Abstinence Vs Indulgence

I have been caught in both extremes of over-indulgence, drinking and partying for many days in my College years, to abstaining from eating any meat, drinking, and partying, when I was trapped in New Age Ideology. Abstinence is a common practice in many religions where Sex, Swearing, Alcohol, Drugs can be forbidden. Then you have New Age Spiritualities that practice Veganism, excessive meditation, non-judgment, gratitude for everything, and seeking a constant state of positivity and high vibration. Though I have discovered through the years that any of these forms of perfectionism by practicing righteousness and spiritual superiority, can be very toxic and unhealthy if taken to the extreme. It causes rigidness, spiritual bypassing, and projection of the suppressed shadow and narcissistic aspects in one’s self.

On the other hand, over-indulgence can occur with just about any desire we have of wanting something external to ourselves, to satiate an aspect within. These can include sex, porn, alcohol, smoking, recreational drugs, medications, psychedelics, foods (especially junk food and sugar), overworking, over-exercising, binge-watching, gaming, internet and social media browsing, in which if any are abused overtime, leads to addictions and coping behaviours. These addictions can be a misdirected form of our passions. Through social conditioning from our cultures and entertainment media, has promoted normalcy in partying hard often, over-indulging, and having unlimited fun in any of the above mentioned. Peer pressure leads to the belief that we only live once right, so fuck everything and give into these base desires, without any repercussions.

However, when one parties too hard regularly and over-indulges without any limits, they lose perspective on their true values, empathy, and compassion. They end up burning their candle from both ends, and don’t care they’re doing so. Despite what many of our peers endorse through culture, music, film and TV, this is not a cool and legendary thing, when this occurs. For they end up falling into an even deeper depression when sober, where they only feel good when trying to reach an unattainable new high that supersedes the previous over-indulgence. Long-term consequences of this will eventually lead to health problems and an early death, if taken too far, for too long. Just look at many famous celebrities who experienced this inevitable downfall in their chronic over-indulgent lifestyles. Although it is true that a rigid form of abstinence can be a short-term remedy and form of medicine for those lost in their addictions of over-indulgence.

I have been contemplating both these extremes lately and have been gaining more clarity, how I can still become lured into either of them. When we have become entrapped in a false-light paradigm of being spiritually perfect through a strict and rigid practice of abstinence, rituals, beliefs, and blind-faith. Where we have suppressed our own critical thinking, discernment, and experience, surrendering ourselves over to this religion or spirituality, for a long period of time. When one does finally wake up from their trance from this, they naturally desire to rebel, so they can reclaim their personal power and choices they lost, and weren’t able to make at the time. Over-indulgence is also a natural remedy and form of medicine, for anyone who experienced rigidness from any strict religious, spiritual, cultural, educational, and familial indoctrination.

However, the problem develops when the desire to over-indulge becomes an unconscious new extreme in the polar opposite of abstinence, and therefore develops into coping mechanisms overtime, to avoid the pain and trauma that had developed previously in one’s life. When you no longer give a fuck about anything, and nothing really matters to you anymore, you lack purpose or meaning to your life. You become caught in an unconscious, reactive and rebellious state, avoiding the Truth of who you really are, and how your innocence and free will had been betrayed, manipulated, and violated in the past.

For those of us who are able to heal through the many layers of their past wounds, trauma, shadows, and conditioning, are able to experience life unfiltered and less distorted. We slowly Awaken and reconnect more consciously to the Truth of who we really are. We find more purpose through the sharing of our creative passions and natural gifts to the world. We are able to move on from the shame of our past, reconnecting with our Spirit and eternal flame. Finding true intimacy with ourselves and all our internal aspects, and are able connect more authentically and deeply with others. We are able to empower from within, reclaiming our true Sovereignty, and responsibility for our own lives. For those who Do Not Care about their lives and the choices they make, it is really their own issue to deal with. It is not anyone else’s responsibility, if they are full grown adults. As long as no one is pressuring, manipulating, coercing, or controlling another, because they are unconsciously caught in either extreme of rigid abstinence or over-indulgence, as already mentioned above, then there is no harm done to another.

Of course, this is only true with interactions between adults. When children are involved, this is an entirely different story, as the responsibility of a parent, or any adult interacting with children for that matter, goes beyond their own selfish needs, bad habits, and behaviours. Children are not dolls to be moulded into their parents image, adopting their behaviours and belief systems. They should instead be nurtured to discover their own passions and values in their life. Everyone should be a free spirit, to be who they authentically are, to experience and make their own choices in life. When one oversteps your boundary, it is important to have enough self-respect and self-care to say NO. So we can all live our own virtues that are important to us, allowing others to be as they are, and to do as they Will, without any interference. The more we live in harmony with our Spirit, the more we can find a healthy balance between abstinence and indulgence in our lives, no longer caught in any unconscious extremes of rigidness, perfectionism, control, manipulation, ignorance, naiveite, addictions, and coping behaviours.