The addiction recovery industry was rocked this week when Google announced that they have begun restricting ads for addiction treatment. “We found a number of misleading experiences among rehabilitation treatment centers that led to our decision,” Google spokeswoman Elisa Greene said…
Promise #8: Self Seeking will Slip Away
I have come to appreciate the depth of this particularly Promise. A picture that I love shows two scenes: one of Heaven and one of Hell. In Hell, everyone is seated at a table with grossly elongated spoons that they…
Promise #7: We Will Lose Interest in Selfish Things
Are men naturally self-centered? Sure. Are women? Yes, though they may express it differently. What does it even mean to be self-centered? Mostly, it seems to mean that we are human.
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
I got my first guitar when I was fifteen. I have always loved music. In fact, I am quite convinced that in the darker periods of my life, especially as a teenager, music saved my life. I spent a lot…
Promise #6: That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear
To say that many men who are addicted to alcohol and other drugs suffer from low self-esteem is an understatement. But what does that really mean? We talk about the egomaniac with the inferiority complex – a term with which…
It’s A Wonderful Life
I can’t go a year without watching It’s A Wonderful Life. Just the right touch of darkness with a powerful and indistinguishable glowing light to always carry us through. In many ways it is the perfect recovery movie. My heart goes out…
Promise #5: We Will See How Our Experience Can Benefit Others
The hallmark of Twelve-Step recovery is sharing our experience, strength, and hope. This, of course, implies that you have something worth sharing. Regardless of how I acted and how much people complimented me on my talent and skills, I often…
Promise #4: We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace
Dear Reader – In the past months I have been busy working on two my latest books and as a result I neglected to keep up with my blog. Thanks for your interest and for reading! I was seven years…
Promise #3: We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it
What man does not want to make peace with his past? How many of us enter recovery with a deep feeling of shame for how we have lived? How many of us are confused about what we have done and…
Promise #2: A New Freedom and A New Happiness
Promise #2: We are going to know a new freedom and a new happiness As a result of recovery, I am free to live my life the way I see fit and I do not have to let others or society –even my recovery community – tell me what that…
Promise #1: If we are painstaking about this phase of our development
When we are painstaking, or careful and diligent in our attempt, it means that through the pain, disappointment, and suffering we experience in the crucible of our recovery, we do not give up. We have some faith that this is…
We Don’t Crawl Before Anyone
Before we encounter the 9th Step Promises in the process of recovery, there is an important declaration: As God’s children we stand on our feet; we don’t crawl before anyone. I have always believed the Promises begin with this sentence. Why? Because in…
The Promises of Recovery
One of the chapters of my book that did not make the “final cut” was on The Promises – these golden words of the twelve step community that serve as a beacon to so many coming through the rooms of…