Gurdjieff left these commandments to his daughter before he passed away. George Ivanovich Gurdjieff was a 20th Century mystic who brought insight to psychology, philosophy, science and ancient knowledge. He also introduced the Enneagram to the West. I scan these commandments to begin my day. Gurdieff calls us to “self remembering”. These commandments are a great beginning…and middle…and well, also the rest of it!
1. Be attentive of yourself, be conscious every moment about what you think, feel, desire, and do.
2. Always finish what you’ve started.
3. Do what you’re doing your best.
4. Do not keep doing anything that may harm you eventually.
5. Develop your generosity without any witnesses.
6. Treat every person as if they were close relatives.
7. Organize whatever you’ve disorganized.
8. Learn to receive. Be grateful for every gift.
9. Cease to define yourself.
10. Do not lie nor steal, if you do you steal and lie to yourself.
11. Help people without making them dependent of you.
12. Do not wish to be imitated.
13. Make plans for work and stick to them.
14. Do not take up too much space.
15. Do not make unnecessary noises or gestures.
16. Develop faith in you.
17. Do not let yourself be intimidated by strong personalities.
18. Do not try to own anything or anyone.
19. Share equally.
20. Do not seduce.
21. Eat and sleep strictly what is necessary.
22. Do not speak about your personal troubles.
23. Do not make judgments or criticisms when you’re unaware of most of the facts.
24. Do not establish unnecessary friendships.
25. Do not follow trends.
26. Do not sell yourself.
27. Respect the contracts that you’ve signed.
28. Be punctual.
29. Do not envy the success of anyone else.
30. Speak only what’s necessary.
31. Do not think about the economical benefits that your work might bring you.
32. Never threaten.
33. Keep your promises.
34. In a discussion, put yourself in the position of the others.
35. Admit that someone exceeds you.
36. Do not eliminate, but transform.
37. Defeat your fears, each of them is a desire that is camouflaged.
38. Help others to help themselves.
39. Defeat your antipathies and approach the people you wish to reject.
40. Do not act in reaction to what they say good or bad about you.
41. Turn your pride into dignity.
42. Turn your rage into creativity.
43. Turn your greed into respect for beauty.
44. Turn your envy into admiration to the value of others.
45. Turn your hate into charity.
46. Do not praise or insult yourself.
47. Treat what is not yours like it belonged to you.
48. Do not complain.
49. Develop your imagination.
50. Do not give orders for the pleasure of being obeyed.
51. Pay the services that you’re given.
52. Do not make propaganda of your work and ideas.
53. Do not try to arouse emotions in others towards you such as piety, admiration, sympathy, and complicity.
54. Do not try to distinguish yourself by your appearance.
55. Do not accumulate debts. Gather money and pay right away.
56. If you offend anyone, ask for forgiveness.
57. If you offend publicly, ask for forgiveness publicly.
58. If you’ve said something wrong, do not push it out of pride and quit your intentions.
59. Do not defend your old ideas simply because it was you who enunciated them.
60. Do not keep useless objects.
61. Do not adorn yourself with ideas of others.
62. Be your own judge.
63. Never define yourself by what you possess.
64. Never talk about yourself without giving yourself the possibility to change.
65. Accept that nothing and no one is yours.
66. When asked your opinion about someone, speak only about his qualities.
67. When you get sick, instead of hating the disease consider it your master.
68. Do not forget your dead, but give them a limited place to prevent them from invading your life.
69. In the place where you live, always consecrate a sacred place.
70. When you make a service, do not highlight your efforts.
71. If you decide to work for others, do it with pleasure.
72. If in doubt between doing and not doing, always do. If you do at least you’ll have the experience.
73. Do not try to be everything in your partner, admit that he/she can seek in others what you cannot offer.
74. Live from money earned by yourself.
75. Do not get involved in love affairs.
76. Do not flatter yourself of your weaknesses.
77. Do not visit someone just to kill time.
78. Earn to share.
79. If you are meditating and a devil comes, put that devil to meditate.
