Fifth Step – Change Direction

Assuming that you caught the moment when thought appears, now you need to do the work. When you fully aware of the process of addiction the work is usually easy each time, but it must be repeated over and over.

What to do?

When you feel the little tickling of the addiction subject, stop and think. First remember what is the current motivation of this addiction, and say to yourself, I don’t need to go through all of this addiction-cycle, since I already have everything, and I can deal with everything with compassion.

For example, if you are alcohol-addicted since you want to forget your troubles, say to yourself “I accept the troubles”, I don’t need to runaway and bring more troubles. Have compassion towards yourself, and insert the troubles directly to your heart with love and compassion. If you are addicted to some kind of sex since it is satisfying an urge that you really don’t want, do not hide the urge. Do the opposite, fully accept the urge directly to your heart with compassion. Note that the urge is usually not the sex itself, the urge is usually something deeper, like urge to control, or urge to submission, fear, anger or some other feeling. The sex is only the way this urge is expressing out. Accept the urge in your heart, and you don’t need the sex.

In short accept the original cause, take it out of your closet and give it a place of honour in your heart.

Now, you can change direction.

Ask yourself what was I doing before this thought? if it was something important to you, continue with it. If you were not doing something important, or you were doing something that you want to stop, you can go back to your precious goals (I asked you to look for your goals in previous post). Ask yourself how can I develop my precious goals? What can I do now? If for example  its something physical that you build, you need not get to the physical work right now, you can plan it instead.

In the beginning your addiction can bother you hundreds times per day. Each time you must accept the original cause and change direction, use the energy of the thought that was inspired by the addiction.

Do not allow the addiction to take control even a single time, don’t give it your energy. Don’t play with with your addiction, it plays harder, you already experienced it many time.

If the above technique did not stopped the addiction, their are even more powerful techniques.