With Ora’s Says Who Method, the teachings of A Course in Miracles, and the principles of the Twelve Steps we learn about cause and effect. A Course in Miracles teaches that the cause of any action is the thought that precedes the act. Actually, it teaches that thought precedes everything. For the addict that can’t seem to escape the thoughts of using (whatever the particular addiction is focused on) the thought must be, as the Twelve Steps teach, inventoried/investigated.

Without thinking about our thoughts answer honestly the following; Where do they come from? Are they our thoughts? Do I even believe them? We feel victim to them and tend to believe they are random, almost seeming like they come from somewhere else, outside of us. We have the tendency to believe that our minds are our master and that we are not responsible for our thoughts, only what we do with them. Nothing could be farther from the truth. A Course in Miracles says, “This is a course in mind training.” I say, “Life is a course in mind training.” Our minds can be trained to think different thoughts. If we want true peace we must train them.

Ora’s seven question process, can/will teach you to look at the thoughts that are running your life, replace them new productive thoughts and literally change your life. In all Twelve Step programs, the fourth and the tenth steps are about taking an inventory of yourself. Typically, this means to inventory our action/effect. If we inventory the action without inventorying the thought/cause, we will find ourselves doing other actions that lead to the same result. Which is typically some form of self-destruction or at the very least some type of distraction that takes us away from living our lives fully present to each moment.

In my opinion, all addiction is a means of distraction. Distraction, from living a full life, from living in the moment, and being authentic. If we can make it a discipline, a moment to moment discipline to check our thoughts when we are feeling off and train ourselves to change the thought, we can/will begin to know peace. After all, isn’t peace of mind the goal? Aren’t all addictions a feeble attempt to find peace of mind? Your first question might become, “Have any of these addictions ever brought me peace?”

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