Understand & Release Addictions
Excerpt from "The Body Knows... How to Stay Young"
by Caroline Sutherland
The following excerpt is taken from the book The Body Knows…How to Stay Young: Healthy-Aging Secrets from a Medical Intuitive by Caroline Sutherland. It is published by Hay House (July 2008) and is available at all bookstores or online at: www.hayhouse.com
Chapter 3
Understand and Release Addictions
If you’re sick, chances are you’re addicted to certain foods, behaviors, and thoughts. Anything that has power over you and that you have difficulty letting go of is an addiction. For example, dwelling on the past can be just as damaging as being hooked on coffee, alcohol, or chocolate, because it holds you back in life.
In fact, noted physician and author Deepak Chopra claims that all illness is the result of addiction. I couldn’t agree more—this has been my observation for the past 25 years. In fact, when I used to work as an allergy-testing technician, I noted that as soon as people removed the substances they were addicted to, all their symptoms miraculously went away.
This is why Dr. Doris Rapp, a well-known expert in environmental medicine, suggests that patients replace everything they currently consume with things they don’t normally eat for five days. She’s noticed over and over again that chronic complaints disappear and health improves when this happens. (Please visit: www.drrapp.com.)
In my work as a medical intuitive, almost everyone I see has an addiction of some sort. I can tell that something is hooked into them, be it physical or emotional, and it’s robbing their vital force and taking them down cell by cell. I might see gray or black around them—a dark or negative force that’s stealing their precious stamina and vitality. Something has a hold on them, and I know that they’re addicted.
From this deep spiritual perspective, I believe that we should all be free: No particular substance, person, place, or physical possession should have us in its clutches. I call this “the climb.” Now, many of us are content to go around and around the bottom of a mountain, but very few want to do the work to ascend it. Just as in real mountaineering, the trek I’m proposing will require concentration and discipline.
As we age, we’ll do a lot better if we’re prepared, focused, and free of excess baggage, including anything that’s a toxin, allergen, or poison. The mountain that we are will be stronger and more supportive as we age if we’re willing to examine our issues and give up the items we’re addicted to.
The aging game is not to be taken lightly. In order to stave off the ravages of old age, we’ve got to get busy and become prepared—now!
Climbing Out of the Addictive Process
We’re spiritual beings—our entire raison d’être is to operate from a conscious perspective. We’re here to make a difference on this planet, and as soon as we turn the corner of age 50, this becomes all the more apparent. So the emission of radiant, clear, positive energy from our physical bodies is very significant in relationship to our manifestation ability.
Your aura or electromagnetic field is what you use to draw people, things, and experiences into your life. As you desire to manifest or attract the best to you on a material and spiritual level, an emanation of glowing energy is essential, and it can only come from having a clear and detoxified physical body. Addictions cloud your aura, and even a simple doughnut or cup of coffee can muddy your field. Try it sometime by ingesting your favorite “poison” and waiting 20 minutes. You’ll quickly see that the result is a tired, worn-out body that’s temporarily removed or disengaged from life.
The ability to effectively manifest is in direct proportion to how clear your aura is. So if you want to make the climb out of addiction, take out a sheet of paper and a pen and follow these steps:
1. Make a list of all the things you’re hooked on. These can be foods (such as candy, bread, or chocolate), beverages (such as soda, coffee, or milk), or chemicals (including drugs and alcohol).
2. Next, make a list of everything that might be an addictive behavior, such as staying up late, working too hard, worrying too much, overspending, overeating, nagging at your partner, remaining in an unsatisfying job or relationship, being a pack rat, or the like.
3. Finally, make a list of any thoughts that have you in their vise grip. These are what you find yourself thinking about most often, including dwelling on the past, self-deprecating beliefs (such as I’m not good enough, I’m not worthy, I’m not intelligent, or There is never enough), and so forth.
Of course no one wants to be mired in negativity. Thankfully, author Eve Brinton shares a simple and practical technique for switching out of negative thoughts in her book Instant Happiness with the Energy Exchange (available through www.evebrinton.com).
Brinton believes that changing habitual negative thoughts and reframing them into positive ones can be accomplished in less than a minute. To that end, think of something positive right now: Maybe it was when you flew over the Grand Canyon in a helicopter; or when you were in your grandmother’s garden, feeling peace and happiness wash over you. As soon as you find yourself dwelling in negativity, find that positive image and draw it into your consciousness. You’ll instantly notice the difference.
As the Dalai Lama teaches, why should you allow anyone to disturb the freedom of your thoughts? Your material possessions can be taken from you, but your thoughts remain your own. And because you create your thoughts, they can’t have any power over you. Thanks to Brinton’s Energy Exchange, you can master your mental activity and be free.
The Law of Attraction
As you climb your own mountain on the journey of personal self-mastery, your desire is to be as free as a bird so that you can be moved by the universe and go wherever your soul wants you to. Remember what I learned from my near-death experience . . . since life is short and so precious, use the law of attraction to draw good into your life.
As a medical intuitive, I see subtle energies: For example, coffee carries the emanation of anger and irritation; and the energy of excessive alcohol use is like a “zing,” taking away the body’s life force like a feather in the wind. The moment you consume a substance like coffee, you put its vibration into your field. Then, because like attracts like, you’ll probably pull angry and irritating experiences to you such as losing your car keys, getting involved in minor altercations, or blowing things out of proportion.
How can you tell if a food or beverage is really affecting you? That’s easy—take your pulse. An easy-to-find pulse point can be found on the carotid artery that supplies blood to your brain, which is located on either side of your neck just below your jaw. Find that point, become familiar with what your normal pulse rate feels like, and then start testing. Twenty minutes after you’ve had a cup of coffee (or consumed anything that you’re concerned about), test your pulse again: If it’s elevated or racing, this is an obvious sign that your body is rebelling against the poison or toxin you’ve ingested.
Pulse testing is one of the ways in which traditional allergists determine potential sensitivities, but you already know the answer intuitively. I’m always amazed when people tell me during a reading that they’re aware that coffee, cola, corn, sugar, and other stimulants affect them—yet they can’t believe how calm and happy they feel when they give them up.
Coffee also clouds the aura, hardens the prostate gland, causes jitters and an irregular heartbeat, pulls fluids out of the body, blocks the lymphatic system, contributes to cellulite, and a dozen other effects. So the easy and obvious answer is to switch to decaf for a few weeks. A good decaffeinated roast has the same taste and smell as real coffee, but it doesn’t have the kick. Decaf might not have any deleterious effects, but by consuming it, you’re still keeping the memory, taste, essence, and vibration of coffee alive.
Remember that you’re climbing the mountain, so the next step is to eliminate the decaffeinated java and switch to herbal or green tea (make sure it has low amounts of caffeine). You’re not giving coffee up just to give it up—you’re releasing this addiction, and others, to lengthen your life. I know that there are studies that indicate coffee is beneficial. But in my opinion, these studies don’t show the drink’s effects on one’s aura, heart, or genitals . . . or, indeed, one’s life.
The same goes for sugar, which may taste ever so good to you. But what does it do to your energy, your nervous system, your precious pancreas, and your cell walls? Sweetness should come from life, so this is where following your dreams and living your passion take priority. When you’re happy and fulfilled in your work and play, you really won’t be interested in sweets.
It Comes with a Gift
Keep in mind that your willingness to set aside addictions always comes with a gift. I believe that we’re all being watched over by angels and towering beings at all times who are shepherding us and guiding us.
As soon as we give up an addictive behavior, the next step will be revealed. Just watch the phone ring, a job opportunity arise, a pure white feather land in our lap, or a serendipitous benefit appear seemingly out of nowhere. One door closes on what’s no longer healthy, but another one opens to something better. This is confirmation that the universe knows that we are climbing the mountain and are willing to give up what no longer serves us in favor of what will benefit us (and humankind). Then the addiction is no longer viewed with seduction but with recognition of what it can—and will—do to our precious life force and cellular tissue. We make the decision to leave it behind and attract something priceless.
I’ve personally benefited from vibrant health for the past 25 years because I gave up coffee, wine, chocolate-chip cookies (by the dozen), homemade bread, and lots of cheese. I got my life back, and there has never been a moment where I thought the choice wasn’t worth it. The smell of coffee and the taste of chocolate simply aren’t appealing to me anymore. My addictions have turned into passions: I’m passionate about teaching, I’m passionate about communicating, and I’m passionate about health. It’s as if the angels have given me a mandate to empower you to get healthy, too, so that you’ll be able to complete your destiny as I have.
Sure, I have the occasional stray into “no-no land.” I’ll have a glass of wine or a sweet dessert on occasion, but it better be good. My husband and I might share a crème brûlée on our anniversary, for instance, or I may enjoy a small slice of my daughter’s wonderful pie at a family gathering. But I know that I’ll be feeling and seeing the effects of those choices very soon. I might wake up feeling a little tired or grouchy; my eyes might be puffy, and my clothes might be tight; or, on the rare occasions I have bread or pasta, my hands will become stiff. After three days of eating bread, my arthritis will return, so it’s really not worth it for me. I’m climbing the mountain, and these so-called temptations really don’t entice me anymore.
Addictions and Medications
What about people who are addicted to medication? After all, every prescription drug has side effects. Yet you’d be surprised by the number of folks who are on medication and would rather have the side effects than change their habits or research alternatives. If they would just give up their habit, their symptoms would back off, but these people choose to stay addicted.
For example, at age 62, Gretchen had bladder problems and was hooked on sweets and alcohol. Sure, she had reason to be addicted to these items: She had a 28-year-old son who was running amok—he was stealing money from her, had quit his job, and was draining her dry and disrespecting her. She felt powerless to stand up for herself and reclaim her own life, so she soothed her wounds with red wine and pound cake. Bacteria had built up in her body, probably due to a lack of hydration, so she was put on diuretics and sulfa drugs to take care of it.
She’s now faced with bladder surgery, rounds of antibiotics, and a compounded set of medical concerns that will probably set her on a careening course to premature aging. Will she change? I hope so, but many people like Gretchen are addicted to the drama of their emotional lives. This keeps them in the fury of the hurricane, which is familiar territory. Rather than make some simple lifestyle changes, it’s easier for such men and women to stay stuck and medicated.
Now I’m a firm believer in traditional Western medicine when it is needed. I know that drugs can save lives because I grew up in a medical household: My mother was a dietitian, and both my father and grandfather were medical doctors. In our house, the physician was God. Today, things are different. I know that each of us can be God and the doctor, regardless of whether we have a medical degree, and we can form our own healing team.
Let’s remember this basic concept: The body knows how to get well. But optimal health takes a deeper level of commitment than some people are willing to make. Because you’re reading this book, I know that you’re willing to point your compass toward aging optimally, beautifully, and vibrantly.
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