Break the Cycle of Addiction - Ram Dass

After Skool2 minutes read

Separation from unity and peace leads to suffering, with actions aiming to return to that state of harmony. Addictions offer temporary relief, while spiritual practices and self-awareness provide a new perspective and long-term solution to breaking patterns of addiction.

Insights

  • Separation from feeling at home and peace is a mental construct that causes suffering.
  • Spiritual practices and self-awareness can break patterns of addiction by offering delayed gratification and a new perspective, leading to natural cessation of addictive behaviors.

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Recent questions

  • How does separation from peace lead to suffering?

    The mind creates a divide between feeling at home and peace, resulting in suffering as individuals strive to return to a state of unity and tranquility.

  • What are common techniques to alleviate the pain of separateness?

    Common techniques include turning to drugs, relationships, or engaging in activities like cooking to alleviate the pain of separateness and regain a sense of unity and peace.

  • Why do addictions only provide temporary relief?

    Addictions offer temporary relief because they are attempts to regain the feeling of unity and peace, but ultimately do not address the root cause of separateness, leading to a cycle of temporary gratification.

  • How do spiritual practices differ from immediate gratification from addictions?

    Spiritual practices offer delayed gratification compared to the immediate relief provided by addictions, as they focus on developing self-awareness and breaking patterns of addiction to achieve a new perspective on unity and peace.

  • What is the impact of developing awareness on breaking patterns of addiction?

    Developing awareness allows individuals to intervene in the chain of reactivity, breaking patterns of addiction and leading to a new perspective on addiction that can naturally fall away, suggesting a focus on cultivating spiritual practices for long-term transformation.

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Summary

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Overcoming addiction through spiritual self-awareness.

  • Separation from feeling at home and peace is created by the mind, leading to suffering.
  • Actions post-separation aim to return to a state of unity and peace.
  • Techniques are developed to alleviate the pain of separateness, such as drugs, relationships, or activities like cooking.
  • Addictions are attempts to regain that feeling of unity and peace, but only provide temporary relief.
  • Spiritual practices offer delayed gratification compared to immediate gratification from addictions.
  • Developing awareness allows intervention in the chain of reactivity, breaking patterns of addiction.
  • Spiritual practices and self-awareness can lead to a new perspective on addiction, allowing it to naturally fall away.
  • Directly confronting addictions may lead to new addictive behaviors, suggesting a focus on cultivating spiritual practices instead.
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