ECO PSYCHOLOGY- PART

1; CEREMONY
TRANSFORMING ADDICTION INTO
RELATEDNESS
 Take a Deep Breath
• Right now, in this moment. You can be in training.
• Relatedness training teaches us to be one with our group and everything around us.
• When we deeply train ourselves each day, we have harmonious relationship with others and
Mother Earth.
• Our thoughts and words are training us at every moment. This is the most ancient tribal training
we know. Live in consciousness of thoughts and words.
• Tribal people learned the teaching of indoctrination into relatedness training from the animal
people.
• Relatedness training is the language of group survival. We are here today to rebirth the language
of relatedness.
• In order to train we must enter ceremony. In ceremony, we learn to rebalance the difficulties and
suffering around us. This includes encounters with ruthlessness and the intrusive overuse of
technology.
• First, we are going to observe the difficulties which come from living in a fabrication; then we will
learn and engage in something beautiful which heals and rebalances life. Something of the
darkness and something of the light must always be next to each other in creating transformation
to find balance. Today’s thoughts and words determine the degree of freedom or suffering for our
future generations.
 Statistics of Addiction in America
• Over 20 million Americans over the age of 12 have an addiction (excluding tobacco).
• 100 people die every day from drug overdoses. This rate has tripled in the past 20 years.
• Over 5 million emergency room visits in 2011 were drug related.
• 2.6 million people with addictions have a dependence on both alcohol and illicit drugs.
• 9.4 million people in 2011 reported driving under the influence of illicit drugs.
• 6.8 million people with an addiction have a “mental illness”.
• Rates of illicit drug use is highest among those aged 18 to 25. Over 90% of those with an addiction began
drinking, smoking or using illicit drugs before the age of 18. The sale of painkillers has increased by over
300% since 1999.
• Tens of millions of Americans use prescription medications non-medically every year.
• Almost 3 out of 4 prescription overdoses are caused by painkillers. In 2009, 1 in 3 prescription painkiller
overdoses were caused by methadone.
• Overdoses caused by painkillers are more common than heroin and cocaine overdoses combined.
• Over half of the people abusing prescribed drugs got them from a friend or relative. Over 17% were
prescribed the medication.
• The number of people receiving treatment for addiction to painkillers and sedatives has doubled since 2002.
 Is the Medical Industry Effective?

• If the medical and pharmaceutical industry are working, then why are the signs of
this phenomena we call addiction (and I would term humanities' distress)
increasing at such an alarming rate?
• I am proposing that addiction is a compensation for humanities loss of
relatedness training. Just as the body tries to protect a wound from further injury
or intrusion with a scab and then scar tissue, an addiction or dissociative state is
the psyches way of protecting us from further wounding and internal disturbance
caused by the lack of security we experience every day we are not in deep
connection and relatedness.
• (story)
 Creating a Distress Formula
• Humans have a range of sensitivity to environmental and cultural distress just as animals have
varied sensitivity to environmental changes. Example: Disposition in infants. Babies who are more
difficult to sooth are more likely to exhibit distress symptoms at a later age esp. if they have low
relationship value assignment.
• Computers social media and cell phone screen time imparts information but distracts from
relationship’s soothing impact and influence on developing compassion thoughts.
• Dissociative reactions (addictions and mental illness) to unacknowledged societal illness and
unacknowledged societal grief impact our ability to feel relatedness to each other and the earth.
• Loss of important rebalancing and security based ceremonies.
• Loss of indoctrination into oneness orientation and group consciousness.
• Lack of security due to low relationship value and high accumulation value.
• Loss of approval-alignment language structure which is necessary in ceremony.
• Turning on others; violence and ruthless attitudes where inequality and individual accumulation
are both condoned and admired.
• Turning on the self; which is transposed as individual defectiveness or individual diagnostic illness.
The most damaging myth we participate in today is that sensitive people in our culture should be
diagnosed, medicated and alienated from the general population rather than undergoing spiritual
training.
Healing Vs. a Medical/Pharmaceutical Industry
• Indigenous healing and belief views illness or imbalance in relationship to
the group and the cosmos. When a group member has come in contact
with dangerous outside powers or energies the person’s spirit can be
pushed out of the body endangering the entire groups survival. Everyone’s
priority is the member’s healing. A ceremony must be held to return the
group spirit to wholeness; relationship wholeness.
• In psychology addictions, compulsions, fixations and obsessions are the
individual’s way of enacting internal unresolved distress caused by an
external source or internal dysregulation. As the “industry of medicine” has
become increasingly disconnected from healing it seeks to diagnose our
more sensitive individual’s personality traits. These traits are imbalanced
by a lack of safe societal container and a loss of valued role. The industry
medicates these individuals to suppress their distress behaviors or
symptoms but never address’ the cause.
 Creating Right Relationship with Each Other

• Language is one of the important tools in the healing formula. When we describe
an experience from a spiritual perspective it provides us the safety feeling unlike
that of a self-perspective description.
• Ex. I thought that. Vs. The spirit told me.
• The English language today is largely “I” centered instead of spirit centered.
• When I was young we were taught to be gentle in our words and actions so we
did not bring harm to others into being. If you bring harshness or ruthlessness
into being through the power of your voice and language, it invites a spirit of
destruction.
 What are we Connecting with?

• Mother Earth and Father Sky

• The Directions
• The Elements and Weather Forms
• Sun Moon and Star Movements, the Cosmos
• The Green Standing People
• Animal People
• Ancestors
• Tribe
 The Foundation Blocks of Ceremonial Healing
• Because we feel different, we are conscious of sickness in the body or psyche. Likewise,
consciousness of healing comes through being in touch with the body feeling a return to stasis.
Ceremony makes the body feel different through healthy thought and accessing the senses.
• External: There is consciousness of the seen part of the ceremony: Am I following the prescribed
structure? Am I controlling myself correctly? Am I speaking good words?
• Soothing sounds and hearing positive approval language, Feeling body movement and
sensations, Soothing and invigorating smells, Sight of agreed upon sacred objects and places.
• Internal: There is consciousness of the unseen part of the ceremony: Am I thinking positive
thoughts? Am I in touch with the good feelings flowing through my body? What is my breath
doing? Am I completely relaxed and joyful?
• Positive group belief in good and the power of life/Being of like mind, Each member of the group
has a role and is valued for their character traits, Relatedness to all beings and everything,
Complete compassion and non-judgement
• Security and attachment come from correct training. Healing trauma and illness comes from
correct training. Relatedness = devotion= survival
• We cannot heal without the truth. In order to return psychology to healing we must pass on the
truth of group societal illness, bell weather people, and the myth of diagnosing or blaming
individuals.
 The Sacred Pipe: Internal
• Relatedness to all energy forms and all beings.
• The joining of male (stem) and female (bowl) energy is the act of creation. It is
the making of all life and the renewal of all life.
• We obtain spiritual help when naming and calling in all the powers.
• The sacred pipe is a living breathing being, a grandfather.
• We experience ancient connection to lineage/ the ancestors.
• The prayers made and all the energies of creation go into the pipe as it is filled.
• We experience the healing of sickness and trauma (physical, psychological and
spiritual are all a part of the wholeness circle).
 The Sacred Pipe: External
• The pipestone bowl - inyan luta is always held in the left hand. This is the hand
which is closest to the heart. The pipestone and the heart are made of the same
material, they carry our pulsing life blood.
• The stem is held in the right hand. Cannunpa means wood – smoke. It also means
two – woods. When the pipe is passed we keep both hands on it.
• When passing anything in ceremony it must follow the designated movement of
the sun (clockwise) because the buffalo and all good things follow the path of the
sun. We do not spin the pipe because that completes the circle and ends the
prayers.
• We Say Mitakueye Oyasin when any sacred object is passed or a prayer is made
to remind ourselves that we are all related and we are in complete oneness with
everything in the universe.
• Take action. Follow your heart, follow your feeling self and always devote your
energy and consciousness to good and beautiful things. This is what matters in
life. Kindness and compassion for each other.
Follow your heart, follow your feeling self and always devote your
energy and consciousness to good and beautiful things. This is
what matters in life. Kindness and compassion for each other.
 Alcohol Statistics

• Alcoholism is one of the most common addictions affecting Americans. It also an

addiction that goes untreated in many cases because of the legality of the substance.
However, the recorded rates of alcoholism are decreasing (18.1 million people in 2002 to
16.7 million in 2011), but the addiction is still a cause for concern.
• Binge drinking is more common in men; 9.1% of men 12 and older reported heavy
drinking 5 or more days in a month, while 2.6% of women reported this.
• Over 11% of Americans have driven under the influence.
• Out of 16.6 million people with alcoholism, 2.6 million were also dependent on an illicit
substance.
• It is estimated that over 95% of those who need treatment for alcoholism do not feel
they need treatment.
• More people receive treatment for alcohol than any other substance.
• Over 30% of those who received treatment in 2011 reported using public or private
health insurance to pay for treatment.
• Marijuana Statistics
• The rates of marijuana use are mostly responsible for the increase in the
use of illicit drugs in the United States over the past years. Learn more
about marijuana dependence and your treatment options.
• Marijuana is the most common illicit drug used for the first time.
Approximately 7,000 people try marijuana for the first time every day.
• Out of 2.6 million people who tried marijuana for the first time, over half
were under the age of 18.
• The majority of youths aged 12 to 17 do not perceive a great risk from
smoking marijuana.
• Marijuana had the highest rates of dependence out of all illicit substances
in 2011.
• Cocaine Statistics
• In the period from 2006 to 2011, cocaine use (including crack) decreased
considerably by nearly a million less users. Cocaine has one of the highest
potentials of developing an addiction in those who abuse the drug. Learn more
about treatment options for cocaine addiction.
• Approximately 1,800 people 12 and older tried cocaine for the first time in 2011.
• In 2011, over 800,000 Americans reported having an addiction to cocaine.
• The largest amount of illicit drug-related emergency room visits in 2011 were
cocaine related (over 500,000 visits).
• Cocaine is also the most common drug found in addition to alcohol in alcohol-
related emergency room visits.
• Cocaine use is highest among Americans aged 18 to 25.
• Heroin Statistics
• Heroin has long had a stigma of being one of the most dangerous drugs. Aside
from there being a risk of addiction and overdose, there is also an increased risk
of contracting blood-borne diseases such as HIV. Learn more about heroin
addiction treatment options and get started on the path to recovery today.
• The number of Americans with an addiction to heroin nearly doubled from 2007
to 2011.
• It is estimated that 80% of new hepatitis C infections occur among those who use
drugs intravenously, such as heroin users.
• Nearly half of those who use heroin reportedly started abusing prescription pain
killers before they ever used heroin.
• Over a quarter million of drug-related emergency room visits are related to
heroin abuse.
• Prescription Drug Statistics
• Prescription medication abuse holds a lot of potential for people to develop addictions. These
drugs can be easier to obtain than other drugs. Prescriptions, especially painkillers, have a high
potential to lead to the use of more dangerous substances like heroin. Learn more about
treatment options for a prescription drug addiction.
• The sale of painkillers has increased by over 300% since 1999.
• Tens of millions of Americans use prescription medications non-medically every year.
• Almost 3 out of 4 prescription overdoses are caused by painkillers. In 2009, 1 in 3 prescription
painkiller overdoses were caused by methadone.
• Overdoses caused by painkillers are more common than heroin and cocaine overdoses combined.
• Over half of the people abusing prescribed drugs got them from a friend or relative. Over 17%
were prescribed the medication.
• The number of people receiving treatment for addiction to painkillers and sedatives has doubled
since 2002.
• Amphetamine and Methamphetamine Statistics
• Amphetamines and methamphetamines are an extremely dangerous class of drugs that
are central nervous system stimulants. While amphetamines are typically acquired
through a prescription, methamphetamines are classified as an illicit substance in the
same class as cocaine. Learn more about addiction to stimulants.
• In 2010, around 13 million people have abused methamphetamines in their life and
approximately 350,000 people were regular users. This number increased by over 80,000
the following year.
• There were approximately 160,000 amphetamine and methamphetamine related
emergency room visits in 2011.
• Use of amphetamines is increasing among college students. One study across a hundred
colleges showed nearly 7% of college students use amphetamines illegally. Over 25% of
students reported use in the past year.
• A study by UCLA revealed that methamphetamines release nearly 4 times as much
dopamine as cocaine, which means the substance is much more addictive.
• Hallucinogen and Inhalant Statistics
• Hallucinogens include a variety of substance including: LSD, MDMA (ecstasy), and mescaline. Inhalants range
from household products to medical anesthetics. These substances aren’t as commonly abused as other
substances, but still have a potential for dependence. Learn more about the effects of hallucinogen and
inhalant abuse.
• There were over 20,000 ecstasy-related emergency room visits in 2011
• There were over 1.8 million Americans 12 or older who used a hallucinogen or inhalant for the first time.
(1.1 million among hallucinogens)
• 22.7 million people (as of 2007) have reported using LSD in their lifetime.
• There are approximately 5,000 LSD-related emergency room visits per year.
• Nearly 300,000 Americans received treatment for hallucinogens in 2011.
• Between 2002 and 2006, over a half million of teens aged 12 to 17 had used inhalants.
• There were over 190,000 hospitalizations in the U.S. in 2008 due to inhalant poisoning.
• The statistics found on this page were reported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National
Survey on Drug Use and Health.
• Tobacco and Nicotine Statistics
• Tobacco products have the highest rates for dependence. There are several factors that
contribute to this, such as availability. There are more resources than ever to help you
quit. Learn more about kicking your tobacco habit.
• Tobacco-related costs for the United States is over $190 billion (healthcare costs, loss of
productivity, etc.)
• The rate of illicit drug use was 9.5 times higher in 2011 for teens who smoked cigarettes
than those who didn’t.
• Tobacco causes more deaths each year than all other substance abuse related deaths
combined.
• Tobacco users in general are more likely to abuse drugs and alcohol. Over 40% of
cigarette smokers reported binge drinking in 2011.
• The rates of pack-a-day smokers among those aged 18 to 25 has decreased by over 13%
since 2002.