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PRINCIPLES: ADDICTION & RECOVERY TIPS & TALKS
        Vol.1, No.17                    September 1, 2000     
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=====TABLE OF CONTENTS=====

=====EDITOR'S COMMENTS
=====THINGS YOU ALREADY KNEW, BUT...
=====TIP & TALK FEATURE ARTICLE
=====SPONSOR'S SPOT
=====A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE ON RECOVERY
=====FEATURED LINK
=====PURE BOLOGNA
=====SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE / COMMENT


=====EDITOR'S COMMENTS=====

PUBLICATION: Principles: Addiction & Recovery Tips & 
Talks is published every Friday morning by Charles
Roper, who also offers you the website: Alcohol & Drug 
Abuse - An Addiction & Recovery Information & 
Resources Treasure Chest. Please pay a visit.
http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com

DISTRIBUTION: Principles is distributed only to 
subscribers. If you have received this newsletter by 
mistake, please accept our apologies, and find 
UNSUBSCRIBE instructions 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.

Thanks...Charles Roper


=====THINGS YOU ALREADY KNEW, BUT...=====

"It's not 'old behavior' if I'm still doing it"


=====TIP & TALK FEATURED ARTICLE=====

RECOVERY TIP: 12-Step meetings offer up some pretty funny
stuff - if we listen. These statements were "heard at a 
meeting." (See reference below under "Featured Link.")

RECOVERY TIP TALK: 

    "If you don't add wood to the fire, the fire will go out."
    "No God - no peace. Know God - know peace." 
    "Expectations are planned disappointments."
    "Expectations are premeditated resentments."
    "What other people think of me is none of my business."
    "I grow at the speed of pain." 
    "P.U.S.H. - Pray Until Something Happens." 
    "Service keeps us in the middle of recovery so that we 
      don't fall off the edge." 
    "Our recovery is mental, physical, and spiritual. It's 
      like a stool with 3 legs - if one of the legs breaks, 
      you'll fall flat on your face." 
    "We're all *here* because we're not *all there*." 
    "If I'm consulting with myself, I'm consulting with an 
      idiot." 
    "My mind is like a juke box. It's been filled with bad 
      selections, but now, with 11+ years of recovery, a few 
      of the selections have changed, and I have a few nice 
      tunes to choose from."  
    "In recovery, I know that God is in my canoe; sometimes 
      he lets me steer, but he never paddles." 
    "In recovery, I haven't had any totally bad days, but 
      I've had some viscous moments." 
    "I did not believe in God at all when I first came into
      12-Step recovery; not only that, I was really pissed at 
      him, too." 
    "Before recovery, I often tried to think my way into 
      clean living. Recovery has shown me how to live my way 
      into clean thinking."
Q: "Why does God wait until I'm at the jumping off point 
        before God takes care of my problems? If God's so great, 
        why doesn't God do something about them before I get to 
        that place?" 
A: "The only answer I know to your questions is that God 
        doesn't take. God receives." 


=====SPONSOR'S SPOT=====

Why read the book High Bottom Drunk?
    
    "High Bottom Drunk gave me a wonderful perspective on 
    spiritual recovery. It puts AA principles right in the 
    middle of real-life blood & guts. I can now actually
    see 'how it works.'" ---D.A., Kerrville, Texas

High Bottom Drunk: A Novel...and the Truth about Addiction 
& Recovery, by Charles N. Roper, PhD.

Read excerpts of High Bottom Drunk: A Novel... at the 
Website: 
http://www.highbottomdrunk.com


=====A BUDDHIST PERSPECTIVE ON RECOVERY=====

In Peace is Every Step, Thich Nhat Hanh speaks of the true
nature of recovery:

    Every morning, when we wake up, we have twenty-four 
    brand new hours to live. What a precious gift! We 
    have the capacity to live in a way that these twenty-
    four hours will bring peace, joy, and happiness 
    to ourselves and others.
    
    Peace is present right here and now, in ourselves and 
    in everything we do and see. The question is whether or 
    not we are in touch with it. We don't have to travel far 
    away to enjoy the blue sky. We don't have to leave our 
    city or even our neighborhood to enjoy the eyes of a 
    beautiful child. Even the air we breathe can be a source 
    of joy.
    
    We can smile, breathe, walk, and eat our meals in a way 
    that allows us to be in touch with the abundance of 
    happiness that is available. We are very good at prepar-
    ing to live, but not very good at living. We know how to 
    sacrifice ten years for a diploma, and we are willing to 
    work very hard to get a job, a car, a house, and so on. 
    But we have difficulty remembering that we are alive in 
    the present moment--the only moment there is for us to 
    be alive. Every breath we take, every step we make, can 
    be filled with peace, joy, and serenity. We need only to 
    be awake and alive in the present moment.
    
From: Peace is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in 
      Everyday Life, by Thich Nhat Hanh, Bantam Books, 1991.


=====LINK OF THE WEEK=====



=====PURE BOLOGNA=====

A rabbi and a priest get into a car accident, and it's a bad 
one. Both cars are totally demolished, but amazingly neither 
of the clerics is hurt. 

After they crawl out of their cars, the rabbi sees the 
priest's collar and says, "So you're a priest. I'm a rabbi. 
Just look at our cars. There's nothing left, but we are 
unhurt. This must be a sign from God. God must have meant 
that we should meet and be friends and live together in 
peace the rest of our days." 

The priest replies, "I agree with you completely. This is 
clearly a sign from God." 

The rabbi continues, "And look at this. Here's another 
miracle. My car is completely demolished but this bottle of 
Mogen David wine didn't break. Surely God wants us to drink 
this wine to celebrate our good fortune." 

The priest agrees wholeheartedly. "You're absolutely right,
my friend," he says.

So the rabbi hands the bottle to the priest, who takes 
several big swigs and hands the bottle back to the rabbi. 

The rabbi takes the bottle, screws the cap on it, and hands 
it back to the priest. 

The priest asks, "What's the matter, rabbi? Aren't you having 
any?" 

"No," the rabbi replies. "I think I'll just wait for the 
police to arrive." 

Submitted by: A good Catholic girl who chooses to remain
anonymous.


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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