I have been pondering the nature of thought-habits, addictions of all kinds, and the need for chaos in our lives. To be able to experience the full control of our thought life, we must also take a look at what it is that feeds our addictions. It would seem that a circle of addiction/chaos/relieving chaos through the indulgence of addiction is primarily a lack of mind control.
Science has picked up on the chemical changes that happen in the brain during various activities. It has also noted that a change in mind has the same effect as introducing foreign chemicals into the body. The phenomenon is also noted in the so-called placebo effect. Meditation/breathing exercises also produce a reaction of chemicals in the brain.So what does that have to do with my first statements? Clearly when we are addicted to a particular state of mind (anger, fear, jealousy, et al.), we need a system in place to insure that we can indulge in the "fix". We "need" to have a "reason" to allow our self to partake in the same way a smoker "needs" a cigarette! Chaos in our lives allows us to justify having these addictions. Chaos leads to feelings, which leads to thoughts of fixing the unpleasant feelings, and then completes itself by indulging in the addictive act.
A good case point would be to look at the cycle of a smoker. Nicotine only affects the body for approximately twenty minutes and then the body starts craving more. There is enough residual of the drug in the body to keep the full blown cravings away for another hour or so, but our smoker starts to feel jittery. The feed-back mechanism in the mind-body loop is in place for our survival, but it can be hi-jacked in this way. Now thoughts are produced that start to lead the person to the fulfillment of the cycle, namely, "smoke so we can feel better". Chaos comes into play by an event being needed to force the issue if we haven't voluntarily submitted to the cravings. "So and so just really pissed me off, I need a smoke to calm down" etc., etc.
In the above example of the smoker, if you were to insert any undesirable habit, including emotional ones, you can see in yourself and others how this plays out. The hard part of changing our lives lies in the breaking of these habits which are reinforced by the brain chemistry itself! We have to use the mind that is "sick" to cure ourselves. Sounds like a double-bind, but the Creator has made possible a way for us to work this out. We work on changing our minds until that new habit takes over due to starving the old ones!
So if you find yourself in one of those cycles where things seem a little out of control, look inside for the part you are playing in bringing chaos to yourself. Look for the "reward" you get for the chaos being present and when you do the key to unraveling that particular little problem will be very clear! Should the problem be outside of your total control, as some problems are, this exercise will allow you to strengthen yourself and not buffeted as much by the circumstances presently before you. This technique is more for rooting out the storms we create for ourselves, and to live more peaceably in ourselves!
peace and blessings to you!
