Bad Habits

In this answer to a viewer's question, "letting go" author Guy Finley explains that liberation from any addiction begins with seeing the dual nature of the divided mind that claims to not want the pain of the addiction, while at the same time being attracted to the sensations that come with getting the next fix.

Why do we end up as often as we do in those painful situations in which the last words usually spoken go something like, "How in the world did I get myself into this mess?" Sound familiar? It should. And while the answer to this woeful question should rescue us from similar future sticky situations, it rarely works out that way. This is very important to admit to ourselves..."

We must learn to struggle with our "self" all the time, because without awareness of the way we meet our life, of what meets life for us when we are just "gliding" along... then, in truth, what is it that meets life? The answer is... no one... just a host of habitual thoughts, feelings, prejudicial ideas, beliefs, and mechanical reactions. If we are not aware of ourselves -- right now, and in all..."

There are two kinds of people: those who "miss the mark" and don't care, and those who realize that they have missed the mark and begin to care. How many people are willing to go through this life consciously recognizing where they have missed the mark? Agreeing to become conscious of where you have missed the mark is the only way to stop reliving old patterns...

Topics covered: Real existence is being rooted in an awareness that doesn't pursue anything because it is already a part of everything; There is no addiction that doesn't begin with a sense of self that feels incomplete; In order to win the approval of others, we have to sell ourselves. Our sense of self is dependent upon exterior conditions; There is no fear without the fear of disappearing, without the fear of losing myself...

Student Talks: 5/28/2021 - Key Lesson: Since no desire can complete itself -- by itself -- through anything it imagines -- its only recourse is to imagine "more of" whatever failed to satisfy it the first time around. This unseen cycle is the mainspring of all forms of addiction, as unconscious desire keeps trying to fill a bucket with...

Topics Covered: There is no such thing as a compulsive pleasure; We are not meant to spend our lives compulsively defending and justifying ourselves. Those things are addictions; Physical hunger and thirst are natural, but being hungry for approval is not natural; Every day we go compulsively looking for what our mind says we need in order to find fulfillment. What we long for...

Student Talks: 4/16/2021 - Key Lesson: All unconscious negative reactions -- with others, events, or with ourselves -- deflect this one crucial revelation: as long as we meet life with any compulsive demand or unseen craving, we can't help but be painfully remanded into the hands of one self-punishing reaction after another...