Alcohol and Drugs
"It is easier to suppress the first desire than to satisfy all that follow it."
— Benjamin Franklin
By now, you probably realize that what is socially acceptable or even encouraged by society is not necessarily right, good, or true, but is more likely self-destructive in its ultimate effect. Alcohol and drugs are pervasive; they are available in almost every community. And, they are always self-negating in their effect, regardless of the social acceptance or comfort they may appear to provide. That some addictive drugs such as alcohol and nicotine are available legally, and have been condoned by society (either now or in the past), does not make them any less destructive. The fact that alcohol has customarily been a part of social, business, and even religious activities does not make it "good" or right. We hear that alcohol and drugs are commonly abused, but the truth is, it isn't alcohol or drugs that is abused, but rather the person using them (and/or those around them).
Awareness, for some, is quite painful. Awareness brings greater consciousness of what oppresses you. Alcohol and drugs make you less aware. Problems do not really go away, but you become less conscious of their existence. This is like closing your eyes with a deadly snake loose in the room — are you really any better off? The illusion that all is well, due to strongly subdued awareness and suppression of psychic pain, can be overwhelming. For many, shutting the world out with drugs seems better than letting it come rushing in to have its way with you. Anything that shuts out the world, or awareness of one's problems, becomes desirable. But, that is no solution. Something wrong begins to take control of your life. Any thought that you have control over drugs, rather than the opposite, is a lie. Young people get high, literally rot their brains, and become vegetative, by inhaling glue, spray paint, gasoline, paint thinner, anything that has chemical fumes. This is what so many people's world is like; their only "freedom" is found in unconsciousness and self-destruction. With a conservative estimate of $400 billion just in illegal drug use each year (8% of all worldly business), people are clearly trying to escape from something.
Alcohol and drugs may appear to offer a means of escape, but they leave you open to other, undesirable influences. Many good people, seeking escape from this world's problems, fall into the even greater hell of drug or alcohol addiction. Be aware, you cannot find True spiritual salvation and liberation with "consciousness expanding" or mind altering drugs. No matter how benign the name, such as "Ecstasy," or how many other people use a given drug, there are no safe highs. All drugs concentrate negative energy, and wind up suppressing or displacing the True inner being. People who use drugs often think they are in control; they make their world so small that it seems manageable. But they are living in denial. Consider the ultimate, sole, focus of the addict: their fix. They can think of nothing else; their world has gotten so small; and their illusory sense of relief or escape is their only desire. Clearly, they do not manage well in the world at that point.
As a result of just being in this often oppressive, negative, confusing, and unjust world, a person may feel great emotional, mental, psychic, or spiritual pain or lack inside — and possibly turn to drugs or alcohol for "relief." So-called substance abuse is a socially-motivated behavior resulting in a greater loss of one's true self. It can begin with a desperate feeling of loss or lack inside, some trauma, wrong influence, negativity, hurt, fear, guilt, anger, rebellion, fantasy, or anguish. Using drugs is often an attempt to compensate for a feeling of lack, hurt, or emptiness, to relieve the symptoms rather than look at or solve the real underlying problem. As a result, one loses one's true self to a non-self, and "escapes" from truth into lies, reality into illusion, from illusions to greater illusions — and ultimately suffers even more.
There is a better way than giving in to all the pressures of life — by no longer accepting what ultimately defeats you. read more ...
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