Addictions

 

All we need to do to receive direct help is to ask. Didn’t Christ also say: “Ask, and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you. Everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth”? And yet asking is what we find hardest. Many of us, I feel, hardly know how to ask. Sometimes it is because we are arrogant, sometimes because we are unwilling to seek help, sometimes because we are lazy, and sometimes because our minds are so busy with questions, distractions, and confusion that the simplicity of asking does not occur to us.

The turning point in any healing of alcoholics or drug addicts is when they admit their illness and ask for aid. In one way or another, we are all addicts of samsara; the moment when help can come for us is when we admit our addiction and simply ask. Sogyal Rinpoche

 

The solution is not through laws or by preaching idelogy.

Preaching at people doesn't work. If you approach a prostitute and you lecture her she will reject your words and ideology.

Maybe one should say, 'whatever you are doing, be yourself, be honest, sincere and detached'; a person experiences himself as he is and can feel the 'observer within'. Maitreya

 

Environment & Rehabilitation.

Rehabilitation in prisons, clinics and hospitals can help one detox. However relapses often occur because as soon as one gets back to a familiar environment and meet up with the same friends having similar experiences one is very likely to have another craving.

In Vietnam - soldiers used alot of heroin - however when got back home they were not addicted.

- drug taking culture - peer pressure to take drugs - fear of losing approval

'Drug addicts are suffering from spiritual starvation', Maitreya

The only way to deal with the individuals internal world is through the power of the environment that Self-Awareness is created.

When an individual walks into a church he feels peaceful and tranquil; the Self experiences this, and the mind no longer in confusion or turmoil.

If there is no stress and strain in the surroundings, then there is no need for drugs, for within the human body is the most powerful drug known to humanity - detachment. And that can only emerge within a sane, clean and peaceful environment.'

Maitreya - SharteInt.

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There are two types of addictions:

Biological ones: which come out of heroin, alcohol, nicotine etc. and here you have no choice - the brain is stronger than the compensation

Psychological ones: for fame, that people always must like you....This is in fact not an addiction but it becomes a habit out of neurosis.

 

Drugs are a external solution for an internal problem

Almost everybody is addicted to something:

If you are addicted to something - it probably means you are too attached to your emotions.

As soon as one get's off centre, anxious or stressed - one is off -balance and looking for centre (inner peace) again. So generally one goes for a smoke, has a few deep puffs and feels better again. (I feel the deep breaths are more beneficial than the smoke).

Any addiction is about moving away from underlying causes / problems.

It is generally about escaping inner pain or turmoil, in the present moment.

If only one stopped for a second, and dealt with the underlying causes of suffering, one would be free from addiction.

Most ex - addicts found God, Jesus and religion to help them on the path os self re-dixcovery.

An aspect of the spiritual path is inner peace, serenity and oneness.

Some drugs give a sense of this. eg. escasty gives a sense if Oneness, Unity, Love, Acceptance, No judgement, Bliss

however this is external high is only temporary. After that first buzz, many drug users are searching for that high again. However it is rarely, if ever found, artificially anyway.

 

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Overcoming addiction

Psychologists Perspective

Affect of drugs on nervous system -changes mood - environmental cues - cues associated with drug

Don't need drugs but want drugs - boil down to same?

Psychologists use extinction therapy - goes through most of drug taking procedure -ie. strapping on belt etc. but at end replaces the syringe - no heroin. This helps to disassociate the drug taking from the procedure.

Psychology illuminate cure - want to learn about general motivational systems - drinking, eating - sex -study - what makes people do drugs. i'd say ego

 

Basics

Dr Wayne Dyer suggests that there are three aspects of addiction

craver - your ego

craving - the impulse

craved - the substance

The craver is the ego - always wanting more and never being satisfied. Always searching for that first high. This is not the real you. This is part of non-self.

A craving is an impulse, a natural high, simulating the craved substance, making you practically nearly taste it! The craving is a minor peep of the high which leads to withdrawal symptoms. This is just an impulse - not the real you.

The craved is the substance. This is obviously not part of you.

To overcome addiction one needs to be detached from your addiction. To become detached, observe your ego craving for more and more of the physical substance.

Know that you are separate from this craving, the craved and your ego. These components are not part of your 'True Self'

Once you overcome ego you will naturally become less dependant on the addiction, especially when you know you can create a natural high from within. You gain an inner power.

I understand I was there. For me it was the fear of not being happy without the drugs, also maybe because of my stressful environment, and fear of losing approval.

Now I am not dependant. The craver is not me! I have an inner power!

See the emotion or craving as it is - and don't react to the craving. Bath in the craving - meditate on it. Find it's source.

Just being concious of your ego's fears and desires is a step in the right direction.

Believe me It really works!

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True Power

Some of us fear power because we have seen it abused on national and international levels, as well as in the family unit or work place. However this is not True Power; it is a mnipulation of authority and position.

True power comes to us when our body, mind and emotions are properly aligned with our spiritual essence. It is the correct use of Life Force that occurs when we are fulfilling our spiritual purpose and have come to a new understanding of our place within the greater scheme of things.

Perhaps the other reason we may fear power is that so many of us have learned, from childhood , to see ourselves as small and powerless. Becoming powerful may feel like stepping into the unknown territory. Giving up beliefs and habits that limit our power allows us to make extraordinary changes.

Negative thoughts, addictions to nicotine, alcohol, other recreational drugs and excessive eating, all dull our senses and disconnect us from our true nature. By changing these habits we grow in strength and grace.

The Eye of Horus, An Oracle of Ancient Egypt by David Lawson

Some Positive affirmations about Power:

I allow myself to grow into my Power

I view everyone with love, acceptance and compassion

I easily see the divine spark within all life'

I easily see the divine spark withing myself

I use my power to make a positive, practical difference

My World is filled with positive messages

I am safe with my power

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An Alternative Addiction - A Natural High?

Be addicted to consciousness - this is an internal addiction that is free and is / leads to liberation.

This is the ultimate 'healthy addiction' that can lead to our Source / True Self. It is the journey that all the Mystics, Yogis, Avatars, Saints etc. have been talking about: Union with God, or as Evelyn Hill said: "Mysticism is Union with Reality".

From my experience, I can fully say that one's addiction to the Super Present Moment - God's Love, Wisdom etc. surpasses any other addiction. Having experienced a moment of Union, one is ever after that state of bliss. This is the fire that burns for the Love of GOD.

As one starts experiencing the blissful state of no-mind, when all grasping and clinging of thoughts and form has dropped away, one's inner fire is set alite for this state.

Is addiction to God's Bliss any better than any other addiction?

Any addiction that takes you away from clarity & peace of mind, and away from the present moment is not beneficial.

Become addicted to meditation - which is simply observation of something in this moment.

Observation is the absence of thought, the thought that wants to acheive, change, to avoid insecurity. In that observation there is stillness, emptiness, oneness.

Manuel Schoch

According to Sri Ramana Maharshi, one should enquire into who is doing the seeking, or who is the one that is addicted. When we penetrate our ego and realize our True Self, we will realize that it is the seeker / addict, not the seeking / addiction that is blocking our Self Realization.

It is the ego-mind, that is constantly searching for something and grasping that stops us from resting peacefully in this present moment. Because we are too identified with either our thoughts, body or emotions, we miss the peace in the moment.

Bliss consciousness is here now, in this moment. We realize this when we stop analyzing, conceptualizing, and when we become aware of what is, we see things clearly, just as they truly are, with no fear or desire attached.

Don't be a slave/ victim of your habits, thoughts, actions, words - be a Self Realized Master!

related reading:

Deepak Chopra - Overcoming Addictions

Spiritual Dimensions of Healing Addictions Donna Cunningham, Andrew Ramer

Awaken to Superconsciousness by J. Donald Walters - - HB 15.99 272pp

Esctatic Body Postures - An Alternate Reality Workbook - by Brenda Gore

336 pp - £17.99

DMT The Spirit Molecule - A Doctor's Revolutionary Research into the Biology of Near-Death, and Mystical Experiences - Dr Rick Strassman

Access Your Brain's Joy Centre - Pete A Sanders

 

related pages:

 

 

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