James: How do people with an alcohol addiction move forward in their life? How do they live their best life?

Spirit: Addiction comes in three varieties.

There is physical addiction where the body has gotten so used to alcohol that the cells cry out for it. These cells believe alcohol is the normal environment.

The second part is emotional addiction. Drowning the sorrows. It’s about escaping pain around the past, pain around the current situation and pain from negative thoughts. Getting intoxicated is a way to tune out from these issues and achieve a new emotional state.

The third element is a spiritual addiction. Many are born with a weakness for alcohol or another addiction. This is a weakness at the DNA level from past lives or programming. So you have a propensity to fall into that challenge. This is for growth.

Overcoming the temptation or craving is working on a flawed human imprint. You took on alcohol addiction so you could first heal it within yourself and then help others do the same. The best healer is the one that has been in the trenches.

This is also about you earning stripes for your soul.
“I took on the challenge of that alcohol imprint and I healed it.”

No one gets out alive

Spirit: No one survives in the game of life. Everybody dies. You may be drinking yourself to an early grave but the health nut dies too.

Excess drinking might be speeding up your death but that’s not terrible. Terrible would be going from something to nothing. You still have something — you have your life, just a bit shorter. And everyone has a fleeting existence in this world.

You can flourish or not flourish. Either way, it all ends.

You’re not doing everything right. You have an addiction to alcohol. So be it. Let’s take away the seriousness. Let’s remove shame and guilt and negative thoughts.

Sneaking that 5th glass of sherry from the kitchen cupboard probably won’t lead to disaster. It’s just an escape hatch. But let’s find a better one.

Do you want to change?

Spirit: You might be feeling pressured to change. Social pressure. Family pressure. Pressure from people at work? But do you actually want to change?

Without this positive excitement, change seldom sticks. At the end of the day, we move towards what feels light. We do things that can be done with ease.

For example, James, the website wasn’t working today and everything felt too hard. And you said, “Well, fuck it, let’s do it anyway. Let’s try to make a difference.” This site is something you want to do. That motivation will carry you in hard times.

People get it done when they want to do it.

A plan for a healthier approach

Spirit: You may want things to be different but you should also accept how things have been. Accept what you’ve done. Accept your path up till now. There is no use feeling shame or guilt. Just get busy mapping out the plan for the future.

How will you live your dream life?
What do you want to do each day? How do you capitalise on all your potential? Does it involve exercise and healthy food?

Does it have a healthier go-to than alcohol? Previously a drink was how you felt at ease and relaxed. What’s another way to reset?

Could a non-alcoholic drink be the new programming? Maybe an iced tea or lemon-lime and bitters.

If we were addressing sexual addiction, one substitute might be to allow the sexual energy to flow through your body. Use the sexual energy for creation instead of the short-term pleasure of orgasm. Or use it for intense exercise. Climb that mountain.