Addictions.

[Digit]

Addictions.



is there a more beneficial counterpart to addictions as there are for dramas?



just as poor-me can become reformer, intimidator to leader, interogator to advocate and aloof to independant thinker, can we do the same for addiction?



i've broken free from more than a few myself, and know it can be quite difficult, and know easier ways which i share with people if i can get into an open flow with them. for example, if you're trying to stop something you love, stop doing THAT! it won't work, you're fighting yourself like that. If you want to quit smoking laced tobacco products for example, its not a matter of thinking you want to quit doing it, its that you want to be free from it, you want to enjoy breathing air again, you want to be free from dependant cravings, free from dependance, free from the pain caused by lacking, you want to be over the hurdle beyond what it was once like to have this chemically created sensation of need, you have nothing to loose but your ball and chain! similarly with alcoholism, its not that you want to stop drinking, its that you want to enjoy clarity and sobriety! and for those of you who started drinking at 18 (or whatever the legal age is where you live) or younger, and havn't had a break from it for longer than about 3 months, you really don't know what you're missing. if not one drop of alcohol passes your lips in 3 months, your entire existence is changed, you think clearer, less moods, feel lighter, freer, happier, no depression, more capable, almost invincable even, and of course, when you've been drinking too heavily for some time and stop for a day or two, of course, you're going to feel pretty rotten, and maybe even think that it's less pleasant than drinking. wrong, this is still part of the alcohol experience, its just a little further along in time so for those living in a narrow now may find it difficult to associate the "negative" experience with alcohol consumption rather than sobriety.



soberness=greatness.



remember how great it was as a child? all that energy and so on? try sobriety for a bit, and see how much of that you retain. *(given the apropriate diet)





however... computer games.... umm. thats a bit more difficult. any advice on that one? though it was great to get away from games to once again explore the richness of life, there are far bigger psychological hurdles to get over with it. agorophobia, social phobias, anxiety, yadda yadda yadda. no wonder they say game addiction is harder to cure than cocain addiction.





- and people addictions... woah.

i have one that i reformed into a healthy relationship. how, i wish i knew so i could relay it to you. it took alot of time and perception shifitng, probably alot of the art of self-misdirection too.
_________________
If ignorance is bliss, give me agony.

Educate yourself so you may educate others.

Namaste, Enlakesh, Ahimsa, may samadhi be with you.



http://www.activeremedy.org.uk

[michellepetkus]

[Digit]

then maybe you're not yet ready to move beyond this. as long as your doing something you enjoy and can see no harm in it, trying to "stop" doing it will be almost impossable.



if you "want to stop smoking" but also, still "want to smoke" or more accurately, "want to be free", perhaps its time to engage a practice of thought adjustment. remind yourself that it's the chemicals added to the tobacco talking... and those companies have had decades and trillions to spend on finding out just which ones to add... and remind yourself of what it's doing everytime you're with the experience, the whole of the experience... not just the "mmm, thats tickling the bit of my brain that deals with dopamine and pleasure" but also the many thousands of others that tend to go unoticed unless you're consciouslly with the experience, "ew, that's constricting my veins and arteries and giving them a coating that dissolves their ability to allow necessary ingredients to pass through", "ackg, that's coating my lungs in radium 256 (or whatever) and seriously messing with the autofunctions of my cells", "bleurgh, this stuff is reducing my ability to make my own white blood cells", "yuck, there's 7 types of cyanide in this", "eek, i'm inhaling the gasses given off from the combustion of polyethene and other plastics, potassium and other highly reactive metals, sugars and other combustants added to this with no concern for the vitality and wellbeing of my physical being", "eeeeew, my bone marrow is dissolving with every molecule of this stuff entering my body", and so on and so on... actually be with what it is to smoke a cigarette. Ignorance is not bliss. Ignorance is just stockpiling pain & suffering for later. stay with it, until you find yourself regualrly taking cigarettes out of you mouth to put them out with only one or two puffs taken from them. after that, it is so easy to free yourself from it because you realise that this "wanting to smoke" was a state, chemically enduced by multinationals who's only responsability was to their shareholders.



If you still want to smoke, and it is the smoking you want to do, rather than the get the next one so i can have a moments relief from this uncomfortable state i have come to know as life yet if i was to step outside that perception would realise is nothing more than my subtle veil of addiction.... if you still want to smoke, then may i suggest growing your own tobacco, drying it out and find out what it was that originally inspired those explorers to partake that activity in the first place. Real tobacco is a far fuller experience with greater worth to it than mearly a medium for carrying legal addictions. or, better yet, take up smoking the real herb, the one that has over 5000 years of medical documentation backing up it's validity, the one hindus most closely associate with lord Shiva, the plant we've been using for thousands of years for a list over over 27,000 uses, the plant who's ingredients as a foodstuff are in perfect synchronicity with the human digestive system and one could say designed to live in symbiosis with humans due to its accuracy of nutrition... "Hemp", of the Indica, Sativa or Ruderalis varieties, I've also heard of Chinensis and "Rasta" though i doubt the validity of the latter two.





anyways, besides my activism tangent there, back to the addictions topic...



first up, you are not addicted. it is an illusion. the term addiction carries with it a subtle undertone of solidity and unchangingness that simply isnt true. these states are transitory and easily stepped out of if given the correct keys and clues, tools and directions. all of which are already available to you within yourself. this could be to do with yourself being a micro version of the entire kosmos, but thats a little farther out there for most of us to easily grasp, or for the purposes of understanding you are already free from your addiction, it's just a matter of staying on the case and waiting for the rest to catch up with this reality.
_________________
If ignorance is bliss, give me agony.

Educate yourself so you may educate others.

Namaste, Enlakesh, Ahimsa, may samadhi be with you.



http://www.activeremedy.org.uk

[chakratom]

Good thread!



It is my belief that one can be free of the addiction of cigarettes and still have the occasional ciggie, I do it sometimes, mostly around other smokers, but don't crave it anymore by making a choice to not smoke.



Sometimes, smoking can be a way to ground yourself and bring your awareness into the present moment. I know this because when I do smoke, I am aware of my smoking, and aware of where I am in time and space.



Addiction can be defined pretty much as something you do that you cannot stop. My worst addiction is smoking marijuana, which I feel is not so bad, as long as I use it the way I use ciggies, and rarely use it, yet I want it every night I am at home alone.



I am also addicted to dancing to good music, like house, breaks, funk, jungle, etc... So, I have decided to wait until the last minute to decide on going to Shambhala Music Festival again this year, where I am certain to take LSD, smoke the herb, and eat some psilocybin.



But does one event each year mean I am a drug addict? After all, it must be God's will for us to have LSD, Ecstasy, Marijuana, and everything in the universe. Unless God didn't make any of this possible.



Plus, it was Shambhala and LSD that helped me see my present clearer, when I was dancing and without fear, I embraced the darkness of addiction and intoxication as part of the master plan.



Today I am on the path as a spiritual healer, and can feel it stronger every day...



Peace



tom
________
Herbal vaporizers

[michellepetkus]

I absolutely agree that it has to do with focus. The problem is I can't seem to find my trigger that changes my focus. I will keep trying until I do so thank you for this. It does help to talk it out and hear peoples perspectives on it.



Michelle

[Digit]

[chakratom]

Wow Digit!



I must say, the last time I saw my words quoted and responded to so much, I left that forum after 1800 posts! It was because I didn't like the way those folks misinterpreted my words, and like the bias media, omitted the point I was driving at!



You however, did not do that. Respect...



On a similar note, I too have experienced the psilocybin seeing-through-matter before, and I was not ready for it, so I "tripped" out. Then a couple years ago, at a beutiful muxsic festival, some call it a party, a rave, whatever, I took some LSD for the first time in 10 years. It opened me up, I made a choice to follow the path, and here I am today, training as a spiritual healer, and doing what I can to help my fellow light workers.



Of course, I said training, so, I am still learning...



I am having trouble refraining from smoking around some other smokers that are friends and co-workers, and I know better. So, I replaced it with fruit and water, something that tastes fresh and yummy instead of the nasty cigarette taste. Same with alcohol, even my marijuana is ata point of take it or leave it.



Having said that, I picked up some beautiful LSD yesterday, just in case I feel like doing some more astral plane travels. I have some mushrooms too, I got them months ago and have yet to take them, and when I can find some MDMA I will pick up some of that too.



Back to addictions, it doesn't have to be illegal, or a "drug" to be addictive, as some people are addicted to sex, food, relationships, music, etc...



The ticket I found for me is to experience new things as often as possible, and not keep returning to old habits, behaviours and thought patterns, keep it fresh!



Peace



Tom
________
ZX14 VS HAYABUSA

[Digit]

[Morgaine]

I would like to offer my personal perspective and experience on addictions.



Today I am free from substance addiction of nicotine, alcohol and drugs and I am aware of and mostly free from my non-substance-related addictions.



All my addictions are interchangeable and it is important for me to be aware of that. All my addictions have the same cause: There is an unpleasant feeling I am trying to avoid. I my case, feelings were not allowed in the context of the family where I grew up. I could be feeling lonely , sad , angry or full of shame or guilt . So when I notice a craving, my first question to myself is: What feeling am I trying to avoid? When I allow myself to go through that feeling (which is almost always not as bad as I imagine it to be and certainly better than a relapse) and giving it what it needs (permission to be there, attention, respect, compassion, etc.) the craving disappears. It has worked for me all the time I tried it.



Other tools for me are spirituality (another major reason for addiction is the disconnection fron the Source), the 12 Step Program, inner child work, and most importantly, reaching out to other people than reaching for the drug.



I would like to hear your perspective.
_________________
God's blessing shines upon me from within my heart, where He abides. I need but to turn to Him, and every sorrow melts away, as I accept his boundless Love for me. -A Course in Miracles-

[michellepetkus]

Hi Morgaine,



You are the second person who has defined addictions as an avoidance of feelings so to speak and I think you both really have something here. (See Dealing With Cravings and Addictions in the Share Insights section on the second page) I personally have been working on my nicotine addiction and have been struggling. Interestingly enough, I went to Disney World this summer on a family reunion. I was the only smoker in the group. I made a conscious effort to put my focus on being there for my nieces and nephews rather than dreading the difficulty of having little opportunity to smoke. I was quite surprised that with this change in focus (and routine) that it really wasn't all that difficult for me not to smoke. The problem was, once I got back home, to my normal routine I went right back to my regular level of smoking. I completely lost that determined focus I had with me while on vacation. So as of right now I'm seeing three issues that are keeping me trapped in my addiction. Avoidance as you have stated along with a fear of loss. My focus being on smoking rather than not smoking or better still something more positive. And plain old force of habit that drives me to light up during those times that are routine for me. I've really enjoyed hearing everyones perspectives on addictions because they are helping me to understand them a little better so that hopefully one day soon I can be one of those people who just one day wakes up and says thats it I'm done and never picks up another cigarette again.



Michelle

[Morgaine]

Dear Michelle,



thank you for sharing your experience. Rest assured that I did not wake up and say - I'm done, that's it, never again - and never had the craving again.



To quit smoking has been one of my toughest issues, so I can very much relate to what you are saying. Coping with addictions requires determination and persistance as well as willingness and support to feel the feelings suppressed through the addictive behaviour. The approach that worked for me: www.nicotine-anonymous.org/



I found another interesting & really smart article on addictions by Marion Woodman today. By the way: the fact that the author's name sounded familiar to me and thus attracted my attention was granted by the synchronicity that I am presently reading one of her books. She basically says that addiction is caused by a spiritual crisis and that we fall into addictive behaviour when we shy away from jumping into our own emptiness with a leap of faith. So that is fear instead of choosing love. The article can be found on www.whatthebleep.com in the forum section on addictions.



Blessings & love
_________________
God's blessing shines upon me from within my heart, where He abides. I need but to turn to Him, and every sorrow melts away, as I accept his boundless Love for me. -A Course in Miracles-

[Theressa]

Hi All,



This is a great thread!



I have a problem with food addicton. Especially if I feel tired. I have felt like I just wanted to so full up today. I ate 3 bags of crisps and chocolate bar. (Not all at once) but I know food affects my mood which affects my perception which affects my food again. I felt okay after I'd eaten all these things.



I had some reflexology yesterday. I have been taking Bioactive Spirulina capsules. I have been eating more fruit this week.



I wonder if my tiredness caused me to want to eat? My life is going well at the moment so I can't understand why I want to eat?



I know that when I started my new job there was alot of fear and change and thus, I ate alot of things with not much nutrition in.



My biggest issue is I just don't know what to cook that's tasty, filling but healthy???? Any one got any good tips??? When I am tired I just find I need to eat. Also, I find I am starving because I eat lunch at 12.30pm and my evening meal is not until about 6 - 6.30pm which is about 6 hours without proper food. And I just forget to drink water.



I can't afford that green stuff that is full of nutrients.



Any tips or recipes or education on nutrition that is easy and fits in with a busy life???



I am breaking free of being addicted to helping and fixing people.



Blessings

Theressa



~ever trying to evolve and share~



I am addicted to learning new things but that's okay because it has improved my relationships and life.

[Digit]

just wanna say, a big big thanks to morgaine.





shifting the focus to the cause and the real issue is a sure way to live a better, happier, richer more fullfilled life full of all the experiences we can have.



many thanks.





a trusted friend shared a mantra with me that may be just the thing for "jumping into our own emptiness with a leap of faith" and that is, Om Mani Padme hum... or maybe it's om mane peme hum? ;D anyways, for those who are great with seeing auras... check out the energy going about after a few people have been at this one for a while.



oh, and as for "what the bleep do we know!?" ... oh yes, i too have recently found this and have been sharing it with as many people as i can, much the same as happened with the celestine prophecy, but less reservedly.



Theressa said:

[chakratom]

That is a great idea, Digit!



Giving power over one's life starts with little things like energy charging your food and drink, or growing a garden, or learning something new...



Most of us live in paradise and don't realize it, then something becomes an addiction. Could going to church every Sunday be an addiction? I still like the idea of an addiction being something you can't stop doing, it is a state perhaps against the wall between the higher and lower chakras, in turn rendering balance and synchronicity unnoticeable in daily living in those afflicted with it.



So, to go against AADAC and AA and NA, etc..., I would say the best way to beat an addiction is to realize it, and instead of seeing the problem, see what is not a problem with the addiction. Stay positive and take control of it, be more stubborn than your addiction, own it.



Blessings



Tom
________
VAPIR NO2

[Digit]

yep, habituation too.



not entirely the same thing, but once the tracks are set in the physical (that can include the neuro pathways), it takes something extra to derail them. often all that it needs to derail a detrimental habituation pathway is simply to realise it exists, so if you're even reading this, congradulations, you're well along the way. often our minds are correcting these "slipping into grooves" without us even realising it's happening. i don't know if the same goes fo us all, but often, with awareness, i can literally hear/feel neuropathways breaking with my thoughts. and that's really all it takes, a little neuro resculpture to reshape the models in our mind to reshape the models outside our minds, for our thoughts create the universe!



hehe, ok, maybe i'm going a little too far for some to accept yet.





thanks for reminding me i live in paradise. i'm such a builder i often find myself lost in how to clean up any crinkles and so on, that i forget to actually just BE and enjoy being here and now. fortunately, these occurances seem to be decreasing.
_________________
If ignorance is bliss, give me agony.

Educate yourself so you may educate others.

Namaste, Enlakesh, Ahimsa, may samadhi be with you.



http://www.activeremedy.org.uk