The last few days, I’ve been writing about a good friend who I visited last weekend. She’s such a lovely, kind person. Lots of fun, too. Lately, though, she’s not her usual self.<\/p>\n
She’s been on a very strict diet. Yes, 27 pounds are gone, but so is her joy and playfulness. She’s tired a lot; she’s not so talkative as usual. Things just are different.<\/p>\n
“How’s your spiritual life, in the ‘diet days,'” I asked. “OK, I guess, same-old, same-old, I go to my Buddhist meditation once a week, and sit, and contemplate,” she reports. It’s something she’s done for about five years. “What does it give you?” I wondered.<\/p>\n
“I get a sense of peace, and feel more focused.” I do see that in her. She does seem very peaceful, that’s true. If it were me on that diet, I’d not be very peaceful, I’d be climbing the walls.<\/p>\n
“I smoke a lot of pot, every day. That makes me pretty spiritual and peaceful, too!” She confided. While a little pot once in awhile isn’t such a problem, smoking a lot, particularly every day, is problematic, I think. Daily marijuana use has a lot of negative side-effects: lethargy, diminished ambition and motivation, the “munchies.” It’s not so good for the lungs, either. That worries me.<\/p>\n
It’s an addiction, like overeating, or drinking regularly. Something that needs to be fed on a regular basis. I saw that the pot is taking away a lot of her energy, enthusiasm, and connection with others. We talked about it, and she agrees. “I’m kind of married to my pot,” she confided. I think that’s probably true.<\/p>\n
So – what to do? Go to a 12-Step program and meet some other people and put spiritual beliefs into action. See a therapist. Talk with her spiritual counselor. Deal with the presenting problem first.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The last few days, I’ve been writing about a good friend who I visited last weekend. She’s such a lovely, kind person. Lots of fun, too. Lately, though, she’s not her usual self. She’s been on a very strict diet. Yes, 27 pounds are gone, but so is her joy and playfulness. She’s tired a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,17,21,12,8,11],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-743","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health","category-religion","category-spiritual-weight-loss","category-spirituality","category-weight-loss","category-wellness"],"yoast_head":"\n