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=====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 email 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, and I answer
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Thanks...Charles Roper
=====INTERESTING ASIDES=====
According to the Centers for Disease Control, tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and mortality
in our society. The World Health Organization estimates that tobacco use accounted for over 4 million deaths in 1998 and that
the yearly figure will rise to 8.4 million deaths by 2020. Despite these statistics, over 1 billion adults worldwide
continue to smoke.
=====READERS' IDEAS & ISSUES=====
From Mike D:
Nationwide, alcohol has always caused more larcenies, homicides, and wounding than all of the other drugs combined. It is time we
stop separating this liquid drug from the other ones by pretending that it is unique in some way.
That being said, here's my question:
Recently I attended a training for substance abuse counselors, and a trainer claimed that recovery treatment for the crack
addict is a very different process than for an alcoholic due to the "greater numbing of the pleasure centers of the brain"
associated with the use of crack. As a seasoned substance abuse counselor, I simply
don't agree with this.
Do you feel there should be a "significant" difference in treatment modes for various drugs, including alcohol?
======
From Nancy R:
Could denial be healthy? Could a possible source of emotional and psychological pain be not enough denial? Could it be that
unhealthy individuals suffer from either too much, or too little denial, and the secret to psychological health is balanced
denial?
I personally hesitate to promote a constant process of stripping away of one's denial. To "not be in denial" would constitute a
lack of a necessary and very normal defense. To "not be in denial" of any sort would be painful. An individual who is
involved in a constant process to strip away his or her denial could be in search of nothing more the elusive state of
perfection.
An individual in psychological pain from a lack of denial could abuse substances as much as one who is in heavy denial. I have
never met an individual who didn't use denial on a daily and sometimes hourly basis for survival of the spirit.
I believe we were all meant to have a healthy dose of denial. The key words here are "healthy dose" and "balance." Balance in daily
living is the ultimate goal for physical, emotional, and psychological health and a source of constant human struggle. Why
should a balance of denial be any different?
I say lets stop constantly degrading the state of "denial" and give equal time to a celebration of its positive and healthy
attributes.
======
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=====FEATURED ARTICLE=====
RECOVERY THOUGHT:
"Our feelings can guide us into action (if we let them)."
RECOVERY TALK:
I ran across the following dialogue in an AA discussion group a few months ago.
The individual asking the question was in early recovery. She wrote (to no one in particular):
"Dear Group,
What do you do about the loneliness and lack of affection?
Love...Ch"
An anonymous discussion group member responded:
"Dear Ch,
What you do is YOU be affectionate to others. Don't wait for a hug or a smile or a kiss from someone. You can give them
without asking for them. Sometimes it can be the difference between lifting another person's spirits, or it could just
be the lifting of your own. It matters not which is accomplished. You both get the reward.
Blessings, Cl."
I thought the response was simply beautiful. Cl's words reminded me of the Serenity Prayer, perhaps because it
addressed the issue of what we can do - that is, "to change the things we can."
One of my favorite Bonnie Raitt songs contains the lyrics: "I can't make you love me if you don't. I can't make your heart
feel something it won't..." (or something like that).
What I *can* do is: I can love. I can show my love. I can show my love even when I
feel afraid of leaving myself open to being hurt. I can love and show my love without expecting the recipient
to love me back. I can give another person a smile, a hug, a kiss. I can do something nice for someone. Better yet, I can do
something nice for someone anonymously.
As suggested earlier in this newsletter, perhaps we really are what we do. That may not be a very spiritually "sophisticated"
idea, but maybe it's true. If I act in a genuinely loving way towards others, I feel loving, I feel lovable, and I even feel
loved. Isn't that who I am?
=====PRIMARY SPONSOR=====
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"I got my book High Bottom Drunk today, and already I can't put it down. Thank you very much. Very reasonably priced too."
Order High Bottom Drunk directly from the publisher, through the www.highbottomdrunk.com
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=====AN EASTERN PERSPECTIVE ON RECOVERY=====
In the Psalms, it says, "Be still and know that I am God."
"Be still" means to become peaceful and concentrated. The Buddhist term is *samatha* (stopping, calming, concentrating).
"Know" means to acquire wisdom, insight, or understanding. The Buddhist term is *vipasyana* (insight, or looking deeply).
"Looking deeply" means observing something or someone with so much concentration that the distinction between observer and
observed disappears. The result is insight into the true nature of the object.
When we look into the heart of a flower, we see clouds, sunshine, minerals, time, the earth, and everything else in the cosmos in
it. Without clouds, there could be no rain, and there would be no flower. Without time, the flower could not bloom. In fact, the
flower is made entirely of non-flower elements; it has no independent, individual existence. It "inter-is" with everything
else in the universe.
This idea--interbeing--is an important one. When we see the nature of interbeing, barriers between ourselves and others are
dissolved, and peace, love, and understanding are possible. Whenever there is understanding, compassion is born.
From: Living Buddha, Living Christ, by Thich Nhat Hanh.
=====SPONSORS=====
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=====LINK OF THE WEEK=====
=====PURE BOLOGNA & HOGWASH=====
One afternoon at their neighborhood bar, Bob was explaining the Buffalo Theory to his buddy, Fred. Here's how it went:
"Well ya see Fred, it's like this... A herd of buffalo can only move as fast as the slowest buffalo. And when the herd is hunted,
it's the slowest and weakest ones at the back that are killed first. This natural selection is good for the herd as a whole
because the general speed and health of the whole group keeps improving by the regular killing of the weakest members.
"In much the same way, the human brain can only operate as fast as the slowest brain cells. Excessive intake of alcohol, as we
all know, kills brain cells, but naturally it attacks the slowest and weakest brain cells first. In this way, regular consumption
of beer eliminates the weaker brain cells, making the brain a faster and more efficient machine. And that's why you always feel smarter after a few beers."
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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:
<a href="http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com">
Alcohol & Drug Abuse </a>
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