After 2.5 bottles of champagne, I would sometimes spend my last waking moments in an early Sunday morning, meditating.
I wouldn't recommend it.
But I'd probably recommend it more than inhaling 2.5 bottles of alcohol without meditating.
When I finally gave up drinking in May 2018, it was the culmination of a gradual process in which I drank every other weekend, instead of every week.
And looking back at how my life has played out since I stopped recycling bottles of André - I couldn't have gotten to this point with old grapes on my tongue.
So, let me talk about the five most important things I've learned because of dropping the bottle.
1) Access To The Dreaming
I've never written about The Dreaming on Two Dreams, because like alcohol, it has an inherent indulgence to it.
The term "The Dreaming" or "Dreamtime" comes from aboriginal Australians.
And it's not the kind of "dreaming" that's confined to your sleeping moments.
If you close your eyes and see images, scenes, colors, or shapes, I'd say you're viewing The Dreaming.
Well, when I was drinking every weekend, and recovering in the subsequent days, I wouldn't have access to The Dreaming.
I'd simply see black.
When I gave up the alcohol, the ability to receive meaning (sometimes of the precognitive nature) from The Dreaming, came back.
And in turn, life became more meaningful.
If you're interested in learning how to work with it, I'd recommend two books by Arnold Mindell: 'The Shaman's Body' and 'Dreaming While Awake'.
But I'd remind you, again, that it can be spark some indulgence. And that life is lived with our eyes open.
2) Magic And Divination Can Become More Effective Habits With Alcohol Out of The Picture
I started practicing magic regularly before I stopped drinking, but it was after I put it down that my practice gained more steam.
While one always has the ability to argue against the existence of magic, it's still a fact that I charged sigils with specific intentions that later came to fruition.
Whether I unconsciously knew of future successes and created a ritual around something that was always going to happen - or I produced the change with a paper, pen, and altered state - the results remained the same.
Dietary changes happened, exercise habits were created, and goals were met.
On top of that, after giving up drinking, I sort of swapped in a new dependency on divination (not recommended).
But the result of that dependency was practical experience, and knowledge of the I Ching that I couldn't have received otherwise.
So, if you're going to give up alcohol, try swapping in a more spiritual-based habit (meditation, breathing exercises, etc.) and the filled void can become one of your greatest strengths.
3) There's Other Ways To Feel Highs
Speaking of breathing exercises, whether it's what I call the "Double-Breathe" or Cyclic Hyperventilation, there's ways to regulate your emotions with your breath.
And they're even more effective when your emotions aren't being deregulated by alcohol.
After weeks go by without alcohol, you start to realize just how much it was affecting your mood and anxiety.
And learning ways to tap into the states of mind you'd rather feel, in the moment, doesn't solve all of the problems, but it's a lot more reliable than aiming for a smiling face with a bottle of something very strong.
4) By Giving Up Drinking, You Begin A New Profection In Your Relationship With Drinking
I read a profile of Lakeith Stanfield in 2022, and it included a passage mentioning Jamie Lee Curtis that sounded pretty true to me:
"They established a strong enough connection for Curtis, who’s had her own battles with addiction, to reach out to Stanfield last year after hearing from a mutual friend that he was thinking about sobriety. “My experience is that when you feel you are alone, that’s a very scary feeling,” Curtis says. “So what I was trying to say to him was, ‘You are not alone. And if I can be a source of comfort or understanding, then I hope you will allow me to do that.’” He did, with the two of them exchanging texts and calls as he continued to work. One moment sticks with him. “She asked me, ‘How old are you?’” he recalls. “I was like, ‘Uh, about to be 30.’ And she said, ‘No, how old are you from when you became sober?’” He replied: “‘Oh, I’m about seven months.’ And she goes, ‘You’re seven months old. I am 23 years old.’”"
It all reminds me of profections, which I've argued isn't relegated to every year of your birth.
Basically, based on the profection year you, or your relationship to something is in, you can expect things related to those house topics.
I stopped drinking in May 2018, and my relationship with not drinking alcohol is in a 6th house profection year (as I write this in 2023).
I'd say each profection year after giving up drinking would have its own unique challenges:
- 1st house (in your first 12 months) problems might include redefining yourself as a non-drinker
- 2nd house (in your second 12 months) problems could involve you purchasing (or being tempted to purchase) alcohol or someone purchasing it for you, and that being a test of your sobriety
- 3rd house (in your third 12 months) problems might be pressure from your closest friends or extended family members
- 4th house (in your fourth 12 months) problems might involve your father, or private matters that might tempt you to drink
- 5th house (in your fifth 12 months) problems might include 'just wanting to have fun', or a new love interest that might bring with them some tempation on your part to drink
I won't go on for all 12 houses, but I'll admit, when I got to my 5th house profection of not drinking, there was a little temptation.
But knowing I was in a profection year that included fun, pleasure, and enjoyment, reassured me that it was a temptation that would likely pass once I moved to a new profection year.
So, I wasn't really tempted.
And I hope knowing of these profection years, and their meanings, helps you to see that there's patterns that can possibly help you stay on track, should you give up alcohol as well.
5) Without Alcohol, You Get Out of Your Own Way
Much like what Jamie Lee Curtis told Lakeith Stanfield above, giving up booze stops you from being held back a grade.
My career made a big jump in the year after I gave up drinking, and that jump came with a promotion.
Work became easier, and less anxiety-inducing.
I was more easygoing, words came to me quicker, and Monday was terrible on its own terms, not ones dictated by how many drinks I had over the weekend.
I was finally capable of leading others in a professional setting, because I was finally capable of leading myself in my personal life.
I lived life with greater intention, and even got into better physical shape.
I can't promise you that life will be without struggle and problems.
There will always be problems, with or without alcohol.
But without it, I became more capable of dealing with issues as they were, in the present, instead of trying to do so behind intoxicated glass.
And, in my opinion, that's much more sustainable (it also doesn't cost you money, I should add).
Final Thoughts
Many people hate it being insinuated, or openly stated, that alcohol can fuck up their life.
Andrew Huberman got a lot of angry people in his vicinity when he released a podcast about the negative effects of alcohol.
At the end of the day, it's your life, and I'm not telling you what to do.
But perhaps you might (horrifyingly) enjoy being sober for an extended period of time.
It could be worth a shot if any of the above sounds positive to you.