Man is a plurality -

“Man is a plurality” is a statement by the 20^th-century spiritual teacher and mystic George Gurdjieff. I first read this in P. D. Ouspensky’s book “In Search of the Miraculous”, which contains dialogues between the author and Gurdjieff. In one such conversation, the latter stated that an individual is composed of a consecutive sequence of Ies (I know no better way to write “I” in plural, so bear with me). Gurdjieff is very vague about where these Ies come from, only that they are sporadic, spontaneous, and commonly contradict each other.

These contradictions echo throughout our lives – we say one thing, but do another, judge our peers, yet fall prey to the same weaknesses as they. People lie, cheat, clutter both their residences and their minds, and, above all, are enmeshed in great confusion. Gurdjieff’s point is that we struggle because we assume that one ‘I’ is solely responsible for all of this confusion, one single undisciplined ‘I’. But no, actually, it is a multitude of Ies that create all of these discrepancies in our lives.

The frequency with which one ‘I’ is substituted by another is not particularly important at this time. More interesting is whether it is true that human beings are a plurality of Ies.

Testing the hypothesis

As far as life is concerned, change is really nothing that new to our experience; in fact, it is an overarching phenomenon in life. I am reminded of a discussion by Dr. Wayne Dyer, which I read in “Wishes Fulfilled” (dedicated book review here). In it, Dr. Dyer observes the sequence of bodies each individual occupies during a lifetime — a baby body, then that of a toddler, a child, a teenager, a 20-year-old, a 40-year-old, and so on. Each body disappears with the next, yet the individual remains across all these quite different bodies. Even on a cellular level, this is true as new cells are created and differentiated, while old cells die out.

Of course, this might not be that surprising to you. Our bodies and cells change over time. Then, what remains as the constant thing, which we call ‘I’? Perhaps we can turn to genetics. After all, you have a unique DNA sequence throughout your entire body, a result of your parents’ DNA and their corresponding pedigrees.

While DNA does not change over time (apart from extreme cases), the expression of your genes is quite another story. DNA, to put it simply, is a list of possible instructions that can either be realized in your body or remain unused throughout your whole life. Like a cookbook, all the recipes are there, but not all of them will reach the dining table. The field of science that deals with gene expression is called Epigenetics, and it turns out that your environment, health, or even mindset can affect how the DNA molecule is expressed.

We now see how Gurdjieff’s idea that a human being is a plurality holds true on the material spectrum of analysis: you are a plurality of bodies, cells, and genes. Let us then move from the material into the semi-material. What about once character or once psyche? Such phenomena need a material body to house them, but are not material themselves. Many chemical analogues have been discovered for states like happiness or depression. Still, their presence does not prove that these feelings are mere chemistry. Science can explain what happens in the body when it is in a state of depression, but not what first causes this state.

Little consideration is needed to see that the psyche and one’s character are anything but constant. Our moods, urges, and feelings are like the weather, shifting from stillness to chaos and destruction. Some aspects of our psyche are known, while others are unknown and secretive (the subconscious). There is a sort of constant movement between the conscious and subconscious mind, as some feelings are repressed in the shadows, while others emerge either casually or instantly from them. As the world-renowned psychoanalyst Carl Jung reminds us:

“We have premonitions and perceptions from unknown sources. Fears, moods, intentions and hopes come upon us for unknown reasons. Such experiences result in the feeling that we do not know ourselves all that well and give rise to the painful presupposition that we might surprise ourselves”.

So, just as our bodies, cells, gene expression, fears, moods, and intentions flow out of somewhere and pass through us, they are also subject to change. As Alan Watts describes it, “We are a quaking mess of sensitivity.”

The final unit of change I wish to consider here is that of thought. The phenomenon that our thinking influences our being has been reiterated time and time again over the ages, especially more recently in books on awareness and motivation. I know of no better description of this than that of James Allen, who in his marvelous book “As a Man Thinketh” writes:

“Let a man radically alter his thoughts, and he will be astonished at the rapid transformation it will effect in the material conditions of his life. Men imagine that thought can be kept secret, but it cannot; it rapidly crystallizes into habit, and habit solidifies into circumstance.”

So, if each thought changes a person, then with each emerging thought, a new ‘I’ is created, which is a new element in the sequence that makes up a person. With my limited skills in graphic design, I have drawn up the following:

As you can see, with each thought, a new ‘I’ emerges. So, this is what a human being looks like ‒ a sequence of Ies, some in the past, with new ones constantly popping up at the speed of thought.

The problem with projections

Thus, we considered what is consistent in a human being and the plurality of Ies suggested by Gurdjieff. One might simply say, “So what?” After all, so far, we have only demonstrated the consistency of change. The phenomenon of interest and the one we will discuss now is that of projection. The fact of the matter is that we are not conscious of being a plurality; maybe this is the first time you are considering this idea at all. As far as your current ‘I’ is concerned, it is the sole sovereign of your body and your life. It has a multitude of things to consider here and now, and more so, this ‘I’, this unit in the sequence, feels obliged to analyze the past and plan for the future.

This is what I mean by projection: one ‘I’, in its fleeting term of rule, projects its feelings, fears, ambitions, and anxieties, not only in the present moment, but also into the past and future. Something like two beams spreading out, like I have drawn here:

The problem with projections

See how I₀ projects its views upon the past Ies (left-hand side) and future ones (right-hand side). This ‘I’ may have great plans for the future, charting them up and setting them in stone. Alas, in the next moment, a new ‘I’ will rise to power and project its view, which may be very different than its predecessor and so on. Gurdjieff relates that this is the tragedy of humankind that a single small ‘I’ may bring very unpleasant circumstances, which the whole (that is, the sequence of Ies) has to meet.

This phenomenon manifests in other well-known unpleasant experiences like the burst of enthusiasm or motivation that is short-lived, as new lazy or depressed Ies rise to power. These Ies may even scoff at the former ones, saying, “Who do you think you are, setting goals and high dreams? You keep your position, you always mess things up, and always will.” Think of these words as carefully as you can: “You always mess things up, and always will.” This is the projection of one ‘I’, yet its words are like poison and bring about much harm.

And often, when one small ‘I’ lashes out at the whole, seeing the past as pathetic and the future as bleak, they bring the next new ‘I’ close to their cause. This is how Ies gang up. We all know how one single thought (usually a negative one) spirals down, being repeated, permuted, magnified. Thus, things gain momentum, and although the Ies are still somewhat independent, they share a common theme, which echoes in the self-consciousness of the individuals, as the projection of a group of Ies falls on the past, future, and present, as drawn below.

Stepping out of the spiral

I would like to share with you a quick story I have concerning these Ies, and more particularly, a group of ganged-up Ies that tormented me for more than a month. It was a sort of dragged-out depressive time of the year for me, filled with a parade of small problems that seemed to huddle together like clouds huddle before rain. Even though I now and then lapsed back to my usual positive and awareness-filled state, the clouds of depression swallowed me back quickly. Day after day, I would bounce back to an anxious and sad state. The problems I faced then, which I have chosen to keep private, were not really anything severe. They expanded as much as I allowed them to, and unfortunately, I gave them plenty of room to grow in my mind and heart.

One afternoon, while I was doing some mundane chore, my inner dialogue was nagging at me. It said something like “Look at you, depressed, your nose down, filled with self-pity. How dare you write about awareness and consciousness? Who do you think you are, writing books and maintaining a blog?”

Then I answered:

“I am definitely not you! You are not the one who wrote my works!”

I got goosebumps then. My being was shocked and joyful at the discovery that the nagging ‘I’, the representative of the nagging, self-defeating ‘Ies’ that were usurping my life, had nothing to do with my writing. They, in their nature, could not write; others Ies could. I, the person who was feeling sorry for myself, was totally different from I, the creator, the writer.

See, when we take on the tone of self-blame, we think we are blaming ourselves, usually for past mistakes. In truth, we are blaming innocent Ies, old expressions of ourselves that are very loosely connected. Is this then an ultimate excuse for consequences? Not at all. Consequences will come and demand their due, regardless of whether you have one, a dozen, or a thousand Ies. But when you analyze the consequence that has befallen you, the sense of self you have can make all the difference.

Allow things to spiral up.

It is interesting that we often talk and hear about thoughts and circumstances spiraling down, but rarely do we talk of things spiraling up, in essence, following the same laws in the opposite direction. For an inspired ‘I’, one of motivation, ambition, and awareness, can achieve a great many good in its short lifespan. The greatest good would be to influence its successor to “keep the ball rolling”. Even just a fond memory of a past exceptional ‘I’ might be enough to stir up new vigor and a new ‘I’ to match it. I remember when I was a PhD student, my supervisor often told me, “If others have done it, then you can do it”. Simple, annoyingly simple, and true. So, if other times great and capable Ies have taken the wheel of your life, then they most assuredly can do so again.

And being conscious that “You are a plurality” in my estimate helps a lot. Why? Because when you see yourself in this way, you are more compassionate, more forgiving, and less cruel, while still taking responsibility for your actions, as any of your former Ies are still YOU. In “Escape from the Ship”, I talk in detail about why the past should be a place of total forgiveness and full responsibility.

Of course, awareness does not stop the sequence of Ies from interchanging; nothing will. That is what makes it fun. Congruence is hard, nearly impossible to maintain. But awareness and compassion are your best bet in such a situation. In fact, the accidental appearance of an inferior and troublesome ‘I’ is what would be called “Great practice” in Eastern teachings. It is a great chance to practice your awareness.

Who are you really?

“What changes is not real, what is real does not change,” a quote by the 20^th-century Guru Nisargadatta Maharaj nicely complements Gurdjieff’s notion of man as a plurality. For if we constantly change Ies, then this interchange is not real. Nisargadatta Maharaj further explains that what is permanent and real is The Observer, the one who watches all this interchanging of bodies, cells, gene expression, of moods, thoughts, and Ies.

Your true identity is a complex topic, probably one of the most interesting ones a person may examine during their lifetime. I recommend excellent works on the subject, such as “Wishes Fulfilled” (dedicated book review here), “Three Magic Words” (dedicated book review here), or this lecture by Alan Watts (dedicated author review here). There are many more to explore. The important thing is to keep the curiosity of your being; you are a marvel, and existence is delightfully weird. I would like to end with this passage by T. S. Eliot from Dry Salvages. See if you can truly understand and feel what the Poet is related in these few lines:

“When the train starts, and the passengers are settled

To fruit, periodicals and business letters

(And those who saw them off have left the platform)

Their faces relax from grief into relief,

To the sleepy rhythm of a hundred hours.

Fare forward, travellers! not escaping from the past

Into different lives, or into any future;

You are not the same people who left that station

Or who will arrive at any terminus,

While the narrowing rails slide together behind you;”

☕ Here is a chance to contribute and help me with my future writing. If you contribute only once that is more than enough. Let us share a beverage together.