G.I.Gurdjieff

For instance, let us imagine that I am in a meeting with two people, whom we shall call M. and K. We live together. M. called me a fool—I am offended. K. gave me a scornful look—I am offended. I consider. I am hurt and shall not calm down and come to myself for a long time.

All people are affected like this. We have similar experiences all the time. One experience subsides, but no sooner has it subsided than another of the same nature starts. Our machine is so arranged that there are not separate places where different things can be experienced simultaneously. We have only one place for our psychic experiences. So if this place is occupied with experiences like these, there can be no question of our having the experiences we desire. And if certain attainments or liberations are supposed to bring us to certain experiences, they will not do so if things remain as they are.

Man is subject to many influences, which can be divided into two categories. First, those that result from chemical and physical causes, and second, those that are associative in origin and are a result of our conditioning.

To free oneself of chemico-physical influences, one has to be passive.