Addictions

I am looking forward to joining a process work group focusing on addicitions, although I have few or no "traditional" addictions.

Media

I do sometimes spend more time on the internet than I would like to.

Media addictions, and internet included, are - on the surface - perpetuated by intermittent reinforcement (which is most resistent to extinsion). Most of what we find on the internet, or are exposed to in the more passive medias, is not interesting. But occasionally, something very rewarding comes along, and that is enough to keep us coming back. Realizing this is one key to having more of a choice. Another is to eliminate exposure to the media all together, as I have done with TV for many years, and more recently also with newspapers (except a few online).

Culture

The addictions I am more interested are the ones tied to our culture. An addicition is a behavior that is repeated although not (completely) desired by the person, and one where we seem to have little choice in the matter.

This is the case for me in terms of many cultural assumptions and habits.

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First Day - October 6, 2004

It is wonderful to be back into process work. It is such a fluid and profound work.

Some of the insights around addicition...

• We all have a deep urge towards transduality - to live from the view beyond all dualities. And we are often stuck in small mind (aware of differentiation but not unity, and even less aware of the transdual). Addictions is one way we cope with this situation. We seek a sense of connection, looseness and bliss through various addicitions.
  
• Addictions often comes in pairs and compensate each other. I have an addictive tendency to sugar, which gives me focus and energy, and dairy, which gives me a sense of softness and relaxation.
  

Dyads

I worked on my sugar and then dairy addictive tendencies in a dyad...

• Dairy
  The quality I seek in dairy is the deep relaxation, the womblike experience, comfort, softness, gentleness, rocking, full body contact, natural, fluid, soft, connection, no separation....
  This is what I find in Breema, and when I do Breema for several hours a day, my addictive tendencies falls away. There is no charge there anymore, because my needs have already been fulfilled.
  
• Sugar
  And the quality behind sugar (for me) was first an intensity and shaking, then opening up to a Masai dance. It opened up to spaciousness, centering and deep grounding, as well as the primal, tribal, free.

Internet
Fluid, dynamic, trance, connected to the whole world (an image of the world).

Libraries
The wastness/richness of human experiences - all there.