Try some Planting and Chanting!

 Coming 43 this week on the 19th and yesterday I was doing handstands in the gym and I was thinking back to 8 years ago when I first started doing yoga.

I knew back then I had to create new habits as I was an alcoholic and a drug addict and my life was a mess!

What I did observe back then is when we try to give up one drug another just slowly creeps in taking its place or another type of bad habit.

I knew I had to start creating new healthy habits and also my back and body was a mess from years of abuse and I knew yoga was good for you...

I paid up front in blocks to go to the classes every Mon-Wed--Thurs, I told myself I dont care if I drink and take drugs every day I'm still going to yoga and I did, I never missed!

But they always had this Friday night yoga class at 6pm and every week I always said I'm going to overcome this Friday feeling of wanting to go out and get wasted and go to yoga instead.

Maybe a couple of years went by and I never made that Friday night class, the demon drink and drug temptation always got the better of me and took me on a joyride for the weekend.

But one week I made the class, I already had a few drinks and a few lines of peas and barley but I felt good enough to go so I went and when I got into the class I got up and announced saying, "you've no idea how hard it was for me to come here tonight, I've overcome something I thought I could never do I said to the class", I think they all thought I was mad but for me I did something I thought I couldnt do, I was so proud of myself!

Right after that though my mates where in the bar up the road and off I went after on my usual demonic weekend joyride!

I believe everything in life is habitual, people say we are born alcoholics, like its a disease or something but for me society glorifies it, its normalised so much along with drug taking!

I watched Glastonbury headlines on the news and all it showed was people carrying more drink than they can handle with headlines that people are having a great time!

Younger generations watch this thinking its great and then we start to dabble when young and one beer becomes two, one line of coke becomes more and we slowly create habits of it until many of us are completely consumed by it!

I always say it took me years of practice to down 10-15 pints in a night and smoke 30 cigs, this didnt happen overnight, it took alot of time and energy getting good at this!

Over the past 8 years I've slowly built up new healthy habits, like phantom planting trees, yoga, hiking, meditation, going to the gym, spending time connecting to nature and of course getting wee betty, I'd say she was a massive part of helping me, shes my spirit guide of some sort, not a day goes by that I dont walk her and its been so good for me too!

It wasnt easy and I battled with my demons for years but when I was doing a perfect handstand hold yesterday in the gym at near 43 it was all well worth it!

I've been clean of everything for years now and never felt better, many people say you gotta live when they are taking drink and drugs, looking back for me that wasnt living at all, I'm living now more than I ever was!

Its nice to have a level mind most of the time these days and the way of our world, (or Maras finely spun web of temptation and delusion as the Buddhas call it) its there to have us running around like headless chickens , we are easier controlled and manipulated when we are in states of stress, anger and anxiety!

The one thing always got me is when we go to the docs about addiction they gave us more pills, this I'll never get my head around!

Try some planting and chanting today guys for anyone struggling with addictions....

#phantomplanters #paramilitrees #phantomplanter #communityspirit 

Peace and love!

I challenge you to phantom plant a tree! Anywhere, anytime, any place.....

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