5 P. L. Travers Quotes on Philosophy

P. L. Travers quotes on philosophy

1. It is clear from Gurdjieff's writings that hypnotism, mesmerism and various arcane methods of expanding consciousness must have played a large part in the studies of the Seekers of Truth. None of these processes, however, is to be thought of as having any bearing on what is called Black Magic, which, according to Gurdjieff, 'has always one definite characteristic. It is the tendency to use people for some, even the best of aims, without their knowledge and understanding, either by producing in them faith and infatuation or by acting upon them through fear. There is, in fact, neither red, green nor yellow magic. There is 'doing.' Only 'doing' is magic.' Properly to realise the scale of what Gurdjieff meant by magic, one has to remember his continually repeated aphorism, 'Only he who can be can do,' and its corollary that, lacking this fundamental verb, nothing is 'done,' things simply 'happen.'

8. For me there are no answers, only questions, and I am grateful that the questions go on and on. I don't look for an answer, because I don't think there is one. I'm very glad to be the bearer of a question.

13. What I want to know is this: Are the stars gold paper or is the gold paper stars?

16. 'Bird and beast and stone and star - we are all one, all one -' murmured the Hamadryad, softly folding his hood about him as he himself swayed between the children. 'Child and serpent, star and stone - all one.'

22. There are worlds beyond worlds and times beyond times, all of them true, all of them real, and all of them (as children know) penetrating each other.