Deepak Chopra - How to Overcome Bad Habits. A spiritual path to solving a problem. The history and appeal of tobacco. Addiction to sex

Deepak Chopra

How to overcome bad habits

The Spiritual Path to Problem Solving

PART ONE

WHAT ARE HAZARDOUS HABITS

LOST IN SEARCH

Among the most serious problems of our society concerning human health, bad habits and their consequences occupy, in my opinion deep conviction, far from the last place. Cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, many forms of cancer, AIDS - these are just some of the ailments that are directly or indirectly caused by bad habits. This small book is thus an attempt at a very succinct examination of an extremely vast and complex problem. At first glance, this may seem like a daunting task. Perhaps someone will consider an attempt to understand a couple of hundred pages in the most difficult issues related to addictions, some self-confidence. And yet I am sure that even such a small book will be of great benefit both to millions of people who are trying to get rid of bad habits themselves, and to millions of their relatives and friends who are striving to help these people.

In other words, realizing how diverse the difficulties that arise in our society due to the bad habits of millions and millions of people, I nevertheless proceed to implement my plans with optimism and zeal. The reason for this is quite simple: despite the fact that we have to talk here about the deepest physical and emotional suffering, this book is about health and happiness, pleasure and prosperity, love and hope.

I understand that such a positive attitude itself is somewhat unusual. Too often, our efforts to solve the problem of bad habits are poisoned by anger, intolerance and despair. Sometimes this sounds openly, as, for example, in expressions like "the war on drugs" or scary stories about how addictions ruined someone's career and ruined someone's life. In other cases, this negative orientation does not manifest itself so directly: recall, for example, the dull atmosphere of many "centers" where patients are asked to cope with their problems and where a circle of plastic chairs awaits them in a room with linoleum on the floor and fluorescent lighting.

Fear of the past, fear of the future, fear of taking advantage of the present moment to find true happiness - how many fears can be strewn with the path of a person prone to bad habits! Fear is also a part of many methods of breaking these habits. For most people, however, a fear-based approach cannot be the vehicle for long-term success. Therefore, I intend to offer here a completely different view of bad habits and addictions - what they are, and the people who succumb to them.

An addicted person is seen by me as a seeker who, alas, has gone astray. This is a person seeking pleasure, or perhaps even a kind of transcendental experience - and I want to emphasize that such a search is worthy of every encouragement. Such a person is looking in the wrong place and in the wrong, but he strives for very important things, and we cannot afford to ignore the significance of his search. At least at first, the addicted person hopes to experience something wonderful, something that goes beyond the unsatisfactory, if not intolerable for him, everyday reality. There is nothing shameful in such an endeavor. On the contrary, it becomes the basis for true hope and true transformation.

By calling the addict a seeker, I want to go even further. In my opinion, a person who has never experienced cravings for addiction is one who has not taken the first timid step towards knowing the true meaning of the Spirit. There may be nothing to be proud of in addiction, but it represents a desire for higher-level experiences. And although it is impossible to reach this level with the help of pills and all kinds of obsessions, the very attempt attests to the presence of something truly spiritual in a person.

According to Ayurveda, the traditional Indian doctrine of human health, each of us cherishes the memory of perfection. This memory is imprinted in every cell of our body. It cannot be erased, but it can be drowned out by poisons and various kinds of pollution. In considering addictions, our real challenge is not to describe the destructive effects of addictive behavior, but to awaken the perfection we always maintain. As a schoolboy, I read the poem "Paradise Lost", undoubtedly one of the greatest works created on English language... But I also realized that the paradise inside us can never be lost in the full sense of the word. We can stop noticing it, but it is always attainable for us.

It often occurred to me that music is an art form that can most effectively bring us into contact with our inner perfection. Of course, you can approach it from the standpoint of reason and even perceive it as a kind of branch of mathematics, but music, in addition to this, takes us to a level that is in some way deeper than our processes of conscious thinking. This can be experienced by listening to music, and even more fully by playing it. Every time I attend a concert, I am amazed at the obvious impact that music has on a performer. What he experiences can be called ecstasy. The musician, in the full sense of the word absorbed in performance, moves into another reality and experiences completely unaccountable happiness and joy. This is an exciting, delightful sight. Such experiences, of course, can be a worthy goal for aspirations in your own life.

In this regard, I recall the life story I once read of Charlie Parker, a talented musician who shone in the jazz world of New York in the 40s and early 50s. The best of his saxophone improvisations were not only overwhelmingly fast and intricate - they had logical coherence and unity. Young musicians who idolized Parker were ready to do anything to play like him, but his musical abilities seemed almost supernatural. What was the secret of his game, his ability to enter that, not everyone's access to space, where he, no doubt, stayed during the performance?

It so happened that Charlie Parker was not only a great musician, but also a heroin addict. And although his best solos were played when he was not addicted to drugs, it became fashionable among a generation of jazz musicians to use heroin in imitation of his idol. Their impulse is quite understandable and even worthy of admiration: they wanted to immerse themselves in that supernatural experience in which another person was in front of their eyes. However, for many talented people, this was disastrous. Heroin not only failed to lead them to their main goal in life - to become outstanding musicians, but also turned out to be destructive for them. They wanted to find a short way to paradise, but they obviously turned on the wrong path. When it comes to addictions, this is the most important moment, whether it be drugs, food, alcohol, smoking, gambling, television soap operas, or the thousands of other temptations we have in our lives every day. Addiction begins when the right thing is looked for in the wrong place. As Jung's follower psychologist Robert Johnson has shown in his excellent book Ecstasy, addiction is nothing more than a degenerate substitute for true happiness.

SPIRIT TRAINING

Man does not live by bread alone.

This well-known image appears in both the Old and New Testaments, and its meaning is quite understandable. In fact, it means that our needs are not limited to the satisfaction of only material needs. However, it is worth paying attention to how categorical this statement is. Spiritual satisfaction is presented as a fundamental need for life, comparable to the need for food. Essentially, all other religions and spiritual traditions hold the same position: in order to live, we need "food for the soul."

Deepak Chopra

How to overcome bad habits

The Spiritual Path to Problem Solving

PART ONE

WHAT ARE HAZARDOUS HABITS

LOST IN SEARCH

Among the most serious problems of our society concerning human health, bad habits and their consequences occupy, in my deep conviction, far from the last place. Cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, many forms of cancer, AIDS - these are just some of the ailments that are directly or indirectly caused by bad habits. This small book is thus an attempt at a very succinct examination of an extremely vast and complex problem. At first glance, this may seem like a daunting task. Perhaps someone will consider an attempt to understand a couple of hundred pages in the most difficult issues related to addictions, some self-confidence. And yet I am sure that even such a small book will be of great benefit both to millions of people who are trying to get rid of bad habits themselves, and to millions of their relatives and friends who are striving to help these people.

I understand that such a positive attitude itself is somewhat unusual. Too often, our efforts to solve the problem of bad habits are poisoned by anger, intolerance and despair. Sometimes it sounds overt, such as in phrases like the “war on drugs” or horror stories of how addictions ruined someone’s career and ruined someone’s life. In other cases, this negative orientation does not manifest itself so directly: recall, for example, the dull atmosphere of many "centers" where patients are asked to cope with their problems and where a circle of plastic chairs awaits them in a room with linoleum on the floor and fluorescent lighting.

According to Ayurveda, the traditional Indian doctrine of human health, each of us cherishes the memory of perfection. This memory is imprinted in every cell of our body. It cannot be erased, but it can be drowned out by poisons and various kinds of pollution. In considering addictions, our real challenge is not to describe the destructive effects of addictive behavior, but to awaken the perfection we always maintain. As a schoolboy, I read Paradise Lost, undoubtedly one of the greatest works of art in the English language. But I also realized that the paradise inside us can never be lost in the full sense of the word. We can stop noticing it, but it is always attainable for us.

SPIRIT TRAINING

Man does not live by bread alone.

This book will be of great benefit both to millions of people who are trying to get rid of bad habits themselves, and to millions of their relatives and friends who want to help these people in solving their problems.

Dr. Deepak Chopra offers a completely unexpected perspective on bad habits, what they are, and the people who succumb to them. Despite the fact that bad habits bring us both physical and emotional suffering, this book is about pleasure and prosperity, love and hope, health and happiness.

In essence, a person suffering from bad habits is a seeker of happiness, but he is looking for it in the wrong place, and wanders - perhaps for many years - in roundabout ways.

True happiness is a return to the deep harmony of body, mind and spirit - the harmony that was peculiar to you at birth and can be found again. Having restored it, a person will no longer feel the need for stimulants, depressants and everything that needs to be bought, hidden, injected, inhaled, turned on and off. None of this was necessary for you in childhood, when a sunny day and the love of loved ones were enough to overwhelm you with happiness. This openness to love, this ability to connect with the world around you is still with you, and you can easily and painlessly revive it.

PART ONE

WHAT ARE HAZARDOUS HABITS

LOST IN SEARCH

I understand that such a positive attitude itself is somewhat unusual. Too often, our efforts to solve the problem of bad habits are poisoned by anger, intolerance and despair. Sometimes it sounds overt, such as in phrases like the “war on drugs” or horror stories of how addictions ruined someone’s career and ruined someone’s life. In other cases, this negative orientation does not manifest itself so directly: recall, for example, the dull atmosphere of many "centers" where patients are asked to cope with their problems and where a circle of plastic chairs awaits them in a room with linoleum on the floor and fluorescent lighting.

SPIRIT TRAINING

Man does not live by bread alone.

In my opinion, this is true in a completely literal sense. The state of our spiritual life is directly related to the functioning of our body, including metabolism, digestion, respiration and all other types of physiological activity. But we often neglect or underestimate our spiritual needs. Of course, there are some signs that this behavior is gradually being replaced by something else - people are again becoming aware of spiritual values. And nevertheless, the materialistic orientation, under the influence of which we were for such a long time, entailed very serious consequences, closely related to the prevalence in modern society addiction to bad habits.

Since we are not fully aware of the need for spiritual achievement, it is not surprising that many people misunderstand the true needs of the human spirit. They are discovering a myriad of hyperstimulating activities and an equal number of ways to relieve tension, replacing them with a state of "really high class" - precisely that deep experience that Robert Johnson calls ecstasy.

This is unfortunate, because we need ecstasy. We need it as badly as we need food, water and air. But in modern Western society, this fundamental human need is not fully realized. Over the past thirty years, we have made significant progress in understanding how our physical environment has deteriorated and in overcoming these kinds of trends. But we have not yet succeeded in realizing our spiritual needs with the same decisiveness. I see the problem of bad habits as a direct consequence of this fundamental oversight.

ACTION, REMEMBER, DESIRE

Whenever I want to understand what miracle and happiness are, I mentally return to that bright and beautiful day when I went for a walk with a little three-year-old girl, the daughter of my neighbor.

Despite the fact that then we only once walked around our cozy, but not particularly remarkable residential quarter, it took us almost an hour. It turned out that everything we saw and heard became a joyful discovery for us and a reason for enthusiastic discussion. Again and again we stopped to look at the cars parked on the sidewalk. My young girlfriend happily chirped about their color, size, shape and even wanted to touch each of them. She paid the same enthusiastic attention to the flowers growing in the flower beds and the sounds of a fire truck coming to us from afar. When the plane flew over our heads, we immediately stopped and began to look at the sky until it, turning into a tiny speck of dust, melted in the distance. And, of course, we waved after him.

This walk around the block led me to some very important conclusions. So, it was obvious that in fact the source of pleasure for the girl was not at all what we faced, in itself. Pictures, sounds, objects - all this was just an excuse for her to express the feeling that was already present in her. This feeling did not come from something in the outer world; on the contrary, it was projected onto the world from her heart and soul. In my opinion, happiness is exactly the word that best characterizes such a state of spontaneous pleasure.

Most people, at least adults, do not experience happiness walking around the block, and for good reason. Children live in a world of pure contemplation. For them, visual images, sounds and objects exist in order to enjoy them, to play with them, and not at all in order to use them. But in the life of adults, everything is subordinated to responsibilities. Walking on a sunny day, we perceive the world around us as an illegible mosaic of colors and patterns, while our consciousness is focused on one or another problem that we currently consider the most acute. Whatever the name of this kind of experience, it is anything but happiness.

But let's imagine that such a preoccupied adult, walking, staring at the sidewalk, suddenly discovers something completely unusual in his field of vision. A hundred dollar bill! The effect will be almost magical! Problems that have seemed so all-consuming until now, from such luck immediately - at least for a while - disappear somewhere. If this happened to you, a list of what you can do with this one hundred dollar bill would immediately flash before your eyes. Perhaps you will not treat this incident as something that has transformed your life, but you will surely begin to think of it as something very good - and your state of consciousness will be dramatically transformed. How will you feel? I'm sure this word came to your mind right away: joy.

DETERMINING YOUR MENTAL-BODY TYPE

Ayurveda is the world's oldest system of knowledge about human health, designed to prevent and cure diseases. It arose two and a half thousand years BC and existed for many centuries before Hippocrates and other ancient Greek healers. In fact, it is highly probable that the ancient Greeks were influenced by the ideas of Indian medicine brought to Europe from the East along busy trade routes. Today, when the limits of what can be achieved with a purely mechanistic view of the human body are already visible, the powerful ideas of Ayurveda and others traditional systems health preservation is once again of great importance to the West.

Perhaps the most important of the ideas of all Ayurveda is the principle that one can understand and tame the disease only by first knowing the patient. This view, shared by healers of many traditions, sometimes does not find support in modern medical practice, which has too many patients and relies on widespread medicines, and therefore, it happens, overlooks the individual needs of the patient. In order to really find out the state of a person, it is necessary, along with his height, weight, blood pressure and other physiological parameters, which are usually guided by modern medicine, to take into account his mental, emotional and even spiritual constitution.

Ayurveda teaches that it is very unreasonable to distinguish between mind and body, since these are two inseparable elements of a single whole, which is any human being. When it comes to addictions, the subtle connection between mind and body becomes especially important. The thought of action, the desire to carry it out - this is the real source of this problem. The notion of a rigid separation between emotional state and physical illness in the end result turns out to be completely useless in relation to addictive types of behavior.

Over the centuries of its existence, Ayurveda has developed an extremely effective terminology for expressing the relationship between mind and body and described the types of manifestation of these relationships in each specific person. According to Ayurveda, the Universe is created, shaped and organized by consciousness, manifesting itself through five elements: Ether, Air, Fire, Water and Earth. In the human mental-bodily system, these five elements are embodied in the form of three fundamental governing principles, called doshas. It is thanks to the doshas that the energy and information of the Universe are present in the body and life of every person.

Each of the three doshas has a characteristic effect on human physiology:

AYURVEDIC QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DETERMINING THE MENTAL-BODY TYPE

This questionnaire is divided into three sections. The first 20 questions are about Vata dosha: read each sentence and mark (on a scale from 0 to 6) to what extent it is true in your case:

0 - this does not apply to me;

3 - refers to me in part (or sometimes);

6 - applies to me almost completely (or almost always).

At the end of the section, write down the total of your Watches. For example, if you marked 6 on the first question, 3 on the second and 2 on the third, then in total on the first three points you gain 6 + 3 + 2 = 11 points. In the same way, give answers to all other questions in the section and get the full amount of points for your Vata. Then move on to the next 20 questions in the Pitta section and then the Kapha section.

HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR BODY TYPE

Now that you have received three points, your body type can be determined. Although there are only three doshas, remember that Ayurveda distinguishes ten variants of their combinations and, accordingly, ten bodily types.

If one of the three received amounts significantly exceeds the others, then, therefore, you belong to the corresponding body type unequivocally.

THREE DOSHAS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

According to Ayurveda, knowledge of one's own body type is the first and most important step to true health. This is especially true for bad habits. Although all three doshas must be present in order to maintain the life of an organism, they are extremely rarely present in a particular person in equal proportions. Therefore, it is extremely important to know which of the doshas - Vata, Pitta or Kapha - has the main influence on you. By identifying your dominant Dota, you will be able to recognize in which areas you are most vulnerable to physical or emotional stress. You will also be able to identify which activities and lifestyle changes will best help you restore balance to your mind and body.

WATA

Like the prairie wind, Vata is constantly moving, moving, changing direction at the same time. The Vata type is significantly more variable than Pitta or Kapha, and how it will behave the next day is much more difficult to predict. Vata people are characterized by sudden bursts of energy, both emotional and physical, that stop just as quickly. Whether walking, dining, deciding whether to go to bed, people of this type are consistent only in their inconsistency. This variability is also characteristic of their digestion, mood, emotions and their general health. Vata type, for example, is especially vulnerable to minor illnesses such as the common cold or flu.

Lightweight, thin

Does everything quickly

Irregular appetite and digestion

PITTA

Pitta is like a hot, violent flame; its distinguishing feature is the pressure. Such similarities with fever show through even in the physical characteristics of Pitta-type people, often red-haired and red-faced. By nature, these people are ambitious, sometimes even obsessed, tend to boldly express themselves and argue fiercely. Being in a state of equilibrium, Pitta-type people are gentle and affectionate, their face radiates warmth; they are simply permeated with happiness. However, when stress, poor diet, or other destabilizing factor comes into play, the aggressive, critical side of Pitta begins to emerge.

Medium build

Acute hunger and thirst, powerful digestion

A tendency to anger and irritation in stressful situations

Kapha

Kapha is the most calm and stable dosha, it is not as easily out of balance as Vata or Pitta. Kapha brings orderliness and vitality to the body; this is evident in the stocky build of many Kapha people. By nature, Kapha people are calm and optimistic. It is not easy to make them angry. Before taking their own position on any issue, they prefer to take into account all possible points of view. Out of balance, however, Kapha people are inhibited and indecisive. They benefit from a diet and vigorous exercise that counteracts their natural tendencies towards obesity. Despite this kind of weakness, Ayurveda considers Kapha people to be very happy: they are usually loving and considerate, and their innate physical resilience protects them from all kinds of diseases.

Strong, powerful physique; great physical strength and endurance

Stable energy; slowness and grace in action

Calm, relaxed nature; in no hurry to get angry

PART TWO

The addiction experience

ALCOHOLISM

ALCOHOL PROS

In discussing the story of my young patient, Ellen, I have already talked about my belief that when dealing with addiction to a substance, it is important to be aware of both its harmful effects and the pleasure it gives. Undoubtedly, there are many pleasant sensations associated with alcohol. There is even documentary evidence of its health benefits. And at the same time, when "use" turns into "abuse", the harm from alcohol significantly exceeds the benefit, which, of course, makes itself felt very soon.

Someone might wonder how people in general came to drinking alcohol? Historians believe that primitive man could have noticed how dramatically the behavior of animals that ate fermented fruits changed. Perhaps someone especially curious decided to find out what makes, say, a deer walk with a staggering gait. And from here it is, perhaps, not far from that skill, even art, which people have achieved in the production of alcoholic beverages.

For many thousands of years, alcoholic beverages and the technique of their preparation have been woven into the fabric of human civilization. Not so long ago, a jug with traces of alcohol was found in Iran - this confirms that wine was produced in the Middle East more than seven thousand years ago. One historian noted that there are only two inventions that are equally inherent in all cultures: one or another type of bread or pasta and "the discovery and use of the natural fermentation process." Wine, of course, is often mentioned in the Bible with both positive and negative connotations.

The ancient Greek historian Herodotus reports that the rulers of the Persian Empire did not make a final decision on any of the important issues without discussing it both in a sober and drunk... And in one of the most beautiful dialogues of Plato, "Symposium", where questions of love are discussed, we become witnesses of a casual conversation between drinking companions; the Greek word symposium itself literally means "to drink together." Drinking is also frequently mentioned (and glorified) by Shakespeare and has a prominent place in the work of countless other writers and artists - not to mention what it meant in their own lives.

In addition to the historical significance of alcohol itself, drinking is at the heart of social institutions, which retain their importance to this day. Television show "Let's be healthy!" depicts a small tavern as a kind of paradise: a warm atmosphere, old friends meet, talk, find themselves in funny situations ... Very rarely, the action of the show is taken out of this tavern, and this would nullify the whole idea of the program. A zucchini can become a refuge, a safe place where you can hide on occasion: this is the meaning of the title of Ernest Hemingway's story about a Spanish cafe - "Where it is clean, light."

DANGER OF ALCOHOL

Alcoholic products can be considered drinks, but they can be considered drugs in the same way. Essentially, alcohol is a drug that is more abused in the United States than any other drug. Alcohol accounts for 85% of all drug addiction in America, according to a remarkable study. In addition, there is evidence that about 13.5% of the total US population is under the influence of alcohol addiction at one time or another in their lives.

The consequences of this sad statistics are extremely serious both for each individual person and for society as a whole. Some forms of cancer, for example, are directly linked to binge drinking, and in esophageal cancer, alcohol is responsible for as many as 75% of deaths. It is not uncommon for excessive alcohol consumption to lead to liver cancer. The result of prolonged drunkenness can be the destruction of the pancreas, stomach, small intestine, not to mention the weakening of the thinking ability. Indeed, a detailed list of the destruction caused by alcohol, as well as the bill for the appropriate treatment, would take more than one page.

The dangers that alcohol carries with it are not limited to its biochemical effects. Despite the significant progress made in recent years, the high degree of alcohol consumption in car accidents remains well known; drunkenness continues to account for about half of road fatalities. Alcohol is somehow implicated in sixty percent of water deaths. In addition, about 30 thousand people die every year in various kinds of alcohol-related accidents not related to motor vehicles. It is important to note that these numbers are not limited to severely intoxicated victims. Ultimately, any use of alcohol significantly increases the likelihood of being injured in an accident.

The problems posed by alcohol addiction are significant even in a less sinister area. So, drunkenness often causes insomnia. Binge drinking can be associated with both obesity and a type of food aversion common among bitter drinkers, who sometimes eat nothing, getting calories only from alcohol. A hangover can be quite unpleasant, the biochemical mechanism of which, despite the abundance of folk remedies for this scourge, has not yet been fully studied.

Again, this is just a glimpse into the abyss of misery that is brought on by someone who is overly addicted to alcohol. We should, however, look more closely at what the word "overly" means here and what are the differences between the need for alcohol and the truly addictive behavior.

ALCOHOLIC NEEDS AND ADDICTION TO ALCOHOL

As a physician familiar with Ayurveda, I do not particularly like the statement that there is a clear line between the physical and mental, emotional and spiritual components of human nature. As soon as every thought, every feeling in one way or another physically manifests itself in our body, it is clear that consciousness and body are in fact a single whole. Nevertheless, it would be useful to make some distinction between alcoholic need and alcohol addiction by separating experiences perceived as emotional and experiences that generate well-defined physical sensations. In addition, the term “addiction to alcohol”, in contrast to “alcohol need”, implies the presence in the life of a drinking person of pronounced negative elements, such as: troubles at work, legal and financial difficulties, family problems. The need for alcohol is a more vague concept, meaning a situation when alcohol consumption in one way or another interferes with the human freedom to enjoy life, no matter how insignificant such interference may seem.

One day I was traveling with a friend of mine who, like millions of people around the world, was in the habit of drinking wine with his meals. When, by chance, we found ourselves in a restaurant that did not have a license to sell alcoholic beverages, I realized that my friend did not just enjoy wine at dinner - rather, he was not able to enjoy lunch without wine. When he realized that wine would not be served in this restaurant, such genuine suffering was written on his face that there could be no question of staying here to dine. “I just can't eat without wine,” he apologized in a low voice as we went in search of another restaurant. He felt an inexorable, unchanging need for alcohol at certain times.

If there was no alcohol during the meal, my friend felt extremely uncomfortable and felt the need to somehow improve this situation. Unlike consummate alcoholics, he, however, did not become physically unwell without alcohol; this absence did not have a noticeable effect on the external circumstances of his life. But despite the fact that alcohol played a relatively small and specific role for him, in my understanding it was already an alcoholic need.

Unlike alcoholic cravings, addiction to alcohol, that is, complete alcoholism, can be defined more specifically using a limited number of well-known symptoms and characteristics.

Priorities.

FROM NEED TO ADDICTION

It is not surprising that the need for alcohol often develops into a full-fledged alcohol addiction. This process was described in great detail in a series of lectures given at Yale University by researcher E.M. Jellinek. The results presented by him were obtained by processing questionnaires filled out by more than two thousand alcoholics, and served as the basis for constructing a "model of the disease of alcoholism", which gave a very effective approach to solving this problem. Through his research, Jellinek was able to determine the specific and predictable stages of the "alcoholic's disease", lasting sometimes months, or even years. From this perspective, alcoholism can be viewed as a chronic, systemic, degenerative health disorder, similar to diseases such as syphilis and multiple sclerosis. Recognizing that some drinkers never go beyond the “habit” stage similar to what we have called the need for alcohol, Jellinek concludes that alcohol dependence goes through four short stages in its development.

ADDICTED DRUGS

The dream of a substance that would transform reality is deeply rooted in the human imagination. In the Vedic literature, a mystical liquid called soma is repeatedly mentioned - the nectar of the gods, granting immortality to everyone who tastes it. Ambrosia has the same power in Greek mythology. In the Old Testament Book of Exodus, the Israelites perished in the wilderness from hunger, but God sent them manna, which fell from heaven like snow, and tasted better than any food imaginable.

Several Bible episodes help us understand what an addiction is - specifically, a drug addiction. Drug addiction takes possession of people whose life is like wandering in the wilderness and devoid of all pleasure and spiritual food. When something is found that promises to transfer these people to a completely different reality, many of them agree to this simply because, in their opinion, nothing else promises them anything like that. But as we have seen in the case of alcohol, therein lies the irony of addiction - what begins as a search for pleasure soon turns into a long struggle to avoid suffering.

In the case of advanced drug addiction, the torment caused by stopping the drug intake far exceeds the pleasure of the euphoria received - and even that, when the body gets used to the drug, it becomes almost unattainable. Soon it turns out that a person takes drugs only in order to avoid these torments. What seemed to be the gateway to paradise ultimately leads only to another desert.

The idea of addiction as a futile but understandable quest contradicts some aspects of the theory underlying many treatment programs that make addictive behavior a disease. This theory emphasizes a genetic predisposition to "addictive behavior infection", which affects its victim in exactly the same way as any other contagious disease. Some supporters of such views argue that a single drug use causes irreversible chemical changes in the human brain, thereby generating an irreparable desire for new portions of the potion. Taking a drug in this case is like being bitten by a mosquito carrying malaria or yellow fever - as soon as this happens, the further course of action is predetermined.

However, there are obvious differences between the development of drug addiction and the development of an infectious disease. No conscious involvement is required from the victim of a mosquito bite to develop the disease. The addict is required to perform a number of more or less purposeful actions, and at each stage there is an opportunity for him to "exit", at least physically. After all, he must find a supplier, money to pay, and often also carry out a number of preparations for drug use. The addict also has to decide whether to engage in activities that are in every possible way limited by society both in the legal and moral sense, and therefore may entail severe punishment. All of these steps require a choice. I prefer to think that this choice is conscious every time, because this means that at each of the named stages it may turn out to be different.

NODE MOMENTS OF DRUG ADDICTION

From the point of view of Ayurveda, the absence of happiness in a person's life is the most important reason and at the same time the most important consequence of his addiction. At the same time, there are also a number of quite definite signs of addiction to drug use, which are manifested in the daily life of a drug addict. They are worth paying attention to both for diagnostic purposes and because they can tell a lot about the psychological state of such a person.

The list of substances that, in principle, can be addictive, is very extensive. Different substances, moreover, differ significantly in their biological, psychological and social characteristics. Powdered cocaine, for example, is generally considered a medium to high tier drug. In its effect on the body, it differs from its related, but cheaper, crack, which is popular mainly among less wealthy people. Amphetamines are more commonly used by long-haul drivers and university students, while opiates, in particular heroin, are used to varying degrees by almost all segments of the population. However, despite the differences between drugs and people who use them, there are certain key elements characteristic of addiction as such. Therefore, instead of considering separately each drug or their pharmacological group, we will focus on the general points characteristic of addictive behavior in general.

As with alcohol, the use of drugs to alter states of consciousness or to “relax” has been a part of all human cultures for thousands of years. An analysis of the texts of clay tablets, made nearly seven thousand years ago in the Sumerian kingdom, makes it possible to associate the meaning of one of the hieroglyphs with opium. The context shows that this word, moreover, had a sense of fun and joy. There is also evidence that the lake-dwellers in Switzerland, whose culture originated about two and a half thousand years BC, ate poppy seeds, which are natural sources of opium and its derivatives. In saying that drugs have been used since ancient times, I do not, however, intend to justify their use.

The desire of human society to restrict or prohibit certain behaviors is no less ancient than the desire to use drugs or alcohol. We find one of the first testimonies of this in the biblical story of Adam and Eve, who violated God's prohibition and ate the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. Thus, we cannot justify drug use on the basis that it is completely “natural” for a person, because it is just as natural for him to consider some actions as good and others as evil. At times, however, these labels were applied completely arbitrarily, and what was considered good in one century turned into evil in another. Therefore, to talk about drug use in a rational and objective way, we need to take into account not only changing social and historical circumstances, but also medical and psychological factors.

Thus, coffee in modern Western society is not considered an illegal drug, despite the fact that strong coffee can cause both physical and emotional disorders. When coffee first appeared in Europe in the 17th century, it immediately became extremely popular. Civilian authorities tried to restrict or even prohibit its use, but this proved beyond their power. Across the continent, coffee shops have become popular meeting places. Voltaire and other figures of the Enlightenment were coffee lovers, and the French novelist Balzac literally died due to his addiction to this drink, which was so strong that at the end of his life he drank coffee that was as thick as soup.

CRITERIA OF ADDICTION BY DSR-IV

Whether it's gambling, heroin, refined sugar, or cocaine, the experience is akin to riding a roller coaster — short periods of satisfaction are immersed in a broader context of excruciating anticipation. However, in the case when the subject of addiction is among the prohibited, the situation is more psychologically difficult. Involvement in illegal activity inevitably raises a serious obstacle between such a person and people alien to this activity. From the point of view of an addicted to illegal, all people with whom he contacts are divided into friends and foes - those who can help him get the drug, and those who can give him over to the police. Each person is either a friend or an enemy - while most people turn out to be enemies, simply due to the illegal nature of the addicted person's activities.

Addiction to an illegal substance becomes a defining part of the addict's life. It is through this prism that he views his existence. This is neither a biochemical property of the addiction, nor a feature of the substances that caused it. In hospitals, it is not uncommon for patients to become addicted to morphine or other pain relievers used in their treatment, but these people do not come to the psychology of "me against the whole world" characteristic of illegal drug addicts, for whom the antisocial and mysterious aspects of addiction are a fundamental component of this experience. As one researcher writes in this regard, “For those who have never been addicted to [illegal] drugs, it is difficult to understand the importance that addicts attach to their favorite drug ... to choose, they will prefer cocaine to friends, lovers and even their family. "

“I can abstain, but I cannot practice moderation,” said 18th century scholar Samuel Johnson. Considering drunkenness immoral, he shifted his choice to tea - and he happened to drink sixty cups a day. However, few of the "addicts" are distinguished by Johnson's discernment in terms of their inability to control themselves. No one starts using drugs with the conscious intention of becoming a drug addict, and many of those "experimenting" with illegal drugs never become addicted. But it is common for the addict to overestimate his self-control and underestimate the strength of the attachment he has developed. Until the fact of addiction becomes irrefutable, a person who uses drugs will most often define an addict as "someone who uses drugs more than me."

DRUGS AND DOSHI

The drug habit begins with a kind of transaction where momentary, short-term enjoyment is achieved at the cost of the risk of serious and long-term physical, emotional and legal problems... Impatient anticipation - of sensations, excitement, recognition from their own kind - is a characteristic element of human behavior in the early stages of drug use. As you get used to it, such impatience often becomes violent, although later it can turn into a dull apathetic addiction. From an Ayurvedic perspective, impatience with drug use is indicative of unbalanced Vata. Remember that Vata comes from the air element, and like the wind, this dosha often changes direction and strength, as if it were unable to calm down or be satisfied. To denote a calm and clear state of consciousness, Ayurveda uses the Sanskrit word sattva, which means purity.

Drugs have an artificial, external influence on mental activity. Depending on the type of drug, the result of this influence can be both dullness and temporary exacerbation of the senses. However, the end effect is always mental imbalance and anxiety and unpredictability characteristic of unbalanced Vata. Vata is also a very dry dosha, and the diuretic effect of many drugs can dehydrate the body. The resulting constipation and kidney problems are already common in people with unbalanced Vata.

Amphetamines and other stimulants when ingested human body, strongly and instantly irritate Vata. However, even sedatives and opiates, despite the short duration of their effects, can have the same effect. In any case, Vata disorders underlie the various symptoms accompanying abstinence from addictive drugs and must be addressed with Vata balancing techniques (presented in the third part of this book).

ADDICTED SMOKING

HISTORY AND ATTRACTION OF TOBACCO

Like alcohol, tobacco has had a ritual function throughout its history. The ceremony of smoking the "pipe of peace", which was widespread among some Indian tribes, is well known. It is probably in this context that the first European explorers, such as Sir Walter Raleigh, encountered tobacco. It is Raleigh who is usually credited with bringing tobacco to England in the 17th century, although this is, generally speaking, historically unreliable. Smoking has been known in Europe since the first expeditions of Columbus to the New World, a century before Raleigh. It is known that one of the members of Columbus's team was imprisoned "for the good of his soul" when, upon returning to Spain, he lit a cigar. By the time of his release, smoking had gained popularity throughout Europe.

It is interesting to note that smoking from the very beginning caused controversy and even protest from the secular authorities and religious institutions. In Germany, smoking was punishable by death soon after its introduction. In Russia, a smoker could be sentenced to emasculation, and in America, as early as 1909, ten states had laws against cigarettes. However, the popularity of smoking among the majority of the population has always been high. No amount of the most severe government measures could stop the spread of tobacco smoking; the impossibility of its complete official ban quickly became apparent. Unlike today, physicians were less opposed to smoking than guardians of public morality; European doctors saw in tobacco not so much a vice as a powerful drug. But no matter how the officialdom treated it, where the tobacco got to, it was impossible to stop smoking.

A turning point in the history of tobacco came when cigarette-fillers were invented in the 19th century. Prior to this, tobacco was chewed, sniffed, or smoked in pipes and in the form of cigars; the cumbersomeness of these methods limited the volume of its consumption. But even the first seamers were already able to produce more than one hundred thousand cigarettes daily. In addition, cigarettes made in this way were cheaper and easier to transport. They also burned out faster than other types of tobacco products, which contributed to more frequent smoking. It should be noted that the history of tobacco and cocaine consumption was similar. Among the general population, powdered cocaine was largely replaced by crack, which was distinguished by lower cost per serving, shorter-term effects and "convenience" of use. Even such short review reveals an important aspect of the attractiveness of tobacco. From the outset, it was a simple way of transcending the boundaries of official morality, a kind of risky business borrowed from the "wild Indians." By the 1920s, smoking in the United States was considered a sign of sophistication, just as in those same days, visiting clandestine alcohol sales gave people a reason to turn up their noses in front of the authorities. There is no doubt that for some groups, in particular for adolescents, this aspect is still an important component of the appeal of tobacco. However, smoking was also a way of showing camaraderie, a demonstration of maturity, spirit and personal identity - such thoughts must have visited those who have watched films with Humphrey Bogart or Bette Davis at least once. Only in recent decades has there really been a change in attitudes towards tobacco among the general population. But even these recent changes in the United States have affected mostly well-defined groups.

ADDICTED TOBACCO

No matter how doctors of the past relate to tobacco, today almost all doctors strictly warn their patients about the dangers of smoking. And although representatives of the tobacco industry continue to dispute this to this day, the addictive nature of smoking is no longer in doubt.

Tobacco smoke contains about 4,000 different chemical compounds - including carbon monoxide, ammonia, hydrocyanic acid and formaldehyde - but nicotine is generally known to be the source of the main psychotropic effects of smoking. Researchers disagree about the potency of nicotine versus substances such as cocaine or amphetamines, but no one doubts that nicotine has the strongest addictive properties. Of those who have ever tried cocaine, three to twenty percent eventually become addicts, while those who “experiment” with smoking become heavy smokers between one third and half. Studies have shown that there is a 94% chance that smoking will become an integral part of the life of a teenager who smokes only four cigarettes a day.

There are many approaches to getting rid of tobacco and nicotine addiction. Almost all of them are effective in relation to some smokers and absolutely not effective in relation to all others. This suggests that the secret here lies not so much in the approach to treatment as in the mind and soul of the smoker - and I came to this conclusion based on my own experience.

I started smoking when I was seventeen years old. Years passed, I made more than one attempt to quit, but none of them lasted for a long time. I despised my smoking habit and was angry with myself for giving in to it. Many times, in a rage, I threw away the five remaining cigarettes in the pack, promising myself to end the bad habit. But after an hour or so, I would sneak out a new pack each time. I noticed that the vicious circle of self-flagellation and guilt was somehow the mechanism that fueled my habit, but this discovery had no effect on my smoking habit. I just practiced this chain over and over again. In Ayurvedic terms, my desire to quit smoking was overcome each time by the memory of smoking and the desire generated by this memory to smoke again.

Then one evening I went to the ballet. Sitting in a dark room and admiring the graceful dancers, I heard my own hoarse and wheezing breath. This contrast made a huge impression on me. In front of me, brilliant athletes fluttered across the stage, and I fought to just breathe.

LEARNING SMOKING: AYURVEDIC APPROACH

The widespread popularity of smoking in the world clearly indicates that this addiction is not limited to any particular group of people. As the Ayurvedic approach makes it possible to see, people of various mental-bodily types can become addicted to smoking for one reason or another.

Vata people are more likely to use tobacco as a way to discharge excess energy. Twirling a cigarette in the fingers releases the nervousness and anxiety that are characteristic of unbalanced Vata. Vata people may be more likely than Pitta and Kapha types to quit smoking, but only because they are generally more inclined to change. While it may be easier for them to quit, they are more likely to start smoking again. Few middle-aged Vata smokers have not thrown away their cigarettes at least three to four times.

In people of the Pitta type, smoking expresses the characteristic desire for this dosha for strength and self-affirmation. Pitta people rarely allow themselves to be controlled, therefore, no matter how negative reputation smoking is created, it is unlikely to have any effect on them. In fact, "playing with fire" itself - both literally and figuratively - is very attractive for people of Pitta character. They also tend to have minute-by-minute and ritualized behaviors and are likely to have a strong need for a cigarette at certain times, especially after eating.

For Kapha dominant individuals, smoking is most often the result of their measured and contemplative lifestyle. Many Kapha men are particularly attracted to cigars. Sitting in a comfortable chair with a huge cigar is more in the taste of Kapha than Vata or Pitta. Like Pitta people, Kaphas can stubbornly dismiss advice to quit smoking.

I am confident that the four-step smoking cessation technique described below will be beneficial to everyone, regardless of their mental-body type. However, as with alcohol, success here depends on a spiritually grounded belief that you really want to replace smoking in your life with a different kind of pleasure - higher order satisfaction. Before you try to quit, find out what smoking has done for you and what it cost you. Get to the point of sincere intent and then use the following method as practical guidance to translate this intention into action.

ADDICTION TO FOOD

It is known that during his years at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton (New Jersey), Albert Einstein was completely absorbed in his scientific reflections. In his book on the history of this institution, Who took Einstein's place? Edward Regis tells of an incident that happened to the great physicist, when he was once walking near his house. He met his junior colleague at the institute, they talked for several minutes and were already going to go their separate ways. However, Einstein hesitated:

I’m sorry, but I have one last question for you, ”he said. - When we stopped to talk, did I go to or from my house?

Many would probably be surprised at such a question, but those who worked with Einstein are used to such things.

You were walking away from your home, ”the young professor replied. - I remember exactly.

Great, ”Einstein replied with a smile. “That means I've already eaten my lunch.

FOOD AND ADDICTIVE BEHAVIOR

Newborn babies cry. They do not understand why they are crying - they just feel that something is wrong. But the mother of the newborn knows that the child is hungry, and this matter is quite fixable. When the baby's lips close around the nipple, from which milk begins to flow, something that was wrong begins to be perceived as something good. Where there was suffering, pleasure appears. Again, the child does not understand how this happens. He just knows food makes the world a better place - and it's unlikely anyone will ever forget this connection.

Nature arranged it so that the discomfort caused by hunger is eliminated with the help of food. What about the discomfort caused by strenuous work, loneliness, or irritation? How about the emotional distress caused by being extremely overweight - can this be quenched with food? Of course, when it comes to short-term relief, the answer is yes. Likewise, all these problems can be drowned out for a moment by drinking or injecting heroin. But all such half-measures are in reality a retreat to the state of child dependence, an attempt to relive the feeling that a small child experiences when in some miraculous way begins to feel better. Alas, this is one of those areas where there is "no turning back." The lesson to be learned about food cravings is that if you’re an adult, don’t try to deal with your problems the way you did as a child.

If you don't like your job, talk to your boss. If you are unhappy with your loved ones, do not hide your feelings. If you are really hungry, then, no matter how overweight you are, by all means eat. But if you are not hungry, do not eat.

If you are not hungry, do not eat! I want to emphasize this point, because it is in it that is the key to overcoming the addiction to food. In speaking of alcohol, drugs and tobacco, I have tried to draw your attention to both the dangers of these substances and the pleasures they provide. But is there really a need to talk a lot about the pleasure of food? Of course, there are people like Albert Einstein whose minds are filled with completely different thoughts, but for most of us food is a powerful source of well-being. But only when food becomes for a person the main source of well-being, or at least the only source of pleasure, he cannot avoid problems.

As with any type of addictive behavior, the main difficulty in overcoming a food addiction is finding a positive, truly enjoyable substitute for that addiction. It's not just about just eating less, it's also about doing something joyful instead. In the third part of this book, you will find some dietary guidelines and some considerations to help you find new sources of joy in your life. You will get a lot of opportunities to try them, because you will free up all the time that you devoted to food without being hungry. Remember, if you're not hungry, don't eat!

ADDICTION TO FOOD AND DOSHA

Vata, Pitta and Kapha differ from each other in their nutritional manifestations. But as with other addictions, more or less prolonged eating habits usually lead to Vata imbalance. Keep this in mind as you read the descriptions below. Even if, according to the results of the answers to the questionnaire, you belong to the Kapha or Pitta type, pay special attention to the information about the eating habits of the Vata type people. In the third part of this book, you will find dietary guidelines specifically designed to pacify Vata.

Irregularity is a hallmark of the eating habits of Vata people, especially when this dosha is out of balance. Sometimes such people decide to follow a very strict diet; they may even suddenly become interested nutritional value various products, possible harm from pesticides and other impurities. However, just as suddenly, they may crave something completely inconsistent with this - ice cream, cakes, red meat, chocolate bars - and it can be quite difficult to resist such temptations for Vata-type people with unbalanced doshas. Such a throw from one extreme to another is somewhat similar to the behavior of a drunken alcoholic and gives rise to the feeling that the life of such a person is not subject to him. Paradoxically, it happens that Vata people have the habit of eating something all the time. As in the case of heavy smokers who light one cigarette from another, this is simply indicative of general nervousness.

As in all other areas of life, characteristic feature Pitta in food matters is the need for organization and predictability. Most Pitta people choose to eat three meals a day at the same time. Moreover, the composition of the menu is much less important for them than its consistency. The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, whose ideas are an extreme expression of the views of Pitt-type people, once remarked: "I don't care what I eat as long as I eat the same thing every day." Most Pitta people may not go that far, but they do tend to get upset if they have to change their diet - just like any other way of doing in their life. When such changes occur (which, of course, is inevitable), irritation, usually very shallow hidden in Pitt personalities, is ready to splash out. Many Pitta food addicts use this addiction to vent their rage - they literally "swallow their irritation." Without realizing this, Pitta personalities with unbalanced doshas may well regard their habitual overeating as an act of rebellion, a kind of challenge to the injustice of this world.

HEALTHY FOOD: AN ALTERNATIVE TO FOOD ADDICTION

In the West, food is classified according to its fat content and calorie content. In recent years, we have also begun to distinguish between so-called natural products and those that have undergone significant processing and contain various additives. But despite the fact that we use these words when deciding what to eat, most people hardly really understand their meaning. As a rule, people act on the principle of "less is more"; in other words, the lower the calorie and fat content, the better. Given the needs of a particular individual, this may not always be the case. If, for example, you need to store up energy quickly and for a long time, you need just high-calorie food. Ayurveda uses a food classification system that has been verified by centuries of experience. It has no numbers, no grams or calories per ounce. Ayurvedic categories are based on how foods taste when we put them in our mouths. According to this elaborate system, Ayurveda distinguishes between six flavor categories. By becoming familiar with the six basic flavors and following the important Ayurvedic principle of including all of these flavors in every meal, you can avoid many of the underlying causes of food cravings. In addition, the food will bring you more pleasure.

The six tastes are sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and astringent. Of course, four of them are familiar to you, but sharp and astringent may seem like something new. Here are a few simple examples all six flavors:

sugar, honey, rice, flour products, bread, milk, cream;

cheese, yogurt, lemons, plums, and other sour fruits;

all salted dishes;

BOUNDARIES OF BIHEVIORISM

So common in our society, eating disorders have come under scrutiny from both academia and the business community. Huge profits await anyone who can offer a quick and easy way to curb overeating, and there have been cases of great success in this area - at least in terms of momentary success. However, I would like to re-emphasize the importance of sincere intent and spiritual awareness for any lasting solution to any kind of addictive behavior problem.

I want to tell a story that I think perfectly illustrates the boundaries of a purely mechanical approach to eating addiction. It is quoted by Andrew Weil and Winifred Rosen in their excellent book From Chocolate to Morphine.

The young woman has had an irresistible attraction to chocolate for a number of years. By all means, she needed to eat chocolate several times a day, and her whole life was literally subordinated to this attraction. If she woke up in the middle of the night and found that there was no chocolate at all in the house, then she would not hesitate to get into the car and look for a 24-hour supermarket in order to satisfy her need.

This went on for several years, and she went to a clinic that dealt with eating disorders. The treatment was not at all what she might have expected, but nonetheless very effective. The clinic made her a commitment to attend ten sessions. She was asked to sit in front of a large mirror, then handed a portion of chocolates and a device attached to her wrist, which continuously delivered weak, completely painless electrical shocks.

For thirty minutes, she had to watch in the mirror how she eats chocolate candies- but she was told not to swallow them, but to spit them out on a paper plate. At first, this procedure seemed absurd to her. The first seven sessions did not bring any results. The young woman's craving for chocolate was as strong as ever, and it was only the upfront fee that kept her going to the clinic. But after the eighth session, she noticed that her interest in chocolate had waned, and by the end of the tenth session, her addiction, however incredible it seemed, had completely disappeared. Several years have passed and it has not recovered. Alas, after a while she became addicted to cakes!

OTHER SOURCES OF ADDICTION

So far, we have dealt with addictions associated with this or that substance, and figured out how they have become part of human history almost from the very beginning. Modern society, however, is an environment in which completely new categories of addictive behavior have emerged. In this chapter, we will briefly look at three examples of such “modern” addictions. Although they are not associated with substance abuse and do not pose an immediate threat to life, these behaviors have all the characteristics of a classic addiction. Recognizing them and resisting them is, meanwhile, almost more difficult. An addiction to work, promiscuity, or television does not imply any illegal activity. Such behaviors are addictive in the sense that they can take over a disproportionately large part of a person's life - if not all of it.

ADDICTED TO WORK

The word “workaholic” is known to everyone, but this term does not seem entirely accurate to me. He suggests an analogy between work addiction and alcohol addiction, but these are undoubtedly completely different things.

So, we can say about a person who drinks too much that he "does not control himself." The alcoholic is unable to control his drinking behavior. As the addiction to alcohol progresses, this inability to self-control begins to manifest itself quite visibly: trembling in the hands, poor coordination of movements, difficulty falling asleep or waking up, indicating that the person's physical, intellectual and emotional control systems are not working properly. For some alcoholics, the inability to self-control may even represent a kind of subconscious goal or strategy - for example, in psychoanalysis, alcoholism is seen as an attempt to cope with unmet needs that have their roots in early childhood. Losing control over himself, the alcoholic returns to a state in which other people are forced to take care of him. They may agree or disagree to do this, but an alcoholic who is not in control of himself asks them for help in solving elementary life problems, or even insistently demands help.

The workaholic, on the other hand, behaves in a completely different way. While alcoholism is often almost completely childish way get closer to people, continuous work is a way of moving away from them. This is a withdrawal into that area of life where self-control is required of a person and skill is highly revered. The behavior of an alcoholic may be based on children's fantasies, while a workaholic imagines himself to be an absolutely adult.

The basic fantasy that generates addiction to work almost always comes from a person's feeling that all other areas of life are outside of his influence. A more concrete example of this is that a workaholic is often not ready to cope with the vicissitudes of family relationships: his “don't touch me, I'm working” looks like a completely worthy and even admirable way of avoiding them. All those "mow the lawn", "pay the bills", "buy the dog out" and "don't forget about our anniversary" all together pale before "I'm working! It is very important!".

Several years ago I had a patient - a girl who required long-term treatment and several major surgeries. In the end, everything ended well, but each time the girl had to spend several weeks in the hospital, where the only entertainment was walking down the corridor and visiting the playroom there. Despite the fact that the girl's family lived in a small town not very close to the hospital, her mother was with her every day, and her father came every weekend.

Addicted to sex

Throughout Western history, sex has been so condemned and persecuted that criticism of someone's sexual behavior must be approached with the utmost caution. There are, however, people whose preoccupation with sex is so great that it undoubtedly creates difficulties for them in life. One can speak of this as an addiction to sex, bearing in mind, however, the dangerous tendency among people to sharply condemn all sexual behavior that is different from their own. On the other hand, we have nowhere to go from the importance of discussing issues related to human sexual behavior, nor from the fact that the latter is a favorite target of moralists.

Sexuality is an extremely interesting and complex subject. Given that we can devote only a small fraction of the volume of this book to addiction to sex, we will focus here on only two images of human existence that seem to result in such behavior. The first is characterized by an overexcited emotional and physical state with a desperate search for a way to release it. The second is practically the opposite of the first: a dull existence with an irresistible need for some kind of thrill.

The human nervous system is incapable of simultaneously experiencing pain and orgasm. Since at the moment of orgasm pain, both emotional and physical, is absent, this means that the more orgasms a person has, the less pain he will have. I mention this because I noticed that many of those who are addicted to sex are constantly in misery. Often, especially in men, this suffering is precisely physical. This is probably why men with serious health problems are very often addicted to sex. So, the great poet Lord Byron suffered from clubfoot and all his short life suffered from severe pain. And according to current ideas, Byron could well be called sexually preoccupied.

Sex is able to relieve physical and emotional pain not only at the moment of orgasm, but also at all stages of seeking and seduction. Quite often, a sexually preoccupied person feels the desire and need to be liked, but being deprived of this, he sees an alternative for himself in being loved, at least in the physical sense. For people who have found a way to get rid of pain in sex, it brings something like relief. The body of such people is constantly overexcited - in Ayurvedic terms, their Vata is significantly out of balance - and they need sex in order to extinguish their inner fire rather than to kindle it.

Sexual addiction of the second type arises from a lack of acuity, the highest manifestation of which is depression. A person sometimes needs to find some way out of his meaningless existence, and sex creates the impression of such a way out. One of my acquaintances was able to end his addiction to sex when he realized this. One of those spiritual transformations happened to him, which, in my opinion, practically does not leave a person a chance to continue addictive behavior. This friend of mine inherited a large amount of money, so he could afford to devote all his time to hunting women. He preferred intrigues that required extraordinary ingenuity, energetic pursuit, and intercontinental travel. Once, in search of a certain woman, he ransacked the islands of the Greek archipelago on a yacht, and then an amazing guess dawned on him. He wasn't looking for a woman - he needed the tension, the clever planning, the purpose that women had given his life. Deprived of sex and all that it entails, this person really could not find a worthy occupation.

ADDICTION TO TV

Television was invented in the 1920s, and in ten years the technology for the production of this communication device was fully developed. Sixty years ago, television was capable of, in essence, everything that it is capable of today, but its widespread adoption was prevented by the Second World War. Having become generally available in the late 40s - early 50s, television immediately gained immense popularity. And as soon as televisions began to appear in homes, significant changes began to occur in the lives of millions of people. These changes have continued at an accelerated pace up to the present day.

Today, millions of Americans spend up to eight hours a day watching television. But can we say that this activity meets the criteria for addictive behavior? Most of the signs say that this is exactly the case. We found, for example, that the presence of withdrawal symptoms is one of the defining characteristics of addiction, and television actually causes such symptoms. A study was conducted in which randomly selected families were paid several hundred dollars a month to stop watching television. However, in many cases, the study had to be interrupted ahead of time due to the fact that these people were unable to endure such deprivation. The results of the study showed that, as in the case of heroin, withdrawal symptoms in avid TV viewers appear at their most severe after five to seven days. These symptoms include feelings of aggression, anxiety, depression, and difficulty using the freed up time. Those who managed to live a week without seeing the screen gradually got used to a new way of life for themselves.

Another characteristic feature of addictive behavior is the associated sense of guilt, which in a sense feeds the addiction rather than suppresses it. A study of the ways people spend their free time has shown that of these ways, only watching TV causes feelings of guilt. Other activities were more enjoyable the more time was devoted to them. Instead of pleasure, TV generated only feelings of guilt.

There are many other parallels between avid television viewing and other addictions. Like smoking, it is prevalent mainly among the poor. Like heroin and other drugs, it offers a person an invented world that, over time, can turn into a different reality for the viewer. And like all addictions, it comes from a lack of genuine pleasure, joy, and achievement in other areas of life.

Why do people watch TV many hours a day? Research conducted among avid TV viewers has identified four main motivations: the desire to escape the boredom of everyday life; the desire to receive something that could be talked about with other people; the pleasure of observing people and events on the screen and the ability to compare what he saw with his own experience; striving to keep abreast of news and events in the world. With the possible exception of the latter, all these reasons to watch TV clearly indicate the loneliness and deprivation of an inveterate TV viewer in real life... When there is real beauty and real adventure in a person's life, he does not need to dramatize it by comparing himself to characters in comedy films or soap operas. But if his life is nothing but boredom, the fictional adventures of formulaic characters may be a worthy alternative.

How to overcome bad habits.

The Spiritual Path to Problem Solving

http://www.universalinternetlibrary.ru/

“Deepak Chopra. How to overcome bad habits. The spiritual path to solving the problem ": Sofia; Kiev; 2003

ISBN 5‑9550‑0149‑2

annotation

In essence, a person suffering from bad habits is a seeker of happiness, but he is looking for it in the wrong place, and wanders - perhaps for many years - in roundabout ways.

Deepak Chopra

How to overcome bad habits

The Spiritual Path to Problem Solving

PART ONE

WHAT ARE HAZARDOUS HABITS

LOST IN SEARCH

I understand that such a positive attitude itself is somewhat unusual. Too often, our efforts to solve the problem of bad habits are poisoned by anger, intolerance and despair. Sometimes it sounds overt, such as in phrases like the “war on drugs” or horror stories of how addictions ruined someone’s career and ruined someone’s life. In other cases, this negative orientation does not manifest itself so directly: recall, for example, the dull atmosphere of many "centers" where patients are asked to cope with their problems and where a circle of plastic chairs awaits them in a room with linoleum on the floor and fluorescent lighting.

By calling the addict a seeker, I want to go even further. In my opinion, a person who has never experienced cravings for addiction is one who has not taken the first timid step towards knowing the true meaning of the Spirit. There may be nothing to be proud of in addiction, but it represents a desire for higher-level experiences. And although it is impossible to reach this level with the help of pills and all sorts of obsessions, the very attempt attests to the presence of something truly spiritual in a person.

According to Ayurveda, the traditional Indian doctrine of human health, each of us cherishes the memory of perfection. This memory is imprinted in every cell of our body. It cannot be erased, but it can be drowned out by poisons and various kinds of pollution. In considering addictions, our real challenge is not to describe the destructive effects of type 1 addictive behavior, but to awaken the perfection we always hold. As a schoolboy, I read Paradise Lost, undoubtedly one of the greatest works of art in the English language. But I also realized that the paradise inside us can never be lost in the full sense of the word. We can stop noticing it, but it is always attainable for us.

In this regard, I recall the life story I once read of Charlie Parker, a talented musician who shone in the jazz world of New York in the 1940s and early 1950s. The best of his saxophone improvisations were not only overwhelmingly fast and intricate - they had logical coherence and unity. Young musicians who idolized Parker were ready to do anything to play like him, but his musical abilities seemed almost supernatural. What was the secret of his game, his ability to enter that, not everyone's access to space, where he, no doubt, stayed during the performance?

SPIRIT TRAINING

Man does not live by bread alone.

This is unfortunate, for we need ecstasy. We need it as badly as we need food, water and air. But in modern Western society, this fundamental human need is not fully realized. Over the past thirty years, we have made significant progress in understanding how our physical environment has deteriorated and in overcoming these kinds of trends. But we have not yet succeeded in realizing our spiritual needs with the same decisiveness. I see the problem of bad habits as a direct consequence of this fundamental oversight.

In every culture, in all epochs of human history, people have felt the need for an ecstatic experience - for pleasure of one kind or another that goes beyond the framework of everyday reality. Various cultures have tried to satisfy this need in many different ways, and some of these methods have proven to be much more spiritually oriented than all others.

In the 19th century, the Russian writer Fyodor Dostoevsky argued that a person can feel satisfied only by receiving three types of experiences from society - miracles, mysteries and spiritual guidance, and that these experiences are much more important for him than satisfying material needs. The addicted person seems to believe that with its help he will be able to obtain miracles and mysteries, and the lack of spiritual guidance makes such a view all the more seductive. Instead of considering addicted people simply as weak people, if not criminals, I prefer to see them as those who are destructive for themselves, but still quite understandably respond to the spiritual vacuum hiding behind our material abundance.

We all feel the consequences of this spiritual vacuum. Depending on who we are and the circumstances in which we find ourselves, we respond to it in one of many ways. However, in our society, the human response to inherently spiritual aspirations often takes material forms.

I am reminded of a friend of mine who, while still a very young man, achieved impressive success in business. In his early forties, he had in his hands the means sufficient to do or have literally whatever he wanted. And he really wanted something, but he wasn't sure what it was. Anyway, he bought a summer house by the lake. To get to this house, he bought an expensive jeep, and so that, when he got there, he had something to do, he bought a boat. In addition, he acquired an ultra-modern cell phone so that he could monitor the progress of his business from a jeep or boat.

In short, an ordinary story that has happened many times with financially successful individuals. Having bought a house, a car, a boat and a telephone, my friend was in no way closer to true self-realization than he was before. The result was only that he fell into an even more oppressed state of mind, and the long-term consequences of this are still observed. So, for example, the boat turned out to be a very convenient place for quite abundant libations.

My friend is a wealthy man and, by and large, a strong personality. This is probably why his obsession with acquisitions did not cause him much harm. But for a person with less financial capabilities, or, say, for a more vulnerable person, this could have rather detrimental consequences in the form of unpredictable emotional addictions. Alcohol, drugs, sexual recklessness are essentially material responses to needs that are not fundamentally physical. But if a person does not imagine where, in addition to the sphere of simple sensuality, he should seek genuine pleasure, it is not surprising that he does not find it.

In his 1939 book The Lost World of the Exhibition, computer scientist David Gelenter uses the New York World's Fair as a starting point for his analysis of the then society. His conclusions seem to me quite clear and convincing. Towards the end of the Great Depression and just before the outbreak of World War II, the World's Fair painted a picture of the future that boggled the imagination of most people at the time. A little more, this picture said, and everyone will have their own car. Moreover, everyone will have a garage where they can keep this car. Housing, electric refrigerators and even televisions will become available to everyone.

Gelenter said this seemingly incredible prospect gave strength to American society during the war and the period of rising prosperity that followed. Gradually, what seemed like an unattainable ideal turned into a real way of life for many people. But as more and more success was achieved in matters of satisfying material needs, the number of things to which one had to strive naturally decreased. Since things were what our hopes were for and for which we labored, with each new material goal being achieved, we had fewer hopes and fewer goals.

Today the dream that inspired us half a century ago has come true. And if this reality did not bring happiness to many Americans, it is not because the dream was based on what we needed then! Now, when many of us have received everything in full, we need something qualitatively different. We need something more.

For millions of people who have not yet achieved the financial and material success that we associate with today, the situation is even more difficult. The addiction to bad habits is undoubtedly more common for the poor than for the wealthy strata of society, and its consequences for people with limited social and personal resources are much more harmful.

Telling people who feel like they are out of material well-being that they should realize their spiritual needs, I am raising very difficult problems. For example, I may be asked if this reminds me of admonitions to a young child that being an adult is not at all as wonderful as it might seem? Kids will still want to experience it for themselves! And yet I am sure that the awareness and development of the Spirit is necessary for everyone, regardless of his current position in society, since such awareness is the only genuine and permanent alternative to addictions.

On the pages of this book, I tried to show that spiritual improvement is available to every person, no matter what his personal history or material security. Of course, your individual circumstances will inevitably influence the choice of the path to spiritual perfection. However, one of the greatest strengths of Ayurveda is its flexibility and ability to meet the unique needs of each individual person.

Hopefully, the subtitle of this book adequately underscores the strength of my feelings about bad habits. I am talking about the spiritual path to solving a problem, because I am sure that this is the real answer. In the third chapter I will explain in more detail why I am sure of this; in the next chapters, we will figure out how you can find the application of the spiritual path in your daily life.

ACTION, REMEMBER, DESIRE

Whenever I want to understand what miracle and happiness are, I mentally return to that bright and beautiful day when I went for a walk with a little three-year-old girl, the daughter of my neighbor.

This walk around the block led me to some very important conclusions. So, it was obvious that in fact the source of pleasure for the girl was not at all what we faced, in itself. Pictures, sounds, objects - all this was just an excuse for her to express the feeling that was already present in her. This feeling did not come from something in the outer world; on the contrary, it was projected onto the world from her heart and soul. In my opinion, happiness is precisely the word that best characterizes such a state of spontaneous pleasure.

Once you find one hundred dollars, you will be delighted. Money is an external cause, and joy is an internal response to it. Happiness can be described as feeling joy without a reason. Happiness is an initially present inner state that determines our perception of the world. Happiness is the cause, while joy is the effect.

I don’t mean to say that we adults should always strive to act as if we are little children, but we need to remember that happy state of being that was once peculiar to us. It is always achievable, although it is often confused with a completely different state, which I have called the feeling of joy. Joy is what we are looking for, what we strive for, perhaps even what we are fighting for. Joy is something that we are trying to find, or rather buy. Happiness is what we are.

People strive to avoid suffering and get pleasure, and they take pleasure in any of the forms available to them. If a person has lost touch with his internal sources of happiness, if the joy that comes to him from external sources is the only happiness he knows, then he is looking for just such an experience. Depending on the circumstances, this search can prove to be very valuable and fruitful. But, unfortunately, he can also develop into addiction in any of his many guises.

Let's replace the finding of the $ 100 bill with some other opportunity in our story. Suppose a young man living in a world of suffering and cruelty finds a substance that can instantly transfer him, even if only for a short time, to a completely different life. Suppose another young man whose career has stalled and whose family is in financial trouble is relieved to have a bottle of beer after sending his wife to bed — and after drinking half a dozen, he feels even better.

Still others will find a similar outlet in something else from the endless variety of addictive substances and addictive behaviors. Whatever the experience, if it gives pleasure, naturally, you always want to repeat it. This repetition, at least at first, is a matter of choice. But when an addiction really takes possession of a person, it turns into a need and even into a necessity.

Ayurveda very clearly defines these psychological and physiological mechanisms. When we perform any action, say, take a pencil in our hand or cross a river threshold in a rubber boat, we internally establish its place in the spectrum of our experience. At one end of this spectrum is unbearable suffering, and at the other is the highest pleasure. Once completed, the action continues to exist in our consciousness - as well as in our body - in the form of a memory, to which one or another degree of suffering or pleasure is attributed. If the level of "suffering" is high enough, we will do our best to avoid repeating this action. If the action brings us great pleasure, we will just as desperately strive to do it again.

The Sanskrit word karma means action. It can refer to both physical activity and to a particular mental process, say, thinking or feeling. Every action contains the seeds of remembrance, called in Sanskrit sanskara, and the seeds of desire, called vasana. Essentially, the difference between the two is that one is facing backward and the other is facing forward. If the memory of an action is pleasant, it generates a desire to perform a new action, giving at least the same pleasure. A new action can either simply repeat what was done earlier, or represent an attempt to get even more pleasure.

The essence of this paradigm was recognized as true even in philosophical traditions that are very far from Indian. French writer Honore de Balzac noticed that in the lives of some especially emotional people - he talked about gamblers and lovers - there is often some extremely acute experience that begins to weigh on all their subsequent actions, giving rise to the desire to reproduce the excitement once experienced. Perhaps, even without realizing it, Balzac gave an excellent description of addictive behavior, because addictions to gambling and sex are among the most widely known addictions.

Ayurveda emphasizes that after we perform this or that action, it is forever imprinted in us along with the equally irreducible elements of memory and desire. No matter what we do, say or even think, the triad "action - memory - desire" is encoded in our cells, and this code is simply impossible to erase. This has major implications for the approach to bad habits proposed in this book. We will not seek to "get rid" of the memories and desires behind addictive behavior. Instead, we will focus on creating new, highly positive experiences that are stronger than addiction's destructive urges and render those urges impotent.

Perhaps the best way to illustrate this is with the example of one of the patients who came to our correction center a few years ago. I am confident that this case demonstrates the effectiveness of a positive approach to addiction, tailored to the individual needs of the person. My patient was a seventeen year old girl; let's call her Ellen.

From the first glance at Ellen, it became clear to me that she had serious health problems. Subsequently, it turned out that they originate from drug use and another kind of self-destructive behavior that prevailed in her life from the age of fourteen. In simple terms, Ellen became addicted to heroin, as a result of which she became involved in other dangerous and harmful activities, such as theft and prostitution.

I decided at first not to bring up her addictions in my conversation with Ellen. She was already fed up with these conversations. In fact, almost every minute of her life was connected in one way or another with them, either in the form of her participation in this, or in the form of a therapeutic intervention. And so far, all attempts at such interference have been largely unsuccessful.

Let's not discuss your current problems for now, ”I suggested to Ellen in one of our first meetings. - Let's talk about what you were doing before their appearance. Was there anything you particularly enjoyed doing when you were a little girl? What were you really aiming for then? What interested you the most?

Ellen pondered, as if trying to remember some date from the course of ancient history, and not events of her own life only two or three years ago.

Well, ”she said,“ I really enjoyed horse riding. But I can't even imagine how I would climb on a horse now. I don't even know if I could have passed without falling. Then I was a completely different person.

One glance at Ellen was enough to understand where she got such moods. She looked restless, tired and malnourished. A thick wall of mental, physical and emotional ill health isolated her from the outside world and even from her own true needs and feelings. Therefore, the first goal of her course of treatment was to remove this barrier.

I suggested that Ellen go through a five-level Ayurvedic cleansing procedure called Panchakarma. After a short discussion, Ellen agreed - and, like any past Panchakarma, she felt completely "reborn." Ayurveda considers mind and body as being part of a single whole. When Ellen's body was cleansed at its most basic, cellular level, her emotions and spirit were likewise cleansed and restored. There is nothing mysterious or miraculous about Panchakarma, but the effect was truly amazing. The chemical and emotional barriers that hid Ellen's true self began to crumble.

Then Ellen took a few days off from these cleansing procedures, and I decided it was time to get down to the problem of her addictions more directly. We did go for a horseback ride, despite her earlier misgivings. And as I expected, Ellen loved it. From the point of view of Ayurveda, this was extremely important, since horseback riding awakened a specific chain of "action - memory - desire", which once played a positive role in Ellen's life. I was convinced that this chain would have its beneficial effects again.

When we got back from our walk, I asked Ellen how she was feeling. I wished that, describing to me the sensations she had just received, she would experience them again. Ellen was surprised and delighted that she had such a pleasure in an activity that she thought was not available to her. Then I suggested that she briefly go into my office and discuss something there.

We sat down on the sofa, and I felt that Ellen was getting ready to listen to some harsh lecture. I saw that she, out of a habit that had developed in her in our first meetings, silently went into defensiveness. But instead of saying anything myself, I suggested talking to Ellen.

I would like you to tell me about everything that happens to you when you inject yourself with a drug, ”I said. - Everything, from start to finish. Please describe exactly how you do it and how you feel as a result.

Do you want to hear what this is like taking off and then falling? she asked.

No, as this is only the end result. Start from the beginning. Tell me what a syringe looks like, what you feel when you hold it in your hand. Tell us what a needle looks like and how you feel when you plunge it into your hand. If there is some pleasure in all this, describe it to me, and if there is pain, fear, sadness - tell me about it too. Tell us how you smell when you take a drug, what the sound is like when you press the plunger of a syringe. Perhaps you have a special taste, or is your mouth unusually dry? Try with your imagination to go through all this for me.

I had several reasons for asking Ellen to do this, but most importantly, it was an exercise in awareness. In Ayurveda, awareness is tantamount to mastering the entirety of information about the current moment... This means focusing on all your sensations and fully experiencing everything that your body tells you in the course of this or that activity. Ellen was not used to realizing as she injected herself with the drug. For her, it was something brought to an automatism, and the fog that enveloped Ellen when the drug began to work, even more hid from her the actual mechanics of this process. This description was a huge emotional and mental stress for her, but I wanted her to be accurate in every detail. Ellen finished her story, and I felt that now her experience became more transparent for her, more real and more conscious than it was when she really filled the syringe over and over again and stuck the needle in her arm.

Well, now that you have told me in all the details about the injection of drugs, I would like you to describe your experiences when we rode a horse today. Again, remember all your thoughts, all your feelings. How did you feel when you first saw a horse today? What was it like when you put your foot in the stirrup? How did the leather of the saddle feel? What was the sound of hooves pounding on the grass? What feelings did you experience at different stages of the walk? Take me through it all from start to finish.

This second description was given by Ellen much easier than the first, and not only because it was about events very recent. This was due to the fact that she completely survived the ride. Her mind and body were freed from the numbness that had been weighing on her for the past three years. Everything that related to horseback riding was lively and joyful for this girl; so was her story.

And now you have to choose between these two of your experiences, ”I told Ellen,“ and since you have just clearly and consciously walked through them for me, I know you can make an informed decision. Of course, I’m tempted to give you a moral about the difference between heroin and horseback riding, but I resist this temptation because I don’t think it will be of any use. I can only say that those pictures, sounds, sensations, thoughts and feelings that you experienced this afternoon will be inaccessible to you - literally impossible for you - if you choose drugs.

I am pleased to report that Ellen has decided to break with drugs and has found the strength to remain true to this decision. I know that the approach that I took with regard to her was fraught with some risk, but I also know that it was successful for this very reason. I didn’t ask Ellen to give up the pleasure she experienced while taking heroin. On the contrary, I insisted that in our conversation she clearly focus on these sensations. But at the same time, I asked her to recall the suffering associated with drug use. Riding a horse carried only joy. It was an occupation that gave her pleasure even before she got into trouble, and the awakened memory of this stronger pleasure could overshadow the comparatively weaker pleasure of the drug.

Once the addicted person has access to a satisfaction deeper than that provided by the harmful behavior, the path to freedom from addiction is naturally opened for the addict. Once awakened, the memory of inner perfection generates a desire that is stronger than this dependence.

The addiction approach that worked in Ellen's case can be called "pleasure-based" or, say, "pleasure-focused awareness." But it is best to think of it simply as spiritual. I'm sure this approach can work for a great many people, although there may be times when some additional steps may need to be included in the procedure. Ellen, in spite of everything that had happened to her, had an experience of happiness from which to start. But what if, to my question, was there anything she really enjoyed before she started taking drugs, Ellen would only look at her helplessly?

There are a great many people in whose life there was positive aspects like the ones Ellen was able to use as a source of her healing. Or, these moments are so darkened in them that it is no longer possible to revive them with the help of a few pleasant sunny days. But in order to give up the sensations associated with addictive behavior, a person needs to know true pleasure. And the first step to knowing happiness is simply knowing yourself. One of the greatest merits of Ayurveda is that by dividing people into mental-bodily categories, it adapts to the absolute uniqueness of each individual person, allowing him to become aware of his individual needs and qualities in a highly practical way.

In the next chapter, you will have the opportunity to identify your own mental-body type using this Ayurvedic system, and then learn how this knowledge allows a person to achieve mental, physical and spiritual well-being - in short, happiness.

DETERMINING YOUR MENTAL-BODY TYPE

Ayurveda is the world's oldest system of knowledge about human health, designed to prevent and cure diseases. It arose two and a half thousand years BC and existed for many centuries before Hippocrates and other ancient Greek healers. In fact, it is highly probable that the ancient Greeks were influenced by the ideas of Indian medicine brought to Europe from the East along busy trade routes. Today, when the limits of what can be achieved with a purely mechanistic view of the human body are already visible, the powerful ideas of Ayurveda and other traditional health systems are once again gaining tremendous importance in the West.

Each of the three doshas has a characteristic effect on human physiology:

Vata dosha is the beginning of movement: it controls blood circulation, the passage of food through the gastrointestinal tract, and even the movement of ideas and sensations in our thoughts. Vata comes from the elements of ether and air; like the wind, it is unpredictable and constantly in motion.

Pitta dosha is associated with the element of fire, and when speaking about it, they often resort to metaphors of heat. Pitta is responsible for converting food into energy during digestion, as well as for the metabolism of air and water.

Kapha-dosha is the structuring principle of the mental-body system. It comes from the elements of earth and water and is considered the "heaviest" of the doshas. Kapha is responsible for the formation of muscles, bones, tendons and all cellular tissues of the body, that is, for the physiological structure at its lowest level.

Ayurveda teaches that the mental-bodily system of a person is determined by the ratio in his body of Vata, Pitta and Kapha - a measure of how much their current ratio deviates from the "ideal" state of equilibrium of doshas established at the beginning of life. If at your birth the dominant dosha was Vata, Ayurveda will classify you as Vata, since it is the characteristics of Vata that will most clearly manifest in your mental and physical structure.

Likewise, if you were initially dominated by Pitta or Kapha, this means that they will be the most influential in your constitution. Over the course of life, however, stress or illness can cause imbalances in the doshas, and some minor element will become dominant. It may also happen that it is the dominant dosha that disturbs the balance. For example, an unbalanced Vata type can have an excess of Vata just like Pitta or Kapha.

Of course, all three doshas must be present in the body, in every cell. Since their ratio is constantly shifting throughout life, it can be very difficult to accurately determine your body type and one or another imbalance. It is best if a doctor who is well acquainted with Ayurveda is involved in this. However, for the purposes of this book, you will be able to determine your dominant dosha yourself using the questionnaire below. This information will be very useful for you to recognize your addictions, needs and weaknesses caused by them. Please fill out the form and only then proceed to further reading.

AYURVEDIC QUESTIONNAIRE FOR DETERMINING THE MENTAL-BODY TYPE

This questionnaire is divided into three sections. The first 20 questions are about Vata dosha: read each sentence and mark (on a scale from 0 to 6) to what extent it is true in your case:

0 - this does not apply to me;

3 - refers to me in part (or sometimes);

6 - applies to me almost completely (or almost always).

After completing this work, you receive three separate points. By comparing them, you will determine your body type.

You will have no difficulty in assessing your obvious physical parameters. As for the mental and behavioral characteristics, then the assessment will be more subjective; in order to bring her closer to the truth, you should take into account your feelings and actions, if not in your entire life, then at least in recent years.

1. I do everything very quickly - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

2. I remember badly and remember with difficulty later - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

3. By nature I am a cheerful, vigorous enthusiast - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

4. I have a fragile physique, it is not easy for me to gain weight - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

5. I always learn new things very quickly - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

6. Usually I have a light and fast gait - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

7. I have difficulties when I have to make a decision - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

8. I easily have constipation and gas in the intestines - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

9. My feet and palms are often cold - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

10. I often feel anxiety and anxiety - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

11. I hate cold weather, like most people - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

12. I have a quick speech, and my friends consider me to be talkative - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

13. My mood easily changes, I am emotional by nature - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

14. I often find it difficult to fall asleep, and the night sleep is not strong - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

15. My skin is clean, especially in winter, there is very dry skin - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

16. My mind is very active, sometimes restless, but full of imagination - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

17. My movements are fast and active; my energy usually manifests itself in bursts - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

18. I am easily aroused - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

19. I have a tendency to erratic sleep and nutrition - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

20. I learn easily, but forget quickly - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6.

Vata points total:

1. I consider myself a skillful and intelligent person - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

2. In any business, I strive for maximum accuracy and order - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

3. I have a decisive, strong mind and assertive behavior - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

4. R hot weather I feel discomfort and get tired more than most people - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

5. I sweat easily - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

6. I very easily fall into anger or irritation, although I do not always show it - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

7. I experience discomfort when the next meal is delayed or canceled - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

8. My hair is distinguished by at least one of the following properties: it turns gray early or falls out; thin, soft, straight; light, red or sandy color - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

9. I have a good appetite, I can eat a lot, if I wish - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

10. Many people consider me stubborn - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

11. My bowels work very regularly: I may have diarrhea rather than constipation - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

12. I am impatient - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

13. I am accurate in details to perfection - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

14. I easily fall into anger, but soon withdraw and forget the incident - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

15. I love cold food, especially ice cream and iced drinks - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

16. In rooms I often find it too hot than too cold - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

17. I hate hot and spicy food - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

18. I should have been more tolerant of disagreement - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

19. I love it when trials happen to me, and if I want something, I strive for it very decisively - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

20. It is inherent in me to be critical not only of others, but also of myself - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6.

Pitt points total:

1. By nature it is inherent in me to do everything slowly and calmly - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

2. I am easier to put on weight than most people and lose weight more slowly. excess weight- no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

3. Usually I have a calm and peaceful disposition of spirit, and it is not easy to unbalance me - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

4. I can skip a meal without experiencing any particular discomfort - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

5. I suffer from a tendency to excessive secretion of sputum and mucus, to congestive asthma and sinusitis - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

6. I need at least eight hours of sleep to feel comfortable the next day - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

7. I have a very deep, sound sleep - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

8. I am calm by nature, and it is difficult to make me angry - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

9. I do not learn as quickly as other people, but I remember well and for a long time - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

10. I have a tendency to be overweight, to rapid obesity - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

11. Cold damp weather is unpleasant for me - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

12. I have coarse, dark, wavy (or curly) hair - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

13. I have smooth, firm skin and pale complexion - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

14. I have a massive, strong constitution - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

15. My characteristic features: sincerity, benevolence, tenderness, inclination to forgive - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

16. I have slow digestion, so I feel heaviness after eating - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

17. I am distinguished by high vitality, endurance and a stable level of energy - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

18. My gait is usually unhurried, measured - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

19. I have a tendency to excessive sleep, in the morning I get out of bed for a long time and do not immediately enter the working state - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6;

20. I eat and generally do everything slowly and thoroughly - no 0-1, partially 2-3-4, almost always 5-6.

Kapha points total:

The grand total: Vata -... Pitta -... Kapha -...

HOW TO DETERMINE YOUR BODY TYPE

If one of the three received amounts significantly exceeds the others, then, therefore, you belong to the corresponding body type unequivocally.

Mono bodily types:

Cotton wool

Pitta

Kapha

You, of course, have a mono bodily type if one of the sums of points exceeds any other twice (for example: Vata - 90, Pitta - 45, Kapha - 35), or even more so if the excess is even more significant. The monodosha type is dominated by the characteristics of one of the doshas. The second highest dosha also characterizes your natural inclinations, but to a much lesser extent.

If no single dosha dominates, you are of the two-bodied body type.

Dicotyledonous bodily types:

Vata-Pitta or Pitta-Vata

Pitta-Kapha or Kapha-Pitta

Kapha-Vata or Vata-Kapha

If you are of the two-point bodily type, then you are dominated by the characteristics of the two main doshas; one of them may prevail, but the other also plays an important role.

Most people belong to this double type (example: Vata - 80, Pitpga - 90, Kapha - 20; this total means belonging to the Pitta-Vata type).

If all three points are about the same, you are obviously of the tridoshy body type.

Tridoshny body type:

Vata-Pitta-Kapha

The latter type, however, is very rare. Check your answers again; it is advisable to involve some of your friends in this check. Finally, read carefully the descriptions of each doshas again to determine the more noticeable properties of your body type.

THREE DOSHAS AND THEIR CHARACTERISTICS

According to Ayurveda, knowing your body type is the first and most important step towards true health. This is especially true for bad habits. Although all three doshas must be present in order to maintain the life of an organism, they are extremely rarely present in a particular person in equal proportions. Therefore, it is extremely important to know which of the doshas - Vata, Pitta or Kapha - has the main influence on you. By identifying your dominant Dota, you will be able to recognize in which areas you are most vulnerable to physical or emotional stress. You will also be able to identify which activities and lifestyle changes will best help you restore balance to your mind and body.

WATA

Like the prairie wind, Vata is constantly moving, moving, changing direction at the same time. Vata is much more variable than Pitta or Kapha, and how it will behave the next day is much more difficult to predict. Vata people are characterized by sudden bursts of energy, both emotional and physical, that stop just as quickly. Whether walking, dining, deciding whether to go to bed, people of this type are consistent only in their inconsistency. This variability is also characteristic of their digestion, mood, emotions and their general health. Vata, for example, is particularly vulnerable to minor illnesses such as the common cold or flu.

Characteristics of Vata-type

Lightweight, thin

Does everything quickly

Irregular appetite and digestion

Light, intermittent sleep, tendency to insomnia

Enthusiasm, liveliness, imagination

Excitability, rapid mood swings

Quickly grasps information and quickly forgets it

Anxiety tendency

Constipation tendency

Fatigue, tendency to overstrain

Mental and physical energy manifests itself in bursts

Very typical for Vata-type:

May be hungry at any time of the day or night

Loves excitement and constant change

Goes to bed every night at a different time, skips meals, and generally changes habits frequently

Good digestion one day and poor digestion the next

Bright and unrestrained outbursts of emotions that do not last long and are quickly forgotten

Fast walk

PITTA

Pitta is like a hot, violent flame; its distinguishing feature is the pressure. This similarity to fever appears even in the physical characteristics of Pitta-type people, often red-haired and red-faced. By nature, these people are ambitious, sometimes even obsessed, tend to boldly express themselves and argue fiercely. Being in a state of poise, people of the Pitta type are gentle and affectionate, their face radiates warmth; they are simply permeated with happiness. However, when stress, poor diet, or other destabilizing factor comes into play, the aggressive, critical side of Pitta begins to emerge.

Pitt-type characteristics

Medium build

Acute hunger and thirst, powerful digestion

A tendency to anger and irritation in stressful situations

White or pink skin, often with freckles

Avoids the sun, does not like hot weather

Entrepreneurial nature, loves trials

Keen intellect

Accurate, expressive speech

Dislikes skipping meals

Blond, blond, red (or reddish) hair

Pitt-type people are especially characteristic of:

Feel excruciating hunger if lunch is half an hour late

Live by the clock, resent a waste of time

Wake up in the middle of the night from heat and thirst

Take control of the situation or feel such a need

Convincing from experience that others find it too demanding, sarcastic, or uncompromising

Resolute gait

Kapha

Kapha-type characteristics

Strong, powerful physique; great physical strength and endurance

Stable energy; slowness and grace in action

Calm, relaxed nature; in no hurry to get angry

Cold, smooth, thick, pale, and often oily skin

Slowly learns new things, but has a good tenacious memory

Deep prolonged sleep

Obesity tendency

Slow digestion, moderate appetite

Propensity for property and self-righteousness

Kapha people are especially prone to:

Thinking about the problem for a long time before making a decision

Wake up for a long time, lie in bed for a long time, drink coffee first thing in the morning

Appreciate the status quo and maintain it by pleasing others

Respect the feelings of others (if you have genuine sympathy for them)

Seek emotional comfort in food

Wet eyes, graceful movement, smooth gait - even with excess weight

In the second part, we will talk about some of the most common bad habits, focusing on their connection with the doshas. Since unbalanced Vata is responsible for impulsive actions and nervous instability, calming this dosha is of particular importance in overcoming bad habits. An unbalanced Pitta underlies the exaggerated sense of self-control that some addicted people have, including the confidence of "I can quit as soon as I want" or "I can drink as much as I want and it doesn't harm me in any way." On the other hand, Kapha people are often actually able to tolerate exposure to harmful substances longer than others. Combined with their natural tendency toward inertia and sluggishness, this sometimes prompts Kapha people to resist treatment.

I strongly recommend that you read all the chapters of the second part, even if you personally do not have any bad habits. Getting familiar with a concept of addictive behavior that is different from your own can be very helpful in broadening your horizons. It will also help you understand the feelings of non-addicted people - friends, family, work colleagues - who have to deal with this complex psychological phenomenon, even though it may be completely foreign to their own experiences.

The third part will focus on specific strategies for eliminating the Vata imbalance that underlies any bad habit. Ayurvedic methods will completely and completely restore balance in your body. You will be able to experience genuine happiness that will simply leave no room for any addictive behavior in your life.

While this book can be of immense benefit to its readers, please keep in mind that it is in no way a substitute for professional medical attention when it comes to problems that are fraught with serious health hazards. Bad habits are caused by a combination of personal, social and environmental factors... In encouraging you to take responsibility for your own health, I also want you to be aware of the possible existence of influences beyond your control and not even known to you at all. In any case, before embarking on a new diet or exercise regimen, including those described in Part Three, please consult your doctor. This is especially important if your current health is impaired due to ingrained bad habits.

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