Cure Addiction Blog

I would imagine that most people showing up at this blog site are considering ceasing some addictive behavior that has outlived its “usefulness”. Usually we first consider the negative aspects of our habit(s) as the very things that, once removed, would leave us in an improved condition. If our habits alter our consciousness in some way we find we can at least temporarily forget about the negatives by getting ‘blasted’. Sometimes after being able to stop the addictive behavior we find that the clarity with which we now see life actually seems to accent the ugliness we were avoiding to begin with. So – WHY? – Why quit? With me, I found life a little better than it had appeared to me before I started drinking and drugging. I was having fun, and I was too messed up to focus on the things I felt I’d never have, or the things I thought I’d never accomplish. I had no idea that as my addictions became imbedded into my life, and as I changed my lifestyle to accommodate my addictions, I was also giving up on my developement toward being able to accomplish my dreams. After many years of cowtowing to my addictive goals I finally realized that my true dreams would need a focus denied by my addictions. Then I was able to finally put the bottle down FOR GOOD……. interesting phrase: “FOR GOOD” – of course we say that to emphasize a permanence of some sort, yet “for good” has that undeniable 2nd meaning (or more appropriately a 1st meaning) for the good of whatever. In this case we’re talking about for the good of ourselves. Many times our coloquialisms in our language will reveal true meanings imbedded in our thought patterns that should be looked at sometimes. So what’s good about getting rid of addictions? Considering a life without the negatives of addiction may not weigh in as important enough for some to quit. So, why quit?

I was told once that when everything else is removed happiness is what is left. Fear, doubt, judgement, depression, anger, and many other consuming emotions can be removed – that’s what I found useful in alcohol to begin with. But was happiness what remained? I’m sure many of us pursue ‘things’ in life to attain a feeling of security and happiness. We know that things don’t bring true happiness. So, why quit? As we get rid of the ‘things’ our minds pursue, desires, wants, dissatisfaction, we’re left with a closer connection to God – a God that we then notice is definitely THERE! A friend loaned my wife and I a book (oh GREAT, another book!) that really opened my eyes to what we’re all looking for out of life. The book makes it plain as day as to how addictions and other 3-dimentional focuses can block us from the true happiness found in a relationship with God. Hey, who wouldn’t want that? The book: the untethered soul, the journey beyond yourself (intended small case letters) by Michael A. Singer, New Harbinger Publications, Inc. Read this book. If you don’t understand it, read it again. If you still don’t understand it (doubtful at this point) set it down, continue with fighting your addiction, then pick up the book again at a later date. By then I think you’ll be amazed at how clearly the author presents exactly what we face as humans and how much there is to look forward to out of life. The methods for doing this are crystal clear in this book. The author’s examples of thought patterns are easy to recognize and understand. All the ‘awareness’ I have been referring to in this blog site is incredibly clearly presented in Mister Singer’s book.  The WHY we’re all looking for, the WHY that will show up clearly in your mind as you fight to be free of your addiction will plainly be: everything you TRULY want is attainable ONLY without your addiction.

You may have said or thought that a million times, and you may have completed that statement with positive or negative attributes of yourself. We’ve been told not to judge others, but not so often does it occur to us that we should also not judge ourselves. That can be hard…we think we know things about ourselves that would shock other people. In a 12-step program, step #4 asks us to take a fearless inventory of ourselves. This is an opportunity to dig out all the “bad” we’ve done and take a clear look at it. This is also time to reflect on all the good things also. A balanced inventory will show us that we’ve slipped up here and there, but will also show us that we’ve had some moments as a human to be proud of. Don’t forget about the good stuff. Go to sleep at night thinking about the nice things you’ve accomplished, things that benefit others. Then spend time thinking about how you can have more of that aspect of yourself show up in the world. Don’t let your addictions tell you that you don’t deserve a better life. Addictions use (think of it like your addictions have their own separate identity and agenda) whatever tactics they can come up with to keep you addicted; steering your mind away from the good you’ve done is one of those tactics. Recognize that your bad thoughts about yourself are focused on by your addiction to keep you addicted, notice this and move ahead with good thoughts anyway.

I love it when we have excuses for new beginnings. Every moment is a new beginning in life, but it’s so easy to get stuck in a loop of old thoughts and habits. The exciting truth about life is that every moment is filled with countless possibilities for new beginnings – a new approach to life – a new chance to tap into the creativity of the soul. When anticipating these new beginnings it’s easier to wade through our cloudy thoughts of “can’t”, and touch again our inexaustable supply of spiritual energy. So ‘Happy New Year’; it’s a new beginning!

Since our senses perceive what we believe is the reality around us, and then our minds decide what we will proccess from the bits of information we receive (8 to 11 billion bits of info every second), how do we really know what is real? We do seem to get a little hung up on nailing down reality – science has tried to corner the market there for hundreds of years. Yet science has proven that what we experience from experimentation is completely colored by the tests we impose. Facinating but true, if you test light for particles, you get particles; and if you test light for waves, you get waves. What we are left with is that the only truth we can directly experience is the experience itself!

The experiences we go through in life are what are real to us. What we experience at the time of an event is the realness we get to hang on to. Our memory of an experience is an experience in itself. Later, when remembering the event, we’re having a real experience of the remembering, even if someone else who was present at the time of the original event had a different experience. Everyone can remember a time when we are telling about an event and another participant of that event may say, “Oh no, that isn’t the way it happened at all!” But each of your experiences is as real as the other.

Sad news, we don’t ever get to touch absolute reality “out there”, but we are free to focus inward on each of our unique experiences and live the reality at the soul level. So keep in mind, our egos, as operating systems of our minds, will color the infomation brought to our ‘desktops’ to examine. This coloring will be for the purpose of influencing our decisions to complete the desired outcomes of our subconscious programming. Have the inward reality experience of what you see, but remember it isn’t necessarily reality. Discover your programming and you’ll not be fooled by the motivation of our habits.  I’m sure you’ve seen the bumper sticker which says, “Don’t believe everything you think.”

This is an interactive site…you can register and log in to make comments on the statements on each page. Please become a member of this project by voicing your opinions and experiences. Together we can make this a site for raising consciousness about addictions.

From Power vs. Force by Dr. David Hawkins, “Every act or decision we make that supports life supports ALL life, including our own. The ripples we create return to us – this, which may once have seemed a metaphysical statement, is now established as scientific fact.” It’s our job to evolve spiritually. Let’s work together.

Dr. Wayne Dyer writes in his book, Your Sacred Self, “If you had been fortunate enough to be raised without doubt you would possess an incredible inner sense of your magnificence…. You would know that mankind is fundamentally good. Human shortcomings would not be blamed on inherent inferiority or the devil. Satisfaction of the ego’s demands would be known as the activity that created those shortcomings.” But it’s the ego itself that has us looking for blame externally. There are great rewards for coming to know your own mind.