Category Archives: Psychic Change

Why Doctors & Pills Fail Addicts

Posted on by under Changing, Moral Action, Psychic Change

     “…the problem with an alcoholic centers in his mind, rather than his body.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, p.23

     To become recovered, all an addict needs is a moral compass… and, of course, the power to obey it.

     If we lived by spiritual principles and did the right thing then we would fix our broken minds, thereby removing our insanity and never relapsing ever again. Unfortunately, doctors and pills cannot insert a moral compass into an addict. That has to come from within, and the power to act comes from our Creator.

     Recovering from addiction is pretty simple. The task for any addict is to restore his or her conscience and then become driven to never ignore it. Moral action restores the addict to sanity and we get back our power of choice. From there, if we never intentionally do the wrong thing, we will never relapse.

     Conventional treatment hoaxes will always fail because they do not require an addict to act spiritually, which is the solution. Chronic addicts can and will recover for good by having an experience profound enough to induce a psyhic change. Those who do not recover are simply people who don’t want to change – that is, to change completely. Some may want to change, but not completely. Only those who are willing to change completely will achieve lifelong freedom from addiction.

     I purposely didn’t use the word ‘science’ in the title because I think we have a misconception of science. I believe science only proves the beautiful and miraculous of mechanisms of God all the more. I also believe that science will one day prove or explain mysteries that we currently refute on the basis of no hard evidence. We will eventually see how the mysteries of God work, how healing takes place on non-tangible levels, how cause and effect crosses physical lines into the mental and spiritual, how the forces at work are well beyond what we can see, hear and touch.

God, help me to want to change, to be willing to change completely…

Triggers & Relapse Prevention

Posted on by under Desire, Miracles, Psychic Change, Relapse Prevention, Triggers

     I know I’ve said this before, but it’s important…

     If an addict is honest with himself, he will admit that triggers don’t exist. Breathing, waking up, the fact that we’re alive – these are the only triggers. Everything is a trigger, or rather, nothing is. We don’t need a reason to use. Triggers are flimsy excuses that allow us to avoid taking responsibility for relapsing. The truth is that so long as we suffer from the mental obsession, anything could be a trigger. The overwhelming thought to use will come for any reason or for no reason at all. So avoiding triggers is a useless endeavor. You cannot escape the mental obsession. The only way to free ourselves from triggers is to undergo a psychic change that fundamentally restores our minds, hearts and spirits.

     That’s why relapse prevention is a joke. It assumes that triggers actually exist and as such, treatment amounts to avoiding people, places and things that make us want to use. Sorry, but that’s not a solution, which is a shame given this is the only thing MSM (Mainstream Treatment Methods) has to offer – to remain an insane drug addict and pray that you don’t bump into one of your triggers. That would make it pretty tough just to get to work…

     Hmmm, can’t go that way because I pass by the liquor store… but I can’t go the other way because I pass by the park I used to get high at and that’s a trigger of mine also… Gee, I guess I’ll have to just lock myself up and throw away the key…

     Is that a solution? Nope. How about becoming free to go anywhere on earth that we so desire? Is that possible for even the most beat up, hopeless drug addicts? Yup, sure is. As soon as you get out of detox, find a recovered individual to take you through a Step process (as its laid out in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous). Be completely honest, thorough and fearless (99% = ZERO). Go to any lengths. Don’t give up. If you really want to change, if you really want to grow spiritually, if you really want to be free, then God will free you.

God, please give me the power and willingness to go to any length to get better…  

Doctor’s Opinion

Posted on by under Doctor's Opinion, Moral Psychology, Psychic Change, Science vs God

     “The unselfishness of these men as we have come to know them, the entire absence of profit motive, and their community spirit, is indeed inspiring to one who has labored long and wearily in this alcoholic field.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, xxvii

     Dr. Silkworth wrote a letter to Alcoholics Anonymous describing the nature of addiction as he saw it. He also stated that there is little science can accomplish regarding the full recovery of chronic alcoholics. In a doctor’s humble view, we are hopeless.
     Dr. Silkworth realized that man-made remedies often fail to change a man or woman fundamentally. He admits that some form of “moral psychology” is required but that such a thing cannot be applied via medicine or other type of physical remedy. Furthermore, he admits that the solution is effective only when carried by another alcoholic. Finally, he concedes that the spiritual and altruistic program contained within the Big Book has changed hopeless men, and changed them for good.
     By the way, the word psychology quite literally refers to the study of the soul. Dr. Silkworth was asserting that addicts and alcoholics need to somehow undergo a profound ‘soul change’, one which rearranges the addict’s entire moral foundation. Clearly, taking a pill or sitting in a group or writing down some triggers cannot elicit such a change, as the type of shift to which he refers is indeed miraculous. Such a change can only be powered by one source, which lies outside the boundaries of the physical world. Such a change can only be powered by GOD.
God, teach me how to be more honest, that I may better love others and serve You well…

Change Is Internal

Posted on by under Mind Change, Narcissism, Perception, Psychic Change

     Nothing outside of us can change us (other than God). We have to change ourselves…

     The problem with addicts is that that we carry this flaw into our recovery. Our self-absorbed frame of mind tells us that even our recovery is dependent on the outside world. We have a grand old time blaming anyone and anything when we feel like shit or when something goes wrong. Because we are so full of pride and arrogance and bullshit, we cannot see that nothing outside of us is responsible for how we feel or for what happens to us.
     We must be aware that our narcissism still pervades our perception far into recovery. We often think that our recovery itself is dependent on things taking place outside of ourselves.
     If my boss was only there when I went to make an amends, I’d be okay right now. If my wife would only do some work on herself, I’d be much better spiritually. If my family would only change along with me, I’d be more recovered than I am by now. If people would only forgive me, my depression would be gone already. If I had only gotten that job, I could’ve made amends to my creditors, but because there is no work, I have to stiff them, and then if I relapse, it’s not my fault.
     Wait a minute, wasn’t the whole point of getting better to finally understand that we alone are responsible for who we are, what we are, how we feel, and what happens to us? Wasn’t the whole point of taking Steps to propel us into the light of reality?
     In order to grow, change or get better to any degree at all, alcoholics and addicts must fully understand that we are where we are because of us and us alone. No one and no thing gets us better or worse. If we change, it’s because we change ourselves. If we fail, it’s because we fail ourselves.
God, help me understand and remember that change comes from within…

Half Measures

Posted on by under AA Programs, Half Measures, Psychic Change, Willingness

     Half measures availed us nothing…

     The Big Book says that if we have decided we want peace and freedom then we must be “willing to go to any lengths” to get it.

     It also says, “We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, p.58

     Why do half measures yield zero results? Because our solution must be more powerful than our addiction, which has grown very powerful over the years. If we have been a one-man wrecking ball for years and years, then group therapy, some role play, and a few anti-depressants aren’t gonna cut it. Also, God knows that we have been half-assing life yet fully expecting top notch results. Why would we get off so easily for a lifetime of recovery? Isn’t it better for addicts to do some hard work on themselves for a payoff that we really don’t deserve to begin with?

     We must be willing to go to any lengths because this requires us to fully commit to spiritual growth. If we are willing to do anything it takes to get better, then we have undergone a fundamental change within. We have let go of our old ways. In fact, we may have to shed our entire identity or life’s purpose. This is the requirement to undergo an “entire psychic change”, where alcohol and drugs are no longer a problem for us.

     The psychic change is also responsible for changing the way we think and the way we conduct ourselves. No longer will we live and breathe through a self-centered frame of reference. To undo a lifetime of selfishness, we must be at least willing to do anything it takes.

     By the way, that famous Big Book line ‘half measures availed us nothing’ was taken from the text of an old relative of mine: Richard Peabody’s The Common Sense of Drinking

God, remind me everyday that half measures yield half results, or no result whatsoever…