RAT PARK
In 1981, a scientist named Bruce Alexander began a bizarre and wonderful experiment to test the causes of addiction in society. While most scientists at the time felt that addiction was a primarily bio-chemical event, Alexander was puzzled by a seeming anomaly in the evidence - the fact that of the thousands of soldier who regularly used heroin during the Vietnam war, over 90% of them quit 'cold turkey' on returning to the West with minimal withdrawal symptoms or cravings.
Alexander believed this pointed to an environmental cause to addiction, and to test his theory he built a sort of a Shangri-la for lab rats which he and his colleagues lovingly dubbed 'Rat Park'.
Rat Park had wide open spaces, readily available food and drink, and warm comfortable housing. Despite numerous attempts, Alexander and his colleagues were unable to get the residents of Rat Park to drink morphine-laced sugar water. Meanwhile, the rest of the lab rats, still stuck in their tiny laboratory cages, drank the drugged water in droves.
A subsequent experiment forced both the caged rats and the Rat Park rats to drink nothing but morphine-water over a period of 57 days. At the end of that time, they were given a choice - they could continue to drink the drug-laden sugar water or switch over to regular water. The caged rats stayed 'addicted'; the Rat Park rats immediately switched over to the regular water, despite going through minor withdrawal symptoms from the morphine over a period of several days.
What conclusions can we draw from these experiments?
Well, one thing which seems inarguable is that environment plays a far more significant factor in addiction than most 'addiction as disease' models would have us believe. This is not to say that there isn't an 'alcoholic gene' or an 'addictive personality', although neither theory has actually been proven. It's just to say that it may be worth further exploring the impact we can make on our society by actively improving the living and working conditions of the people who live in it.
Another, even more exciting conclusion comes from the work of Dr. Ronald Ruden, whose research into the source of cravings, be they for food, sex, alcohol, or drugs of any sort indicates that your internal environment (what he calls 'the landscape of your brain') may be as significant a factor as your external environment.
According to Ruden, a key factor in creating an internal environment conducive to addictive behavior is the presence of 'inescapable stress' - an ongoing sense that nothing can be done to reduce the amount of stress you are experiencing in your life. That seemingly inescapable stress may take the form of homelessness, poverty, a bad marriage or a chronic illness. It can even be caused by guilt or shame - the regret for something which happened in the past that 'can never be undone'.
Now, it is important to note that in Ruden's model, sobriety is not biologically different from addiction. With addiction, the response to a craving is to do more of the addictive behavior; with sobriety, the response to a craving is to either substitute a healthier addiction (i.e. go to a meeting, go for a run, meditate, pray, etc.) or in the worst case, to 'tough it out'. In both cases, you are continually having to deal with cravings.
But that does not mean that the best we can hope for is to replace our unhealthy addictions with healthy ones. If in conjunction with any changes we might make in our physical environment we also developed our ability to respond to stress so it no longer seemed inescapable, we could literally change the landscape of our brain to one where overeating, excessive drinking or drug taking would be as unappealing to us as the morphine-laced sugar water was to the denizens of Rat Park.
And this, to me, is the real moral of the story - that regardless of whatever changes we might struggle to make in the world around us to put an end to hunger, poverty and overcrowding, there are always choices available to us in this and every moment that will allow us to create an internal environment of joy, of happiness, and of the kind of well-being that positively impacts not only our own lives but the lives of every person on the planet.
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Today's Experiment:
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1. Think about your own physical environment. Is it more like a rat cage or a rat park - a place you feel stuck in or a place where you can celebrate being alive?
2. What changes could you make in your environment to make it more nurturing?
Bear in mind that these changes can be subtle as well as dramatic. Putting up a picture of a beautiful landscape may not be quite as rewarding as actually living in one, but it can absolutely make the difference between feeling trapped and feeling at least the possibility of freedom.
3. Use the Garden meditation from my book, 'You Can Have What You Want' to actively cultivate the inner environment of your dreams.
Here's a mini-version of the meditation below:
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Take a few moments to relax. 'Inspire' yourself by taking a few
deep breaths and really enjoy the sensation of your body
filling and emptying itself of air. If you like, you can close
your eyes, counting backwards from ten to one...
Now, imagine yourself stepping in to a shower of light. Let all the cares and stresses of the day be washed away until you are feeling clean and clear and refreshed. Continue to enjoy the shower, and notice that the light outside awakens the light inside, and your body begins to fill with light...
As your body becomes lighter and lighter, you are becoming more and more relaxed. Soon, every cell in your body will be infused with the most beautiful light you can imagine. Enjoy the experience of clarity, lightness and ease...
Now, as the being of light that you are, float up out of your body and into a garden. This is the garden of your life. In it you will find every aspect of yourself and your light reflected...
When you are ready, have a wander round your garden and notice what you notice:
* Is your garden large or small?
* Is it neat and tidy, or rambling and overgrown?
* Are there any particular features that draw your eye
towards them?
When you have explored and enjoyed your garden fully, say a silent 'thank you' and float back down into your body. Imagine stepping onto an energizing beam of light until your body is filled with energy - open your eyes, wiggle your fingers and toes, and ease your way back into the world... -----------------------------------------------------------------
Have fun, learn heaps, and live free!
With love,
michael
Visit www.geniuscatalyst.com for more great tips from Michael Neill!