All Episodes

March 11, 2009 17 mins
Our addictions are usually caused by us not being loved in the way we want to be loved. As you know, to have perfect love we must begin with trust and faith in the thing or person we are loving or being loved by.


Often when we are caught by addictions we have lost trust and faith in so many things or people that we rely on our addiction to show us the unconditional love we so desire.


What in our lives does not judge us, does not expect anything of us and is always there like a donut to love us and give us that wonderful, warm feeling of being loved. For the food addicted, the humble donut may just be the only entrance to unconditional love in their life. Often a food addiction comes at a time when we feel that we cannot trust or have faith in others and even more so, ourselves.


You will see the same pattern emerging with alcohol or drugs or cigarettes. These things do not judge us. We can lock ourselves up in what we think is our safe, little cocoon of our addiction and feel that we are being loved - but in actuality the opposite is unfolding.


Our addictions are self-compounding because they start to give us the feeling that the addiction is the ONLY thing we can trust. Therefore the only thing we can love. The more addicted, the more insulated we become from the authentic universal flow of love that is always loving us. As the addiction grows we feel we can't trust anyone, we can't trust the universe, we can't trust fate, we can't trust ourselves. And so the only thing we can love is the addiction. We lose all faith in the universe and ourselves. We give all of our power, all of our trust to our addiction.


Sometimes it is not until we hit rock bottom that we realise that this limited expression of love is actually killing us. We, as a being that must be in the full flow of love to be happy, feel stifled and isolated and depressed when faced with this limited view of ourselves. We realise that we are supposed to be so much more loving, but our addiction has us all tied up to one (or two or three) hollow habits that imprison us with the feeling that the only way we can feel love is through the addiction.


The answer is as simple as it is difficult.


Thank your addiction and then move on. Thank it for being there, for loving you when you had nothing else you could trust. Thank it for loving you no matter what. And then gently explain to yourself that it is time for you to love more and be loved more. That everyone will be happy, including your addiction when you open yourself to receive more love and offer more love without expectation or condition.


Start slowly. Go out into nature and feel the love that is all around you. It might be a sunset or a forest but just take the time to really immerse yourself in your meditations there. Realise that nature loves you and just by breathing you can breathe in that love. Believe it or not this is not going to be easy. It is as simple as it is difficult and you will need to practice over and over again almost always without any feeling of making any progress.


Then open some more. Realise that your friends and family are loving you. Begin to see that fate is loving you that nothing happens by accident and everything that happens is a blessing. Offer gratitude to open your heart more and more. Realise that even your enemies, even though they dont know it are loving you.

Mark as Played

Advertise With Us

Popular Podcasts

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

NFL Daily with Gregg Rosenthal

Gregg Rosenthal and a rotating crew of elite NFL Media co-hosts, including Patrick Claybon, Colleen Wolfe, Steve Wyche, Nick Shook and Jourdan Rodrigue of The Athletic get you caught up daily on all the NFL news and analysis you need to be smarter and funnier than your friends.

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

On Purpose with Jay Shetty

I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!

Dateline NBC

Dateline NBC

Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com

Music, radio and podcasts, all free. Listen online or download the iHeart App.

Connect

© 2025 iHeartMedia, Inc.