Recently, Oprah did this wonderful show on women, food and God. I love that she makes us aware of topics that cause us to pause and reassess how we live. As I contemplated this show, it led me to think about the fact that all addictions have a root cause. That cause is not wanting to “feel” something, or trying to find our worth, our power and our life outside of ourselves.
This is true, from my observations, of women and men. We are looking for the perfect job, wealth and soulmates to complete us and spiritual leaders to show us the way. We do almost anything to avoid being in pain. We hide, overeat, drink too much and move from relationship to relationship in order to escape. The interesting thing we are not aware of is that the pain is communicating to us what we need to know. It is trying to show us old wounds that need to be healed so we can move into a greater dimension of joy.
Removing pain through practice
Several years ago, I had a young woman come to me who was “cutting” herself. As we explored the behavior, we uncovered that whenever she was distressed about her traumatic childhood she would “cut” instead of dealing with the painful thoughts. Now, for some of us, that would seem irrational. However, for her, the “cutting” distracted her enough to never have to go back into the emotional upheaval that she experienced as a child. As we worked together, we slowly began to disconnect the old pain, remove that energy from her body and open a space for her to create a new way of being in the world. Today, she is a college graduate and doing amazing work in service to others.
How to avoid avoidance
We all have incredible avoidance mechanisms. In my family, it was food and illness. Five generations of women ate for comfort and ended their lives with physical and health challenges. I am interested in looking at the energy of old wounds that leads us into addictive states. I am interested in supporting all of us in understanding that we are spiritual beings having a human experience. Being human is meant to be powerful and dynamic.
Please remember: Nothing that has ever happened to you can define you or your life. Whatever your “drug” of choice is, be willing to face it and get support to heal that wound. Once you do, you will make choices to love, live and express your divine nature. You have never been lost. Your worth is not outside of you. Every wound is a call to heal. Answer it. You deserve to live and be fully expressed.
Take a moment to remember this:
Today, I take a bold step and dare to look at old wounds and shadow experiences. I call forth my greatness and dare to let go of anything that does not support my freedom.
