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PRINCIPLES:
ADDICTION & RECOVERY TIPS & TALKS |
=====TABLE OF CONTENTS===== =====EDITOR'S COMMENTS =====THINGS YOU ALREADY KNEW, BUT... =====TIP & TALK FEATURE ARTICLE =====SPONSOR'S SPOT =====WHAT WOULD BUDDHA DO? =====FEATURED LINK =====PURE BOLOGNA =====SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE / COMMENT =====EDITOR'S COMMENTS===== PUBLICATION: Principles: Addiction & Recovery Tips & Talks is published every Friday morning by the folk(s) at Alcohol & Drug Abuse - The Addiction & Recovery Information & Resources Treasure Chest. Visit the Website: http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com DISTRIBUTION: Principles is distributed only to subscribers. If you have received this newsletter by mistake, please accept our apologies. SUBSCRIBE, UNSUBSCRIBE, and COMMENT instructions are located at the bottom of this page. PRIVACY: I will NEVER publish, give, loan, or sell your e-mail address to anyone. Never - no way - no how. SUBSCRIBERS: Please forward this newsletter to friends (or enemies), who may then subscribe to it if they choose to do so themselves. HELP: If you would like to submit an article or story, please contact me through the newsletter address listed at the bottom of this page. Thanks...Charles Roper =====THINGS YOU ALREADY KNEW, BUT...===== "And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make." --The Beatles =====TIP & TALK FEATURED ARTICLE===== RECOVERY TIP: Movement through Denial is very tricky business. This is PART 2 of a two-part series on Denial. Read PART 1 here: http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com/newsletters/news10.html or the entire article here: http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com/article5.html RECOVERY TIP TALK: Movement through denial is tricky business. It requires traits that well-defended people such as ourselves have few of--traits such as willingness, open-mindedness and humility. Sometimes it requires trusting relationships with other people who are willing to confront the individual honestly and openly. The place to start moving through denial is with the simple understanding that we have it to start with. That understanding is easier once we know that it's not just us, but that denial is a universal quality among humans. "Everyone, including me, has denial. Everyone, including me, has his blind spots." The next step is to consciously and repeatedly remind ourselves to consider the opinions of others with an open mind. Some people find it helpful to keep a few simple, internal questions or statements handy at all times. Examples of such statements include the following:
The next step is to talk openly about the answers to those questions. We can answer our internal questions internally first, but to experience the full benefit of the process, we need to open our mouths and talk about the answers out loud with another person. That's when denial loses its power over us and we become open to healing. The only requirement is honesty. We will never be completely free of denial. After all, it's a major part of people's defense systems. The goal, then, should be to move through it bit by bit--honestly and systematically--and to be open to accepting help with that process. For alcoholics, addicts, and codependents. the process typically does not happen automatically or magically, even after the drinking and drug use stops. Like other aspects of recovery, movement through denial takes time, patience, and willingness. --Charles Roper Next week: "The Desire for Intimacy" =====SPONSOR'S SPOT===== High Bottom Drunk: A Novel...and the Truth about Addiction & Recovery, by Charles N. Roper, PhD. "It's no longer necessary to wade through textbooks or self-help manuals to get to 'the truth about addiction & recovery.' This book--this NOVEL--has it all. Even though parts of it are a little raunchy for my tastes, the story is enormously interesting. In fact, I'd go one step further and say it's compelling....I now understand addiction and recovery on a whole different level, and for that, I'm appreciative." --E-mail from a psychologist in Seattle, WA. Read excerpts of High Bottom Drunk: A Novel... at the Website: http://www.highbottomdrunk.com =====WHAT WOULD BUDDHA DO?===== Q: What would Buddha do about changing other people? A: "Do not examine the limitations of others. Examine how you can change your own." --Dakini Teachings I So brief and so powerful, this is a lightning strike of wisdom. We never get anywhere dwelling on changing others, yet we indulge in it all the time. Perhaps it's our excuse for not changing ourselves. This is why the most annoying limitations of other people just happen to be exactly the ones that we have, too. Even when we must attend to others' limitations, as a teacher must do with his or her students, we learn most when we turn the examination to our own. Changing ourselves is not only the best way to help ourselves; it is also the best way to help others. Paraphrased from: What Would Buddha Do? 101 Answers to Life's Daily Dilemmas, by Franz Metcalf. =====LINK OF THE WEEK===== This week's featured link is "Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) History." Dick B.'s excellent site offers just about everything you ever wanted to know about AA-- and more. For example, it includes the following: (1) Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) history; (2) Early A.A.'s spiritual roots and successes; (3) Information 9 years of research on Twelve Step biblical origins; and (4) Information about Dick B.'s 14 books and his articles on A.A.'s biblical sources. Visit the site at: http://www.dickb.com/index.shtml =====PURE BOLOGNA===== Words of Wisdom from Addicts & Codependents around the Globe (Part 2): 1. Age is a very high price to pay for maturity. 2. If you look like your passport picture, you probably need the trip. 3. Always yield to temptation, because it may not pass your way again. 4. Bills travel through the mail at twice the speed of checks. 5. A conscience is what hurts when all your other parts feel so good. Submitted by: Sorry, I don't know where this came from...and yes, I do have more. =====SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE/COMMENT===== To SUBSCRIBE to this publication, send any e-mail to: Mailto:Principles-Newsletter-subscribe@egroups.com To UNSUBSCRIBE from this publication, send any e-mail to: Mailto:Principles-Newsletter-unsubscribe@egroups.com To COMMENT &/or SUBMIT INFORMATION, send e-mail to: Mailto:Principles-Newsletter-owner@egroups.com =====ADIOS===== Till next week...do us all a favor and keep it simple. Charles Roper, Editor Principles: Addiction & Recovery Tips & Talks Alcohol & Drug Abuse - The Addiction & Recovery Information & Resources Website: http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com |
