Toward a Unified Field Theory of Human Flourishing

Addictions are not "bad." They are simply the shadow forms of a more noble and exalted calling.

All addicts exist inside a contradiction, at an unmappable crossroads between the forces of fate and individual will. Fate (genetics, circumstance, hard luck; not I) made me an addict. Will (power, determination, pure self) will allow me to overcome it. Perhaps that’s why twelve-step programs, instead of employing linear logic to lead people out of

The addict seeks to escape the pain of being human in one of two ways — by transcending it or by anesthetizing it.

Consistent with the lived experience of people in recovery, truth-telling may change the brain, allowing us to be more aware of our pleasure-pain balance and the mental processes driving compulsive overconsumption, and thereby change our behavior.

Addictions are not "bad." They are simply the shadow forms of a more noble and exalted calling. Our addictions are our callings themselves, only encrypted and incognito. They are a metaphor for our best selves, the coded version of our higher aspirations.