Just the other day, I had a conversation with someone about addiction, and whether or not it is possible for an addicted individual to change. Many people seem to be dismayed, due to experiences of their own, or due to the experiences of loved ones who have danced with addiction. The common threads weaving their way through the difficulty of moving beyond addiction seem to be deeply embedded thought patterns, fears, and reactions living within the psyche. To take this a step further, that which is heavily programmed within the psyche can eventually settle in and become programmed within the body. So we may address addiction issues by accessing the deeper mind directly, through methods such as meditation, psychotherapy, counseling. We can also address addictions by accessing the deeper layers of the body through conscious movement practices along the lines of yoga, t'ai chi, martial arts, and dance. It is ultimately a matter of training ourselves to look at things in new and different ways in order to see that which we haven't seen before. I am a firm believer that people can change. Not just a believer, but a faith holder in this regard. This is for two reasons: 1. I have seen it happen. Time and time again. 2. There is one primal, universal law. And that is change. Change is the only thing we can be sure of. The following is an excerpt from Richard Miller's book, "Yoga Nidra". This is a wonderful book for describing the shifting mechanisms that take place with this sacred practice: Awakening from the dream Yoga, often inadequately translated as “union,” represents both the action of awakening to, as well as the description of, our underlying True Nature or pure Being that is the birthing ground of authentic spontaneity. Nidra or “sleep,” on the other hand, is the state in which we are unconscious to True Nature, when we are identified with, and swayed by, thoughts and actions that are based on misperception and reactive patterns. Yoga Nidra represents a paradox and is a play on the words “sleep” and “awake” as it means “The Sleep of the Yogi,” and implies that the normal person is asleep to their True Nature through all states of consciousness—waking, dreaming, and deep sleep—while the yogi is one who is awake to and knows his or her True Nature across all states, even sleep.
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AuthorWelcome! Thank you for visiting my blog space. In this place, I will share writings of my own, along with other events and musings from the world of Movement Medicine, Dance Therapy, Yoga and Shamanic Healing. Categories
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