Ten Tenets: Addictives

The next entry in the Vibrational Awareness series involves addictives, which lower your vibration. For the sake of the Ten Tenets, I have lumped pretty much anything that can be addictive in nature into one word: addictives. This includes more obvious things caused by addictive substances like alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes, to less obvious or more obscure forms of addiction caused by an inner wound or lack of inner power, such as codependency, gambling, or hoarding.

An addictive is anything that takes away your focus on the outside world so fully that you begin to harm, not only your own life, but also the lives of others who associate with or are close to you. This isn't usually because we mean to hurt others, but because, when are caught in addictive cycles, we take a lot more than we give. We do things we would not otherwise do, and treat people in ways we would never consider otherwise. Sometimes, the addiction becomes so bad, we cannot even see it. It becomes so fully a part of ourselves that we can longer distinguish its harmful, possessive energy from our own, true intentions.

While addiction is mostly harmful, addictive substances themselves do have benefits. Just as the positive behaviors of the Ten Tenets have a dark side, addictives have a light side. We'll be discussing some of these differences today!

Addictives lower your vibration very strongly because it takes away from your ability to prosperously carry out high vibrational behavior. This happens because, when addicted to something, we become so fixated on how to continue obtaining the source of our addiction that we no longer attempt to connect with any other sources, sometimes even those as important to our survival as food or sleep. We loose the ability to be grateful, because we always desire more. We do not have faith in the universe to provide for us, because our dependency fuels an inner desperation.

This disconnects us from the universe in a very great way. This is reflected in the loss of interest in other hobbies, the absence of once commonly present friends or family, the inability to keep work, and many other not so great realities that very often take hold in the lives of the addicted. Many people under the influence of addiction will even disconnect from themselves, or at least any part of themselves that does not align with the addiction, and the need to fulfill it.

Addictives focus on the ego, which is going to be a running detriment in this series. The ego allows a person to become addicted in the first place, mostly because it convinces the owner of the ego that they deserve to have the addictive thing. The ego will insist that it is somehow the addicted person's right to not only be addicted, but to receive the source of the addiction. When paired with addiction, the ego becomes a force that will unravel even itself in search for more of whatever we are addicted to.

Of course, addictives, so long as we don't become actively addicted to them in a detrimental way, sometimes have positive merits. The most common merit of addictives is that of entertainment. We often drink in social settings, or participate in collecting certain objects or things for fun. We enjoy spending time with our partners, sometimes so much so that it is as if the experiences we share with them are intoxicating. This is perfectly acceptable! Small amounts of things that feel great are, in fact, beneficial towards finding enjoyment in the day to day, but their overall threat to your vibrational well being should never be disregarded, no matter how "fun," any activity, person, or thing is. This is especially true in regards to drugs or anything else with major health risks. Sometimes, the risk is just too great to take.

Some addictive substances or behaviors even have therapeutic, medical, or spiritual benefits. Shamans, mystics, and other spiritual practitioners across the world and throughout history have used addictive herbs and substances, the most prevalent in modern culture probably being tobacco and alcohol, in order to create deeper, more visceral connections with spirit. Tobacco can be used to extract toxins from bug bites to reduce the itching or burning the bite causes, by pressing a damp poultice of the leaves of the plant onto the wound. Alcohol can be used to cleanse and sanitize skin and surfaces.

In modern times and ancient times alike, we have also used addictive substances to alleviate physical or emotional pain. While using any addictive long term has very negative effects, some addictives do have benefits, if used in small amounts and temporarily. By making the pain bearable, it allows for an individual to process or begin to heal from that pain without having to go through anywhere near as much suffering, which is wonderful!

What is your experience with addictives? How have you used them in your life in a positive way, and how have addictives caused great havoc or loss for you? I'd love to hear from you below.

Affirmation:

I am free of the bonds of addiction.