#3 Spirituality of Addiction

It is tragic how the addict can love their drug more than a spouse, children, employment, and the positive feelings derived from responsibility and respecting moderation.  It is essential to understand that active addiction also severs ties and openness to spiritual matters as there are few moments of true clarity.

Carl Jung believed that craving for alcohol was really a search for wholeness or union with God.  The Latin term for alcohol is spiritus and he remarked, "...you use the same word for the highest religious experience as well as for the most depraving poison."  Most labels on distilled liquor still use the term Spirits of Alcohol.

Abraham Maslow commenting on the spiritual life stated that it is the basic component of “our biological life.”  Spiritual life constitutes the most essential humanity.  Leo Jampolsky notes that "addiction is a misdirected spiritual search that is rooted in a fundamental belief that I am not acceptable the way I am and there is a void that needs to be filled."  Addicts believe something external to themselves will fill this void. 

 Bill Wilson, co-founder of AA, referred to alcoholism as a "soul sickness and a form of spiritual bankruptcy."  In addiction, the person has no real being or is a lost soul, disconnected from self, others, and God in a profound way. Addiction is a misguided state of being that seeks meaning, peace, and transcendence which are characteristics of spirituality.

Addiction is misguided because it seeks to replace God with allegiances to objects or attachments.  Spiritually, addiction is a deep-seated form of idolatry. The objects of our addictions become our false gods. These are what we worship, what we attend to, where we primarily give our time and energy.

The Greek word (the original language of the New Testament) for soul is psyche and is the root for the concept of psychology. Addiction is often seen as soul sickness.  Kevin P. McClone has coined the term Psychospirituality of Addiction integrating psychological insights with the spiritual nature of addiction. 

Addiction generally involves toxic shame most often derived from abuse. The victim feels there is something defective about themselves and suffer feelings of worthlessness. Their God given dignity was damaged in the abuse and in a sense they carry the offenders shame who committed but has not been accountable about the abuse. This can occur in any stage of life, not just childhood. This also includes all trauma issues like dislocation, homelessness, oppression in war torn countries, spousal abuse, accidents, any PTSD etc.

James Reeves has written about The Emotional - Spiritual Principle in his book Refuge.

  1.Your spiritual growth will never go beyond 
     your emotional growth.

  2. You can never have a more intimate
      relationship with God  than you are 
      capable of having with other people.

  3. Your level of emotional maturity will 
      always create a ceiling for your spiritual
      maturity.

In an attempt to integrate the previous discussion, I understand addiction as a matter of uncertain identity. Identity in this sense consists roughly of what makes you unique and valuable as an individual and different from others. It is the way you see or define yourself, or the network of values and convictions that structure your life. 

My next post will discuss the dynamics of identity.