L thought he usually listened when he was talking to people, so the trigger did not occur much. Also he worked alone, and did not have much conversation. When it did happen, he found the CHALLENGE very salutary. Because the world was quite absurd, and our position in it, as mortals and fitting within society. It could be looked at as a ridiculous, and absurd thing, full of fantasy and imagination, which was the main thing, but it was good to be aware that things were not as rigid, predictable and sensible as might be thought.
O had read the Challenge several times, but never caught herself not listening.
Z was like L, he tended to listen. Even without that aspect, it was good to have a reason to breath. He had not been able to understand the reference to absurdity, apart from a general sense of absurdity, so he had not been able to pick out what was behind the association between that and coming to find yourself not listening.
N said that, like most people, he was listening a lot of the time, and part of his professional life was very much listening, but he had been in a few meetings during the month with a lot of Israelis, and he did not speak Hebrew. They were all talking amongst themselves, and they veered off into talking in Hebrew. That was a time when he experienced the absurdity situation because he had not even been able to follow the language, and some of the things that were being said were absurd, when he did understand what they were saying. There was then a kind of disconnection with the people there when that happened, so he supposed there had been some absurdity inherent in the situation, but he had not sensed any philosophical absurdity per se.
When T was totally focused on something, she sometimes became aware, suddenly, that someone was talking to her. She had not thought deeply about the absurdity of it, though it may have wandered in and wandered out of her mind. When she remembered to breath after becoming aware of not listening, it was a huge relief, so she had enjoyed that bit of it. She found it difficult connecting up all the bits of the challenge at the same moment, and that was the challenge.
T asked if this were about the priorities of people who choose to get wealth, not acknowledging the significance of human life, that they kill it before it has arrived on the planet. Z asked if the text were not describing the conditions which could produce someone of great influence but undesirable qualities.
| Once a day, when you observe that you are not listening to somebody you are in conversation with, notice the absurdity of everything, take a conscious breath, hold your breath for a moment, and then take a slightly longer outbreath. |
O had read the Challenge several times, but never caught herself not listening.
Z was like L, he tended to listen. Even without that aspect, it was good to have a reason to breath. He had not been able to understand the reference to absurdity, apart from a general sense of absurdity, so he had not been able to pick out what was behind the association between that and coming to find yourself not listening.
N said that, like most people, he was listening a lot of the time, and part of his professional life was very much listening, but he had been in a few meetings during the month with a lot of Israelis, and he did not speak Hebrew. They were all talking amongst themselves, and they veered off into talking in Hebrew. That was a time when he experienced the absurdity situation because he had not even been able to follow the language, and some of the things that were being said were absurd, when he did understand what they were saying. There was then a kind of disconnection with the people there when that happened, so he supposed there had been some absurdity inherent in the situation, but he had not sensed any philosophical absurdity per se.
When T was totally focused on something, she sometimes became aware, suddenly, that someone was talking to her. She had not thought deeply about the absurdity of it, though it may have wandered in and wandered out of her mind. When she remembered to breath after becoming aware of not listening, it was a huge relief, so she had enjoyed that bit of it. She found it difficult connecting up all the bits of the challenge at the same moment, and that was the challenge.
During the time allocated for responses, there was discussion on a wide variety of subjects, but none on specific instances of doing the challenge.
The reading continued from Chapter 28 of Beelzebub's Tales.
The reading continued from Chapter 28 of Beelzebub's Tales.
The mentioned maleficent "invention", or as they themselves, that is, the contemporary terrestrial learned beings, name such an invention of a learned being there of "new formation", a "composition", or even a "creation", was actualized, as I have already told you, two or more centuries before the time when, during my fifth sojourn there, I first reached the city of Babylon, where partly by coercion and partly voluntarily, learned beings had been assembled from the surface of almost the whole of the planet.
O said this paragraph expresses a link to Babylon, and implies that the particular psychological state was devoid of objective conscience, though they were very learned. L thought Gurdjieff linked the text to the legend of the Tower of Babylon.
... For his elderly and very rich parents he was what is called a "first-born", for although the blending of their Exioëharies had been many times actualized between them before him, yet, as I found out, they, being deeply engaged in the business of acquiring riches and not wishing to have any hindrance for this, had recourse at each actualizing of this sacred blending to what is called ‘Toosy,’ or, as your contemporary favorites express themselves, ‘abortion.’
T asked if this were about the priorities of people who choose to get wealth, not acknowledging the significance of human life, that they kill it before it has arrived on the planet. Z asked if the text were not describing the conditions which could produce someone of great influence but undesirable qualities.
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