Originally Posted by
jdooner 
I would argue there is a balance and this balance is what is lacking in the addict. Materialism offsets spirituality in my opinion. If fact, I see the two paradoxically opposed at ends of a continuum. So I humbly disagree with you awuh1. In fact, too spiritual can have its own issues too.
Lack of balance as well as lack of power has always been my dilemma.
Living on the edge was my "Vision Quest" The more jaded, the better.
One of my first difficulties when entering AA was what my alcoholic
mind perceived as boredom and ennui - really wasn't. After a considerable
period of time, I realized that what I labeled as boredom, was really
serenity.
Serenity felt very strange to me, at first, then it slowly got better and better.
Soon it became something I started to crave. It's like getting high on
nothing and the only way an alcoholic can get high on nothing, is to take a
lot of it for a long time. When I suggest this activity to newcomers they usually
tell me -"Thanks for nothing."
