Originally Posted by jazzfish

meditation provides a rock for me to stand on and observe the thoughts.

Originally Posted by zerothehero

The Four Noble Truths are what drew me to Buddhism when I first got sober:

1. The truth of suffering.

Yes, I was suffering, and the more I drowned it in alcohol the worse the suffering became.

2. The truth of the cause of suffering.

The cause is craving or thirst. Duh. Who better than an alcoholic can tell you that their suffering is caused by craving and thirst?

3. The truth of the end of suffering.

Basically, that suffering can end (in my case I was just hoping to decrease my angst and anxiety).

4. The truth of the path that frees us from suffering.

This is where the work starts: Right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

It's a practice and a way to approach the suffering of life. I think the word APPROACH is key, especially for addicts. Suffering is not to be avoided or drowned or ignored. It must be addressed, and the Eightfold Path does so.

Shambhala meditation training, for example, calls their practitioners "warriors," but these are warriors not in the sense of those who do battle through violence, but warriors in the sense that following the path requires a warrior's courage and tenacity.

Substances appear to be the easy way out, and they often are (temporarily), until the addiction becomes yet another cause of suffering. Many Buddhist traditions prohibit intoxicants, but not all. Once I got into regular meditation and mindfulness, it began to sink in that intoxication interferes with concentration and mindfulness, and for many it interferes with at least some if not all of the other six folds of the path (action and speech, in particular).

I watched an interview with Kevin Griffin who writes about Buddhism and recovery, and he was sharing that Buddhism provided the path and tools to stay sober for decades now, especially for a guy who has no theistic faith. His newest book focuses on concepts like integrity; aligning our behaviors with our values. I'm with him there. My point for bringing him up, though, is he recognized the need for spiritual practice, and that recovery is not just about abstaining from substances, so Buddhism is a practical spiritual path but with no mention of god.

I think it was Trungpa Rinpoche who explained once when he was asked about god that it's not really a question of whether or not God or gods exist because the question is essentially irrelevant. There are Buddhist prayers, for example, but they are not prayers to god; they are practices.

The more I read about mindfulness and the more I meditate the more I sense that I have all that I need. All the things that were driving me to near madness only a year ago have bit by bit appeared to me as basically trivial. I continue my practice not because I believe I'm going to get anything more out of it, but because without it I would slide. There is a lot of scientific evidence now, not just anecdotal, to support the idea that the practice leads to measurable changes in the brain. Maybe I'm experiencing a type of self-hypnosis as if I have convinced myself that I can feel it, but I feel it nevertheless.

I am not the person I was two years, a year, or even six months ago. Part of it could be distance from alcohol and weed and LSD, but I'm convinced I'm happier because of mindfulness and meditation. Rick Hanson, who wrote Hardwiring Happiness and Buddha's Brain can share the research with you. Good stuff.

So, I may sound like I'm proselytizing, but it's working for me. No faith and no expectations; I'm just walking the path and taking notice of the changes.