Message to the Recovery Community:

Here is a message the recovery community may like:

Terry Orr Jax: It is very common in addiction circles to disregard the value of self knowledge: "the actual or potential alcoholic, with hardly an exception, will be absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge" - Alcoholics Anonymous page 39. We also frequently hear (and see written on our chips) "to thine own self be true". In my article, I was merely pointing out, that in order to be true to ourselves, we must first know ourselves (self-knowledge).

Real self-knowledge at the deepest level, will inevitably reveal the roots of addiction within us. This was the great gift that Buddha gave the world. It has nothing to do with religion or belief in God. One of the primary contributions of A.A. is that it teaches people the value of living a moral life with honesty toward ourselves and others. For many, this is enough to overcome the self-hatred and blame of situations and circumstances and has set many an addict on the path to recovery. However, for some of us (around 80% even by A.A. calculations), this is not enough by itself.

I highly recommend taking a 10-day Vipassana meditation course. It is not easy by any means (as I'm sure Ron will attest), but the earnest person will be willing to do whatever it takes to break the viscous cycle. There is absolutely no way I or anyone else can convey the value of stilling the mind and listening to what our bodies are screaming for us to acknowledge.

Most people have no idea what is going on in their own bodies every single moment. It is only by learning to "listen" that we come to realize at the experiential level the constant, subtle vibrations occurring in us every moment. These vibrations are the result of mind flowing into matter and they are responsible for our misery and our happiness.

MaryRose Winkler Page 39: We also frequently hear (and see written on our chips) "to thine own self be true". In my article, I was merely pointing out, that in order to be true to ourselves, we must first know ourselves (self-knowledge).

WOW so the denial is even deeper than I thought Ron? WOW, they even deny the teachings of the very same program they USE / we USE as a cover up for justification WOW

I had an addict once tell me this about 10 years ago, she said YES that the life most "hard core" addicts lead IS based on JUSTIFICATION in all instanteous because really the goal is to feel the illusion of the ego that is in control to get away with FEEDING this DENIAL of their own existence, in essence

THEY ARE NOT BEING true TO THINE OWN SELF,.. FANTASTIC ARTICLE! THANK YOU I am going to put this in the files so when I see a "justification" I can refer to page 39 thank you! Ron Alexander

 

Ron Alexander Those 23 days of silence (ten, ten and 3) were really eye-opening on my toxic resentments, which I have learned to accept unconditionally and let go, thanks MaryRose!

 

Jax Byrne Mmm, I still question the whole idea of 'self knowledge' as a panacea for addiction: Albert Einstein — 'Problems cannot be solved with the same mind set that created them.'

Ron Alexander Jax Byrne: Fair counterpoint - Terry Orr?

 

Terry Orr Ron, Jax: This is like saying "I am a liar, or a thief, or I commit adultery, but I guess there's nothing I can do about it, because, after all, I am the one who is creating the problem Whereas, I suspect Einstein was referring to the idea that when we are locked into perception of a problem, we automatically close ourselves to the solution. When we let go of the problem, the solution is able to come through