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=====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://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
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PRIVACY: I will NEVER publish, give, loan, or sell your e-mail address to
anyone. Never - No way - No how.
Thanks...Charles Roper
=====THINGS YOU ALREADY KNEW, BUT...=====
"It's the side of myself that I refuse to look at that rules me. I must be
willing to look at the dark side in order to heal my mind and heart because that
is the road to freedom. I must walk into darkness to find the light and walk
into fear to find peace"
---Daily Reflections
=====TIP & TALK FEATURED ARTICLE=====
RECOVERY TIP: Serenity (Recovery) is an internal deal.
RECOVERY TIP TALK: "Putting the plug in the jug" may keep one from
getting arrested for DWI/DUI, but it won't generate serenity. In fact,
abstinence without recovery often has the opposite effect. A case in point: Have
you ever endured the ravings of a true "dry drunk?" Ouch!
But is there such a thing as a "launching point" for recovery? I think
so. I believe that it begins with the simple understanding that recovery happens
on the inside.
A familiar story among 12-step program members and within the alcohol/drug abuse
treatment community is of an AA newcomer who approached an old timer and said,
"You know, I'm starting to connect with these ideas and with you people,
but there's one thing that I'm just not getting. What's this 'spiritual' part of
the program that y'all keep talking about?"
The old timer scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then responded,
"Well, I guess I could explain the spiritual part if you could tell me what
the other part is."
Of course, there is no other part. Recovery is a spiritual process. But
understanding that concept is not always easy, even for people who have been
around recovery for some time. People, both those in or around recovery and
those not, often mistake abstinence (an external "doing" kind of deal)
for recovery (an internal "being" deal).
Abstinence begins when an alcoholic/addict quits consuming alcohol and drugs. It
occurs at a point in time, as an event. Recovery, on the other hand, begins when
an alcoholic/addict--usually an abstinent one--starts growing and changing in
positive ways. It occurs over the course of his/her lifetime, as a process.
When I became abstinent 17 years ago, I thought the biggest task I faced was
remaining alcohol and drug free. And although in a sense that was true, it paled
in comparison to the first time I heard a "recovery" message. Sitting
in an AA meeting, I heard someone mentioned the HOW of the program--honesty,
open-mindedness, and willingness. It was the "honesty" part that got
my attention. Indeed, it hit me like a ton of bricks.
I thought to myself, "That means I'll have to stop stealing and
lying!" And I decided at that moment that recovery was not an option for
me. I figured that I could live without the thrill of stealing, but I knew
without a doubt that I could not possibly survive in a world of people without
the protection of my lies.
I felt heart-sick. Had I not been in a public place, I might have burst into
tears. "Recovery isn't an option." I believed it so strongly that I
would have bet money on it.
And that wasn't the half of it! What I failed to understand at the time was that
not only did I have to quit "doing" my stealing and lying, but also I
had to work on "being" an honest person--on the inside, for Christ's
sake!
Thank God I was too short in recovery at the time to understand that part of it.
Otherwise, I would have run screaming from the meeting, never to return.
Of course, I had no clue that I was touching on one of the elusive (for me,
anyway) foundations of recovery: Not telling lies offers relief from having to
perpetually cover one's ass. Being honest encourages serenity.
Next week: More about serenity (recovery).
=====SPONSOR'S SPOT=====
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by Charles N. Roper, PhD.
Read excerpts of High Bottom Drunk: A Novel... at the Website:
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=====WHAT WOULD BUDDHA DO?=====
Q: What would Buddha do to avoid burnout?
A: Moderate effort over a long time is important, no matter what you are trying
to do. One brings failure on oneself by working extremely hard at the beginning,
attempting to do too much, and then giving it all up after a short time."
--The Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama has earned the right to say these words. Consider his seemingly
patient, unending efforts to save the Tibetan people and their culture from the
Chinese occupation of their homeland.
If we value our causes then we owe it to them not to fail. Failure breeds
failure. If we cannot carry the torch to the goal, it is better to pass the
torch than to have it flare up and then flame out in our hands. A burned out
flame is cold; it illuminates nothing.
We must marshal our strength for the long haul, whether the task is spiritual,
physical, social, or political. We must always remain focused on the process--on
what's in front of us at this moment. If we do, then the outcome will take care
of itself.
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 "AA Speaker Tapes."
The site offers up three to five new tapes every two weeks. Tapes vary in length
from 40 to 90 minutes each and include both contemporary speakers and some
classics. The list also includes a few Al-Anon tapes.
Visit the site at: (Sorry...site disappeared)
=====PURE BOLOGNA=====
Two doctors opened offices in a small town and put up a sign that read:
"Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones: Psychiatry and Proctology."
The town's fathers were unhappy with the sign's wordage, so the doctors changed
it to "Hysterias and Posteriors". This was also unacceptable, so they
changed the sign to "Schizoids and Hemorrhoids." The town's fathers
cringed.
The doctors tried "Catatonics and High Colonics," but they got another
thumbs down, so they tried "Manic-depressives and Anal-retentives."
Spurned again, they tried "Minds and Behinds." Following another
rejection, they tried "Lost Souls and Ass-holes." Still no go.
They offered "Analysis and Anal Cysts," "Queers and Rears,"
"Nuts and Butts," "Freaks and Cheeks," and "Loons and
Moons." None received approval.
Finally, they hit upon a winning combination. The two doctors' sign now reads:
"Dr. Smith and Dr. Jones: Odds and Ends."
Submitted by: Our friend, Ann, from Ft. Worth, Texas.
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==========================
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
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