The Scenario

A Scenario:When we have succumbed to the worldly substances for many seasons it becomes hard to envision change. The longer our free agency is altered, the harder it becomes to see a new way. The longer these worldly substances play a role in our life, the stronger the Dragon gets in influencing our every decision.Take a person who has been hindered by Opiate for example. Say this person has been persuaded and lied to by Opiate for ten years. Now keep in mind that Opiate is being used by the Dragon to lead this person down to their own personal hell. The Dragon, through Opiate, has now got this person to the point where they are struck with tunnel vision. This person cannot see anything around him; all he can see is what Opiate wants him to see. The Dragon and Opiate work together, and their business is the destruction of this person’s soul.Now follow me if you will…Envision this person who has been under the influence of Opiate for ten years. Think about the darkness associated with his physical appearance. Think about the routine that has been adapted; the ups and downs with mood; the financial struggles; the job loss; the family struggles, and the other addictions that must be associated with his Opiate use. You see, it's not just Opiate that a person such as this struggles with anymore. Through Opiate, the Dragon has made it easy for them to give way to other addictions, such as: smoking, drinking, lying, stealing, pornography, laziness, negativity, foul language, pride, envy, contention, among many others.For ten years the dragon has been hard at work on this person. The Dragon can see victory on the horizon. The Dragon feels confident that there is no possible way for this person to ever return to the ways of his childhood innocence.Ok now follow me in another direction...Now think about the state of misery this person is engulfed in. Let’s give this person a name; let’s say his name is John.  John is tired of living this entangled life.  John has been to the traditional rehab more than three times, and has never found anything through it. John is in search of something different - a new approach. He hears of a program that’s focus is on action based learning; and that revolves around being active in mind, body and spirit. He finds that through this program he is going to learn how to live a performance enhanced life through cutting edge strength & conditioning tactics, various nutritional concepts, and in depth spirituality component. He comes to realize that this program is in fact what he has been looking for, which all along has been a new perspective on life in hopes of having a paradigm shift take form.  He finds that through this program he will learn how to use physical activity as a tool to fill that ever present void in his life. He now has hope, because he feels like he can replace Opiate with what this program has to offer. He feels like this program will provide him with a better way to get high; a real, natural way to get high; a high that can only increase life performance.Back to me…So now this is interesting. If you notice at the end of the last paragraph I mentioned "replace Opiate with what this program has to offer." What do you think about this? Is it bad to swap one addiction for another? Let me rephrase that: Is it bad to swap a bad addiction with a healthy addiction? Some professionals would say yes, and what I would say to these professionals is no. A person that has the disease of addiction, or an addictive personality for that matter, is always going to have an addictive personality.  What is the harm in becoming addicted to a healthy lifestyle, and or being physically active? As aforementioned, people who struggle with addiction are probably always going to struggle with addiction, it just all depends on their approach to managing their addictive behavior. I still like to get high every day; I just get high in other ways now. I get high through healthy avenues such as being physically active, where I get my endorphins rolling through intense physical activity, or even spirituality.Now follow me here…Dr. John J. Ratey, who wrote the book SPARK: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain, shares some insight from the Odyssey House Director Peter Provet:Odyssey House has always used a holistic approach to treatment and emphasizes the importance of community.  This is crucial, according to Odyssey House director Peter Provet, because addiction is such an all-encompassing disorder, cutting into every aspect of life, from family to mood to work.  “The drug, for the addict, becomes everything,” Provet says.  Take it away and suddenly there is an “empty vessel” at the core of the body and mind.“What better way to start filling the vessel than exercise,” Provet suggests.  “I strongly believe that exercise can serve as an antidote and as a type of inoculation against addiction,” he says.  “As and antidote, you’re giving the individual an avenue of life experience that most have not had – the goals of exercise, the feeling of exercise, the challenge of exercise, the pleasure and the pain, the accomplishment, the physical well-being, the self-esteem.  All that exercise gives us, you’re now presenting to the addict as a very compelling option.”Inoculation ranks as equally important, given that most addicts fight a protracted, sometimes lifelong, battle with relapse.  And Provet sees exercise as the best form of inoculation.  “Exercise is directly antithetical to drug addictive behavior.  Because you need lung strength, muscle strength, mental acuity to engage in physical exercise – lots of things that drugs deprive you of.  If you’re not eating, not caring about your body, letting it waste away, having your mind distorted by being constantly intoxicated, you can’t be a serious exerciser. You can’t do it.”Back to Me...So this makes sense right? Exercise and being physically active are Gods greatest gifts to we who struggle with addiction. It's a gift that will help us fill the void. The void is the reason we started using drugs in the first place wasn't it? So now we have something to turn to as the Dragon whispers deceit into our minds; we now have an outlet, or even an escape through exercise- that will actually change our brain chemistry to that of a more lifted state of mind, and all we have to do is get moving.Now let’s go back to John....To be continuedClick Here to go to Part 2 of the 4 part Series: The Scenario ContinuesClick Here to go to Part 3 of the 4 part Series-The Scenario: A Further Look