Alcohol and Drug Addiction Recovery

[roygrip]

NOT COOL!

Man Gets DUI After Driving on AA Co-Founder's Lawn









DORSET, Vt. December 27, 2012 (AP)







Vermont State Police say a man faces a drunken driving charge after driving onto the lawn of a historic home once owned by the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous.

Police say 55-year-old Donald Blood III of Marlborough, Mass., was ordered to appear in court in Bennington on Jan. 14.

Police say Blood thought he was driving into a parking lot, but actually it was the lawn of the Wilson House, built in 1852 in Dorset, the birthplace of AA co-founder Bill Wilson.

The Wilson House's website describes it as a "place of sanctuary where people can come to give thanks to God for their new lives."

It still hosts several AA meetings each week.

[roygrip]

Dec 28, 2012 9:05:43 GMT -5 Jake 48 said:

Hello RG, all is well here

;D ;D

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Message deleted by Scottish_Lassie.

<Double Post>

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Welcome back, Roy! Glad to see you're still doing well.

[mmhmm]

Wonderful to see you posting, roygrip! Sure hope all's well with you and that you and yours had a great Christmas.

[Jaguar]

How you & yours been doing Roy, I hope all is well on your end.

[roygrip]

:)Thank you everyone! All is well, was really busy with work till Dec. 21st, ran around like a crazy man till Christmas. We had awonderful time. All is well in my COLD California. ( I know it's much colder else where but......) 37 is COLD at nite!

[roygrip]

Rogue pharmacists fuel addiction


Some provide massive amounts of painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs to addicts and dealers, according to state records, regulators and law enforcement officials.

December 20, 2012|By Scott Glover, Lisa Girion and Hailey Branson-Potts







April and Joe Rovero hold a picture of their son Joey with his birthday cupcakes.… (Liz O. Baylen, Los Angeles…)


Joey Rovero's quest for pills ended at Pacifica Pharmacy.

It was the same for Naythan Kenney,

Matt Stavron and Joseph Gomez.

All four were patients at Rowland Heights


physician who was a prolific prescriber of narcotic painkillers and other addictive drugs. To get their fix, they needed more than a piece of paper.

They needed a pharmacist willing to dispense the drugs, and at Pacifica they found one.

All four died of drug overdoses after filling prescriptions at the tiny pharmacy in Huntington Beach, court and coroners' records show.

Pacifica's owner, Thang Q. "Frank" Tran, sold pain medications in large quantities. Particularly popular with his customers were high-dose, 80-milligram tablets of OxyContin. Tran filled nearly twice as many of those prescriptions as did nearby Walgreens, CVS and Sav-On pharmacies combined, according to state records.

Many of his customers traveled long distances and paid cash. Rovero drove more than 350 miles from Arizona State University in Tempe to get his prescriptions in Rowland Heights and then 33 more miles to the pharmacy.

"I thought to myself, 'Why in the world would these kids go that much farther out of their way?' " said April Rovero, whose son was 21 when he died. "Someone must have told them to go there."

Pharmacists are supposed to be a last line of defense against misuse of prescription medications. By law, they are required to scrutinize prescriptions, size up customers and refuse to dispense a drug when they suspect the patient has no medical need for it.

Some, however, provide massive amounts of painkillers and anti-anxiety drugs to addicts and dealers with no questions asked, according to state records, regulators and law enforcement officials.

Rogue pharmacists are key enablers of drug abuse and an important source of supply for the illegal market.

State officials who license and oversee pharmacies are overmatched by the scale of the problem.

Prescription drug abuse has increased sharply over the last decade, fueling a doubling of drug fatalities nationwide.

California's 42,000 pharmacists filled 318 million prescriptions last year.

Those for OxyContin, Dilaudid and other potent painkillers have increased 52% over the last five years, according to a review of prescription data collected by the state. The total dosage dispensed by pharmacies has also grown: by nearly 50%, the data show.

The task of identifying careless or corrupt pharmacists and initiating disciplinary action falls to 37 investigators for the California Board of Pharmacy.

"We are struggling to keep up because there are more pharmacies, more licensees, more places to go," said Virginia Herold, the agency's executive director. "We work really hard. But there's a limit to what we can do."

[roygrip]

Its so sad, now it's the rogue Drs and pharmacists selling the drugs to the addicts.

The article above is from my town, Los Angeles, Ca. The paper is the LA Times

[Deleted]

So great to see you Roy!

[roygrip]

;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

[roygrip]

Dec 31, 2012 6:21:32 GMT -5 @daphne87 said:

Good morning Roy! <<<waves>>>

[kent]

There's a special on NatGeo called Drugged. It's scheduled for a repeat viewing tomorrow, Sunday, Jan 6th at 6:00AM Pacific Time.

It's about a young man with a serious drinking problem and, while there have been many similar stories, I was particularly touched by this one.

If you choose to watch it, make sure you watch the entire thing - right up through the closing credits.

[roygrip]

Jan 5, 2013 11:56:52 GMT -5 kent said:

There's a special on NatGeo called Drugged. It's scheduled for a repeat viewing tomorrow, Sunday, Jan 6th at 6:00AM Pacific Time.

It's about a young man with a serious drinking problem and, while there have been many similar stories, I was particularly touched by this one.

If you choose to watch it, make sure you watch the entire thing - right up through the closing credits.

It's well done Kent. I've seen it, thank you for bringing it to our attention.

[roygrip]

Ginger Baker: 'I came off heroin something like 29 times'

Former Cream drummer Ginger Baker talks about his battle with heroin, how he was the original Rolling Stones drummer and being the subject of new documentary Beware of Mr Baker

Edward Helmore

The Observer, Saturday 5 January 2013 06.53 EST

Ginger Baker: 'I've lost everything many times.' Photograph: David Levene


In the 60s, when rock musicians bestrode the world like demigods, no one embodied the wildness of the job description more completely than Peter "Ginger" Baker. A jazz drummer by calling, Baker gained a reputation as the most uncontrollable musician on the scene – a cadaverous, red-headed giant with a reputation for belligerence, a heroin addict like his jazz heroes, a man with strings of girlfriends, a neglected wife, father of the rock drum solo and several children, and driver of a custom-built Jensen FF.

But Baker's natural musicality on the kit was a match for any musician. Jimi Hendrix came to Britain to pay tribute to Cream, comprising Baker, Eric Clapton and Jack Bruce. With the addition of Steve Winwood and Ric Grech, Baker and Clapton formed the short-lived Blind Faith; then came Baker's own Air Force, before he split for the home of the drum, west Africa, and into a musical partnership with the great Fela Kuti.

But after nearly four decades of wandering, from Hawaii to Jamaica, Italy to Colorado and South Africa to set up a polo school, the 73-year-old, Lewisham-born drummer – and the man once voted the rock star least likely to survive the 60s – is back in Britain and living in Kent. A recent tour of Japan with Ginger Baker's Jazz Confusion left him hospitalised with a serious respiratory infection and he's dogged by painful degenerative osteoarthiritis that has been aggravated by riding accidents. "I couldn't breathe. For a moment I thought I was dying," Baker, who is recuperating, told the Observer last week.

If it's grim in Kent, across the Atlantic Baker's fame is again in the ascendant. A new documentary, Beware of Mr Baker, is packing arthouse cinemas in New York and Los Angeles. It's been hailed as one of the most compelling rock documentary of recent years, and will be seen in the UK in the coming months.

Baker, who has been married four times, says he enjoyed the film in parts. "I've only seen it once. Some of it was okay, some wasn't. But I didn't make it," he says. But he reflects: "It's been an amazing rollercoaster ride. I've lost everything many times. A lot of people would have just given up." His most recent incarnation in the polo business collapsed after Baker sued the First National Bank of South Africa. "I won the case but it caused my financial ruin."

Baker may have found a worthy adversary in Jay Bulger, a novice documentary maker who visited him in South Africa under the pretence of being a reporter for Rolling Stone a decade ago. Baker is filmed clocking Bulger on the nose with his walking cane. "I had no choice," Baker says. "That was after a month of interviews, and I hate interviews. He was coming up with silly, stupid things I didn't want to do, like teaching some African kids how to play." For Bulger, the idea of capturing the drummer in a documentary was irresistible. "I was advised to stay clear of Ginger," he said recently. "I'd heard he was manic, dangerous, unapproachable. He sounded like Grendel from Beowulf."

Old bandmates, such as Jack Bruce – whom Baker physically attacked, precipitating the breakup of Cream – and Clapton contribute to the documentary. Asked if contemporaries such as John Bonham or Keith Moon ever measured up to Baker, Clapton is emphatic: "No. No. No. Different league. Completely."

Instead, Baker sought the recognition of heroes such as Elvin Jones, Max Roach, Phil Seamen and Art Blakey. Not Bonham or Moon? "Don't make me laugh," he says. "If it doesn't swing, it doesn't swing. There's lots of drummers with lots of technique. It doesn't matter how many beats you play, it's where you play them, and a lot of it is what you don't play." So what would have happened if Cream had stayed together?

"Cream only lasted as long as it did because it was successful," Baker says. "I was lucky to be part of a movement in which I was one of the major players."

"If truth be known," he continues, "I was the Stones' first drummer. We used to do the interval for Alexis Korner with Mick Jagger, who was like Korner's protege, and Brian Jones. I got on very well with Brian, so we formed a band. Then Charlie [Watts] left Alexis Korner so I could join, and I got Charlie into the Stones. But it was Brian who set the Stones on its path."

But Baker was never destined to stay in one place, or one band, for long. In retrospect, the foreign adventuring was largely a result of the heroin addiction he'd acquired as a jazz drummer in the London clubs of the late 1950s and early 1960s. "I don't have fond memories of it at all. To find you have to do something just to feel normal is not a good road. I got involved in 1960 when people were getting more than they were using on prescription and selling it. It was called a 'jack', one sixth of a gram of heroin in one tiny white pill." While others were dabbling – "Clapton was heading in that direction, but Eric's problem was alcohol, not heroin" – Baker was deep in the throes of addiction.

"Every time I went to Africa I got off," he recalls. "You have to get a good two years clear, and those two years are the most difficult. You reach a point where you can say 'no'. Then you say 'no' again. The third time a little thing goes off in your brain, 'I wish I'd said yes.' Then on the fourth time you just say 'yes' and you're back on it again. I came off something like 29 times." It wasn't until 1981, when he moved to Italy, that Baker kicked the drug for good. "That's when I got clear of it all. I moved to a little village in the middle of nowhere, where nobody spoke English. I got into olive farming. It was very rewarding, very hard work but very good therapy."

Perhaps it would have been easier to go to rehab? "No, no, no, no! There's only one person who can help an addict and that's an addict himself. The whole rehab thing is just a bloody con to make money and take advantage. The whole thing is nonsense." Baker has lost some of his physical power to age and infirmity, but he says: "With all my disabilities it's a miracle I can play at all, and I'm playing as well as ever. If I'm enjoying the music, that overrides everything. The pain goes away. But when I stop after a gig, having played an hour and a half, I'm thoroughly exhausted."

[roygrip]

Believe me..... If Ginger can do it.... ANYONE CAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[roygrip]

12 steps of recovery

In the first step Recovery my HP brought to me NEW HONESTY.

In the second step of Recovery my HP brought to me SURRENDER, and NEW HONESTY.

In the third step of Recovery my HP brought to me ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the fourth step of Recovery my HP brought to me HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the fifth step of Recovery my HP brought to me OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the sixth step of Recovery my HP brought to me WILLINGNESS, OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the seventh step of Recovery my HP brought to me FAITH, WILLINGNESS, OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the eighth step of Recovery my HP brought to me TOLERANCE, FAITH, WILLINGNESS, OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the ninth step of Recovery my HP brought to me PATIENCE, TOLERANCE, FAITH, WILLINGNESS, OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the tenth step of Recovery my HP brought to me HUMILITY, PATIENCE, TOLERANCE, FAITH, WILLINGNESS, OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the eleventh step of Recovery my HP brought to me UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, HUMILITY, PATIENCE, TOLERANCE, FAITH, WILLINGNESS, OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

In the twelfth step of Recovery my HP brought to me SHARING AND CARING, UNCONDITIONAL LOVE, HUMILITY, PATIENCE, TOLERANCE, FAITH, WILLINGNESS, OPEN-MINDEDNESS! HOPE, ACCEPTANCE, SURRENDER AND NEW HONESTY.

[roygrip]

From my sponsor:

Growth in Recovery

Today, I live by easy standards that carry me through each day in peace, enabling me to overcome the perils that my current reality and surroundings bring to me. Primarily, I live by faith. Faith that God will restore all that was lost in my addiction, and thereby continues to keep me secure and safe in the serenity that I've found. My anchor that has been holding me firm is the process of acceptance that has allowed me to tolerate those things that I cannot change. Becoming disturbed or aggravated over petty encumbrances will only inhibit and disrupt my ongoing growth. Acceptance has allowed me to become open-minded, and helps me to concentrate upon the things that will heighten my mental and spiritual growth, enabling me to develop a secure foundation, which will help me on my ongoing journey. I've arrived to the conclusion that if I permit negative influences to control my thoughts and actions, I would become defeated, and my growth would come to a stop.

My attitude and reactions to circumstances has a profound affect upon my state of mind. I've already decided to remain positive and optimistic, keeping my composure, and never to give up the serenity that I have found through the program of Narcotics Anonymous. I concentrate and reflect upon all principles, values, virtues, attitudes and feelings that will build up and strengthen my personal growth. I will not alleviate or stray from the chosen path that has been set before me, in which I now follow.

I am becoming aware of all circumstances and situations that will hold me back and hinder me from further growth and development. I am following the staircase to Heaven, never again to tread upon the downward, endless spiral that only leads to chaos, destruction and darkness. The light and knowledge that I've found is comforting, surrounding me with its brilliance, allowing me to live within the serenity that it produces.

I have learned to abandon all of my previous addictive behaviors that caused my deterioration and insanity, pulling me within their grips, eating away at my soul, further crushing any life left within me. I have now acquired the ability to sustain from all negative, degrading, unfruitful behaviors and thoughts. Each day I'm now able to awake to the marvelous Presence of the Light that God has bestowed upon me. I have adopted an allegiance to adjust and form into that Light and follow in the direction that it leads me. I approach each new step with exhilaration, and faith, confident that only good will unfold. I avoid all negativity around me, utilizing my protective arsenal to divert all things within and without that may disrupt my focus, or interrupt my peace of mind.

What motivates me and gives me strength in times of weakness and powerlessness is the comfort, joy and enrichment that serenity produces. I am completely aware that the absence of serenity would lead me to personal destruction and anguish. I automatically stray and avoid stress and disturbance; assured that by remaining focused I will arrive safely to my destination without flaw or hindrance.

The means to obtaining spiritual awareness is to remain focused on the present, living just for today, not to dwell in the past, or be held back by past failures; furthermore, not to worry about the future, for you know not what the future will bring. By living and growing in the present, I will be setting the stage for a successful and fulfilling future. I now refuse to allow affliction, stress, or doubt to creep in my thoughts. For it is said, "As you think, so you are." I strive to stay connected and to coexist with the endless energy that is within and without. Within me are no boundaries, I am becoming aware of the power of thought. I've learned to let go of the bondage that was connected to my old wounds. Now I've closed the wounds of my past, cleansing my character defects, and all destructive setbacks. Elements of doubt keep me bound, unable to move forward in my recovery.

Greater awareness is possible through the good-natured power of God. If we come to believe that we are in this world, now of this world then we will tap into the energy we need to receive instant awakening of the spirit, and hope that greater awareness is possible. I've personally come to believe that I am a spiritual being, who is having a human experience.

Daily, I continue letting go of old thinking patterns that hold me back, and hinder my forward progress. I am inspired to achieve greatness in my spiritual journey. I can now refuse to allow doubt to intrude. I now live by simple spiritual principles. Foremost, I don't allow conflict to interfere with my quiet, calm, peaceful, serene train of thought; furthermore, I remain focused upon the direction in which my heightened spiritual awareness is leading me. The trail left behind, up to this point, is gratefully left behind; it doesn't hold me back, or hinder my forward progress, or keep me bound. I am now Driven to spiritual maturity because I devote all of my energies to please and glorify the Divine Presence that surrounds me. The brilliancy of this Light that God has shown me clarifies my vision, and helps me to see the chosen path that has been set before me. I foresee great and wonderful things to come in this life with endless opportunities.

The armor that I now wear that God has given me is held together by faith, love, hope, joy, patience, perseverance, courage, strength, gratitude, sharing and caring, tolerance, and acceptance. Those simple spiritual principles are what keeps me abiding in serenity and moving forward in my recovery and personal growth. As I live in accordance with these principles, I am given the strength and inspiration needed to continue on the road to true peace, personal freedom, higher awareness and inner purity. The constant, ongoing renewal of my mind enables me to live an adventure full of new, exciting ways of living, living the N.A. way.

Because I have been connected with the program of Narcotics Anonymous, I was given the resources needed to achieve this new way of life that I now live. The program has given me hope, and confidence that the impossible is possible. I now have 36 years in recovery.My hope is that my experience, strength and hope will help my fellow addicts, and to possibly encourage all addicts to keep coming back because our Fellowship is awesome, and does work.

[ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ]

Good evening, Roy - I meant to ask last week after you posted if you had a nice Christmas and how your're doing - I see from your updates today, you're still going strong and staying on the right path.

Best wishes to you as you continue with each successful day.

[Jaguar]

Jan 6, 2013 21:01:06 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

Good evening, Roy - I meant to ask last week after you posted if you had a nice Christmas and how your're doing - I see from your updates today, you're still going strong and staying on the right path.

Best wishes to you as you continue with each successful day.

So absolutely

[roygrip]

Jan 6, 2013 21:01:06 GMT -5 ՏՇԾԵԵʅՏɧ_LԹՏՏʅҼ said:

Good evening, Roy - I meant to ask last week after you posted if you had a nice Christmas and how your're doing - I see from your updates today, you're still going strong and staying on the right path.

Best wishes to you as you continue with each successful day.

Thank you so much Lassie! Yes Christmas was wonderful. We had a very wonderful time. Our little pup Star is growing into a beautiful little girl in her own right, just over 5 months now, she goes to the "doggy park" with mommy and on hikes with me. Life is good

[Jaguar]

That's really good to hear Roy. They grow up so fast don't they ?

[roygrip]

Jan 6, 2013 21:11:33 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

That's really good to hear Roy. They grow up so fast don't they ?

Yes they do Sug! I hope all is well in your world, that you had a wonderful holiday!

[roygrip]

TRADITION FIVE

"Each group has but one primary purpose - to carry the message to the addict who still suffers."

In a group that is preoccupied with personal problems, the spirit may die back. The suffering we talk about in our meetings is the feeling of absolute hopelessness. Our new members are nervous over even allowing ourselves to seek help. Recovery seems so impossible that whatever help is available and whatever lengths we go to get it, we fear we will still come up short and be no better off. Like a lot of the lies that we fall prey to, we are the ones in the greatest danger. We get energy from helping others. Our new man or woman may with luck and grace stagger onward to a real meeting where caring and sharing are in evidence. We are the ones stuck with our silly games and our depleting supply of spiritual energy, aggressively taking matters once again into our own weary hands.

When we allow ourselves to be used as conduits of the love that originally attracted us to recovery, we are on safe ground. When we forget our role as caretakers and instruments of a loving God, it can seem like we have a lot at stake personally. We don't tend to recall that the supreme, all powerful, all loving creator of the universe is that one that is really protecting us. Going with God, we cannot lose. When we go back to actively listening not only to what is being said but what is not being said, we can, with prayer, begin to carry our message again. We are reminded where we come from and how much we wanted recovery in the beginning. We forget the pain of withdrawal the same way women forget the pain of childbirth. To stay clean, we help others who both remind us of our pain and help us hear the solutions we now have to share.

Complexity is not the key to doing better. Simplicity and surrender offer us a better platform on which to rebuild. This particularly applies to helping others get the help they need at our meetings. We care, we share, we know it works for us. We pass on what worked for us out of what we heard other share with us and our own experience. The message is not what we say. Anyone can "talk the talk." We carry the message by living in the solution to best of our ability. We welcome the addict to our group and we try to live, through our caring and sharing, the message of hope. I am being accepted until I can accept myself. I am being loved until I can love myself. The message that you are carrying to me is, "We love you. You are not along. We will help you. You can recover."

When we carry the message of recovery, we plant seeds, encourage growth and strengthen foundations. While we are carrying the message, addicts still suffering will continue to die in active addiction. Our group's focus is to carry the message, not the addict, not the addict's significant other, not the addict's children -- just the simple message of Narcotics Anonymous recovery. This message gets fragmented and clouded by ego and advice. It is necessary to maintain the spirit of unity in our message of recovery. None of us alone own the rights of Narcotics Anonymous and none of our ideas or opinions are the "best." We are individuals who come together to share the common bond of recovery. Our personal surrender speaks for itself when the group atmosphere is that of recovery, hope and strength. We can only keep what we have by giving it away. Our primary purpose is not respected when we become involved with outside issues or begin to compromise our spiritual principles. Newcomers keep us alive. They prevent our stagnation. We need to be nurtured and loved. Without surrendering to our 5th Tradition, we loose our purpose and die.

An addict shares, "The primary purpose of each group is to carry the message, not the mess. For me this tradition deals with the solutions of recovery that are continually facing each group and in turn each group member. We are not here to give consultation of financial, marriage or any other affairs. This tradition for me deals with the solution to the small wars of life that my disease escalates into major conflicts. I do not attend meetings to hear about what I am doing wrong, how I continue to do it wrong and how I am going to do it wrong again. I go to meetings to hear the message of recovery so that hopefully I will learn to do it, maybe not all that correctly, but in an appropriate manner next time. For me, this is what recovery is about. It is about striving for solutions instead of pondering on problems. This Tradition is written so that a newcomer who walks into the rooms hears about the solutions instead of the many other outside issues around today.

The primary purpose of NA is to carry the message to the addict who still suffers and this is what each of us must do if we are to continue to recover both as individuals and as a group. If we do not carry the NA message to the still suffering addicts, then we will loose our ability to attract new members. Without new members, NA will wither and die. Without NA, none of us has any chance to recover. It is said, time and again, that the newcomer is the lifeblood of NA; therefore it is no coincidence that one of the main themes through our literature states, "We can not keep what we have unless we give it away." To me this means that in order to stay clean, each of us a members of NA are obligated to do everything we can individually and, as a group, to see that the NA message reaches as many sick and suffering addicts as possible through group meetings, H&I, PI, or literature distribution. We are bound by the 5th tradition to get involved

[roygrip]

HEALING THE INNER DEMONS

I recently read an article that said the founders of the fellowship

would turn in their graves if they knew about the self focus that

plagued meetings these days.

It reminded me that the original idea of recovery was not to

blame others for what had happened to us but to take responsibility

for the harm that we had caused to others during our using.

I was subsequently reminded of the part in our basic text which

tells us that self obsession is the core of our disease. So much

these days we hear recovery coming from the point of view of

working on "myself". Healing "my inner child". "Bringing up

issues, looking at them, dealing with them" whatever that means

to you. Recovery begins to sound like it's all about self and what

we can get rather than about the fellowship and what we can

give. I bet if we did a study, there would be an inverse relationship

between the amount of time spent analyzing self and the

amount of time devoted to service.

I was at a meeting recently where a person 28 years clean said

"it doesn't matter how much I give back, the debt cannot be

repaid for what I have been given, so I will keep doing service".

He does lots of service and always has, even since he was new.

Then on the same night I heard a relative newcomer say "no one

holds their hand out to me, the old timers around here are not doing their job".

I think the old timers are doing their job, but I don't think that particular

newcomer is. I think the authors of the steps got it wrong

when they said "the only requirement for membership is the

desire to stop using". I think it should have said "the only

requirement for membership is the desire to stop using and to

keep what you have by giving it away. From the day we arrive in

NA we are our own responsibility. While we are not expected to

do it alone, no one else is going to do it for us. That newcomer

was thinking "where is mine?" Well it is out there, but he has to

go and find it him self with the love of the fellowship like the wind

at his back. He needs to give to receive as much as any old

timer does. We are all equal in this program.

From time to time I hear things like "I'm just not getting enough

out of this" I also recently heard someone say, "I am sick of the

same people being asked to share all the time" And again, it is

not uncommon to hear many different laments that imply people's

parents are the reason they used drugs. The common

theme in all these comments is a passive form of a victim mentality,

a lack of personal responsibility assuming that others

should be taking care of them, that they are empty units waiting

to be filled rather than genuine participants who are contributing

to the fellowship through their decisions and actions.

Meetings and recovery are the exact opposite of that. Taking full

responsibility and making recompense for the damage we have caused.

When we used, we lied stole and did whatever we could to get

stuff for ourselves. We had inner demons, secretive parts hidden

from the world. The attitude that "someone else will or

should supply it for me" needs to change inside. We confront it

more and more deeply as we go along. It makes sense now to

become self supporting with the loving boundaries of an NA community.

With the help of a loving God and other members we can meet

many of our own needs. Healing the inner demons is about giving

not receiving

[Jake 48]

Hello RG ;D

[Jaguar]

Jan 7, 2013 7:35:46 GMT -5 roygrip said:

Jan 6, 2013 21:11:33 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

That's really good to hear Roy. They grow up so fast don't they ?

Yes they do Sug! I hope all is well in your world, that you had a wonderful holiday!

All's really good in my world Roy, thanks for asking.

[roygrip]

Jan 8, 2013 7:33:11 GMT -5 @daphne87 said:

Hi Roy, Jake, everyone!

I went to an 11th Step Meditation Sunday night. I was great! And hard to do. But I managed to relax and even slept great that night. I think I'll have to try it again!

;D Good for you! Keep it up, it can only help

[roygrip]

Jan 7, 2013 19:51:49 GMT -5 Jaguar said:

Jan 7, 2013 7:35:46 GMT -5 roygrip said:

Yes they do Sug! I hope all is well in your world, that you had a wonderful holiday!

All's really good in my world Roy, thanks for asking.

;D ;D

[roygrip]

What got us into recovery?

What got us to recovery? Our spirit! What is our spirit? Is it that part
of us that has the instinct and will to survive and prosper? Our disease
wants to destroy that part of us at all cost. The reawakening of our
spirit through recovery can be exciting, inspiring, and frightening all
at the same time. It wants to live; it wants to prosper; it wants to
grow. But how does this happen? Our addiction is a wall that prevents us
from having conscious contact with the God of our choosing. Instead of
contact, we chose the total self-indulgence of our addiction. Getting
spiritually clean, we step beyond this wall.

Realizing we have a choice about using or recovering from the disease of
addiction is often the first and fundamental spiritual awakening.
Sometimes this is taken for granted. It is only in retrospect that this
realization becomes tangible. Our experience has shown us that our
Steps, prayer and meditation, and sharing with each other allows us to
grow. Sometimes this growth is painful. Letting go of the only way we
knew of living was painful. Fear of the unknown and blind faith doesn't
go together well, but we must go through it and let our spirit get in
tune with the spirit we call God. Basic living lets us move beyond some
of the simplistic problem areas that once overwhelmed us. By solving the
basic problems, we graduate to other problems. The vitality of ordinary
reality is essential for spiritual growth. Stagnation is the beginning
of regression into old patterns of thinking. Plato said, "I think,
therefore I am." Realistically, we are what we think. Addicts say, "I
think, therefore I am confused."

Living in the moment keeps us centered spiritually. If we surrender on a
daily basis, life is good. Diseased self-will has always led to a slow
painful death. We can think we are winning a war with life as we
accumulate things outwardly only to find ourselves unreasonably attached
to these things. Spiritual growth on a daily basis keeps us free.
Sincere thinking about God is a daily habit. We discover the power of
this when life tests us. Our redirected lives put us on a different
course and what is ahead for us is totally different from what we leave
behind. Our steps must be taken in the present and we cannot help
stepping on the ground that surrounds us on our way forward. The
unconditional love we give and accept among our fellow members, takes us
out of our self-preoccupation. We discover our new lives in the process
of giving away what was so freely given to us. Our new attitude and
behavior are the most sustaining changes that keep us from falling back
into our old patterns.
Our Tenth Step gives us a constant reminder to focus on
self-improvement. One of the first blessings we receive in recovery is a
new viewpoint. We identify with those who admit their need for help and
are willing to do something to benefit others. Our wrongs no longer
supply us with anything we need. They only cause us problems and
embarrassment in our newly awakened lives. Where we have gone wrong, we
are able to correct ourselves and make amends to those we have wronged
without letting the problems grow into massive concerns. By regularly
going over what we do and how we do it, we make steady inroads on the
type of behavior that used to typify us as addicts. But now, we are
clean addicts! The willingness to act, behave, and think in new ways is
crucial to our recovery. We accept that there are times when we may have
doubts about who we are or what we should be doing with our lives. We
could not remain as we were. By admitting fault and making amends
promptly, we keep the mistake or error from running its course and
causing even more trouble.

Our Eleventh Step allows us to enter into the world of spiritual reality
and accumulate real spiritual experience that we can use to guide us
past activities that used to waste our time and energy. We can explore
thoughts and feelings in ways that used to sound like science fiction.
We can aspire to and attain spiritual fitness that seems reserved for
people who were `better' than us. Prayer gives us a way to look
at what we're asking for. Prayer may open a hole in reality to let our
dream come through. It certainly opens our hearts to accept the dream if
it should come true. Meditation serves the place of prayer for many
members and allows us to take a walk with God inside or take a spiritual
excursion while conscious and wakeful of what is happening to us.
Meditation may come to refer to a whole new range of experiences instead
of sitting with our eyes closed and our legs crossed.

The Twelfth Step takes us from the internal struggle into the world of
application. We actively apply the principles we have been using in our
personal recovery to all areas of our life. Just as our world shrank in
active addiction, our world expands in recovery. We each get a steady
flow of new ideas to absorb, situations to deal with and demands to
satisfy. Carrying our message gives us a clear direction where we had
none. We can not avoid painful experiences entirely. They are part of
life. We can get better at dealing with them. Ours is a savage disease
of selfish pleasure. It betrays us by seduction, promising pleasure
while delivering pain . Just by knowing this, we have a chance.