Customer Reviews

Conscience: The Search for Truth (Arkana)

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If you already have Ouspensky's main work books this book, Conscience, is still worth acquiring. It covers the same subjects yet does it in a slightly different way. I actually found Conscience to be more helpful when I was first learning the work than some of the larger books.

There are 5 chapters:

1. Memory (Memory, Self-Remembering, Recurrence)
2. Surface Personality (A Study of Imaginary Man)
3. Self-Will (On Controlling Self-Will for Growth of Real Will)
4. Negative Emotions (no subtitle)
5. Notes on Work (no subtitle)

Each was originally a separately published essay. It's a helpful presentation because it's intentionally designed to focused in a more concentrated way on each of the central work subjects presented (as opposed to the content of, say, the Fourth Way). My copy gave me alot in my initial study (and doing) of the work ideas, practices, and goals...

In Conscience the Search for Truth, P.D.Ouspensky gives us an insight into memory and what we are being influenced by and what to do about it. He uses the planets as influences, and so far it seems to be true, at least in my married life. The idea of multiple "I's" in me was an easy one for me to believe with only a little hindsight, thinking back to times I have thought and written things.
I find Ouspensky's and Gudjieff's thinking strangely unique. They have tapped into God's creative rays and brought us The Fourth Way and Conscience the Search for Truth. It is a insight into the Eastern belief system and it is a way for developing conscious awareness. Most books are fairy tales, biographies, autobiographies, Do-it-yourself, romance, science fiction and fiction. Rare it is to find books of psychology for the masses and do-it-yourself religion. My understanding is that Gurdjieff was a Sufi or at least most of his teachings included the Sufi religion in it's deepest teachings. I don't know whether to include the occult here or not. There are stories about Gurdjieff's abilities one is that he could change the look of his face at will.
The book is worthy of a read, at least once or the recommended 3 times. When reading it, try to become some of the awareness. Meditation is also recommended by Mr. Ouspensky. Apparently he knew how to meditate with techniques and in positions. He Took a long time to write the books he wrote, going over and over the text, rewriting much of it. He was a perfectionist who was never satisfied with what he did, he had to keep on going over it. As Mr. Ouspensky grew in consciousness so did the books grow in size and volume.