|
PRINCIPLES:
THE ADDICTION & RECOVERY NEWSLETTER |
| =====TABLE OF CONTENTS===== =====EDITOR'S COMMENTS =====INTERESTING ASIDES =====READERS' IDEAS & ISSUES =====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:Principles-Newsletter-owner@egroups.com Thanks...Charles Roper =====INTERESTING ASIDES===== The only advertisements for alcohol that appear on American TV are for beer. Beer companies are prohibited from actually showing people consuming beer. You can do all you want to a beer bottle but drink from it. =====READERS' IDEAS & ISSUES===== From Dana A: The definition of a disease is "anything that interferes with the ability of the human being to function normally." To continue to live in self-defeating learned behaviors, which are greatly complicated and exaggerated by a pathological relationship with a mood-altering substance, resulting in a diminished capacity to initiate or participate in a loving relationship should just about cover it. Remember, alcoholism comes in people, not in a bottle. ===== From Susi: Regarding the issue of legalizing drugs: I have to say that I disagree with the person who said that legalizing alcohol only made things better. I think it just kept things out in the open. I know for me that I was more than willing--and did on occasion--steal from others just so I could get my next drink. So, just because you don't hear about an alcohol-related mugging doesn't mean it doesn't happen. ===== From Robert G: I wish to take issue with the second quote that you printed which stated that the end of Prohibition increased the number of alcoholics. Whoever quoted this was obviously uninformed. The fact is that Prohibition (not the end of it) more than doubled the number of alcoholics in the country. I think some of this is for the same reason as today with drugs. The human animal is a very perverse creature. It demands freedom. Tell a human NOT to do something, and it is the VERY FIRST THING that the human will want to do! People rebelled against the government telling them whether or not they could drink, and many either found themselves drinking more and more often than they had ever done before, OR it made drinking attractive to those who had never tried "John Barleycorn" before because they wanted to see what was so "wonderful" about booze. That's part of the problem. Tell someone NOT to do something, and they tend to automatically think that it must be wonderful, and you're trying to keep all the fun to yourself. The government needs to stop a failed drug policy that only drains tax dollars that could go to treatment, makes murdering thugs into multi-billionaires and disintegrates our criminal justice system through bribery and corruption. As we say in AA - it is time to "Surrender To Win" because this is one "war" this country sure ISN'T winning!!! ===== Editor says: Thanks so much to these contributors. Please email your ideas & issues to: Mailto:Principles-Newsletter-owner@egroups.com =====FEATURED ARTICLE===== RECOVERY THOUGHT: "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." --Aristotle RECOVERY TALK: "...what we repeatedly do." Such powerful words. They make me think about making amends. My friend, Steve, has one of those very wonderful sponsors who tells him the truth and doesn't apologize for it. When Steve reached Step 8, he began listing the people to whom he owed apologies. Feeling grateful for the program and dedicated to recovery, he talked about going here and there and talking to this person and that. He even looked at airplane and bus rates and schedules and talked about carving out enough time to travel to different places in order to apologize to people face-to-face, just like the Big Book said. When he shared his plans with his sponsor, he got "the look," followed by "we need to talk." "Amends have little to do with apologies," the sponsor said. "In fact, the truth is that at this stage of your development, your words don't mean a damn thing. Amends aren't a 'saying' thing; they're a 'doing' thing. And that's not all, Steve. Not only are they a 'doing' thing, they're a 'doing over and over and over' thing." He continued, "You make amends by doing things differently, which means doing them better. If you cheated on your wife, you be faithful to her, and you continue being faithful to her over and over and over. If you stole money, you replace what you stole and then you don't steal again, and you continue not stealing over and over and over. If you lied to a friend, you be truthful with that friend, and you continue being truthful with that friend again and again and again. "And then, before you even know it, Steve, you will be a faithful, honest, truthful person. Faithfulness, honestly, and truthfulness will have become your habit. And then, lo and behold, they will take over your mind and heart. They will be you, and you will be them. Then you will have made amends." "We are what we repeatedly do." Powerful stuff, Aristotle. How did you come to learn so much about recovery? =====PRIMARY SPONSOR===== High Bottom Drunk: A Novel...and the Truth about Addiction & Recovery, by Charles N. Roper, PhD. "...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===== Returning to the Source --Anonymous The voice that says, "It's not okay," is the same voice that says "I'm not okay," and "Don't trust other people," and is the voice of my conditioning. My conditioning is not real. It consists of other people's thoughts. Other people are not God. I am not my conditioning. My Buddha nature - the God within me - cannot be hurt or destroyed. It is not damaged. Thinking it is damaged is part of my conditioning. Forgetting it, doubting it, hating it, dismantling my faith in it are all part of my conditioning. The voice that tells me to fear others - that the world cannot be depended upon, that the world will crush me - is the same voice that tells me to argue with the God of other people's understanding. It is the same voice that tells me that my Buddha nature - the God within - is not enough and can be destroyed, as though someone else could make me forget my Buddha nature - the God within - forever. But no, it can never be destroyed. It is never forgotten. It is always present. Silent. Without form. A vast sea of possibility. My reason to be. My purpose. Why I am here. To be a part of God in the world. No conditioning can drown out its voice forever. My conditioning tries to make me forget that it is conditioning. It tells me that it is God. Tells me to destroy myself. But how can I destroy what cannot be destroyed? Why do I suffer because of the words of others? Are words more powerful than God? My conditioning tells me not to fight against it, like a Nazi who needs someone to fight in order to live. If I stop fighting and become one with God - the God of my understanding - what will become of my conditioning? It is a door. Nothing more. A door can't destroy me. [Editor's Note: Does anyone know the origin or history of this work?] =====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: Thom's E-Minders, a wonderful weekly newsletter (for the therapeutically forgetful). "E-Minders" is a free weekly feature from Thom Rutledge, author of "The Self-Forgiveness Handbook" and "Earning Your Own Respect" To subscribe, visit Thom's website: http://www.webpowers.com/thomrutledge =====PURE BOLOGNA & HOGWASH===== The Lone Ranger and Tonto are camping in the desert. After setting up their tent, they sit around the campfire and share a bottle of homemade whiskey. After a while, they get pretty drunk, and they drop off to sleep. A few hours later, The Lone Ranger wakes his faithful friend. "Tonto," he says, "Look up at the sky and tell me what you see." Tonto replies, "Me see millions of stars." "What does that tell you?" ask The Lone Ranger. Tonto ponders for a minute and then says, "Astronomically speaking, it tells me that there are millions of galaxies and potentially billions of planets. Astrologically, it tells me that Saturn is in Leo. Theologically, it's evident the Lord is all-powerful, and we are small and insignificant. Meteorologically, it seems we will have a beautiful day tomorrow. Time wise, it appears to be approximately a quarter past three. What it tell you, KemoSabi?" The Lone Ranger is silent for a moment, and then speaks. "Tonto, my faithful friend, I think that someone has stolen our tent." =====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 ========================== Alrighty, then...till next week, do us all a favor and keep it simple. Charles Roper, Editor Principles: The Addiction & Recovery Newsletter Alcohol & Drug Abuse - The Addiction & Recovery Information & Resources Web site: http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com |
