"Hello, my name is Joe Shmoe and I am a blank-oholic." This is usually the mantra spoken before a confession at some meeting designed to rehabilitate an addiction. But, is there a fundamental flaw in this saying? Is there a misleading principle that will keep an individual stuck in their particular addiction? Furthermore, is the addiction who you are? Are you not reinforcing that particular behavior by identifying with it? Would it not be better to disassociate yourself with your behavior, as to separate you from your actions? Cause I've gotta be honest, I've seen some very intelligent people act out some extremely stupid things. The psychology of crowd behavior is a classic example. When influenced, normally reserved people will do some incredibly stupid things.

If you start from the origin, if you reach the core of your being, you will find that you are simply you; a being of awareness. Everything else, your thoughts, emotions and so on, is guided by your upbringing and genetic predisposition. The key to mastering you is simply to remember that you are the key. No matter how many times you screw up, no matter how many times you fail, the source of power is within you. Once you realize that, you will see that you are not a convict, but someone who was convicted. You will see that you are not alcoholic, but someone who drinks too much. No matter where you are or what you have done, you always have the freedom and potential power to cognitively think and, furthermore, be aware of those thoughts and make a choice.