"Anyone can stop drinking" you've heard the phrase, "but can they stay stopped"? It's common knowledge that when you take a 'thing' away it creates a void and must be replaced. Take a glass of juice for example. When you fill the glass with juice you've replaced the air with the juice, so when you drink the juice, you've replaced the juice with the air. Can you see the air? No!
When an alcohol-obsessed individual stops drinking, he or she is left with a void. Just like the glass of juice. You don't see the booze now but how do you fill that void? Food? Sex? Drugs? Spending? Gambling? These choices either desensitize or over stimulate.
It's imperative to understand that the obsession for alcohol in a person's life is actually a need to fill some void. At some point in that individual's life that void was satisfied with alcohol and it felt gratifying. Joy to some extent. If we can understand this concept we have hope to find a better replacement other than food, sex, drugs, spending, or gambling.
So then, what healthy replacement can fill that void?
In his book, Ecstasy, Jungian psychologist Robert Johnson, makes a clear and pertinent point, he says that addiction is nothing other than a severely degraded substitute for the true experience of joy. So how do we access this true experience of joy?
As human beings, we have an inherent need to experience some type of joy in our lives. As basic as food, water, air, shelter, and clothing, joy to some degree in our lives must be part of what differentiates between real living or merely existing.
The awareness that you are body, mind, and spirit is nothing new. This concept gains more credibility when you realize that you can live a fulfilling life by balancing all three. Your body and mind can be easily nourished, but what about your spirit?
Where can you go to fill your spiritual need if you're an alcoholic or think you may be? A support group. It's a start. This is not a substitute for alcohol, but a group of people in the same boat seeking the same outcome...a better quality of life.
Getting back to the glass of juice, spirit like air, is invisible, you don't see it, but you see the results. You see the power of the air in waves in an ocean or prairie grass in an open space. It's in the spiritual experience that you come in contact with true joy and fulfillment. You've heard it said that you're a spiritual being having a physical experience, that means you have spiritual needs that must be met.
Believe it or not, spiritual nourishment may be attained by seeking a healthy support group. This is not a substitute for alcohol either. It's an avenue to a more balanced life for body, mind and spirit. Some seekers come for a short time, they get what they need and move on, others stay a lifetime for the unique and priceless friendships they develop. The choice is up to the individual.
Krystalina has earned a Bachelors Degree in Psychology, is a graduate of the Institute of Children's Literature, a beginner in American Writers and Artists Institute, and is a Certified Meditation Instructor. She has one published poem with the Poet Society and is currently a Nationally Certified Sign Language Interpreter. Her assets as a writer to serve your business are: reliability, excellent mastery of the English language, and a strong work ethic. By utilizing her writing skills, her mission is to make money for your business and to motivate others towards a more productive life. Krystalina's website is found at http://writingforyounow.com
Brian Tracy
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