From the author: Article by process psychotherapist Rainey Houser. Translation mine. This article explores the connections between spirituality and addictions from a process-oriented perspective and presents the theory and methods of process work at the individual and system levels. Case studies demonstrate how successful and useful process-oriented interventions can be in working with addicts and their families to improve the effectiveness of treatment. The author considers the need for altered states of consciousness as a desire for transformation and concludes that addiction can be viewed as an unconscious attempt to achieve integrity. Often in my early twenties, I experimented with hallucinogenic plants and as a result of this experience received a deep initiation, a kind of initiation into the world of the spirit. I experienced something new and profound, I felt connected to what I believed to be God and to my own unknown aspects. This experience completely changed my outlook on life and gave me a sense of belonging to something I had always longed for. This experiment also began a process that continues to this day, a process of deep feelings and a different relationship to altered states of consciousness (ASC) and the spiritual world. After this peak experience in my twenties, I also became aware of the pain that occurs when one feels yourself separated and isolated from your spiritual life and creativity. I found it difficult to integrate my intense experiences into everyday life, and in an attempt to overcome feelings of alienation and sadness, I became dependent on alcohol and cigarettes. Over time, I realized more and more that it was possible to transform the tendency towards addictions into a creative process and manifest what I could feel and fully experience, what was missing in my life. I studied, worked with clients and over the years I became more and more clear I realized that so many people were going through the same thing as me. The strong craving for states of altered consciousness is similar to the universal craving we observe. At its core, it is a spiritual desire to change one’s state of consciousness and a tendency toward wholeness. These unusual states of consciousness contain potential that has been known to humanity for thousands of years. In traditional societies, these states were used for paranormal perception, healing and the prosperity of society. Unlike traditional cultures, the majority in Western society denies sacred experience and does not offer many opportunities, ritual space for expressing and living our dreaming process. Perhaps precisely because many Westerners lack access to the spiritual world, our desire for spiritual experiences is lived out unconsciously, either through altered states of consciousness or through sudden extreme states of consciousness. Having worked with hundreds of people with different types of addictions, I have come to believe that at the core of all addictions lies one spiritual process - the search for wholeness, personal or collective completeness, and the desire for transpersonal unity that goes beyond the personal level. Spiritual practice, from the point of view of the process-oriented approach, is the desire to “find the missing parts of reality” (Mindell, 1993) and consciously live them in order to become whole. In this article I will try to show that ASC: - can represent these missing parts (of reality); - filled with creative energy; - contain useful information for the individual, family and group life. At the personal level, narcotic ASCs compensate for a one-sided worldview and help us gain access to rejected and unknown aspects of our personality.” In ASC we can discover our high dreams about ourselves, our relationships and our dreams about life in general. In altered states we can also encounterthose parts of ourselves that we lost or disowned as children. If violence and oppression have left us feeling pain, emptiness, and a sense of worthlessness, we may turn to food, drugs, or other addictions to achieve a sense of fulfillment and return to our natural wholeness. At the family and cultural level, altered states of consciousness are a reflection of what is on the periphery or outside the boundaries of what is accepted and tolerated in a culture or family. The so-called identified patient reflects what is rejected in the family, while marginalized groups experience what is repressed by society, and thus the rejected person expresses the face of the culture. Mindell (1988) called marginalized individuals and groups “shadows of the city” because they express what is not consciously lived out in mainstream culture. By expressing rejected aspects of mainstream culture, the shadow of the city confronts the status quo, the status quo, and brings rejected ways of being into the consciousness of the mainstream. Some altered states of consciousness are reactions against social, political, economic and spiritual conditions that disenfranchise and oppress people. These ASCs convey a message of alternative possibilities to mainstream culture. In the United States, the attempt to ban the use of mind-altering substances, the "war on drugs" and the subsequent failure of official drug policies show the limitations of an approach that attempts to suppress altered states (and thus suppressing any message they might give to the mainstream). This attitude denies the very possibility of going beyond normal states of consciousness and accepting what is rejected by generally accepted culture. How actively society tries to suppress these unusual states, so stubbornly they continue to exist and flourish. At the personal level, addiction can be looked at as dependence on those parts of our personality that our “sober” way of existence excludes, those parts that are difficult for us to understand and live consciously. Drug cravings reflect the need for ASC. In this sense, addiction is an attempt to achieve wholeness. (Mindell, 1989). Drinking alcohol is “...this desire to find dream time in a cosmopolitan reality; it is a symptom of loss of rootedness in wholeness and dreaming, a symptom of depression and the pain of repression and disenfranchisement. Drugs mean approaching one's own personal history and traveling to other realms in order to find missing pieces of reality...” (Mindell, 1993). While drug states may give a person a taste of what he is looking for, the true nature of the desire for ASC lies beyond the states achieved with drugs. When the meaningful and meaningful aspects underlying the process cannot be experienced consciously, the person is likely to return to drugs. It is unlikely that a drug addict will find exactly what he is looking for in his addiction, and therefore will return to drug use again in a vain attempt to satisfy his deepest desire. In many cases, addiction is nothing more than the need for spiritual transformation of the individual. While drug states facilitate a momentary transition from everyday identity, the search for meaning is usually lost in the oblivion of drug use. As addiction to a drug grows, the process of addiction forces the person to continue to increase the dose of the substance in order to achieve an altered state of consciousness, seemingly unattainable for his primary identity. Often, addiction does not lead to going beyond the existing situation, but is repeated unsuccessful attempts to change your everyday personality. Christina Grof talks about the destruction of the ego during her addiction. “Instead of making ego death an internal experience, I acted externally through the tragedyalcoholism that was destroying me" (Grof, 1990). Reaccessing and ending the altered state If we accept the possibility that the need for ASC is based on the desire for transformation and wholeness, an important question arises: what new treatment approaches emerge in this case ? In what follows, I will focus on relationships and interventions that can help unlock the deeper meaning of ASC and can also facilitate the process of integrating these states. According to Mindell (1989), a zest for life, loving relationships in which growth and development matter, and a supportive environment are critical to uncovering and integrating the original meaning behind addiction. Another necessary condition for healing is the absence of someone who is strongly opposed to the IP, since drug use is often a reaction to a negative parental figure. Provided that the internal and external dynamics cannot change, it is likely that the harmful, destructive personality and its environment will remain. In process work there are many unique points of view on addictions. The core belief is that altered states, no matter how unusual, are potentially beneficial and meaningful. One of the most important, decisive tools of process work is awareness, or “attention.” Attention itself is divided into two types: first and second attention. The first attention is focused on our short-term thought process, on our normal state of consciousness. It is necessary for a person to “achieve our goals, carry out daily activities, and make the impression we intend to make” (Mindell, 1993). The second attention focuses on irrational processes and notices and perceives altered states of consciousness. “This is the key to the dream world; it is the unconscious and dream-like movements, accidents and slips of speech that occur all the time” (Mindell, 1993). The practice of developing the second attention helps us notice, enter and explore emerging experiences and altered states of consciousness that surface in the dream world. threshold of consciousness. By using attention, we all learn to better notice what is happening and follow internal and external changes rather than trying to direct and change what is already happening. Using awareness when working with people in ASC helps the therapist to follow the client and allow the altered state to unfold and complete itself, explaining the meaning behind the state. Our increasing ability to notice and be aware of what is happening opens up new possibilities and facilitates successful communication between different parts of the personality in ourselves and in others. We can also gain a broader perspective and develop an alert inner observer. Another important point in working with addictions is developing flexibility when in changing states, increasing the ability to maneuver between unusual experiences, enter and exit them, while maintaining a sober consciousness. One of the most useful ideas in working with altered states of consciousness is simply to support people and be with them where they are. Perry (1974) and Laing (1970) demonstrated how important it is to believe in what is happening, allowing the process to unfold naturally. In this sense, a powerful process-oriented technique is re-accessing the altered state. One way for a client to access ASC is to reliably imagine that he is taking a substance that alters his state of consciousness, to feel that he is experiencing the effects of the substance, simply by carefully observing the effects of the induced state and the changes that occur in that process. If the client is an active user, it may be advisable to work with him while he is in a drug state, or even going through this process while sitting across from the therapist. It can help work through the strongprojection towards drugs. (Mindell, 1987). While the client experiences and observes his experience, the therapist helps to open up the ASC and help him reach closure. Buzzing a Bee I met Peter when he was in his early twenties. He started shooting heroin several years before we started working together. After failing to quit on his own, he started using drugs again and then accepted a methadone program. Peter has been living with his deeply depressed mother since his parents divorced when he was 3 years old. A few years after the divorce, his father died of alcoholism. In addition to methadone, Peter occasionally used heroin and cocaine in an attempt to achieve a "high" that could satisfy him. Peter became interested in the possibility of re-accessing the drug state through imagination, simply by imagining himself taking the drug. We sat down next to him and he began to reconstruct his injection ritual, sitting on the floor of an imaginary public toilet and slowly remembering how he injects heroin into his vein. At some point he stopped and said: “How stupid it is to inject yourself with this stuff!” Then he closed his eyes and began to describe the feeling that arose in the abdomen and spread up throughout the body. As he described this, a flow of feelings suddenly began to accompany his hands. I encouraged him to use his hands more intensely, he embraced the space in front of him and began to slowly move around his axis. He said, “Oh, what a wonderful feeling. If only it stayed with me, I would be happy! Peter continued to move his entire body. Standing with his eyes closed, he began to feel like a bee buzzing over the fields, pollinating flowers, feeling complete bliss throughout his body. Some time later, his hands clenched into fists. I began to harass him, and he began to push me away and defend his space. I asked him what he wanted to push away. “What doesn't allow me to take my space... my mother, who suffocates me with her depression and constant criticism! I need my own space!” After a brief struggle with his mother, Peter suddenly began to move again and closed his eyes, buzzing happily. I asked him to go deeper into his feelings. At some point, his head fell back, his body following it in a backward bend. I supported him as he slowly sank to the floor to help complete this trance state. After several minutes of deep immersion in his sensory process, he opened his eyes: “This is the most wonderful feeling! I feel and feel incredible, amazing in both body and soul! Addiction and Inner Critics If we look at Peter's experience when he imagined himself taking heroin, we see that he was striving for a state of bliss in which he was free from internal criticism and a negative mother whose hurtful comments and attitudes hurt his feelings and damaged his self-esteem. In his attempt to free himself, he tried to fight his mother, whom he perceived as overwhelming. His next step on the path to development will be to consciously take a stand against his inner cruel critic. He must consciously take this position in his relationship with his mother, and find support for that part of himself that wants to change things. From a teleological point of view, the process behind addiction is a movement towards development, while the substance used only destroys a person’s desire to work on himself and move beyond his current identity. In most cases, the desire to artificially induce ASC is associated with the need to reflect internal criticism , as well as an attempt at self-deception. As soon as we return to normal identities, our inner critics reappear as if nothing had happened, and the cycle begins again. We need to find stable methods of working with these negative introjects. One possibility in the case ofwith Peter is a concentration on working with all aspects of his cycle: work with both the critic and the state of integrity induced by narcotic ecstasy, as well as concentration on the essence of the desire to achieve such ecstasy. In the process of re-accessing the ASC, the client learns the techniques of entry into the desired state psychologically - without the use of drugs. By intensifying and expanding his ecstatic state, he experiences the essence of the desired experience, which in turn supports him in counterbalance to the feelings of emptiness and worthlessness created by internal critics. Thus, feeling good about yourself leads to confrontation with the overwhelming critic. It is important to enter into conflict with a critical figure so that a person, having entered the role of a critic, can recognize and experience all the features of this figure. Often this can result in an active process of negotiation between the roles of critic and victim, which changes both of these figures and their way of interaction and helps to strengthen the objective observer or “metacommunicator”. “If you work with the conflict that arises between processes, follow them step by step, you will notice another aspect of consciousness: a feeling of freedom” (Mindell, 1990). Working through the roles involved in conflict can give a sense of freedom and lead to significant changes in overall lifestyle. Process work has tools for uncovering the semantic patterns underlying altered states of consciousness and for gaining access to the unconscious information contained in them. The state of intoxication is a treasure for the possibility of going beyond the existing order of things to a new state. When we have access to a broader perspective, it becomes easier for us to work with negative internal figures. For Peter, the completion of this state occurred when he felt like a bee, which became a symbolic reflection of wholeness and soul. This process is a transformative journey through death and rebirth (Herder, 1978). It is interesting how this symbolism confirms the experimental work in retrospect and illustrates the collective amplification of this process. Altered States as Roles in the Field When working with severe addiction conditions, it is extremely important to include the entire family system in the treatment process. Altered states occur within the context of a larger system - they reflect the powerful dreaming process not only of the individual, but also of the family and culture as a whole. Often addictions are a reaction to the system and reflect unconscious aspects of the system. Every family is torn between the need for change and growth and the need to maintain stability. Early models of family therapy viewed symptoms functionally, that is, as an attempt to protect the status quo in the family. Newer theories, based on evolutionary cognitive theory (Dell, 1981), view symptomatic behavior as evolutionary feedback that pushes the system in a new direction. Prigogine (1986) shows how increasing fluctuation (instability) in a given system forces the system to pave a new path towards a new and more complex structure. In process work, we consider working with a family as a group process - the field of the family or group consists of interchangeable roles, but nevertheless they must all be occupied; roles that are not consciously occupied by anyone act as disturbing “ghosts” that “pollute the atmosphere.” The field includes not only the primary culture of the family or group - what we claim to be - but also what we actually do. The discrepancy between what any group says it does and what actually happens pervades the atmosphere and creates “an enormous amount of signals that have a powerful impact, but that impact is denied” (Mindell, 1992). These disturbing influences appear in bursts that can be recognized and have the potential to move the family towards a new waybehavior. Disturbances in the family system, as “messengers of change” (Reiss, 1993), represent minority roles in the family field. Disturbing symptomatic behavior usually occurs unconsciously. Be that as it may, it reflects the qualities that are missing in the system. The dominant family culture is stuck in a limited range of roles and needs to open up to parts of itself that it denies. Often it is the identified patient who becomes the channel that guides the family toward change. Change and development take place if the role of the harasser is explored and consciously lived by other family members. I remember working with a family who considered themselves very harmonious and spiritual. Their problem was 17-year-old daughter Petra, who recently admitted that she had been using heroin for the past year. The parents complained that Petra was terrorizing them with her disrespectful behavior, leaving them powerless to do anything and feeling hopeless. During our first meeting, Petra screamed that she despised her parents and that she was sick just looking at them. She openly defended her lifestyle, which included promiscuous sex and drug use. The mother cried and said that she could no longer bear this conflict. She felt that she devoted her entire life to her family instead of pursuing her career, improving her relationships, and enjoying life. Despite her complaints, she felt completely protected in the family and did not defend herself. Her husband, a police officer, was inclined to shy away. He was polite and accommodating, and also had periodic outbursts of anger. He admitted that he regularly drinks a cocktail or two and complained that he felt isolated in his family. During the session, he periodically looked at me as if he needed support. When I was in the company of this family, I got the impression that the heroin did not come from the outside, but was present at the sessions. Parents focused on passivity, calm and harmony, all those states that heroin gives. None of them were able to confront Petra, nor were they willing to address the conflicts in their own relationships and work on their personal dreams of respect (as a value). Working with the assumption that the "disturber" brought a new direction for the family's development, I felt that Petra interacted with people in the way she would like to be treated. When I abruptly interrupted her and told her to shut up, she responded with a beaming smile and immediately became calm and attentive. Each family member was stuck in their role. Petra, the identified patient, showed the direction of change. She was full of life, unpredictable, powerful, facing the unknown and relentlessly following her dreams. In order for the family system to become more fluid, parents needed to embrace its strength and ruthlessness, look at their own obstacles to living a full life, and be more direct in their relationships. They showed courage and began to not only challenge Petra, but also enter into conflicts with each other, and follow their own dreams. The mother was unhappy in her sex life and wanted to continue her career and needed another relationship. Petra's father closed himself off sexually because he felt powerless in his relationship with his wife. He needed time to understand his deepest needs and work with his rage and fear of rejection. The better he became at following himself, the more powerful he felt. When the couple decided to face their problems and work through their own themes and conflicts in the relationship, Petra agreed to a detox program and therapy group. Listening with the Heart Some people are interested in integrating ASC, while others are not. The task of some people is to change the structure within the consensus reality. And for others, the reality of consensus is excessiveis painful to live and they feel that they are unable to change anything. In such cases, their unusual altered states confront the culture and demand that other people change their behavior. The compassionate stance of “deep democracy” (Mindell, 1992) means valuing all parts of the individual and the collective, no matter how unusual they may seem. This attitude accepts and supports each member of our shared family and promotes relationships between the dominant paradigm and disenfranchised individuals and groups. I agree with Mindell when he says that the most important element in working with people is “the attitude from which you perceive yourself and others, how you relate to yourself and others. From a position of empathy, you automatically grasp other people's feedback and reactions" (Mindell 1990). It is my deepest belief that unusual, altered, and extreme STS have meaning not only for individuals, but for relationships, families, and the culture as a whole. It is a very heartwarming experience to listen with empathy to the stories of the “urban shadows.” I remember working with Mindell (1992) when we invited heroin addicts straight from the streets of Zurich to a seminar. They didn't want to change; instead, they forced the workshop participants to change. One woman described how cruel street life and prostitution were, and how cold and unwelcoming society was towards her. Her story touched the entire group. I realized that this woman's story is the story of ourselves, and I realized how unbearably complex and challenging the world has become. By listening and understanding the important social and spiritual messages coming from those who are rejected by mainstream society, I have learned a lot. If we treat and treat addiction as a problem of someone's personal psychology, we are missing a very important point. We need to expand our awareness and understanding of how social reality impacts our deepest inner lives. As we saw with Peter, external oppression becomes internalized and crystallized into figures of the cruel critic and the victim. Suppressive social beliefs manifest themselves not only in individual psychology; our task is to help unravel not only personal drama, but also collective tragedy. Psychology, politics and spirituality are inseparable (Mindell, 1994), social and political phenomena must be addressed and managed together for change to occur and healing to occur. Confronting the oppressor in real life and turning to a socially active position is the occasion for our common struggle for freedom and completeness. If the search for wholeness is about finding the missing parts of reality, then our spiritual practice is about consciously expressing what has been rejected and to discover the creative messages behind the altered states of consciousness of individuals, families and cultures as a whole. 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