Healthy Aging Andrew Weil
Ancient Wisdom Critical in Recovery from Alcoholism and Drug Addiction
Can the secret to successfully recovering from addictive illnesses like alcoholism and drug addiction involve ancient, timeless practices that have literally been sitting under our very noses all this time?
It looks like it …
Recent scientific evidence suggest that age old practices like meditation can have the effect of reversing imbalances in the brain that actually cause things like addiction.
I’m not going to go into the science of it here (for the full article visit my blog), but to me it again highlights the fact that general western mainstream medicine often gets it wrong when treating things like addiction.
Disease, of which addiction is now generally accepted a part of, is still too commonly treated on a symptomatic basis. You’ve got a problem – and your Doctor simply treats the symptoms by providing you with a bunch of drugs.
What happened to really trying to diagnose the cause, which is often deeply buried in the psyche of the individual? Far easier to administer drugs. Or better yet to proper preventative medicine where individuals are taught the fundamentals of healthy living. That wouldn’t work either because there are too many powerful role players in the food and pharmaceutical industries that would never allow that to happen.
Before I diverge too far from the point here, back to meditation and addiction …
Andrew Weil, MD, sums it up perfectly in ‘Natural Health, Natural Medicine,’ pg. 135. ‘Addiction is NOT
a psychological or pharmacological problem, and CANNOT be solved by the methods of psychology or pharmacology. It is, at root, a SPIRITUAL concern, because it represents a misdirected attempt to achieve wholeness, to experience inner completeness and satisfaction.’
That’s in essence what I’ve been trying to teach those I’ve been helping overcome their own addictions, but more importantly I realize how accurate that statement is through my own growth and recovery from addictions.
And the MOST POWERFUL method in addressing the ‘spiritual concern’ as he puts it, is meditation.
Now I know meditation is listed as one of the Steps in most 12 Step recovery programs, but in my experience from having been around the rooms, there are very few people who understand this practice, let alone know how to do it properly.
In my experience, there is no more powerful practice than meditation available, not only to help combat and aid in the recovery of addictions, but to living a more centered, peaceful, compassionate and meaningful life.
I don’t think it’s any co-incidence that the most enlightened cultures on our planet, e.g. Tibetans, are regular and proficient meditators.
I firmly believe that anyone, not just alcoholics and addicts, who desires a more fulfilling life should make meditation a compulsory practice in their lives.
About the Author
Carl-Peter is the author of the book ‘Addiction Uncovered’, http://www.addiction-uncovered.com which has helped people on more than 4 continents with their alcoholism and drug addiction. He also writes and publishes regular articles to his blog at http://alcoholism-and-addiction-info.com/
Andrew Weil – Psychoactive drugs through human history (1/5)
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Body & Soul with Gail Harris [Set] 12 programs from the successful PBS program Body and Soul. Topics include: Mindful Eating, East/West Medicine, Making Work Meaningful, Aging Well, Staying Healthy in a Stressful World, and more. Gail Harris interviews Andrew Weil, Herbert Benson, Larry Dossey, and more. Run time over 12 hours…. |
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Dr. Andrew Weil’s Healthy Aging $7.44 Is it really possible to grow old gracefully? Find out in this informative special hosted by acclaimed integrative medicine expert Dr. Andrew Weil. Focusing on maintaining a balance between the mind, body and spirit, the program illustrates simple ways with which you can eat and think better in order to help improve your life. 85 min. Standard; Soundtrack: English Dolby Digital stereo; bonus foota… |
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Dr. Andrew Weil’s Healthy Aging $5.75 … |
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Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Well-Being $5.44 Dr. Weil has raised dispensing health advice to an art form. Instead of making his audience feel inadequate or guilty about bad habits, he seems to subconsciously convince readers to do better merely by presenting health facts in a non-threatening way. Healthy Aging is his most scientifically technical book yet (you’ll learn all about enzymes like telomerase and cell division and the chemistry b… |
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The Longevity Project: Surprising Discoveries for Health and Long Life from the Landmark Eight-Decade Study $4.51 This landmark study–which Dr. Andrew Weil calls “a remarkable achievement with surprising conclusions”–upends the advice we have been told about how to live to a healthy old age. We have been told that the key to longevity involves obsessing over what we eat, how much we stress, and how fast we run. Based on the most extensive study of longevity ever conducted, The Longevity Project exposes wh… |
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Eight Weeks to Optimum Health: A Proven Program for Taking Full Advantage of Your Body’s Natural Healing Power $1.15 “Health,” Dr. Andrew Weil writes, “is a dynamic and temporary state of equilibrium destined to break down as conditions change.” In other words, there’s no such thing as the type of health that allows you to feel equally great every day of your life. Instead, Weil suggests, your goal should be to improve your resilience to disease, and while you’re at it, feel more joy and strength. As to ho… |