A prescription for recovery from addictions.
This guide is for anyone suffering from an addiction of any sort, whether it’s drugs, alcohol, technology, fear, or other obsessive-compulsive behavior that often coincides with addiction. If you have any more questions or need guidance in any of these areas, feel free to contact me. Hope you find it helpful.
Medication needed:
- Love and truth: Self-love is the sustainer of action needed to begin recovery and truth is the antibiotic needed to solve ones life problems. Love and truth are one.
Essentials to begin recovery:
- Realizing that you have a problem
- Helplessness (feeling out of control)
- Non-resistance to getting help
- Desire & commitment to healing
- Willingness in each moment to choose love and healing
During the beginning stages of recovery, direct your focus towards:
- Purification: to create space in mind, body and emotion to begin objective and compassionate healing
- Meditation: to facilitate a quiet mind and open heart, to listen and become conscious of a higher power and awaken to our empowered choices
- Detoxing from substances or behaviors (drugs, alcohol, gambling, sex, electronics, co-dependency, etc.)
Steps for the healthy body in recovery:
- Diet: fruits, vegetables, clean proteins, nuts, live foods, vitamins. No dairy, sugar or processed foods
- Daily Exercise: Walk a minimum of 30 minutes per day. Also do two 30 minute yoga practices and asanas for strength, detox & relaxation; one in the morning and one at night
Instead of self-medicating & continuing to stay sick, focus on what you put in your body and begin to exercise (yoga, weights,cardio). With rest, diet, and exercise, the focus changes from sickness to health.
Here it’s important to focus on techniques and practices (contemplation – asking questions about what you are afraid of, choices you’re making,), visualization (visualizing a healthy, strong, vibrant body, glow, full of essence, lightness of body and quietness of mind), and honoring quiet time.
Emotional healing, spiritual search & awakening:
Negative and habitual emotions keeps our mind active and fueled by fear making it hard to meditate and be in a proper state for recovery.
- Pray when the mind continues to bombard us with negative images. We begin to purify the mind and emotions through therapy, AA meetings etc. to gain a sense that feels more safe and quiet internally. It begins to be easier to connect with higher power and higher self.
- Therapy, life coaching, attending meetings (AA,NA, GA, OA etc.) 2-3 times a week.
Creating a new foundation in recovery around a daily structure and daily balance:
One day at a time, and one moment at a time, and slowing down.
- Create a committed structure and a schedule: From the moment you wake up to when you go to sleep.
- Relaxation: We are taught to always be busy doing something and this creates stress even when it is a positive experience. Spending time in quiet and stillness is necessary to cleanse and recharge the body and nervous system. Practice coping mechanisms like breathing techniques, visualization, running, biking, or hiking to get some “no-mind time” in ones life.
Spiritual Practices in Recovery:
- Spiritual Life Coaching (working with a coach around spiritual pathways)
- Prayer and Meditation (quieting the mind and opening the heart)
- Contemplation (spiritual inquiry)
- Service(doing for others): begin to study to see what you’re drawn to. A lot of people haven’t had a true relationship with a higher power.
- Read and study the spiritual masters and books such as Dying to be me, Mastery of Love, Open and Innocent)
- Find the right company (like-minded people in your life)
Seeking Study:
- Find teachers i.e. ashrams, mosques, temples or churches.
- The ultimate outcome: living a holistic spiritual life while connected with our culture and no need to self-medicate. Living only in truth and love.
Healing for the spirit, food for the soul: The only thing that heals our soul is love.
Recipe:
- Spiritual magnetism: Begin to co-create your life in unison with a higher power (“Thy will be done” – the higher power and self will become one)
- Divine Love: love unconditionally and practice devotion.
- Times for reflection and contemplation: daily introspection, journal writing, creativity in any form, drawing, painting, singing, writing etc.
- Nature Healing: gardening and taking walks in nature. Taking care of animals.
- Right Company: getting together with like minded people, Satsangs, spiritual seekers, etc.
- Prayer and Meditation: Prayer is speaking to God, meditation is listening for the answer. Realizing that“heaven” is in you.
Realize that heaven is in you. It’s not something that we look for or we’re going to, it’s something that’s here right now.
