If you are familiar with 12-step programs, then you are either working directly in recovery or know someone who is. These programs are nothing new, and that must mean that addiction in the mind is a behavioral problem that has been going on for a very long time. Now, I don't know about you, but I find it completely heartbreaking to see someone who has completely lost self-control and the desire to thrive in life. What I LOVE, however, are SUCCESSFUL RECOVERY STORIES! It can be done, and that's why I am here - to help you grow one step beyond recovery and get into manifesting the life you are truly meant to live!
So, don't take it personally because addiction runs rampant in American culture, and has stolen more dreams and abilities than any other disease. We were programmed to believe that everything we need is outside of ourselves. I am going to share with you something not so new, but it may be new to you. Did you know that YOUR THOUGHTS dictate the whole path of your life? That's right. It doesn't matter what circumstance, what environment, or who influenced your choices that unfold the miracle that is you. When you read this, are you feeling resistance and resentment already? I can already hear the argument forming. "That's not my life! You don't know me or what I've been through!" I assure you, the fact that thoughts becoming things is the ultimate truth of our lives, that we can create anything we choose out of thin air, and the information you will receive in this blog will help you view your life through a clear lens which you will see through and it can change your life as if by magic!
Consider that we, all of us, have been programmed all of our lives. It's as if we are the walking, talking, breathing and feeling computers. We are the Creator's highest form of life on this planet, and with that comes a great responsibility to co-create and care for each other and all life. But if we put our own life last, how on Earth will we live to our fullest capabilities, fulfilling our desires and dreams? And how will we have the capacity to guide anyone else?
I like to refer to my mind as the hard drive of my computer. When I was in the throes of addictive and compulsive behavior, constantly anxious, depressed and pessimistic, the results were very poor, and that hard drive light was static and solid, and the fan was running hard! I was constantly looking for someone or something to blame my problems on, searching for answers to all of my woes and worries. I couldn't figure out why everyone else was happy and able to achieve their dreams. What was wrong with me? I tried everything: religions, counselors, psychotropic medications, escaping through alcohol and designer drugs, and relying upon friends and family to do the thinking for me. It seems I have lived seven lifetimes in one, and today, I resent NOT ONE of these adventures or anyone I met along the way. In this momentous exploration, I received a quality education, an education not taught in schools. I was soul-searching and spent my entire life looking for how to "be in the world and not of it". I found the answers I was looking for, and changed my life completely by waking up to the fact that there is only me in charge of my life's circumstances and that required learning how to use my mind correctly. I can guide you on this journey, if you are willing to go one step beyond!
The solid light on the hard drive is NOT the natural state of the mind. The natural state of the mind is at peace, Our goal is to keep that drive clean, free of useless programs, and able to receive new information. What information are we putting into it? Everything around us is a psychological impression. It is important to remember that it is us who choose what information we put in there, we are the users.
So let me be direct. Are you constantly consuming information from the internet on sites which cause you to feel less than? Comparing yourself to others? Feeling inundated by mass marketing, ads, and bad news? Here is your first experiment: after you read this, put.down.your.device. Try to go 4 hours without using it at all. See if you can do that. If it is hard, if you feel lost and empty, unsure of what to do with yourself, you are most likely an addict. Do you find that your mind wanders, with a compulsion to know what everyone else is up to? Do you feel 'bad' if you haven't checked in with social media five times a day? How did we ever live life without all of this distraction?
You see, addiction isn't about the guy on the street who has lost his job, money, family and friends because he is an alcoholic or using drugs, it's about becoming a slave to something outside of you that causes you to act compulsively without being aware of your thoughts and actions. If you can't live without your internet connection, at least start by walking across the street with your hands free of any device, shoulders back, looking up and being aware of your surroundings. Begin here, because since thoughts become things, how can we create the life of our dreams if we are completely unaware of our thoughts? There are limitless possibilities in the Universe, and we are all story tellers.
O Me! O Life!
By Walt Whitman
Oh me! Oh life! of the questions of these recurring, Of the endless trains of the faithless, of cities fill’d with the foolish, Of myself forever reproaching myself, (for who more foolish than I, and who more faithless?) Of eyes that vainly crave the light, of the objects mean, of the struggle ever renew’d, Of the poor results of all, of the plodding and sordid crowds I see around me, Of the empty and useless years of the rest, with the rest me intertwined, The question, O me! so sad, recurring—What good amid these, O me, O life? Answer. That you are here—that life exists and identity, That the powerful play goes on, and you may contribute a verse.
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