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PRINCIPLES: ADDICTION & RECOVERY TIPS & TALKS
          Vol.1, No.18                   September , 2000
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=====TABLE OF CONTENTS=====

=====EDITOR'S COMMENTS
=====THINGS YOU ALREADY KNEW, BUT...
=====TIP & TALK FEATURE ARTICLE
=====SPONSOR'S SPIEL
=====AN EASTERN PERSPECTIVE ON RECOVERY
=====FEATURED LINK OF THE WEEK
=====PURE BOLOGNA & HOGWASH
=====SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE / COMMENT


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

PUBLICATION: Principles: Addiction & Recovery Tips &
Talks is published every Friday morning by Charles
Roper, the owner & author of Alcohol & Drug Abuse -
The Addiction & Recovery Information & Resources
Website. Please pay the site a visit.
http://alcoholanddrugabuse.com

DISTRIBUTION: Principles is distributed only to
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UNSUBSCRIBE instructions at the bottom of this page.

PRIVACY: I will NEVER publish, give, loan, or sell your
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Thanks...Charles Roper


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

"It's not what you look at that matters; it's what you
see..." --- Henry David Thoreau


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

RECOVERY TIP: Attitude determines attitude.

RECOVERY TIP TALK: Attitude determines attitude? Yep. We are responsible for what we think, and therefore also for what and how we feel.

Just about anyone who has "been in treatment" or "been through therapy" knows that the connection between their thoughts and emotions is an intimate one. My treatment counselor explained it thusly:

Two men are standing side by side early one Saturday
morning watching a thunderstorm rolling in from the
South. One man reacts angrily, exclaiming that his
weekend is screwed--no golf game, no picnic with the
family, and no pool party at the Smith's. The other man
reacts happily, commenting that his weekend is made--
time to relax, read, visit with the family, and no pool
party at the Smith's.

My counselor pointed out that both men experienced the exact same event--the impending thunderstorm--at the exact same time--early Saturday morning. The only difference between the two was in the way they "processed" the information--that is, in what they "told themselves" about it.

Unconvinced, I said that even if his explanation were true--that even if my thoughts do determine my feelings--it all happens so fast that I can't be aware of, let alone responsible for, what I "tell myself" about any given situation. I told him that it seems more "automatic" than that.

His response opened up a whole new way for me to "process" the events of my life. He acknowledged that we are not, in fact, responsible for our first thought in reaction to a life event. Rather, we are responsible for the next thought and the ones that follow.

Asked to explain further, he said that as soon as you
"feel" your reaction to a situation, stop and ask yourself
the following question: "What am I telling myself about
this situation (i.e., 'What are my thoughts, beliefs, and
opinions about it') that's causing me to feel this way?"

"Then," he said, "the next question to ask yourself is,
'How will this situation turn out to be in my best
interest?'"

After accusing him of believing his own psycho-babble, I began practicing his suggestions. Sure enough....


=====SPONSOR'S SPIEL=====

Why read the book High Bottom Drunk? I received the
following (slightly edited) e-mail just this week:

Hi, Charles...I finished the book yesterday. I'll tell you
what: It was very good!!! I have been sober for 7 years and 8 months, and this book really hit a nerve. It gave me insight into spirituality. I have had a hard time with this "term" for all my sober years...but now I FINALLY get it!! I would recommend this book to anyone, sober or not. I have several friends who are in deep denial, and if I could get them to read this book, I would. Thank you for writing such a true and sober look at the TRUTH!!!
---From L., "Alcoholic/Addict"

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

  
=====EASTERN PERSPECTIVE ON RECOVERY=====

"We admitted we were powerless...." This admission is the all-important key to entering recovery. In admitting, we are also admitted.

By admitting that we are powerless to play God, we no
longer expect the world to conform to our egocentric
beliefs and opinions. The world's ideas and direction
become our own, as it was all along. This is called
conforming with the Tao.

It is said that if you take a step to the left or to the
right of the Tao, you are lost in your own false sense of
control and power. Admitting powerlessness over our disease is acknowledging that we must act in accord with a Higher Power, call it Tao, Buddha Nature, Allah, Your Original Self, or God.

Admitting that our lives have become unmanageable, we become aware that the very act of admission is the only sure method of management. By attempting daily to give up our argument with the world, we resume our rightful places and feel serenity start to become our foundation. We can hold experience without strangling it and flow like water through the bends of our lives without getting hung up.

Paraphrased from: The Zen of Recovery, by Mel Ash.
Tarcher/Perigee, 1993.


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

This week's featured link is: The Promises of Recovery
Newsletter: July/Aug, 2000.

I am unable to tell if the subject matter of the newsletter changes from issue to issue, but this particular issue focuses on addicts in prison. It presents the views of the public, government officials, and other recovering addicts on the topic of offering treatment instead of harsher sentences for drug-related crimes.

Visit the site at:
http://www.angelfire.com/ca4/newsletter


=====PURE BOLOGNA & HOGWASH=====

A man entered a bar in a small Texas town and ordered a beer.

The bartender served him and then turned on the TV. President Clinton was holding a news conference.

The patron glanced up at the set and said, "Oh, great! It's that horse's ass again!"

The bartender jumped over the counter and hit the man so hard he knocked him off the bar stool.

"Damn, I'm sorry, man," said the patron. "I didn't realize I was in Bill Clinton country."

The bartender glared at him for a moment and then said, "Stranger, you're not in Clinton country. You're in horse country."

Submitted by: A Texan (apparently) for Bush.


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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