by Carmel Reid, BEng DMS CertEd MCMI, Somerset UK
When I was a young child, I was occasionally offered the opportunity to sip some wine. It didn’t taste nice to me.
At some point, in my late teens/early 20s, I started to drink. I don’t know why I overrode my body’s natural dislike of the alcohol, I can only assume it was in order to be like my friends, who also drank. Unfortunately, I would often drink too much and end up being sick in the most embarrassing places.
To avoid further embarrassment, I reduced how much I drank and sometimes avoided it altogether: I would use the excuse of being the driver and that was accepted.
From my sober state, I would watch my friends drinking and getting louder and louder: it was funny but somewhat disturbing to see highly intelligent (Mensa level) men and women get drunk and have what they were convinced was an intelligent conversation. It made me wonder… how loud was I when drunk? Or, more importantly, WHO was I? It’s as if another being had taken over these people… did that happen to me, too?
Doctors say drinking alcohol ‘in moderation’ is OK, but once we start, do we ever really know when to stop? I’ve seen young kids outside a school disco collapse in the street because they’d been drinking; I’ve seen adults who’ve had strokes or who have diabetes continue to drink, despite doctors’ warnings. We have all heard about road accidents and domestic violence linked to alcohol consumption. Is it really OK?
In 2005 I stopped drinking alcohol altogether. I’d been learning a lot about the physical effects of alcohol in the body, and it all made sense to me. I wasn’t drinking much by then, because I didn’t enjoy the headaches and general muzziness I would feel the next day, so it was easy to stop. Some people treated me as if I was a bit weird, but over the years it’s become easier to say with confidence, “No thanks, I don’t drink”, and they don’t challenge me any more.
To be honest, I haven’t missed it – I still have lots of fun, and I’m sure my liver appreciates the choice I made!
The Truth about Serge Benhayon 
Carmel it was so refreshing to read this blog. As once upon a time I used to drink and I stopped nearly seven years ago and have no regrets of letting go of that substance. At first I remember thinking how was I going to have fun, and then I started to love remembering the weekends, or feeling more vitalised. Now, I only wished I had given it up years earlier. However, it matters not as the fact that I don’t drink is the main thing, I’m certain every cell in body truly appreciates that I don’t drink anymore.
Yes people struggle when they hear I don’t drink anymore, but that is something they have to deal with. I totally understand why they drink, so there is no judgment on the matter.
I absolutely love life without any alcohol. I know who I am…
Just because most people are doing something and just because it has been a choice of behaviour for many years, does not make that a truly ‘normal’ behaviour. Normal and natural behaviours are not learned, they are innate.
Drinking alcohol is considered the norm, whilst not drinking is not always received well. I wonder if the body was dissected and every cell that becomes affected with alcohol, would deter a person from drinking. Probably not! But the thing that concerns me the most is the who? Who do we become once we are intoxicated? What governs our bodies and its a no wonder people do the most heinous things whilst influenced…
As a woman I can certainly say I have felt pressured to join in and drink alcohol, and this has felt awful and disrespectful of my own choices especially as I was never one to drink often nor much at all. But I am aware that men tend to get even more pressure put upon them than women, and in some countries more so than others. It is like there is this requirement to conform to what others are doing otherwise you will not be accepted in to the social circles in other words a subliminal message of ‘do as we do or else you do not belong and are being wierd – and do not dare to reflect the fact that there is another way to be!’.
It is interesting to feel how much peer pressure there is to consume alcohol – one is considered strange or wierd when one does not drink alcohol, when in fact, its actually a known poison.
Alcohol is a strange societal norm. If there was a food we knew would always make us vomit we would never eat it and our Doctor would also advise us to steer clear of it. We have this strange idea that even if something is harmful it’s ok in moderation though. We have also attributed so many labels to alcohol like it being fun, something adults do, for grown ups, being cool, etc, instead of simply being honest about the fact we rarely enjoy the first taste and it truly is a poison for the body. It’s one of those things that so many of us do because everyone else does it, like smoking cigarettes used to be, it was everywhere even in movies and role-modelled as ‘cool’. I used to smoke and socially drink alcohol but I eventually listened to my body and gave both up, the body and its communications being the ultimate in common sense.
Most of us know alcohol is detrimental to our health and well-being, yet many people still have a need of this drink. It would be interesting to ask why this need is there, what is really going on?
It’s like needing coffee or junk food, what is really going on? Once we can ask the question then we can explore deeper into how we are feeling and why, and begin to make changes with our realisations.
I used to get that ‘You are not fun any more’ quite a bit when I stopped drinking. I don’t quite agree ‘fun’ is the right word there, or rather we were actually exposing what we considered ‘fun’ to be, and equally exposing the kind of life we were having that needed the kind of ‘fun’ we were having.
I haven’t had any alcohol for about 20 years, in that time I can certainly feel the benefits of not drinking, and it’s also made me aware of how as human beings we give money to manufacturers for products that harm our bodies. Most people wouldn’t see it this way and that’s understandable because drinking alcohol is seen as so normal. Maybe one day we will include the way we spend money as part of what affects or supports our wellbeing.
Well said Melinda, we can pour thousands of dollars per year into alcohol or cigarettes etc and then be stingy about spending it on health care or healthy foods. That is a strange investment indeed.
Feeling what abuse alcohol was to my body, I gave up drinking 26 years ago and my health is still on the improve.
I have witnessed the harmful effects of alcohol especially in relationships and how people treat each other with such disdain… drinking never ever solves anything, as in when you are sober again, the problem or issue is still there!
“Alcohol – It’s More Fun Living Without It!” I very much agree.
Most people feel giving up alcohol is a loss, whereas it’s a gain. Reading your blog Carmel and all the many comments shows how we lose far more when we drink alcohol than when we don’t. For example, alcoholism is known to destroy many marriages and makes the family home an unsafe place for children and spouses.
Curious to note in both my families and because of ‘religious’ beliefs, neither drank alcohol. In one family, it was never allowed in the home and from childhood we were often warned of the evils of alcohol. At the time I didn’t understand what the fuss was all about. Thankfully, now I do and haven’t drank alcohol for over thirteen years. It also means I understand those who do drink, because the pull to do so can be overwhelming.
I’ve had those drunken conversations where you think its the cleverest talk in the world and you are really getting somewhere, and yet I did not even remember it the next day! Really smart stuff, and to then go and repeat it! Doh…
The rubbish that can be regurgitated when we are not ourselves is not worth remembering – the only thing worth remembering is the truth of connection we hold, but if we have forgotten the truth of connection then in that misery we seek to ingest something that makes us forget that we have disconnected and hence the rubbish of regurgitation gives a temporary relief from the misery of a life of disconnection. Alcohol is the symptom of a life that is lived in separation.
Alcohol always made me loose myself completely. I was letting go of my self respect and the care for myself was reduced to zero. Basically I used alcohol on the weekends, I used it to forget my life. Things happened in the past I wanted to bury away.
When I started to do esoteric healing sessions 30 years later all I had buried showed up to be stuck in the body waiting for me to feel and release. That is not an easy job but so worth it.
I stopped drinking about 10 years ago and i also noticed it was the social pressures that was the hardest part of stopping.
Embrace the clarity when I don’t drink and the yuck in the body felt throughout—during and after its consumption, the emotions also that accompany, it is way more empowering too to start to face myself and not just grab a glass of wine and become another personality to be able to express many things that bother me.
What is there to miss, as with anything that will distract us from our essences energy plays with us in a way that is insidious and addictive so we do not understand what any form of distraction is doing on an energetic level.
It is very beautiful to live in and with a body that is sensitive and open and where you start to feel yourself from the inside out instead the outside in.
Yes Esther, the contrast in how we feel, drinking and not drinking alcohol is huge. To live in the body that is clear and feels gorgeous from inside out, who wouldn’t want that?
Yes, it is quite crazy. Yet there is a whole industry and income stream dependent on us being crazy and it is now an income stream that serves a purpose for helping people medicate in life as well. So do we now have an opportunity to look after each other and connect with each other on a deeper level so we actually don’t play the game any more?
Research now says there are no safe levels of alcohol. You talk to emergency departments and look at the statistics for alcohol-related harm admissions or presentations and you see yet a bigger case for alcohol being a drug we should be paying far more attention to. Or, of course, we can exercise our right to free will and choose to continue to champion it as harmless. I would just rather have all the facts when I am making my choice.
Many of us know that alcohol is not good for us but we need it so we find reasons why it is ‘good’. However the truer step would be to admit that we need it which opens up us to the why we need it that in return allows us to make the changes in our lives so that we do not need alcohol anymore.
Yes, admitting why we need it is a far more true way to address the need. Otherwise we are papering over cracks that will inevitably resurface.
It is our hurts we need to be willing to address and heal otherwise we will always search for a bandaid in whatever form this might be.
The argument that drinking ‘in moderation’ is ok is an interesting one. What they are truly saying is that it is ok to keep drinking even if your body is repulsed by it. So, this shows how ridiculous is the moderation aspect (it is ok if you do not lose it) when you have already lost it because you are doing it against your own body.
Everything in moderation is simply an excuse to do whatever we want.
We really don’t need alcohol, it’s of no benefit to the body or to our being, what we have on offer instead is to be ourselves in full and experience the joy of expressing that. Alcohol takes us away from the essence of who we are which is exactly where the joy is.
You are not yourself when you drink alcohol and therefore it is extremely harming and not safe to be around. This is my experience due to the level of love and care I now have for my body and the way I choose to interact with life.
I totally agree Carmel, my life is way more fun without the poison of alcohol circulating in my body, clouding my awareness and causing disharmony both within and around me.
In the beginning it is about overriding the body. When alcohol sets in, it is about over-writing it, so our connection with ourselves gets more and more difficult.
Alcohol was never fun for me, I did not like the feeling of being drunk or the after effects so apart from when I was in my teens and twenties, I haven’t drunk much in my life, it is interesting how something so horrible tasting with such awful side effects can be looked on as fun.
I agree Carmel we can all have more fun without the need to drink alcohol, I remember when I first drank some alcohol and it tasted disgusting but to be in the in crowd it began to taste better, I gave up alcohol when I started taking responsibility for my choices and found I no longer needed it to be sociable or to be part of the crowd, and now I have more fun than ever before.
Such a simple and sensible look at alcohol, and I love the title and can only agree “Alcohol – It’s More Fun Living Without It!”
‘Doctors say drinking alcohol ‘in moderation’ is OK, but once we start, do we ever really know when to stop?’ That’s a very interesting question Carmel and one for us all to definitely ponder on.
Not drinking alcohol simplifies life in my experience. Not only that but it is an honouring of ourselves and hence an act of self love – which is better than any drink I’ve ever had.
So true, taking time to celebrate with another without a stimulant means we actually connect on a deeper level rather than dance around the surface and go home feeling like we were not satisfied because we did not embrace the opportunity to connect.
I totally agree – there were too many moments I would rather forget and wished others would not remember when I used to drink, and with my willingness to be present at all times, life is definitely far more richer and without alcohol.
It’s not just drinking but there are loads of behaviours and ways of living that are abusive to our body and innate sensitivity that we engage with in order to fit in and be liked.
What is it about this wanting to be liked and fit in, even to the extent of accepting abuse, that we so desire?
I love my life without alcohol. I gave up in 2006. It wasn’t a big ‘whammy’ kind of moment, but something that had been coming for a few years. I love not having to think about when I last had a drink when I get behind the wheel of my car. I love not ‘being under the influence’ when I am with my wife. I love not having alcohol related hangovers any more – although odd as it may seem, I noticed that my body still feels like it has hangovers if I overeat or eat something ‘alien’ to it. Living without alcohol can seem like a big deal – but it is a very loving thing to choose in my opinion – and my experience.
Richard I remember when I had changed my diet and removed sugar and most carbs, this was what was supportive for me to do. After a bout of illness and with a low appetite I had some corn based crackers, after that for two days I can only describe myself as being in a sugar hangover, it felt terrible! I don’t think we realise the effects of foods and beverages on the body, the more I followed my body’s guidance and removed foods that weren’t supporting my wellbeing the more I realised what the effects of other so call “healthy” foods had on my body. This is just my own individual story though and what specifically works for me, for others those same foods might be supportive.
Likewise Richard, life without alcohol has been a game changer and looking back I can’t see one thing that would entice me back to it.
I never enjoyed the taste of alcohol and on the back of that the way you felt the next day was the kicker to that. When I look at it now it doesn’t make sense to drink for me, I didn’t like how it tasted, I didn’t like how it felt, I didn’t like not remembering parts or all of the night or day, it cost me a lot of money and I am sure there is more. In other words why would I do it? The main reason was because when I looked around that’s what people were doing and to be a part of that I did what they did. I thought it was a normal part of life and in place of trusting what I wanted to do I just did what everybody else did. I don’t stop people from drinking or not go to places where they drink, I’m still very social but I just choose to do what I feel and my feeling has always been not to drink and so now all of me is just on board with that.
There is a huge pressure in our society to fit in through being part of the drinking culture. If you are not part of it, who are you and what’s wrong with you? I succumbed to it, even though as with you, my initial response to the taste of alcohol was that is tasted disgusting, with my whole body saying a very loud ‘NO’ this is poison. To be honest it never felt right, but I persevered with it as my desire to belong was driving me. However, the more I began to discover and embrace a loving relationship with my essence within, with who I am, I felt less and less the need to drink alcohol as more and more my life was being enriched with the love of my Soul, with a sense of true of knowing and belonging that is beyond compare.
I agree Carmel, I have had more fun since I stopped drinking alcohol than I ever had when I was and that is why I have not had a drink foe over 15 year and know without a doubt that I will never drink again.