Drugs
Since Phillip Seymour Hoffman died of an apparent drug overdose people have been asking Ben about why people use drugs and what happens to users after they die.
It is a big risk to choose to be someone who might become famous. When you are in show biz of any sort you live with constant pressure. You not only have demanding audiences and critics but the people you are making money for can be unrelenting. And the schedules can be killing. People say it's a choice and they probably believe they know what they are talking about. But when you talk about choices you need to understand under what circumstances choices are made and what the other options are. People have been known to choose poison over torture without really feeling good about it.
If you are so exhausted you can barely move and in two hours you have to be on stage or on the set pouring out the love and exuding energy and being sharp and alert and remembering what to do and being able to do it, you take whatever you need to get moving. Once you reach star status it isn't like working in a factory. They can't just call in someone else to take your place. A lot of people stand to lose a lot of money if the star doesn't show up for work. Usually performers take that first hit in order to be able to perform. Maybe they think they'll just do it this once. Just get through this show or this tour and then they'll quit.
As with everything else it's all about the energy. Quite apart from the toxic effect drugs have on your vital organs, the ups and downs in your energy level can wreak havoc on your body. It's like tuning all the keys on your piano or guitar too tight and then pounding on them for too long. Or it's like throwing your guitar up in the air and letting it land on the ground. You can't do that very many times before it breaks. And you can't repair it very many times before there is nothing left to repair.
Some people wonder what it is like after they die for users who die of a drug overdose. Are they confused? Do they hang around and be ghosts? Do they go to hell? It really depends to a large extent on why they were taking the drugs and what state of mind they were in when they took them. We all know that some people drink alcohol to celebrate and some drink to drown their sorrows. People do other drugs the same way. For some "rock stars" the drugs are part of the fun and enhance the thrill of success. Others use drugs to boost their confidence or enhance their performance when they are not doing well.
Drugs can temporarily raise your vibrational frequency. The closer you are to the frequency of the drugged state you are in when you take the drug the less likely you are to be confused and damaged on the other side. Most of the damage drugs do is to your physical body. The experiences that surround the drug experience can often cause damage to your energy body that might carry over and need some repair work. If you get into fights or crash cars or trash hotel rooms or neglect your work or your family or do other things that result in damage or death to other people or arrests or lawsuits and people start hating you, that's when you start doing damage to your spirit.
On the other hand, in some cases, death by drug overdose may be a reasonable (if not entirely conscious) choice. We all have exit opportunities throughout our lives. It's possible that an individual might receive guidance about what possibilities exist up ahead and decide that none of them are acceptable. He might decide that leaving now is better than what might have happened later if he had not exited on this off-ramp (so to speak.) This might actually be the optimal time for him to take his leave even if it doesn't seem like it to his fans and loved ones.
People have asked why don't artists and musicians and athletes just quit when they realize they need drugs to keep going. But that would be quitting, wouldn't it? People who become good enough at something to be famous are ambitious. Boxers don't stay down when they have been knocked down. Unless they have been paid to throw the fight or they just have nothing left to fight with. A knock-down is a long way from a knock-out. Ambitious people have to believe that or they would never be able to recover from early failures and go on to achieve the work they do later in life.
Most people who get famous love what they do to get famous. Artists are every bit as addicted to their art as they are to whatever chemicals they might ingest, inject or inhale. Often the first encounter with drugs is about the artist's need to keep going so they can spend more hours making art. In addition, the artist gets addicted to the applause as much as to the money and other perks. They can become accustomed to being bombarded with huge doses of energy. You can't give that up cold turkey any more than you can quit most drugs cold turkey. Your body actually suffers physical symptoms. You can go into depression and other low frequency emotional states. You might find yourself looking for things to do to give yourself an an adrenaline rush like high -speed racing or find some other way of compensating for the lost high. Some of the activities chosen to replace drugs are more lethal than the drugs.
You don't have to worry about your heroes who have left their bodies due to drug overdoses. Their teams in the Timeless, Spaceless place know that they chose a high-risk life and that this or worse might happen. There is no judgement, just help deciding how it all might have been played differently and preparation for next time. There is therapy for the injured spirit and opportunities to reunite and hang out with loved ones. Eventually plans may be initiated for the next reincarnation. There is no hell. Addiction is hell enough.
xo Ben
If you are so exhausted you can barely move and in two hours you have to be on stage or on the set pouring out the love and exuding energy and being sharp and alert and remembering what to do and being able to do it, you take whatever you need to get moving. Once you reach star status it isn't like working in a factory. They can't just call in someone else to take your place. A lot of people stand to lose a lot of money if the star doesn't show up for work. Usually performers take that first hit in order to be able to perform. Maybe they think they'll just do it this once. Just get through this show or this tour and then they'll quit.
As with everything else it's all about the energy. Quite apart from the toxic effect drugs have on your vital organs, the ups and downs in your energy level can wreak havoc on your body. It's like tuning all the keys on your piano or guitar too tight and then pounding on them for too long. Or it's like throwing your guitar up in the air and letting it land on the ground. You can't do that very many times before it breaks. And you can't repair it very many times before there is nothing left to repair.
Some people wonder what it is like after they die for users who die of a drug overdose. Are they confused? Do they hang around and be ghosts? Do they go to hell? It really depends to a large extent on why they were taking the drugs and what state of mind they were in when they took them. We all know that some people drink alcohol to celebrate and some drink to drown their sorrows. People do other drugs the same way. For some "rock stars" the drugs are part of the fun and enhance the thrill of success. Others use drugs to boost their confidence or enhance their performance when they are not doing well.
Drugs can temporarily raise your vibrational frequency. The closer you are to the frequency of the drugged state you are in when you take the drug the less likely you are to be confused and damaged on the other side. Most of the damage drugs do is to your physical body. The experiences that surround the drug experience can often cause damage to your energy body that might carry over and need some repair work. If you get into fights or crash cars or trash hotel rooms or neglect your work or your family or do other things that result in damage or death to other people or arrests or lawsuits and people start hating you, that's when you start doing damage to your spirit.
On the other hand, in some cases, death by drug overdose may be a reasonable (if not entirely conscious) choice. We all have exit opportunities throughout our lives. It's possible that an individual might receive guidance about what possibilities exist up ahead and decide that none of them are acceptable. He might decide that leaving now is better than what might have happened later if he had not exited on this off-ramp (so to speak.) This might actually be the optimal time for him to take his leave even if it doesn't seem like it to his fans and loved ones.
People have asked why don't artists and musicians and athletes just quit when they realize they need drugs to keep going. But that would be quitting, wouldn't it? People who become good enough at something to be famous are ambitious. Boxers don't stay down when they have been knocked down. Unless they have been paid to throw the fight or they just have nothing left to fight with. A knock-down is a long way from a knock-out. Ambitious people have to believe that or they would never be able to recover from early failures and go on to achieve the work they do later in life.
Most people who get famous love what they do to get famous. Artists are every bit as addicted to their art as they are to whatever chemicals they might ingest, inject or inhale. Often the first encounter with drugs is about the artist's need to keep going so they can spend more hours making art. In addition, the artist gets addicted to the applause as much as to the money and other perks. They can become accustomed to being bombarded with huge doses of energy. You can't give that up cold turkey any more than you can quit most drugs cold turkey. Your body actually suffers physical symptoms. You can go into depression and other low frequency emotional states. You might find yourself looking for things to do to give yourself an an adrenaline rush like high -speed racing or find some other way of compensating for the lost high. Some of the activities chosen to replace drugs are more lethal than the drugs.
You don't have to worry about your heroes who have left their bodies due to drug overdoses. Their teams in the Timeless, Spaceless place know that they chose a high-risk life and that this or worse might happen. There is no judgement, just help deciding how it all might have been played differently and preparation for next time. There is therapy for the injured spirit and opportunities to reunite and hang out with loved ones. Eventually plans may be initiated for the next reincarnation. There is no hell. Addiction is hell enough.
xo Ben