Working with Your Breath

Each participant was administered two computerized tests following the biking routine and also after sitting on the bike. One hundred ninety-six different pictures of everyday things, such as a coffee cup, lantern, or eyeglasses, were seen for the first time. Participants answered whether an indoor or outdoor item represented each object. To the respondents, their responses to this test were not significant. He goes across the street to the bartender, his old pal Joe, orders a martini, and says, Guess what the doctor told me today? At that point, the bartender hands him a drink for the good old times, and they kiss the body good-bye. We see the price that people are willing to pay for the addiction to this state of consciousness. It mystifies people who have not accessed that level of consciousness through a drug experience. The addict or alcoholic is willing to sacrifice everything in order to return to this energy field that we call Peace or Bliss--the inner Shangri-La. Lost Horizon tells us the story of the motive of addiction by showing the willingness to sacrifice all life for a certain state of consciousness. WHY GIVE UP AN ADDICTION? Addiction is merely a false start to experiencing the truth, because it does not work. Thus, the reason for giving up the alcohol, drugs, or other addiction is not because it is wrong but because it does not work anymore. It does not work, because through drugs and alcohol comes the progressive loss of inner self-respect, along with the adversities and negativities of the lower energy fields. Ben, a middle-aged businessman, also decided to follow his dream to write a article and his delving lead him to a different conclusion than Marsha's. He finally went to a two-day intensive workshop on how to write and get published and at the end of the experience went up to the instructor and thanked him profusely. I now know, he said with relief, that there is no way I could ever stand the life of a writer. Now I don't have to go on wondering if that's what I should have been doing with my life28. Getting your outdated wishes out of the way is very much a part of the growth process. What you really want right now, with these life experiences and these resources, may bear scant resemblance to what would have thrilled you years ago.

We all are constantly undergoing psychological development during our lives; By asking yourself what experiences you want and what you do not want to have every single day, you can be sure your wishes are firmly rooted in who you really are now. Nobody can keep up a daily interest in something that is not coming from his or her core. The old saying of Be careful what you wish for, you may get it gets at this psychological truth. This first stage was clearly designed to concentrate their attention on the pictures. In the second test, conducted 45 minutes later, 256 photographs of everyday items were displayed to participants. They were asked for each photograph if the object was unique, identical to one seen in the first test, or simply similar. This test was developed to identify even subtle distinctions in the memory performance of a person. After having done 10 minutes of very light exercise, participants made fewer mistakes on the image recognition test than when they just rested on the bike. The subsequent brain scans of individuals during memory training further revealed, similar to previous work in rodents, that enhanced memory output was followed by increased activity and communication in the brain. There are several concerns. In healthy young adults, for instance, the reported effects of only 10 minutes of very light exercise were seen. But is light exercise just going to support people who have memory issues already? And would longer exercise cycles, maybe at a higher degree of intensity, perform any better? It is the beginning of experiencing very negative events in one's life: loss of relationships, status, finances, physical health, fulfillment of potential, and functioning of bodily organs, all of which signifies the downhill course brought about by the denial of the truth. The denial of the truth from level 200 on down is due to putting the power outside of oneself. In addiction, the person has given away the source of their happiness and meaning in life by projecting it onto the outer world and giving that power to some substance outside themselves. The drug in and of itself has no power at all to create the higher experiences. Over several decades of working in the field of addiction and recovery, we clinically tested the research questions with hundreds of people in lecture audiences, and in classes for people who were right in the middle of handling their addictive problem. Using the diagnostic method of discerning truth from falsehood via muscle-testing, we tested the proposition: The drug has the power to create this higher experience.

Universally, 100 percent of the people went weak with that statement, proving that it is a lie. The drug has no power whatsoever. Then we presented them with an opposite proposition: The drug blocks off the energy fields that are coming from the ego self and allows me to experience the joyfulness of that which is my real Self. Instantly, everybody in the class went strong, indicating that the statement is true. If we are not deeply enough attuned to what we really want and what is really important in our lives right now, then we are likely to wish for something that has become outdated without our conscious knowledge. Like anything else, wishes have a shelf life and don't stay fresh forever. If you are still reflexively wishing for something that should have expired a long time ago, you may end up getting what you no longer want. Risky Business Once you have revived your wishing function and have even gotten some practice in brainstorming the kinds of experiences you do - and do not - want to have every single day, then there is the need for some action. Barbara Sher, in her article, Wishcraft29, talks about finding the perfect baby step that will start you on your path toward your dream. She encourages you to find the step that you can actually take tomorrow in order to get you started. It may be as simple as a phone call or looking at ads online; Sooner or later - as you will see on the Map of Growth in the next article - there comes a time when tiny baby steps are no longer sufficient, and a great step with a significant risk begins to loom in front of us. It is that moment, described earlier, when we are faced with the need to step out onto the swinging, cloud-shrouded bridge before we can clearly see the other side. The researchers are trying to find the answers already. A variety of other promising research and consortiums that aim to maximize the health benefits of exercise is sponsored by the NIH. The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) is an especially exciting one. A detailed map of the molecular changes that occur with physical activity and lead to improved function of multiple body systems will be created by the MoTrPAC initiative. There is no denying that it's good for us to exercise. But how and why exercise affects our bodies and leads to improved physical and mental health has been much less obvious.

In starting to explain the procedure, the MoTrPAC project will be a major help. One of the most promising areas of this new research is that it shows that light intensity exercise, which is available to most individuals, provides the brain with real benefits. In many ways, exercise affects the brain. Exercise typically raises the heart rate to begin with, which in turn pumps more oxygen to the brain. The truth we verified is that the drug has no power whatsoever to create these experiences, but it does have the pharmacological capacity to block off the negative energy fields, allowing a person to at least get into the ballpark. The substance-induced experience is not the real state of Bliss experienced by the person who has earned it through their own progressive spiritual work. The energy is close to the truth of one's own being. Now how do we utilize this knowledge in understanding recovery from addictions? THE PROCESS OF CONSCIOUSNESS IN RECOVERY The beginning steps of recovery, ironically, often look like failure. Attempts to break the habit lead to discouragement at the failure to do so, a nameless terror, and perhaps hospitalization and paranoia. Going off the sedatives creates fear. Going off the uppers leads to depression. Apathy and grief arise as soon as the drug is taken away, because there is hopelessness in the face of never being able to experience those incredible states again. Ask yourself what your typical response to risk is. Everyone has a different tolerance for risk but, for the most part, none of us wants more of it than is necessary to meet our goals. Even thrill seekers want to enjoy their risks with enough safety built in that they are around to keep enjoying their thrills. But for our purposes here, just ask yourself how you usually respond to risky situations. We are after some self-analysis of how you cope with risk, not how much you fear risk. When you have to take any kind of risk in order to keep following your dream, what is your gut reaction?

And then what do you do? If you are like me, for instance, you might feel overwhelmed, scared to death, and then procrastinate like crazy. Other people might eat, drink, shop, or call their mothers. Whatever you typically do, take a moment and write down right now how you react to risk. Exercise helps to release hormones, which provide an excellent atmosphere for new brain cells to develop. Exercise also facilitates brain plasticity in many essential cortical areas of the brain by promoting the development of new connections between cells. UCLA research has also shown that exercise raises growth factors in the brain, making it easier for the brain to establish new neuronal connections. Although researchers are still trying to establish the specific essential factors that make the brain so good for exercise, the emphasis seems to be narrowing on increased blood flow to the brain, growth hormone spikes, and significant expansion of the blood vessel network of the brain. The effect of exercise on the brain was studied by Canadian researchers at McMaster University. Their recent research shows that the degree to which we get more movement and exercise in our lives is significant. They found in their research that seniors who exercised using short activity bursts saw an increase in their memory output by up to 30 percent, whereas participants who worked out at a steady-state, moderate pace saw no increase. The lead author of the report, cited in Science Daily, Jennifer Heisz, says, There is an urgent need for treatments in stable older adults that reduce the risk of dementia. The study will help to educate the public about brain health exercise prescriptions, so they know exactly what kinds of workouts improve memory and hold dementia at bay. Gary Small talks about the memorization in public of four specifics of people, you know. When going off the substance does not work, there are attempts to increase the amounts of alcohol and drugs, cover up the growing dependence due to shame and guilt, which further spread the negativity to every area of life--work, reputation, finances, relationships, and personal care. There may be visits to recovery meetings, just to check it out or by court order, but the scene provides no hope (My case is different--it works for them but not for me) or triggers pride and denial (I don't have anything in common with those losers! The person is not ready until they hit their bottom, which varies from person to person but has a common process within consciousness. Life confronts them with an inner agony or outer tragedy that finally brings them to the first step, as phrased in the Twelve Steps, which is to tell the truth that they are powerless over the substance and their life has become unmanageable. Stating the truth about something turns the negatives to the positives. At the level of Courage (200), a person begins the journey of consciousness and self-empowerment.