If I were to rate the nine habits discussed in this book, this one might get the prize for being the most unbelievable: spending our precious life energy chasing after something we don’t want, and never getting enough of whatever it is that we’re relentlessly pursuing! Fortunately, this is one imbalance that’s relatively easy to correct, despite all we’ve been told about the difficulties involved in conquering addictions. The concept of fighting and conquering addiction is the wrong approach—I believe that we need to begin by removing those words from our vocabulary. Martin Luther King, Jr., once remarked that the only way to convert an enemy to a friend is through love, not hatred or fighting.

We Don’t Conquer Anything, and There’s Nothing to Fight

Consider the results we’ve achieved when we’ve tried to fight something in order to conquer it. For example, ever since war was declared on poverty, there’s more of it in the world than ever. Our wars on drugs have only served to triple our prison populations and bring illegal substances to more people at younger ages. (As early as junior high school, there’s hardly a child who doesn’t know how to acquire all manner of drugs.) Our wars on crime have resulted in more criminals, more fear, more surveillance, more distrust, and more abuse by law-enforcement personnel. Our war on terror has turned us into people who behave toward those we label terrorists in ways that emulate the terrorism we’re supposedly desirous of eliminating. When war was officially declared on Iraq, America became more hated, and the number of people signing up to become suicide bombers multiplied dramatically. And our wars on cancer, obesity, and hunger have not eliminated those conditions either.

Here’s the reasoning behind what I’ve just elaborated: The truth of this Universe is that we live in an energy system that operates on the Law of Attraction. That is, we become what we think about all day long. If we think about what we hate, this is an energy that we’re offering to our desires. In this system, then, we’ll attract more of what we think about. Consequently, more of what we hate is what we will attract. We act on our thoughts: Our thoughts of hate, violence, fighting, and war generate actions of hate, violence, fighting, and war. And lo and behold, we see the fruits of this thinking showing up even if our intentions are positively aligned with God energy. We get what we think about, whether we want it or not. Thoughts that translate into fighting and war almost always guarantee that the response is a counterforce—that is, others will respond in kind to our desire to fight and conquer. This kind of force/counterforce can continue for centuries, with unborn generations programmed to carry on the fight.

This same understanding of how fighting weakens us and generates more imbalance in our lives is applicable to our experience with addictions. We can become addiction free relatively quickly if we make a decision to eliminate fighting and conquering from our efforts. The thoughts and energy that replace fighting need to be in the form of nonwarlike thoughts. As Emerson said so succinctly: “The remedy of all blunders, the cure of blindness, the cure of crime, is love. . . .” And addictions constitute one huge blunder, I can assure you, having spent a great deal of my own life immersed in such folly.

Overcoming Blunder-Filled Thinking

Addictions of every description are vehicles that people board in order to get someplace higher, more pleasurable, more peaceful, more tuned in and turned on, and so on. But if you’re already aligned with this energy, then it’s obviously unnecessary to climb aboard any vehicle headed to a place where you currently reside.

I’ve played with addictions and addictive behaviors for a large part of my life. In fact, I’d say that these various addictions have been among my greatest teachers, allowing me to see that there’s a higher level of consciousness and blissful awareness available to us all. But I’m also aware that using substances of non-well-being in order to experience this separate reality is assuredly a counterfeit means of doing so.

The pattern goes something like this: We must have more and more of what we desire. The more of it we take or imbibe, the more we need. The less effective it is as we consume more. Then, to top off this huge imbalance, what we’re using to get to this place of bliss is toxic to our well-being! The addiction is increasing our imbalance. Our desire is for bliss, peace, love, health, freedom, and so on, but the addictive behavior gives us precisely the opposite. If it goes unchecked, it will wreak havoc on our body and mind, and ultimately destroy us.

I’m essentially addiction free, and I want you to know that I didn’t get to this place by fighting my addictive nature. In fact, the more I tried to conquer addictions at various stages of my life to things such as sugar, soda pop, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol, and certain drugs, the more they’d gain a foothold on me. Force/counterforce: I’d apply my weapons, and they’d bring out their artillery, with my body as the battleground where the war was being waged. I was blundering my way into deeper addiction. Earlier, I quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson, who said: “The remedy for all blunders is love.” How would things be different if we followed his advice? The two key words are blunder and love. Let’s examine them more closely.

— Blunder. Why call an addiction a blunder? Demanding more and more of something your body and mind vehemently despise is addiction. Choosing the lopsided world of addiction over the equilibrium that’s your spiritual heritage is a major distortion of your birthright. When you do that, you’re mismanaging this life. This is something I strongly believe is a blunder that can be balanced with love.

You originated from an invisible spiritual energy field of pure well-being. Your desire is to be balanced in that spirit in your thoughts and behaviors—now, in this life, in this moment, in your bodily form. You want that harmony and sense that it’s available without having to leave your body, or in other words, die. So, in that interpretation, you’re seeking a balance that allows you to die while you’re alive.

You’ll return to spirit, the non-form, upon your death, but you have the option of choosing to live in true enlightened balance, or God-realization . . . now, in this physical state. Your Source doesn’t create from toxicity. It doesn’t fill your veins or your stomach or any part of you with poison or excess. It creates from well-being, balance, and effortless perfection. This is your spiritual heritage. And love can correct the blunders that distance you from your spiritual self.

— Love. Why is love the antidote to addictions? It’s very simple—because love is what you are; it’s the center of your creation. It’s your point of origination and can become your point of attraction as well. As Karl Menninger told his patients, and anyone else who was suffering and willing to listen, “Love cures, the ones who receive love and the ones who give it, too.” In transcending your addictive habits, you have the opportunity to be both the giver and the receiver of the spiritual balm of love. As you apply it, you feel the balance returning to your life. You no longer pursue a counterfeit freedom, and you no longer attract what you don’t want. Instead, you seek the balance of being connected to your authentic nature.

Reconnection to Well-Being

Our proclivity toward addictive behaviors subsides measurably as we begin to practice reconnecting to our Source of being. Many books have been written on the subject of overcoming addictions. There are countless rehabilitation programs and centers to help those who are caught in the grip of drugs, alcohol, food, caffeine, sex, gambling, or something else that fits the description of chasing after what we don’t want.

I support any program designed to help people escape this imbalanced cycle that is such a destroyer of lives. My contribution here is a brief description of the key points I’ve found extremely useful in becoming an addiction-free person. The following five thoughts helped interrupt my out-of-balance thinking and behavior. Practiced with honesty and integrity, they can contribute to a new sense of empowerment and well-being that allows you to be free of unwanted addictions.

1. It’s All about Realignment

This is number one because when you really practice it, you never want to pursue what you don’t want at the expense of what you do want. You long to be in harmony, and you desire well-being. You came from well-being, so you simply need to choose thoughts that align with that foundation to find your way back into alignment.

Practice praying silently as a steady background whenever and wherever you can. Personalize and vary prayers such as this example derived from the St. Francis Prayer: Make me an instrument of thy well-being. See yourself always summoning the energy of well-being from your spiritual Source. Think like an animal who would never think of pursuing what it doesn’t want. Why don’t birds chase after butterflies? Because they’re poisonous. Ever heard of a robin in therapy trying to overcome its desire to eat butterflies? Silly, yes, but it’s a helpful image to hook onto.

So think like a human being with well-being. Eventually you’ll think like the Divine soul that you are, and you’ll be in vibrational harmony with the well-being that is your very nature.

2. Love Your Addictions

If it’s food, love it. If it’s cocaine, love it. If it’s painkillers, love them. If it’s cigarettes, love them. These are some of your greatest teachers. They’ve taught you through direct experience what it is that you no longer wish to be. They’ve taken you to the depths for some reason. This is an intelligent system you’re a part of. There are no accidents in a Universe supported by omniscience and omnipotence. Be grateful for these teachers.

If you hate them, curse them, and attempt to fight these addictions, you tip the balance toward hatred and fighting. You then continue to chase after what you don’t want because you’re in a weakened state. Fighting weakens; love empowers.

So tip the scale toward love. Be grateful for the addictions that have taught you so much. Send them a silent blessing. By doing so, you shift toward the love that you are.

3. Love Yourself

This is the natural outgrowth of choosing to love your addictions. Think of your body as a sacred temple, and extend reverence as a form of love. Be aware of, and grateful for, every organ, every drop of blood, every appendage, and every cell that constitutes your body. Start right this minute by offering a silent prayer of gratitude for your liver, your heart, and your brain. Just say: Thank you, God, for this glorious gift. I treasure it, and with your help, today I will begin the process of loving it unconditionally. If you still feel attracted to substances that you despise, say this silent prayer before ingesting them. Love will ultimately become the added weight that rebalances your life.

One of my favorite American poets, Henry W. Longfellow, tells us: “He that respects himself is safe from others; he wears a coat of mail that none can pierce.” When we truly respect and love ourselves, it’s as if we have a shield of flexible armor made of metal rings and loops of chain that protects us from the addictive other that’s been a part of our life.

4. Remove All Shame

You’ve done nothing wrong. You haven’t failed—you’ve only produced results. The question isn’t about how bad you’ve been; it’s about what you intend to do with the results you’ve produced. If you opt for shame and guilt, you choose the one emotional reaction that will disempower you more than any other. Whatever your present-moment status in relation to your addictions, it’s all perfect. You had to go through the traumas you went through. You had to disappoint the people you’ve mistreated. You had to get this far down. You needed this out-of-balance energy in order to aid you in generating the energy to get you to the higher place where you’re now headed.

You are still a Divine being in the eyes of God, despite any weaknesses that you feel are incongruous with God’s love. You needed all of those experiences, and now that you’re contemplating leaving them behind and rejoining your spiritual Source of well-being, shame will only hamper you and send you back to that absurdly imbalanced world where you never get enough of what you don’t want.

5. Live from a New Knowing

Finally, create a space within yourself, somewhere very private that only you and God are privy to. In this inner space, post the words I Know. This is your invisible connection to God, where purity and well-being define your new addiction-free self. Regardless of how many people distrust you and remind you of how many times in the past you’ve failed to live up to your promises, this is your space of knowing.

From this unshakable space, ask for Divine guidance. Ask to have the ecstatic energy of purity and well-being flow directly to your heart. If you slip, retreat immediately to this space of knowing. Forgive yourself and see yourself surrounded by God’s love, holding you in balance once again. As a man who has been there, I can promise you that you’ll be provided with all of the guidance, direction, and strength that you need—and you’ll get what you do want rather than what you do not want.

Overcoming the imbalance of addictive thinking begins and ends with your awareness that you, with the help of your Source, have everything you need right now to end your imbalance. As an ancient Hindu saying reminds us: “God gives food to every bird, but he doesn’t throw it into the nest.” Realign with God, and fly without the weight of addiction. I promise you that being in balance and free of addiction is much more exhilarating!

Excerpt from Being in Balance: 9 Principles for Creating Habits to Match Your Desires by Dr. Wayne Dyer. This new title from Dr. Dyer is a soft touch "puffy" hardcover book filled with colorful pages featuring enchanting imagery. A lovely, inspiring book - perfect for gift-giving! Also available as an unabridged audio CD.

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Meet Esther & Jerry Hicks
Abraham, a group of obviously evolved teachers, speak their broader Non-physical perspective through the physical apparatus of Esther Hicks. Speaking to our level of comprehension, from their present moment to our now, through a series of loving, allowing, brilliant yet comprehensively simple, recordings in print and in sound -- they guide us to a clear connection with our Inner Being -- they guide us to self-upliftment from our total self.
Although worldwide attention has been given by leading edge thinkers to this Science of Deliberate Creation™ as taught by Abraham who, in turn, incorporate many of Abraham's concepts into their books, lectures, sermons, screenplays, scripts...the primary spread of this material has been from person to person—as individuals begin to discover the value of these materials in their practical, personal experience.
Jerry and Esther have now published more than 600 Abraham-Hicks books, CDs, cassettes, DVDs, and videos, and have been presenting open group interactive Art of Allowing™ workshops in up to 60 cities a year to those who gather to participate in this progressive stream of thought. Click here to view products available from Hay House.

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A Quick Chuckle

Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.

Laughing is healthy - it's like jogging on the inside. 

Women complain about premenstrual syndrome, but I think of it as the only time of the month that I can be myself.—Roseanne

Being in a band you can wear whatever you want - it's like an excuse for Halloween everyday.—Gwen Stefani

Reader Submissions

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.—Billie

Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.—Samuel  Longhorn Clemens

We sit in a circle and suppose; the secret sits in the center and knows.—Robert Frost

BAD JOKE DISCLAIMER: Humor can be risky. If you find anything in our laugh-out-loud section objectionable (or painfully inane), we apologize. Click here to share your favorite laugh or humorous quote with Present Moments readers.

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Science and the Unified Being by Dr. Candace Pert
Editors Note: Dr. Pert is an internationally recognized psychopharmacologist who is a former Research Professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine and Section Chief at the National Institute of Mental Health. She is in the midst of leading edge research on emotions and the bodymind (what she prefers to refer to as the Unified Being) connection. Dr. Pert appeared in the popular film What the Bleep Do We Know!?

"People want to feel good and feel God, and the way to get there is through the emotions. They’re the link that connects body to soul, and as such, they’re the key to transforming anything, everything.” —Candace Pert, Ph.D.

 
Receptor-ology 101

The nuts and bolts of how body and mind are one—the new-paradigm physiology—involves some simple biochemistry. To begin with, virtually every cell in the body is studded with thousands of tiny structures called receptors. Like the sense organs—the eyes, nose, and ears—the job of the receptors is to pick up signals coming at them from the surrounding space. They’re so important that a full 40 percent of our DNA is devoted to making sure that they’re perfectly reproduced from generation to generation.

Once the receptors receive a signal, the information is transferred to deep within the cell’s interior, where tiny engines roar into action and initiate key processes. Data coming in this way directs cell division and growth, cell migration for attacking enemies and making repairs, and cell metabolism to conserve or spend energy—to name just a few of the receptor-activated activities.

The signal comes from other cells and is carried by a juice that we call an informational substance. These juices from the brain, sexual organs, gut, and heart—literally everywhere—communicate cell to cell, providing an infrastructure for the ‘conversation’ going on throughout the bodymind. You know these juices as hormones, neurotransmitters and peptides, and we scientists refer to all three with one word: ligand. This term is from ligare, a Latin word meaning “to bind,” and is used because of the way that the substances latch on so tightly to the cell’s surface receptors.

Information-carrying ligands are responsible for 98 percent of all data transfer in body and brain. The remaining 2 percent of communication takes place at the synapse, between brain cells firing and releasing neurotransmitters across a gap to hit receptors on the other side. In What the Bleep . . . !?, audiences saw an animated electrical storm taking place in the brain to show what this synaptic activity looks like. But what they didn’t see is that there are neurons with this same electrical-sparking activity firing throughout the body, not just in the brain.

My personal favorite among the ligands are the peptides, which consist of a string of amino acids, joined together like beads in a necklace; larger strings of amino acids are called proteins. There are over 200 peptides mapped in the brain and body, each one sounding a complex emotional chord—such as bliss, hunger, anger, relaxation, or satiety—when their signal is received by the cell. I’ve devoted my 30-plus year career to studying peptides such as endorphins and other substances.

In addition, everyone should know that most ligands have chemical equivalents found outside the body, such as Valium, marijuana, cocaine, alcohol, and caffeine, to name a few.

You’ve now learned about the two components that make up this bodymind communication system—the receptor and the ligand. These are what I have called the ‘molecules of emotion.’ But how do the two find each other across the vast reaches of intercellular space, hook up—or bind—and then transfer vital information to affect cellular, bodywide activity?

We used to explain the attraction by a quality called receptor specificity, which is that each receptor is specifically shaped to fit one and only one ligand. A lock-and-key model helped with visualizing this method of connecting, or binding. The ‘key’ (a peptide) floats by until it finds its perfect ‘keyhole’ (the receptor). Key inserts into the keyhole, opening the ‘lock’ of the cell, and cellular activities begin.

While this is partially accurate, we now understand a more dynamic relationship between ligand and receptor, involving something called ‘vibratory attraction.’ Sitting on the surface of the cell, the receptor wiggles and shimmies, changing from one configuration to another in a constant state of flux. This dance creates a vibration that resonates with a ligand vibrating at the same frequency, and they begin to resonate together.

Cellular resonance—it’s like when you pluck one string on two different guitars in the same room—one will resonate with the other, both striking the same note. This creates a force of attraction, the way that peptides resonate with their receptors and come together to strike that emotional chord as they bind. And that’s when the music begins!

I’ve said that the emotions are the link between the physical body and nonphysical states of consciousness, and the receptor-binding site is where this happens! The attracting vibration is the emotion, and the actual connection—peptide to receptor—is the manifestation of the feeling in the physical world. That’s why I call peptides and their receptors the molecules of emotion.

What’s the result of all this activity? On a bodywide scale, the receptors are dynamic molecular targets, modulating our physiology in response to our experience. Emotions influence the molecules, which in turn affect how we feel. One example is that receptors wax and wane in number and sensitivity, depending on how often they’re occupied by peptides or other informational substances. In other words, our physical body can be changed by the emotions we experience.

And one last thing: We used to think that the peptides latched onto a single receptor, but we now know that receptors are often clumped together in tight, multiple complexes. Together, they form the walls of deep channels leading into the interior of the cell; and they open and close with a rhythmic, pumping action. As they move, these channels let substances in and out of the cell, setting up an ionic flux, or electrical current, which then courses throughout the bodymind.

One of the things that this current does is influence the firing ‘set point’ of neurons in the brain, determining the speed of brain-cell function. So you can see that the molecules of emotion are directly affecting how you think! If we were to show a cartoon version of this whole process—peptides binding, receptors pumping, electric current moving out—we’d see bright, colorful clouds of vibrating, singing, energy surrounding each cell; and we’d hear a chorus of resonating voices soaring in the background.

You may be wondering if these peptides and receptors, the molecules of emotion, actually produce the emotions, that is, Do they come first and then we have the feelings? Well, it’s not a cause-and-effect relationship. Rather, it’s happening simultaneously, all at once. Remember, these molecules are the emotions, not their cause. What we experience as a ‘feeling’ is the actual vibrational dance that goes on when peptides bind to their receptors, whether it happens in your conscious awareness or not. Below what we notice happening, a huge amount of emotionally mediated information is being exchanged throughout the body and brain, much of which never rises up into our consciousness. This is why I say: Your body is your subconscious mind.

Excerpt from Everything You Need to Know to Feel Go(o)d by Dr. Candace Pert

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2006 Author Lectures and Workshops

AN EVENING WITH IMMACULÉE ILIBAGIZA
Discover inspiration and the power of forgiveness through this remarkable woman’s journey. Join Immaculée for this powerful lecture and embark on a spiritual journey that will undoubtedly change the way you view the power of faith—forever.
Los Angeles · November 16th

HAY HOUSE 2007 I CAN DO IT^® CONFERENCE
Here's your opportunity to participate in the powerful life-changing workshops that Hay House authors are renowned for. Find out for yourself why past conference participants say "This Conference more than fulfilled my every need and expectation" and "I came to the event to give myself more 'tools' for life...and it worked!"
Las Vegas - May 17-20, 2007

SYLVIA BROWNE
If You Could See What I See. Don’t miss this opportunity to see world-renowned psychic Sylvia Browne live in person in an all new lecture based on her latest book.  Co-hosted by psychic medium Gordon Smith. These events typically sell out, so order your tickets now!
2006 Tour - 4 West Coast Dates - Click here to view list

Tickets are now on sale for the first half of Sylvia's 2007 Spiritual Connections Tour with Colette Baron-Reid. Click here for list of cities.

GORDON SMITH
Healing with a Spirit Messenger: A Day with Gordon Smith. In this enlightening all-day interactive workshop, "the UK's most accurate medium," Scotsman Gordon Smith will demonstrate how you can tap in to the healing powers of the Spirit World and help you discover your own innate psychic abilities.
Atlanta · November 12

SONIA CHOQUETTE
Wake Up Your Spirit and Connect with Your Guides. During this enlightening workshop, Sonia will introduce you to the many spirit guides available to you: your personal bodyguards—the Guardian Angels, your powerful and magical Animal Guides, your attentive caretakers—the Healer Guides, the playful Joy Guides, the energetic and love-filled Light Beings, and even the Bargain Angels—who know where to find the best sales!
Los Angeles · November 5
Seattle · November 18 
San Francisco · December 3  
New York · December 9

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	Calm: A Proven Four-Step Process Designed Specifically for Women Who Worry by Denise Marek If there were a simple process that would allow you to stop worrying, and truly move forward in your life . . . wouldn’t you want to know about it? In CALM, Denise Marek reveals a proven four-step process designed specifically for women who worry.
	Healing Your Family History: 5 Steps to Break Free of Destructive Patterns by Rebecca Linder Hintze As you read this book, you’ll come to understand how family belief systems store inside you and prevent individual growth by locking you into thought processes that hold you back. All families have these nonverbal belief systems, and unless you understand and heal your inherent blocks, it may be difficult to love others, move forward, and get what you want in life.
	The Law of Attraction: The Basics of the Teachings of Abraham by Esther and Jerry Hicks This book presents the powerful basics of the original Teachings of Abraham. Within these pages, you’ll learn how all things, wanted and unwanted, are brought to you by this most powerful law of the universe, the Law of Attraction. The understanding that you’ll achieve by reading this book will take all the guesswork out of daily living. You’ll finally understand just about everything that’s happening in your own life as well as in the lives of those you’re interacting with. This book will help you to joyously be, do, or have anything that you desire!
	The Secrets of Life by Stuart Wilde The thoughts and ideas in this book form the basis of Stuart Wilde’s philosophy on how to develop a more liberated mind-set and thus, a more carefree and delightful life. The thoughts and essays are from his best-selling books as well as his unpublished writings.
	Unstoppable Me! by Dr. Wayne Dyer The 10 important lessons in this book include the value of taking risks, dealing with stress and anxiety, and learning to enjoy each moment. Each point includes an example showing how a child might apply the concept in his or her everyday life. In Unstoppable Me! Dr. Dyer teaches children how to hold on to the no-limit thinking he believes they were born with, rather than just trying to “fit in.” In doing so, they can learn to truly enjoy life and become unstoppable as they strive to attain their dreams.

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A Special Message from Louise L. Hay

CENTERED IN PEACE

There are no questions without answers. Are you willing to choose to go beyond any problems to seek the Divine right-action solution to any discord that may appear in the true harmonious atmosphere of your world? No matter where we are, there’s only Spirit, infinite Good, infinite Wisdom, infinite Harmony, and Love. It can’t be otherwise! I like to use this affirmation: I am willing to learn and grow from this seeming discord and confusion.

It works for me – and it can for you too – to release all blame, and turn within to seek the truth. I declare for myself and for each and every person in my life: peace, security, harmony, a deep sense of love for the self, and the willingness to love others. I completely trust the Intelligence within me to guide me to the right path. I am centered in truth, and I live in joy!
 
Affirm:  I am willing to learn and grow from this seeming discord and confusion.


Click here for Daily Wisdom from Louise.

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Special Announcement:  What the BLEEP - Down the Rabbit Hole

Understand how consciousness, spirituality and quantum physics intertwine. The 6-sided 3 DVD Quantum Edition of What the BLEEP - Down the Rabbit Hole, with its nearly 15 hours of bonus material is now available for just $19.99 at the Bleep Store www.bleepstore.com or call toll free 877-740-8924.

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