Tertium Organum (P.D. Ouspensky) · 127 of 225 · tr. Nicholas Bessaraboff and Claude Bragdon

Chapter XVI (part 14)

The mystery of infinity —the greatest of all mysteries—it tells us that all the visible universe and its galaxies of stars have no dimension : that in relation to infinity they are equal to a point , a mathematical point which has no extension whatever, and that points which are not measurable for us may have a different extension and different dimensions.

In "positive" thinking we make the effort TO FORGET ABOUT ALL THIS: NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT.

At some future time positivism will be defined as a system by the aid of which it was possible not to think of real things and to limit oneself to the region of the unreal and illusory.

Footnotes 178:1 The expression "section of the world" is taken as an indicator of the unreality of the forms of each section.

The world is infinite, and all forms are infinite, but to grasp them with the finite brain-consciousness, i.e., by consciousness reflected in the brain, we must imagine the infinite forms as being finite, and these are "sections of the world." The p.

179 world is one, but the number of possible sections is infinite.

Let us imagine an apple: it is one, but we may imagine an infinite number of sections in all directions and these sections will differ from one another.

If instead of an apple we take a more complicated body, for instance the body of some animal: then the sections taken in different directions will be even more unlike one another.

181:1 The incorrectness here is not in the idea itself, but in a literal analogy.

The thought itself, that molecules are worlds and worlds are but molecules, deserves attention and study.

183:1 Frederick Myers, "Essay on the Subliminal Consciousness," as quoted in William James' "The Varieties of Religious Experience," Longmans, Green & Co., New York, p.

512.

183:2 In all the above it would be more correct to substitute for the word brain the word body —organism.

The present trend of scientific psychology leads to an understanding of the psychic importance of diverse physiological functions, previously unknown and even p.

184 now but little investigated.

The psychic life is connected not with the brain only, but with the entire body, all its organs, all its tissues.

The study of the activity of glands, and of many other things with which science is now concerning itself, shows that the brain is by no means the only conductor of the psychic activity of man.

Themes

◆Active Contemplationpraxis

A form of meditation that uses imagery, imagination, or symbolic thought rather than purely empty stillness.

The passage instructs the reader to 'imagine the infinite forms as being finite,' utilizing imagination as a cognitive tool.

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◆Correspondencecosmology

The Hermetic axiom that the structure of the cosmos is reflected at every scale — 'as above, so below; as within, so without' — making each level a legible map of the others.

Footnote 181:1 explicitly mentions the thought that 'molecules are worlds and worlds are but molecules,' reflecting the Hermetic axiom of structural reflection across scales.

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◆Mechanical Humanityanthropology

Gurdjieff and Ouspensky's claim that ordinary human beings live in a state of waking sleep, reacting mechanically without unified will or consciousness, and that the spiritual path begins with recognising this condition.

The passage critiques 'positive' thinking as an effort to forget real things and limit oneself to the unreal, mirroring the Fourth Way concept of ordinary mechanical consciousness.

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◆Numerical Mysticismtheology

Numbers, proportions, and mathematical relationships as the underlying structure of divine reality.

The text utilizes mathematical concepts like 'mathematical point' and 'infinite number of sections' to describe the structure of reality.

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◆Paradox As Teachingethics

Using apparent contradiction, reversal, or riddle to destabilise ordinary understanding and induce insight.

The passage uses paradoxical statements such as the visible universe having 'no dimension' relative to infinity to destabilize ordinary understanding.

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◆Unity Of Beingtheology

The doctrine that all existence is ultimately one substance or one divine reality; non-duality as a theological claim.

The text asserts 'The world is one,' indicating a fundamental unity underlying the infinite number of possible sections.

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◇Apophatic Theologytheology

Describing the divine only by negation—God transcends all positive categories and concepts; the via negativa.

[auto] The text describes the infinite by negating dimensions and extension, stating the visible universe has no dimension in relation to it.

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◇Cosmic Dualismtheology

Ontological opposition between two primal principles (light/darkness, truth/lie, spirit/matter) as the fundamental structure of reality.

[auto] A clear distinction is drawn between the real infinite world and the unreal, illusory region of positivist thinking.

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◇Divine Hiddennesstheology

The supreme God's radical concealment beyond ordinary knowledge or perception; the Hidden Father.

[auto] Real things are described as forgotten by positivism, implying the true nature of reality is concealed from ordinary consciousness.

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◇Gnosis Direct Knowledgesoteriology

Salvation through direct experiential knowledge of the divine nature, not through faith, ritual, or moral works alone.

[auto] The passage emphasizes grasping infinite forms beyond finite brain-consciousness as a form of accessing real things versus the unreal.

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◇Infinite Cosmoscosmology

The doctrine of the universe as boundless and without center or circumference, populated by innumerable worlds — Bruno's rejection of the closed Aristotelian sphere; the divine and the cosmos as ontologically infinite.

[auto] The passage explicitly states 'The world is infinite' and discusses the mystery of infinity as the greatest of all mysteries, aligning with the doctrine of a boundless universe.

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Related passages · 10 parallels

◆christian_mysticism|The Life and Doctrines of Jacob Boehme|Chapter 2 (part 1)

“p. 58 CHAPTER II. THE UNITY OF THE ALL. "We are all one body in Christ, and have all the Spirit of Christ within our reach. If, then, we enter into the Christ, we may see and know everything by the power of His Spirit." ( Forty Question…”

Both passages explore the concept of infinity and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss how finite human consciousness struggles to grasp the infinite nature of the universe or the divine, using analogies and sections to make the infinite comprehensible.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 621

“Section 1 1. It is suggested that multiplicity is a falling away from The Unity, infinity being the complete departure, an innumerable multiplicity, and that this is why unlimit is an evil and we evil at the stage of multiplicity. A thing,…”

Both passages discuss the concept of unity and multiplicity, exploring the idea that extension and multiplicity lead away from true essence or unity. They both touch on the nature of infinity and the limitations of finite perception.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 623

“Section 3 3. And there is the question How can the infinite have existence and remain unlimited: whatever is in actual existence is by that very fact determined numerically. But, first, if multiplicity holds a true place among Beings, how c…”

Both passages explore the concept of infinity and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss how the infinite cannot be fully grasped by finite consciousness and the nature of reality beyond our limited comprehension.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 633 (part 1)

“Section 13 13. It cannot reasonably be thought that the notion of unity is derived from the object since this is physical- man, animal, even stone, a presentation of that order is something very different from unity [which must be a thing…”

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 637

“Section 17 17. But what of the Infinite Number we hear of; does not all this reasoning set it under limit? And rightly so if the thing is to be a number; limitlessness and number are in contradiction. How, then, do we come to use the term?…”

Both passages explore the concept of infinity and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss how the infinite cannot be fully grasped by finite human consciousness and the need to conceptualize it in finite terms.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 638

“Section 18 18. It appears then that Number in that realm is definite; it is we that can conceive the "More than is present"; the infinity lies in our counting: in the Real is no conceiving more than has been conceived; all stands entire; no…”

Both passages explore the concept of infinity and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss the nature of reality and the finite human ability to grasp infinite forms, albeit from different philosophical and mystical perspectives.

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 645

“Section 6 6. But how can that higher soul have sense-perception? It is the perception of what falls under perception There, sensation in the mode of that realm: it is the source of the soul's perception of the sense-realm in its corresponde…”

◆neoplatonism|Select Works of Plotinus|Select Works, Section 646

“Section 7 7. But if it is by becoming evil and inferior that the soul produces the animal nature, the making of ox or horse was not at the outset in its character; the reason-principle of the animal, and the animal itself, must lie outside…”

Both passages explore the concept of infinity and the limitations of human perception and understanding. They discuss the nature of reality and the finite human capacity to grasp infinite forms, albeit from different philosophical and mystical perspectives.

◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part I (Gli Eroici Furori)|Fourth Dialogued

“To be infinite, it must be infinitely pursued with that form of pursuit which is not incited physically, but metaphysically, and is not from imperfect to perfect, but goes circulating through the grades of perfection to arrive at that infin…”

Both passages explore the concept of the infinite and the human pursuit of understanding it. They discuss the limitations of finite human perception in grasping the infinite nature of the universe, albeit from different mystical traditions.

◆renaissance_hermeticism|The Heroic Enthusiasts, Part II (Gli Eroici Furori)|Third Dialoguee

“This alone I will not leave (unsaid) that it is not without reason that the affection of the heart is said to be the infinite sea by the apprehension of the eyes.[X] For the object of the mind being infinite, and no definite object being pr…”

Both passages explore the concept of infinity and its relationship to finite perception and understanding. They discuss how the infinite nature of the universe or divine cannot be fully grasped by finite human consciousness, and they use analogies and philosophical reasoning to illustrate this point.