Stay confused, your better off
I can’t deny it, I’m very excited to write this article.
It’s a subject that occupies my thoughts nearly 95% of the time.
It’s a concept that makes me feel deeply venerable on one level…yet so sure of its truth on another.
Within this article, ill be diving deep into the concept itself before sharing with you how it can be applied to the world of weight loss in another follow up article.
However, for now…let’s begin!
The Concept
Here’s a quote that I heard which took me by absolute storm and really helped the penny drop:
“Every conclusion we draw is like dying in instalments”
(Sadguru)
As soon as I heard this, somehow a sharp image came into my mind…a little something like this:
Here, the picture shows how we perhaps may have got to the centre of a maze by drawing a series of conclusions on our path at every turn when faced with a decision.
Now, I’m not saying here this is a “bad” thing…in fact, it’s very necessary within certain circumstances. For example, its entirely appropriate for a judge in a courtroom to make a conclusion based off the evidence presented in a case. Without a conclusion, a sentence cannot be made in a process which requires one. Similarly, in daily life, we too like the judge are faced with many circumstances where coming to a conclusion about how we want an outcome to be is needed. For example, making a firm conclusion on what time we need to wake up, eat, move, sleep, work etc. All very necessary and real examples where there is no getting away from making a conclusion.
When I’m referring to in this article, is when it comes to making conclusions about our BELIEF systems.
If we take another look at the quote above by Sadguru, I suppose what he is really implying here is this idea of a FIXED outlook or perception to things. His use of the word “dying” and choice to relate a type of thought pattern to death for me was remarkable, given they are seemingly unmatched.
However, as with any mystic or spiritual guru, there is often likely to be hidden layers / depths of meaning which may be beyond our comprehension.
Let’s try none the less.
Please, have a look at the picture below and reflect on how you think this may relate back to the quote:
For me, the bottom picture where we can see the colourful leaves so clearly represents an extreme FOCUS on an idea / solution / concept or way of being. In a FOCUS state, we may be deeply close and almost affectionate to our beliefs we form because of the conclusions we make, however, may fail to even notice the eternal sun shining just beyond the boundary of our attention.
Now turn your attention to the above photograph where the sunset is now in FOCUS, where you may notice the finer details of the mountain ridges as well as the circular definition of the sun. In the same way, now that the FOCUS has changed, the colour / shape & orientation of the leaves which are actually so close to the observer, now seem so far away.
I hope the message is starting to take form at this point.
I hope that like me, you are able to connect with the hidden meaning behind the quote shared above and pictures framed here.
I hope that like me, you are becoming more aware of the idea that staying in a state of FOCUS alone may present equal opportunity & challenge.
Just like the image of the maze where the person successfully navigated a path towards the middle, it ultimately may result in being faced with the challenge of feeling stuck by a product of many conclusions….hence the quote?
It then starts to make sense to me as I ask myself the question, how is the need to draw fixed conclusions in our lives about things really helping us?
Where did this need to draw conclusions come from? Is this our nature? Is this nurture?
I invite you to reflect on the below question and ask yourself to cast your mind back and see where it takes you:
· Have you ever had a moment in your life where a belief you had about something turned out to be un-true?
Or
· No longer served its purpose?
Or
· It turned out, there was another (or multiple) ways or beliefs you could have had to achieving the same outcome?
I know I can say yes to all of the above. In fact, sometimes even a HELL YES!
If I relate this back momentarily to health & fitness, it makes perfect sense.
There is much media “out there” projecting onto us at every given moment about what diet plan to follow, which gym routine is most optimal or even which food / nutrient combination works best during various times of the day. I mean, there is no end to how details & scientific some material is.
And with this, comes a decision to allow something external to make its way into my own roadmap / GPS system where if I so choose, my journey may divert towards even if it takes me on roads my mind / body & soul does not innately wish to go.
I’ve been on this road many times, driving towards a journey I did not knowingly wish to travel and surprisingly found myself resisting along the way. At each junction, wondering if its too late to turn around and drive back. The sinking feeling, I got when I pass each slip road ignoring my gut feeling and intuition disheartened me each time. Each time, building up resentment towards myself knowing that when I reach the destination, it will be with a fickle smile.
I wonder how many of us have felt this before in life and the ramifications it has in all other areas of life?
It can feel like walking with a heavy backpack, at each turn of the journey adding more and more rocks making each step harder to take.
Is this what drawing conclusions is really doing to us?
Why do we do it to ourselves?
Do we even know we are doing it?
How do we become aware of it?
If we are aware, then why do we still do it? It doesn’t make any sense.
It’s like watching the spoiler of a movie at the start then feeling upset the watching experience was ruined because of this.
Why did we skip to the conclusion so fast?
What’s stopping us detaching from the outcome and simply being ok with not wanting to know everything all of the time?
Hmmm…I feel like in writing this, I’ve come across something worth pausing on.
After meditating on this for a moment, two ideas come to mind.
1) Perhaps we are attached to focus / rigidity / structure / routine or…conclusions because they provide comfort & clarity. Perhaps clarity provides the licence to act. Perhaps action is our duty?
2) Perhaps what’s stopping us from detaching from a position of structure / routine & conclusions is…fear? Fear of a loss in clarity? Fear of then…inaction? Fear of then…not performing our duty?
There is a lot more id love to elaborate on and continue however I find myself wanting to sit with a few points I’m currently observing as a test to see how it feels before I move onto another set of thoughts:
Momentary comfort in drawing a conclusion may result in long term challenge
As our breath is free flowing, perhaps our mind may also benefit from this approach?
If we really want to draw conclusions, then perhaps its best to start with small ones with less frequency…using our first-hand experiences are not others projections onto us?
Perhaps a lifetime of non-binary thinking and a state of constant “confusion” is in fact…ok?
Enter the matrix,