RBD's Solutions Consultant's Hint of the Day for this Week

RBD's Wholeness Consultant's Hints for Fellow Travelers on The Road to Recovery for 13 to 19 July 98.

Published Last Week. A daily hint published each day since June 1996. This is my second year anniversary since starting this site. Page Down for the next days that are added a day at a time. I have moved to http://recoverybydiscovery.com and this daily page is now here at https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com/daily.htm . I would appreciate any feedback, questions and suggestions that you have.

What I am going through now is the DSM-III-R Desk Reference a "disorder" at a time and commenting on the spiritual and recovery aspects. The DSM is what the American Psychiatric Association uses to label symptoms to facilitate communication in their community. Unfortunately, the labeling from the DSM can shut down communication with those seeking temporary assistance and spread the stigmas of mental illness. The DSM can also bring some comfort by telling some that others have had the same experience. I am adding additional comfort by pointing to some ways to start getting out of the "disorders". I am not writing about cures. I am writing about how the cure process works over time. Instantaneous cures can be as traumatic as the original event that generated the disorder or illness.

13 July 98 [305.30]

"Hallucinogen Hallucinosis" is marked by perception changes. Some of the

symptoms are the same symptoms that are produced by longer term meditation.

It is better to experience perception shifts from meditation than medication because

then you are more able to integrate these experiences into you life. Then you know

that there is more to reality than just chemicals. Then you know intimately the

processes of life instead of only knowing that perceptions change. Then you have

felt and seen and sometimes heard the processes of spirit instead of the processes

triggered by chemicals. Then you know spirit did that instead of knowing the

medication started that and not knowing where the trigger left off.

The kind of trip one has also depends on who brought you to the dance. I

would recommend always invoking the Holy Spirit or what ever the equivalent

is for you when ever you are on a meditation trip. In fact, it would make good

sense to do so for each night's trips.

The same comments apply for those already undergoing similar symptoms,

perhaps from meditation or its equivalent, that I had for other kinds of intoxication.

13 July 98 [302.xx] :))

I am skipping ahead in my desk reference, because the subject of lust came

up. "Sexual Disorders" in the DSM-III Desk Reference are defined as any of

the deviations from "normal" sexual functioning. I will go through each of these

"deviations" separately next. I find it interesting that the DSM will talk about

the opposite of lust, [302.71] "Hypoactive Sexual Desire Disorder", and not

deal with "Hyperactive Sexual Desire Disorder" at all. Most spiritual teachers

must deal with this most common form of "disorder" and yet the DSM only deals

with special forms of lust, but did not deal with the most common form. I find

that amusing. Perhaps the American Psychological Association [APA] will deal

with this subject in the DSM-XX. :)) Perhaps they have already and I have not

seen a current enough version.

Lust is just another form of anger. Anger is just life energy we create to get

what we want. Anger is just life energy we create to change from where we

are to where we want to be. When we are lusting for the opposite sex we are

just wanting a physical connection, physical intimacy. That is the good intention

at the physical level of our biological imperatives. The good intention behind

lust at the spiritual level is just that we want to return to a spiritual connection,

spiritual intimacy. What we really want at our highest levels is a return to

intimacy with our inner opposite sex. We have both inner masculine and feminine

aspects. We want to be whole, we want to be wholly one, we want to be holy.

By transforming our lust by understanding and forgiveness, we become holy.

We again are whole without guilt. Without guilt we no longer need anger.

Without guilt we do not need lust. We do not get over lust by suppressing

lust any more than we get over anger by suppressing anger. We get over

lust like anger by transforming a small part of our anger and lust at a time.

Why not enjoy the recovery process of each small transformation?

14 July 98 [302.40]

"Exhibitionism" is defined as a person with sexual urges to exhibit themselves to

strangers for over six months. Do politicians or actors and actresses count? :))

What is this particular addiction about? Like any other addiction, this give a rush

of life energy like in sexual excitement. There is the excitement of doing this

forbidden act. There is the excitement of sharing an intimate part of themselves.

There is the excitement of watching other get excited. There is the excitements of

____,_____, ... You can fill in the blanks. There are those that exhibit themselves

to strangers for money. Is the addiction money or exhibitionism or both? :))

That rush of life energy tells us something. That life energy is telling us that this

is a lower form that represents a spiritual goal. The doing something forbidden is

going on a spiritual path in public. Sharing something intimate is part of the

spiritual path. Watching others get turned on to spirit is exciting.

Why do we do the lower form of the spiritual? Guilt. Unforgiven judgments.

So what to do to transform the lower life energy to the higher? Learn to forgive

and all the other 98 spiritual skills as habits to replace what we learned from the

most everything else...

15 July 98 [302.81]

"Fetishism" is defined as a person with sexual urges to use non living objects as

a part of their sexual acts for over six months. Why is their sexual excitement about a

non living object? The object may represent something that triggers their unconscious.

What are they triggering? They may be triggering unconscious guilts in an attempt to

heal. Why does this not heal them over time? They may not understand what they

are doing and just acquire more guilt from what they are doing. How can they get

out of this cycle? They could go through their cycles with more and more awareness

and forgiveness and understanding. They could ask the Holy Spirit to lead them to a

teacher that could help them. They could affirm that they are being healed by what

they are doing until they are healed by what they are doing. Why else could they be

using non living objects? Perhaps they are afraid of living objects. Perhaps they got

some of their wounds from living objects. Then it could help to learn to love more

living objects are they are. Then it could help to learn how to be harmless to other

living objects so that they are not harmed.

Of course what helps them can help us. The form of the "dis-order" is not important,

the form of the recovery road or teaching tool is important.

16 July 98 [302..89]

"Frotteurism" is defined as a person with sexual urges to touch and rub a

non consenting person a part of their sexual acts for over six months. Interestingly

it is the touching that is the exciting part. DSM-III says the fact that they are being

coercive is not the exciting part. I find that hard to believe. A simple test is to see

if persons with this diagnosis get just as much thrill out of touching people that want

to be touched.

In any case, here we have a desire to touch and rub another person. An extreem

case of wanting to connect. A desire to connect. A lot of sexual urges are about

connecting. The spiritual metaphor is more obvious here. The difference is that in

healthy spirit all connection is consenting. The Holy Spirit does not come uninvited.

The Holy Spirit is always singing its siren song of love, but only connects when invoked

and invited. One does not need the diagnosis of frotteurism to need to connect with

others and to connect with the Holy Spirit. We all need these. People with healthy

connections live longer and happier. Healthier connection come easier from first connecting

with the Holy Spirit. Be touched today.

I can see wanting to touch another when they are ill. There is a universal desire

to have a healing touch. A desire for health is a universal desire. There is a universal

desire to have a wealthy touch, a happiness touch. One can not give health, wealth and

happiness unless one has health, wealth and happiness. This is a universal desire for

spirit, the Holy Spirit. Ask to be touched each day.

18 July 98

Today, another break from the "disorders" of the DSM-III Desk Reference. Today's

break is about another book I just added to my bookstore of valuable books on the Road to

Recovery. You can read what I wrote about this book at

A Path to Healing - A Guide to Wellness for Body, Mind, and Soul. I met the

author at one of her presentations at a local library and she represented the truths of her

book in person. Enough for today, since I am visiting my grandson and my granddaughters.

19 July 98 [302.20]

Now back to the "disorders" of the DSM-III Desk Reference. Today the disorder is

"Pedophilia". Pedophilia is depined by the DSM as a person with sexual urges for sexual

activity with children for over six months. Here we have a desire to connect intimately

wint and to dominate and to control children.

Their true desire is to connect with their inner child and to control their inner child.

From the viewpoint of society they have lost control. A tragic and sad bind to be in and

of great promise. Here they have an incentive to get in contact with their inner child. They

can learn to nuture their inner child. They can learn to listen to their inner child. They can

learn to see what their inner child sees. They can drop control and start to learn team

work with their inner child. As JC said, we enter the kingdom of heaven as children.

Your Recovery Facilitator,

Michael Foster, M. A.

"Learn HOW to recovery by discovering the blocks you need to remove and the actions you need to take and what you need to let go of as your blocks to your blessings."

From my book in process, The Spiritual Cookbook (Generic Recipes for a Better Life)

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I started my daily page, because it is useful for me to look for some recovery tip or secret each day for my spiritual growth. we and I only need one secret to work on and let it work on me each day. They are secrets because they are usually the opposite of what the majority of society teaches. They must be secret because they are not commonly used. A friend of mine once said "Common Sense is not much in Common.". Now that I have grandchildren I am also writing for them. I would have really liked for my grandparents to have passed on what they learned.

I am including Sunday as it is my formal day of learning the lord most high's secrets. If you would like ask questions, or contribute some of your wisdom, or want to make some comments or want to vote for which day to put on my tip of the month page or tell your success stories, click Michael Foster, M. A.