http://www.care2.com/greenliving/a-technique-to-overcome-addictions.html
A Technique to Overcome Addictions
Adapted from Power, Freedom, and Grace, by Deepak Chopra (Amber-Allen Publishing 2006).
Addiction is the No. 1 disease of civilization, and it’s directly and indirectly related to all other diseases. Besides physical addictions, such as the addiction to food, tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, there are psychological addictions, such as the addiction to work, to sex, to television, to shopping, to appearing young, to control, to suffering, to anxiety, to melodrama, to perfection.
Why are we addicted to all these things? We are addicted because we are not living from source; we have our connection to our soul. The use of food, alcohol, or drugs is essentially a material response to a need that is not really physical at its foundation. What we are looking for is pure joy rather than mere sensation. Self-destructive behavior is unrecognized spiritual craving. All addictions are really a search for the exultation of spirit, and this search has to do with the expansion of consciousness, the intoxication of love, which is pure consciousness.
Over and over, people have tried to overcome their addictions through psychological and behavioral methods or through medication. None of these offers a permanent cure. The only cure for addiction is spiritual. We hunger for the ecstatic experience, which is a need as basic as the need for food, water, or shelter. Ecstasy literally means stepping out. True ecstasy is stepping out of the bondage of the time-bound, space-bound world of materialism. We long to step out of the limitations of the body. We long to be free of fear and limitation. We hunger for the oblivion of our ego so that we can experience our infinite being.
Start today to transcend your addictive behaviors by observing them without judgement. Wake every day with a prayer: “Thank you God, for making me just as I am,” and then observe yourself. Be a witness to your thoughts, your moods, your reactions, your behaviors. They represent your memories of the past, and by witnessing them in the present, you liberate yourself of the past.
By observing your addictive behaviors, you observe your conditioning. And when you observe your conditioning, you are free of it, because you are not your conditioning; you are the observer of your conditioning.
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15 comments
add your comment »Liliana - Just pop 12 STEP, AA, NA, addictions (pick one quick) into your favorite search engine you'll have pages of suggestions
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Dearest All,
Can anyone tell me about the "12 step program" please? I want to stop being Compulsive smoking cigarettes. I DON´T want to quit smoking tobacco...tobacco is sacred, and because he is "Grandfather Tobacco"...I want to have a smoke in a more spiritual, sacred way, which means in special moments of a day...ver much like the american Indians which I respect and worship.
Thanks in advance.
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Something I am finding helpful in my quest to stop old habits that I don't want in my life are the Bach Flower Essences,,,these can be used along with our spiritual search,,,,I'm using Centaury--to help me say NO to myself,,,,and Chestnut Bud--to stop making the same mistakes and bad habits,,,,these I'm using to help me eat less unhealthy iltems. Dr. Edward Bach,,,creator of the essences,,,was a spiritual person very in tune with Nature.
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I quit smoking Sept. 3, 2002. I had some medical problems (back) that kept me immobile for awhile. Then I got physically ill and had trouble breathing. I couldn't even walk to my bathroom without losing my breath and panting. I went to the Dr. They put me on oxygen in the office. My Doc made a appt. for a pulmonary Doc. (I was still smoking!) When I saw the P. Doc the first thing he said was,
"you will not get better but if you do what I say you won't get any worse. If you want to continue smoking don't waste my time or anyone elses. You "might" live 3-5 years. It's up to you. I quit that moment. Teresa Hart, my Mom died on Sept. 3, 1997 from lung cancer. I was outside having a cigerette and when I went back into the house she had passed. She had quit smoking 26-28 years before.
She never smoke a lot and her cigerette choice was Kents. I am not telling anyone to do anything. I know that it has to come from the heart. I wish you the best - When you truely want to stop it will happen. Don't wait to long...otherwise it won't be your choice!
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good stuff!
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Being free from chemical addiction is such a delightful place to be. And, much as I admire Deepak's teachings, I would submit that one must first be rid of the chemical causing the physical addictions before one can truly move on to the spiritual. I tried for 10 years to find the spiritual ecstasy, through the teachings of Deepak and David, but it was not until my physical body was free of alcohol (courtesy of a 12 step program) that I could begin to appreciate the spiritual growth I so longed for. I knew that there was ecstasy somewhere "in here"....and approaching it is so much easier with a clean and clear "mind". I needed the support of others with the same problems to sustain me in this search....and since i can't afford to spend the rest of my life in the comfort of y'all in Seduction of Spirit sessions, I've searched closer to home and found it in 12 step rooms. I'm grateful for my addiction, for it has allowed me to grow in ways I never could have dreamed of. Without them, I would never have had the opportunity to look more deeply and consistently into my inner self and been given the permission to trust not only myself, but all of you, and realize that we truly are ONE. I meditate daily.....with that "fresh", clean mind....and am astounded and delighted with the beauty and love now present in my life. We need each other and the "other" needs us!
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I think we all have to go with what works for us. I have learned over the years that the mindset that MY way is the best way is truly about control & I was likely trying to convince myself.
I have been drug free for 35 years now & although I tried a 12 step, I was able to stop without it. I believed that I could & have achieved sobriety.
I am a work in progress as we all are & try to remember the words of Gandhi, "Be the change you want to see in the world."
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Vivian love.... you have made up a good story that allows you to continue with your addiction. I did the same for 38 years... but love... look around you. Who is looking to you... who do you affect by your addiction. You know it kills... do you have children... grandchildren... even co-workers or friends who my be encouraged to smoke by your actions. And.. you know it will shorten your life... what could you do with those extra 5-15 years?
Best wishes for you...
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Well, very enlightening, but I don't believe bringing any 12 step or ALANON into a spiritual pathway like Deepak states is the same. I have been struggling with a spiritual awakening for years, mostly because of my inhibitions to open myself totally. Why? Because of letdowns from people, ex wifes and my youth. My own expectations are high, so I am easily ltdown....relationships have failed because I was looking outwards on what I could fix, wasting time and energy on others who were sucking my life blood fom me. My resolution this year is to be stronger, look inwards more, and as Deepak states, give thanks each day!!
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Thanks for the message and Happy New Year to all. Your thoughts on addiction are quite pertinent to me. I just lost my husband after a 2 year fight with cancer. I became very empty feeling as I felt like it was my battle that I was losing, and my external love seemed to be fading. I was smoking more and drinking to fill my void. I was also miserably depressed for a while to see the person I have loved so much be so sick and know I had no control. Through it however, my connection to source, to my creator has become much stronger and my cravings are beginning to subside. as for smoking, my husband died of lung cancer, and the thought that I smoke is disgusting to me, but I am addicted and have not yet quit. Your words give me strength to know it is in me to let it go, and live a life free from bondage.
Thanks for a great message to bring in the New Year!
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