Psychotherapy and Spirituality

This human journey is one of self discovery, whose fundamental questions is "Who am I?"
The addict is in the paradoxical situation of needing to know, at the deepest spiritual level; while at the same time trying to escape the pain that this bodymind has experience.

The 7 day retreat of Breathwork Trainings breathworktrainings.com - Psychotherapy and Spirituality, addresses these issues. The environment expressly creates and atmosphere of support and compassion, while undertaking and emotional education and healing of spirit.

Dr Gabor Maté says:

" All the substances of abuse, whether they are opiates or cocaine or anything else – they are actually pain killers. Some of them specifically are pain killers. But physical pain and emotional pain, the suffering is experienced in the same part of the brain. So when people suffer emotional rejection the same part of the brain will light up as if you stuck them with a knife.

Eckardt Tolle says very nicely that ‘addictions begin with pain and end with pain’. So that all the addictions are attempts to soothe the pain. So when I work with addictions the first question is always, not why the addiction, but why the pain. What you find is emotional loss or trauma.
In the case of the severe addicts…[in my experience] they were, every single one, traumatised.
There are no women walking the streets here who have not been sexually abused.

But you know, whether it is...

• A sex addiction
• Or internet
• Or relationship
• Or shopping
• Or work addiction

These are all attempts to get away from distress.

Keith Richards, the Rolling Stones guitarist, said (he had a severe heroin habit as you know) “all the contortions we go through just not to be ourselves for a few hours”
Why would somebody not want to be themselves? Because they are in too much distress and too much pain. So I don’t care what they tell you about genetics or choices or any of that nonsense, it is always about pain.

The Tibetan Book of living and Dying, its got a wonderful line in it: “Whatever you don, don’t’ try and escape from your pain, but be with it”. Because the attempt to escape from pain creates more pain. And that’s the reality of addiction.

But the question is how can people be with their pain? Only if they sense some compassion from somebody. So as another teacher says: “only when compassion is present will people allow themselves to see the truth”. So addicted people need a compassionate present, which will permit them to experience their pain without having to run away from it. And all the attempts to run away, like another teacher says: “the surest way to go to hell is to try to run away from hell”.
So you gotta be with that pain, you just have to be with it, but you have to have some support.
And we live in a society that one way or the other, is always about instant relief, quick satisfaction, distraction. In other words, we live in a culture that is based on, both economically and psychologically, on not supporting people to be with themselves. So it is always the quick get away. So it is very difficult to deal with addictions in this society.

It is a matter, at some point, of finding a way of being with your pain, so you can actually get to know what is really all about."

If you want to find out what you and your life is all about, contact Ann 0403-823-636 or email