Releasing Addiction With Flower Essences by Nikki Wyatt

What is addiction and why is it so common? With smoking being banned in more and more places, now seems a good time to address this common issue from a vibrational healing perspective. Flower essences, such as Nicotiana pictured here, can be very helpful with any addiction, though from its name you'll guess this one is particularly helpful for giving up smoking.

Essences create a space where insights can be had into the roots of any addiction and those links can be broken at the emotional, physical, mental and spiritual level. From an energetic perspective, addiction disconnects us from our earthly reality which we may be finding hard to face, so that we become 'ungrounded', unable to connect to the natural energies of the earth which would otherwise heal and balance us. To our ego or our 'pain body' this disconnection is a comforting shield but in reality it blocks us from healing and integrating difficult feelings.

The other effect of addiction is to increase the original imbalance as the addiction disconnects us from our heart, which is the body's great balancing chakra. Many of us who pursue an addictive path finish up physically with heart disease and hardening of the arteries which reflects the hardening effect of addiction. By numbing our feelings we're unable to connect to the love and compassion we have to feel for ourselves in order to move out of addiction. Nicotiana, on a physical level, both reconnects us to the earth and is a terrific tonic for the heart!

Some of you may have heard of a book called 'Blessed are the Addicts' which looks at the spiritual aspect of addiction, especially alcoholism. Its premise is that those of us who are most addicted are fundamentally trying to fill a void within us which, when we're between 'fixes', we're acutely and painfully aware of.

Whatever will medicate that pain, whether it's alcohol, sex, drugs, overeating, compulsively emailing or surfing the internet, the adrenaline rush of shoplifting, extreme sports or overbusyness, we'll do it to avoid being present and create a protective shield so that the world can't hurt us any more.

As we know, addictive behaviour doesn't keep us numb forever, usually having long-term consequences for our physical, spiritual mental, emotional and financial health.

Personally I feel that addiction is often a desperate need to re-experience connection; to try and dull the pain of our original separation; something my clients often describe as their soul's yearning to go 'home'.

The result of addiction is enslavement and if you look historically at the origins of many substances we're addicted to, they carry the energy memory of slavery - think of the plantations of tobacco, sugar, coffee and cocoa and how the slaves would sing of their 'Sweet Chariot coming forth to carry me home'.

Many of the substances we're addicted to give us a short-cut to an artificial sensation which an authentic loving connection can give us whether outward or inward. Alcohol gives us an uninhibited sense of joy and relaxation, Nicotine stimulates our heart and makes us feel less stressed, sex can make us feel ecstatic and less alone, coffee can make us feel alert and stimulated. But it's all a pale imitation of true inner peace, true intimacy, true ecstasy and that is what our soul is really seeking.

The truth is that 'home' is inside each of us. Sometimes the path to our own front door can be strewn with past pain and traumatic memories but with good therapeutic support we can all find our way back and experience being here on Earth as both joyful and peaceful.