V
11-10-2005, 09:03 AM
I am making the transition to winter. It will be snowing soon and out
come the skiboards, snowboards, XC skis, snowtube and snowshoes. I've
been enjoying healthy soups and stews and taking saunas this time of
year. The air is crisp and clean with no annoying bugs. I like to sit
in my backyard making a fire in our stone fire pit relaxing as I watch
the logs turn into glowing coals and the sparks shoot upwards into the
dark sky. One equation for finding happiness states, that to be happy
we need someone to love, someone to love us, something to do and
something to look forward to. Sustainable, healthy and positive
activities fit the bill when it comes to having something to do and
something to look forward to. In the past, all I had to occupy me was
my addictions. How many addicts turn to their addiction out of boredom?
While it is good to be mindful of the present moment, as the Buddhists
say, we are still humans and cannot be 100% perfect. So, when it comes
to looking forward I now look foreword to the new seasons and all that
those seasons provide in new tastes in healthy and natural foods and
activities.
Many people run from the snow like it is the plague. Myself? I run TO
the snow and NOT away from it. In fact, I can go out my backdoor and
snowshoe or cross country ski if I please. Thoreau had the well
developed ability of finding contentment and happiness in the present
moment. This is what enlightenment is all about - being at peace within
and with all in whatever circumstances we find ourselves and without
pre qualifiers. How many times do you hear persons talking negatively
about the rain or the snow like it is hell. For me it is heaven, for
without snow I could not ski or snowboard and without rain plants and
life would not flourish on earth nor could I kayak, jet ski or fish.
Thoreau wrote of such contentment in Walden, detailing the building of
his log cabin. As he chopped down the trees and hewed the logs, he
appreciated little things like the fragrance on his hands from the pine
sap as he ate his simple lunch of bread and butter among the wood chips
and talked with local wanderers. In his own words, "I made no haste in
my work, but rather made the most of it." Taking my que from Thoreau
when it comes to snow...I make the most of it.
Developing a list of positive time fillers was a big help with my
addictions. As Thoreau also wrote in Walden , "The devil finds work for
idle hands." Before heading in this new direction, most of my time was
occupied by what to buy next, overeating rich foods and getting fat and
when I wanted a break from that I had a picnic basket of other
addictive areas to get drugged up with. Most of my new activities are
sport or movement related as they also serve the purposes of helping
with my overeating disease and have the added benefit of improved
health and don't produce clutter like some hobbies do. Sustainability
is of the highest importance with an activity. You see, I can mountain
bike, hike, ski or canoe as much as I please and not produce and debt
or manufacture clutter or drive me to drink as some of my less healthy
pastimes would produce. In addition, these movement and sport related
activities help with battling depression and improving balance,
equilibrium and brain functioning.
Keeping busy is not the cure-all all for addictions, but it is a
necessary foundational pillar. (My earlier post entitled "7 Benefits
of Addictions Provide Us" goes into more detail on this subject) There
are other benefits from these movent based sport activities in that
they can relax our mind while simultaneously stimulating it for healthy
growth potential. We all seem to build up too much stress chemicals and
sport related activities helps dissipate these chemicals. (See my snip
from a magazine at end of post.) Bottom line: is the activity pleasing
to us, healthy, nurturing and sustainable? You can also use the SCA
guidelines for any questions you have asking: is the activity placing
unreasonable demands on my time and energy, will it place me in legal
jeopardy or endanger my mental, physical or spiritual health? Remember,
as Jack LaLane said, exercise and eating healthy foods are the king and
queen of good health. The king and queen must also sit on a thrown of
low stress living to run a good kingdom. If you hate to move and hate
to eat well, then do as he also said; "I developed a liking for things
that are good for me." Getting proper exercise is of special import to
any computer addicts out there that only seem to exercise their
fingers.
A lady wrote me about her addictions asking for advice. She was 150
pounds overweight, a clutterer and abused alcohol and prescription pain
meds. She detailed how she had two hobbies in life - she liked to knit
and liked to bake. She would sit for most of the day knitting. She had
a large output from her knitting hobby and although she gave some away,
she would keep the bulk of it. This produced much clutter as the output
was continuos. She also liked to bake pastry and would give away some
of her baking output, but again ate most of it herself. From all the
sitting from her knitting hobby her back and joints were sore most of
the time. Her joints were irritated from her sugar rich diet which was
also loaded with salt. Salt is a corrosive and her joints were just
getting more corroded as she ate an unbalanced diet. Carrying around an
extra person in fat did not help her joints either. At night she turned
to alcohol for some relief. During the day she would pop pills. She had
high blood pressure, swollen legs and high cholesterol to boot. From
her example, we can see her two hobbies were 'addiction promoting and
health destroying' and not good ones for her - if her goal was to live
a healthy life.
Can baking and knitting be healthy pastimes? Yes, but not as she did. A
knitter would have to limit their time sitting and would have be
mindful to exercise in order to make up for their inactive time while
knitting otherwise they will deteriorate from a sedentary lifestyle.
The only thing getting exercise with a knitter is the fingers and maybe
as little of the mind. If they suffer from clutter, then they have to
sell or give away all their output from knitting. With baking, it is
the same. If you suffer from fat and like to bake you cannot eat much
of your output and have to sell or give it all away. If you cannot
control yourself with just eating a little, then you have to give it
all away without a taste. If you cannot do that then find another
hobby. As the saying goes, "If you don't want to slip, then stay out of
slippery places." How did this lady end up after my advice? She kept on
going her own way, deteriorating and dropped out of the program. All I
can do is plant recovery seeds - I can't force them to sprout.
Many people say they do not like this or that when it comes to healthy
foods, sweat and exercise. I tell them; "you have been getting what YOU
liked all along and it got YOU where your at TODAY. Maybe YOU should
try doing what YOUR RECOVERY PROGRAM likes instead of what YOU like?"
So, if your happy with the status quo, then keep on keeping on, and if
you are not happy, then try another way. You see, a person that thinks
as they always thought will continue to get what they always got. We
need to learn new ways and must unlearn old ways as well. Some addicts
think that by just reciting the 12 steps all will be well without
changing a thing. If nothing changes - nothing changes. My own life had
to change radically 180 degrees from how I used to live in order to get
new life. This is why most addicts fail. They refuse to change and want
to keep their old life as well as a new life. We have to choose which
way to go, but one thing is for sure, we can't have both.
Now I have much to look forward to in life for activities or rewards
that are not destructive and are sustainable. Activities to occupy
yourself that don't revolve around spending, eating, gambling, sex,
drugs or alcohol or other addictive areas only go so far in recovery
though. You also have to be careful to take time to relax and not
escape life through activity. Horace wrote, "Caelum non animum mutant
qui trans mare currunt--You can run away as far as you like but you'll
never get away from yourself." 12 Step work, reducing stress, repairing
the wreckage of the past and living a balanced life all contribute to
heading in the right recovery direction. I've enclosed some of my
activities below for your perusal. Also be careful you don't find
another excuse to compulsively spend with each new activity or sport
you take up. That is something I have to watch. For instance. If you
take up rollerblading, you buy one pair of skates and one set or
protective gear, etc. You don't buy 5 pairs of skates 5 different skate
bags and 8 sets of skate clothes, in all colors for each day of the
week plus one extra for holidays. If you want different skates, you
sell the old pair and then buy a different set. Everything is on a "one
in ~ one out" basis to avoid compulsive spending, stockpiling and
clutter. Sure, you have to spend initially to be set up in an activity,
but once set up the spending stops except for some very small
incidentals and fees.
Partial List of My Positive Time Filling Activities:
Hiking, Mountain Bike, Climbing Gym and Rock Climbing, Basketball,
Rollerblading, Trail Running, Jet Skiing, Racquetball, Swimming, Sun
Bath, Fishing, Canoeing, Skateboarding, Weight Training, Target
Shooting, Camping, Jogging, Kayaking, Motorcycling, Skiboarding,
Snowshoeing, Downhill Skiing, XC Skiing, Yoga, Massage, Meditation,
Dirt Bike, Free Lectures and Movies at a Local University, Snow Tubing,
Snorkeling, Scuba, Napping or Relaxing in a Hammock, Picnics, Library,
Spiritual Studies, Free Musical Events and Concerts, Church Services,
Scenic Seasonal Car Trips, Travel.
Here is a small snip in Psychotherapy magazine from an article on the
benefits of exercise with addiction.
Why does exercise have such an impact on the emotional brain?
Naturally, there is, first of all, its effect on endorphins. These tiny
molecules secreted by the brain resemble opium and its derivatives,
such as morphine and heroin. The emotional brain contains many
receptors for endorphins, and that's why it is so sensitive to opium-it
immediately radiates a sensation of well-being and satisfaction by
hijacking one of the emotional brain's own intrinsic mechanisms. Opium
has a powerful effect on emotions-in fact, it's the strongest known
antidote to the pangs of separation and mourning. However, when
derivatives of opium are used too often, they can become habit forming.
Brain receptors become inured to them, so the dose must be
systematically increased in order to produce the same effect. Moreover,
because the receptors become less and less sensitive, regular pleasures
lose all their power and potency-including sex, the pleasure of which
is often reduced in drug addicts.
The secretion of endorphins brought on by physical exercise does
exactly the opposite. The more the natural mechanism of pleasure is
gently stimulated by exercise, the more sensitive the mechanism itself
becomes. In addition to relishing sex and life's other big pleasures,
people who exercise regularly actually get more pleasure out of the
little things in life: their friendships, their cats, their meals,
their hobbies, or even the smiles of passersby in the street.
Essentially, it becomes easier for them to be satisfied, And in fact,
the experience of pleasure is just the opposite of depression.
Depression is defined, above all, by the absence of pleasure, more so
than by sadness, which is probably the reason why the release of
endorphins has such a potent antidepressant and anxiolytic effect.
Stimulating the emotional brain by exercise also kindles the immune
system. It promotes the proliferation of "natural killer" cells, making
them more aggressive against infections and cancer cells. The opposite
effect occurs with heroin addicts, whose immune defenses collapse,
often causing them to become gravely ill.
Exercise may also strengthen another physiological mechanism related to
emotional health. This mechanism involves what we have already learned
about heart rate variability. "'People who exercise regularly show a
greater variability in heart rate and more coherence than people who do
not. This means that their parasympathetic system, the physiological
"brake" that brings on periods of calm, is healthier and stronger. A
good balance between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system
is one of the best potential antidotes to anxiety and panic attacks.
All the symptoms of anxiety start with an overactive sympathetic
system, a dry mouth, accelerated heartbeat, sweating, trembling, a rise
in blood pressure. The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are
always in opposition. Thus, the more stimulation the parasympathetic
branch receives, the stronger it becomes-like a developing muscle.
Take Care,
V (Male)
For free access to my earlier posts on voluntary simplicity, compulsive
spending, debting, compulsive overeating and clutter write:
vfr44@aol.com. Any opinion expressed here is that of my own and is not
the opinion, recommendation or belief of any group or organization.
come the skiboards, snowboards, XC skis, snowtube and snowshoes. I've
been enjoying healthy soups and stews and taking saunas this time of
year. The air is crisp and clean with no annoying bugs. I like to sit
in my backyard making a fire in our stone fire pit relaxing as I watch
the logs turn into glowing coals and the sparks shoot upwards into the
dark sky. One equation for finding happiness states, that to be happy
we need someone to love, someone to love us, something to do and
something to look forward to. Sustainable, healthy and positive
activities fit the bill when it comes to having something to do and
something to look forward to. In the past, all I had to occupy me was
my addictions. How many addicts turn to their addiction out of boredom?
While it is good to be mindful of the present moment, as the Buddhists
say, we are still humans and cannot be 100% perfect. So, when it comes
to looking forward I now look foreword to the new seasons and all that
those seasons provide in new tastes in healthy and natural foods and
activities.
Many people run from the snow like it is the plague. Myself? I run TO
the snow and NOT away from it. In fact, I can go out my backdoor and
snowshoe or cross country ski if I please. Thoreau had the well
developed ability of finding contentment and happiness in the present
moment. This is what enlightenment is all about - being at peace within
and with all in whatever circumstances we find ourselves and without
pre qualifiers. How many times do you hear persons talking negatively
about the rain or the snow like it is hell. For me it is heaven, for
without snow I could not ski or snowboard and without rain plants and
life would not flourish on earth nor could I kayak, jet ski or fish.
Thoreau wrote of such contentment in Walden, detailing the building of
his log cabin. As he chopped down the trees and hewed the logs, he
appreciated little things like the fragrance on his hands from the pine
sap as he ate his simple lunch of bread and butter among the wood chips
and talked with local wanderers. In his own words, "I made no haste in
my work, but rather made the most of it." Taking my que from Thoreau
when it comes to snow...I make the most of it.
Developing a list of positive time fillers was a big help with my
addictions. As Thoreau also wrote in Walden , "The devil finds work for
idle hands." Before heading in this new direction, most of my time was
occupied by what to buy next, overeating rich foods and getting fat and
when I wanted a break from that I had a picnic basket of other
addictive areas to get drugged up with. Most of my new activities are
sport or movement related as they also serve the purposes of helping
with my overeating disease and have the added benefit of improved
health and don't produce clutter like some hobbies do. Sustainability
is of the highest importance with an activity. You see, I can mountain
bike, hike, ski or canoe as much as I please and not produce and debt
or manufacture clutter or drive me to drink as some of my less healthy
pastimes would produce. In addition, these movement and sport related
activities help with battling depression and improving balance,
equilibrium and brain functioning.
Keeping busy is not the cure-all all for addictions, but it is a
necessary foundational pillar. (My earlier post entitled "7 Benefits
of Addictions Provide Us" goes into more detail on this subject) There
are other benefits from these movent based sport activities in that
they can relax our mind while simultaneously stimulating it for healthy
growth potential. We all seem to build up too much stress chemicals and
sport related activities helps dissipate these chemicals. (See my snip
from a magazine at end of post.) Bottom line: is the activity pleasing
to us, healthy, nurturing and sustainable? You can also use the SCA
guidelines for any questions you have asking: is the activity placing
unreasonable demands on my time and energy, will it place me in legal
jeopardy or endanger my mental, physical or spiritual health? Remember,
as Jack LaLane said, exercise and eating healthy foods are the king and
queen of good health. The king and queen must also sit on a thrown of
low stress living to run a good kingdom. If you hate to move and hate
to eat well, then do as he also said; "I developed a liking for things
that are good for me." Getting proper exercise is of special import to
any computer addicts out there that only seem to exercise their
fingers.
A lady wrote me about her addictions asking for advice. She was 150
pounds overweight, a clutterer and abused alcohol and prescription pain
meds. She detailed how she had two hobbies in life - she liked to knit
and liked to bake. She would sit for most of the day knitting. She had
a large output from her knitting hobby and although she gave some away,
she would keep the bulk of it. This produced much clutter as the output
was continuos. She also liked to bake pastry and would give away some
of her baking output, but again ate most of it herself. From all the
sitting from her knitting hobby her back and joints were sore most of
the time. Her joints were irritated from her sugar rich diet which was
also loaded with salt. Salt is a corrosive and her joints were just
getting more corroded as she ate an unbalanced diet. Carrying around an
extra person in fat did not help her joints either. At night she turned
to alcohol for some relief. During the day she would pop pills. She had
high blood pressure, swollen legs and high cholesterol to boot. From
her example, we can see her two hobbies were 'addiction promoting and
health destroying' and not good ones for her - if her goal was to live
a healthy life.
Can baking and knitting be healthy pastimes? Yes, but not as she did. A
knitter would have to limit their time sitting and would have be
mindful to exercise in order to make up for their inactive time while
knitting otherwise they will deteriorate from a sedentary lifestyle.
The only thing getting exercise with a knitter is the fingers and maybe
as little of the mind. If they suffer from clutter, then they have to
sell or give away all their output from knitting. With baking, it is
the same. If you suffer from fat and like to bake you cannot eat much
of your output and have to sell or give it all away. If you cannot
control yourself with just eating a little, then you have to give it
all away without a taste. If you cannot do that then find another
hobby. As the saying goes, "If you don't want to slip, then stay out of
slippery places." How did this lady end up after my advice? She kept on
going her own way, deteriorating and dropped out of the program. All I
can do is plant recovery seeds - I can't force them to sprout.
Many people say they do not like this or that when it comes to healthy
foods, sweat and exercise. I tell them; "you have been getting what YOU
liked all along and it got YOU where your at TODAY. Maybe YOU should
try doing what YOUR RECOVERY PROGRAM likes instead of what YOU like?"
So, if your happy with the status quo, then keep on keeping on, and if
you are not happy, then try another way. You see, a person that thinks
as they always thought will continue to get what they always got. We
need to learn new ways and must unlearn old ways as well. Some addicts
think that by just reciting the 12 steps all will be well without
changing a thing. If nothing changes - nothing changes. My own life had
to change radically 180 degrees from how I used to live in order to get
new life. This is why most addicts fail. They refuse to change and want
to keep their old life as well as a new life. We have to choose which
way to go, but one thing is for sure, we can't have both.
Now I have much to look forward to in life for activities or rewards
that are not destructive and are sustainable. Activities to occupy
yourself that don't revolve around spending, eating, gambling, sex,
drugs or alcohol or other addictive areas only go so far in recovery
though. You also have to be careful to take time to relax and not
escape life through activity. Horace wrote, "Caelum non animum mutant
qui trans mare currunt--You can run away as far as you like but you'll
never get away from yourself." 12 Step work, reducing stress, repairing
the wreckage of the past and living a balanced life all contribute to
heading in the right recovery direction. I've enclosed some of my
activities below for your perusal. Also be careful you don't find
another excuse to compulsively spend with each new activity or sport
you take up. That is something I have to watch. For instance. If you
take up rollerblading, you buy one pair of skates and one set or
protective gear, etc. You don't buy 5 pairs of skates 5 different skate
bags and 8 sets of skate clothes, in all colors for each day of the
week plus one extra for holidays. If you want different skates, you
sell the old pair and then buy a different set. Everything is on a "one
in ~ one out" basis to avoid compulsive spending, stockpiling and
clutter. Sure, you have to spend initially to be set up in an activity,
but once set up the spending stops except for some very small
incidentals and fees.
Partial List of My Positive Time Filling Activities:
Hiking, Mountain Bike, Climbing Gym and Rock Climbing, Basketball,
Rollerblading, Trail Running, Jet Skiing, Racquetball, Swimming, Sun
Bath, Fishing, Canoeing, Skateboarding, Weight Training, Target
Shooting, Camping, Jogging, Kayaking, Motorcycling, Skiboarding,
Snowshoeing, Downhill Skiing, XC Skiing, Yoga, Massage, Meditation,
Dirt Bike, Free Lectures and Movies at a Local University, Snow Tubing,
Snorkeling, Scuba, Napping or Relaxing in a Hammock, Picnics, Library,
Spiritual Studies, Free Musical Events and Concerts, Church Services,
Scenic Seasonal Car Trips, Travel.
Here is a small snip in Psychotherapy magazine from an article on the
benefits of exercise with addiction.
Why does exercise have such an impact on the emotional brain?
Naturally, there is, first of all, its effect on endorphins. These tiny
molecules secreted by the brain resemble opium and its derivatives,
such as morphine and heroin. The emotional brain contains many
receptors for endorphins, and that's why it is so sensitive to opium-it
immediately radiates a sensation of well-being and satisfaction by
hijacking one of the emotional brain's own intrinsic mechanisms. Opium
has a powerful effect on emotions-in fact, it's the strongest known
antidote to the pangs of separation and mourning. However, when
derivatives of opium are used too often, they can become habit forming.
Brain receptors become inured to them, so the dose must be
systematically increased in order to produce the same effect. Moreover,
because the receptors become less and less sensitive, regular pleasures
lose all their power and potency-including sex, the pleasure of which
is often reduced in drug addicts.
The secretion of endorphins brought on by physical exercise does
exactly the opposite. The more the natural mechanism of pleasure is
gently stimulated by exercise, the more sensitive the mechanism itself
becomes. In addition to relishing sex and life's other big pleasures,
people who exercise regularly actually get more pleasure out of the
little things in life: their friendships, their cats, their meals,
their hobbies, or even the smiles of passersby in the street.
Essentially, it becomes easier for them to be satisfied, And in fact,
the experience of pleasure is just the opposite of depression.
Depression is defined, above all, by the absence of pleasure, more so
than by sadness, which is probably the reason why the release of
endorphins has such a potent antidepressant and anxiolytic effect.
Stimulating the emotional brain by exercise also kindles the immune
system. It promotes the proliferation of "natural killer" cells, making
them more aggressive against infections and cancer cells. The opposite
effect occurs with heroin addicts, whose immune defenses collapse,
often causing them to become gravely ill.
Exercise may also strengthen another physiological mechanism related to
emotional health. This mechanism involves what we have already learned
about heart rate variability. "'People who exercise regularly show a
greater variability in heart rate and more coherence than people who do
not. This means that their parasympathetic system, the physiological
"brake" that brings on periods of calm, is healthier and stronger. A
good balance between the two branches of the autonomic nervous system
is one of the best potential antidotes to anxiety and panic attacks.
All the symptoms of anxiety start with an overactive sympathetic
system, a dry mouth, accelerated heartbeat, sweating, trembling, a rise
in blood pressure. The sympathetic and parasympathetic systems are
always in opposition. Thus, the more stimulation the parasympathetic
branch receives, the stronger it becomes-like a developing muscle.
Take Care,
V (Male)
For free access to my earlier posts on voluntary simplicity, compulsive
spending, debting, compulsive overeating and clutter write:
vfr44@aol.com. Any opinion expressed here is that of my own and is not
the opinion, recommendation or belief of any group or organization.