(49.) Maurice Nicoll 1 - FURTHER NOTE ON HYDROGENS - p.203-207
This is number (49.) of our sequential postings from Volume 1 of Maurice Nicoll’s Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of Gurdjieff and Ouspensky.
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FURTHER NOTE ON HYDROGENS
Note on the question: Is to be conscious in a Hydrogen a Work phrase?
The question is formatory but at the same time interesting. It is necessary to think what consciousness means and what Hydrogen means. Literally, consciousness means 'knowing together'. Self-knowledge means to become more conscious, first of the different contradictory 'I's, different moods, etc., and to know them together. This signifies increase of consciousness in the sense of knowing together. Change of being can only take place through this method—namely, an increase of consciousness in this sense.
The First Conscious Shock is the transformation of Hydrogen 48 into Hydrogen 24 by means of Hydrogen 12. This has to be brought to the place of incoming impressions where it acts as Carbon. Aim, if it is really emotional and can be remembered in a moment of difficulty, brings this Carbon 12 into position. In a sense, this Carbon is the entire emotional feeling and valuation that a man has towards the Work itself. If the power to work is so great in a man that he does not forget it, and feels that his whole life and all its meaning is connected with it, then this Carbon 12 begins to assume its right position, but if he is merely a creature of the senses, etc., this transformation cannot be effected and his life is, as it were, a manifestation of Hydrogen 48. If one can know together one's mechanical reactions (through Self-Observation) and at the same time feel the presence of the Work, then one's consciousness is increased in the sense that one knows together far more—that is to say, one knows and sees one's mechanicalness in the light of the Work and what it indicates, namely, one becomes conscious in the Work in reference to how one acts in life and so it can be said that one is conscious in a higher Hydrogen.
It is then necessary to think about what a Hydrogen means. A Hydrogen is a point in the universe regarded as a qualitative scale—namely, a scale of degrees of excellence. The lower Hydrogens are manifested to our external senses as objects, as 'stones', as 'grass', as 'meat', as 'water', etc. But when that point in the universe called Hydrogen 48 is reached, its manifestation is only internal and so has to do with states of consciousness. Hydrogen 48 is the lowest of the so-called psychic Hydrogens. Our ordinary consciousness uses, as it were,
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Hydrogen 48. It then sees everything in terms of opposites. As you know, the formatory part of the Intellectual Centre which works with Hydrogen 48 is called 'Third Force Blind'. The range of knowledge given by this Hydrogen determines the world of opposites for us and so we see things as either 'yes' or 'no' and are really incapable of relative thinking and incapable of seeing as 'yes' and 'no'. Higher centres which work with Hydrogen 12 and Hydrogen 6 contain no contradictions. This is because the degree of illumination is such that we see all sides of a question simultaneously and not divided into irreconcilable opposites. Sometimes consciousness is compared in this system with light. Our inner life is said to be darkness and this is what is meant in the Gospels by the words: 'People who live in darkness'. The idea of Self-Observation is to let a ray of light into this darkness. We must imagine that to be conscious in a higher Hydrogen or by means of a higher Hydrogen is similar to having a greatly increased light shed on everything. Whereas the ray of a candle illuminates feebly the surroundings, the light of an arc-lamp lights up what were mere shadows before and makes us see everything in an entirely different relation: that is to say, to be conscious in a higher Hydrogen is to see entirely new relations, and this moment of seeing new relations sometimes occurs to us in times of trouble and distress when suddenly everything becomes transformed and we see things in an entirely different light. When we are fixed in our negative states, when we are full of self-pity and only conscious of injured self-love, etc., we see everything very darkly. We are, in fact, conscious in Hydrogen 48, let us say. But when we have a moment of awakening and are lifted out of that state by the action of the Work, all our thoughts and emotions in that state now seem to be trivial. We cannot understand why we said this thing or thought that thing. This is a moment of illumination, of increased light, and so increased consciousness, in the sense that we are 'knowing together' far more than we do in our contracted state. Everything falls into its right proportion, as it were, in the light of this increased consciousness, so we can say that at that moment we were conscious in a higher Hydrogen. Actually, at such a moment we are conscious at a higher point in the universe regarded as a scale of qualities represented by Hydrogens. Quite simply, we rise above ourselves for a moment and see things in a new light. Everyone must notice that he is in a worse state or a better state at different times and it is really upon the basis of this perfectly incontrovertible experience that we can become certain of the existence of higher degrees of consciousness.
I think it is a mistake to try to connect the four given states of consciousness with Hydrogens. The two ideas should be given separately, although obviously they are connected. The third state of consciousness—namely, Self-Awareness or Self-Remembering—always arises from a higher Hydrogen, but it may be Hydrogen 24, or Hydrogen 12 or even, very rarely, Hydrogen 6. We spoke at the meeting here of the effects of dental gas when people suddenly have a marvellous experience and cannot remember it afterwards. That is to say, they are for a moment
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put into a higher Hydrogen. G. once said to me that opium has a higher Hydrogen in it which people can become conscious in sometimes. He said it is like becoming conscious in the plant; but you know a man must create higher Hydrogens in himself by trying to give himself first of all the First Conscious Shock, and, if he can, the Second Conscious Shock, which set going new octaves in the development of all Hydrogens in his body.
I would like it if you would try to grasp in some way and get some vision of the universe as a scale of Hydrogens. It has to do with intensities of meaning and use—that is to say, it is qualitative, not quantitative. Think now, all of you, look round the room you are in. You see different things—things made of wood, things made of stone, perhaps some food on the table, water, air, etc. Have you ever thought what relation all these different things have towards one another? If you have, you may see why, when Mr. O. first heard of the Table of Hydrogens, he said this was knowledge from higher centres.
You will remember that everything is defined by what it eats, what eats it, etc. The cow can eat the flowers in the vase on the table, but you cannot; but you can eat the cow. Insects can eat the wood of the chair you are sitting on. The wood of the chair you are sitting on is a certain point in the universe. Meat is more highly organized and is a different point in the universe; its functions, its properties, its uses, its possibilities, are entirely different. Now let us take thought, based on Hydrogen 48; its uses, its properties, its functions, are entirely different from those of meat, and yet it has its properties. Meat is cleverer, as it is said, than wood, and thought is cleverer than meat. A cooked potato is cleverer than a raw potato because it is 768 and can be eaten by man. Emotional perception, if it is really based on Hydrogen 24, is far more clever than perception based on Hydrogen 48.
Try to think from this point of view and if you will send me some definite questions I will try to answer them.
ADDED NOTE
Dr. Nicoll added this note as the result of a conversation. He said: "Have any of you ever thought of the difference between a quantitative view of the universe and a qualitative view of the universe? It is quite simple. Mathematics cannot deal with qualities, but only with quantities. Let us take first mere quantities. Will any quantities of coppers make one golden sovereign? No. But by human agreement—that is, by establishing an artificial transforming system—240 coppers theoretically can be turned into a golden sovereign. But unless such a human arrangement—that is, such an artificially agreed upon transforming system—existed, this could never happen through the mere factor of quantities alone. A man might accumulate millions of coppers, but no gold would result from any effort of that sort alone, unless the Bank agreed to transform each 240 coppers into a gold sovereign. Now if
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we lived in a merely quantitative universe, no transformation would be possible, because transformation is a question of qualities—that is, of qualitative differences, of one thing turning into something else. This work teaches that we live in a world of real qualitative differences, and this is its meaning. Transformation is possible in the very nature of things. We see a seed transforming itself into a tree, but scarcely think of the miracle. We eat meat and from it the substances necessary for thought, feeling and love are created by the transformation of a lower Hydrogen into the higher Hydrogens. This is the inherent nature of the universe. What we call life is based on the power of transforming, in a universe that is, itself, based on transformation—that is, of lower and higher, and so of endless qualitative differences. Life is transformation, in a universe having this nature or significance. Transformation means the turning of something lower into something higher. The octave of food in the body shews this. All this connects itself with the basic idea of the Work—that we live in a growing, evolving, and so transforming universe—that is, a living and so transforming universe or universe of transformation. And actually, unless this is understood and felt, more and more deeply, the emotional centre in man cannot awaken and develop, and soon deteriorates. As you know, science teaches that we live in a dying universe. This system, this Work, teaches quite the contrary. You must think for yourselves of the psychological difference and emotional value of these two views and judge between their power for good or bad. Although 'religion' in the broadest sense has taught something positive—perhaps in terms of a 'hereafter' and so on—if we consider for a moment the psychological difference, we can decide which is the more valuable. And we can see for ourselves that transformation exists on all sides. All life exists physically by transforming a lower into a higher Hydrogen—that is to say, we eat meat (H 768) and so are able to think (H 48). All these ideas are in a way obvious, once we really think for ourselves—that is, once the 'driver' in us awakens and climbs on to the box. But unless we begin to think for ourselves through the help of this work, we remain asleep, and life then exerts a force over us that is not necessary and is contrary to our real destiny. The idea that all life is based on transformation is so obvious, physically, that really not to see it is due to mental blindness or to a deliberate dislike of seeing any meaning in anything—and this is a common modern disease that leads to negative emotion by itself."
Dr. Nicoll later added the following: "In speaking of efforts in the Work—is it not obvious that the mere quantity of efforts is useless in comparison with the quality of the efforts? Mere lip-service, mere imitation of work, mere pretending to work or trying to attract merit —all such efforts, however great in quantity, lead to nothing, because such efforts are insincere. They are of bad quality, however great their quantity may be. The Work is based on inner sincerity. One effort arising out of inner sincerity and unshakeable valuation of the Work will produce a change of being and shift a man's position in the universe
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because it is qualitative, different from any quantity of external, insincere or weak efforts. That is why in this Work people are brought to a point of decision. This means that everything external, at a certain point, will go against them and so they will find plenty of complaints and criticism and other external reasons and plenty of reasons for finding fault with others and so on—and, in fact, this point may be artificially created, if it does not inevitably arise, as usually happens. Then everything depends on whether the Work has become born in them and is truly internal: and if so, the effort made at such a moment actually leads to change of being—that is, to a new growth of essence—because then the necessary effort must be at the expense of personality. 'We have', G. once said to us, 'to reach a point in the work when however we are turned and twisted we never lose sight of our aim.' Here our attitude to the Work comes in—to this eternal Work. Is it not obvious that such a moment demands the most qualitative sincere effort? If our attitude is shallow, how shall we meet it? Let us think for ourselves what this means and on what this Work is based—namely, on inner change, and all that it means, even if we have not thought of it before. Change is not addition, but actual change of the kind of person one is, and so, painful. And only the sincerest moments are of use here. Nothing false in the way of effort is any good. The very fact that the universe is a scale of qualities shews everyone that what is intrinsically false cannot lead to any change, but must necessarily—by law—find its own level and remain there because it is what it is. And whatever a thing is, it is where it is in the universe, regarded as a scale of qualities, and must remain where it is by reason of actual laws, which determine the position of everything according to its quality. This is what a qualitative view of the universe means. This is the meaning of the Table of Hydrogens."