Essential teachings from Maurice Nicoll, whose wartime talks in England became the Wisdom classic, Psychological Commentaries of Gurdjieff.
The parable of the wise and foolish virgins must be understood beyond its literal meaning - the lamp represents spiritual teaching while oil symbolizes the fruit of actual inner work. Knowledge alone creates lamps without oil; only through practical application of...
“Real miracles are brought about by attracting the laws of a higher world to act in a lower world." Maurice Nicoll Miracles as Divine-Human Collaboration "Miracles are fruits of the union of the whole, concentrated human being with cosmic truth, beauty and...
“The faith that moves mountains can neither be an intellectual opinion nor a personal feeling, no matter how intense.” Meditations on the Tarot Faith as an Operative Agent "Faith is not just an attitude of belief. It has agency. It acts. If we believe, then everything...
"When you begin to unknow what you were sure you knew, you are undergoing a change of mental outlook, you are undergoing a change of mind, you are undergoing metanoia." Maurice Nicoll Definition of Metanoia "Meta indicates transference, or transformation, or...
“[A man] may act from Good, from seeing the good of acting so. This develops the internal man.” Maurice Nicoll “Therefore speak I to them in parables; because seeing they see not, and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand." (Matthew XIII xi-xiii) The...
“The joy of good conscience is the accord between the moral rhythms of the lower self and the higher Self.” Meditations on the Tarot The Nature of Conscience "The word conscience ("con-science") contains the idea of balance, for it implies 'simultaneous knowing', i.e....
On chastity and being emotionally present: “The purifying of the emotional center corresponds directly with a monastic vow of chastity.” Cynthia Bourgeault Defining True Chastity "The vow of chastity means putting into practice the resolution to live according to...
The idea of justice on this Earth is illusion. All of sleeping humanity belongs to a tiny planet which is a kind of lunatic asylum. There is no justice, no spiritual justice. The Classical Understanding of Justice "Plato's four cardinal virtues: wisdom, courage,...
“The Gospel of John is written from the marriage of Good with Truth. For this reason at the very beginning of John's Gospel, the grace and truth of Jesus Christ are contrasted with the Truth (the ‘law of Moses’).” Maurice Nicoll The Nature of Grace and Truth "You must...
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The Nature of...
“The roots of evil go deep down into the same bedrock as the roots of evolution. They grow like the tares and wheat, as the Bible says." Cynthia Bourgeault Logion 57Yeshua says...God's realm is like this:A farmer planted good seed in his field,but at night enemies...
Lectio Harmonia I offer the term ‘Lectio Harmonia’ to describe a contemplative practice of discovering resonance among Wisdom teachings. In Greek philosophy, Harmonia referred to the underlying order and unity of the cosmos—the patterns that connect apparently...