We think we are recovering from our addictions to harmful substances and activities, or to habitual mental or emotional practices. Truth is, by surrendering our use of substances and behaviors that harm us, we begin reclaiming ourselves from that which encourages self-abuse, self-neglect, self-loathing, and most importantly, from the denial of Self. Can you imagine that?
Deep Recovery empowers us to mindfully give up those practices that entrain us to ignore our inner wisdom and guidance, and have us continually live with stress and despair.
To defer to no one, which is the most self-honoring practice of all, requires that we retrieve and recover ourselves – all of the fragmented aspects that we’ve dispersed, hidden, ignored, and denied.
Deep recovery takes courage at first, and it takes faith in the idea that we are worth knowing and we are worth loving: We are worth the effort, we are worth the devotion, the time, and those practices, which bring us closer to experiencing the deep truth – the one that allow each of us the fullest expression of our essential being. We free ourselves from all that limits self-knowledge and self-expression.
We are, at times, powerless over our circumstances, which seem dire and hopeless. We, at times, experience helplessness. And rather than express compassion, we unwittingly turn to self-hate for not being someone different; someone who would have somehow overcome the adversity that we currently face.
Deep recovery allows us to see ourselves differently. Rather than judge, condemn and isolate, we acknowledge, honor and embrace all that we’ve endured. We empower ourselves to accept and love completely all the flaws and character defects, all of the inadequacies, all of our mistakes and failures.
Through acknowledging the source of all that we hate about ourselves, we reclaim and recover our wholeness. We come to understand that we are not innately flawed, but have only trained ourselves to live as if we are damaged and handicapped. We taught ourselves how to compensate for our perceived lacks.
Our pain and suffering is caused only by our fear and resistance to remembering that we are whole – fully restored and recovered. There is absolutely no need to pretend it is any other way. In so doing, the suffering stops and the pain dissipates. Full recovery is imminent; joy and fulfillment just is.
If we are as masterful as we are at teaching ourselves that we are flawed and unlovable “ worthy only of hate and ridicule, when this could not be any further from the truth; we clearly have that same level of mastery to teach ourselves to live in our truest experience of self. We already have everything that we need to come back to ourselves fully.
There are a myriad of strategies that we’ve developed to ignore, deny, avoid, and distract ourselves from feeling restless, irritable, discontent. These strategies, which too often become unconscious habits, have yet to be acknowledged as addictions in and of themselves. We are so addicted to specific patterns of thinking and feeling, that we don’t see these as addictions. Knowing this, we can begin to uncover that which is the original source of our addiction. This is very good news for addicts, sufferers of mental health, and all of us who support and empower people to grow into their fullest potential.
Acknowledging that we are suffering to any degree is a moment of celebration. For it is an opportunity to discovery the source of our suffering and release ourselves from that suffering. This is very good news, indeed!
Join me in Brainerd Minnesota, Aug. 13-14, for a 2 day introduction to Deep Recovery. By participating in this wonderful event on Lake Brainerd you will gain direct experience and realizations of just how whole you are already. You will leave with specific tools and skills that empower and support the ongoing unfolding of you in your highest expression. I look forward to seeing you there! For more information and to register, click here!
I’ll also be facilitating a workshop called: Who’s Running My Business in Brainerd Aug. 10-11. For more information and to register click here.
Join me for both and enjoy the summer beauty of Brainerd.
