I am one of millions of people with an addictive personality, and the one anchor and inner sanctuary for me in the face of all storms has been the power of devotional chanting and sound. We live in society where we are bombarded daily with solutions to inner happiness and fulfillment from the outside through media advertising.
In 1987 when I was plummeting towards a rock bottom through alcohol and drug abuse, I was blessed with a miracle. I was an actor at that time understudying a famous singer in the West End who introduced me to a spiritual path where devotional chanting was a main focus. I experienced a kundalini awakening [spiritual awakening] so pronounced that I have never looked back! I spent one month of my life in supreme bliss and ecstasy. I remember vividly walking through Battersea Park with the power station in the distance, when suddenly I had a profound experience of oneness where everyone I looked at was an extension of my very own self.
I fell in love with everyone, literally. I felt that I was merging with the sunset. The bliss was so intense that in that moment I realized that I had finally connected with what I had been searching for throughout my youth with booze and drugs.
The addictive society
Everyone in life is addicted to something, workaholism is a common one for hundreds of people, as is retail therapy or perhaps you are a chocoholic? In the face of all these obsessions the solution to freedom is connection to the inner voice. The power of primordial sound instantly transports us, not to a shopping mall or an ice cream parlour, but rather to what we are truly looking for, which is the vibrational realm of the inner Self.Chanting is a constant companion
Chanting has been my constant companion for 27 years. I didn’t realize that up until then I had been searching for this practice all my life. This natural and uplifting practice is transformative and it has lifted me over and over again out of the ‘hell realms’ of the mind into the abode of supreme joy! Chanting has been a major tool in keeping me sober from using alcohol or drugs for 25 years and it has been a privilege to be able to share this practice with thousands of recovering addicts through my work at the Priory Hospital and Start 2 Stop for 13 years. It's incredible to have an 'in the moment'' instant practice in chanting, to overcome all fears, and to experience deep connection to who we truly are. We then have the direct experience of oneness and we are able to transcend the terror and separation of the egoic mind. We then feel the inner Self speaking within us guiding us to magical opportunities and a more authentic expression of who we are.
