What Are You Addicted To?

Have you ever done a Vision Quest? I recently went on one in the Arizona Desert. Although they are not easy, I have found each one very rewarding and worth the challenge.

One of the biggest challenges of a typical Vision Quest is giving up what you think you need. On a Vision Quest you give up food: fasting for at least a day and as many as four. You give up comfort; you are sleeping outside on the ground with just the very basics. You give up entertainment: no cell phones, newspapers, TV, internet, or books. There is just the sound of the wind and the stars in the sky to entertain you. You give up companionship; a Vision Quest is done solo. You are alone and isolated (at least from people). And you give up safety; it is just you alone out there with the wild beasts, creatures, and creepy crawlies of the night.

One of the major breakthroughs on a Vision Quest is this discovery: you don't need these things as much as you THINK you do! The key word here is THINK. If that THINKING is not challenged, it tends to go on running our lives for better or worse. What you can learn on a Vision Quest, by challenging your BELIEFs, is that you are whole and complete, safe and empowered, inspired and cared for, with far less stuff than you think you need. With this new knowing comes peace, true freedom, and your authentic power of choice. These are things worth "Questing" for.

In many ways what we are talking about here is addictions, things we think we need, or have to do, or can't live without.

Let's have a look at the word addiction: Ad-dict: from the Latin addicere, to give assent.

to give oneself up to a strong habit,to make become addicted; addiction.

When we think of "addiction," we typically think of the people who are abusing drugs, i.e. the drug addict. However, in reality, addiction is a far more prevalent and widespread challenge. Look carefully at the definition of addict above. To be addicted, you only have to give yourself up to, or over to, a strong habit. Drugs are just ONE of the habits we humans can give ourselves up to.

The problem with addiction lies in this notion of "giving oneSELF up" to something. You are literally giving up to and giving your POWER over to, something that is apparently "more powerful" than you. In this manner, the addict makes himself or herself powerless. Ouch! Every time you engage your habit in this manner as an addict, you reinforce your powerlessness and weaken your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies. This is the pain, and this is the loss, experienced by an addict.

So what are you addicted to? How about Starbucks? Are you one of those millions of people who "can't start your day" without your morning cup of Joe. Really? You CAN'T start your day? Notice the powerlessness in this statement and the giving over of one's power. You feel you "have no choice, you have to do this." These are the words of an addict. Whether addicts consciously realize it or not, they are suffering because of it.

How about TV? Gaming? Alcohol? Shopping? The Internet? Or email? Oh, there's one for the masses: email (or put in texting for the younger crowd). I recently heard on the radio an announcer say "Studies show that decreasing time on email can significantly improve productivity, but changing that habit is very challenging because it is an ADDICTION." People feel powerless. Can you relate?

Even so called "good habits" can become detrimental addictions if we become powerless in our choice to engage them or not. Take, for example, work. You're called a work-a-holic if you're addicted to work. What starts out as a good thing - being productive, serving others, and doing a good job - becomes detrimental when you lose your freedom of choice. People in this boat will say things like "I have to work late, I have no choice." They are affirming they are powerless. We can put exercise, sleep, sex, eating, and all kinds of things into this category that are good and healthy when freely and appropriately engaged and chosen, but then become detrimental and even damaging when they move over into the category of addiction.

So why do we do this? What is underlying our addictions? Good question. My answer: FEAR. Fundamentally what is driving the addictive behavior is a fear of something. For the email or text addict it might be something like "I'm afraid I'll miss something important." For the work-a-holic it might be something like "I'm afraid my boss and colleagues will not approve of me." For the caffeine addict it might be "I'm afraid I will not have the energy and drive to think fast and succeed." For the social drinker it might be "I'm afraid of people; I may be awkward and rejected." Afraid, afraid, afraid. Fear, fear, fear.

Addictions are challenging to overcome because to achieve it you must FACE YOUR FEAR. To restore your peace, freedom, wholeness, and authentic power of choice you must embrace and face your fear, whatever it may be.

I am very intimate with this process. For me, addictions cloud my channel with the Divine. My tolerance for my addictions has been greatly decreasing over the years. When I give my power over to something outside of me, I am saying to myself, "The Divine in me is not powerful enough to overcome this addiction," and "This thing outside of me is more powerful than me." When I engage my addictions I am saying no to the Divine power within. I am saying "I need this to feel good, to be OK, to be safe." And on the flip side I am saying "I do not feel good, I am not OK, and I am not safe" (therefore I must engage this addiction to fix that). These are affirmations I am not interested in affirming!

As a social drinker of alcohol for most of my life, I have given up alcohol for all of 2012. I'm nine months into my challenge - and doing just fine. It is a spiritual practice for me, a sacrifice to the Divine in the greatest of ways. Each time I wish I could have a drink - usually weekend social events - I embrace the Divine within affirming "I feel good, I am OK, I am safe, etc." without alcohol. And you know what, I am! Plus, I've discovered a whole new world of fabulous non-alcoholic drinks.

Restoring your power can become addictive! I've now moved on to caffeine. Having been a black tea drinker for a number of years, I am moving to herbal choices and other no or very low caffeine options. In this process I must face my fear of "I need caffeine to be sharp, energized, and productive." Instead I affirm "I am sharp, energized, and productive" without caffeine. And you know what? I am.

Releasing your addictions is about restoring your power. It's about restoring your connection to Source and knowing yourself as whole and complete (without whatever you feel you must have). And that's the real truth for each and every one of us. Your wholeness, completeness, freedom, love, and inspiration are always inside waiting for you to choose and embrace in each and every moment.

Try this:

Become aware of things you might be addicted to. Jot down on a piece of paper a short (or long) list of these things to which you are giving over your power. As you look at that list, for each one, ask yourself "What fear would I have to embrace if I were to stop this addiction?" Write down whatever fear comes up for you.

Next, take one addiction, and for a minute or two, just embrace the fear you identified for it. Take a deep breath and just let it settle in - do not resist it. More often than not, the fear is not as scary, or real, as our minds make them out to be. If you "stand up" to that fear, very often you'll find it melting away, sometimes slowly over time, sometimes quickly.

Then ask yourself, "What would be available to me if I were to stop this addiction? What are the potential benefits of not engaging this anymore?" And make your list of benefits if you were to release your addiction.

Finally, perhaps ask yourself, "Which one of these addictions am I ready to release and evolve beyond?" If none, that's fine, perhaps a time will come later. If it is time, then start moving in that direction. Take the first step, whatever that may be for you to gently, awake and aware, day by day, restore your authentic power of choice.

Congratulations you're one step closer to your mojo!

Roger Kenneth Marsh is a Spiritual Life Coach & creator of the Major Good Mojo System. He has an engineering degree, MBA, is a Certified Life Coach, HeartMath® Provider, and Passion Test® Facilitator. Get his book "NexGen Human" on Amazon.com, and FREE CD "3 Keys to Major Good Mojo" at http://www.majorgoodmojo.com/free-cd

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What Are You Addicted To?

Have you ever done a Vision Quest? I recently went on one in the Arizona Desert. Although they are not easy, I have found each one very rewarding and worth the challenge.

One of the biggest challenges of a typical Vision Quest is giving up what you think you need. On a Vision Quest you give up food: fasting for at least a day and as many as four. You give up comfort; you are sleeping outside on the ground with just the very basics. You give up entertainment: no cell phones, newspapers, TV, internet, or books. There is just the sound of the wind and the stars in the sky to entertain you. You give up companionship; a Vision Quest is done solo. You are alone and isolated (at least from people). And you give up safety; it is just you alone out there with the wild beasts, creatures, and creepy crawlies of the night.

One of the major breakthroughs on a Vision Quest is this discovery: you don't need these things as much as you THINK you do! The key word here is THINK. If that THINKING is not challenged, it tends to go on running our lives for better or worse. What you can learn on a Vision Quest, by challenging your BELIEFs, is that you are whole and complete, safe and empowered, inspired and cared for, with far less stuff than you think you need. With this new knowing comes peace, true freedom, and your authentic power of choice. These are things worth "Questing" for.

In many ways what we are talking about here is addictions, things we think we need, or have to do, or can't live without.

Let's have a look at the word addiction: Ad-dict: from the Latin addicere, to give assent.

to give oneself up to a strong habit,to make become addicted; addiction.

When we think of "addiction," we typically think of the people who are abusing drugs, i.e. the drug addict. However, in reality, addiction is a far more prevalent and widespread challenge. Look carefully at the definition of addict above. To be addicted, you only have to give yourself up to, or over to, a strong habit. Drugs are just ONE of the habits we humans can give ourselves up to.

The problem with addiction lies in this notion of "giving oneSELF up" to something. You are literally giving up to and giving your POWER over to, something that is apparently "more powerful" than you. In this manner, the addict makes himself or herself powerless. Ouch! Every time you engage your habit in this manner as an addict, you reinforce your powerlessness and weaken your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual bodies. This is the pain, and this is the loss, experienced by an addict.

So what are you addicted to? How about Starbucks? Are you one of those millions of people who "can't start your day" without your morning cup of Joe. Really? You CAN'T start your day? Notice the powerlessness in this statement and the giving over of one's power. You feel you "have no choice, you have to do this." These are the words of an addict. Whether addicts consciously realize it or not, they are suffering because of it.

How about TV? Gaming? Alcohol? Shopping? The Internet? Or email? Oh, there's one for the masses: email (or put in texting for the younger crowd). I recently heard on the radio an announcer say "Studies show that decreasing time on email can significantly improve productivity, but changing that habit is very challenging because it is an ADDICTION." People feel powerless. Can you relate?

Even so called "good habits" can become detrimental addictions if we become powerless in our choice to engage them or not. Take, for example, work. You're called a work-a-holic if you're addicted to work. What starts out as a good thing - being productive, serving others, and doing a good job - becomes detrimental when you lose your freedom of choice. People in this boat will say things like "I have to work late, I have no choice." They are affirming they are powerless. We can put exercise, sleep, sex, eating, and all kinds of things into this category that are good and healthy when freely and appropriately engaged and chosen, but then become detrimental and even damaging when they move over into the category of addiction.

So why do we do this? What is underlying our addictions? Good question. My answer: FEAR. Fundamentally what is driving the addictive behavior is a fear of something. For the email or text addict it might be something like "I'm afraid I'll miss something important." For the work-a-holic it might be something like "I'm afraid my boss and colleagues will not approve of me." For the caffeine addict it might be "I'm afraid I will not have the energy and drive to think fast and succeed." For the social drinker it might be "I'm afraid of people; I may be awkward and rejected." Afraid, afraid, afraid. Fear, fear, fear.

Addictions are challenging to overcome because to achieve it you must FACE YOUR FEAR. To restore your peace, freedom, wholeness, and authentic power of choice you must embrace and face your fear, whatever it may be.

I am very intimate with this process. For me, addictions cloud my channel with the Divine. My tolerance for my addictions has been greatly decreasing over the years. When I give my power over to something outside of me, I am saying to myself, "The Divine in me is not powerful enough to overcome this addiction," and "This thing outside of me is more powerful than me." When I engage my addictions I am saying no to the Divine power within. I am saying "I need this to feel good, to be OK, to be safe." And on the flip side I am saying "I do not feel good, I am not OK, and I am not safe" (therefore I must engage this addiction to fix that). These are affirmations I am not interested in affirming!

As a social drinker of alcohol for most of my life, I have given up alcohol for all of 2012. I'm nine months into my challenge - and doing just fine. It is a spiritual practice for me, a sacrifice to the Divine in the greatest of ways. Each time I wish I could have a drink - usually weekend social events - I embrace the Divine within affirming "I feel good, I am OK, I am safe, etc." without alcohol. And you know what, I am! Plus, I've discovered a whole new world of fabulous non-alcoholic drinks.

Restoring your power can become addictive! I've now moved on to caffeine. Having been a black tea drinker for a number of years, I am moving to herbal choices and other no or very low caffeine options. In this process I must face my fear of "I need caffeine to be sharp, energized, and productive." Instead I affirm "I am sharp, energized, and productive" without caffeine. And you know what? I am.

Releasing your addictions is about restoring your power. It's about restoring your connection to Source and knowing yourself as whole and complete (without whatever you feel you must have). And that's the real truth for each and every one of us. Your wholeness, completeness, freedom, love, and inspiration are always inside waiting for you to choose and embrace in each and every moment.

Try this:

Become aware of things you might be addicted to. Jot down on a piece of paper a short (or long) list of these things to which you are giving over your power. As you look at that list, for each one, ask yourself "What fear would I have to embrace if I were to stop this addiction?" Write down whatever fear comes up for you.

Next, take one addiction, and for a minute or two, just embrace the fear you identified for it. Take a deep breath and just let it settle in - do not resist it. More often than not, the fear is not as scary, or real, as our minds make them out to be. If you "stand up" to that fear, very often you'll find it melting away, sometimes slowly over time, sometimes quickly.

Then ask yourself, "What would be available to me if I were to stop this addiction? What are the potential benefits of not engaging this anymore?" And make your list of benefits if you were to release your addiction.

Finally, perhaps ask yourself, "Which one of these addictions am I ready to release and evolve beyond?" If none, that's fine, perhaps a time will come later. If it is time, then start moving in that direction. Take the first step, whatever that may be for you to gently, awake and aware, day by day, restore your authentic power of choice.

Congratulations you're one step closer to your mojo!

Roger Kenneth Marsh is a Spiritual Life Coach & creator of the Major Good Mojo System. He has an engineering degree, MBA, is a Certified Life Coach, HeartMath® Provider, and Passion Test® Facilitator. Get his book "NexGen Human" on Amazon.com, and FREE CD "3 Keys to Major Good Mojo" at http://www.majorgoodmojo.com/free-cd

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addicted subs

Each and every time addicted subs I hear that an additional celebrity has died from addiction addicted subs to drugs or alcohol, my first thought is actually -- why didn't anybody care enough that can help? It's instinctual and We are often humbled later while i discover that people did actually try and help... sometimes more than once. Yet, the the very next time somebody dies I find addicted subs myself asking exactly the same question again and, unavoidably, run into the very same troubling answer. The simple truth is, many people who die from substance abuse, whether from an overdose or even addicted subs long-term systemic toxic deterioration, usually have entered rehab (sometimes in excess of once) and gotten clean up for at addicted subs  least some time frame. Yet, they still finish up dying from their disease.

As I see the idea, the problem is three-fold. Initial, current best practices throughout addiction medicine advocate a addicted subs period of treatment that is simply too short to effectuate long-term recovery for several patients (actually, the recommended treatment is based on what insurance carriers are likely to cover). Second, once the patient has recovered we assume they may be cured and fail to adequately plan for inevitable relapse. Finally, there addicted subs could possibly be people in the addicted subs addict's lifetime who benefit more from the person's active addiction than recovery.

Treatment Periods Are generally addicted subs Inadequate

Although the normal "28-day" rehab has, in the past, steadily climbed to the particular emerging "90-day" program, it truly is still too short for several patients. Unfortunately, these "recovery" periods in many cases are dictated by finances or even insurers and have little related to what the patient in fact needs. In the case of celebrities who are able to afford longer treatment, it truly is hard to convince them they require more than what insurance-dependent recovering addicts typically get. They often fear they will harm their career if they stay from the spotlight for too extended.

Addiction addicted subs treatment entails far more than just getting the affected person to stop using drug treatments or alcohol. For many patients, the abuse will re-occur unless they might understand both why they became addicted from the start and how they may prevent it from taking place again. And, even next, relapse is still probably. Given this reality, it is bizarre to consider that years and even addicted subs decades of substance abuse could be adequately addressed in a couple of months of treatment.

Instead of viewing addiction as a chronic, life-long disorder (like diabetes or addicted subs heart disease) that would need long-term follow-up treatment, the current model equates the initial treatment because "cure" and leaves the affected person to figure it out for themselves after addicted subs that. However, without long-term supervising, the support of on-going therapy, and peer-support within SMART Recovery or 12-step conferences, the chances of resuming bad habits when in the "real" world sound inevitable, especially when all of us consider that addiction is actually marked by nearly insurmountable actual physical cravings. It is no wonder the success rate of "treatment" is abysmally low: we have made treatment a discrete time frame rather than an on-going process. We don't have frequent "check-ups" like we do for other diseases and we certainly have no consensus on long-term servicing like we do for coronary disease and other life-long health conditions.

The Need for Ongoing Support & Treatment

Despite an adequate length of treatment and the availability of follow-up assistance, ongoing recovery requires co-operation via family, friends, and at times even employees or companies. If everybody is certainly not onboard with lasting sobriety, even essentially the most motivated person can relapse. Due to the level of media interest, we see this phenomenon generally with celebrities. In some cases, people want and keep an addict using since it benefits them. In other cases they may be too afraid of angering the particular addict to intervene in ongoing substance abuse. The allure of being area of the celebrity's inner circle can establish quite a moral risk to safety.

When a celebrity or even wealthy person is dealing with addiction, we see both opportunists and yes-men. The opportunist benefits via active addiction either for the reason that person is easier to get along with or easier to change. This is especially accurate when a person close to the addict is getting absent with something (such because embezzlement) or controlling a predicament that would not be possible should the celebrity were clear-headed along with sober. The yes-man does not want to do anything that would addicted subs make sure they are fall out of favor with the celebrity and make them lose their position, be it someone close, friend or employee. While yes-men often see that there is a problem to be addressed, their own short-sighted self-interest will certainly prevent them from doing anything about it.

Unfortunately, many celebrities become quite at ease with an entourage of yes-men or even sycophants who protect them from the realities of their behaviour. If they are insecure addicted subs they crave attention from people that would do anything to stay their presence. If they may be addicted they are fascinated by people who will look another way or make their addiction easier by obtaining drugs for him or her. While most people would soon feel the friendless or out associated addicted subs with funds, celebrities can behave very badly for much longer.

Is Relapse Inevitable?

The simple truth is, relapse is part of recovery for several with addiction. The mind-set has thus-far been "treatment hit a brick wall. " The truth is actually drug rehab treatment ended up being probably too short and follow-up care is largely nonexistent in the addiction medicine field. As a society we have long bemoaned the expenses of addiction, yet we have done addicted subs little to change attitudes. The medical community offers pushed addiction treatment in to a sub-sub-specialty that is consequently "specialized" most addicted subs doctors get zero trained in identifying or intervening whenever a patient develops an addiction.

 We have mainly paid lip service towards disease model addicted subs of addiction addicted subs and still consider it "willful negligence" or getting some sort of moral failing. This technique addicted subs has clearly addicted subs failed. Until eventually we truly change your attitudes, relapse will in fact, for most, be certain.

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addicted subs

They say addicted subs that it's natural... Nearly everyone does it... It's completely normal...

These statements is possibly true; however, what in the event you become addicted to masturbation and imagine it affects your relationships, relationships or even your own confidence. If you addicted subs have let masturbation take over and you have become dependent on it, then you will really understand exactly how negative the situation is usually for you. Masturbation addiction isn't any laughing matter, especially for those who have fallen victim to that. The sufferer can become a slave to their often, compulsive masturbation habit. If you believe that you are dependent on masturbation and you are serious about addicted subs overcoming it and getting control, read on...

The strategy of masturbation is as old as the hills. It is considered to be a completely natural pattern, however when it gets out of control, then it can become a really un-natural habit to obtain. Masturbation addiction is one of the most personal of all additions to obtain and something that you may well find really hard speaking with other people about. This addiction can leave you feeling drained and worn out, due to compulsive masturbation and may even give you an empty feeling and a minimal self-esteem. Some studies have addicted subs demostrated that it can even add to premature ejaculation in men and sexual desensitisation in women. This type of negative have an effect on anyone's sex life will be bad news.
addicted subs
In order to conquer this addicted subs unwelcome addiction you will need to tackle it at the origin. The source being your own sub-conscious mind! The sub-conscious mind is a good piece of machinery that addicted subs controls all your unconscious motions, movements, ideas and beliefs. It may be the part of you, which makes you - YOU! The sub-conscious mind also makes and drives habits - habits like masturbation craving. There is only 1 real and viable way to tackle this part of your respective mind with absolute perfection. This way is known as hypnosis and hypnotherapy! Do not worry, it is a good deal simpler than it first seems and you will be able to overcome your addiction quickly at all.

Utilising the benefits of hypnosis and self hypnosis you'll get this unwanted addiction from the life for good. Hypnosis is easy to navigate if you use the correct approach. I recommend addicted subs that you do 1 of 2 things. First you could try about to see your local hypnotist, or secondly, you could try the hypnosis download for masturbation craving and overcome this in the addicted subs comfort of your own home.

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