Our culture seems to be having a love affair with zombies these days. Movies, games, TV and books are tripping over each other as they run to the undead, rather than away from them. But for people who have suffered addiction, the experience of staggering hopelessly through an all but lifeless existence is not quite the Hollywood romantic fairytale.
Addiction, in any of its forms, leads us to cannibalize our self-respect, self-confidence, self-worth and love. It costs us our inherent potential and leaves us feeling empty, confused, alone or lost. Addiction steals not only the soul, but also the means to reclaim it. Yet sometimes it possesses us so much we don’t even realize or care how lifeless we’ve become.
Miraculously through it all, the human spirit remains intact, though it may go deep into hiding to protect itself from the pain and fear that goes along with addiction. That spirit, our essence, is indestructible, and once we are awake to it, we are capable of rising from the past deadness.
Awakening that essence, what I call the deep Self, occurs through a process of, first, eliminating the threat (active addiction), then cleaning up the mess, restoring order, and finally establishing and maintaining a new way of life that replaces the old way. Then our deep self is safe enough to emerge again, alive and kicking, ready to let the God-given greatness within us since birth come back to life.