P D Ouspensky Quotes

47 quotes in 743 categories

• The number of laws is constantly growing in all countries and, owing to this, what is called crime is very often not a crime at…
• You can understand other people only as much as you understand yourself and only on the level of your own being. This means you can…
• To remember oneself means the same thing as to be aware of oneself - I am. It is not a function, not thinking, not feeling;…
• Man has no permanent and unchangeable I. Every thought, every mood, every desire, every sensation says "I." And in each case it seems to be…
• Ideas by themselves cannot produce change of being; your effort must go in the right direction, and one must correspond to the other.
• The greatest barrier to consciousness is the belief that one is already conscious.
• When a man begins to know himself a little he will see in himself many things that are bound to horrify him. So long as…
• Possibly the most interesting first impression of my life came from the world of dreams.
• Our ancestors were very rich and eminent people, and they left us an enormous inheritance, which we have completely forgotten, especially since the time when…
• I've found that the chief difficulty for most people was to realize that they had really heard new things: that is things that they had…
• Think about death. You do not know how much time remains to you. And remember that if you do not become different, everything will be…
• Seek the path, do not seek attainment, seek for the path within yourself. Do not expect to hear the truth from others, nor to see…
• I had come to the conclusion a long time ago that there was no escape from the labyrinth of contradictions in which we live except…
• If a man gives way to all his desires, or panders to them, there will be no inner struggle in him, no 'friction,' no fire.…
• Desire is when you do what you want, will is when you can do what you do not want.
• Many things are mechanical and should remain mechanical. But mechanical thoughts, mechanical feelings—that is what has to be studied and can and should be changed.…
• Psychology is sometimes called a new science. This is quite wrong. Psychology is, perhaps, the oldest science, and, unfortunately, in its most essential features a…
• We often think we express negative emotions, not because we cannot help it, but because we should express them.
• If you want to remember yourself, the best thing is not to think about yourself. As long as you think about yourself, you will not…
• In all living nature (and perhaps also in that which we consider as dead) love is the motive force which drives the creative activity in…

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