07-07-2012, 11:39 AM
As we examine what it means to be human in our endeavor to become more than our present dilemma of Cosmic Mystery, we uncover one of the more counterproductive aspects of our nature that victimizes our evolving capability.
It is the instinctive need to survive that lies at the root of all human nature, but that pure instinct can be tainted and over exaggerated to extreme circumstances. And it is in the extremity of certain circumstances that we become victimized by our natural tendencies.
This truth is the reason for many of the social ills that we know as addictions.
Whenever something that we find ourselves attracted to or in need of to such extremes that it consumes our lifestyles, whether abusive or just obsessive, it can be considered addictive.
Unfortunately many of the things to which the human becomes addicted are things which the human requires to function because of the way that our society and civilization has influenced us.
Fast food, for instance. How many of us cannot even begin our day without the Timmy’s fix? And what additives are used in those offerings that keep us addicted and coming back?
Big Macs, KFC, Coffee, and soda pop. And the unmentionable tobacco products. We are all aware that these things are probably being tainted with addictive ingredients. And we tolerate this abuse of our personal space because these are things from which we are unwilling to escape. Not only are they deeply interwoven into our daily routines but we enjoy them so much.
How many other things can we add to that list that either has some adverse effect on our personal space or the personal space of others in some way?
Television?
Luxuries which make our chores a little easier?
Transportation?
Our sex lives?
Our religious beliefs?
Our sports recreations?
Do you see what I am getting at here?
The human is not only a creature of habit, but it is a creature that will take advantage of such nature to benefit themselves at the expense of others as well. And when addiction to a particular thing is so enticing, forethought and concern for anything else is not a priority. The easing of the addiction is all that matters.
How many of us are willing to give up our refrigerators or our microwaves for the sake of environmental issues?
Who is going to sell their cars and start taking the bus everywhere for the sake of air quality?
Who can function in society these days without being a part of the system of addictions?
When most of us think of addiction we think about alcohol and drug abuse, or gambling, or pornography. I have sons that are addicted to all of these and they still manage to function in society. What does that tell you about the system having their hands in it?
Addiction is not just being hooked on things that we might consider abusive to one’s wellbeing though.True addiction is revealed in the degree with which one suffers a withdrawal from the addition as they try to escape it or cast it off for something different and new. The more withdrawal symptoms one suffers the greater the addiction.
This is the reason that some addictions become so deadly. Each subjection to the addiction requires the next subjection to be even greater, and at some point it becomes impossible to attain such high subjections, at which point the addict begins to deteriorate from withdrawal problems. To be addicted to a thing that one cannot acquire a high enough dose of in order to satisfy the addiction is the true depiction of beating one’s head against the wall.
Addiction to those things which please us, comfort us, relieve us, and seduce us, seems to be at the root of being human. And not just because they are often imposed on us by others. But because we are all addicted to something to some degree. To be human is to be addicted to something that we cannot control or want to control.
And when that nature is allowed to be taken to its extremes, we find all the consequences that deny civilization its true harmony. Greed and war are just reflections of a much deeper aspect of human nature. Just as is love and compassion. To deny this is to deny our natural human tendency.
So this begs the question, “can we rise above our human nature? And what becomes of our natural humanity when we do?”
If we can deny our natural tendencies, and we can become more than our lusts and gratifications, do we become something ‘other’ than that which we have just defined above as human?
We are so caught up in our traditions and daily routines, and our quest for knowing and solving questions. This has been the human experience. If we remove ourselves from this experience to discover an ‘other’, do we leave behind our humanity as we ascend?
And what does it take to provoke a human to reach for such an escape from all that is human?
And if we manage to accomplish such a feat in grand numbers, what effect does that have on those left behind and the civilization they now enjoy?
Addiction is more than extreme personal choice, it is human life as we have known it for thousands of years. As such it is not just limited to one lifetime of individual proportions. It is rather the continuing effect on lifetime after lifetime of individual experiences. This relegates it to a much higher influence on humanity. It impresses upon evolution and to a more direct way, on reincarnation. No human is going to reincarnate into a different human experience than the addictive one we all experience.
Unless there is an ‘other’ way to reincarnate! Unless there is a way to achieve a higher way of Being where we are not afflicted by addictive nature and the prevalent social design which has evolved around it.
Is this what the Ancients were speaking to when they advised us to cast off the flesh and escape from the cycle of darkness?
What is beyond our addictions, and is anyone that has no desire to discover that possibility just revealing the extent of their addiction?
As we examine what it means to be human in our endeavor to become more than our present dilemma of Cosmic Mystery, we uncover one of the more counterproductive aspects of our nature that (victimizes our evolving capability).
It is the instinctive need to survive that lies at the root of all human nature, but that pure instinct can be tainted and over exaggerated to extreme circumstances. And it is in the extremity of certain circumstances that we become victimized by our natural tendencies.
This truth is the reason for many of the social ills that we know as addictions.
Whenever something that we find ourselves attracted to or in need of to such extremes that it consumes our lifestyles, whether abusive or just obsessive, it can be considered addictive.
Unfortunately many of the things to which the human becomes addicted are things which the human requires to function because of the way that our society and civilization has influenced us.
Fast food, for instance. How many of us cannot even begin our day without the Timmy’s fix? And what additives are used in those offerings that keep us addicted and coming back?
Big Macs, KFC, Coffee, and soda pop. And the unmentionable tobacco products. We are all aware that these things are probably being tainted with addictive ingredients. And we tolerate this abuse of our personal space because these are things from which we are unwilling to escape. Not only are they deeply interwoven into our daily routines but we enjoy them so much.
How many other things can we add to that list that either has some adverse effect on our personal space or the personal space of others in some way?
Television?
Luxuries which make our chores a little easier?
Transportation?
Our sex lives?
Our religious beliefs?
Our sports recreations?
Do you see what I am getting at here?
The human is not only a creature of habit, but it is a creature that will take advantage of such nature to benefit themselves at the expense of others as well. And when addiction to a particular thing is so enticing, forethought and concern for anything else is not a priority. The easing of the addiction is all that matters.
How many of us are willing to give up our refrigerators or our microwaves for the sake of environmental issues?
Who is going to sell their cars and start taking the bus everywhere for the sake of air quality?
Who can function in society these days without being a part of the system of addictions?
When most of us think of addiction we think about alcohol and drug abuse, or gambling, or pornography. I have sons that are addicted to all of these and they still manage to function in society. What does that tell you about the system having their hands in it?
Addiction is not just being hooked on things that we might consider abusive to one’s wellbeing though.True addiction is revealed in the degree with which one suffers a withdrawal from the addition as they try to escape it or cast it off for something different and new. The more withdrawal symptoms one suffers the greater the addiction.
This is the reason that some addictions become so deadly. Each subjection to the addiction requires the next subjection to be even greater, and at some point it becomes impossible to attain such high subjections, at which point the addict begins to deteriorate from withdrawal problems. To be addicted to a thing that one cannot acquire a high enough dose of in order to satisfy the addiction is the true depiction of beating one’s head against the wall.
Addiction to those things which please us, comfort us, relieve us, and seduce us, seems to be at the root of being human. And not just because they are often imposed on us by others. But because we are all addicted to something to some degree. To be human is to be addicted to something that we cannot control or want to control.
And when that nature is allowed to be taken to its extremes, we find all the consequences that deny civilization its true harmony. Greed and war are just reflections of a much deeper aspect of human nature. Just as is love and compassion. To deny this is to deny our natural human tendency.
So this begs the question, “can we rise above our human nature? And what becomes of our natural humanity when we do?”
If we can deny our natural tendencies, and we can become more than our lusts and gratifications, do we become something ‘other’ than that which we have just defined above as human?
We are so caught up in our traditions and daily routines, and our quest for knowing and solving questions. This has been the human experience. If we remove ourselves from this experience to discover an ‘other’, do we leave behind our humanity as we ascend?
And what does it take to provoke a human to reach for such an escape from all that is human?
And if we manage to accomplish such a feat in grand numbers, what effect does that have on those left behind and the civilization they now enjoy?
Addiction is more than extreme personal choice, it is human life as we have known it for thousands of years. As such it is not just limited to one lifetime of individual proportions. It is rather the continuing effect on lifetime after lifetime of individual experiences. This relegates it to a much higher influence on humanity. It impresses upon evolution and to a more direct way, on reincarnation. No human is going to reincarnate into a different human experience than the addictive one we all experience.
Unless there is an ‘other’ way to reincarnate! Unless there is a way to achieve a higher way of Being where we are not afflicted by addictive nature and the prevalent social design which has evolved around it.
Is this what the Ancients were speaking to when they advised us to cast off the flesh and escape from the cycle of darkness?
What is beyond our addictions, and is anyone that has no desire to discover that possibility just revealing the extent of their addiction?
As we examine what it means to be human in our endeavor to become more than our present dilemma of Cosmic Mystery, we uncover one of the more counterproductive aspects of our nature that (victimizes our evolving capability).
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