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=====TABLE OF CONTENTS=====
=====EDITOR'S COMMENTS
=====CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES
=====READERS' THOUGHTS
=====FEATURE ARTICLE
=====SPONSORS
=====EASTERN PERSPECTIVES
=====FEATURED LINK
=====PURE BOLOGNA
=====SUBSCRIBE / UNSUBSCRIBE
=====EDITOR'S COMMENTS=====
PRIVACY: I will never publish, give, loan, or sell your e-mail address to anyone. Never - No way - No how.
DISTRIBUTION: God willing, Principles hits cyberspace every Friday morning. Find Subscribe & Unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of this page.
CONTRIBUTE: I'd love to hear your comments, questions, & ideas. I don't answer every email, but I do read every one. Email me
at:
Mailto:croper@alcoholanddrugabuse.com
Thanks...Charles Roper
=====CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES=====
It is drug prohibition, not drugs, that causes most crime. Alcoholics do not commit muggings and burglaries to pay for their addiction. Alcohol dealers do not commit murders to preserve their market share. This is because alcohol is legal.
--Henry Cohen, Attorney
The end of Prohibition may have cut down on the income of bootleggers and smugglers, but it increased the incidence of alcoholism. I imagine that legalizing drugs would have much the same effect. The problem with drugs is not that they are illegal. The problem with drugs is that they are mind-altering....Not many (if any) drug users will behave well while continuing to use. If the purpose of legalization is to promote recovery, why not use alternative sentencing instead? Something with accountability?
--NB
=====READERS' THOUGHTS=====
A few "firsts" from readers, in response to last week's Feature Article:
The first time I felt the power of honesty.
The first time I didn't run from something hard to do.
The first time I *remember* my mom saying "I Love You."
--RGA
The first amazing thing was when others noticed & commented on how different I looked and acted.
I began to be true to my word...true to myself.
The world stopped revolving around me, and I began to become "a part of."
--Robyn
Made my first conscious choice to walk by the liquor section of the grocery store without buying something.
Admitted to someone I was wrong about something.
Looked at myself in the mirror and genuinely loved what I saw.
House-sat for someone without raiding the liquor cabinet or the medicine cabinet.
Experienced both a great disappointment and a great joy without drowning either feeling in booze.
--Candy
I remembered parts of Jay Leno's monolog.
I smiled at myself in the mirror - in the morning!
I realized that nobody was really following me.
--billyk
I remembered my first New Years Eve. Wow! I seriously REMEMBERED it!
I found out I really don't like watching sports on Sundays, all day in the bar. In fact, I don't really like basketball at all. Imagine that!
--Hunny
When I have a headache I know its not a hangover.
I can stay up late and wake up early.
My kids tell me things, and I listen.
--Lori
The first Monday morning I felt good and loved listening to birds chirping outside my window. Before that, those chirping birds were associated with hangovers, depression, and regrets that come with the "morning after."
--Arlene
The first time (after being sober about 3 weeks) I was at an old friend's house, & I saw a bottle of Tequila and thought, "the bottle is not big enough; they need the one with the handle." I got out of there quick and went to a meeting.
The first time I played darts sober. I didn't want to play at first because I never played without a few shots of Jack Daniels and a joint in me. Once I played, I played better than before. I was more accurate.
My first Super Bowl...my first dance...my first camp out...my first time falling in love.
--Debra
[Editor says: Thanks so much to everyone who contributed. You made my collective day.]
=====FEATURED ARTICLE=====
RECOVERY THOUGHT:
"Don't set yourself up with one of the most popular prescriptions for unhappiness--that things must be different before you can be happy."
--Richard Carlson
RECOVERY TALK:
In his book, Shortcut Through Therapy, Richard Carlson notes that life is rarely the way we would like it to be. Instead, life is as it is.
As obvious as this seems, most of us act as if the primary goal of life is to make it conform to our preconceived notions of how it should be. To compound the problem, we attach our happiness to these preconceptions. We convince ourselves that we will be happy when our lives are different--when we have more money, lose some weight, get a better job, find someone to love, etc. In this way, we put off our satisfaction and contentment until some future date.
The problem with this philosophy is that it is insatiable; it never ends. The same kind of thinking that creates preconditions in the first place will continue to do so once a condition is met. Once we achieve a goal that we thought would make us happy, we will invariably create another one to take its place.
A more realistic and practical way to look at the relationship between happiness and the achievement of goals is to view them as entirely separate entities that don't depend on each other for anything.
Under this plan, we can decide to put happiness first. We can also decide to work harder and make more money. But we don't connect one to the other. We do certain things to increase feelings of happiness and well-being. We do certain other things to make more money. We'll soon see that the relationship between happiness and money that we thought was there, simply does not exist. It never did, and it never will.
=====PRIMARY SPONSOR=====
High Bottom Drunk: A Novel...and the Truth about Addiction & Recovery, by Charles N. Roper, PhD.
"...this book has become a companion to my Big Book."
"...reading High Bottom Drunk has deepened my understanding of AA's principles tenfold."
Order High Bottom Drunk directly from the publisher, through the www.highbottomdrunk.com
website, and receive two free gifts (modest but useful) with each copy.
http://www.highbottomdrunk.com
=====AN EASTERN PERSPECTIVE ON RECOVERY=====
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 place in it, and we feel serenity start to become our foundation, rather than anxiety and disappointment. We can hold experience without strangling it; we can flow like water through the bends of our lives--without getting hung up in the details.
"Becoming" is an ongoing process of personal evolution and discovery. To be born human is to accept that our job is "becoming." We are not a product of or a collection of our pains, relationships, work, and beliefs. We became these things. We are now free--through Zen and the Steps--to continue becoming. What will we do with this freedom?
Paraphrased from: The Zen of Recovery, by Mel Ash.
=====SPONSORS=====
For practical lessons in self-compassion, check out the work of Thom Rutledge:
http://www.webpowers.com/thomrutledge
Website design, redesign, hosting, promotion, and eBusiness solutions at honest, affordable prices.
http://www.hostingbydesign.com
=====LINK OF THE WEEK=====
This week's featured link is: Substance Abuse: Alcohol - An Exhaustive Index of Online Resources.
They're not kidding, either. This is truly an exhaustive index.
Visit the site at:
http://www.laserbuddy.com/recover/drugs.htm
=====PURE BOLOGNA & HOGWASH=====
Since I've joined AA, I've gained quite a bit of weight. A friend told me it was because I'm not getting as much exercise as I used to.
"But I never exercised while I was still drinking," I protested.
"Sure you did," he countered. "Here's the exercise program you were on:"
Hitting the bottle
Beating yourself up
Bending the rules
Stretching the truth
Jogging your memory
Running into trouble
Jumping to conclusions
Stepping on toes
Climbing the walls
Dodging responsibility
Pushing your luck
Pulling the wool over peoples eyes
Walking all over people
Carrying a grudge
Throwing fits
Picking up the pieces.
Wow! I never thought about it like that. Small wonder I've put on a few pounds!
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Alrighty, then...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 Web site:
http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com
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