Meditations for Addictive Behavior

December 1st, 2008 Source: www.mrsikhnet.com


Why is this book relevant? Punjabis and Sikhs worldwide are addicted to drugs/alcohol and other negative habits. This is one proven system that has helped thousands.

In today’s world of quick fixes, we strive for ease and comfort.  It is easy to slip into complacency and go to sleep in our own lives.

Meditations for Addictive Behavior provides a complete guide to Kundalini Yoga techniques developed by Yogi Bhajan to assist in spiritual awakening and the recovery from addiction.

These meditations can help break destructive tendencies and reawaken the self.  Individuals, teachers and counselors will find this book an inspiring introduction to life-changing habits.


Today we have a sincere unhappiness and people are continuing to look outside themselves for their answers.  What we do is we teach people how to find that peace within.  That’s where the answers lie.  We don’t create any miracle, we give simple food, simple exercises and a simple way to think." - Yogi Bhajan

 

Most of our lives are spent doing things out of habit - how we walk, talk, dress, eat, and especially how we think!  Some habits are beneficial, but many are not.  They tear us down and only give us temporary pleasure.  Yogi Bhajan called these "self-defeating habits."  When they get out of control, they become addictions.

Overcoming our addictions can seem daunting.  The key to change is to substitute positive habits for self-defeating ones.  "Meditations for Addictive Behavior" is full of positive habits you can incorporate into your daily life to replace the addictive ones that are jeopardizing your health and happiness. It is your birthright as a human being to be healthy and happy.  Claim it!

By practicing these twelve meditations, utilizing the nutritional tips, and reading the inspiring words  you can accelerate your self-healing process and enhance your personal spiritual awareness.

So take the first step.  Try the first mediation.  Make it a habit and see for yourself : "Doing is believing."

I am grateful to Mukta for giving us a book which is truly a treasure and a blessing for those who are ready to improve their lives. - Shakti Parwha Kaur Khalsa

Introduction from the book:
In 1969, Yogi Bhajan came to America to teach Kundalini Yoga.  He found young people taking drugs to escape the emptiness and isolation of their cultural environment.  Middle class housewives were taking pills with a distorted hope of numbing themselves from an inner unhappiness.  Businessmen used alcohol to deal with stress and to help them to relax.  At the same time, Yogi Bhajan found people in the West seeking spiritual fulfillment.

Yogi Bhajan began addressing these problems at a grassroots level and started teaching Kundalini Yoga and meditation classes.  Slowly people experienced an alternative way of feeling good naturally.

As an experiment, he housed two heroin addicts in his center in Washington, D.C. for two weeks, in a 24×7 controlled environment.  The core of his treatment program for them was Kundalini Yoga and meditation.  Both men experienced an amazing transformation.  Out of this SuperHealth was born.

Inspired by the results in Washington, the Tucson, Arizona center conducted a pilot project for a drug user to enter treatment.  This was the beginning of a residential program that would come to be accredited by the prestigious Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations, eventually receiving its highest commendation.  In 1978, SuperHealth distinguished itself as being in the top 10% of all treatment programs throughout the United States.

Over the years, SuperHealth developed into a systemized program with customized treatment plans for behavioral addictions including stress, substance abuse and other unhealthy habits and emotional disorders.  The program included three Kundalini Yoga and meditation classes each day, providing a specific detoxification and rehabilitation diet complete with fresh juices, a vitamin and herbal regime, therapeutic massages, Humanology sessions (applied psychology from the perspective of Kundalini Yoga) and individual, family and spiritual counseling.

In 2004, Yogi Bhajan’s life long goal, for these teachings to be brought back to India, became a reality.  The Punjab government invited SuperHealth to conduct a 90 day pilot project for drug users in Amritsar, India.  In October of that year, with a team of professional volunteers, the program opened to serve ten clients.  The experience profoundly changed their lives.  A research paper in “The Journal of Ethnicity in Substance Abuse” has been published in 2008 on the effectiveness of the program in Amritsar.

The problem of addictive behaviors and unhealthy lifestyles spans all cultures and is becoming increasingly acute as globalization spreads.  To address this concern, SuperHealth is conducting training programs for yoga teachers and healthcare professionals.  Once trained, these people will be able to serve their local communities.

We offer simple meditations with inspirational words for you to use in your everyday life.  These are the original teachings that Yogi Bhajan used when he first came to America.

It is our blessing to share them with you.  Many find that the practice of this technology is more easily experienced by the heart than by the mind.

Yogi Bhajan taught that the birthright of all people is to be happy and live in peace.  This is our prayer.

For more information about the book and sample meditations visit the SuperHealth website

Order Copies of the Book From:

A Reader Comments:

"I recently received my copy of "Meditations for Addictive Behavior" by Mukta Kaur Khalsa, Ph.D, and am feeling the need to passionately recommend it to yoga and meditation teachers, as well as to anyone personally struggling to break addictive behavior patterns of any kind. The book is beautiful, authentic in 3HO vibration, and truly elegant in its simplicity - "user friendly," not intimidating in any way, and aesthetically lovely. It contains twelve meditations, with twelve dietary tips, and twelve powerful poignant pithy quotations from Yogi Bhajan. Any one of the twelve could easily be the source for an entire class. Mukta told me herself that some (one?) of these meditations were given to her personally by Yogi Bhajan, and before now, the only source for them were the handwritten scrawls on small note papers she had kept for decades. I was recently a guest teacher at a class on stress management for overweight women, very new to yoga and meditation, and I used Meditation #4 very successfully.

The meditations are "accessible," the presentation of the book is friendly and warm, the book could be picked up by someone with virtually no experience with yoga and meditation and be used "safely" and effectively. I can't say enough about the beauty of this work, delivering Yogi Bhajan's teachings on breaking addictions so gracefully by a student so dedicated to spreading this invaluable information. The book is really a great deal!" - Rai Kaur

Related posts:

  1. Drug Addiction in Punjab - 3HO SuperHealth
  2. SuperHealth 90 day pilot project for drug users in Amritsar, India.
  3. Mexican Prisons Turn to Kundalini Yoga

Comments

February 24, 2009 - 6:58am arshi (not verified)

Naam not yoga

Guru Nanak travelled extensively and preached the Value of Naam in a prani’s life. He dissuaded people from using man-made techniques of yogis, sidhas and. Yogic solutions, however good some people may claim they are, are driving us centuries back in to the clutches of modern day Sidhas and Pirs. Thousand of people have been lured by Babas, Yogis, fakirs and spiritual healers of all denominations. Newspapers and magazines are proliferated with ads from such people and organisations, most of who are out only to line up their pockets. Even where they are well meant, there is always an element of self-reward or self-esteem (ego trip) for the instigators; besides life is too short to explore new avenues and there are myriads of them, new one’s copping up all the time. So hold on to the hand of Satgur Nanak. The Name of Nanak acts as ‘code’ to connect to God’s Name. Nanak’s name is a conductor of spiritual electricity which connects you with Naam to sing the Glory of the Universal Lord. I, personally, do not need the help of physical exertions, even mild ones, to awaken the kundalini. I am afraid – forgive me for saying so – these are modern day gimmicks to lure the unwary into various camps operating under the name of religion. Naam and Shabad Kirtan do it for me, effortlessly. It is a ship which, I believe, will carry me across the ocean of life and death. Individuals with addictions do need counselling, no doubt but the question is what kind of counselling. We need selfless individuals who can take on board selfless service to help the more unfortunate, including those with self-inflicted wounds. As Dharam Vir Singh pointed out in an earlier post do not replace one set of addiction with another, which only helps temporarily. Seek a permanent solution. I am conscious of some strong views (but within literary bounds) made but when it comes to upholding true values of Sikhism, it is hard to resist. Not only are we under threat from outside elements but we also have enemies within who are doing untold damage to Sikhism. God bless all.
February 22, 2009 - 11:24am joeAnne (not verified)

I am sure that this new

I am sure that this new program will help a lot the people who have, for example, drug addiction problems or alcohol. Congratulations to the one who came out with this wonderful idea.
February 13, 2009 - 10:37am harrys

"Proven system that will

"Proven system that will help others"? I want to believe that, I really do but honestly I doubt that a drug addict will ever have the patience and concentration required to meditate. All the successful cases must have been light addictions. Nevertheless I am glad this method exists and I hope I'll hear even greater things about it in the future. It sure sounds healthy for the body and soul. Harrys, addiction treatment counselor
December 2, 2008 - 2:31am Bharat Vir Singh

Maybe one solution but certainly not the best

What you are doing is replacing one set of habits with another!Kundalini yoga,or indeed any yoga or any man-made technique is ultimately useless and ineffective in removing the major deadly disease of egotism.In fact these artificial methods only serve to enhance the ego which is itself the root cause of all Dukh or anguish,agony.Sikhism teaches that Naam and only Naam is the cure for ALL problems and diseases."Sarab rog ka aukhadh Naam",and "Rog mitai Har avkhadh laaye" -verses from Sukhmani Sahib,Sri Guru Granth Sahib,holy scripture of Sikhism,meaning:"All diseases have their cure in Naam",and "Disease disappears by applying medicine of God's Name(Naam)".
December 2, 2008 - 7:35am guruka

Preparing the soil

These techniques not only break destructive behavior patterns, but they also open the heart and prepare the hard soil to receive the seed of the Naam which can then sprout and grow by Guru Ji's kirpaa. If the seed of Naam cannot penetrate the soil, it cannot germinate, grow and bear fruit. So do understand that in your comment, you seem to illustrate two things as opposed to each other, when if fact, they are not opposed, but actually sequential steps in a process.

.....G

"A sound man's heart is not shut within itself but it is always open to other people's hearts. If I am true enough, I feel the heartbeats of others above my own."

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