Magic
There is only one kind of magic and it is 'doing'.
- G.I. Gurdjieff
- G.I. Gurdjieff
posted by Tapio Kotkavuori at Friday, November 03, 2006
Life is a Moment. Remember Yourself.
Notes from the Five Floors of the House of Consciousness.
posted by Tapio Kotkavuori at Friday, November 03, 2006
11 Comments:
What is the meaning of this quote?
I don't understand it.
How true. “In the sweat of thy brow shall you eat your bread.” So says The Bible. Only it talks about eating it, not making it. Your bread, I mean. On the other hand, if you never sweat, or move your ass around, your own fat will suffocate you, your mind cease working and you gonna sink into the depths of despair. Believe me, I have seen them… once or twice.
Could it just mean "doing your (own) thing", näin arkikielellä ilmaistuna. Or getting the job done, not just talking /thinking bout it.
And it's a hard work....::)):):)
Read Ouspensky's Psychology of Man's Possible Evolution if you want to understand what "doing" means.
Hmm...
How about magic of "being", e.g. being mortal, being in love, being a man or a woman, being a shaman, being yourself, being present, being awake?
To my best recollection it is essential to realize that "we cannot do". So...
But that quote goes with the definition of magic as "a willed change", meaning that something is really transformed (or brought into being), not just superficial change from one condition to another, doesn't it?
But then again, "we have no will". Hard stuff. Puts things in perspective, though.
MR, what do you mean "we have no will"? What is the force that drives us, directing the focus of our minds? What do you call it? I call it Will.
I'd say there's a balance between 'being' and 'doing'. 'Doing' changes 'Being'.
I was just recalling what the author in question (Gurdjieff, that is) wrote about these things. As propably someone else here knows better than me, according to Gurdjieff man has no will in his present, machinelike state, and therefore cannot 'do'.
Whatever you think of Gurdjieff, I personally think that it's worth considering at least. To what extent one really is able to change things meaningfully, not just making some superficial adjustments or simply fooling oneself?
Anyway, I'd rather not take as extreme view as G. There are different degrees to it, I think. It depends on one's capacity. And I guess that even Gurdjieff didn't see it in such a sharp contrast (that either you can 'do' or you don't). Or did he? I'm no expert in these things.
I don't actually see what there is to understand? I'd tend to take the sentence quite literally.
Finally something here I can truly agree on.
Quit playing with candles and chants (etc. trying to do magic tricks), and go out and actually DO stuff. Just do, things get done by making them happen by doing things, not thinking about them.
And it can truly be magical what a person can accomplish with action/doing.
But who asked me anything? Luckily no one.
And don't bother getting offended (I'm confident any of you won't) by my annoyed realism, I'm just not a religious person.
Ymmärtäisin tämän näin, että kaikki kynttilöiden polttamiset ja messuamiset (yms. "taikomiset") voisi unohtaa ja vaan mennä ja tehdä asioita.
Siis ensisijaisesti ei tule mieleen, että tuota lausahdusta tarvitsisi alkaa tulkitsemaan mitenkään syvällisesti tai oikeastaan lainkaan, vaan ottaa se niinkuin kirjaimellisesti sanotaan: siinä on ainoa oikea magia, mitä voikaan saada aikaan kun vaan tekee/toimii
(eikä pohdiskele ja kiertele tms, sotkeudu prosessiin, vaan on prosessi - ns.)
Mutta onneksi kukaan ei minulta kysynytkään mitään! Enkä minä olekaan uskonnollisesti suuntautunut. Epäilemättä jollekin toiselle magian harjoitus on konkreettista tekemistä (eikä siis toisinpäin, eli konkreettinen tekeminen lähes magiaa).
The magic of Being is in that you are what you Do.
To nildro_hainroo: Of course you cannot expect everything to happen just because you wish to make it happen via performing a ritual, but then again Doing a ritual is Doing just as much as Doing anything else. If your experience shows you, and you feel like that, performing a ritual doesn't help you accomplish anything, then certainly you should do things without rituals. The nature and function of rituals is often largely misunderstood by both, those who do not perform them, and those who do.
Korpinsilmä, I guess it depends on what you're trying to achieve by a ritual, if doing it is "Doing just as much as Doing anything else".
It seems to me people often distract themselves with secondary actions to avoid actually doing/acting on something, because it's too hard to face the actual problem/subject/project/?
They might just be too scared to, or not ready to yet, or whatever.
But I guess using a ritual to prepare yourself for actual change/action/doing can be helpfull.
You see, the other thing is, that I often feel like people who speak of the usage of magic, are just talking of simple psychological mechanisms and/or making use of their subconscious processes.
So thinking of these things as magic seems slightly impractical (=distracting/off-focusing) to me. But that's just me.
Surely you are right when you say rituals are often misunderstood by both those who don't perform them and those who do.
I admit my ignorance, and of being one of the "don'ts".
Another thing altogether is the fact that most people follow some sort of everyday "rituals" in their lives, be they helpfull or harmfull (psychologically or more directly practically). Besides really I, as an obsessive compulsive individual, shouldn't be saying anything about rituals.
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