Subtle Addictions
By Leo Gura - June 27, 2017 | 21 Comments
Over 40 sneaky addictions you never even considered addictions.
I’ve been following this channel for over a year now and have listened to every video. One of the more impressive aspects is seeing how you have grown throughout the 3 years. I wonder if you anticipatied this growth when you launched actualized.
Either way, I am putting a hold on theory as I have a lot of problems acting. I’m admittedly an armchair philosopher. While my life is in order and perhaps comparatively doing well, it’s relative and I know I can do more. I’m sick of regressing and falling down the same hole. I deleted all my game apps and sold my video games. I’ve established a strong morning routine. It’s hard Leo, but I’m trying one step at a time. One of the things that has really helped is the 3 things to be successful at anything video.
Thanks for all you do
Pat
Jonathan says: Good luck to u Pat
Max Gron says: A year’s watching of this company should set the intention to eventually stop watching it and start doing what it says, also I used to be addicted to just fun, nothing else until something snapped on 14 January 2022 on Friday that not everything should be fun, so spirit and God and no hedonism is a good alternative to fun, I don’t want just fun, I don’t think my will to be imperfect, make sure everything in life is a mistake non-stop, pinch myself to wake up, let things go awry letting the chips fall, undergo pain, stress and worry etc is fun, it’s perfectly imperfect, it makes things busy, active, hectic, difficult and stressful and my rewards are not overstressing about perfection.
Arun says: Another big one is people pleasing, but thanks for this brilliant video. Made my day.
Marcin says: What about comfort? It’s much more deeper than you mentioned. All stuff around us is made for our comfort. It’s a shame we can’t walk 1 or 2 kilometers to grocery with backpack. And it’s even more deeper. There is a story written by Chuang-tse about a farmer who doesn’t want to use crane to draw water from the well just because it make a man mechanical and this lead to tardiness and laziness. And now think again about all stuff around us! You can record whole episode about comfort or even several episodes!
Thanks Leo!
Holly Young says: Wow!!!! This is amazing
Thank you Leo!
I realize my “addition” is cleaning and keep my desk or house or kitchen or closet in order and neat fashion too much. It is getting in my way of reading and writing which is my bigger goal.
Also I need to tune down my quest and secret admiration for constant beaut, fitness and healthy diet a little bit, mentally adjusting. Image and appearance are important professionally, however don’t let those get in the way to the point of not having enough time for the main goal and task.
Life has competing goals…focus on the main priorities!
Lynda H says: I will fight with armchair philosophier. I will set big goal and go do it. No over analysis. Balance toward more action than just reading and thinking.
Leo is super hero of mine. Thank you so much everyday.
Kirk S says: Fantastic insight!
Never thought of additive to love, security, cheating, lying, and manipulating!
Great great wisdom and teaching!
This was my third time listening to this episode!!!
H says: Thanks Leo
Don’t read books for the sake of reading!!!
Jim feiling says: I heard theology can be an addiction too
Jim feiling says: Like needing a conception or being obessed with the concept of god
More thought-provoking words of wisdom from our great speaker.
While listening a couple of points came up for me. Hope I can remember!
Ok, it occurred to me that probably most people including even many of the more advanced and in particular those that are well-to-do most probably are unaware of the extent to which many of the everyday things (in this case meaning any thing whatsoever, noun, verb, person, feeling, activity, goal, phone) that we take for granted contribute to our entire cartload of addictions. One reason for this is it’s always-been-there nature resulting in what could be called supra-subtlety. However the most significant contribution to one’s cart of often grossly underestimated addiction is due to the fact that one rarely has the opportunity to experience what it would be like to believe or understand that any such thing is quite possibly or more than likely gone for good and never to return.
Consequently it is often not until some of our most beloved and valuable things are essentially or doubtlessly gone forever that we come to understand how dependent we were– and are– all along, quite possibly in a multitude of ways.
Signed: lame philosopher who can’t even score pot where it’s legal!
rebellion is my subtle addiction. there was a secret question what color are lemons and i wrote ‘lemon’ because i sensed ‘yellow’ was expected. and my response was blocked because i failed the secret question. funny!
Max Gron says: Likelihood of dying for my behaviour is my subtle addiction, I’m trying to stay alive yet people are trying to destroy me. I can tell you now I’m living for my demands, and demanding everything to be perfect, even demanding people like you to be perfect ends up getting perfection in the end while I’m drinking a lemon mint iced tea.
Adam says: Examples of indefinitely or permanantly overcoming the most addictions/attachments, even the invisible supra-subtle ones, hopes, comforts, etc may have been in some past and perhaps even present Native American cultures, where as I understand it, the young brave sets out into the wilds alone to survive for a period, not merely to prove himself to the tribe or wife-to-be, but to overcome all those highly inapparent addictions that most people even actualized and enlightened people are oblivious to the powerful effect of. Oblivious to how deeply their egos would suffer had merely one or two of these psychic support features disappeared for good, or worse even for good without one knowing that it is for good, such as if some neurotic spouse went off with your beloved daughter leaving you indefinitely hopeful for a reuniting that you have no idea will never transpire.
In reponse to this reality and challenge many try the following: they go into seclusion perhaps some camp in the woods for a set time and after some weeks or months feel they’ve overcome a great deal. But compare this to the indian brave and you will see that there is neither a parallel nor the same end result. A woman I knew of once tried this but unlike the braves who choose to put their very life (and ego) on the line, the modern vision quester puts far less on the line. For here there are safety plans in place, plans a and if necessary plan b, usually emergency options such as cell phones, the option to get into whatever vehicle got you there and return to the safety of civilization, something to make the loneliness bearable, food a plenty while the brave must score or risk dying of starvation or worst yet even be a meal himself. In some cultures he neither is welcome to return to the tribe not without achieving some task such as dispatching a dangereous wild animal. In contrast the modern spiritual quester is supported by knowing that it is just a matter of time before he or she will once again experience (ie fall back on) the many addictions and attachments waiting at home, and such foreknowledge tends to strengthen ones resolve to stick it out despite how lonely, and how frieghting and boring the lone camp experience is.
While the brave is well aware that everything that once was dear to him may never be dear to him again, which will have the psychological effect of truly ending addictions both during the quest and again if so redeveloped back at home– the love of mother, the dependance on dads guidance, the pleasure of sex and friends, the comforts of civilization, the assistance when help is needed– in contrast the modern solo quester earns almost none of the same benefits for there was never a time when she either was at great risk or believed to be at great risk of losing anything. This one will often go back and brag about being fully alone for so-and-so a time, but you are never alone when communication is at all possible or when others are aware of your situation or when there is a plan b. Or even if you have a watch.
The only modern comparison to our rightly named Brave is any individual who is entirely on his own, who hasn’t a loved one or friend in the world, who no one calls writes to or ever checks on, who would not be dicovered dead in his abode before a week or two or more has passed, who gets by with only what his nepotismic world permits, who needs not the company of pets or people (but objects to neither), who ages silently and quietly as his time slowly runs out, who never imposes on others beyond what is essential to avail his great purpose for which all who knew him rejected and abandoned him. Now that’s a fellow with a chance at getting an audience with God. I’m aware of but one in all the world.
In summary (this would be the title if titles could be posted): THERE IS NO KNOWING HOW FREE FROM ADDICTION YOU ARE, YES YOU THERE SITTING ON YOUR COUCH AT HOME, UNTIL YOU ARE ENTIRELY AND HOPELESSLY ALONE, PERMANANTLY AND AS FAR AS YOU KNOW NEVERENDINGLY SEPARATED FROM ALL POSSIBILITY TO CHANGE YOUR PLIGHT AND STATUS ETC ETC. IF YOU GET MY DRIFT.
AD
Jimmy Jones says: HEALTH TIP
For “help” with thought addictions try meditation along with James Brown Music
Max Gron says: Life’s complicated, I’m not addicted to an argument or debate or preaching, I’m addicted to being perceived as evil, by doing nothing people talk about and go on and on about how evil and wrong I am and can’t see that merely being good, not hurting people, isn’t even a big deal, it’s not even important, but they can’t see that, contradictorily to them it’s important, it’s a biiiiiig consequence to them, just watch yourself getting a reaction when you do silly things, like watching TV and that’s it, or just drinking water, people think it has an underlying evil because it’s so trivial, they’ll make up a reason, they think it’s not just a nothing thing, their reason for the evil could be the house is too hot, or you’re just standing there, or simply because the way you sit there exists, I’m addicted to receiving this macabre behaviour, I was never seen as a normal person without them thinking they’re unlucky to cross my path. Your luck doesn’t come into it, I’m not here to make people happy. I’m addicted to undecidability to not change. That’s all.
Max Gron says: I never thought I’m still addicted to fun, do you see that it’s neurotic? Always angry when there’s nothing to enjoy, whinging that I’m not having a good time. Yes I will have the time of my life, more fun than I ever had in years. Why do normal sane unmedicated people get all the fun, yet most of you give oddballs a hard time? Normal isn’t the most popular people when compared to a cheesy celebrity or a pop star. If it’s popular then that just means it’s enjoyed by a multitude of people as popularity can be an addiction, religion is itself addictive as Jesus refusing to change and getting killed was addicted to God. That’s actually a problem as Jesus wasn’t the only one who produced a belief from a death, every eccentric is likely to produce a problematic war from a death. If I acted weird right now I could die for my weirdness, that’s actually an addiction, if you have to die, you suffer addiction.
Max Raoy Gron says: Here’s a list of my odd addictions: having the fan on, having the fan set no higher than 2, fear cults like not saying “bloody Mary” 5 times in the mirror, being normal, associating normalcy with the game of common, typical, regular and words like that, following recipe apps on my mobile, only eating and drinking certain things, having recipe books and apps that are specific. That’s some of my”subtle addictions to which I must overcome, and I’m also addicted to making perfection out of being treated like and acting like an equal.
Max Gron says: The belief in Puritanism was that addiction of mine, as disbelief used to be my addiction, but I dropped hundreds of the beliefs I had over the years, there’s only one thing worth me believing and that’s Kierkegaard’s aesthetic life, thusly staying Christian is the only proper way for me to be like my cousin Andrew Hermitte, you can’t be Andrew Hermitte without believing sad things and staying sad all your life, being me on the other hand isn’t easy, I haven’t manipulated systems, but I’ll go by my new year’s resolution from January 1, 2024, and that’s to stick to the same beliefs unchanged no matter what, and to do nothing to better myself. I overcame some of my subtle addictions, most of them aren’t important and I forgot about them.
Max Gron says: I’m no longer, I think, learning from these videos, I think I have it all figured out, but continued to write comments as I did I’m more conscious now than I was 6 months ago, there’s only one truth, a blend of convention, pessimism, Kierkegaard’s religion, anti-Australianism, and lepidopterology, yes, these are the only truth, truth’s merely what I think, as with subtle addictions I have this subtle addiction to trouble, to angry people, disastrous happenings with other people, that’s not something I’m proud of, at least I don’t confuse a pizza with a crostini. Equally and I haven’t found anything untrue in my religion, I think if I spot one untruth in anything it is I believe, I’ll stop believing it, I think my religion’s true, I let go of having to drop my beliefs, the sins of religion cause you to believe. I haven’t done any waste of my time, I’m addicted to being undecided, but then I found how very consistent I am. It’s not the same at mum’s house as it is down there at dad’s house (they’re divorced). And as for appeal to popularity, saying atheism’s not everyone’s belief, to hell with that, some of us are religious like our lives depend on it, I think in all the blessings the sacrifice is what’s protecting us from sin, which I think is monstrous because I don’t want to think of a death, he died for our sins, that’s not good, it’s evil, so to hell with the original evil cult, I prefer Kierkegaard, it’s perfectly one way to get into trouble, but in this case it’s not. I think I’m preventing trouble without the side effects of any trouble, just trying to not stir the pot, I think the doctors are lying, to be normal like the rest of the people is to be average which is the best.