Addiction, Soul Power, and Self Love… Be True to Yourself

Put your ear down close to your soul and listen hard.
Anne Sexton

The Soul and Soul Gifts

Each of our souls were given unique gifts and talents to accomplish what they came here on earth to achieve.

Furthermore, the greatest and grandest gift our soul has or will ever be given throughout it’s eternal life; is the freedom to choose what, when, where, how and with whom we will make use of these powerful gifts.

Nevertheless, I believe the reason most of us struggle with some type of addiction; or repetitive behavior; (both escape tools); is because we are not yet owning and making use of our ‘God-given powers’. Instead of being or doing who and what we want to be; we consciously or sub-consciously escape to what quickly becomes a hard-to-break habit.

The soul is said to be the deep self or ‘I’ that inhabits the body.

Yes; but if you’re not very connected to your soul then how do you know what gifts you have.

That’s easy. Take the soul test now.

The Soul and Addictions

After years of struggling with several of my own bad habits; I discovered that the first step for addressing any addiction or repetitive behavior is to admit that you have one.

The second step is to ask,

am I doing or being what and who I want to be or am I who others want me to be?
Am I owning and making use of my God-given powers; meaning my specialties and
my freedom to choose?

gambling addiction

Addressing an addiction is a process

One that requires honesty, patience with oneself and with loved ones. It usually involves having to go where most of us are afraid; or choose not to go. For example, to disconnect (unplug) myself from the power of my Slot Machine addiction.

Meanwhile, I had to be willing to unearth things about my personal and married life that, no doubt, should have been dealt with a long time ago. As there are no coincidences in life, there was no coincidence in my becoming addicted to cigarettes or to slot machines.

Addiction is not born of thin air

As a matter of fact, it will quickly swallow a big part of your life if not addressed quickly and honestly. In this way, addiction is a gift that will eventually force you, sooner or later; to address the ‘someone or something’ in your life that you are having difficulty dealing with.. Or perhaps trying to escape or replace.

That’s an interesting way of looking at an addiction ; as a gift.

Yes, I know; but some people must be more prone to addictions than others?

Take the test people ~ how addictive are you?

People pleasing and Fear of Rejection

Due to my fear of disapproval or rejection; rather than being honest with my husband, I harbored many negative feelings. It wasn’t until I recognized that what I had; and was still doing with him was something I had and was still doing with my parents, siblings and friends.

My desperate need for other people’s approval had totally blinded me to what was right for me. Like a dark cloud, my insecurities had covered my personal dreams, and goals; and most of all, my special gifts as well as freedom to choose; which are my God-given powers.

She’s not afraid of heights, swimming or love. Just falling, drowning and rejection.

When I first got married

I had very low self-esteem and little confidence. Certainly did not know the meaning of unconditional love for myself and for others. However, it was for this reason that every time I would think of being a certain way or want to do something new; I would immediately seek other people’s approval. I would make my decisions accordingly.

Furthermore, I constantly worried about what others would think about me or my decisions, never once asking myself what I thought was right for me. It took me over forty years to figure out the reason I could never be me was because I was afraid others might hate me, leave me or hurt me!

Approval is overrated. Approval and disapproval alike satisfy those who deliver it more than those who receive it. I don’t care for approval and I don’t mind doing without it.

Moreover, I wasn’t even aware of my soul’s greatest gift; which is the freedom to choose. It took becoming severely addicted to slot machines for me to go deep within myself to find and address the many fears that controlled my life all these years.

Only through my self-discovery did I recognize I had choices to make

However, I could choose to continue using addictions to escape from my inner pain; or choose to become honest with myself and others around me; about what was really happening in my life that was making me feel empty and sad.

Nonetheless, I even had to face the frightening possibility of my 30 year marriage ending since it had silently suffered as much as I had. All of this was happening because I had not been honest with my feelings and with others!

I finally realized my life wouldn’t change until I could declare and commit to who I was and what I wanted in life. But before I could make this declaration, I had to discover these answers within myself.

Most of my life

During my years, I not only said and did what others thought I should be doing and saying. But had allowed everyone to talk me out of what it is I really felt. Most times, I either felt guilty or was made to feel guilty when expressing my feelings; especially if they didn’t agree with what others thought was right for me to be feeling or doing.

I think that a lot of people can relate to this.

Well, the first step is trying to discover what you want in your life.

Here’s a little taster take the ‘What Do you want in your Life?’ quiz.

Self Discovery

How could I express what I felt when I had never learned or was never shown what it was like to honor my feelings? As many of you will agree, children of past generations (even many in today’s) were meant to be seen and not heard.

Do any of you remember being asked as a child how something or someone made you feel? Or how another person’s words or actions made you feel? When was the last time you told someone, “Your comments really hurt me or made me feel bad?” Or better yet, when was the last time you asked yourself “how does this person make me feel?” Even today, do you follow your feelings or intuition about someone or something that makes you feel less than the special person that you are?

I don’t know about you…

Nonetheless, it took me 48 years to start listening to what my soul was trying to tell me. The only way my soul was able to finally reach me is through my addictions and that is why today I can assure you, addictions are not diseases that can’t be cured!

They are simply gifts that hold some of the most precious diamonds for your soul’s growth. For those of you reading this article that are struggling with addictions, know they are just as important for your journey back Home as are all your qualities and what you call positive experiences.

Before you beat yourself up, because of your addiction

Ask yourself what your soul and the universe might be trying to tell you. Could it be you are not being; or doing what your real self (soul) knows it should be doing and came here to do?

If you think the grass is greener on the other side,
it’s probably because they are watering their grass.

Remember you’re not drunk until you have to grab onto the grass to keep from falling off the earth.

Click here to move on to the next article; which is about Dreams and How They Work… Hit The Snooze Button.