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=====TABLE OF CONTENTS=====
=====EDITOR'S COMMENTS
=====READERS' COMMENTS & CONTROVERSIES
=====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=====
DISTRIBUTION: God willing, "Principles" hits cyberspace every Friday morning.
Find Subscribe & 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
=====READERS' COMMENTS & CONTROVERSIES=====
RE: Last week's "Pure Bologna & Hogwash" joke:
"I don't know about off-color jokes such as this one; maybe I'm trying/leaning to
being politically correct." --DA
"He He Ha Ha! Yes!! LOL" --Anonymous
"What does that joke (?) have to do with recovery? The joke was humorless and
in poor taste. Are you advocating that anyone who is trying to get/stay sober, who
is living an alternative life-style, need not subscribe to your newsletter? The flow of
quoting from the 'Zen of Recovery' and then exhibiting this joke directly underneath is
very puzzling." --Pam
[Editor's Reply: I apologize to anyone who felt offended by this joke. I think including
it in this letter was a lapse in judgement on my part. --Charles]
=====TIP & TALK FEATURED ARTICLE=====
RECOVERY TIP:
"We fare much better in recovery when we remember that we're simply human--no more
and no less."
RECOVERY TIP TALK:
The Rules for Being Human
1. You will receive a body. You may like or hate it, but it will be yours for the
entire period this time around.
2. You will learn lessons. You are enrolled in a full time informal school called
life. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like
the lessons or think them irrelevant and stupid.
3. There are no mistakes, only lessons. Growth is a process of trial and error
experimentation. The "failed" experiments are as much a part of the process as
the experiment that ultimately "works."
4. A lesson is repeated until learned. A lesson will be presented to you in
various forms until you have learned it. When you have learned it, you can go on to the
next lesson.
5. Learning lessons does not end. There is no part of life that does not contain
its lessons. If you are alive, there are lessons to be learned.
6. "There" is no better than "here". When your
"there" has become a "here," you will simply obtain another
"there" that will, again, look better than "here."
7. Others are merely mirrors for you. You cannot love or hate something about
another person unless it reflects something you love or hate about yourself.
8. What you make of your life is up to you. You have all the tools and resources
you need; what you do with them is up to you. The choice is yours.
9. Your answers lie inside you. The answers to life's questions lie inside you.
All you need to do is look, listen, and trust.
10.You will forget all this!
The original source of this list is not known. This version is reprinted from Robert
Burney's terrific website that focuses primarily on codependency recovery:
http://www.joy2meU.com
<a href="http://www.joy2meU.com"> AOL
Link </a>
=====SPONSOR'S SPIEL=====
High Bottom Drunk: A Novel...and the Truth about Addiction & Recovery, by
Charles N. Roper, PhD.
I have just finished reading 'High Bottom Drunk' and am still a little in shock. It
has really opened my eyes to the disease and it's effect. My friend will complete his
treatment program next week, and he is very anxious to read it. Besides loving an
alcoholic, I am also a rehab counselor and have never been very comfortable working with
clients who have addictions. I feel much more comfortable and knowledgeable now, and I
think working with them will be rewarding for both me and my clients. Thanks for the great
book. I'm looking forward to the next one. --N.
Order High Bottom Drunk directly from the publisher, through the www.highbottomdrunk.com website, and receive two
free gifts with each copy.
http://www.highbottomdrunk.com
<a href="http://www.highbottomdrunk.com">
AOL Link </a>
=====AN EASTERN PERSPECTIVE ON RECOVERY=====
The practice of Zen is the alarm clock that wakes us up to our lives and enables us to
stop sleepwalking through reality. It's the friendly map that says, "Right here is
the place; you have always been here; where else is there?" It is the clock and the
calendar that say, "Right now is the time; there is no other."
Zen practice identifies the liars and thieves in the temples of our hearts and casts them
out so that we may live as we are meant to live--whole, fearless, and rejoined with that
for which we so desperately long.
Maybe this is the real meaning of life--the struggle to wake up and reclaim what was there
all along--to become real human beings and unfold our original nature, just like a flower
in Spring.
Paraphrased from: The Zen of Recovery, by Mel Ash.
=====LINK OF THE WEEK=====
This week's featured link is: Beliefnet: The Source for Spirituality, Religion, &
Morality.
You'll be hard-pressed to find another site as packed with information as this one. It
carries pages on topics as diverse as religions (20 of them), spirituality & spiritual
tools,
morality & culture, inspiration, family & life events, charity & service, and
many more. Commercial content appears to be minimal.
Visit the site at:
http://www.beliefnet.com
<a href="http://www.beliefnet.com">
AOL Link </a>
=====PURE BOLOGNA & HOGWASH=====
Q: What's the difference between drunks and government bonds?
A: Bonds mature.
The alcoholic's daily prayer: "Dear God, so far today, I've done pretty darned good.
I haven't had a drink, haven't gossiped, haven't lost my temper, haven't been greedy,
grumpy, nasty or self-centered. I'm really glad about that, and I'm grateful. But in a few
minutes, God, I'm going to get out of bed, and then I'm going to need a lot of help. Thank
you."
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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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