Only as sick as your secrets

I have found peace in informing some friends and family that things are not going well and that I can not do things on my own. “Only as sick as your secrets” does not only apply to drinking – I feel freed now of a burden I did not really know I carried. Trying to ‘keep up appearances’ – I have been doing that so long that I do not even recall not feeling like I had to lie about what was going on.

There are a few thoughts / habits of thinking stuck in my head and the idea that asking for help means that I am helpless, have no control, am handed over to the mercy of whomever is one of them. This has been so in my youth and has stuck with me. Nah, don’t want to go there.

Today a friend came over and we did this exercise of ‘hey, I can make a modern art painting’ (NOT! ;-)). It was real good fun, trying to empty our heads, trying to detach from the outcome. Noticing that this was not possible and noticing all the stupid thoughts and feelings we have over putting paint on a piece of paper. 🙂 Good fun. Lousy results. 🙂 Loving it.

Well, the friend who visited is one of the women who helped my through my darkest period before I quit drinking. Just by being there with other friends on a weekly base and going out for diner. We would have so much joy to be together that it carried me through the week. Over the years we have become closer and today I opened up about ‘not being able to do this on my own anymore’. And as the others had said before her: “Thank god that you are finally giving in.”

We spoke about how I feel SO MUCH better now I spoke out. And how the force of denial kept me away from my core / my truth. And the energy that this denial costs. Not living in my core, not finding my feeting because of that. It is amazing. And I am grateful (well, in a bit of a sour way, true ;-)) that I can now, consciously and sober realise how this works. How much pressure denial puts on a person, how much energy it takes. It is amazing. I feel like I am rediscovering living.

Not sure how the practical side is going to work out. Need to speak with some people I guess and from there a plan will be drawn but actually – and I see some patterns here…. – I think I can do it from here myself. Bwaaahahahaa….. eh… yeah. Pattern? Like signing up for detox and counselling and then doing it by myself.  😀

So…. the challenge now is to not go into the idea that I am handed over like a lamb to the slaughter so that I do not have to run for my life in order to get out. And also, not to go into the help that ends up getting me hooked up to pills. Funny how fear for things is building up inside at the same time relaxation comes in from the other side.

There is something funny going on: yesterday and today I have not felt so at ease with myself since, say I was 14 years old (pre drinking) and on the other hand there is this fear of getting stuck in a system building. Like I am maintaining the balance of misery. That would be food for thought. I feel it is a tendency. An unlucky one. Because it will never get me to relax.

Aaah, hanging on to misery is familiar. It gives me structure. Humpf. 😦 Maybe I should have more faith.

Maybe, one of these days I could read through my blogs and note down all the things I have noticed in these lasts years. These energetic tendencies. Would be a great plan. Hahaha, would I dare to? 🙂 Would you dare to do that with your own blog / diary?

I am HAPPY THAT I QUIT!!!! 🙂 And a woman who loves herself would be in bed by now.

 

Wishing you a good sober day/night.

xx, Feeling

How you deal with this will show you how you deal with sobriety

Now there is some beautiful synchronicity going on in sober blog land. I feel it happens a lot but I found this one very remarkable. Unpickled put up a beautiful post on unwinding without booze here. And the Tom Waits quote that accompanies it is exactly the message I got from the rehab guy who visited my dream last night.

Tom Waits: ‘How you do anything is how you do everything.’

Where 2 days ago I said I don’t don anything with dreaming I suddenly got curious last night. Before I went to sleep I asked for a dream which would show me what my status of sobriety was / how I could develop myself in sobriety and there were 2 dreams.

The first was one where I drove off with my grandmother to bring her home and because I felt responsible for her and also because we were having a good time I ignored all the signs from the outside world on messages of war. There was also a neccessity to me driving because the rest of the family had been drinking. While leaving my parental house I saw jets flying by and one circling back to get us. I pushed my grandmother out of the car, told her to hide and continued my way because if I would leave the car at that same place we would both be death.

A few hundred meters I put the car on auto pilot (what is that called?) and jumped out into a ditch as well, realising that I should have done that earlier because the pilot had seen me. The first rocket hit the car and then the jet circled around to fire at me with an automatic something weapon. He missed and left. I realised that I had not, second by second, minute by minute been taking care of myself by reading the signs of the outside world because I did not feel like it. While (in my dream) it was actually known that cars would be bombed.

So because I was having a good time and not paying attention I almost got killed. Yes, yes, that would be quite dramatic but I guess would I return to alcohol I would not be far off, would I?

Secondly was a dream where I went into rehab to learn stuff I had not learned on my own and weird, weird, weird rehab guy thought we should detox from EVERYTHING so when I said I was not on anything but sugar he injected me with anything and everything druglike – but sugar. Saying ‘How you deal with this will show you how you deal with sobriety.’

How is that for synchronising with Tom Waits? 🙂 And shit it was awfull, it combined years of drunk nauseous spinning in bed together. And funny, funny, funny, he played me and fired up my vanity and my need to be seen by saying; ‘I will show you how we do this here while taking Feeling as an example because she has most sober experience and is doing really well.’ Which is why I did not protest against this methode.

I felt how I wanted to let go and get lost in the drugscocktail to not ever come back to serious living. And then I caught myself and hung on to my consciousness and tried to center myself ‘through the middle’ of my body, keeping in touch with my spine. I was laying down. During this practise of not losing myself the rehab guy was telling the other girls what was happening and commenting saying things like; “You see here she wants to let go but she realises that she can not do that without getting addicted and she has learned that not getting addicted is easier than detoxing. So that is good. But see how she would love to just leave? She is hanging in there, this is her responsibility on earth. She knows that but still she is not doing the full excercise. If she was she would not be nausseaous and the poison would just leave her body without it touching or affecting her. So there is still a step she has to make. ”

I guess, in the dreamworld it would be very true that I would not be sick from the drugs. I felt I had the power and I did not want to take it because shit that requires organisation I don’t want to do.

So that is that state of my sobriety. It allignes beautifully with the Puer Aeternus book I am reading (from Marie Louise von Franz) – it is a solid explanation of Carl Jung’s depth psychology insights on well, people with a Peter Pan character like I have. Can’t adult, please don’t make me adult.  I’m only 11 pages into the book and it is all about males, and Jung has a big differentiation between male and female psychology so I’m guessing there will be some other part on the female reaction to this but for now I recognise a lot of the Puer Aeternus in me and it is not comfortable. 😦

I am happy that I quit. Obviously something in me thinks it is time for another step; getting organised, incarnating fully. Ooh, Jung’s ‘solution’ to the Puer Aeternus was ‘work’. Which I guess is what I am doing with my tiny job and focussing on getting my clear head back again. It is funny how all the puzzle pieces of life seem to come together now I let go of thinking that I can control stuff. And even though I have this tiny job where I do simple things I find it difficult enough to actually organise my live again in a new way. When I look at my bank account and house and well, being single and overweight and well, what have you (I!) I feel sad. But when  I practise compassion I know that I am EXACTLY where I need to be and learning what I should. Now with the message to take it a little more serious too. 🙂 Ooh shit. 😦 I sooooo don’t want to take that extra step.

Yeah, I’m going to ask for a dream to show me what would be good / better in my life if I were to take that next step. 🙂 That is a good idea. 🙂 Let’s see if it works. 🙂

For those of you thinking is is all a load of BS; it might be. But when I asked a dream and then do not take the dream seriously I do not think I will get an answer the next time I knock on my (sub?)conciousness or whatever place that dream came from. And yes, I am easy to influence, so when I read a book I take the information in on, not sure how to explain what goes on, but on energetic or ‘cell’ level as I call it so when reading I live in the (energetic?) world of the writer. If a book can’t make me do that I take on the arrogant idea that it is not a good book, or not timed well. 🙂 So I am not at all surprised that I asked and got an answer.

Look and you shall find.

Knock and you shall be opened.

Ask and you shall be given.

I take: Ayurvedic pills and some Schuessler cell salts against the heart palpatations I had the other day. I need to start to take care of me again seriously because I would really like to move my arm normally and start doing some yoga to excersise some muscles which I could benefit from at my work. But, ha, as the dream says, I don’t. Maybe I should do yoga and maybe that will improve my arm. Gehgehgeghe…. maybe it is a same thing with not drinking: if my life improves I can stop drinking or…. if I stop drinking my life will improve. So why don’t I try? Hmmm? Because I don’t go that extra mile.

Wwawwlhd? She would finish this post and go make some soup.

3 Things: my dreams, the post from Unpickled which stressed the importance of it, I was on the verge of wanting to not write and not think about all of this. And the Puer Aeternus book which might actually have the answer in it to the question why I think I am not fully incarnated in this life. Let’s see. It is eh, very uncomfortable but I can’t go asking for answers and then spitting them in the mouth can I?

On discipline: guess my dreams just told me I need to up it a little. Oooh… sigh…. I don’t want to adult.

Well, here I go. Wish me luck. 🙂

xx, Feeling.

Something between whaahaaaa and wheeheeeee and a new time

Oooh, I just got invited for the second job interview as a follow-up from the last. ‘You are our best option.’  Not sure if that is a compliment but I’ll take it as such. 🙂 🙂 🙂

Now what? My wish to the universe was indeed a second interview. And I’m currently in the phase of trying to not pay attention to the thought that it would be real strange in this times that I would get a job with the first letter I have sent out after years and years. And now it is actually good that my friends are all in the same line of work because I can check what salary would be ok to ask for. 🙂

Hmmm, suddenly I feel funny about all the time I wasted lately. 😀 Processes, processes. Ghegheghe. I need to start to believe that I can be happy workwise and that life can be simple. And it is a part-time job so plenty of time to continue the self-help I’m doing now.

This morning I started off with the routine from Donna Eden that I posted yesterday. It feels like it works. I feel more energetic. But that could also be so because I actually did something instead of nothing. Not sure. I’m interested in her way of seeing the world and health and she’s very happy so she must know stuff that other people don’t know. ;-). It is now 4 hours later and I have been watching a lot of her video’s on YouTube. It is AMAZING what she teaches. And the hippo says ‘Yeah! Finally!!’. I guess there must be something in this for me. It combines very nicely with the haptic body work I have been doing years ago. I have done one of the tests with the arm out myself earlier and I know it works exactly as you see it. It is not a scam. I’m gonna get all my girlfriends together and test this out! Wonderful 🙂 Makes me happy. 🙂 It feels as if today I have reached some end point and a new time is approaching. Well, meteorological (is that the word or a word at all?) spring started yesterday so maybe I’m perfectly in sync.

I am happy that I quit drinking alcohol. Thankful to GP1 who so clearly showed me what clarity looked like, thankful for the people at the programme who, by listening without judgement, allowed me to -instead of fight with my self-loathing- come to the point where I could find the love and energy I needed to quit. ❤  ❤  ❤

There are a few things I want to quit doing now too, I think, not sure, letting go is difficult but it is becoming an option… hmmm, those are tapping words. Hmm….. I would like to be able to give up negative thinking but truth be said: I still don’t feel like I have the energy to stop it like I quit drinking. I just want things to be easy. Not sure why, if I zoom into that I feel overwhelmed and tired and hopeless. Hmm, lets tap on that :-D. Negativity, I have been looking into that ever since I got out of the alcohol prison and today again it pops up, of course because of a new situation. It is still my primary reaction.

Yesterday I actually did some meditation and ‘the voice’ in my head said: ‘You need to stop taking care of others.’ Funny because in daily people judgement this is counter intuitive but I feel it is true in the sense that I tend to meddle, that is the part where the care giver misunderstands ‘taking care’. Not sure how to deal with that yet. I guess it is the next big thing now next to being positive.

I want: a tremendous salary, free-floating hours and wonderful colleagues, work that makes me excited.

I need: don’t know yet, admin again. :-(, cleaning.

I take: nothing, a bit irritated with healing that comes from the outside in. Reading books of an old Dutch witch now. Unfortunately she is long dead but I have just re-discovered her. Really enjoying it, well, she says things that agree with my thoughts about stuff so that makes for easy reading ;-). Another wonderful realisation of late: I like stuff that does not contradict me. :-D. It feels very childish but I could also interpret it as ‘going with the flow’. And now I have seen Donna Eden’s video’s I’m sure that going with the flow is very important. Check this out. Donna shows how to test if your ‘strong’ in your energy and then with the one movement takes away the energy from somebody (and restores it later! 🙂 ) If you are in a hurry go to 1:20. In another video she shows that actually looking somebody down can do scramble somebodies energy and looking up to them can strengthen it. Wow! She also tells about the bad effects of shoulder bags and underwired bras on your energy level. I guess this counts for metal wires, not the plastic, but not sure. If you have time I would say: watch and learn and be happy. 🙂  🙂  🙂

Bloodshot eyes

I copied this below text from a comment of mine on Prim’s post. She is moving into the podcast world :-).

My reply: Less internet… yeah, another issue of the week. I had a talk with my eyes why they are so red – like I am still drinking. 😦  And it went like this:
Hi eyes, how are you?
Not good!
Sup?
You make me see things I don’t want to see.
Like what?
Like the computer all the time. You look at the mean stuff (Prison Break) and there is nothing I can do.
Is it not good?
No, it is bad for me. I was born to see beauty and life. Not mean people all day.

That actually made me look in a whole different way at watching TV or film. Sobriety: it is all about what I take in and leave out. I have a pile of books lying around (surprise!) and in order to relax or quit living I watch Prison Break. I think I need to start to zone out there too and move into another mode. Slowly, slowly though. Watching TV has been the pressure lock on the pressure cooker so I’ll let go slowly.

Slowly aligning with how I think we (I) were (was) meant to be. And funny, I never believed in this positivity stream of thinking and ‘you attract what you are’ but using techniques in there just ‘on feel’ I come to realise that it might actually be very helpful. Still not big on the ‘where there is a will there is a way’ aspect that is in there. I find it too assuming. But I do notice that it is easier to follow a good example or a good thought (Happy that I quit) and try to align myself with it than to try to figure out what and how and force my way into improvements of my life that I feel I can’t make yet.

I had a friend, she could only do things by gaining an insight – that would spark her. She could never just do stuff because she had to. I despised her for that. Sorry ex-friend. Now I understand. She quit a multi-drug addiction when she got to the part where she started using crack. Just quit just like that. It must have taken a MAJOR DECISION and loads of maintenance of that decision. I always felt that her energy for making decisions had been stuck there so she could not ‘just do stuff’ anymore. Like I now. And then she became very interested in personal growth. I guess I understand the importance of that now too. 🙂

I need to go do stuff. The laying about after the admin was done yesterday has been ok. It did take almost 1 bar of chocolate but that is ok too.

I am VERY HAPPY that I quit. That’s it. Very happy that I quit. Jason Vale in his book ‘Kick the drink easily’ says something like: from day one start being happy that you quit. I thought; he know’s his shit, I’d better do that. So I actually have an egg-timer here that I set every 15 minutes. It has a little piece of tape on it saying ‘Relax’, ‘Check emotions’ and ‘Follow the plan’. The last one did not work but I guess I’ll get around to it in another way. By speaking with my eyes e.g. so they tell me to stop watching TV. Am I crazy? No :-D. I am feeling.

I want: to sort my life out and clean

I need: to get a job.

I take: I have viewed an interesting video online about Iodine. I think I have an Iodine shortage because the base of my neck was swelling slowly. It left when I started taking Iodine pills. Iodine is the mineral that helps cells to clean themselves up when they are old or the DNA is not good anymore. The thought was that lacking Iodine can therefore cause cancer cells to grow. Also, lacking Iodine causes fybrocystic breasts and breast cancer. I never knew what that was but I looking at the online photo’s I have that. No wonder my breast (yes back to the subject) are going south now I eat kelp pills and a cell salt that includes Iodine. The video doctor also said that we need at least a 100 times more Iodine than is advised so I’ll up intake of seaweed (brown rice with seaweed and fried egg – that’s an ok lunch) and see where it gets me.

Yes, yes, I’ll also check out what the effects of too much Iodine are. Iodine eats Selenium in the process so I’ll check out if this is included in the seaweed or that I need to add that. I would LOVE to get rid of the lumps in my breast that make every doctors eyes open up wide in a da-fuck-I-hope-this-is-not-cancer kind of way when I check in. My mother died of breast-cancer. It has been controlling our family since I was 11 years old. Hence the fascination. And I was bottle fed ;-).

And, in case you have read my blog a little longer you are starting to learn why NOBODY in my life actually thinks it is weird that I quit drinking. It is just another flavor of the season health thing.  Gheghegheghe…. they go like: ‘What is it you are not having  or not having this time?’

There comes a day that I will not be needing to create so much fog around me when it comes to health. I hope there will be a day that I can maybe finally trust my body will not give in ‘all of a sudden’ like it did with my mother. 🙂 In between I will learn to focus my energy on HEALTH instead of being afraid that I get unhealthy. 🙂

HA! Check this out!!! I wanted to add in a photo on swelling of the neck but instead found this: a swollen tongue! I have that but did not know what caused it. Works out to be caused by Iodine deficiency. Tadaaaa! Seaweed! Here I come!

Look and you shall find. Ask and you shall be given. Knock and you shall be opened.

Look and you shall find, ask and you shall be given.

I was wondering when I’d get my ‘magic’ back. Today it did! I biked through the city on my way to the sauna and passed this marvelous second-hand shop. Outside were four crates of 1,5 by 1,5 by 1,0m high filled with books. As I biked past I thought: ‘check out these books because the AA book you are looking for is in there.’ So I turned and started searching. There were a few guys searching too and at a certain moment guy 1 and I got to speak. He spoke and said stuff….  it made no sense to me, his mind looked all over the place and I kept thinking: keep on speaking with the guy because something is coming up. And suddenly he said:

‘I need to clear my mind, let it come to rest.’

‘That is funny, I was thinking of the same thing yesterday. And now I am looking for a book that is connected with the process I am in.’ At which moment I picked up a book called ‘synchronicity’ (not by Jung). I laughed and said: Funny, we think about the same thing and I pick up this book on synchronicity.

‘That is funny, I have heard about synchronicity all my life but only yesterday I learned what it meant. Jung, it is from Jung. At which moment he picks up Jung’s book on dreams and symbols…

I thought that I had misunderstood my earlier message from me to me so I checked internally if this was what I was supposed to pick up or learn and the answer was: ‘No, you need to find the book.’

And at that moment guy 3, a meter away from me, picks up the AA twelve steps book I had searched for -from the bottom of the case where I can’t even reach- and he puts it away…. so I can put it on my pile. 🙂 🙂 🙂

2 Hours later in the sauna I meet a guy who starts talking to me and suddenly says: ‘You have a very clear goal.’ If only he knew… yes, being clear IS the goal. And: ‘You have magic, I can feel that, it is around you.’

Magic, synchronicity, (?pick-up line?) Who knows, but I certainly had a thing today with men that say strange stuff. Just wondering: did you ever walk around naked saying ‘you have magic, I can feel it.’ to somebody? And at the moment itself it seemed PERFECTLY normal, well, maybe a bit strange, but totally in sync with the happenings of the day. 🙂

Important to me: what was lost is back. To me, well these are funny examples, but to me, not drinking is strongly linked to this strange possibility I discovered in my and outside my brain. It diminishes with alcohol and when the addict lying started I lost touch with it. That is the price of addiction. And now I am feeling my way back into life. Or in other words:

Look and you shall find, ask and you shall be given, knock and you shall be opened.

Happy that I quit although tonight was the first moment I had a craving that lasted, well 10 seconds or so but that is big for me. The foundling has got a new home and is leaving tomorrow. Which is good but I cannot appreciate it. 😦 Sad now. One of the neighbours fell in love with him. He needs his own Human but I am sad to see him go because he is such a bundle of joy. Oooh life, all this saying goodbye.