Meditation and Intoxicants: Emancipation

Self-Development

If it is true that many people carry within themselves an inner restlessness that is difficult to quiet—so much so that it obstructs personal development—then the question becomes how that restlessness might be reduced so that a person can make the real choices needed to shape his or her life.

For most of us who practice it, meditation does precisely this. It brings calm, clarity, and gradually allows one to coincide more closely with the person one truly is.

Someone who meditates regularly moves quietly closer to himself or herself over time, becoming who he or she truly is.

The question is whether this might also apply to users of intoxicating substances.

The ultimate aim is to promote self-development, and that requires increased autonomy. By this we mean the ability to make one’s own choices and to take considered decisions.

In many cases of problematic substance use this becomes impossible, because the addictive substance occupies the entire field.

At a certain point everything revolves around the addiction, which is difficult to finance and whose craving is rarely satisfied for more than a few hours.

The user’s judgment becomes distorted—not only by the substances themselves but also by the many consequences that accompany them. Problems accumulate and the user gradually loses his bearings.

It can sometimes be useful to look more closely at the inner restlessness that lies behind this compulsion to use.

It may involve inner pain—for example the result of past trauma—or a deep-seated fear, such as fear of social contact.

In some people, however, one simply has the impression that they are restless by nature, on the basis of their personal constitution. Inner restlessness must therefore be understood broadly.

Explaining it does not make it disappear.

By meditating, and by coming into contact with others who meditate, everyone can in my view move forward along the path of life—even those who must deal with particular difficulties.

It is not as simple as it sounds, but that is precisely what makes it interesting.

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