Tony Robbins’ list of Six Human Needs he believes we all share include:

  • Certainty/Comfort
  • Uncertainty/Variety
  • Significance
  • Love & Connection
  • Growth
  • Contribution

Uncertainty is generally healthy for most of us, especially if it occurs as “variety.” Variety generally has a positive connotation and as such doesn’t feel threatening. “Do I want to go to a movie, or stay home and watch a video?” you might ask yourself.” “Do I want to go to Costa Rica or Montreal for vacation this year?” you may discuss with your partner. There’s nothing scary about variety in this context. Uncertainty however, can feel a little like a warning sign, and often will cause us to slow down and think more seriously about what’s “in front of us” before we make a decision or take action. However, we can also allow our uncertainty to stop us from venturing beyond our comfort zone and saying “Yes” to situations and experiences we’re unfamiliar with, uncertain about, or just downright fearful of. Situations and experiences that might very well range from “No big deal,” to “Surprisingly enjoyable,” to an “Epic experience,” to “Absolutely perfect for our own personal or spiritual growth.” But we miss out because the uncertainty of it stops us.

What’s the antidote?

So how do we move ourselves beyond the uncertainty of a situation in order to give ourselves a chance to experience it and allow it to contribute to our lives? Adyashanti (www.Adyashanti.org) has shared in his teachings that many of the thoughts that we think (and the emotions that frequently trigger by those thoughts) simply aren’t true. For many (myself included) this feels true especially for fear based thoughts which are mostly triggered due to our conditioning and story maintained and propagated by the protective ego. The Ego represents the small “s” version of our “Self” as Jungian psychologists describe it, not to be confused with the large “S” version of our “Self” which Jungians think of as the more aware, spiritual aspect of our psyche. So quieting the ego mind (small “s”) allows us to quite the fear, which then creates space for us to “listen to” and “hear” our more aware, spiritual mind (large “S”).

But what do I do to quiet the ego mind?

The most effective methods I’ve found to encourage the ego mind to let go of the fear associated with the uncertainty of a situation include meditation, questioning the reasons you’re experiencing the fear, chanting sanskrit mantras and the process of questioning your “story.” To explore these topics join me for one of our Group Mastery Programs, which include our ongoing Cultivate Mature Masculinity men’s group, and our ongoing Community Mantra Chanting group.