Not long after my wife and I were married, we decided to proactively increase our chances of staying together by enrolling in one of Dr. John Gottman’s weekend couples workshops in Seattle. At the time I was deeply immersed in my graduate studies in counseling and was excited to spend some time with the world-famous marriage guru. What I had not realized was that 1000 other people would be crammed into the Seattle Center taking the workshop as well, so my chances of a little one-on-one time were not so good. Fortunately, he circulated around while we all were doing exercises and I told my wife that if he ever came within 200 yards we should wave our hands wildly and grab his attention.

The moment came and sure enough my plan worked. He sat down and we began talking about some martial issue that escapes me now. During our conversation I began challenging him a bit about how people really change behavior, at which point he brought up focusing. Because I had told him I was nearing completion of my graduate program he assumed I would know all about focusing, but my deer-in-the-headlights response gave me away. I had to admit that never in any of my classes had the word focusing ever been mentioned. I was clueless and a bit embarrassed. He said it was the key to behavior change and I needed to know about it.

Coincidentally, the relative I mentioned a couple of blog posts ago who had given me a bunch of psychology books, had included the book  Focusing! Written in the 1970s by Eugene Gendlin, the book is based on about two decades of research analyzing what happens in therapy sessions that explain good outcomes. What Gendlin found is that it has little to do with the therapist or the specific type of therapy one gets, and far more to do with what happens inside the client. In essence, he discovered that positive outcomes occur when clients have “ah-hah” moments during sessions that awaken them to deeper truths about themselves and life. These moments occur when we (and clients) go inside and connect with what he calls a felt sense – a pre-verbal inner knowledge or awareness that comes from paying attention to an integrated and holistic aspect of our being that we can access at any time. If this sounds a little new-agey it really is not, it is just hard to describe something that cannot be easily put into words.

Have you ever lost your keys and banged your head against a wall trying to remember where you left them? No matter how hard you try nothing seems to work. So you go on to something else and then, in the middle of folding laundry, it hits you. You remember exactly where you left them! That moment of remembering is what Gendlin would call a felt-sense, an ah-hah moment that awakened you to an answer that previously was outside your awareness. While focusing can help you find your keys, it really has the power to change your life.

Focusing is the name Gendlin uses to describe the six-step process he developed for helping people – both and in out of therapy – have felt-sense experiences to solve a multitude of life problems, including addiction! If you have never heard about it, I really encourage you to check out the focusing website and read one of the many books written on the topic. What started as a little research project in Chicago in the 1950s has evolved into one of the greatest tools we have for overcoming addiction.

I am excited to announce that a new book is out today from my colleague, Dr. Omar Manejwala. He is the former Medical Director of Hazelden (one of the oldest and most respected treatment organizations in the world), and current Chief Medical Officer of Catasys, an innovative health management company focused on treating substance abuse problems. I was fortunate to receive an advanced copy of his new book, Craving: Why we can’t seem to get enough, so I have had the past month to review it thoroughly. If you struggle with addiction, or care about someone who does, then I strongly encourage you to get this book!  Why?

First, craving is a universal experience we all share and it also happens to be at the heart of addiction. In healthy doses, it is part of what makes us human. But when cravings become so intense that they lead to out-of-control behaviors, then they are not such a good thing. In fact, they cause significant pain and suffering. For those who have never experienced addiction, imagine holding your breath and then starting to think about air. How long before your desire to breath becomes an intense craving for air? How long until the craving for air becomes almost unbearable? You may think this example has little to do with addiction, but the regions of the brain that control your breathing, heartrate and other survival functions happen to be the same areas of the brain that get hijacked by addiction. By reading Dr. Manejwala’s new book, you will be treated to a very lucid and beneficial explanation of the science of craving. If you are afraid of brain science, have no fear, he makes it very accessible!

Second, once you understand cravings more clearly, you will be in a far better position to do something about them. Perhaps what I like most about this book is that he provides an approach to deal with cravings that links back to the science of what we know about them. For example, part of the experience of craving is biological. Cravings are not just obsessive thoughts in your head, but are deeply rooted in physical and chemical changes that take place in the brain and body. Think back to our example about holding your breath. Is your need for air all in your head? Of course not. While we don’t require alcohol or drugs to survive like air, cravings have a similar intensity and feel because of what takes place physically in the body. So interventions focused on addressing the physical aspects of craving are critical. And at the same time, part of what makes cravings so painful is that once they start, they feel like they will never end until acted upon.

The best news of this book is that cravings can be overcome! Dr. Manejwala outlines a wonderful tool box of interventions that address both the physical aspects of craving, but also the painful obsessions that precede addictive behavior. You will learn about the benefits of self-help meetings, meditation, exercise, and being accountable to others. There are also some tools that you likely have not heard about, which is a testament to the comprehensive and holistic approach taken throughout the book.

Third, I really appreciate his view that “Courage is, in fact, the most essential quality of recovery, because without courage, none of the other needed practices are possible.” I couldn’t agree more! Dealing with addiction and all its complicating and co-occurring problems is not for the faint of heart. Those who engage in the process of overcoming addiction and are willing to face their most intense cravings, are among the best examples in our society of courage.

While I have a lot more to say about this book, Dr. Manejwala and I plan to discuss it over a video chat in the next week or so. Stay tuned for the broadcast and in the meantime, checkout the latest on the book on facebook and order your copy today.

It was early summer and I was deep into my counseling internship at the behavioral health clinic. I was lucky enough to have a giant corner office with many windows overlooking downtown Portland – room enough to conduct both my individual sessions and run groups. It was so big that I decided to bring in two of my own bookcases to fill out the space. Lucky for me, a relative who happened to be a retired psychologist, had a ton of books to donate to my cause. I figured my clients would walk into the room and see all those counseling-related books and be less concerned that I was an intern. I just hoped they didn’t ask me whether I had read them all because then I would have to fess up.

I chose a late night to get the books into my office. The clinic had a hand-truck to make life easier, but it was still a lot of boxes to move. As I was unloading books from my car, a young man in his early thirties came strolling up and casually asked me for $25. While I have been asked for money many times, never has someone on the street asked me for $25! I was taken aback, but even more, just really curious. I told him I would consider his request if he explained to me exactly why he needed the money. Without knowing at all what I did for a living, he said, “I have been in drug treatment for the past month…a couple of days ago, was kicked out and have nowhere to go… I’m homeless and need the money to buy a bus ticket to San Francisco where my parents live.”

Made sense to me. “Why did you get kicked out of drug treatment?” I asked.

The question made him squirm. He looked down at the pavement and said nothing. I could sense he felt shame. Then in a soft voice he said flatly, “I was caught on my bed with another man.”

I replied non-judgmentally that it seemed like a dumb reason to get kicked out of treatment, and that I would help him. I gave him my business card from the clinic and said to come see me the next morning when I could access funds to help him. Because he had nowhere to sleep I pointed him in the direction of a nearby shelter. The next morning when I stumbled tiredly into the clinic, he was sitting in the lobby waiting for me. It was a busy day. I had two evaluations back-to-back and the first client was also in the waiting room. I had him come back to my office where we chatted briefly about the money. I said I would make some calls, fill out some paperwork, and we could reconvene in my office around 11am to finalize things. He thanked me for my efforts and said he would be back then.

But he never returned.

Around 3pm that afternoon I got a call from the county coroner. He had a body and the only item found on it was my business card. The man had overdosed just blocks from my office. My heart sank and my mind raced. What had gone wrong? How could this have happened? What had I missed?

I will never fully know the answers to these questions, but I suspect that he overestimated the amount of drug his body could handle after being clean for a number of weeks while in treatment. I don’t think he was suicidal, but perhaps I missed something. To this day I regret not taking more time to assess his risks for relapse and overdose, but I didn’t know then what I know now.

For me, homelessness will always have a face.

In recent months my travels have taken me to Philadelphia and New York City (NYC), two of the most amazing cities in America. While I have enjoyed staying at comfortable hotels and dining on delicious food, it has been impossible to ignore the significant number of homeless people on the streets, begging for money and food. In fact, many have approached me and asked for help. As someone who has spent a career treating those who struggle with addiction, my stance has always been that giving money to the homeless essentially equates to giving them the means to engage in addiction – because of course they will use the money to buy alcohol or drugs! And this stance has been so easy to implement. All I have to do is walk on by, pretend not to notice, and feel good knowing that I am doing my part not to further addictive behaviors in the homeless.

But then I discovered Wayne Teasdale’s enlightening book, A Monk in the World: Cultivating a Spiritual Life, and my resolute stance on (not) giving to the homeless began to crumble. He put names and stories to the faceless and awakened me to how the homeless mirror many of my own insecurities. Very few who become homeless have chosen this lifestyle. Various risk factors conspire – much like addiction – to bring about the unfortunate state of homelessness. Behind every person wrapped in newspaper, sleeping on a park bench on a cold night, is a story.

In America approximately 500,000 individuals experience homelessness (100,000 are chronically homeless) on any given night. A report by SAMHSA indicates that more than a third had chronic substance abuse problems and many also suffer from mental illness. A study conducted in Philadelphia and NYC on the chronic homeless – my two recent destinations – revealed that most were male and over 90% Black. In January of this year, for the first time ever, NYC recorded over 50,000 individuals showing up at shelters, one in ten being children. Homelessness is a growing and omnipresent problem that I now see everywhere – now that I am actually seeing.

So what to do about the homeless?

For the first time in my life I am now engaging the homeless. Instead of walking by and ignoring their pleas for help, I am stopping and doing my best to listen to their stories. This past weekend in NYC I met Nelson. He suffered from a vascular disorder that injures blood vessels called Hemangioma. He came to NYC a few years ago from a South American country in hopes that doctors could help him, and they did. As we chatted on the street, he pulled out a stack of family photos and told his story. He was incredibly grateful to be alive and reminded me that relationships are at the center of a good life. Our conversation also highlighted the incredible discrepancies between those – like myself – that invest significant amounts of time, energy, and money on materialistic things, and those that have nothing.

In addition to Nelson, there have been others recently whom I have engaged and listened to their stories. At the same time, I don’t stop for everyone. My relationship with the homeless is still evolving. I don’t mind giving money anymore. But what I have learned in the brief time that I have opened to this problem, is that money alone is not the answer. A permanent solution to homelessness will require a transformation in our society, a systems approach that understands how to intervene at the root of the problem.

For now, I will no longer ignore or be afraid of the homeless. I will embrace the vulnerabilities they mirror in myself, and take the time to listen to their stories.

We have known for a long time that among the most powerful ways to overcome addiction is through spiritual interventions. The essence of such approaches is that addiction is a problem of the ego, of our lower self, of the body. By harnessing the powers and energy from our higher self, from the part of us that is unchangeable and connected to the source (God, Buddha,  Allah, Atman …your choice), we can overcome most anything in life. This philosophy is at the heart of twelve-step programs, but it really goes far beyond recovery. In fact, it is about our ultimate work on this earth – awakening to our true nature.

I will admit I have been slow to all of this. I was not raised religious and the rare times I made it to church were with friends on holidays primarily for the food. Even more, I was raised in a family that valued science, and awakening to our true nature was not something that fit well into randomized clinical trials. So it took many years of wandering before I stumbled upon the Perennial Philosophy, something that made a lot of sense to me.

Perhaps you too have heard about it, or maybe not. Although I am sure there is a more elegant way to describe it,  I understand it like this. If you ventured back in history and gathered up all the wisdom on how to live life from all the great mystics and enlightened beings from all the world’s religions and spiritual traditions, and then boiled down their essential message, they would all speak universal truths, which is the Perennial Philosophy. It is the commonality in all religions, it’s what links them all together no matter how different they may appear on the surface. For me, this is very much like the scientific method. We have a bunch of researchers, who over time, using a variety of techniques, study a phenomena from various perspectives and all arrive at the same conclusion, informing reality as we know it!  Of course science is not perfect because it is conducted by people who can make mistakes, but history has shown that it is pretty darn good at helping us understand the world.

So for me, the Perennial Philosophy bridges the gap between science and spirit, and has been a game-changer in life. If awakening to our true nature is our primary purpose on this earth, then it sure simplifies a lot of things! My to-do list is now much, much smaller. And so many things that I believed to be critical to a good life, things that I had to have, now seem not so important. Less really is more! What exactly is the Perennial Philosophy? There are two ways you can discover the answer. You can use your lower self, your ego, and read all about it. A good place to start is Aldous Huxley’s well-known The Perennial Philosophy. Or you can read about it in many of Ken Wilbur’s books, or get a nice summary on Wikipedia. But in all honesty, this method is a bit like reading all about a cool place you want to visit. It will give you some background, the lay of the land, but in the end it is not the cool place, is it? To really experience and understand the cool place you read about, you have to visit the cool place!

If you really want to understand the Perennial Philosophy you have to experience it through your higher self, through contemplative practice. There is no other way. Meditation, in all its forms, is the primary vehicle for developing a contemplative life, although there are other ways. With practice, you will discover the self behind the self. The part of you that has always been there, that does not change with your thoughts and feelings, and is capable of pure awareness. If this all sounds a bit warm and fuzzy, check out the bestselling book The Untethered Soul. I will admit, it has been a very slow journey for me. Perhaps the most important thing I have learned thus far – if you never take trip, if you never go inside and really see what is there – you are missing out on something very cool, beyond cool, actually.

I cannot believe it has been since October of last year that I have written a blog entry! Yes, I have been busy, but aren’t we all busy? I don’t think it is a very good excuse. Addiction continues to be among our most serious public health problems, and we need to do as much as we can to help those who suffer. This site has been my small contribution, but over the past few months I have felt an increasing desire to do more.

Since switching this site to a new host server in 2007, request for pages has grown from about 2000 per month to well over 60,000 (and growing). I find this incredible, and am grateful for all of you who visit! It also tells me that there is a real and growing need for help, and that despite there being thousands of addiction-related sites out there, most of them fall short of offering helpful solutions.

I don’t claim to have all the answers, but I have spent the past couple of decades working as a licensed professional counselor, researcher, graduate school teacher, consultant, and friend to those who suffer, and over the years have developed a very broad, comprehensive and unique way to think about addiction and treatment. Perhaps one of the most influencing factors on my present work is my doctoral degree in systems science. Most of my family and friends still ask what the heck I studied all those years, but systems science essentially is about the science of solving complex and challenging problems. And in my opinion, what better problem than addiction to  address through the lens of systems science!

So, what can you look forward to in the months to come?  I get so many requests to blog about newly published books, cool new shows on addiction, and even apps that can help those who struggle with addiction, my problem is finding the time to do it, but I promise you I will!  And, if you are not finding what you need on my site, please email me, as I am always open for suggestions on how to improve it.

So what’s up with the stars!  I love photography and shot this a couple of weeks ago. Taking pictures reminds me of the importance of slowing down, focusing, and paying attention to what is right in front of me, in the present moment. Next time you are outside and the stars are shining, look up and take in the beauty of the sky. And thanks again for visiting the site, I promise, no more vacations.

I have posted this video before, but at some point deleted it because I was not completely happy with the overall quality. That said, it’s not bad, and the content is still very relevant to the site. I am posting it here because I have yet to get back to the camera and do an improved version, and I want to make sure the basic principles of treatment are available to all. One final comment. I have continued to refine how I think about and talk about treatment, and now refer to intervention in 5 actions. Although the video does not specifically use this framework, I do discuss each of the five actions. If you watch the video and then check out the 5 actions link you will be good to go. Enjoy!

I had the recent pleasure of speaking with Willie Harris, the author of Whose Will: Ordinary Person, Extraordinary Life, a riveting account of his personal struggle with addiction and path back to a spiritual and connected life.

Like most, the roots of Willie’s problems with alcohol and drugs began early in life, in a family awash in addiction, violence and trauma. His alcoholic father abused his mother, nearly killing her twice, and perpetuated his own traumas on Willie by passing down  the unfinished business of the previous generation. But even amidst the hell of family life, Willie told me, I personally had a spiritual connection that I cannot explain.  At ten years old, he would lay on the top bunk of his bed and talk to God. His mother thought something was wrong with him, and would often ask, who are you talking to?

But the connection did not insulate him from experiencing an early life of pain, misery and self-destruction. By 18, his world was spiraling out of control. The inability to appropriately process emotions, including rage, hurt and fear, set the stage for the perfect storm. Drinking, drugs and partying eventually landed him on the streets, where the brutal reality of his life eventually became the source of his awakening.

Although treatment played a role in turning Willie’s life around, it was the 12-step program that allowed him to take an honesty inventory of his life and begin to take responsibility for the role he played in his own undoing. The program also helped him understand the answer to the question  – why do I do these things to myself? He had a mental obsession with substances that was different than other people. He said, it overrides normal thinking. Once he understood he could not put substances into his body without serious repercussions, the path out of hell became much clearer.

He credits the 4^th step of AA – Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves – as being a significant turning point in his life. By looking at me, I was able to forgive other people. I was able to go back and make amends, and every time I did I got better.

Today, Willie leads a simple, but spiritually grounded life. He is a successful businessman, happily married with two wonderful children, dedicated to his church, and to spreading the word that it is more than possible to overcome addiction. I was most impressed with his motivation and efforts to develop programs for teens, that can be taught in schools, to proactively help challenged kids better process and cope with painful emotions. I could not agree more that it is a tremendous need. It was an honor to speak with Willie and learn more about his story. I very much encourage you to get his book (www.whosewill.com) and be inspired.

This past week The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released a scathing report of our addiction treatment system: Addiction Medicine: Closing the Gap between Science and Practice. While the report says nothing new, it does a nice job of summarizing the fact that we have made little progress since the Institute of Medicine released Bridging the Gap Between Practice and Research: Forging Partnerships with Community-Based Drug and Alcohol Treatment on January 1, 1998. Here we are, 14 years later, and well, where are we now?

The new report points out these grim statistics:

• 15.9% (40.3 million) of US age 12 and older struggle with addiction to alcohol and drugs (the number is higher if we factor in behavioral addictions such as gambling, sex, food, and online activities)
• 31.7% (80.4 million) of US age 12 and older, while not addicted to anything, engages in risky use of substances that threaten health and safety (again, this number is higher if behavioral addictions are included)
• 89.1% of those who meet criteria for addiction involving alcohol and drugs (not including nicotine) receive no treatment
• Of those who do get treatment, about 50% come from criminal justice (only 5.7% are referred from primary care medicine)
• Over 50% of those who go to treatment drop out
• Addiction and risky substance use costs our society an estimated 468 billion each year

Not good! I will admit I was a bit depressed reading through the report, but not surprised. Addiction is a problem still very much misunderstood. Take for example this huge 573 page report, that constrains the definition of addiction to substances. How can we possibly make progress evolving our treatment system if we continue to narrowly define addiction. It is not just to substances that people become enslaved, but to food, gambling, sex, and many online behaviors. We now have neuroimaging studies providing empirical support that the brain is an equal opportunity organ that does not care what stimulates it, so long as dopamine provides a nice reward that keeps us coming back for more. In a great book on overeating, cleverly titled, The End of Overeating, by David Kessler (which I plan to blog about soon), he makes the point that animals will work almost as hard for food as they will for cocaine. So, back to my point. How can we make progress in this field when we continue to slice up the addiction problem, and fail to understand that it is not about the objects per se, but the relationships that a person has with these objects – all of these objects?

Accurately defining the problem would be a start, because we could then start building systems of care that leverage interventions for a wide range of chronic conditions, including addiction. But even agreement on a broad definition will likely not be enough. We need big system changes to make big progress. The CASA report provides a list of recommendations for improvement, including:

• Increasing screening and referral in primary care medicine
• Improve training on addiction in medical schools
• Establish national accreditation standards for all addiction treatment facilities and programs
• Educate non-health professionals about addiction, screening, and referral (dentists, teachers, legal staff, welfare, etc.)
• Require adherence to use of evidence-based treatments
• Expand addiction treatment workforce
• Implement more national public health campaigns

It is a list, but hardly a gutsy one or even close to what needs to be done if we are to make big progress. What would my list look like? Here are my top four suggestions:

• National Institute on Addiction (NIA): While integrating NIDA and NIAAA into one organization next year is progress, I would like to see an institute called the National Institute on Addiction that puts the emphasis on understanding the relationships people have with all objects of addiction, not just alcohol and drugs. While I know these agencies have invested resources in gambling and food, the money is scant compared to what is spent on substances. One of the primary goals of this organization would be to get all stakeholders (researchers, treatment providers, public) on the same page about how we should define addiction.
• Leverage the Internet: Over 80 percent of the US population has access to high-speed internet, which means that we have the potential to reach the 90 percent who don’t get care. I am not saying this is easy, but there is a saying in marketing that you go where the customers are – and they are online.
• Stop criminalizing addiction and treat those who do end up behind bars: The vast majority of folks behind bars suffer from addiction and most don’t get treatment. This needs to change. Because most will get out, why not use their time while in prison to treat their addiction, educate them, and provide them something to live for when they get out? I know, this costs too much money. See my last point.
• Invest in families/prevention: Addiction is primarily a problem born out of adolescence. Most who develop addictions begin their journey before the age of 15. We need to devote significant resources to helping families flourish. We need programs that help people developmentally obtain the capacities they need for optimal mental health, for intimacy, parenting, and getting along with each other.

What would be on your list?

I’m not sure how I missed reading Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha (Hilda Rosner translation) in high school, but I did. It’s one of those enchanting books I wish I would have read earlier! If you are unfamiliar with the story, I encourage you to read it and soak in its many wonderful messages about life. I have no intention of recapping the story here, but instead want to use parts of the story to illustrate one path out of addiction.

Siddhartha is a man on a mission, on a journey to the center of Self, to a place where Self is merged into unity, or the All. On his way to enlightenment he has many interesting adventures, including a period of time where he hangs out with the beautiful Mistress, Kamala. “She played with him, conquered him, rejoiced at her mastery, until he was overcome and lay exhausted at her side.” She enticed him into the world of the ordinary, a life of attachment. “The world had caught him; pleasure, covetousness, idleness, and finally also that vice that he had always despised and scorned as the most foolish – acquisitiveness. Property, possessions and riches had also finally trapped him. They were no longer a game and a toy; they had become a chain and a burden.”

I find it interesting that as Siddhartha descends deeper into his attachments, Hesse beautifully describes addiction. “He played the game as a result of a heartfelt need. He derived a passionate pleasure through gambling away and squandering of wretched money….He won thousands, he threw thousands away, lost money, lost jewels, lost a country house, won again, lost again. He loved the anxiety, that terrible and oppressive anxiety which he experienced during the game of dice, during the suspense of high stakes. He loved this feeling and continually sought to renew it, to increase it, to stimulate it, for in the feeling alone did he experience some kind of happiness, some kind of excitement, some heightened living in the midst of his satiated, tepid, insipid existence.”

And like so many who suffer from addiction and relapse to numb the pain and despair of an insipid existence, Siddhartha too experiences the consequences of his actions. “And whenever he awakened from this hateful spell, when he saw his face reflected in the mirror on the wall of his bedroom, grown older and uglier, whenever shame and nausea overtook him, he fled again, fled to a new game of chance, fled in confusion to passion, to wine, and from there back again to the urge for acquiring and hoarding wealth. He wore himself out in this senseless cycle, became old and sick.”

For those who struggle with addiction, and their family and friends forced to endure a life on the edge, there is an insightful lesson in the story of Siddhartha.

“I have had to experience so much stupidity, so many vices, so much error, so much nausea, disillusionment and sorrow, just in order to become a child again and begin anew. But it was right that it should be so; my eyes and heart acclaim it. I had to experience despair, I had to sink to the greatest mental depths, to thoughts of suicide, in order to experience grace, to hear Om again, to sleep deeply again and to awaken refreshed again. I had to become a fool again in order to find Atman in myself. I had to sin in order to live again.”

For someone who reaches enlightenment, it’s strange imagining Siddhartha sitting by a river thinking about suicide. But he does. And in the pain of the moment, “he understood it and realized that the inward voice had been right, that no teacher could have brought him salvation. That was why he had to go into the world, to lose himself in power, women and money; that was why he had to be a merchant, a dice player, a drinker and a man of property, until the priest and Samana in him were dead. That was why he had to undergo those horrible years, suffer nausea, learn the lesson of the madness of an empty, futile life till the end, till he reached bitter despair, so that Siddhartha the pleasure-monger and Siddhartha the man of property could die. He had died and a new Siddhartha had awakened from his sleep. He also would grow old and die. Siddhartha was transitory, all forms were transitory, but today he was young, he was a child – the new Siddhartha – and he was happy.”

So often when addiction is the problem we believe heading off to treatment is the answer. No doubt treatment can be helpful and at times life-saving. But this story is a powerful lesson in how change, even the most challenging of changes, are possible when we access what is already inside us. Atman. The All. “To much knowledge had hindered him; too many holy verses, too many sacrificial rites, too much mortification of the flesh, too  much doing and striving.” Too much treatment, too many self-help meetings, too much reliance on evidence-based practices and medications. Too much action. Sometimes, the path of no-action, the path of contemplation – of sitting, listening, and just being is the path out of addiction.