The Path of Confusion: A Shade of Surrender & Natural State of Mind

"Confusion is the partner of agenda, Clarity has no opposite. In Clarity, confusion and agenda are one"

The sense of confusion can feel like an incredibly vulnerable space to be in, and the avoidance of this, we might say, is a core function of the binary thinking mind. Constantly 'this or thatting', positioning and defining, in an attempt to reconcile the totally unfathomable, unlocated, and undefinable field of experiencing.

As with much of the experience of the movement of mind, this can be recognised as a quest or agenda for safety. Safety for the experience of mind is only found, falsely, through seeking security and avoiding insecurity in an everchanging infinite wildness. Consciousness creates an experience of feeling a false sense of groundedness in concepts, assumptions, and patterns. Finding at least a momentary experience of rest, or a sense of certainty to act in a particular way ('it's this way', 'this is the way'), albeit only to feel the background sense of fear and frustration as the 'opposite way' is also appearing in the field of experience.

And so we move into states of denial and negation as mind tries to reconcile and resolve reality. This creates an energetic experience of sacramental tension and protection - crystalising consciousness in our own personal war of our world. In so doing, we apparently cut off the flow of vitality, inspiration, and aliveness that is this one single moment in its ever expressing crescendo of its own totality. An unfathomable precision - unresolved, yet totally and truly reconciled constantly. Its everything the mind is looking for, and surrendering to the sense of confusion is the doorway through which reality reveals itself into its own clarity.

Undefined.

Safe.

Open.

Free.

"Confused by thoughts, we experience the duality in life. Unencumbered by ideas, the enlightened see the one reality"

                    HUINENG

Confusion as a natural state of mind

When we surrender to the experience of confusion, we are not submitting to chaos, but rather opening ourselves to a clarity beyond the grasp of our minds—a clarity pure, undefined, and profoundly transformative.

The essence of this experience is beautifully captured by Peter Brown in the Yoga of Radiant Presence:

"The nature of the actuality has some extremely delightful implications and inherent nature, which one gets to enjoy when one recognizes what it is"​​.

This recognition is not about understanding in the traditional sense but about experiencing the inherent perfection of our being without the interference of mental constructs.

Confusion arises as a natural consequence of the mind's attempt to categorize and control reality. It is the mind's way of 'this or thatting,' a relentless drive to fit the fluidity of life into rigid boxes. Yet, as we allow ourselves to fall into the state of confusion, recognizing it as a signal of our consciousness trying to assert its interpretations, we find a profound opportunity. It is a chance to let these interpretations dissolve back into the clarity from which they arose—a clarity that is the foundation of all existence, yet remains untouched by thought.

Cosmic Conversation: A Ride on a Jet Plane

Confusion can be a doorway to more direct experiencing within the sensation of existential angst, revealing an electric aliveness akin to the onset of a transcendental journey and cosmic conversation with the self, into itself. It can sink the mind into a trance, allowing clarity and automatic action and spontaneous arising to emerge in the field of deep trust and unity. This energy, both potent and enlightening, is a vehicle through which we can ride the waves of true presence.

"every energy that shows up in your experience is a lightning bolt from God. It is pure divine shakti, and it is truth, and when you see it and own it as a vector of divine force, its a weapon in your arsenal.

You're using it, but you're not doing something with it, you're using it by seeing it...seeing is doing. When you see what things are you've done it. So it's kind of like surfing.

When you see these energies and you see the truth of it, you ride that truth and that is integrated to all the other energies, until you see the full field of the energies and you're surfing the whole thing,

and then you dissolve as a separate surfer

and its just this field of energy surfing itself"                                                                        PETER BROWN

The path of confusion is thus a teacher guiding us to recognize the radiance of the moment appearing through clear seeing. It invites us to let go of dualistic perceptions, to reconcile opposites, and embrace the totality of our experience as a manifestation of divine intelligence.

As Peter Brown suggests, "

"This actuality of your experiential field, this actuality of your experiential presence is the path of yoga, the vehicle of yoga, and also the goal of yoga"​​.

In embracing confusion, we are not lost but are precisely where we need to be—on the path to realizing our true nature as unbounded, radiant presence.

POINTERS:

• Understand that confusion for the mind is a natural resting state. It is not a sign of failure but a potential opening to deeper insights.

• Recognize that there is no separate entity like 'the mind' working things out. This realization liberates us from the illusion of control and allows us to witness the unified intelligence that orchestrates all of existence.

• Embrace the energy of confusion as safe and transformative. It is not to be feared but engaged with as a dynamic aspect of our spiritual unfolding.

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