LICKING THE RAZOR’S EDGE

Conclusion: the End of a New Beginning;
… and the Beginning of a New End

“Most people do not wish to be free from their addictions. They would rather moan and chafe about how impossible it is to give up their various enslavements – to their emotions, to their possessions, to their behaviors. Of course, it is not that they can’t give these things up – they don’t truly want to give them up.” ~ inspired by Peace Pilgrim

“It’s probably weird to think about an addiction like it’s a sentient being, but that’s how it feels. Like it’s something living inside you; something you can’t get rid of because you are afraid that killing it means killing you. Of course, oddly enough, all the while you are thinking like this, it really is killing you.” ~ inspired by Ellen Hopkins

“Once you obtain its key, your prison cell becomes a Home.” ~ inspired by George Sterling

I’m still not exactly sure what came over me last summer – still not at all certain why writing about addiction became so necessary.  I like to think it was a compulsion of Compassion … I like to think that I had simply had enough of repeatedly witnessing folks extend sweet-tongued pity to all those smoothly labeled “alcoholic” & “druggie” … I like to think that I felt called to champion the objects of all those dry & brittle sympathies, plastered as they were (and still are) in tones cold & condescending; nothing more than vapor-thin veils over judgments “holier than thou”.

I like to think that I simply knew from firsthand experience that is wasn’t Right that my own brother and so many of my other dear Friends were (and still are) being treated so callously during their times of greatest need.

And I also remember clearly the day I realized – with hearth-warming empathy – that the very people who were offering such frozen condolences were (and still are) addicts themselves; indeed, that we are all, by the very nature of our humanity, born into life-long & life-threatening struggles with fear, need, desire and dependence – that we are all imprisoned to one degree or another; that we all merit the gentleness of Compassion.

And I also remembered that we were not always so shackled; and that we can all be free once again.

“It is not heroin or cocaine that makes one an addict, it is the fearful need to escape from a reality that often seems harsh & unfair. Indeed, there are more television addicts, more football addicts, and certainly more negativity addicts in the west than all the substance abusers in the world combined.” ~ inspired by Shirley Chisholm

It is important to remember – especially in industrialized, “first world” nations – that being addicted to any behavior is actually a reasonable response to the oppressive world in which we live. In such lands, people are constantly bombarded both by a mass media that tells them that they are insufficient, as well as by an “intelligentsia” (their teachers, preachers, saints & gurus) who tell them that they “could be so much more”.

On one side we are branded “naive” & “ignorant”, while on the other we are persuaded to strive for “personal growth” and “self improvement”.

We are told to be afraid – that enemies lurk in every nation and that criminals wait around every corner … We are told that we are poor; that we could have so much more – a better job, a better home, a better life … And we are told that we are “lost”; that we could also BE so much more – more joyful, more peaceful, more successful, more “enlightened”.

Realizing this, it really is no wonder that we tend to resort to one addiction or another to escape from such an innately unwinnable arena.

And yet, even though our addictions are understandable forms of escape, they are also self-destructive ones.

In-deed, running from stress only allows our stress to escalate, bandaging sadness only allows our despair to fester, and hiding from fear only allows our anxieties to intensify. Our addictive behaviors, however justifiable they might be, ultimately bring us more of the very suffering they were enacted to alleviate in the first place.

And so this book was born – a humble attempt, not to force freedom upon you (for we each must depart from captivity of our own accord), but rather to provide those seeking liberation with a lamp to light their path thereto.

More than a few of you were put off by the imagery in its title, a distaste with which I can certainly empathize. And yet the imagery of licking honey from a razor’s edge was both consciously summoned and purpose-fully placed – symbolizing not only how we injure ourselves while engaging self-gratifying activities, but also how important it is for us to return to paying the closest of attentions to our choices & deeds – both to what we are doing as well as why we are doing it.   In-deed, it is only by acutely attending to the intentions that inspire our choices (as well as the actions that follow them) that we can leave the fear-full world of the subconscious behind, and thereby enliven a fresh existence imbued with courage and with calm.

With that all in mind, here are a few parting thoughts for your consideration:

*Full UNDERSTANDING REQUIRES Courageous ENACTMENT

Despite more than a few folks incorrectly characterizing it as such, this is NOT a “self-help book”. In-deed, not only is the selfishness of “self-help” the primary source of every addiction, but “self-help” literature itself also tends to encourage a passive, mostly mental approach to “attaining enlightenment” — one that directly contradicts the very fundaments of the courageous selfless-service for which this manual stands & to which it aspires to inspire.

How ironic that the pundits of such “self-help” would have us flee from the control of our enemies directly into the clutching grasp of our own ego – essentially running headlong from potential destruction into certain enslavement; from a life of Meaning-full risks & adventure into an existence emptied of purpose and refilled with hollowed-out hopes.  It even oddly mimics the very dysfunction that had us becoming addicted in the first place.

*We feared someday “going without” (food or sex or money or “friends”), so we gorged ourselves on whatever happens to cross our path.

*We feared the ineffable nature of life – the fact that there is so much that we will simply never be able to understand (truth and eternity and death and God), so we filled our minds with ideologies and convictions as stalwart as they are sinister; as wishful as they are weak; as callous as they are charming.

*We feared being unable to effectively Care for others – believing instead that we are all “only human” and that alone we can’t ever make “a real difference”, and so we submitted instead to twisted priorities; investing in superficialities that don’t matter (work or video games or sports or fashion) — but in which we can indeed “succeed”.

Essentially, instead of obtaining freedom from those folks & forces that frighten, we became slaves to demons internal – darker thoughts that commanded and controlled our days with even more ruthlessness than any external tyrant; demanding that we awake each day and “live” merely to sate  the very addictions that imprisoned us in their darkened dungeons the first place.

And this is crucial to remember – especially if you happen to do more than merely fantasize about your Freedom — especially if you happen to choose to one day actually do something about it: if the Freedom offered herein is truly desired, the self-centered reapings & passive pastimes of reading or pondering (or debating or discussing; or visualizing or affirming; or manifesting or “co-creating”) simply WILL NOT SUFFICE.

No, my Friends, to attain a courageous End, you will need to engage courageous means. To liberate yourself from your fear-full addictions, you will simply have to courageously DO something about them.

*FREEDOM from addiction IS INSTANTANEOUS (and always available)

Though preachers, teachers & gurus (and even your own ego) will try and convince you otherwise, it is important to realize the following Truth:

Your Freedom from addiction (or ego, or “sin”) is NOT a drawn-out “process”.

*You are NOT required to study for any length of time,

*you are NOT required to attend any particular of seminars,

*you are NOT required to read any particular book(s),

*and you are NOT required to be exposed to any particular teachings in order to attain a full liberation from your fears & your desires.

Just like “attaining enlightenment” or “waking up” or “becoming self-actualized”, all that is required for us to be truly Free is that – for just one instant of our lives (THIS instant) – we exhibit the courage to act accordingly. We must simply reach out while thinking only for another, instead of cowering in the shadows while thinking primarily of ourselves.

Though such “practical selflessness” is indeed much more powerful when given during the moments when we least wish to do so, it liberates us completely in every moment it is chosen nonetheless.

*GETTING STARTED on LIVING FREELY

I realize that this book is filled with direct and indirect references to almost four dozen different addictions, and I understand that you might be tempted to feel overwhelmed at the prospect of cleansing them all from your life.

And yet HAVE NO FEAR, for such a monumental task is not asked of you at all.

Initially, you might have noticed that all of the addictions mentioned (and even the few that were not) are all grounded in the same fear and are all supported by the same self-centeredness. As such, every addiction can be dismantled and replaced using a single foundation-more-solid (Love) and a single mortar-more-lasting (selfless Kindness).

Now, this might not be THE answer for everyone, and yet personal experience has shown that it is at least AN answer for everyone. In-deed, even to this day I find myself in regular “battle” with over 20 of the 36 addictions mentioned herein. For many folks this might inspire a sense of resignation (ironically, the addiction upon which all other addictions rely), and yet I remind myself every day that the Journey to Freedom is not about someday “becoming perfect” as a person, or even about being “perfect” for one day. Rather, it is about setting aside our addictive fears & desires for just ONE INSTANT, and then – for just one moment more – doing something Kind for someone else.

That’s it – that is all that is required to be completely free of all addiction. Simply identify a selfish urge, set that desire briefly to the side, do something Kind for another, and detach from the results … The more you engage this simple mechanism, the more moments of pure Freedom you will re-enliven.

And it doesn’t even matter where or how you get started.

*Want to tackle the “greatest evil”? Then use this tactic to minimize cigarette smoking or eating animals (the only two addictions that directly destroy not only the life of the addict, but other lives as well).

*Want to personalize your efforts? Then use it to deal with the addiction mentioned in the chapter that made you most defensive or most uncomfortable while reading this book.

*Want to deal with all of your addictions at once? Then apply this progression regularly to the addiction of resignation, and watch the rest of your addictions begin to weaken & crumble as well.

“I did not come here to be comforted,
I came here like the red bird … to Sing.”
~ Mary Oliver
In conclusion, remember that no matter what tactics you use to deal with your addictions, remember that fighting the ego forcefully never brings lasting results. Fortunately, there is an effective alternative to dealing with your ego – a method that is always available, and that only involves only three simple steps:

Step 01) ACKNOWLEDGE the Ego – Recognize that you, like all other human beings, are simply soaked in self-centered desires.

Remember as well where those urges come from – your ego’s most primal fears of death & danger.

Step 02) CONSOLE the Ego – have the wherewithal to thank your ego sincerely for all it has done in your past (especially your infancy & your early childhood) to keep you safe. Without its fearful vigilance in your youth, you might indeed have perished. It really is still doing the best it can to take care of you, even though you are now old enough to Care for yourself. So be gentle with it as you reassure it that you are not going to stop being selfish forever – just for one moment; that you are not going to abandon fear forever – just for awhile. This will “put enough fuel on the fire” for the ego to relax …

… which will allow you to engage the all-important final step …

Step 03) TRANSCEND the Ego – by immediately going forth and being Kind to another. Simply DO anything that is solely designed to bring another person Peace or Joy – especially during those times when you least wish to do so; especially during those times when you most want to re-engage an addiction. For as long as you choose Kindness, you will no longer be an addict, but will rather have returned — however briefly – to living as the Human(e) Being you were born to Be.

The more often you do so (A.C.T. — Acknowledge, Console, & Transcend) , the easier it will become to follow the inclinations of your conscience instead of the angst of your instincts … and the more fluidly you will return to the Peace of your true Source; beaming forth a radiant life full of Freedom, as opposed to huddling alone in a cage of cowardice.

“Every morning when we wake, we have 24 reborn hours in which to live. And it is truly a miracle that we have the capacity to enliven them in such a way that they can bring Joy to others – as opposed to merely happiness for ourselves.” ~ inspired by Thich Nhat Hanh

Filed under: Licking the Razor's Edge (freedom from hidden addictions) by Scaughdt