Connect to the Divine, not the wine

Happy New Year!? Now everywhere you go, the invitations begin: parties, celebrations, “socials” with alcohol on every table and in every hand. Society almost expects you to drink casually, to “join in” and “relax.”

For years, wine felt like a bridge to the divine for me. It seemed to soften the edges of life, and quiet the mind.  But slowly, painfully, it became clear that wine was not taking me to the divine at all. 

It was pulling me away.

Alcohol: A quick fix with a hidden cost

Scientifically speaking, alcohol is a central nervous system depressant! It depresses your body  chemistry. It may feel relaxing at first, but a few hours later the real  effect begins: 

mood drops, anxiety increases, and the brain’s chemistry is disturbed. 

Many people I know drink alcohol and then take anti-depressants….  Which is a bad combination – and illogical.  

Alcohol:

• Slows brain activity and impairs judgment and reaction time.

• Interferes with sleep quality and can worsen anxiety and lower mood afterward. 

Many drink for relaxation, 

but repeated use  –  it slowly lowers consciousness, dulls intuition, and weakens inner clarity. 

A glass of win nightly may look “harmless,” yet it gently erodes awareness and decision-making over time.  

The social trap: Escape that backfires

So, why does (almost) everybody keep drinking?

Because:

• It numbs emotional pain for a while.

• It softens loneliness, boredom, or work stress temporarily.

• It can make a shy person feel suddenly bold and expressive.

Wine and alcohol do give a short‑term sense of liberation. 

Back pain feels easier, the shoulders drop, and emotions feel lighter. 

But hours later, many people describe a different self emerging — like Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde — cheerful at first,  then restless, unable to sleep, flooded with negative thoughts or agitation.

With drinking: Dehydration, low mood, anxiety, poor sleep, and regret 

become the hidden price. 

Yet the next weekend, or even the next evening, 

the same cycle repeats — hoping this time , it will end differently. This is a definition of insanity.

My Irish roots

Being of Irish descent, this pattern runs deep in my family culture. For generations, alcohol has been:

• A way to escape pain.

• A way to break shyness and “come out of the shell.”

• A way to socialize, fight, laugh, and forget. 

But along with that – came serious fights, accidents, and many painful stories — including DWIs with serious consequences. 

The nickname “fighting Irish” is not just a joke; it carries generations of alcohol‑linked wounds.

Many books of true stories  were written about the Irish  working hard all week , and when Friday came, many  would spend  all their weekly salary money at a pub,  buying everyone drinks and blacking out.  

Then coming home to the wife and children and have no money for the family to put food on the table for the next week.

Many families starved and lived on black tea, potatoes and oatmeal. There were no credit cards years ago. 

Many lost control  and were encouraged to take a pledge, to abstain from drinking all alcohol… not one drop . It was considered the curse of the Irish. 

In America and much of Europe, casual drinking is woven into social life. Many people simply do not know how to relax without a drink in their hand.

The turning point: How to relax without alcohol?

The real question that changed my life was simple but profound:

How do I relax without alcohol?  

How do I connect to the Divine — without the wine?

My family believes in God, but we were never taught:

• How to breathe consciously.

• How to sit still.

• How to feel blessed in silence.

That wisdom came from another source: the Indian community, yoga, and the guidance of gurus and spiritual teachers. Through them, I learned practices that finally showed me a different way.

Meditation: The natural sedative 

Meditation and yoga did not work as fast as a glass of wine.   

They did not give a sudden “buzz” or instant euphoria. 

But with patience, they brought something deeper:

• A quieter mind.

• A more stable peace.

• A rising sense of awareness and connection.

Research shows that meditation can support addiction recovery by improving self‑control, emotional regulation, and mental clarity. 

It helps people face feelings, instead of numbing them and reduces impulsive reactions 

Where alcohol lowers consciousness, meditation raises it.  

Where alcohol confuses judgment, meditation clarifies it.  

Where alcohol fragments sleep, meditation often improves it.

Meditation is a medicine for the mind and spirit — and unlike wine, it has no negative side effects when practiced properly.

“Yoga and meditation led me out of the insanity of European and American social drinking onto a gentler, more powerful path — a natural sedative of breath, awareness, and stillness.”

~Anne Moffatt

Health, blood sugar, and awareness

I also had to face another truth: alcohol, even wine, can interfere with metabolic health and dehydrate the body. Certain people may even react badly without recognizing or realizing it. It can be like an allergy. Red cheeks… allergy… headaches, etc. 

For me, letting go of alcohol and choosing meditation, yoga, and conscious living:

• Supported better emotional balance.

• Helped protect physical health.

• Raised my awareness of how my body and mind truly feel.

Meditation lifted my consciousness; 

alcohol used to lower it.

Culture, law, and consciousness

In many parts of India, alcohol consumption is much lower than in Europe or America. In many Muslim countries, alcohol is altogether prohibited and that law is actively upheld. These cultural and spiritual boundaries are not just “restrictions”; they can be seen as safeguards for consciousness and community health.

Civilizations do not collapse only from external enemies; they fall when awareness drops, when people go numb, when distraction replaces discernment. 

The Roman Empire  fell. 

Modern societies are not immune. 

If we do not raise our inner alertness, we risk losing ourselves in the name of “fun” and “freedom.”

New identity: Child of God,  not ‘Alcoholic’!

Many of my family members have found healing and sobriety through AA (Alcoholics Anonymous). That program has helped countless people and deserves respect. 

Yet the ritual introduction — “My name is X, and I am an alcoholic” — always struck a chord in me.

Spiritual teachers and gurus often invite a different identity:

• “Say your name.”

• “Now affirm: I am a child of God.”

That affirmation feels more uplifting than defining oneself “by a disease”.

It calls the higher self forward instead of freezing the wounded self in place.

Gratitude and a new path

Today, In feel deep gratitude for:

• The Indian community.

• The wisdom of yoga and meditation.

• The guidance of gurus and spiritual teachers.

They led me out of the insanity of European and American social drinking and onto a gentler, more powerful path — a natural sedative of breath, awareness, and stillness. A path of peace, power, and prosperity of the soul.

This New Year, may many more people discover how to:

• Relax without alcohol.

• Heal without numbing.

• Connect to the Divine, not the wine.

The Divine is waiting.  

Happy New Year!