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A NATURAL HIGH

Question: "I was wondering what the role of drugs has in our society today. I do not only mean 'hard' illegal drugs, but also caffeine and tobacco. They have been around forever, but have only been so strongly emphasized recently. Is it 'wrong' for us to be dependent on any of these?"

Psychic Advice : In our society, we use drugs of all kinds as a bandaid to mask our symptoms of pain and suffering on all levels. People in Western Society are suffering with an epidemic of depression, which is actually promoted and marketed to us on a daily basis. Advertising bombards us with the concept that we are not okay unless we look a certain way, or drive a particular car, or give the latest toy to our children. Advertising is constantly telling us that we are not enough, or not good enough, unless we buy their product. What we end up buying is this idea of ourselves as being not enough, which promotes feelings of failure, inferiority, inadequacy and depression - but there are pills for that!

Pills do not actually heal depression, because they do not address the root of the issue. Drugs simply mask depression by blocking neurotransmitters in the brain so that emotions become numbed, which is why many people on anti-depressant drugs can't really feel any emotion. When you are numb, you cannot feel pain, but you cannot feel joy either.

Many people seek out this feeling of numbness, not wanting to deal with the pain of their reality. The media is constantly bringing fear into our homes, scouring the globe to find bad news that will convince us that we live in a terrible world with horrible people. We have ongoing warnings of potential threats from viruses to terrorists, and everything in between. People don't want to suffer in constant fear, so they seek to escape through drugs, alcohol, or any mood-altering activity that numbs their feelings.

Many people are also living their lives in paid slavery, doing work day after day that gives them no joy or satisfaction. They live by an artificial rhythm of the clock, not sleeping enough to get a sense of well-being, and running themselves ragged doing chore after chore, until life itself feels like a chore. Millions of people who live in this way are not really living at all, they are sleepwalking through life. They do not want to be conscious because they do not really want to feel the pain of their dissatisfaction. They believe they have no other options or choices, so they seek out ways to alter their consciousness so they can cope with life.

Is it any wonder that drugs, alcohol, tobacco, caffeine and other mood-altering substances are so prevalent in our society? The real reason for this is that we are lacking a sense of true spirituality. Our society has lost its heart and soul. We no longer have a true sense of community, as fear causes us to become more and more isolated and suspicious of our fellow man. We no longer have the stability of marriage, not to mention the support of an extended family. Our educational system is antiquated, and does not meet the needs of today's young people who are maturing too fast, and exposed to too much too soon by television, magazines and video games. Even our religious institutions are not really giving people the spiritual support that they need in today's society.

Humans are designed to be social by nature, and through these interactions, we experience a broad range of emotions. Many people are now more and more isolated, cut off from each other, and even from themselves. People have become afraid to feel, forgetting that feeling is what we are designed to do for the growth and evolution of our soul. We have become afraid of pain, but pain is designed to be an indicator that something is out of balance and needs attention. If we simply mask the pain, we will never address or heal the underlying cause of the discomfort or imbalance. Likewise, fear is also designed to alert us if there is something wrong or something we need to pay attention to, but if we numb our fear, we also deaden our internal intuitive guidance system.

What we really need to do is go within ourselves to find peace. Peace creates a state of balance, harmony and healing within us that will attract experiences to us that are also harmonious and peaceful. Drugs, alcohol, caffeine and tobacco cannot give us this sense of peace - numbness is not true peace, it is simply unconsciousness. Rather than giving us a feeling of harmony, these substances actually cause us harm. What we are really seeking as human beings is to raise our consciousness from the frequency of suffering and depression to create a state of peace and joy - no drug can truly do that.

There is nothing in this world that is inherently good or bad, right or wrong, it is simply a matter of judgment and intention that determines the ultimate experience. First Nations people have used tobacco for centuries as a form of prayer. They make offerings of tobacco, and use the smoke to carry their prayers to the Great Spirit. Tobacco is now often adulterated with other chemicals, and is being used as an addiction because it masks anger and frustration - this is why people often become angry and irritable when they quit smoking until the toxins/drugs are removed from their system. Then they have to actually feel their emotions again, which can often drive them back to smoking in order to avoid the feelings of stress and discomfort.

Alcohol and drugs put people into an altered state of semi-consciousness where they don't have to feel or deal with their reality. The problem is that what goes up must come down, which drives a person to want to be high again. The pendulum keeps swinging like this, requiring more and more of the drug of choice just to feel "normal", let alone high. This is true of caffeine as well, which is why it is so addictive.

Prescription drugs of all kinds also alter a person's consciousness. A Chinese Doctor told me that any drug changes a person's biochemistry, especially if used over a long period of time, and will also alter his/her personality so they essentially become a different person! Prescription drugs have become such a commodity that they are now being counterfeited by laboratories in China, and even by South American drug cartels, with life-threatening results.

We are using drugs, alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and other mood-altering substances and activities in order to change how we feel in our body and in our life. The problem is that being dependent on these substances to "feel good" causes more harm than good. Long-term use of any of these substances can damage our body and our life, and make us feel infinitely worse, not better. These substances offer a feeling of instant relief, but the effect is short-lived.

The only way to really change how we feel is to really change how we feel. We must raise our vibration to a new frequency in order to feel true peace and joy. If we really want to change our experience of life, then we need to change our life experiences. It is never too late to change, and positive change at any time will create positive energy in the body that will create and attract positive experiences on every level. Don't be afraid to really change what is not working for you in your life, because if you don't change it, it won't change.

For many people, what is truly lacking is a sense of connection and spirituality. We are suffering because we feel separate from each other and from God or Spirit. We need to reconnect in order to feel a sense of peace and well-being, and we must start by reconnecting with our own self, and with our emotions (the very things we've been avoiding with drugs, alcohol, caffeine and tobacco!). Spirit does not come in a bottle, and the kind of spirits that do are not kind at all, they are spirits that will haunt you and your life.

Meditation is a great way to find peace within, but many people often mistake peace for boredom, especially if they have been accustomed (or even addicted) to drama in their lives. The key to peace is balance, and the key to balance is peace. We must let go of seeking out the highs of life, because highs inevitably lead to lows. Peace is not an emotion, it is a state of being that allows you to feel the full spectrum of emotions, but they will be more even, allowing you to feel at peace with them.

To maintain peace within, it is helpful to pause frequently during the day, close your eyes and breathe in light, then exhale thinking or saying the word "peace", allowing your body to relax and surrender to peace. When you feel low, it can be helpful to sing or to dance in order to raise your vibration, using breath to bring you back to peace. When you feel too high, also take a breath to bring you back to peace, center yourself within, and do some quiet activity like taking a walk. You can still feel joy when you are at peace; in fact, peace brings true joy, and joy invites peace.

The only real high in life is communion with Spirit, and this is what so many people are lacking in their lives, causing them to feel empty, fearful, lonely, hopeless, helpless, and depressed. Many religious practices call for singing, chanting or toning because this raises our vibration and brings us closer to Spirit. There are many artificial ways to feel high and to alter our state, but they are fleeting.

We are seeking to medicate an ailing society so that it does not feel the pain of its sickness, when we are really being asked to heal it by filling the void within each of us with peace and love. Peace and love are the cures for all that ails us on this planet. It is that simple, but unfortunately, it does not always seem that easy.

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