Fear of the dark. We have a long relationship with the dark and many people have used this fear to their advantage. It’s important because it can give us some perspective over how much control we have over our mind, versus how much of what we do is based on our genetic coding.
Genetic
There is a field of study that has looked at how much of our behavior and actions are directly tied to our genes. This is important if you suffer with any addiction, whether its food, sex, alcohol or drugs. Are we able to win the war against our base natures or are we doomed to suffer eternally?
Rise above
There is so much we know and there is so little we know. Years ago we thought the Atom was the smallest particle, now it’s a Quark? We have done so much research trying to understand ‘mind over matter’ and how to rise above.
Where to begin
This work has to start somewhere and the jumping off point is accepting how powerless we are over the world and it’s things. This brings us to the point of doing something about us and our mind. To learn more please listen to the podcast.
I hope you enjoy it!
This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addictionrecoverytreatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.
Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
What does Undifferentiated Being even mean? Well we evaluate everything we look at and experience. This is influenced by a kind of Naïve Realism and a whole bunch of cognitive dissonance. It’s our responsibility to make as much sense out of as we can. Nothing does this better than being present in our lives.
Does This Help?
When we are recovering from our past decisions, whether its addiction or just the consequences of the choices we make, we bring this same confused mentality to bear on the problem. In this podcast I outline the mental stumbling blocks and challenge we face. This often just in our regular lives. There is a solution though but it’s a tricky one to explain.
The Research
There are multiple examples of how our mind play’s tricks on us. From full moon problems to confusion about vaccinations. How much of our decision making process is based on our own prejudice? Is there a solution for us or are we slaves to our irrationality?
I hope you enjoy this podcast.
This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 stepaddiction recoverytreatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.
Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
You have to earn your serenity. It would seem that we can be as surrendered as we like and willing to accept our consequences, this doesn’t exempt us from the stress and anxiety though. The real deal is learning to live with our consequences and that is no easy task. Doesn’t matter who you are, you are going to face challenges that take you to your darkest fears, it seems unavoidable.
When talking about spiritual solutions, what I refer to is our spirit. How is your spirit? What about the times you feel worn down with the weight of the challenges you have to bear and bear them you must? The ultimate goal is freedom and sometimes the only freedom available to us is acceptance.
This is a tough subject and might leave you with questions, drop me a mail if you wish.
This podcast was recorded as a series of lectures given to people in 12 step addiction recovery treatment. The purpose of these talks was to teach and motivate individuals to search for their own spiritual solution to their addiction.
Please feel free to contact me directly or go to our site for more information:
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
Recent statistics on drug abuse estimates that approximately 13.3% of the adult South African population struggle with addiction. Drug and alcohol addiction affects every aspect of a person’s life, including their work. Employers can play a meaningful role in helping employees prevent and deal with addiction in the workplace. Although an employee’s personal life doesn’t fall within the responsibilities of an employer, individuals who are suffering from addiction quite often carry addiction-related side effects with them into the workplace.
These side effects may include, but is not limited to an increase in absenteeism, theft, injuries and loss of productivity, which leads to unnecessary costs to the employer. Higher than usual staff turn-over rates, as a direct cause of these behaviors, lead to even more costs when the employer is forced to recruit and train new staff. Not to mention the burden this places on senior management to facilitate disciplinary procedures.
Employees Less Effective
It is a known fact that employees who are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol struggle to focus, are less effective at completing tasks and are poor decisions makers. Constant preoccupation with using and/or obtaining their substance of choice negatively affect job performance; a less than desired outcome for any employer that pays a good salary for a value adding outcome.
Apart from the personal implication of such substance abuse, it could also have a negative impact on co-workers, especially the ones that work close to them on a regular basis. Unacceptable behavior, such as tardiness and sleeping on the job put additional pressure on co-workers in the form of heavier workloads, which often lead to unnecessary conflict within the team. In extreme cases, these substances could even make them unmanageable to their supervisors and cause health problems that can add additional stress on the rest of the team as a result of them taking more sick leave; all of these a recipe for a very toxic work environment. Consequently, team morale will also take a big knock.
Illegal Behaviors At Work
Another real problem that employers potentially face is illegal activities in the work place, such as selling drugs to other employees, bribery and fraud. If not monitored and acted upon in a very decisive way, it could lead to more serious behaviors and activities, exposing the employer to unprecedented risk. It could even ruin a company’s reputation.
Preventing substance abuse in the workplace is not just generally accepted to be best practice, it is also regulated in South Africa by the Operational Health and Safety Act (OHSA), which applies to any business or industry. The Operational Health and Safety Act, General Safety Regulation 2A states that every employer has a duty to stop employees from entering a work site or remaining at work if they appear to be under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs.
Employee Assistance Programs
Companies can address substance abuse in their employee population by implementing substance abuse policies and establishing Employee Assistance Programs (EAP). Regular alcohol and drug testing at work can also assist with identifying employees who are struggling. Substance abuse policies need to include full details of procedures to be followed when doing testing, outlined as a step-by-step process. Education is extremely important in the prevention and intervention of addiction in the workplace, as it aids in reducing the stigma and increasing the likelihood that employees will ask for help.
Companies can assist their personnel by providing the necessary access they need to address their addiction, and offer them support on their road to recovery. Employers who offer appropriate interventions and treatment for addicted employees will benefit by reduced absenteeism and increased productivity, as well as a safer work place. These risk averting steps will ensure that the personal life of the employee’s will not affect the work environment, co-workers and the company’s customers.
The encouragement, love and support from the team at Crossroads allowed me to eventually see that I was worth something - that my life could be turned around and that I could accomplish the things that had long been a forgotten dream.
On the last day of my stint at Crossroads I could only express gratitude towards all who works there. A wise councillor once commented on my question when one is ready for rehab by explaining that when one is ready for rehab, rehab is ready for you.
I was lost and my soul was broken until I ended up at Crossroads and was introduced to the Twelve Steps. With the help of their excellent staff and amazing support I have recently been clean for 18 months, I could not have done it without them!
"Just for today I am more than three years in recovery. I have Cross Roads to thank for this wonderful gift. Cross Roads helped me to set a firm foundation in my recovery on which I can continue to build."
