IS ADDICTION A DISEASE OR A LIFESTYLE CHOICE?

Someone recently asked me if I thought addiction is a disease or a choice.

It is neither. 

I don't buy into the so-called "evidence" that an addict's brain is formed differently from birth than a normal brain. The fact that active addict brains were used in studies, rather than PRE-active addict brains, proves the study was flawed.

An addict's brain certainly can become DE-formed from the damage caused by alcohol and drugs, but that comes after decades of drug or alcohol abuse. So, apart from withdrawal symptoms, which are easily treated, addiction is not a medical disease at all, in my experience. 


Addiction is a case of spiritual dis-ease (dis-ease as in unease) with every addict I've ever met, meaning that emotional wounds caused by emotional trauma (abuse or loss) are the common thread with all addicts, whether the wounds are caused by some type of mental, physical, or sexual abuse or wounds caused by loss, such as the death of a loved one or a divorce in the child's family, to name a couple of examples.

Addicts use alcohol and/or drugs to escape emotional pain. As far as addiction being a "choice", it's kind of like having untreated poison ivy and choosing whether or not to scratch your arm or leg when the itch is driving you crazy. You can tell yourself you won't scratch it, but the itch will tell you different. Guess which one is going to win. The obsession to drink or use is the same. Until the source of the problem has been addressed, the urge to drink/use will whisper in your ear constantly, just like the voice that tells you to scratch your poison ivy. 

Addiction is a symptom of emotional wounds and not the source of the problem. Heal the wounds that drive a person to drink/use and the obsession disappears for good.

How To Become Cured Of Addiction

The quotation in the photo below is EXACTLY what spiritual healing means.

We are no longer a prisoner to the emotional wounds of the past. We are no longer "forever recovering, lifelong addicts" or perpetual slaves to depression, anxiety, PTSD, or a mile long list of so-called "mental disorders".

We become cured, former, fully recovered through the Grace of a Higher Power. A power not one human on earth could ever hope to replicate.

People looking for help with addiction and other issues are being sold a faulty bill of goods. They are being told they suffer from an incurable disease that can only be managed, never cured.

To believe addiction can't be cured is to believe in a God with limited abilities - or no belief in a God at all.

If you or a loved one needs help with addiction, there is a way through it. The only questions are how willing and how badly we are to trust. There's nothing to lose by trying when you stop to consider that the average success rate for addicts entering rehab or a program is less than 10%.

Let's Have A Little Heart-To-Heart Talk

Heart-To-Heart Communication

“How are you?” is quite possibly the world’s most insincere question. Why? Because no one really wants to hear about other peoples’ problems. “I’m fine, thanks” is the only expected and accepted reply. Tell people you feel tired, depressed, or upset and they'll slowly begin to back away towards the door.

We’ve all got enough problems of our own, right? Who needs to hear about yours? Nor do most of us like to discuss our own problems. We prefer to keep them to ourselves due to guilt, shame or embarrassment. We feel awkward and uncomfortable sharing our weaknesses with others and we feel equally awkward when we don’t know how to respond to theirs.
 

We tend to keep our troubles to ourselves and expect others to do the same. Many people swallow their pain, hoping it will somehow disappear. But some problems never go away by themselves. Contrary to popular belief, time does not heal all wounds. Instead, emotional wounds surface in all sorts of ways and none of them are good. We isolate, cutting ourselves off from others. We over eat, drink, use illegal drugs, or become angry, anxious, lonely and depressed. Some put on a brave smile to hide their pain, while others become anti-social, irritable, and even hostile.

Others use prescription drugs. Close to 70 percent of all Americans are currently on at least one prescription drug and 70 million of us are under the influence of a mind altering prescription drug as you read these words. If that’s not enough, another 60 million “problem” drinkers abuse alcohol on a regular basis and 22 million Americans are using illegal drugs. Translation? America is severely spiritually ill. How many of these people use alcohol or drugs to numb emotional pain caused by emotional trauma they have suffered in the past? It’s safe to say virtually all of them.

If only they were given a prescription for hugs, not drugs. If only they had someone who cared enough to listen to them. Well, guess what? We 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing group members are that someone. Together we can learn how to listen and talk to one another from our heart, rather than only the mind, which is the first step to helping others (and ourselves) learn how to heal from within.

If you’ve ever found yourself thinking about tonight’s dinner while someone is talking, it’s a sure sign we’re thinking from the head, not listening from the heart. Our ears hear them, but our heart does not. Learning to truly listen is easy. Simply focus on the other person using your heart and soul and make a conscious decision to connect with them. The heart and soul always feel love and empathy for others, without judging their flaws or faults. You won’t always get through to everyone the first time you try, but you will form a bond of sharing and caring with others that will last a lifetime. In the process, you will not only help another person to heal, but will begin to grow and heal yourself.

I’d like us to practice listening from the heart here in our own group. When someone is speaking, please try to give 100% of your attention to feeling what they say, as well as listening. Avoid thinking about your reply while they are still talking. When we think only about our reply, we are missing important information the other person is trying to tell us.

We are not just human beings having a spiritual experience. We are also spiritual beings having a human experience.

3 Steps To Spiritual Healing Reviews

All happiness results from a flow of love to, and from, us. Emotional wounds block the flow of love. Spiritual Healing restores the flow.

Is something missing in your life, but you can’t quite put your finger on it? Do you feel lost, anxious or depressed?

You aren’t alone. Aware of it or not, we’ve all dealt with a condition known as spiritual dis-ease at one time or another. The hyphen is not a typo. Dis-ease (unease) far better describes common disorders such as anxiety, depression, addiction, PTSD and many others than does the word disease, which suggests these disorders are purely of a physical nature. They are not.

We have all suffered emotional wounds caused by trauma, be it some type of abuse, growing up in a dysfunctional family, a broken romance, or the death of a loved one. These emotional wounds have caused many people to shut down on some levels. Too many of us have built a wall of protection around ourselves to keep the "bad guys" out, but have inadvertently become prisoners of those same walls.

Spiritual dis-ease is the result, which manifests as addiction, anxiety, depression, loneliness, and a very long list of other emotional disorders.

As human beings, we consist of three basic parts – the mind, body and spirit/soul. In order to live happily, all three parts must be in harmony. If one of the three becomes weakened, the other two will suffer. Many people are often only vaguely aware that spirit exists, if at all. As a practicing alcoholic for more than twenty years, I was completely in the dark. That’s because alcohol and drugs deaden one’s perceptions and block the ability to feel normal emotions like joy, peace and a connection with others.

But you don’t have to be an alcoholic to suffer from spiritual dis-ease. As mentioned above, many types of trauma cause the same separation of spirit. We try all sorts of ways to ignore the problem. We become workaholics, alcoholics, sleepaholics, food, drug, television or shopping junkies. We buy more things we think will make us happy. We go to the doctor and are prescribed pills to numb the symptoms of spiritual dis-ease. We’ll try anything to escape. The truth is that we can’t out run, out work, out drink, out sleep or out think spiritual dis-ease.

As the famous poet, Robert Frost, once said, the only way around it is through it. This is true of any problem we wish to resolve. But the good news is that spiritual healing is nowhere near as scary or difficult as it sounds. In fact, it could be the most wonderful experience of your life!

3 Steps To Spiritual Healing will teach you how to heal from within using the simplest possible method. Dan Farish brings humor, experience, and a down-to-earth approach when teaching the class. His style is friendly, warm, and relaxed.

How can this class improve your life? The short answer is “immeasurably”.

The 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing class will teach you how to heal the source of spiritual dis-ease. People who have experienced their own spiritual healing often remark that they feel free, peaceful and truly happy for the first time in years. 

Benefits of spiritual healing include -

• A new, profound sense of calm and peace within
• Absence of fear. Fear is one of the first things to go with spiritual healing
• No more loneliness. You are not lonely even when you are alone
• Lack of desire to judge others
• A sense of connection with others
• Words like faith, tolerance, and acceptance begin to take on new meaning
• Painful memories of the past become distant memories and have no effect on your present happiness
• A desire to give to others. You feel blessed and wish to share the blessing you’ve received with others
• You become grateful for the things you have, rather than obsessing about the things you don’t

The single biggest benefit many people report is an overall sense that “all is well with the world”, which is the exact opposite of the fear-based view of life as a struggle that must be “dealt with” on a daily basis. Years of fear and dis-ease become permanently replaced with a quiet faith, a new inner-strength and calm.

Dan has been fortunate to work with people around the world and here are a few reviews of the 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing class -

"If you haven't got into 3 Steps to Spiritual Healing with Dan Farish yet, then I highly recommend you do! Spiritual healing is way better than any alcohol, drugs, prescribed and otherwise, that I have EVER had. I have gained such clarity from our discussions, new insights, different understandings and by gosh the Light shines bright when we are open to receiving it!"

F.F.C.

Western Australia

Last December I read Dan Farish's book, 3 Steps to Recovery. As an addict all my life, I've been interested in the area of addiction and the psychology of addiction and I thought, at the very least, it would be a good read as a biography of a man who had become my friend. I was not prepared for the impact it would have on my life. The honesty with which the book is written called me to be more honest with myself around my own addictions, which I'd always kidded myself were 'manageable' and 'normal'. There is nothing 'normal' about waiting for Friday so that another wine weekend can start..... Nothing 'normal' about taking painkillers when there is no pain...... And honestly? Nothing 'normal' about thinking it's acceptable to smoke 20 cigarettes a day when I've got three young children to raise to adulthood. So I began to work with the 3 Steps, as outlined in the book, and I noticed a shift occurring within me. Still, the addict voice within me was very strong and the honesty was making me uncomfortable within my own skin.

So, after a particularly dangerous and despairing weekend of drinking, I asked Dan about the 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing online class. And there and then my life began to change for the better. Dan decided we should address the binge drinking first, as it posed the greatest risk to my health and life. The 3 Steps started to work immediately and I gained control of my life immediately. One by one, I've got through the addictions that were causing so much pain in my life. Admission that these addictions were in control of my life, rather than the other way round, was the key for me, and Dan helped explain that so well. He also explained that there is an easier way. Hand over control to your Higher Power and let miracles occur in your life.

I would recommend his book and Dan's online classes to everybody who is ready to face and overcome the addictions, anxiety, or other disorders in their lives that are holding them back from being the person they truly came here to be. It is never too late. Your Higher Power has infinite patience and will wait for you indefinitely. But I'm glad I didn't wait another moment to embrace mine. Blessings to all on your paths.

A.C.

Ireland


”When I practiced the 3 steps I totally meant it! I was instantly delivered out of my lifelong co-dependency problem. That is, for the first time I was comfortable with myself and knew I would not give in to abuse and control ever again! The terrible pain and anguish I’d lived through for so many years became manageable and I felt I could work things through by myself. And what a pace of light speed my personal development has taken these past four months! I am overwhelmed with love!”

L.B.

Faroe Islands

3 Steps To Spiritual Healing interactive, live online sessions are conducted one-on-one from the comfort and privacy of your own home, using Skype or telephone. The cost is just $120 for two sessions, each session lasting 90 minutes to 2 hours. But no one is turned away due to a lack of money and a sliding scale is available to fit any budget, ranging from zero dollars to the $120 mentioned above. There is no more affordable, simple and convenient approach to overcoming addiction, depression, or other disorder than 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing.

Sessions are done one-on-one from the comfort and privacy of your own home, using Skype or telephone. Each of the two sessions last approximately 2 hours. Dan's teaching style is down-to-earth, often humorous, and he keeps things simple and easy to follow. There is no more affordable, simple and convenient approach to overcoming addiction, depression, or other disorders than 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing.

You will also receive a complimentary copy of Dan Farish’s award-winning eBook, 3 Steps To Recovery and a free digital copy of the 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing course material.

Are you ready for a new start? Discover the reason you were born, put the past where it belongs – in the past - and live a purposeful, happy life. Swap your old life for one with a brand new view and learn to re-connect with family and friends.

Email info@3stepstorecovery.com or phone Dan Farish at 360 914 2895 for details.

Partnership Wanted!

 

Do you work with people in recovery from addictions, anxiety, codependency, depression or other disorder? Would you like to offer them a simple, low cost, very effective program as an additional tool in their recovery? If you want to offer your clients a spiritual healing element, as well as on a mental and physical level, I would like to discuss ways we can work together.

3 Steps To Spiritual Healing Class

The 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing program has helped people around the world to overcome addiction, anxiety, and many other disorders stemming from spiritual dis-ease, which accurately describes these conditions.

Psychology analyzes past issues associated with the mind. Counseling sessions often last for years and the majority of the time is spent reviewing the patient’s past, rather than the present and future.

The medical profession deals primarily with the body, prescribing medication to treat the symptoms of past issues, such as anxiety and depression. While prescription medication can temporarily numb emotional pain, medication is designed to treat the symptoms of the problem, not the source.

While both physical and psychological treatment play key roles in recovery, the spiritual healing approach is equally important. 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing focuses on teaching how to heal one’s spirit/soul in the belief that the most effective recovery requires a mind, body and spirit approach. This is not a religious program, but uses a spiritual approach to healing from within.

Sessions are done one-on-one from the comfort and privacy of one's own home, using Skype or telephone. The cost is just $90 for two sessions, each session lasting approximately 2 hours. There is no more affordable, simple and convenient approach to overcoming addiction, depression, or other disorder than 3 Steps To Spiritual Healing. 

To learn more, please email Dan@3stepstorecovery.com 

Guns, Murder, and Spiritual Dis-ease

By Dan Farish

If there’s one tiny spark of hope to come from December's mass murder in Connecticut, it is this – we, as a nation, are forced to ask ourselves some tough questions. What would cause someone to walk into a school and murder twenty innocent babies? Why are mass murders a growing trend in our society? While psychiatrists search for personality disorders to explain the (alleged) senselessness, scientists scan DNA for clues, and politicians consider new legislation designed to regulate the problem, here is the ugly truth; we live in a spiritually sick, disconnected, fragmented society where people place far more faith in their guns than they do in one another. This most recent shooting is not an isolated situation, as we all know.

Mass murders are on the rise. Since 1982, there have been at least 62 mass murder incidents carried out with firearms across the country, leaving hundreds dead. But this article isn’t about the pros and cons of gun control, nor is it a mental health debate. This article offers a spiritual perspective as to why people are so lost and offers just one of many explanations as to why mass murder is increasing on a national scale.

Why do so many Americans feel the need to own a handgun? Fear.

What removes fear? Spiritual healing. Faith and love replace fear.

We are a country in desperate need of spiritual healing. I’m not talking about religion. In fact, some of the most dangerous people I can imagine are the religious fanatics that wave a pistol in one hand and a bible in the other. Fear is the reason people feel compelled to arm themselves in their own homes and, with 310 million privately owned firearms in America, we’re talking about a lot of fear. Enormous truck loads of the stuff.

Fear, along with anxiety, depression, addiction, and too many other behavioral conditions to mention here, is merely a symptom of spiritual dis-ease. It is a disconnection from our spiritual side, both individually and collectively. We are a spiritually dis-eased, spiritually bankrupt country. If you don’t believe it, take a look at our elected leaders. The vast majority of politicians care far more about their own self-centered, selfish interests than yours or mine.

What, exactly, is spiritual dis-ease?

The hyphen is important here. Spiritual dis-ease describes a sense of unease (such as fear) within us, a feeling of separateness from others, and even a separation from one’s inner self. It is an uneasiness of the soul – a soul wounded by emotional, physical or sexual abuse, neglect, absentee parents, or other trauma. In its simplest form, spiritual dis-ease boils down to one thing; a blockage of love to us and from us. We avoid our neighbors, curse other drivers, and replace front porches with rear decks to hide from the world.

When we become spiritually disconnected, we turn our back on a very real energy called love. We are wired for love and when we cut ourselves off from love, anything can happen and none of it is good. People turn to pornography, drugs, alcohol, or become workaholics, sleepaholics and shopaholics. Anti-social behavior becomes socially acceptable. Some people even throw both arms in the air, give up altogether, and turn to suicide or murder.

Psychiatrists and mental health professionals use acronyms like ADHD, PTSD, and countless other “disorders” to put a label on the symptoms of spiritual dis-ease. They hand out prescription pills like candy to treat those symptoms. Of course, pills only treat the symptoms and do nothing to address the source of the problem, which is, of course, spiritual dis-ease. There is no chemical remedy for a spiritual dis-ease. Between 2001 and 2010, the number of people swallowing medication for mental health or behavioral disorders increased by 22%. This does not mean 22% more people found themselves teetering on the edge of insanity over the course of nine years. It is, however, a pretty good indication that more people felt the need to fill a quiet, desperate void in their soul. Again, pills treat the symptoms of the problem, not the source. They temporarily numb the emotional pain. We feel nothing, as a result. No pain, no joy, no empathy for others, no real emotions at all.

What is the solution?

Aware of it or not, we are all made of three basic elements; body, mind, and spirit/soul. When one of the three is out of balance, the other two suffer. Guess which of the three is, by far, the most out of kilter in today’s America? The solution is simple. We need to apply faith and love in daily life, rather than place misguided faith in a god called 44 Magnum.

Here are a few steps we can make to move from a fearful, empty, spiritual dis-eased existence to a faithful, fulfilling, contented life.

•    Living in the present moment is one way to overcome fear. Stop what you’re doing, focus on the present, and ask yourself if everything is okay right now. If you’re fearful that someone is going to hurt you tomorrow, that is not only an unrealistic, unwarranted fear, it is also a faithless thought.
•    Apply small acts of kindness in all you do, knowing that your actions, whether positive or negative, have a ripple effect on all of us. Invite a neighbor over for coffee. Volunteer to help others that are struggling in your local community. Smile at the driver beside you at the next red light.
•    Understand that you are part of a very large picture called the universe. You are not a separate, unique, isolated individual struggling alone to survive in a hostile world. Unless, of course, you choose to live as one.
•    Believe in God/Higher Power/Great Spirit/ Divine Love or whatever name you choose to call it. Believe in a power greater than your own, of which you are a small, but important part. Put your faith into knowing that no matter what happens in life, all will be well, whether we wake up in this world tomorrow morning or the next one.

Faith and fear are opposing forces. All happiness results from a flow of love to you and from you to others. All spiritual dis-ease results from a blockage of love to you and from you to others. Lower your guard, lay down your weapons, and embrace life with your God-given arms. Life is that simple.

To learn more about spiritual healing, please visit http://3stepstospiritualhealing.blogspot.com/2012/10/calling-all-angels.html. Be sure to join our mailing list for blog updates, tons of spiritual news and info, delivered directly to your inbox.

A Spiritual Experience Described

 By Dan Farish

It must have been the fifteenth or sixteenth night when the miracle happened. My routine had been the same that night as all the others. I laid in bed reciting the 3 Steps, as I'd done for the previous fortnight, asking humbly and sincerely, without fail. This ritual was repeated dozens of times each night with a few short breaks in between. During those breaks, I’d talk to my Higher Power in a more casual way, describing how my addiction felt like a dark cloud, confiding my fears, and asking for help in overcoming both. I'd been told sincerity counted. I was more than sincere. I was desperate for help.

This one-sided conversation had gone on for two weeks straight and I was starting to wonder if it was a waste of time. Somewhat frustrated, I started to ask myself if God was even listening. I never got the chance to finish the question. Out of the blue something jolted me, causing my entire body to tighten up. My muscles clenched and released, repeatedly and uncontrollably, as if some invisible giant was grabbing me by the belt, lifting ninety percent of my body off the bed and slamming me back down. My chest constricted and my legs froze, thrusting my chest upwards and releasing me again, which must have resembled a seizure. The movements knocked the breath out of me, which was frightening at first. 

But fear was replaced with an energy I’d never felt before. Soothing waves of incredibly powerful warmth and love pulsed through my body, dissolving the anxiety and tension I’d carried for so many years. It felt as if God had walked into the room, laid both hands on me, and penetrated my body and soul with some kind of divine electricity. I laid back and went along for the ride, alternately feeling like I’d been plugged into an electrical outlet and caressed by a warm, loving energy like no other. I can only describe the feeling as having been ZAPPED with the most amazing energy on earth and for which there are no words. It felt like love multiplied by infinity. The experience lasted for somewhere between 15-20 minutes. When it ended, I felt both exhilarated and exhausted. Within minutes, exhaustion won out and I fell into a deep sleep. When I awoke the next morning my addiction was gone. The intense cravings that had driven me to drink for more than twenty years had vanished and haven’t returned even once in nearly two decades.

I’m not quite sure what happened that night, but one thing is certain. A miracle took place. No doubt exists in my mind that a Higher Power not only heard my plea for help, but reached out and healed my soul. Love walked in, grabbed my addiction by the scruff of its dirty neck, and marched it out the door. The inner turmoil and tension that had haunted me for most of my life evaporated in an instant and were replaced by a quiet calmness and inner peace that remain to this day. I know it’s difficult to believe in miracles unless you’ve experienced one of your own. Unfortunately, the only way to describe the experience is by telling it exactly as it happened. It is as it is. Whether or not anyone else believes a spiritual healing actually occurred is their own choice. The fact that the word miracle exists certainly suggests that inexplicable events have occurred throughout history. Some might choose to view my experience as self-hypnosis, or even temporary insanity, spurred by desperation. To me, it really doesn’t matter. The bottom line is that it worked. My addiction was instantly and permanently erased, which was a true miracle, regardless how it came to be.

But you don’t need to be an alcoholic or drug addict to benefit from a spiritual healing experience. People struggling with depression, anxiety, loneliness, PTSD and a long list of other disorders can be healed using a spiritual approach. An open mind, an open heart, and willingness play key roles in a spiritual experience. If you'd like to learn how to connect with your own spiritual healing, click here.

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