Awaken the sacred impulses within you. The journey to self-awareness begins with ‘I AM.’ Photo by Max on Unsplash.

The Secret of ‘I AM’:

A Path to Presence and Self-Realization

My Recollection of a Lecture Read in My Group, “Lillian Firestone Group,” at the Gurdjieff Foundation in Manhattan.

Before I ask you questions about how you’ve understood my previous guidance, I want first to orient myself so I can provide you with clearer and more useful directions.

For example, I might ask:

• What insights have you gained through your reflections over the past week?
• How have you come to grasp the significance of the exercise I assigned to you in our last meeting?

The purpose of this exercise was to prepare the foundation within yourself for the possibility of intentionally developing a deeper awareness of the impulses that are sacred to human beings.

However, today, I want to introduce you to two additional exercises. These exercises were originally part of a broader program I developed, though they were intended for a specific category of students.

One of these exercises is known as:

“Assisting Means for Acquiring One’s Own Real ‘I.’”

This exercise is an extremely effective tool for achieving this goal.

By practicing these exercises, you will:

• Gain a better understanding of the seven cardinal exercises.
• Encounter two important concepts that, throughout history, have been known only to a select group of people.
• Understand why these ideas were considered secret, as ancient traditions believed they could be dangerous for those not properly prepared.

Explore how the practice of ‘I AM’ can awaken your higher self and lead to deep transformation.

The Three Categories of True Initiates

Throughout history, people who were worthy of deep spiritual initiation were divided into three categories:

1. Saints — Those who, through conscious effort and self-discipline, transformed their inner being.
2. Scholars — Those who acquired vast knowledge and deep understanding.
3. Sages — Those who not only developed their inner being but also gained insight into many objective truths.

Now, the first key idea I want to emphasize is that even a negative trait within a person’s psyche can be used as a means of self-development.

This might sound surprising because we generally believe that negative tendencies should be eliminated, not cultivated. However, there is a way to consciously use even undesirable qualities for an immensely higher purpose.

Using Self-Deception as a Tool for Transformation

One such negative quality is self-deception.

While I have often spoken against it — and while people themselves recognize it as a weakness — it can actually serve as a powerful tool for inner transformation.

Most people do not consider self-deception useful, but this is because they fail to see the deeper potential hidden within it.

Due to various modern distractions and disorders, most people today find it difficult to absorb higher knowledge directly.

However, it has been found that one can implant useful ideas into the subconscious mind by deliberately using self-deception as a tool.

This means that if you deeply wish to develop your true self, you should — at first — imagine that you already possess the qualities you seek to develop.

By imagining the experience deeply, it eventually leads to the real formation of those qualities.

What if even negative traits could be used as tools for transformation? The art of inner work is learning to direct all energies — positive and negative — toward a higher aim.

The Exercise of “I AM”

To correctly practice the first assisting exercise, you must first understand that a person who has fully developed their true self, their will, and their higher faculties will naturally experience a subtle vibration in their solar plexus whenever they say the words:

“I AM.”

This sensation, like a slight inner reverberation, is a sign of deep self-awareness.

For someone who has not yet developed their true self, this reverberation does not happen naturally.

However, by intentionally and frequently repeating “I AM” — while imagining that this vibration is taking place — one can gradually develop the necessary inner structures that will allow it to occur in reality.

The path to true consciousness is not external but inward. Observe, divide your attention, and discover who you really are.

The Exercise of Dividing Attention

Now, I will demonstrate an exercise that involves dividing your attention into two equal parts:

Step 1: Observing the Breath

• The first half of my attention is consciously directed to the uninterrupted concentration and continuous sensing of the process of breathing.
• I feel the air entering and exiting my lungs.
• I notice that part of the breath moves in and out, while another part seems to settle within me.

Step 2: Observing Thought

• The second half of my attention is directed to my head-brain.
• I observe the stream of thoughts passing through my mind.
• Amidst these automatic associations, I begin to sense something very fine, something subtle yet real arising within me.

Step 3: Directing the Energy to the Solar Plexus

• Now, I consciously guide this “something” from my head-brain to flow into my solar plexus.
• I feel the energy moving downward.
• I continue maintaining my divided attention — one part on my breath, the other on this energy moving within me.

Step 4: Reaching a State of Presence

At this moment, I no longer notice any automatic thoughts occurring within me.

• My presence becomes more whole.
• My being feels more real, more here.
• I am left with one undeniable sensation.

Attention is the foundation of presence. Without control over your focus, self-remembering remains impossible.

I AM. I CAN. I WISH.

The Path Forward

At this point, I can see the question forming in your minds:

“What should I do next?”

Here is my answer:

1. No unnecessary discussion.

• Do not waste time analyzing these ideas intellectually.
• Do not talk endlessly about what they mean.

2. Simply practice.

• Experience the exercise directly.
• Try it with sincerity and persistence.

3. Do not expect immediate results.

• This process requires patience.
• The transformation will happen only through repeated effort.

4. Be sincere.

• Especially in this group, share your observations honestly.
• The more truthful you are with yourself and with others, the more you will benefit.

Your path leading into infinite space is your journey to true self-awareness and enlightenment.

Final Reflection: The Path to Becoming

Before we end, I want to leave you with one final thought:

If I AM, only then can I CAN.

If I CAN, only then do I deserve and have the right to WISH.

Without the ability to CAN, there is no possibility of having anything — no right to anything.

First, we must deeply absorb and internalize these truths.

Only then can we begin to manifest them in our lives.

This is why we are here.

This is the Work.

And now, your journey begins.

I AM: Unlocking the Mystery of True Self-Awareness.

I AM. I CAN. I WISH.

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