The Mechanical Planetary Imperatives (I and II)

The First and Second Planetary Imperatives are the mechanical thoughts which drive planetary life forms including man. They are primitive, powerful and apparently inescapable. As the central foundation of most thoughts, desires for physical sensations and bases for most emotional
responses, they and their mechanical nature must be understood by the student. They will influence everything whether they have been studied or not. Consciousness will coexist with them in their place as a part of the human structure. Their influence can greatly interfere with the state of consciousness if they remain entirely automatic, unseen or unconsidered.

This paper refers to Instinve Center: The Man and the Planet & Brain Systems, both papers in this series; Gurdjieff, Beelzebub’s Tales to His Grandson; Bennett, Gurdjieff: Making a New World; Burton, Self-Remembering; and Ouspensky’s The Psychology of Man’s Possible Evolution. Ouspensky’s comments on evolution are provided in the text.