Our unconscious agreement to identify with the pain of any negative state -- including the usual (anxious) rush to escape it -- is one of the ways our false nature suffers -- in vain -- to prove (to itself) that whatever "self" it imagines, and then pretends to be is, in fact, real.

Classroom Talk: 1/4/2023 - There is no such thing as a compulsive pleasure, let alone a contented "slave" that lives under its lash; and yet billions of human beings serve some form of addiction, willing to turn a blind eye to how much they suffer for the sake of a pleasure they cannot keep, a security that cannot be possessed.

Topics covered: True exploration of your consciousness cannot be for the purpose of escaping from something, nor to confirm what you already know; The defintion of "insanity" is doing the same thing over and over again, and hoping for a different result. The same could be said about "addiction"; "Addiction" connotes the idea of unwilling service to something that is harmful.

Topics Covered: Being willing to see ourselves as we are is the practice of meditation; A relationship with the Divine doesn't require control or strength; None of us want to be without something to do; We must learn to see equally above and below, light and dark; You are free, the why is a lie; When you talk to yourself you are not the one talking and you are not the one who is...

Have you ever wondered why – with so many people talking about the need to make real changes in their lives – so very little actually changes? It's pretty obvious: Addiction, dependency, and the conflict and fear they breed, are more prevalent and problematic than ever before, even if made to appear otherwise by popular justification. But what isn't so obvious is the reason...

Topic: Rise Above the Unconscious Source of Any Painful Addiction (11/10/19 Classroom Talk)

Topic: Rise Above the Unconscious Source of Any Painful Addiction (11/10/19 Classroom Talk)

Classroom Talk: 11/15/2023 - No single substance -- whether physical, mental, or emotional -- creates an addiction, let alone the pain and conflict inherent in its corresponding dependency; rather dependency is the birthplace of all false solutions with which we first become identified, and then become addicted to... in the vain hope that it has the power to release us from a pain we have yet to understand, let alone resolve.

In this answer to a viewer's question, "Secret of Letting Go" author Guy Finley explains that the ending of any form of addiction begins when we stop following the suggested actions for resolution that come from the very problem itself.

What are we actually talking about when we speak of letting go? After all, no one wants to let go of something that has proven itself to be satisfying! Whatever it is that we wish to let go of must be something from which we wish to be free. This may be unpleasant or troubling relationships, a problem-filled past or fearful future, any form of addiction, recent painful events -- or any of thos...

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...

Classroom Talk: 5/23/2021 - 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 no bottom by pouring...