In reimagining the idea of recovery to be the restoration of soul, what than becomes a determining factor of achievement? In collective recovery this achievement is marked by abstinence, the ability to remain sober, and away from ones substance of delight in the face of life continuing on. However, from the perspective of Depth Recovery, this is but one aspect; what we are after is beauty. The recovery of beauty, which leads to the beauty of recovery ; the experience of returning to soul.
Let us start by considering the notions of the enchantment – disenchantment cycle. To be enchanted by something means to be put under a spell. To be taken by something so powerful, so moving, that one loses a sense of their stability, direction, and may even fall prey to a state of madness. Madness, an old term I chose in order to bring back a prior way of thinking, refers to a state of foolishness. To be enchanted is an aspect of life.
But, keeping with the thoughts of Paracelsus – “All things are poison, and nothing is without poison; the dosage alone makes it so a thing is not a poison.” What enchants us, can also kill us…
With addiction we see this experience clear as day. The substance enters into ones life at a peculiar time, and casts its spell – and for every substance, potentially a different spell is cast. For instance, being under the spell of Heroin is far different then the spell of Meth. Inevitably the dosage becomes the problem, and that which enchants soon turns dark, lonely, and we find that our enchantment has led to its opposite, disenchantment.
Disenchantment in comparison, can be seen as that common time in the addictions life, where one states, “I don’t even get relief from this anymore” “I just can’t stay stopped, because the pain comes back faster and faster.” On one level one may think things are getting worse, however, this is the beginning of being woken up. The spell is no longer, one pushes up against ones slumbers, and is forced to see Truth. And it is at this moment when ones best chance for beginning a journey into recovery is in front of them.
What is important to grasp here, is that this cycle is archetypal. It is a universal experience on going forever over time, in our lives personally, and in our societies collectively. This experience is cyclical, just as with recovery.
James Hillman however speaks to the concept of beauty, “Beauty is an epistemological necessity ; it is the way in which the Gods touch our senses, reach the heart, and attract us into life.” Beauty arrests, stops you in your tracks, draws you in and one senses they are in the presence of something beyond themselves; something True. In our time society has become increasingly manic, we have lost a sense of beauty all together. Or, we think of it superficially as in our cosmetic products, the beauty aisle, the beauty salon; a far cry from its roots – “a state of being pleasing to the senses…”
The senses, sight, smell, touch, taste to name a few make up the human experience, yet let us question how much we actually consider these aspects of ourselves in our moment to moment experiences. How many of us sense the taste of an experience, see the story inherent in our suffering, or can smell the personal scent of our way of moving through the world…
Through the perspective of Depth Recovery, the recovery process is seen as a returning to the senses. We develop the capacity for taste, and become aware of how we uniquely flavor our experiences. A new form of sight, as we begin to see through the literal, into the mythical stories of our lives. And, our touch changes as we become more sensitive to the aesthetic, and find a new way to feel into ourselves, and reach others.
We find ourselves focused more on how recovery has become a new form of consciousness – not merely abstinence from a substance. We begin to sense that we have returned to a way of being that we knew all along existed from within, but were unsure how to embody. By returning to a life in beauty, we are returned to a life of soul, of deep feeling and emotion.
Nature presents herself to us every day, in a multitude of ways; when we participate with her, we have the ability to be taken by beauty over and over again. There is no need for a new spell…
