, some will grieve, some will console. Live this life now. Even if in fury and grief, live it. You don’t want to die not having lived. It’s incredibly easy to find a way around experience rather than through it. But you will have cheated yourself out of your only possession: your life. You are here now. Now is the time to live fully, not hide, not escape.

Types of Fun

Into which category a given experience falls, of course, is highly subjective and highly subject to shifts (particularly from III to II) born of the rosy reflections afforded us by the passage of time. Which is probably a good thing. After all, as alpinists and mothers both know: It doesn’t have to be “fun” to be fun.

• Type I fun: Type 1 fun is enjoyable while it’s happening. Also known as, simply, fun. Good food, powder skiing, margaritas.
• Type II fun: is miserable while it’s happening, but fun in retrospect. It usually begins with the best intentions, and then things get carried away. Riding your bicycle across the country. Doing an ultramarathon. Working out till you puke, and, usually, ice and alpine climbing.
• Type III fun: is not fun at all. Not even in retrospect. Afterward, you think, “What in the hell was I doing? If I ever come up with another idea that stupid, somebody slap some sense into me.” Many alpine climbs. Failed relationships that lacked Type I fun. Offwidths. Writing a book.

A collection of notes in regard to Inaction.

Wu Wei means without doing, causing, or making. It flows like water, reflects like a mirror, and responds like an echo.

inaction wisdom

• Establishment of an always perfect tolerance, irrespective of the actions and words of others towards oneself.
• Truthfulness (to say only what is right).
• Rejection of hatred and worship. Not to follow any particular idea. Maintaining the mind in equanimity.

What is joy? Joy is the feeling of passing from a lesser to a greater perfection. Joy is the feeling that we are advancing towards happiness. What is happiness? Happiness is the state of the soul that feels itself free of all outside servitudes and feels itself in perfect accord with itself.

"Silence", it has been said by one writer, "is a virtue which renders us agreeable to our fellow-creatures."