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PRINCIPLES: ADDICTION & RECOVERY TIPS & TALKS
        Vol.1 No.5                                June 9, 2000
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=====TABLE OF CONTENTS=====
          NOTES
          EDITOR'S COMMENTS
          TIP & TALK FEATURED ARTICLE
          SPONSOR'S SPOT
          WHAT WOULD BUDDHA DO?
          GUEST SPOT
          SUBSCRIBE/UNSUBSCRIBE/COMMENT
 
 
=====NOTES=====
 
Clickable AOL Links are located together at the bottom of this page.
 
Principles: Addiction & Recovery Tips & Talks is published every Friday morning by the folks at Alcohol & Drug Abuse - The Addiction & Recovery Information & Resources Website:
http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com
 
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=====EDITOR'S COMMENTS=====
 
Thanks for taking the time to read through this week's issue
of Principles.
 
This week's TIP & TALK FEATURED ARTICLE is quite different than previous ones. It is an allegory, submitted by Danny DeGuire, who has also contributed to the Alcohol & Drug Abuse Website. Danny writes, "When I first read (this allegory) years ago, the images spoke to me very strongly and very clearly about the need to surrender in order to survive."
 
Thank you, Danny. They speak to me as well. I hope our readers enjoy and gain some value from it.
 
If you have comments about and/or suggestions for Principles, or if you would like to submit a TIP & TALK article or story, please contact me through the newsletter address listed at the bottom of this page.
 
Charles N. Roper, Editor
 
 
=====FEATURED ARTICLE=====
 
RECOVERY TIP: "Always read allegories twice: Once quickly--to get a feel for them, and then slowly--to gain an understanding."
 
RECOVERY TIP TALK: "The Wisdom of the Sands" --Osho
 
A stream, from its source in far-off mountains, passing through every kind and description of countryside, at last reached the sands of the desert.  Just as it had crossed every other barrier, the stream tried to cross this one, but it found that as fast as it ran into the sand, its waters disappeared.
 
It was convinced, however, that its destiny was to cross this desert, and yet there was no way.  Now a hidden voice, coming from the desert itself, whispered, "The wind crosses the desert, and so can the stream."
 
The stream objected that it was dashing itself against the sand and only getting absorbed; the wind could fly and this was why it could cross a desert.
 
"By hurtling in your own accustomed way, you cannot get across. You will either disappear or become a marsh. You must allow the wind to carry you over to your destination."
 
"But how could this happen?"
 
"By allowing yourself to be absorbed in the wind."
 
This idea was not acceptable to the stream. After all, it had never been absorbed before. It did not want to lose its individuality. And once having lost it, how was one to know that it could ever be regained?
 
"The wind," said the sand, "performs this function. It takes up
water, carries it over the desert, and then lets it fall again.
Falling as rain, the water again becomes a river."
 
"How can I know that is true?"
 
"It is so, and if you do not believe it, you cannot become more than a quagmire, and even that could take many, many years; and it is certainly not the same as a stream."
 
"But can I not remain the same stream that I am today?"
 
"You cannot in either case remain so," the whisper said. "Your
essential part is carried away and forms a stream again. You are called what you are even today because you do not know which part of you is the essential one."
 
When he heard this, certain echoes began to arouse the thoughts of the stream. Dimly he remembered a state in which he (or some part of him, was it?) had been held in the arms of the wind. He also remembered (or did he?) that this was the real thing--though not necessarily the obvious thing--to do.
 
So the stream raised his vapor into the welcoming arms of the wind, which gently and easily bore it upwards and along, letting it fall softly as soon as they reached the roof of a mountain, many miles away. And because he had his doubts, the stream was able to remember and record more strongly in his mind the details of the experience. He reflected, "Yes, now I have learned by true identity."
 
The stream was learning, but the sand whispered, "We know because we see it happen day after day, and because we, the sands, extend from the riverside all the way to the mountains."
 
And that is why it is said that the way in which the Stream of Life is to continue on its journey is written in the Sands.
 
 
=====SPONSOR'S SPOT=====
 
High Bottom Drunk: A Novel...and the Truth about Addiction &
Recovery, by Charles N. Roper, PhD
 
It's true: High Bottom Drunk is a novel. Those who have read it, though, have been caught completely off guard by the impact that it has had on their lives. For example:
 
"I've been a licensed addiction therapist for the past 18 years and prior to that was a parish minister for 20 years, and I've never read a book more powerful...descriptive...dynamic...or clear when it comes to (explaining) the movement from addiction to sobriety to recovery. You have done a masterful job of writing. It was one of those books that I couldn't put down. I was reading it every spare minute I had during my day. Thanks." --Dave S.
 
Read excerpts of High Bottom Drunk: A Novel... at the Website:
http://www.highbottomdrunk.com
 
 
=====WHAT WOULD BUDDHA DO?=====
 
Q: What would Buddha do when facing a crisis?
 
A: "Throw away your pitiful apathy and act boldly in this crisis! A wise person shows energy and resolve; success is in her power, no matter what." --Jatakamala 14.11
 
"Wake up!" shouts Buddha. "You have the power to act, and the
responsibility. The wise person shows her resolve to do her best in any circumstance." Buddha spoke these words in the teeth of a terrible storm that threatened the lives of everyone aboard his ship. Despite the danger and the need for action, the crew was apathetic. Why was this? It seems absurd.
 
It may be absurd to become passive in the face of danger, but it
often happens, and for a variety of reasons. We doubt ourselves. We don't trust our crew. We give up hope. This is a natural tendency, and some of us live our entire lives this way. How sad, because what is the worst that can happen? Failure through inaction--that is the worst. Buddha encourages us to awaken to reality and to act. That is itself is success.
 
From: What Would Buddha Do? 101 Answers to Life's Daily Dilemmas, by Franz Metcalf.
 
 
=====GUEST SPOT (ANYTHING GOES)=====
 
Two intoxicated men are sitting at a bar atop a 65-story building in Chicago. One man turns to the other and says, "You know, buddy, the drafts between these tall buildings--this one in particular--are incredible. You can jump off the top of this building, and before you know it, the drafts will bring you back up to where you were standing and land you on your feet--safe and sound."
 
The second man laughed and said, "Listen, pal, I may be drunk, but I ain't drunk enough to believe that bull."
 
The first man shrugged his shoulders. "It's not bull. I've seen
plenty of people do it. Not a single one of them got so much as a scratch."
 
Again the second man laughed. "Okay, hotshot," he said, "I'll tell you what. You do it first, and if it works for you, THEN I'll do it, too."
 
The two men walked out onto the roof, and true to his word, the first man stepped up to the ledge and jumped. And sure enough, before falling half-way down, he swooped back up and landed on his feet--totally safe and sound.
 
"That's incredible, all right!" the second man yelled. He stepped up to the ledge, jumped, and instantly fell 65 stories to his death.
 
The second man walked back into the bar, sat down on his stool, and ordered another drink.
 
The bartender sets the drink on the bar, gives the man a dirty look, and slowly shakes his head back and forth.
 
"What's the matter?" the man asks.
 
The bartender looks him squarely in the eye and says, "You're a damn mean drunk, Superman."
 
Contributed by: Who knows? & Who cares?
  
  
=====LINK OF THE WEEK=====
 
This week's featured link is: Grant Me The Serenity.
 
The Grant Me The Serenity site helps those in or seeking recovery find information, references, support & resources.
 
The site includes links and information on support & recovery groups ranging from 12-step programs, such as AA & NA, to "alternative" programs, like S.M.A.R.T. Recovery. It also includes links to and information on e-mail & discussion groups, treatment facilities, and various recovery-related self-help & mental health sites.
 
Visit the Grant Me The Serenity Website:
http://www.open-mind.org
 
 
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Till next week...keep it simple.
 
Charles Roper, Editor
Principles: Addiction & Recovery Tips & Talks
  
http://www.alcoholanddrugabuse.com