You won't find a giraffe swaying to the melody of Frank Sinatra, nor will a beautiful sunset inspire a hamster to romance his cage mate. Many former addicts describe themselves to Mathew as having been incomplete, lacking in a fundamental quality they knew could make them feel whole. Without that ability, he says, even the high of heroin or cocaine cannot impart the sense of spiritual fulfillment one derives from truly satisfying experiences.
Addiction is often the only pleasure they've known.
But once you have experienced real pleasure, the lesser pleasures derived from drugs lose their appeal. It's an approach long embraced by recovery groups like Alcoholics Anonymous, where spiritual pursuits are encouraged as a way to replace the artificial and fleeting euphoria of drugs. And while he applauds its merits, Mathew is not content to dispense spirituality without understanding the mechanisms that underlie its therapeutic effects. Clues Finding answers is more of a journey than a destination, he admits. But along the way, he has gained some valuable insights into how the brain works.