The Void

Read Gabor Mate, MD's account of addicts in 'In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts' and you will either cry or get depressed, and most probably both. He interviewed all kind of substance abusers in the Vancouver area and it turns out that most of these victims have been sexually abused as children, were homeless, were physically or emotionally abused, grew up in foster care, etc. It is pretty clear that all these drugs do is to plaster over, at least for a few hours, the psychological pain of the past, only to find the black hole even larger on the morning after. For a few hours these chemical injections let you experience what life could have been.

I find it incredible that we all experience the same movie and nobody knows about the others' existence. I had a safe and - mostly - happy childhood, I have a great job, a loving family, a creative outlet - that would be writing to you - but my problem statement is pretty much identical: there is a void inside me, very much as it is inside of you. We function quite well in the eyes of society, the hungry ghost inside of us is smaller, but the temptation to escape is there as well. Have a look around, everyone experiences this void, you can certainly experience it in yourself if you dare to look.

Just sit there and experience it without moving, just don't do anything about it and simply face it. No running away, no artificial entertainment, no idle chatter, no anti-depressant drugs, no alcohol, no Internet and no sexual escape. Just sit there and experience it and see what happens. That is what a spiritual journey is all about, the guts to face the emptiness inside, and the conjecture that once you are ready to face the void there will be that amazing Force that fills is up. Please try it!