THE UGLY ROOTS OF ADDICTIONS (PIG#6)

Hello family

How are you coming along with the pig, training?

Have you mastered the seven Ps yet?

We have one more week on learning about the pig after tonight! 😁 LETS REVIEW LAST WEEKS TEACHING:

Plan In Order To Win For most people, the best time of day for study comes right after a good night's rest. You've heard me say this before!

GET A GOOD NIGHTS REST! This is conducive and necessary in order for our mind to function at its maximum efficiency. REMEMBER THE BREATHING EXERCISE? 3). Eliminate all negative PEOPLE/ASSOCIATIONS 4). Get That One Thing Find that, One Thing," which you know will help you to want to make it to the finish line.

5). Sowing Good Seeds/SOIL PREPARATION

Since the dawn of Creation, at the beginning of human life, mankind has faced the reality of survival and the need to meet the necessities of life. At the elemental level, this consists of those things needed for survival; things such as food and shelter.

Everyday, meeting these needs are critical. This means that decisions must be made daily, such as: What do we need? What can we afford? What needs are currently available? What is needed but currently unavailable? The day to day lists are ever-changing.

Many choices must be made daily. We find it necessary to make all types of choices, be they good or bad; wise or unwise; useful or useless.

And because we're human, selfish and flawed; we're going to make a plethora, that is, an abundance of errors and poor choices throughout our life.

Selfishness vs. Selflessness

True self focus involves meeting our daily individual needs; namely, those necessary things needed in order to live. For those better off than ourselves, those things can include wants and desires as well.

This often becomes the entry way for the selfishness of Mr./Ms. Pig. This is why it behooves us, why it's advisable for us to be cautious with the choices which we make. Cautious and wise choices, not living in constant fear as do so many people daily with different phobias.

There's an ancient proverb which states that: "The lust and desires of the eyes never gets satisfied." Cliches exist and persist due to their obvious truths. From the necessities of life comes the need to make choices.

Daily we face choices. Necessary things vs. wasteful things.

Selfish choices vs. selfless choices. In this flawed and broken world, there are a plethora of necessary choices which need to be made.

And sadly: This broken world also offers us a seemingly endless variety of foolish and wasteful choices which can lead us to the poor house.

So called, "good vs. evil," invades and saturates every known thing, topic and individual in the world. They permeate, infiltrate and totally seep into everything.

This subject has woven itself into every culture, every belief system; into Hollywood and its movies. This includes authors and their titles, topics and their themes. It can be called the human enigma and moral cancer.

According to THE BIBLE, there was THE, "Garden of Eden." This place was the proverbial paradise on earth.

It was believed to be located somewhere within the old Persian region of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the area known as the Fertile Crescent.

WE ARE TOLD ABOUT THE two trees which represented eternal life and the choice between good and evil; the "Tree of the knowledge of good and evil." The great flood wiped out the physical components of this paradise on earth, as well as all of life.

So as the evidence has demonstrated, as we continue digging for the truth; it all begins with the choices which we make.

This brings to mind a question of self-examination; of self-introspection if you will. What is the quality of my choices?

As a pattern of behavior, am I making wise or foolish choices? Are the choices which I'm making impulsive or well thought out?

Are my choices frivolous or carefully organized? Wasteful or wise? What kind of steward of my resources am I?

Sadly: Sometimes the answer becomes painfully and abundantly obvious when we lose our place to stay or when we must go without food.

If wasteful, then the time has come to wise up; to invest much more time in order to prioritize my needs vs. wants.

An obvious but often over- looked reality would be to prioritize paying the bills vs. wasteful impulse spending.

Retail stores take full advantage of this human impulse by placing impulse items just before each checkout counter.

Our good or bad choices will either lead us away from all addictions, or; they will plunge us headlong into another fiasco as the result of unwise and hastily made choices.

Rightly, we must blame ourselves and Mr./Ms. Pig who is seeking our destruction. The pig has got to go.

Reprioritizing Our Priorities

For those with any addiction; instead of being in charge of your life and your choices of where to invest your resources, you find yourself with puppet strings attached to all of your limbs and extremities.

Mr./Ms. Pig has you tightly wrapped around his/her fingers of control. You're now under the dictatorship and puppetry of the pig. You've been confined to a lifeless sentence with the selfish and maniacal tyrant known as the pig.

A busy mom once juggled so many activities that she forgot to eat lunch.

One day, she grabbed a snack and her daughter asked, 'Mom, why do you forget to take care of yourself?'

It hit her then: she needed to reprioritize not just for herself but for her kids.

She began implementing time for herself in her busy schedule!

Galatians 6:2 teaches us to carry each other’s burdens, including our own!

Let’s take care of ourselves to better serve those we love.

Just like this person had to find a balance, we too need to reprioritize what matters in our lives.

Matthew 6:33 reminds us, 'But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.'

Let’s make sure we're not distracted by the things in our lives.

You're now being forced to obey every whim of this pig. Free will has been ripped away from you. You're the prisoner of a mindless fiend seeking only its own delusional welfare.

Loved ones cry out for you to stop. You're hearing them AND hearing them and yet, the puppet strings of the pig have taken you hostage. You're utterly helpless within your own body. You're a prisoner of the pig.

You cry out for help. Your addiction has its talons around you with a vice-like grip. You know that you need to escape and safely return to your home and to those who love you.

You now fully realize too late, how lifers in prison are feeling. You're desperate to escape, but it feels like someone has sawn off all of your limbs. You're trapped like a laboratory rat.

Likened to the demon-possessed man with a legion of demons, an addicted person now finds themself in the fight for his/her life.

While being in the fiendish grip of their addiction; from time to time, their authentic self cries out for help, like a man engulfed by quicksand. And since he/she still possesses the will to cry out, that means that hope for them is still present and alive.

If that happens to be you: Then that means that now is the time for you to cry out to those who you love, and to those empowered with the ability and knowledge to help you.

Admit that you've become addicted; that you're hooked. Own your mess and that you need help. Better to be honest up front; rather than getting caught in another lie.

Find the resolve to change. Determine that; "enough is enough." Make the seemingly hellish choice to give it up. Ask trusted loved ones for their help; for their forgiveness and for their prayers.

And likened to an old horror movie called, "Fright Night, "there will be a few nights of horror ahead, just before you regain your freedom. But unlike before; this time you've got allies with you who will help you get back to where you need to go.

Freedom At All Costs

In order to successfully engage the enemies with which we find ourselves surrounded, carefully fine tune existing plans to subdue those troubling triggers.

Keep in mind that situations can and often change as can the variables. With addictions, triggers, cravings and/or fantasies; First identify any new enemies and their characteristics, weapons and temptations with which they've successfully used against you.

Be thankful for your trustworthy family, friends and allies who come alongside in order to help you conquer your enemies. Be straight with them.

When something is bothering or triggering you, share it with them. Remember: "Teamwork makes the dream work. Keep communications open. Identify and mark as dangerous, areas which are conducive to feeding the pig using your weaknesses against you. Avoid them.

Once all new enemies have been identified, then it's time to establish any necessary boundaries prior to the upcoming battles.

Of necessity, this includes any necessary additional strategies. This is the purpose for the 7Ps of wisdom which advises us: Proper Preventative Planning Prevents Past Poor Performances.

With each new clue, more pieces are added to the puzzle. Always be mindful of our #1 enemy who is naturally a self-serving, singularly focused individual intently focused on self-satisfaction in the extreme. Especially when it could come at the expense of our life.

This will require us to reinforce and strengthen our personal resolve in order to possess the same resolve as did Patrick Henry when he boldly declared in the face of his enemies: "Give me liberty or give me death."

We too must possess that same type of resolve. Make this your cry of freedom: "It's time to get addiction free and make it back to my family!"

Getting real and opening up, "all the way," for a while will be an excruciatingly painful experience. All deceptions must be confessed. The time has finally come to fully own up to our deceptions and lies and face our cowardice. That means that our loved ones will, again, be subjected to our ugliness and evil truths as our confessions begin to pour out between the tears of our weeping.

As the emotional floodgates continue to open, all of the guilt and shame will slowly drain away, as will that nagging sense of being unworthy of being forgiven.

This time of confession will leave you spent, yet relieved to finally be able to fully open up. But be forewarned: After our betrayal of their trust, regaining their trust will take time.

And sadly? There will also be those who will never forgive you and there will be those who can't or refuse to forgive you. Consequently: Treasure those who will forgive you.

And as the word, "excruciating" infers, the time has finally come to crucify our inner pig. Don't be deceived. This will not be easy, nor will it be a single battle.

This is the battle for your family and freedom. There are yet many battles left to fight. So fight for your life. Strive to become the person which you were designed to be.

Become your inner child who once believed that anything was possible. For those who believe in God? Turn to Him and ask Him for help. HE IS JUST A PRAYER AWAY!

Understandably, there will loom in your mind the very real fear of your loved ones and allies deserting you when you finally confess to all of those ugly things which you did.

But once the time finally comes, your true allies will remain; even though fair weather "friend-amies" desert you.

Prepare contingency plans, just in case. Back stabbers are unavoidable. That's life.

This time of preparation is necessary in order to prep for upcoming moral surgery. Necessary surgery is the result of there being tumors in need of removal.

This means that the surgeons are going to cut you open in order to remove your tumors. This necessary pain is in order to heal and restore you back to the precious gift of life and wholeness.

The Fate of Posers

It's true that, "posers" and "friend-amies" can continue to "fake the funk," and yet? Very few are ever really fooled by them, for their actions OR LACK THEREOF will give them away.

Without getting real, open and transparent, your future will become nothing more than shattered dreams. Don't be deceived. Posers will eventually face reality with an utterly demoralizing humiliation before those that they know and love.

AT THIS TIME WE WILL DISMISS OUR ONLINE FAMILY. WE WILL SEE YOU AGAIN, NEXT WEEK. WITH ANOTHER NUTS AND BOLTS VIDEO!

How can we make better choices in our daily lives?

What is the ultimate goal of the strategies discussed for overcoming addiction?

What role do relationships play in addressing personal addictions?