How To Deal With Confusion
By Leo Gura - November 29, 2016 | 31 Comments
Letting go of your need to know
Sevi says: Special thanks to this episode. It lightened my blind spot that I was not even aware of. It’s surprising to find yourself arrogant after years of work.. but also reminds you that why consistency is this crucial.
Jane says: Very good. Very helpful. Thanks.
I love listening to you. I Wish one day I can deliver my wiewers all of this devine truths you are bringing, in the beautyful and wise way that you are delivering.
PS. I still want to meet you, it would have been a very good conversation.
Ragnhild.
Naseem says: sorry i’m confused !
If i don’t search for the answer and just let go of the outcome or answer
then why would i be “granted ” the answer?
How can i find something i’m not looking for?
I embrace i’m confused that’s understandable but to let go scares me, i feel like i wont take action because i don’t have a goal to strive for
Brett Miller says: Naseem,
“…why would I be granted an answer?”
One way it goes down is that your ego was blocking you from seeing an answer you already had/have. Once you learn to loosen that grip, often the heretofore unseen answer drops right down into your hands — Surprise!
Leo Gura says: You may NOT be granted an answer.
That’s reality.
The challenge for you is to accept that. Otherwise you’re in denial about it.
Boy, did this video hit the nail on the head. This subject, I have found is the very core of my issues. My ego does mistake confusion with it’s own version of reality…and usually creates negative thoughts taken to mythic proportions. I have a lot of work ahead of me, but this video had points that directly relate to the way I handle confusion….Thanks Leo!
Max says: Leo, you said you spend lots of time researching. Do you plan on making videos that focus on more – what would by social norms be considered – ‘far out’ concepts such as channeling and exploring out of body, and have you explored these experiences yourself? Or are you hoping to keep your channel more ‘grounded’ in a sense?
Brett Miller says: Well, if those are goals are aspirations for hobby activity (OBE, WILD, etc.) then getting serious about meditation could get you there. Of course, you would have to make a lifestyle change and start doing it every day. Then you would eventually stumble upon those things and how to be aware of them, create the causes and conditions for them to arise and be experiences for you.
…but such effort into meditation could yield much more fulfilling results, and that’s what Leo is presenting to you, with his spiritual video series especially.
Eventually, if you stick with it, a shift occurs where you actually start learning more from your mind, self, and its tactics than you do when you pull out the books and websites. Eventually you cut the “middle man” out and just sit most all the time, though a spiritual teacher is indespensable, especially if he or she is older and more experienced than yourself.
Leo Gura says: I will talk about those things in the future. Although we got bigger fish to fry for now.
Christine says: Excellent teaching, will practice this. Thanks.
Brett Miller says: Absolutely, it was a nice “go back to Start” for me who was already getting confident he was mastering “don’t know mind”, and some of Leo’s examples hit right on the head — mine.
Another video which would be helpful for me, due to exciting things grasping and hijacking my mind/attention/awareness. Case in point, I’ve already replied to about 3 replies here, out of an excitement that feels so deceptively positive, it tends to take me over and dictate subsequent actions. Yikes!
isaac says: Verry lovely I hope and wish i cud meet you one day. Coming from nigeria
Sanna says: I like the beginning of this video where you describe confusion as a good thing. It feels good to know that what I naturally understand is right. Idk. Brilliant explication!
Gavin says: I must comment on the face you pulled for this video… I personally found it to be equal parts hilarious and great
Alice says: Leo, great video!
Thank you for all of the insights. Sharing it.
All the best!
Alice
Louise says: Grrr’s of Frustration… sigh of acceptance. Thank you as always. Happy for your revelation too.
Madhu says: Thanks a lot Leo for the innumerable snippets of wisdom delivered through multiple videos. And I was glad to hear you talk on how some of your videos spoon feed and sometimes give ready-made answers. Very very important for a seeker to know that true knowing or answers cannot come from borrowed knowledge outside him/her but at the most it can point in the right directions.
Though not entirely related to this video, I’ve the following questions for you.
a) You recently spoke on becoming a modern-sage. So, I was wondering why aren’t you diving into it full-time, but instead choosing to deliver this content while simultaneously doing the inner work? Because when true knowing/enlightenment experiences happen from within, isn’t the intellectual research that you do making you more identified with the mind?
b) You’ve also alluded in many of your videos how it might take decades for someone to get into higher states of consciousness, but you also say that you have witnessed dramatic results (and I see that) in the last 5-6 years of work?How does one reconcile this? Is any reference to past-life being withheld intentionally?
c)In the video on psychedelics, if my memory serves me right, you mentioned that it’s okay to take mushrooms once a week. Isn’t that too frequent and kind of a short-cut and an escape mechanism for an authentic seeker?
Robin says: This leads to not needing to know… When the mind loses the need to know, this makes space. When there is space, then the true wisdom can come.
Yes Leo, yes, yes, yes.
A lovely example of getting out of your own way.
Thanks, Leo.
Hue says: Leo, what you say about figuring things out versus letting the answers be revealed is so true. I have always been good at figuring out convergent problems — like math — and made the mistake of trying to treat divergent problems — the problems that require the reconciling of two seemingly irreconcilable options — the problems of life — as though they were convergent problems. This mistake resulted in a mess of confusion so deep and so tall that I was forced to surrender to it and finally embrace it. Funny thing happened when I quit trying to figure it all out — the answers began to come on their own. Often slowly, but at other times in cascades, and then again I’m still waiting on many. It’s counter-intuitive, but certainly not magical. All of my trying to figure out the impossible-to-figure-out was just blocking the door of revelation. It did SEEM magical at first, but once I became aware of this phenomenon it now seems as natural as breathing. I don’t have the certainty of having all the answers, but I do have the certainty of knowing I’ll have the ones I need — including the un-answers that keep me embracing confusion. That’s quite a different feeling. Having my pride take a massive hit never felt so good!
Eden says: You know what makes me crazy Leo? The concept of no “Law” to human reality/reality, but then there is the “Law of Physics” of the universe and how the planets orbit around the sun, and how the universe needs these Laws to function. Get me out of my head!
For more info:
Kepler’s three laws of planetary motion can be described as follows:
– The path of the planets about the sun is elliptical in shape, with the center of the sun being located at one focus. (The Law of Ellipses)
– An imaginary line drawn from the center of the sun to the center of the planet will sweep out equal areas in equal intervals of time. (The Law of Equal Areas)
– The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun. (The Law of Harmonies)
Sara says: Hi Leo I am a new follower but I already love your videos.
I was wondering if it is wise to embrace confusion when it might hurt other people and yourself. For example when you are confused about your feelings. Hope you read this and are able to help me. Thanks.
Leo Gura says: If you are confused about your feelings, just be very honest about that, rather than trying to hide it. Tell the person: “I’m confused about my feelings.” Do this without attempting to manipulate them or get any specific outcome. And you’ll see how much easier communication is.
Sara says: Thank you Leo!
Radhika says: hi leo,
i like to listen to your content its really helpful but i am right now at ground zero in every aspect of life be it health or studies or intellectually or stress,anger,procrastination,behavior.
And i want to set things right, want to reincarnate myself.
i am in grade 12 and i am preparing for iit-jee an entrance exam for engineering at Indian institute of technology Bombay. i didn’t study very well in 11 so i have a lot to cover up and actually i realized science is the only field in which i see my future.
but i have all the bad habits procrastination, sleep addiction,not discipline and i want my mom to be proud of myself because she has invested a lot in me.
so pls tell where to begin with.
Shola says: This episode really confused me. But this topic is so important and a basic of reality.
Daniel says: This is the most profound episode for me after I did your Life Purpose course. It really, really opened my eyes for my neurotic tendencies. My number one reason for procrastination both now and earlier in my life. Thank you, donated 5 dollars.
Daniele says: Thank you so very much for this lesson. this was a gift I am not even sure how to explain. I PTSD and new to this journey but having permission to know is huge. I have a lot of anxiety based on making the wrong choice and making the wrong choice. I have recognized long ago that this often leads to me making the wrong choice because I forced an answer before I was ready. I tossed a coin and went with it. The truth is I don’t know more often than not.
Brandon Zurvalec says: Great content as always here, and there are indeed many things that one could say about it. What I will I will comment on, though, is the notion that the deepest, most profound knowledge and insights come from revelations as opposed to an individual’s “pushing.” I have always kind of suspected this to be true, but it’s interesting to hear someone else just come out and say it. And yeah, for my part, I have been telling people for years that my some of my best thoughts come to me at the end of the day when I’m going for my run. And no, I’m not “pushing” for them, they just kind of hit me as I’m running along the trail and letting my mind go wherever it wants. Other examples I’ve seen of this include (1) Stephen King’s mentioning in his book, “On Writing,” that the ideas for his books basically come out of thin air and (2) a Country-Western musician (whose name escapes me right now) who mentioned that his songs “just come to him” and that he never actually sits down and actively/consciously writes songs.
Mars Northian says: Ooph… I have given a LOT of thought to how often our intolerance of discomfort affects our lives negatively. But I had not really made the connection with my current state of confusion/uncertainty over career decisions. I thank you for this video; it really hit home. I wonder if you would see fit to add that — once one has embraced their confusion — one can still explore the conflicting options with maybe a light touch rather than a grasping? I mean, I don’t think you are necessarily saying that we need to abandon any search for an answer. (But I’m sensing that some people might be interpreting it that way.)
Joe says: I came to this video after one of the early Life Purpose Course videos. After listening to the talk about visionaries, people who rallied other people and changed the world, it made me uncomfortable.
That’s because the ‘life purpose’ I had in mind was more like writing an epic novel, or creating incredible art. It made my desires feel insufficient, are my goals too selfish? Do I need to reevaluate? Do I even want to be a visionary like those few historical figures?
I realise how so much of that came from the clinging to the ‘purpose A or purpose B’, that I’ve still been viewing my potential in a limited egoic scope.
Accepting that I don’t have to know straight away felt incredibly relieving. Life seems so much more beautiful when you research deeply, and never force yourself to know what you want.