(Karra goes over the healing of an addictive nature. Those things she brings up as addictive to work on are alcohol, smoking and heroin and the difficulties in helping someone trying to quit. Most of the healing starts with self-love to combat the self-destructiveness that may be at the root of the addiction.) 

---

Karra: okay now, let us get on to more serious things. Let me address a healing issue and last week we discussed dealing with mental problems. Now, let us move along to the next step of dealing with problems and that is health problems created by negative actions, neglect in essence. Now, why does somebody neglect themselves? Well, this occurs for many reasons. One is they don’t have the time, they don’t have the energy, they don’t have the ability and they don’t have the cognitive thought processes to realize that their behavior is causing the problem. Now let us look at addiction as one of the neglecting factors. There are certain addictions which are beneficial, the addiction to food, the addiction to water, these are necessities but let us look at some other addictions, let us look at the addiction to alcohol. Now alcohol is a depressant, it depresses the system and it leads to a whole host of other problems such as cirrhosis of the liver, stomach ulcers, intestinal problems, mental problems, bladder problems, these are things that can be dealt with if it is realized that alcohol is a problem. Now, having dealt recently with an individual that suffers from alcoholism, what did we learn? Well we learned that first of all you have to make the person aware of the problem. This is only the first step, making the person aware of the problem. Hmm, okay they’re aware of the problem, now you have to change their behavior to make them deal and address the problem to get over the fact that alcohol has become a ruling factor in their life, that they are destroying themselves through using alcohol.

Russ: right.

Karra: but don’t get me wrong, alcohol is a great release. It helps you to relax, it helps you to sleep if it’s needed, it helps you to lower your inhibitions so you can interact if you’re feeling tense, these are great benefits. But when it becomes necessary to use alcohol repeatedly so that these functions can occur, you need to address the root problem which is not the addiction but the mental processes which are involved that make you hesitant in these situations. Now getting back to how to make somebody that is aware that they have a drink problem start to address the problem. Well there are many, many different ways of doing this but they’re all hard and it dovetails nicely with Omal’s dissertation last week and this week on self-love. You have to first of all make them aware of self-love, that they are worthy of love, that they do not need this negative stimuli and depressant in their life, that they can progress further on. Dealing with alcoholism is a very draining and day by day event. Having got them.....she’s quite correct, that cat does have big feet.....having got them to realize that their problem can be dealt with, that they can carry on functioning without this alcoholic stimuli is something that has to be reinforced day after day, week after week. Most alcoholics stay alcoholics. The lucky few forsake alcohol and become functioning, useful individuals. Some alcoholics are functioning, useful individuals but it must be emphasized that the health problems by using this substance outweigh any benefit whatsoever. Now let’s move along to another addiction and a very interesting addiction. First of all, on a side note, there was a lady that died recently at the age of 122. Do you know what her addictions were?

Russ: uh-uh.

Karra: she smoked. The only reason she stopped smoking was because she could no longer see her cigarettes to light them. I’m not saying that cigarettes are good, they’re very, very bad but they do serve a function. Now, the channeler smokes, is there anything good from him smoking?

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: which is?

Russ: control of various problems that would arise if he didn’t smoke?

Karra: such as?

Russ: tension, stress.

Karra: hmm, I think he could deal with those without smoking, he has other ways of releasing his stress and his tension.

Russ: well it’s been said that cigarettes are actually both a depressant and a stimulate.

Karra: yes they are.

Russ: they actually interact in the system in both ways depending on how it reads the system….

Karra: correct.

Russ: very smart substance actually.

Karra: it is. Nicotine itself does not kill, not unless you overdose. Nicotine on its own does no harm to the system whatsoever. What they put in there is what causes the problems. There are certain byproducts from the tobacco which cause problems but, let us say that the host, the channeler did not have the need to smoke. There’s no reason for him to smoke. He is in his current health condition, what use would smoking serve?

Russ: nothing I can see of.

Karra: there is one.

Russ: hmm?

Karra: one medical use for smoking….

Russ: hmm?

Karra: do you know what it's supremely good for?

Russ: what?

Karra: it’s actually the nicotine that’s inhaled into the system.

Russ: hmm?

Karra: it controls colitis.

Russ: oh, I didn't know that.

Karra: well it doesn’t actually control it, what it does is it takes away the inflammation.

Russ: oh.

Karra: it depresses the inflammation.

Russ: well what if they just took the nicotine out and made it just the nicotine as a substance to be used?

Karra: in a pill form?

Russ: well a pill or liquid, I mean they’ve done it with a hundred different substances.

Karra: uh-huh, do you know what’s the quickest way into the system?

Russ: eyes?

Karra: no.

Russ: mouth?

Karra: uh-huh.

Russ: a drop of that on your tongue.

Karra: no, it has to go down into the intestinal tract, it has to be digested by the area or passed through the area that is damaged. Actually, it will pass through there, the end product, right? It takes anywhere from 15 to 20 minutes for the drug to interact. Now what is the quickest way to get into the blood flow?

Russ: in smoking form?

Karra: correct. Do you know how long that takes?

Russ: seconds.

Karra: 15.

Russ: yeah I know, from my old days.

Karra: correct, 15 at the maximum.

Russ: so if you inhaled it?

Karra: sorry?

Russ: I mean as in like a gaseous form.

Karra: yes, that would work. Well that’s what he’s doing when he fires up a cigarette correct?

Russ: yeah but like if it was in a gaseous form added with like oxygen or something?

Karra: that would work.

Russ: hmm, interesting.

Karra: uh-huh. But you see that a harmful addiction….

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: does have a use.

Russ: right.

Karra: and sometimes people are immune to the effects. The offspring of this 102 year old lady that passed away recently, they probably have a much higher tolerance to carcinogenics and cancerous substances.

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: having lived that length of time, that is like living a thousand years for us. Those people are special, you see?

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: so harmful addictions sometimes can serve as a purpose in an indirect way. Certainly cigarettes are very harmful and I would prefer it if nobody took it up but, there are benefits sometimes. Something that I am a prepared to admit even though I have an intense disliking for cigarettes and the harm that it does, there are benefits. There are benefits to everything. There are benefits to alcohol in moderation. It is fun, I drink but somebody that drinks excessively to the point of obliteration serves no function whatsoever. You might as well hand them a handgun and say get it over and done with. They are killing themselves but the occasional glass of wine, the occasional tipple is beneficial as is.......I would much prefer that he smokes cigars than cigarettes, there are less harmful chemicals in cigars.

Russ: hmm.

Karra: but it’s his choice. Okay let us look at some other addictions, food. Glorious food, wonderful food, we need it, we have to have food, it is a necessity but it can also be an addiction. Too little food and you starve and die, too much food, you become overweight and you die. The right amount of food is perfect. What do all these addictions have in common?

Russ: you get pleasure.

Karra: yes, that is one thing but not the thing I’m looking for.

Russ: oh.....hmm......

Karra: okay let’s look at getting pleasure.

Russ: okay.

Karra: okay, what happens when you get pleasure?

Russ: you feel good.

Karra: uh-huh but what goes on, what is the process that makes you feel good?

Russ: your brain relaxes.

Karra: endorphins are released to give pleasure. A chemical reaction takes place, that’s what I was looking for.

Russ: ahh.

Karra: a chemical reaction. Now, each one is very, very different, each one is a necessity. Chemicals are released to give pleasure, each one has a positive and negative affect, each one serves as a lesson in learning. But how do we address them when they become problems?

Russ: well, usually the best way is to replace them with something positive and something helpful.

Karra: yes but you’ve got to be very, very careful. For example, let us take alcoholism as that is the one that we started with.

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: what would you replace that with?

Russ: something to do with learning or entertainment.

Karra: uh-huh.

Russ: a hobby.

Karra: hmm yes, that can work but there is a much better and easier way.

Russ: hmm.

Karra: and when I say easier, it is hard, all of the substitutes are hard. You have to address the root problem. As with drinking and eating, not so much with smoking, smoking is a very hard one to deal with but the principles can be used. You have to first of all diagnose why the person has the desire to drink to excess.

Russ: well it’s a question between self-destructiveness and self-love.

Karra: uh-huh.

Russ: there’s a lack of one and an overabundance of the other.

Karra: correct, so you have to activate the self-love. The same with eating disorders, you have to activate the self-love. Smoking as I said is a difficult one because yes, if a person continually smokes, chain smokes, that then does become a mental and psychological situation that needs to be addressed but when it’s the occasional cigarette and I mean the occasional being every so often, not continuously, then it is not so much of a mental problem but of an addiction, an addictive nature where they actually need the cigarette at predetermined times. It's self-medication in a way. The same with alcohol and food, it is self-medication. Learning to control that self-medication is the first step. You see the addiction for alcoholism is subtle, you don’t notice it until it’s too late and then it’s got you. To get off of it has to be dealt with one of two ways, cut off, no more forever or through a subtle way that it is gradually replaced by something else where the person doesn’t notice that they’re not drinking as much at first and when they do realize that they're drinking less, they are rewarded by feeling better and good by themselves. So it is a communication that needs to transpire and it comes back very nicely I think to self-love and the growth and development. Now any questions?

Russ: hmm, I can see where something that would make a person feel more self-love would be the best bet so knowing the person as well as one could would be the first step in being able to treat that problem.

Karra: well sometimes that doesn’t work.

Russ: hmm.

Karra: sometimes you can offer and you can offer and you can offer. For example, with the alcoholic that we mentioned to start off with…

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: you offered and you offered and you offered and what happened?

Russ: the addiction was too strong.

Karra: uh-huh. When Mark tried to help, even though it was for a brief period, there was a brief glimmer there. You see, sometimes it is necessary to be very subtle. You can offer and you can offer and you can offer but first of all it has to be accepted and be made aware that the offer is being made but it has to be done sometimes subtly.

Russ: hmm.

Karra: and it takes a long, long, long time. Sometimes you can do it the other way, by making them cut off totally.....what’s your phrase for cutting off totally?

Russ: cold turkey?

Karra: doing it that way. Sometimes, and this is one of the more effective ways, it is best to do it first of all get the self-esteem going and then cut off, the subtle approach with the harsh approach at the appropriate time. This is certainly a very effective way that works quite well. More questions please?

Russ: what about with…..

Karra: she has big feet.

Russ: yes she does. Giving them a…..because you don’t want them to depend on you, you want them to depend on themselves more than anything else.

Karra: to start off with they may need to depend on you.

Russ: true but then that just replaces the addiction there.

Karra: yes but it’s a much easier addiction to deal with.

Russ: hmm.

Karra: something that by taking away the harsh addiction and having an addiction of depending on somebody is better than having a destructive addiction. That is the first step, you take away the destructive one for one that is less destructive, that is easier to deal with and address and you keep on progressing up and up and up. By replacing the addiction with the addiction of needing somebody's company is the first step. An example is, let’s say you have somebody that relies on you that that you’ve replaced their alcoholic addiction from......

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: and they want you around 24 hours a day.

Russ: uh-huh.

Karra: and you say to them, "look, I’ve got to go to the shops to buy food otherwise we don’t eat, come with me". You take them to the shops, you're getting them out and you're getting them interested and interacting with other things. Supposing they don’t want to go to the shops? You go, "okay you stay here, I will be back as quickly as I can, I promise you I will not leave". You arrive at the shops, you call, "just wanted to check and make sure you’re alright, I’ll be home as quickly as I can, I’m just going into the shop right now". As soon as you come out you call, tell them, "got the groceries, got you something special, got you a bar of chocolate, got you a video to watch, got you some music to listen to, got you your favorite food, got you your favorite coffee brand, got you your favorite soft drink". First step and you can go through this and gradually you increase the time that you’re away. You call frequently to start off with and then gradually less frequently and less frequently and you’re getting them to rely more and more on themselves. It may take two months, it may take six months, it may take a year, it may take even longer but you are weaning them off of the second addiction.

Russ: well right now it seems that there is more social pressure on addictions, especially smoking than there ever has been before.....

Karra: oh yes.

Russ: to where I know very few smokers who haven’t tried or aren’t trying to quit.

Karra: uh-huh. Yes, it’s a very addictive substance. Do you know what is more addictive than cigarettes?

Russ: heroin.

Karra: uh-uh.

Russ: hmm.

Karra: heroin gets you hooked quicker.

Russ: you mean cocaine?

Karra: heroin.

Russ: yeah I know but more addictive?

Karra: there is nothing more addictive.

Russ: really?

Karra: uh-huh. The failure rate of people getting off of heroin is lower than people quitting smoking for the first time. People trying to get off heroin the first time succeed at a higher rate than first-time smokers trying to quit.

Russ: hmm, I didn’t know that.

Karra: uh-huh.

Russ: so actually this thing we were talking about, this nicotine and air mix or whatever….

Karra: uh-huh.

Russ: that could be a viable product in the future to somebody.

Karra: it could be, could be. So, let us round out on this dissertation…..

Russ: okay.

Karra: and this discussion. Okay, let us address addictions, they’re bad. No two ways about it, they’re bad but, sometimes they do have benefits if they are controlled. To help somebody, you have to do things that are hard. To go through the experience is hard but they serve a purpose of learning how to deal with situations. The key to dealing with the situations is listening and offering and self-love, creating that self-love.