Addiction and Grace - Chapter 8, Discernment

Discernment means living life prayerfully- bringing oneself to God as honestly and completely as possible, seeking God's guidance as openly as possible, and then, in faith, responding as fully as possible. Consecration in practice.

Five qualities of a discerning life. Honesty, dignity, community, responsibility and simplicity.

Honestly admit that our attachments are our idols.
Quiet prayer, contemplative prayer, assists with honesty.  The mind is allowed to be what it is, but it is seen. It helps vaporize mind tricks.

Honesty risks that God is good. Dignity risks that we ourselves are good. We have the goodness of God in us. Sometimes we have a bad self image and we get depressed.
An addictive depression is different from a psychiatric depression. PD stifles all life energy. Addictive depressions have an energy, mostly an energy to protect itself.
Dignity built on the self-representations are shaky.
Choosing dignity built on faith that God loves us is not shaky. It is choosing spaciousness.

Involvement of other people in living the consecrated life is essential. Mind tricks thrive on interior secrecy.

Stopping addictive behavior : don't do it; refuse to do it; and keep refusing to do it.
No substitution addictive behavior. Simplicity.

Discernment is a way of life. A recognition that there are two components of all of our behavior. That which is the gift of freedom, of using our capacity for freedom of choice for good. And that which is grace. God is involved, participating in our lives, responding to our desire for goodness, and at times breaking into our life and causing goodness to be experienced or to be recognized.

Spiritual direction then can help the open person to begin naming their attachments, and to begin to notice and nurture the desire to be free of them. Free to love. How free are you to love?