For four years, there was no Big Book, and there were no Steps.

<div dir="ltr" trbidi="on"> <span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: left;"><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MyNameIsBillWPoster.jpg" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="1989 movie about Bill W. and Dr. Bob" height="487" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/d/d9/MyNameIsBillWPoster.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="292" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 292px;">1989 movie about Bill W. and Dr. Bob (Photo credit: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MyNameIsBillWPoster.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a>)</span></span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">So said Dr. Bob. Dr. Bob also stated (as quoted in the Cofounders P -5 3 Pamphlet) that He didn't write the 12 Steps and had nothing to do with the writing of them. But he said he believed that the study and effort in the Bible enabled him to say that the basic ideas for the Steps came from the Bible.</span><div class="zemanta-related" style="margin-top: 20px; overflow: hidden;"> <h4 class="zemanta-related-title"> Related articles</h4> <ul class="zemanta-article-ul zemanta-article-ul-image" style="margin: 0; overflow: hidden; padding: 0;"> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2012/08/for-four-years-there-was-no-big-book.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_89_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2012/08/for-four-years-there-was-no-big-book.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">For four years, there was no Big Book, and there were no Steps.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-last-minute-change-in-printer.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/noimg_88_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-last-minute-change-in-printer.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The last minute change in the Printer's Manuscript eliminated God from the Steps.</a></li> <li class="zemanta-article-ul-li-image zemanta-article-ul-li" style="background: none; display: block; float: left; font-size: 11px; list-style: none; margin: 2px 10px 10px 2px; padding: 0; text-align: left; vertical-align: top; width: 84px;"><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-co-founders-of-aa-pamphlet-p-53-now.html" style="border-radius: 2px; box-shadow: 0px 0px 4px #999; display: block; padding: 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank"><img src="http://i.zemanta.com/109745507_80_80.jpg" style="border: 0; display: block; margin: 0; max-width: 100%; padding: 0; width: 80px;" /></a><a href="http://galatictours.blogspot.com/2012/08/the-co-founders-of-aa-pamphlet-p-53-now.html" style="display: block; height: 80px; line-height: 12pt; overflow: hidden; padding: 5px 2px 0 2px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">The Co-Founders of A.A. Pamphlet P-53 Now Available Online</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_h.png?x-id=5130e008-456e-4fbe-8781-d8d4b6d055ed" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div> </div>

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For four years, there was no Big Book, and there were no Steps.

1989 movie about Bill W. and Dr. Bob (Photo credit: Wikipedia) So said Dr. Bob. Dr. Bob also stated (as quoted in the Cofounders P -5 3 Pamphlet) that He didn't write the 12 Steps and had nothing to…

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Working a Twelve Step program when you’re not sure about God

<br /> <div> <br /> Coming to Believe:<br /> Working a Twelve Step program when you’re not sure about God<br /> </div> <h4>  </h4> <h4> The Spirit of Our Twelve Step Journey</h4> <br /> Some of us came into CoDA eager to begin our recovery only to trip immediately on the word “God.” We were told that CoDA is not a religious program; that we didn’t have to believe in any particular version of “God,” that we could choose a Higher Power of our own understanding, but still that word “God” was everywhere. “God grant me the serenity...,” “Admitted to God...’” “Humbly asked God...,” “as we remain open to God's will for us...,” “...to be that which God intended....”<br /> <br /> Although we were beginning to accept that we ourselves didn’t have the answer to our misery, it was still hard for some of us to swallow the idea that “God” was the answer. We may have just quietly refused to say “that word.” Or perhaps we grumbled that CoDA should do away with the word God altogether.<br /> <br /> If we were still resisting the “God talk,” we were still focusing on what was wrong outside of us rather than inside of us. We were still practicing our need to be right, our need to have others change in order to provide us with our sense of well-being. In short, we were still practicing our codependency.<br /> <br /> “Allow time for your spirituality to develop. It unfolds by itself as a result of working the Steps.”<br /> <h6> Co-Dependents Anonymous</h6> Newcomers Handbook<br /> <br /> Although we may have found it difficult to embrace the concept of a Higher Power as we began our recovery, we decided not to let that chase us away. Starting a Twelve Step program of recovery required honesty, openness, willingness, and no small amount of courage, but what did we have to lose? We had reached a point where we were willing to try anything, maybe even “the God stuff.”<br /> <br /> “The point was, that in the beginning of our time in CoDA, we became willing to entertain the possibility that there was Something that could do for us what we could not do for ourselves.”<br /> Co-Dependents Anonymous<br /> <h3> Twelve-Step Handbook</h3> <br /> Over time, those of us who stuck with the program began to find a way to deal the word “God” without feeling compelled to follow someone else’s definition or to make them follow ours. We came to see the word “God” as a sort of verbal shorthand for “power-greater-than-myself-of-my-own-understanding-that-restores-me-to-sanity.” Some “old timers” suggested we think of it as “Good Orderly Direction.” As we began to develop a concept of our own personal Higher Power, we found it no longer mattered what others called it. We found that what mattered was our own personal willingness to form a relationship with something greater than ourselves.<br /> <br /> Although a relationship with a Higher Power is the foundation of our recovery in CoDA, developing that relationship was a struggle for many of us. Fortunately we were not required to believe anything to get started. All we needed was an open mind.<br /> <br /> <h2> Getting to know our own Higher Power</h2> <br /> “Building our own concept of a Higher Power...our concept of a safe being can begin to take shape.”<br /> <h6> Co-Dependents Anonymous</h6> <h5> The CoDA Book-Chapter Two</h5> <br /> One thing we found helpful was learning about and letting go of those things we had used as our higher powers in our codependency. We had sought refuge in other people, in addictions, and in compulsively trying to control the world around us. We have had to accept that those behaviors cannot provide us with a true, lasting sense of security and well-being.<br /> <br /> Another thing we found helpful was to explore the concept of faith or trust. Trust did not come easy for most of us. For years we had put our trust in other people or in ourselves to “make things right.” Routinely, others let us down, or our own efforts failed. The program asked us to trust in a Higher Power, but we were not sure how. How could we really believe that a Higher Power would take care of us? We learned that faith was possible if we pointed our old thinking in a new direction.<br /> <br /> Most of us have faith that others will discover our unworthiness. We have faith that we deserve very little joy or peace. We have faith in the negative outcome and are rarely surprised when others disappoint us. In CoDA we can learn to embrace this faith we have developed and simply focus it in another direction – toward our recovery.”<br /> Co-Dependents Anonymous<br /> Making Choices<br /> <br /> Then came the task of deciding who or what exactly we could call our Higher Power.<br /> <br /> The CoDA Book, Chapter Two, suggests we make a list of characteristics that our Higher Power has or that we would like our Higher Power to have. The Steps may have helped us begin our list. We understood that our Higher Power would be something greater than ourselves that we could trust to restore our sanity (Step Two) and to care for our lives (Step Three). It would be something we could trust with our secrets (Step Five) and that would remove our shortcomings (Step Seven). It would be something we could deliberately make contact with for wisdom and guidance (Step Eleven).<br /> <br /> The forms we have chosen for our Higher Power are as varied as the individuals in CoDA.<br /> <br /> Some of us chose a beloved ancestor who had passed away.<br /> <br /> For others, a mystical being such as a wizard, goddess, angel, or mythical animal provided a Higher Power<br /> <br /> Some of us used the collective wisdom of our home group as our Higher Power or the Twelve Steps themselves.<br /> <br /> Some of us sought to strengthen our relationship with the Higher Power of our religion.<br /> <br /> Others sought to develop a relationship with the Higher Power of a different religion.<br /> <br /> Some of us turned to the power of nature or the forces of life or the universe.<br /> <br /> For some of us our Higher Power was a combination of several elements.<br /> <br /> We learned that the exact form of our Higher Power was not important. We were free to try out different forms over time and to choose what worked best for us. We found that just being willing to explore the idea of a Higher Power began to change our lives.<br /> <br /> As we became willing to stop incessantly trying to control the people and things around us, we felt less burdened. As we became willing to trust in the wisdom of a Higher Power, we began to experience our lives differently. Things that used to bother us no longer seemed so complicated. Life became less of a struggle.<br /> <br /> For many of us, coming to believe in a Higher Power required determined perseverance in the face of our own doubts and fears. Fortunately, ours is a program of progress, not perfection. We discovered that we could keep working the program without having an absolute conclusion or an exact answer as to what Higher Power is. All that was required was willingness to let go of our resistance and try to form an idea of a Higher Power that made sense to us.<br /> <br /> “The miracles of recovery unfold. Loving relationships with our Higher Power, ourselves and others improve and evolve. We begin to feel more assured that our deepest needs will be cared for.”<br /> <h6> Co-Dependents Anonymous</h6> <h5> The CoDA Book, Chapter Two</h5> <br /> Step Two assured us we would come to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore our sanity. Step Eleven reminded us that we would continue to seek to improve our conscious contact with that power throughout our recovery. The Steps guide us as we grow and evolve in our program, and our concept of our Higher Power is free grow and evolve with us.<br />

Working a Twelve Step program when you’re not sure about God

Coming to Believe: Working a Twelve Step program when you’re not sure about God   The Spirit of Our Twelve Step Journey Some of us came into CoDA eager to begin our recovery only to trip immediately …

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The unnamed woman meditation

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"> <span class="zemanta-img separator" style="clear: left;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26147864@N00/106592203" style="clear: left; display: block; float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="heal?" height="180" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/42/106592203_7d6587d066_m.jpg" style="border: none; font-size: 0.8em;" width="240" /></a><span class="zemanta-img-attribution" style="clear: both; float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; width: 240px;">heal? (Photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/26147864@N00/106592203" target="_blank">atomicity</a>)</span></span><span style="font-size: large;">The woman who reached out to Jesus, barely touching the hem of his garment, tested Jairus' patience and increased his anxiety. Jesus, don't you realize that my daughter's health is too critical to delay? And for whom are you lingering?! For this shameful woman! (my take on his thoughts) But, for the moment, he wasn't given any option. He simply had to wait on Jesus, his only hope.<br /><br />The unnamed woman....<br /><br />Penniless, having spent every last denarius on doctors, to no avail.<br /><br />Ceremonially unclean, just like every other Hebrew woman during her monthly period (Lev 15:19) yet, for her, a permanent state throughout these 12 harsh years.<br /><br />Shunned by the religious who would not sacrifice their own ceremonial purity through coming in contact with her (Lev 22:5).<br /><br />Burdened by the shame which had grown increasingly heavy, until she could bear it no more.<br /><br />She reached out to Jesus in desperation and faith. Though I don't dare to ask and would never ask him to touch me, perhaps if I could just touch his robe....<br /><br />She reached through the crowd and touched the hem of his garment, and felt his power move through her. Her physical healing was immediate, occurring before a word was spoken. Yet the shame held her still. "Who touched me?" Jesus insisted on knowing. Falling fearfully at his feet, she declared the reason for her daring act and confessed the healing she knew she had just experienced.<br /><br />Once her confession was made, the grace of healing was made complete. For Jesus' words applied balm to her soul, just as his unspoken power had done to her womb.<br /><br />"Daughter" Care, belonging, her shame cast away.<br /><br />"Your faith has made you well." Reinstated, no longer an outcast. Restored!<br /><br />"Go in peace." Her soul soared! Blessed by the Master. Her freedom gained. Filled with gratitude, hope and overwhelming joy.<br /><br />How I wish we knew this woman's name! Yet nameless she stands for countless others who are shrouded in shame.<br /><br />In a way unique to my journey, I can identify with the weariness of her struggle. I recognize the long road to wholeness and the longing to cast off the shame which has wrapped itself around me, threatening to steal my sense of self. The immediacy of the woman's healing and Jesus' tender affirmation encourages me that my own healing can also be complete and lasting.<br /></span><br /><a href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px"></a><br /> <div class="zemanta-pixie" style="height: 15px; margin-top: 10px;"> <a class="zemanta-pixie-a" href="http://www.zemanta.com/?px" title="Enhanced by Zemanta"><img alt="Enhanced by Zemanta" class="zemanta-pixie-img" src="http://img.zemanta.com/zemified_h.png?x-id=171a77c0-6af9-4982-9d8a-84a084c3571b" style="border: none; float: right;" /></a></div> </div>

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The unnamed woman meditation

heal? (Photo credit: atomicity)The woman who reached out to Jesus, barely touching the hem of his garment, tested Jairus' patience and increased his anxiety. Jesus, don't you realize that my daughter…

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During experiments on the axons of the Woods Hole squid (loligo pealei), we tested our cockroach leg stimulus protocol on the squid's chromatophores.

<p> </p><p> The results were both interesting and beautiful. The video is a view through an 8x microscope zoomed in on the dorsal side of the caudal fin of the squid. We used a suction electrode to stimulate the fin nerve. Chromatophores are pigmeted cells that come in 3 colors: Brown, Red, and Yellow. Each chromatophore is lined with up to 16 muscles that contract to reveal their color.<br /><br />Paloma T. Gonzalez-Bellido of Roger Hanlon's Lab in the Marine Resource Center of the Marine Biological Labs helped us with the preparation. You can read their latest paper at:<a title="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/08/13/rspb.2012.1374" dir="ltr" rel="nofollow" href="http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/08/13/rspb.2012.1374" target="_blank">http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2012/08/13/rspb.2012.1374<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/G-OVrI9x8Zs" frameborder="0"></iframe></a></p>

During experiments on the axons of the Woods Hole squid (loligo pealei), we tested our cockroach leg stimulus protocol on the squid's chromatophores.

  The results were both interesting and beautiful. The video is a view through an 8x microscope zoomed in on the dorsal side of the caudal fin of the squid. We used a suction electrode to stimulate th…

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STAR WARS DETOURS™ Trailer

<p><iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/-yRNXFhboBI" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>

STAR WARS DETOURS™ Trailer

…

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The nine people believed injured by stray police gunfire outside the Empire State Building were not the first to learn how dangerous a crowded street can be in a gunfight.

<p> Civilians occasionally find themselves in harm's way when officers use deadly force, though usually only a handful of times annually. When that happens, a rigid process of investigation is set in motion — and the police department can reasonably expect a lawsuit. The latest episode came when police say a man disgruntled over losing his job a year ago shot a former colleague to death and pointed his weapon at two police officers in the shadow of a major tourist attraction. He apparently wasn't able to fire before police killed him, one firing off seven rounds and the other nine. Bystanders suffered graze wounds, and some were struck by concrete gouged from buildings by the bullets, authorities said. At least one person said he was actually hit by a bullet. Robert Asika, a 23-year-old tour guide who was hit in the right arm, said he was "100 percent positive" he was shot by a police officer. A witness told police that laid-off clothing designer Jeffrey Johnson fired at officers, but ballistics evidence so far contradicts that, authorities said.</p>

The nine people believed injured by stray police gunfire outside the Empire State Building were not the first to learn how dangerous a crowded street can be in a gunfight.

 Civilians occasionally find themselves in harm's way when officers use deadly force, though usually only a handful of times annually. When that happens, a rigid process of investigation is set in mot…

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Surrender is a simple act of will.

<p>What do you do when you pray? O Lord manage me, for I cannot manage myself. That we are so in touch with the Holy Spirit that he can give us at that moment a message that is accurate and adequate. . . . Surrender is a simple act of will. What do we surrender? Our life. When? At a certain definite moment. How? Oh God, manage me because I cannot manage myself. (Dick B., Anne’s Journal, 20)</p>

Surrender is a simple act of will.

What do you do when you pray? O Lord manage me, for I cannot manage myself. That we are so in touch with the Holy Spirit that he can give us at that moment a message that is accurate and adequate. . .…

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Tracking a Rare Tattoo-Related Infection

<h1>A Trail of Ink: Tracking a Rare Tattoo-Related Infection</h1><div id="storyText"><div id="media"><img alt="PHOTO: Tattoo ink skin infection" border="0" height="360" src="http://a.abcnews.com/images/Health/ht_tattoo_ink_skin_infection_ll_120822_wg.jpg" width="640" /><div><div><div id="main_cap_short"><div>An uncommon skin infection led to a doctor's investigation into tainted tattoo ink. (Monroe County Health Department)</div></div></div></div></div><div id="mediaplayerContainer"><div id="mediaplayer">The reddish-purple rash, seemingly woven into the tattoo on a 20-year-old New Yorker's forearm, was strange enough to have doctors scratching their heads.</div></div><p>This trail began when the man received a tattoo in Rochester, N.Y. in October 2011. A short while later, he noticed the raised, bumpy rash. He called his primary care physician.</p><p>Doctors initially treated the man's arm with topical steroids, thinking that the rash was allergic-contact dermatitis. But that only made the problem worse.</p><p>By the time dermatologist Dr. Mark Goldgeier saw the patient, it was clear that this was no simple allergy.</p><p>He performed a skin biopsy so he could take a closer look at the rash under a microscope. What he saw was startling: the sample was riddled with a wormlike bacterium related to tuberculosis.</p><p>"I explained [to the patient] that he had TB, and he had a look of horror on his face," Goldgeier said.</p><p>For the patient, the finding meant a trip to an infectious disease specialist to start up to a full year of treatment.</p><p>Goldgeier, meanwhile, called the Monroe County Health Department.</p><p>"As soon as biopsy came back," he said, "I knew something in the process of tattooing was involved -- the ink, the water used for dilution, the syringes, the dressings."</p><p>And so began a nationwide medical mystery.</p><div id="rel_2"><div>An article published Wednesday in the New England Journal of Medicine describes how this one dermatologist helped connect the dots in an outbreak of tattoo-related atypical skin infections.</div></div><p>Dr. Byron Kennedy, public health specialist at Monroe County Department of Public Health, took over the case from Goldgeier. Kennedy first confirmed the results by repeating a skin biopsy on the patient. Once again, tendrils of mycobacterium chelonae, a type of tuberculosis-related skin bacteria, showed up in the sample.</p><p>Mycobacterium chelonae is a rapidly growing bug found in soil, dust, water, animals, hospitals, and contaminated pharmaceuticals. This family of bacteria does not commonly affect healthy individuals, but in patients with suppressed immune systems -- like those with HIV or on chemotherapy -- these bacteria can cause serious disease, often resulting in death.</p><p>The finding sent Kennedy and his associates to the tattoo parlor where the patient had been inked. Everything in the clinic was sterile, which made it unlikely that the infection had arisen there. But the tattoo artist, they learned, had been using a new gray premixed ink purchased in Arizona in April 2011; he used the ink between May and December 2011.</p><p>The ingredients of the ink -- pigment, witch hazel, glycerin, and distilled water -- seemed innocuous enough. But further examination revealed that the distilled water in the pigment was the likely culprit of the contamination.</p><p>The finding raised a number of questions -- not the least of which was how the bottles of premixed ink passed U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations.</p><p>The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention acknowledged this gap in regulations Wednesday in its Morbidity and Mortality Weekly report.</p><p>"Under the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, tattoo inks are considered to be cosmetics, and the pigments used in the inks are color additives requiring premarket approval," the report says.</p></div>

Tracking a Rare Tattoo-Related Infection

A Trail of Ink: Tracking a Rare Tattoo-Related InfectionAn uncommon skin infection led to a doctor's investigation into tainted tattoo ink. (Monroe County Health Department)The reddish-purple rash, se…

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Armed gang fight breaks out in Venezuelan prison

<p>Twenty-five people were killed and 43 others hurt in a prison battle in Venezuela as two armed gangs vied for control of a penitentiary near Caracas, authorities said on Monday.</p>

Armed gang fight breaks out in Venezuelan prison

Twenty-five people were killed and 43 others hurt in a prison battle in Venezuela as two armed gangs vied for control of a penitentiary near Caracas, authorities said on Monday.…

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Addiction Books For relaxation When 50 Shades of Grey doesn’t cut it.

<p><h3></h3><div></div><div class="post-body entry-content" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, serif; background-color: #ffffff;"><div><img alt="" border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8COOKT2Jp5BRqvy4CVPb7rynZQ2DB7yBxuhHZB5dIu8AsLVgZNzjLQd-mRjDa2nUQbf1MSe1J3esDoQneyrfEGGyvfj04qPHhG7wxmI0OOpTP9RoB7jRc0iEa3HsVYOIpwNuC7RmQLi13/s400/reading+on+beach+03.jpg" width="400" /></div><br /><br />The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment <br /><br />Carlton K. Erickson<br />312 pages <br />Publisher: W. W. Norton and Company (2007)<br /><br />Amazon Overview: Neuroscience is clarifying the causes of compulsive alcohol and drug use––while also shedding light on what addiction is, what it is not, and how it can best be treated––in exciting and innovative ways. Current neurobiological research complements and enhances the approaches to addiction traditionally taken in social work and psychology. However, this important research is generally not presented in a forthright, jargon-free way that clearly illustrates its relevance to addiction professionals. In The Science of Addiction, Carlton K. Erickson presents a comprehensive overview of the roles that brain function and genetics play in addiction.<br /><br /><br />The Addiction Solution: Unraveling the Mysteries of Addiction through Cutting-Edge Brain Science<br /><br />David Kipper and Steven Whitney<br />304 pages<br />Publisher: Rodale Books (2010)<br /><br />For decades addiction has been viewed and treated as a social and behavioral illness, afflicting people of “weak” character and “bad” moral fiber. However, recent breakthroughs in genetic technology have enabled doctors, for the first time, to correctly diagnose the disease and prove that addiction is an inherited, neuro-chemical disease originating in brain chemistry, determined by genetics, and triggered by stress. In their groundbreaking Addiction Breakthrough, David Kipper, MD, and Steven Whitney distill these exciting findings into a guide for the millions of adults who want to be free from the cycle of addiction, and for their loved ones who want to better understand it and to help.<br /><br /><br />In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts: Close Encounters with Addiction<br /><br />Gabor Maté<br />520 pages <br />Publisher: North Atlantic Books (2010) <br /><br />Based on Gabor Maté’s two decades of experience as a medical doctor and his groundbreaking work with the severely addicted on Vancouver’s skid row, In the Realm of Hungry Ghosts radically reenvisions this much misunderstood field by taking a holistic approach. Dr. Maté presents addiction not as a discrete phenomenon confined to an unfortunate or weak-willed few, but as a continuum that runs throughout (and perhaps underpins) our society; not a medical "condition" distinct from the lives it affects, rather the result of a complex interplay among personal history, emotional, and neurological development, brain chemistry, and the drugs (and behaviors) of addiction. Simplifying a wide array of brain and addiction research findings from around the globe, the book avoids glib self-help remedies, instead promoting a thorough and compassionate self-understanding as the first key to healing and wellness. <br /><br /><br />Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines his Former Life on Drugs <br /><br />Marc Lewis<br />336 pages <br />Publisher: PublicAffairs (2012)<br /><br />Marc Lewis’s relationship with drugs began in a New England boarding school where, as a bullied and homesick fifteen-year-old, he made brief escapes from reality by way of cough medicine, alcohol, and marijuana. In Berkeley, California, in its hippie heyday, he found methamphetamine and LSD and heroin. He sniffed nitrous oxide in Malaysia and frequented Calcutta’s opium dens. Ultimately, though, his journey took him where it takes most addicts: into a life of addiction, desperation, deception, and crime. But unlike most addicts, Lewis recovered and became a developmental psychologist and researcher in neuroscience. In Memoirs of an Addicted Brain, he applies his professional expertise to a study of his former self, using the story of his own journey through addiction to tell the universal story of addictions of every kind.<br /><br /><br />The Chemical Carousel: What Science Tells Us About Beating Addiction<br /><br />Dirk Hanson<br />472 pages <br />Publisher: BookSurge (2009)<br /><br />A book for anyone concerned with the care and healing of addiction, substance abuse, and the latest advances in the area of addiction science. In The Chemical Carousel, science writer Hanson takes the reader on a voyage through the heady world of addiction science, from the lab to the clinic to the junky on the street. Hanson explains the workings of common neurotransmitters and documents the direct effect drugs and alcohol produce on the reward pathways of the brain. He shows how scientists and treatment professionals have finally given us an answer to the perennial question about addiction: Why can't those people just say no?<br /><br /><br />An Anatomy of Addiction: Sigmund Freud, William Halsted, and the Miracle Drug, Cocaine<br /><br />Howard Markel<br />336 pages <br />Publisher: Vintage (2012)<br /><br />Acclaimed medical historian Howard Markel traces the careers of two brilliant young doctors--Sigmund Freud, neurologist, and William Halsted, surgeon--showing how their powerful addictions to cocaine shaped their enormous contributions to psychology and medicine. When Freud and Halsted began their experiments with cocaine in the 1880s, neither they, nor their colleagues, had any idea of the drug's potential to dominate and endanger their lives. An Anatomy of Addiction tells the tragic and heroic story of each man, accidentally struck down in his prime by an insidious malady: tragic because of the time, relationships, and health cocaine forced each to squander; heroic in the intense battle each man waged to overcome his affliction.<br /><br /><br />How to Change Your Drinking: a Harm Reduction Guide to Alcohol<br /><br />Kenneth Anderson<br />86 pages <br />Publisher: CreateSpace (2010)<br /><br />This book is the first comprehensive compilation of harm reduction strategies aimed specifically at people who drink alcohol. Whether your goal is safer drinking, reduced drinking, or quitting alcohol altogether, this is the book for you. It contains a large and detailed selection of harm reduction tools and strategies which you can choose from to build your own individualized alcohol harm reduction program. There are many practical exercises to help people change their behaviors, including risk-ranking worksheets, drinking charts, goal choice worksheets, and many more. There are also innumerable practical tips from folks who "have been there" and have turned their drinking habits around for the better. <br /><br /><br />Rethinking Substance Abuse: What the Science Shows, and What We Should Do about It<br /><br />William R. Miller and Kathleen M. Carroll<br />320 pages <br />Publisher: Guilford Press (2010) <br /><br />While knowledge on substance abuse and addictions is expanding rapidly, clinical practice still lags behind. This state-of-the-art book brings together leading experts to describe what treatment and prevention would look like if it were based on the best science available. The volume incorporates developmental, neurobiological, genetic, behavioral, and social–environmental perspectives. Tightly edited chapters summarize current thinking on the nature and causes of alcohol and other drug problems; discuss what works at the individual, family, and societal levels; and offer robust principles for developing more effective treatments and services.<br /><br /><h3>Writers On The Edge: 22 Writers Speak About Addiction and Dependency</h3>Diana Raab and James Brown<br />204 pages<br />Publisher: Modern History Press (2012)<br /><br />Writers On The Edge offers a range of essays, memoirs and poetry written by major contemporary authors who bring fresh insight into the dark world of addiction, from drugs and alcohol, to sex, gambling and food. Editors Diana M. Raab and James Brown have assembled an array of talented and courageous writers who share their stories with heartbreaking honesty as they share their obsessions as well as the awe-inspiring power of hope and redemption. Frederick & Steven Barthelme, Kera Bolonik, Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, Maud Casey, Anna David, Denise Duhamel, B.H. Fairchild, Ruth Fowler, David Huddle Perie Longo, Gregory Orr, Victoria Patterson, Molly Peacock, Scott Russell Sanders, Stephen Jay Schwartz, Linda Gray Sexton, Sue William Silverman, Chase Twichell, and Rachel Yoder<br /><br /><br /></div></p>

Addiction Books For relaxation When 50 Shades of Grey doesn’t cut it.

The Science of Addiction: From Neurobiology to Treatment Carlton K. Erickson312 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton and Company (2007)Amazon Overview: Neuroscience is clarifying the causes of compulsive alc…

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WHEN YOUR HIGHER POWER FAILS YOU

<p>It happens every time. Without fail. Without exception. I bet it's happened to you also. Just think about it. How often has your god failed you? Every single time. Every single time I have turned a human being into a god, or turned something man-made into an idol, or placed my trust, expectation, hope, and confidence in anything else but the one true God, my god has failed me. Some people are slow learners. I am one of them. I have made the same mistake countless times. And every single time, that's right, you've got it. It happens every time. Maybe I should be more careful when I place my trust, expectation, hope, and confidence in a human being. Maybe I should be more choosy with the human I choose. Not so. No matter the human, the same outcome will arise. My god will fail me. I did it again recently. I made the same mistake. But my mistake wasn't the human I chose. My mistake was the choice I made to pick a human. And guess what happened? You guessed it. My god failed me. But how can this happen, time and again? Easily. First, it happens when I fail to remember when I need not to forget. Never, ever, place what belongs to God in heaven in the hands of a human. My love and trust, my loyalty and faithfulness, my belief and confidence, my hope and expectation, must be placed in the Lord first and foremost, above all and everyone else - whether it be someone or something else, or whether it be myself. Second, it happens not because I forget, but because I don't realize and recognize what I have done. Hard habits sometimes die slowly, don't they? And slow habits die hard. It has been a hard lesson for me, and I have to be vigilant to ensure I don't unconsciously do what I have so often done. So what is the outcome of this all? My gods fail me. Every human I have ever made into a god, every person or thing I have ever turned into an idol, the result has always been the same. My false gods have failed me, hurt me, let me down, forsaken me, abandoned me, rejected me, broken me, fallen short, messed up, and a zillion other things. Seriously? Yes. Will the real God please stand up?</p>

WHEN YOUR HIGHER POWER FAILS YOU

It happens every time. Without fail. Without exception. I bet it's happened to you also. Just think about it. How often has your god failed you? Every single time. Every single time I have turned a hu…

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Researchers completing a new study on alcohol consumption have discovered that college-age students who binge drink are happier than those who don't.

<p><p id="yui_3_5_1_21_1345507711715_348"> </p><p id="yui_3_5_1_21_1345507711715_343">Those who engaged in binge drinking tend to belong to so-called high-status groups: wealthy, white, male and active in fraternity life. And those who did not belong to the high-status groups could achieve similar levels of social acceptance through the act of binge drinking. In fact, the study results suggest that students engaged in the heavy drinking practice to elevate their social status amongst peers rather than to alleviate depression or anxiety.</p><p id="yui_3_5_1_21_1345507711715_349">"The present study offers another insight into the nature of a seemingly intractable social problem," the study released on Monday reads. "It is our hope that by drawing attention to the important social motivations underlying binge drinking, institutional administrators and public health professionals will be able to design and implement programs for students that take into account the full range of reasons that students binge drink."</p><p id="yui_3_5_1_21_1345507711715_350">The Washington Post reports that the study's co-author and Colgate University associate professor Carolyn Hsu presented some of the findings during the American Sociological Association gathering in Denver last week.</p><p id="yui_3_5_1_21_1345507711715_351">Interestingly, the study results compiled from surveying 1,600 college students also continues to support past evidence suggesting that binge drinking leads to a number of problems affecting the mind and body, including alcoholism, violence, poor grades and risky sexual behavior.</p><p>"I would guess it has to do with feeling like you belong and whether or not you're doing what a 'real' college student does," Hsu told LiveScience. "It seems to be more about certain groups getting to define what that looks like."</p><p>Binge drinking was defined as consuming more than four drinks in one occasion for women and more than five drinks for men. Sixty-four percent of respondents said they had engaged in the practice, compared with 36 percent who said they had not.</p><p id="yui_3_5_1_21_1345507711715_374">Those statistics differ from similar evidence gathered by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC's statistics measure binge drinking in the same quantity but limit the consumption period to two hours or fewer. Its results also found that the majority of binge drinkers (70 percent) were over the age of 26. The CDC has also found that 90 percent of alcohol consumed by people under the age of 21 is done in the form of binge drinking, compared with 75 percent among all U.S. adults.</p></p>

Researchers completing a new study on alcohol consumption have discovered that college-age students who binge drink are happier than those who don't.

 Those who engaged in binge drinking tend to belong to so-called high-status groups: wealthy, white, male and active in fraternity life. And those who did not belong to the high-status groups could ac…

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The Five Keys to Mindful Communication

<p>The first key of mindful communication, according to Chapman (2012), is having amindful presence. This means having an open mind, awake body and a tender heart. When you have a mindful presence, you give up expectations, stories about yourself and others, and acting on emotions.</p><p>You are fully in the present moment; your communication isn’t focused on the “me” and what the “me” needs, but the we.</p><p>Mindful listening is the second key to mindful communication. Mindful listening is about encouraging the other person. This means looking through the masks and pretense and seeing the value in the person and the strengths he or she possesses. It’s looking past the human frailties and flaws that we all have to see the authentic person and the truth in what that person is attempting to say.</p><p>Mindful speech, the third key, is about gentleness. Speaking gently means being effective in what you say. It’s about speaking in a way that you can be hard. To be gentle with our speech means being aware of when our own insecurities and fears are aroused to the point we are acting out of fear rather than acceptance.</p><p>Practicing self-compassion for our fear, envy, jealousy and self-doubts is more effective than focusing on others as being a threat or attempting to change them. When you use gentle speech, you are communicating acceptance to the other person and saying what is true, not an interpretation or an exaggeration or a minimization.</p><p>The key to mindful relationships is unconditional friendliness. Unconditional friendliness means accepting the ebb and flow of relationships. Sometimes you meet new friends, sometimes friends move on, sometimes there is joy and sometimes there is pain. Sometimes you’ll feel lonely, sometimes you’ll feel cherished and connected, and then you’ll feel lonely again.</p><p>Unconditional friendliness means that your acceptance of others is not dependent on them staying with you or agreeing with you. You don’t cling to relationships to avoid loss.</p><p>Mindful responsiveness is like playfulness.  Playfulness is the openness that you can have when you let go of preconceived ideas and strategies. It’s like creating something new. Imagine two skilled dancers who alternatively lead each other in creating a new dance in every interaction, never doing the same complete dance over and over. They respond in the moment to the message sent by the other. There are no rules or expectations and yet they both bring skillful behavior.</p><p>Mindful communication requires practice. If you choose to practice the keys, you might choose to focus on one at a time. Being willing to regulate your emotions is a prerequisite to mindful communication and mindfulness of your emotions is necessary for emotion regulation.</p><p>Mindfulness is a core skill for the emotionally sensitive.</p><p> </p><p>References</p><p><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=dreawarrreco-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1590309413" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><p>Chapman, Susan Gillis. The Five Keys to Mindful Communication:  Using Deep Listening and Mindful Speech to Strengthen Relationships, Heal Conflicts and Acceomplish Your Goals. Boston: Shambhala, 2012.</p>

The Five Keys to Mindful Communication

The first key of mindful communication, according to Chapman (2012), is having amindful presence. This means having an open mind, awake body and a tender heart. When you have a mindful presence, you g…

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Soul to Soul Parenting believes that a spiritually conscious family is a wide-awake and fully conscious family

<p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;">Annie Burnside's <em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Soul to Soul Parenting </em>is a very informative and inspiring book written by a soul nurturer. The reader will be moved to be more nurturing to others after reading this wonderful book, and experience a conscious connection with one's truth. This can help an individual cultivate authentic relationships and experiences both within the family and in the world.</p><p><iframe src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?lt1=_blank&bc1=000000&IS2=1&bg1=FFFFFF&fc1=000000&lc1=0000FF&t=dreawarrreco-20&o=1&p=8&l=as4&m=amazon&f=ifr&ref=ss_til&asins=1936214148" style="width:120px;height:240px;" scrolling="no" marginwidth="0" marginheight="0" frameborder="0"></iframe></p><p><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;">This book is written primarily for parents who want to show their kids how to be conscious and authentic by living a happy, peaceful life themselves. This isn't always easy to do given our quick, ready-made, highly unconscious culture.</p><p><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;">Our culture celebrates being social, always busy, technologically connected, and distracted. Burnside invites families to be very different. She believes that a spiritually conscious family is a wide-awake and fully conscious family. And throughout the book, she shows families how to become fully conscious.</p><p><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;"><em style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-style: inherit; font-family: inherit; vertical-align: baseline;">Soul to Soul Parenting</em> is a guidebook for parents using modern, everyday realities and life-affirming themes such as focus on soul to soul instead of role to role, oneness, self-love, boundaries, authenticity, joy and gratitude.</p><p><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;">One of the most important things that parents must create is an atmosphere of openness with their kids, in which honest communication is fostered and upheld constantly. In other words, Burnside invites parents to become the spiritual leaders of their family. However, spiritually conscious parenting is a lifetime process that requires the development of trust, love, patience, and acceptance.</p><p><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;">I loved the book from beginning to end. Every parent and adolescent should read this book. What a hopeful book in today's trying times.</p><p><br style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 19px;" /></p><p style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;">This is not a book the reader will be able to read in one sitting. Instead, it is a book that should be read and then reread. It's a book that will nourish the souls of every reader. All the reader has to do is to take in all the messages in the book. After reading the book, parents will be able to blaze a spiritual path for their family that will continue for years to come.</p><p><span style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px; border: 0px; font-size: 13px; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; vertical-align: baseline; line-height: 19px;"></p><p></span></p>

Soul to Soul Parenting believes that a spiritually conscious family is a wide-awake and fully conscious family

Annie Burnside's Soul to Soul Parenting is a very informative and inspiring book written by a soul nurturer. The reader will be moved to be more nurturing to others after reading this wonderful book, …

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True guilt is guilt at the obligation one owes to oneself to be oneself.

<br />True guilt is guilt at the obligation one owes to oneself to be oneself. False guilt is guilt felt at not being what other people feel one ought to be or assume that one is. Moderate feelings of guilt are beneficial because they encourage the individual to do the right thing<br /><br /><br />The Scottish psychologist R.D. Laing once said: True guilt is guilt at the obligation one owes to oneself to be oneself. False guilt is guilt felt at not being what other people feel one ought to be or assume that one is. Moderate feelings of guilt are beneficial because they encourage the individual to do the right thing. If nobody felt guilty about anything it would likely lead to a fearful world and it could even threaten the survival of the human species. There is also a more negative form of guilt which is excessive and harmful. This refers to a situation where the individual carries a sense of guilt around with them most of the time. The reasons for why the individual may become a victim of excessive guilt include: They have a poor self image. It can be a sign of mental health difficulties. Some people fall into negative thinking and this tends to include guilt. The individual has been a victim of physical or sexual abuse. Unhealthy relationships can leave people with feelings of guilt. Excessive stress. Alcohol or drug abuse.

True guilt is guilt at the obligation one owes to oneself to be oneself.

True guilt is guilt at the obligation one owes to oneself to be oneself. False guilt is guilt felt at not being what other people feel one ought to be or assume that one is. Moderate feelings of guilt…

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