In life, we’re given all these reasons why we’re not acceptable just as we are and, as a result, we create masks to wear. In various circumstances, we call it the ego.
We create images of ourselves based on our experiences. If we’ve had traumatic experiences of neglect, abandonment, abuse, or something else of that nature, that becomes our identity.
We hide behind that identity because we believe that we need to put on whatever face is appropriate for the circumstance we’re in to feel safe and protected.
Understanding Addiction and the Constructed Self
We’re taught to believe that we are separate from our souls. However, that’s just your constructed self. That’s your mind and the essence of all that’s manifested as this point of awareness called “you.”
Nobody is really suffering from an addiction to a substance. It’s a known fact that addiction is just a symptom. However, the model that most of us are introduced to is that we’re broken beyond repair and that we need a daily miracle to heal. That just creates more separation from the divine being out there.
Over and over again we get the message that we are unacceptable even though, according to Howard Lipp, we are actually whole and complete. This causes us to believe that we’re separate from divinity and that we need an intermediary, theology, or ideology to connect to it.
In fact, Howard asserts that our hearts are beating and we’re breathing because of the very emanation that we are of the source.
The Role of Plant-Based Medicine in Healing Addiction
With psychedelics, we’re stepping into an altered state. We’re not stepping into a world of hallucinatory experiences but into a place where we can experience an expansive sense of being more. Though not visually, you can see your mind and that it is not you.
People who have used psychedelics talk about finding themselves. However, you’re not missing; you have just been lost in thinking. Presence is when the thinking mind (the ego or the false self) goes away.
Psychedelics can also crack the wall that prevents us from accessing the deeper feelings we haven’t been able to process. Whether it’s from trauma, abuse, or bullying, psychedelics help you stop compartmentalizing that stuff and shoving it into a corner somewhere.
If you want to learn more about healing from addiction through plant-based medication, check out Episode 155: Healing Through Plant-Based Medicine and Deconstructing Our Belief System with Howard Lipp.