Crossroads Recovery Centre

Have I ever sat down and wondered how the effects of addiction have manifested in me – physically and mentally?

There may be a number of effects of addiction : apathy, a draining of internal resources, health, (for example diabetes), a lack of motivation, a lack of commitment, a lack of grit. Have I become socially withdrawn, introverted, emotionally numb, hypervigilant or distracted ? Am I unable to be present in my life ?

What solutions have I looked at to manage the effects of my addiction ?

Have I looked at Rational Emotive Therapy (RET), spiritual solutions, have I asked for help ? The best way to find a solution in these circumstances is to ask for help – seek guidance from someone who has walked this path successfully themselves.

This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.

If you or anyone close to you needs help with an addiction to sex, gambling, substances, alcohol or food, please contact us for a free assessment.

You may contact me directly or go to our site for more information:

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

074 89 51043 JHB

012 450 5033 PTA

4. Self-centrredness

How does the self-centred part of my disease affect my life and the lives of those around me?

Selfishness, the centre of it all

The cure for selfishness

More concerned with my loss than a tual being

Allowing the ebb & flow or what is real

Am I giving because at some point I would like to receive?

How unaware am I of the impact i have on others or more concerned with my hurt

Even when I try to do the right thing, I slip.

Impulsive actions

Thoughts that just pop into my consciousness

Where does it come from

Strange mental blank spot

The Dis-ease

Where does obsession fit in?

Am I constantly thinking about acting out in some way?

Where can I get, how much, where can I steal a moment, how canbi have more that others and hide it

Subtle thought processes running in background

Do I find myself doing things I don't want to?

Buy

Looking at porn

Overeating

Am i unable to figure out why i do these things?

Am I compelled by a force i cant comprehend

Do i even have a clue where to begin?

Five Minute Contemplation:

Do you ever think 'Why do I do the things I do'? Do you ever contemplate that 'driver' you have inside yourself and wonder what you can do about it?

Maybe it's time to think about it?

Today we delve into Steven Pinker's book, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress and look at the pace of how our civilization has evolved.

We also revisit the Fermi Paradox, named after the Italian-American physicist Enrico Fermi. It posits the contradiction between the lack of evidence for extraterrestrial civilizations elsewhere in the Milky Way galaxy and various high estimates for their probability.

We draw an analogy between what it takes to create planetary life forms and what it takes to reach enlightenment for ourselves. What does it take to become truly aware of our circumstances in recovery and what does it take to maintain our perspective in our spiritual journey ? Why is it so rare for people to maintain sobriety after treatment ?

I hope you enjoy the podcast.

This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.

Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:

Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

+27 012 345 1186 Pretoria

+27 010 597 7784 Johannesburg

“Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get’ – Forrest Gump.

Life is unpredictable. We can plan and prepare for things but we have no way of knowing that things will work out exactly as we planned.

We need to have faith in the decisions we make and understand that what is meant to be will be. We need to take responsibility for our decisions and then trust that where we end up is exactly where we are meant to be. Forrest finds himself in a plethora of difficult circumstances, but he continues to do his best in everything he does, and in the end that is what made his life fulfilling.

The Forrest Gump philosophy means : allowing life to just happen.

At the same time, in order to trust our intuition, our perspective needs to remain clear at all times and this takes time and effort. The amount of effort we put into trying to clear our perspective, which has been clouded by substance abuse, can determine where our lives are going. Our perspective will not remain clear unless we work at it.

I hope you enjoy the podcast.

This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.

Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

+27 012 345 1186 Pretoria

+27 010 597 7784 Johannesburg

Things that start out with positive intentions to them, can turn into negative situations. Fasting can be highly beneficial for my physical health and my cognitive capabilities, however, there is a fine line between fasting and starving myself.

Stress on our bodies and our minds is not always detrimental and yet people fear stress. It is in places of discomfort where change begins. How do I navigate the finer lines ?

There are so many unquantifiable things in our lives. The concept of a Higher Power is difficult to define for many of people. How do you describe the colour green to a person who has never had sight ?

How do I Walk the Line ?

I hope you enjoy the podcast.

This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.

Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

+27 012 345 1186 Pretoria

+27 010 597 7784 Johannesburg

“Most people are prisoners, thinking only about the future or living in the past. They are not in the present, and the present is where everything begins.” - Carlos Santana.

Using the illustration of what it takes to play the guitar with skill, we look at what it takes to maintain sobriety. Recovery from addiction involves the learning of new skills and it takes commitment, dedication and many, many hours - and there will be parts of it that you will not enjoy.

Acquiring a new skill means you are required to learn, you need to teach yourself and you need a feed-back mechanism in the form of a teacher or a coach or, in the case of recovering from addiction – a sponsor. In order to make progress, you will need to learn about your disease. You will need to make sure that you are not blindly repeating the same mistakes over again, and that you cannot do in isolation.

I hope you enjoy the podcast.

This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.

Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

+27 012 345 1186 Pretoria

+27 010 597 7784 Johannesburg

Society needs laws, systems and structures in order to function effectively.

In this podcast we take a look at artificial intelligence (AI) – where machines simulate human intelligence, (intelligence being defined as “the ability to benefit from past experience, act purposefully, solve problems, and adapt to new situations”) by using rules to reach approximate or definite conclusions.

Computers can now create – but is what they “create” really art ?

There is a “human element” that is also necessary when it comes to the application of rules within society. We need to find the balance between laws, formulas, systems etc. and humanity.

We also take a look at the Hindu concepts of Karma, Dharma, Reincarnation and Moksha and how these ideas can relate to our lives as addicts.

If your quest is to find balance within your life, take a listen.

I hope you enjoy this podcast as much as I enjoyed the discussion.

This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.

Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:

www.crossroadsrecovery.co.za

+27 012 345 1186 Pretoria

+27 010 597 7784 Johannesburg