the inner work
Self-knowledge and the psychology of the ego
In Gnosis the ego is not one thing but many small selves, the anger, fear, pride and desire that act automatically. Self-observation is the practical work of watching them as they happen so that they lose their power, and it is the core of what we teach in Midrand.
the many selves
Why there is no single "I"
Most of us assume we are one person with one will. The Gnostic teaching, like several older traditions, says that this is the first illusion to see through. Consider the self that decides at ten at night to get up early and go for a run, and the self that switches the alarm off at six. They cannot be the same person, because one made a promise and the other broke it without a moment's regret. The teaching calls these the many small selves, or the pluralised "I", and it says that at any moment one of them is in charge, speaking with your voice and signing your name.
Each of these selves is built around a defect, anger, fear, pride, envy, laziness, lust, greed, and together they make up what the teaching calls the ego. That is a technical use of the word. It does not mean confidence or vanity. It means the whole crowd of automatic reactions that run you before you have decided anything.
why it matters
What this has to do with ordinary life
Everything you struggle with repeatedly is a self that keeps returning. The argument you have with the same person in the same words, the habit you have given up ten times, the anxiety that arrives at the same hour every evening: these are not failures of willpower, because willpower belongs to one self and the habit belongs to another. Seeing this changes how you work on yourself. You stop trying to force one self to defeat another, which never lasts, and start watching the whole crowd, which is the only position from which any of them can be understood.
For you the consequence is practical. Relationships improve because you catch the angry self before it speaks. Work improves because you notice the self that avoids the hard task. Habits loosen because you see the moment the craving arrives instead of finding yourself halfway through it.
the technique
What self-observation is, and what it is not
Self-observation is the act of watching your own thoughts, emotions and impulses at the moment they arise, from a little distance, as if they belonged to someone you were studying kindly. It is done in the middle of life, in the queue, in the meeting, in the traffic, not only on a chair with your eyes closed. It asks one question over and over: what is happening in me right now?
It is not self-criticism. The moment you judge what you see, a new self has taken over, the one that enjoys being disappointed in you, and the observation has stopped. It is also not analysis. You do not need a theory about why you are angry, you need to see the anger while it is still warm. The teaching is firm on this point, because a lifetime of self-criticism has taught most people to confuse the two.
Meditation is where the same skill is trained in stillness, and the two practices feed each other. Our meditation classes in Midrand explain how the sitting practice is taught, and our article on creative comprehension goes deeper into what happens once a defect has been clearly seen.
the three factors
Where the work leads
The teaching sums up the whole path in three factors of the awakening of consciousness. The first is dying to the ego, which means the patient dissolving of the small selves through observation and comprehension, one at a time. The second is being born within, the growth of something real and permanent in you as the space the selves used to fill is freed. The third is helping others, because a person who keeps the work to themselves finds it quietly stops. The introductory course spends its first weeks on the first factor, since nothing else is possible until you can see yourself.
week by week
How the course works through this
The introductory course takes the psychology of the ego week by week: how the personality forms, what the essence underneath it is, how the many selves came to be, and then the practices for seeing them, self-observation, self-remembering and the transformation of impressions. Each week ends with something to try, and the next class begins with what people noticed. The introductory lectures are free. The weekly classes that follow are run on donations.
The classes are held at Rabie Ridge Community Hall in Midrand, and students travel in from across the province, as our page on Gnosis classes in Johannesburg and Pretoria explains. If the word Gnosis itself is new to you, read what Gnosis is first, then find the next lecture on the Midrand course page.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Therapy is a professional relationship for treating distress, and Gnosis is not a substitute for it. Self-observation is a practice you do yourself, in daily life, to understand the selves that run you. Many students find the two work well together.
No. The aim is to see emotions as they arise rather than be run by them. What fades is the automatic reaction, not the capacity to feel, and most students find they feel more, not less.
The teaching does not use the word morally. The ego is the collection of automatic selves that act before you decide, and the work is to understand them, not to hate them. Self-criticism is itself one of those selves.
Self-help usually tries to make one self stronger than the others, which lasts until the other self takes over. Gnosis works from the position of the observer, which is the only place from which the whole crowd can be seen and understood.
Come to the next free introductory lecture in Midrand, where self-observation is explained and practised. If you would like the date first, send a WhatsApp to +27 79 678 0991.
Begin by watching
Come to the next free introductory lecture in Midrand, or send us a WhatsApp on +27 79 678 0991 and we will tell you the date and place.
