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Gurdjieff Quotes
Centers and Parts of Centers by Maurice Nicoll
Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky, volume 1
Diagrams are from Psychological Commentaries, Vol 1, pages 76-79. Text is written below each image. The pdfs are available here: Maurice Nicoll section. The letter is titled "Birdlip, November 9, 1941, Wrong Work of Centers" and begins on page 74.
Intellectual Center
FIGURE ONE
Intellectual Centre is represented by a circle.
Positive Part of Intellectual Centre
The top half of the circle is divided left to right into 3 arcs as follows:
- I. Moving Part
- II. Emotional Part Desire to know and understand, search for knowledge, imagination of a higher kind
- III. Intellectual Part Intellectual construction, "creative" thought, and discovery
Negative Part of Intellectual Centre
The bottom half of the circle is labeled Negative Part of Intellectual Centre. No details are given other than dotted lines dividing the half into 3 arcs. [see figure 1]
Emotional Center
FIGURE TWO
Emotional Centre is represented by a circle.
Positive Part of Emotional Centre
The top half of the circle is divided left to right into 3 arcs as follows:
- I. Moving Part
- II. Emotional Part Religious emotions, aesthetic emotions, moral emotions, may lead to Conscience
- III. Intellectual Part Artistic creation. (Chief seat of Magnetic Centre)
Negative Part of Emotional Centre
The bottom half of the circle is simply labeled Negative Part of Emotional Centre with no details.
Moving Center
FIGURE THREE
Moving Centre is represented by a circle. Unlike the other three figures, this circle is Not divided into an upper half (positive) and lower half (negative). I.e., there is no negative part.
Positive Part of Moving Centre
The entire circle is divided into thirds, clockwise from the left as follows:
- I. Moving Part
- II. Emotional Part Pleasure in Movement – normal love of games – higher imitation – i.e., acting of a certain kind
- III. Intellectual Part Inventing things, machines, making adaptations ("Inventor's") mind
Negative Part of Moving Centre – Does not exist
n/a
Instinctive Center
FIGURE FOUR
Instinctive Centre is represented by a circle.
Positive Part of Instinctive Centre
The top half of the circle is labeled Positive Part. It is divided left to right into 3 arcs as follows:
- I. Moving Part
- II. Emotional Part Blind animal love (mother) – "instinctive" love – animal jealousy
- III. Intellectual Part Many so-called intuitions belong here and are the work of the Intellectual Part of Instinctive Centre
Negative Part of Instinctive Centre
The bottom half of the circle is labeled Negative Emotional Part. It is divided left to right into 3 arcs as follows:
- I. Negative Moving Part
- II. Negative Emotional Part Animal RAGE, desire to kill
- III. Negative Intellectual Part [blank]
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