I was reading this interview with Ruth Denison & it reminded me of the blog post(s) I wanted to write on addiction.

Quotes from the article...

- There was always something out of the ordinary in my relationship to plants & nature - I never felt separate.

- In my teens I sensed that there was another atmosphere available to us than the ordinary way of being.

- It was powerful

- it shifted my awareness from the ordinary way of life, the ordinary way of seeing things, to the extraordinary that is always just right there, if you allow yourself to stop.

- You have to stop in order to become aware of what you are doing.

- The literal translation of the Pali word sati (mindfulness) is to stop.

- You can know yourself as a moving energy field.

- You realize that the natural law of existence is impermanence, anicca.

- With awareness you shift from this ordinary way of being into the extraordinary.

- You know what you are doing & you know that you know.

This is why fasting (on water) has helped me in my relationship to food. [Beware because fasting can also set you up for a vicious pattern, so be aware of what is really happening. Are you using it as a quick-fix? Or are you using it as a sacred tool? Did the choice to fast stem from self-love or self-hate? Just something to consider before going into something as serious as fasting.] When I completely stop eating, I see the mindlessness in eating habits (& drinking habits). I see the escape, the abuse, the misuse, the bigger picture, the madness. I never saw it in the same way before I stopped it completely in order to examine it.

The same goes for jobs, environments, & relationships. I've been in a few that were not suitable for me, but I didn't see this while I was in them, I had to completely remove myself from them (for a long while, or forever) & spend time reflecting in their absence before I saw how much damage they were doing.

Love yourself enough to let go every now & then. By letting go I mean, remove that which you think you need in order to exist. Invest in your unlimited sense of self & strength. Go beyond that which you think you are to that which you know you are. Know that you are infinite bliss & incomprehensible love. Know that you are whole.

[Ruth Denison article is from the INSIGHT newsletter. Illustration is by Audrey Kawasaki. I'm grateful for the work these women do & the inspirational lives they live.]