Positive Addictions

FRI., MAR. 19, 1999, 11:10 AM
OFFICE, PULLIAM

“Addiction” is a negative term in your culture. It is applied to a situation or condition in which there is a compulsion to act in some particular way, and this compulsion is stronger than your individual will. Since your culture is “big” on personal freedom and the right to make free decisions it sees addiction as an intrusion on those freedoms. If you must do something, “whether you want to or not” this is seen as “bad”… sinful.

My judgment on these phenomena (for there are quite a variety of addictions) focuses on the consequences of the compulsive actions. And, of course, My prime example is your addiction to coming to a quiet place (even with a loud train horn), sitting down to this special pad of paper, with this special pen, and writing what you hear from Me, your friendly Holy Spirit. You developed this addiction with My direction in the Spring of 1979, now nearly 20 years ago.

You bargained with Me about a manuscript. I came through (just as it all was planned), and you were true to your end of the bargain – coming to write… whatever… in the first waking hour of each day. You truly “couldn’t spare the time,” and you initially had only the compulsion to do what you pledged to do. I let you stumble along for, what was it, ten days, and then I “took over the pen” and identified Myself as your special Teacher. You continued, not because you truly accepted this identification and affirmation, but because you promised. (Keeping promises is one form of addiction, incidentally).

At the end of the promised month of faithfulness you were now intrigued and pleased with these Teachings of Mine, and so you pledged another month of “every morning”. At the end of that month I knew I “had you.” There was a minor liturgy to what We did together, and you liked what you were hearing and writing. We agreed on a modification of the addiction – not every morning, but at least 3-4 times a week. Today you realized it was Friday, and you only had 2 Teachings. You hadn’t planned to hear Me, but, with this positive addiction clicking along, here you are.

There have been modifications over the years, but the pen, the paper, and the 3 pages per Teaching have remained constant. You can hear Me at any hour of the day, not just the first waking. You are here in your office, the smaller retirement/Emeritus one, and you can hear Me in airports, hotel rooms… any place where it is quiet for the necessary time. You trust Me to provide the title, and after that it generally “just flows.” It is quite a positive addiction, and I trust it will continue as long as you are able to hear Me and to write what you hear. (Actually, further loss of your hearing could be a help, for I come to you, not auditorially, but mystically.)

Another positive addiction is to your life companion, Lenore. You were meant for each other, and you know that life would be much less “full” without her. You can be away from her for some time, but coming back together is always a positive realization that life is best… with her.

Yet another is your home place – the Farm. As you age you sometimes contemplate a move to a less “demanding” place, but even trying to see the disadvantages of this Farm doesn’t overcome the compulsion to stay, even until death. (I like your inclination to have your remains “strewn” in those four special places.)

You have “kicked” the addiction to your professor-role. It certainly was a wonderfully fulfilling career, but as you have lost capacities the addiction was not a hard on to overcome. It is nice to have this little office, but there will be a time when it will be taken from you or you will know that “now’s the time.”

You have a desire to see the Montana ranch once again, but otherwise no compulsions to travel. You are giving up your addiction to the profession and its conventions, with some ease. You also are losing, with My help, addiction to this bodily life as Bob Russell. It has been a good life, but you needn’t feel compulsive about sustaining it, beyond “what comes naturally.”