Finding Wholeness Through Integration.

The underlying cause of all addiction is a separation from ourselves. This phenomenon manifests as disconnection from our destiny. Our destiny is the preprogrammed purpose of our lives imprinted into our DNA. To understand this, think of a seedling. There are unseen blueprints within the seed with instructions for becoming a tree. The same goes for you and me.

Each of us is coded to evolve into our full potential.

First of all, let's get this idea that addiction is evil out of our minds. The mainstream recovery community has painted addiction to be a monster. A disease. A bully doing pushups in the parking lot, plotting our demise. This mentality places us at odds with ourselves.

How?

Because addiction is a component of our whole being. So, when we reject addiction, we are rejecting parts of ourselves. This leaves us separated from our wholeness; incomplete.

Creating an adversarial picture of addiction creates fear. A fear mindset is the root of "character defects" (as stated in the 12 steps). Character defects are untrue beliefs we hold about ourselves. These beliefs, rooted in lies, manifest as barriers to fulfilling our potential. Fear-based beliefs are the "I am not enough" that fuels any addiction.

The alternative is a mindset of love. When we approach addiction out of love we are seeking to understand, to heal, and to integrate. This is a kind of shadow work. When we integrate addiction, we embrace it. Working to understand addiction results in total acceptance of ourselves. We become permanently whole and complete.

Without integration, addiction temporarily gives us feelings of wholeness. The fleeting nature causes the unended cycle of substance and behavior misuse.

When we approach addiction as a "battle" we are seeking a win/lose scenario. You are inadvertently manifesting battles within all other aspects of your life experience. The lesson addiction is there to reveal will continually come up for you. This is the Universe urging healing so that you can fulfill your potential.

We often see this with members of 12-step programs. There is a tendency to take a battle stance instead of a healing stance. Living on the defense stunts your emotional and spiritual growth. One may never experience the ultimate peace and empowerment of integration. The result is a life of continual seeking to feel complete. This is evidenced by being addicted to meetings in an effort to "make it through the week."

Addiction is fueled by the EGO mind. If you've followed my writings you might recognize this term by now. If not, review my prior writings. The EGO would have us believe that we are separate from our addiction. When in reality it is a part of us. When we treat it as separate we are fragmenting our being.

To believe we are separate from our addition positions us as the victim. We are powerless and controlled. When all along addiction is only trying to protect and help. Feeling out of control leads to loneliness and ostracization inside our own bodies.

Here's how addiction works:

The EGO tells us we need to find something external to fill our voids of incompleteness. Addiction is the EGO's perfect solution to help you feel complete. Addictive patterns anesthetize the pain inflicted by the belief that "I am not enough".

You come to believe that you need it and then turn on it after seeking its safety. The anger is only fear because you can't imagine how you'll ever feel whole without something else.

The first step is to realize that everything in life is happening for you, not to you. The Universe has a mission to help nurture that seed into the full manifestation of potential- the tree. So, the Universe will bring about whatever circumstances are necessary to guide you in that direction.

For some of us, addiction fits the mold.

It has come into our lives to stimulate growth toward self-actualization. Often the fulfillment of our purpose won't occur without the addiction experience. We then see addiction as an entity for us to be in a relationship with for the sole purpose of catalyzing our growth and enlightenment.

All of us are wounded. Addiction came into your life experience to heal those wounds.

In order to heal these wounds, we all must endure an emotional detox. Things that are bound within us must be expressed and processed. We may have lived our entire lives without this knowledge, but addiction is the arrow pointing us toward release. We only have to view it with curiosity instead of condemnation.

When we position ourselves as being in relationship with addiction, we create a space of mutual benefit and growth. Addiction is seeking to fulfill you by safeguarding against "negative" emotions such as sadness and despair. You are seeking fulfillment. So, in essence, you are in a trauma bond with addiction.

Similar to a personal or romantic relationship, you are going to ask "How can we both get what we need and live together in harmony?" This creates a sacred space of a sort of hospital for your soul. Addiction is giving you the gift of awareness of your wounds and giving you the drive to heal them.

Addiction wants you to feel complete. You can facilitate this by healing the need to seek completeness. At that time, addiction is transmuted and integrated into your whole being.

If this resonates with you, I invite you to engage with my guided meditation: Meet Your Addiction. This meditation is a first step toward coming to terms with addiction and creating a loving space of relationship.

I feel passionate about this message and I hope it finds you right where you are. If you are interested in taking more steps toward integrating your addiction, feel free to reach out to me or reply to this email.

Blessings!

Dallas