It’s been awhile since my last entry, so I thought I would quickly revisit why Yoga and Recovery is of interest to me, and why it’s possibly relevant to You.
When first realizing the urge to write about the parallels of the two traditions, naturally it occurred to me to write from the the perspective of the “ailment” that first brought me to the doors of a room where the 12-steps were made available: alcoholism. But, in truth, I know about more than that. I also know the way of the drug addict, sex addict, shopaholic, relationship junkie, spiritual seeker, transcendental experience junkie, slave of material security, and addict of maintaining personal appearances in search of other’s approval. Like all of us to varying degrees, I was just another individual running around grasping and groping for some sense of peace, trying to find something good that might last, all the while not knowing that what I was looking for would not be found in my surrounding circumstances. So let me say this again, I’m interested in Yoga and Recovery because the root of addiction is common to all of us, and both traditions aim to cultivate a certain new relationship with that root, because their interest is the deepest spiritual evolution.
Since our minds naturally make distinctions and see things as separate, you may have read the above descriptions and may be a little confused: after all, how can spiritual seeking be equated with sex addiction? Aren’t they obvious opposites? Not really. If they show up as means of avoiding yourself, then no, they are the same. Granted, it becomes a more slippery investigation when dealing with “spiritual” pursuits. They certainly are sold as loftier, higher, or more worthwhile actions than satisfying a sexual or drug addiction. But, if it’s all looked into closely, one usually finds the same things running the show: a tendency to avoid most of what actually presents itself in everyday life, and impulses to control how it appears to be going.
Deep inside each of us still lives an idea of a boogeyman, a world in which we are unsure of our fate, and the desire to avoid the only thing which is sure: our death.
Now, when it comes to spiritual traditions and the actions that they recommend, understand: of course not all lead you away. The ones worth their weight do nothing more than point you back to you. And though the paths seem to be innumerable, there is only one for each of us to take in the end.
If you find yourself in one of the above descriptions, to any degree, then I invite you to stay on for the ride: the traditions of Yoga and of Recovery both desire your freedom, which comes simply from seeing, feeling and moving with that which is real, and discarding that which is false – – – which never actually existed in the first place, except in our imaginations.
Next Entry: Ishvara – Pranidhana and the 3rd Step.