Best of the week from Choose Help Too Smart for AA? Don't Overthink It - Make Changes and Have Faith in the Process Early recovery is a difficult time. We must keep it simple and have an open mind, if we are to find our way to a better life. Too smart for AA? Here's why it's important to have an open mind in early recovery.  There is an expression in AA that we've never met anyone too dumb to get this program but we have met people too smart to get it. In his book, “The Thinking Person's Guide to Sobriety”, Bert Pluymen shares the pitfalls of being a very smart alcoholic seeking recovery. As is most often the case with addiction, the truth is counterintuitive: Being highly intelligent and possessing keen critical thinking skills were a hindrance when it came to getting sober, staying sober, and changing his life. Despite being a celebrated attorney, the best asset in Pluymen’s early recovery was his sponsor – a janitor with a 4th grade education. This is one of the most amazing things about AA – it brings together people from every walk of life.  AA creates a space where we find mentors, supports and friends. Often in the seemingly most unlikely pairings and groupings, folks find their way to a better life. All it takes to be a member of AA is an earnest desire to stop drinking. All it takes to start making progress is an open mind and willingness to change. Honesty & Simplicity If we’re completely honest with ourselves, we find tons of motivation to be open to new ideas. It’s as simple as this:  My way doesn’t work. My thinking brought me to where I am today. My best ideas didn’t help me avoid the destruction of addiction. My lifestyle, my friends, my family, my choices were not enough to keep me from losing control. I want my life back. I want to feel like I’m in control. For a long time I tried to get back to where I was before I lost it. Now I see that going back isn’t an option. I get the same result every time. I have to change. I’ve been resistant to change because it scares me. Woody Allen said, “eighty percent of success is showing up.” If we’re willing to take up a seat and listen, we will hear from people like us who had problems like ours and found solutions. We’ll meet folks who are willing to encourage and support us in one of the hardest things a human being can do – recover from addiction. Get Your Mind Blown Hearing what people have to say in a meeting may well leave you skeptical at first, so use the buffet approach – take what you like and leave the rest. You’ll hear some things that are hard to believe. Folks may speak of “having a life second to none.” Or they’ll say, “I wouldn’t trade my worst day sober for my best day drinking.” You’ll wonder how anyone could claim such things, but they’re true. The most incredible of all is to hear someone describe themselves as a “grateful alcoholic.” You’ll wonder why anyone could possibly be happy about being an alcoholic? The simple truth is that if not for the need for recovery from addiction, our lives would not have changed all that much. Most people do not make huge positive changes in how they live their lives. People in recovery do. Cunning, Baffling, and Powerful You will hear people conceptualize their addiction as a part of themselves that is trying to kill them. They will personify it and describe what it tells them. On the surface this may look like a cop-out. It’s not.  To personify it is to begin creating distance between something that is a part of us and our true selves. This is a big part of how we become free. Slow Down You will likely find it discouraging to hear people share how long it took them to get sober, change their lives, and develop the habits and routines that sustain them. Keep in mind that the only finish-line is death. Recovery is not about getting all better. It’s about getting better, twenty four hours at a time. Everything is a process and it may seem mystifying to hear people talk more about how their Higher Power directed them than what the actual steps were. The good news is that people working on their recovery love to share what they’ve learned and will gladly teach you. All you have to do is muster the courage to ask. The Promises One of the most beautiful pieces in all of AA’s literature are the promises of recovery from alcoholism. They may indeed sound extravagant and yet they are attainable to all of us, no matter how far down our disease has taken us. If we are cynical or jaded we will find it difficult to have hope for such things. Yet without hope we are adrift. It’s normal to doubt. All of us did and many of us still do. Having an open mind means being receptive to learning, growing, and healing. It creates opportunities. If we’rerigorously honest with ourselves we find that we had little or nothing to lose and everything to gain. You can have what we have and if you’d like to help us, let us help you. The only way we can keep it is to give it away. Read in browser »   Recent featured articles: 10 Barriers to Addiction Treatment for Older Adults Avoiding Methadone Overdose During the Dangerous First 2 Weeks Emotions in Early Recovery: "You Can't Heal What You Can't Feel" 16-Point Safety Checklist before Sending Your Teen to Residential Treatment Why Interventions Fail: Avoiding Pitfalls And, as always, thank you for reading! All the best to you and yours, Martin Schoel, founder of Choose Help P.S. If you’d like to dive into the conversation, make sure to follow us on Twitter or like us on Facebook (40K+ people do). FORWARD THIS MESSAGE TO A LOVED ONE Do you or someone you know need rehab? Click or 'Tap' to speak with us now: (877) 333-5266 Facebook Twitter Google Plus Pinterest

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Greetings,

Please see the attached ProAct Philadelphia Recovery Community Center (PRCC) Calendar of Events for July. Please do not hesitate to call us if you have any questions or concerns.

Thank you,

Sean E. Brinda, MSW, CCDP Diplomate

Senior Peer Services Coordinator

PRO-ACT/Philadelphia Recovery Community Center

1701 W. Lehigh Avenue

Philadelphia, PA 19132

Register for Recovery Walks! 2014 at www.recoverywalks.org

Phone: (215) 223-7700 ext. 105

Cell: (215) 828-6168

Fax: (215) 223-7707

1 (800) 221-6333 Twenty-four Hour Information Line

Email: sbrinda@councilsepa.org

www.proact.org

www.recoverywalks.org

PRO-ACT… Ambassadors for Recovery!

The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged and protected under State and/or Federal Laws. It is intended solely for the addressee. Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized. If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution, or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful. If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender or call 215-345-6644.000

Attachments area

Preview attachment PRCC July 2015 Calendar.doc

PRCC July 2015 Calendar.doc

THE HEAT IS ON - GET INVOLVED:

VOLLYBALL JULY 18^TH FROM 6-9PM.

YOGA ON WEDNESDAYS @ 7PM.

PLANNING TO SUSTAIN RECOVERY TUESDAYS @ 7PM AND THURSDAYS @ 10AM.

SMART RECOVERY THURSDAYS @ 6PM.

We are in need your help moving forward. So please get involved.

WALK WITH US in the FALL - September 19^th @ Penn’s Landing

TEAM CAPTAIN

Recovery Walk Meeting July 14^th 6pm Combined with our Volunteer Monthly Meeting!

Contact Rick for Details on the walk.

Mentoring Matters - see the flyer attached. Mentoring training on the 29^th & 30^th of June is a great way to start with helping others in Recovery. Working one on one with others. As a mentor here at the council. A mentor for those who have moved forward thru the Family Program. As a Mentor to someone going thru a Medically Assisted Program. As a Mentor helping those in the jail system with the Mentor+ Program. Helping those in need individuals or family members.

Maybe you would like to attend or you know someone who would like to attend. Please come one and all to one of our fun and exciting groups or activities! Hope to see you there!!

Each and every one of us needs to help support our volunteers with attendance at groups and activities. It is with your help spreading the word out in the community these free groups can continue to grow!!

Rick

Rick Petrolawicz, CRS

Volunteer Coordinator

The Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc.

252 West Swamp Road, Unit 12

Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901

Phone: (215) 345-6644 ext. 3151

Fax: (215) 230-3377

(800) 221-6333 – Drug and Alcohol Information Line 9am-5pm

Email:  rpetrolawicz@councilsepa.org

www.councilsepa.org

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCouncilSEPA

Prevention, Intervention & Addiction Recovery Solutions

The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged and protected under State and/or Federal Laws.  It is intended solely for the addressee.  Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized.  If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful.  If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender or call 215-345-6644, ext. 3151.

5 Attachments

 

 

Preview attachment July Calendar PDF.pdf

July Calendar PDF.pdf

Preview attachment Mentoring Matters PDF.pdf

Mentoring Matters PDF.pdf

Preview attachment Planning to Sustain PDF.pdf

Planning to Sustain PDF.pdf

Preview attachment Volleyball PDF.pdf

Volleyball PDF.pdf

Preview attachment Yoga PDF.pdf

Yoga PDF.pdf

JUNE 24 CHP 55 v 21 TWELVE STEPPING WITH STRENGTH FROM THE PSALMS

His words are as smooth as butter,

but in his heart is war.

His words are as soothing as lotion,

but underneath are daggers!

Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Before we get to step six truly recognizing our true selves and admitting , I think one way but act another is as defective as you can get when it comes to personality. Lets break it down and make it simple. TAKE OFF THE MASK ! One Hundred Percent of the people in your life who matter already know the true you so you are not fooling anyone but yourself.Plus life can be twice as hard when your Dr. Jeckell and Mr. Hide ! I know I spelled Hide wrong too make a point and that is your actions will reveal the real you so take off the masks ,pretend time is over admit your mistakes forgive yourself and show the world the true you that's hiding somewhere deep in that Giant heart of yours. 

James 1 v 23 v 24

For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was (GODS BIG BOOK)

By Joseph Dickerson 

Greetings,

Attached you will find the July Calendar for Southern Bucks Recovery Community Center. For those of you who do not know me, I am Karen’s Supervisor, filling in while she is a bit under the weather.  We hope to see some of you this Summer

Thanks

Steve Calderbank
Recovery Centers CoordinatrorThe Council of Southeast Pennsylvania, Inc.

252 West Swamp Road, Unit 12

Doylestown, Pennsylvania 18901

Phone: (215) 345-6644 ext 3006

Fax: (215) 230-3377

Bristol, Pennsylvania 19007

Phone: (215) 788-3738 ext 112

Fax: (215) 788-2919

(800) 221-6333 - 24 Hour Information Line

Email:  scalderbank@councilsepa.org

www.councilsepa.org

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCouncilSEPA

Prevention, Intervention & Addiction Recovery Solutions

The information in this email is confidential and may be legally privileged and protected under State and/or Federal Laws.  It is intended solely for the addressee.  Access to this email by anyone else is unauthorized.  If you are not the intended recipient, any disclosure, copying, distribution or any action taken or omitted to be taken in reliance on it, is prohibited and may be unlawful.  If you believe that you have received this email in error, please contact the sender or call 215-345-6644, ext. 3151.

Attachments area

Preview attachment SBRCC July Calendar (Final).pdf

SBRCC July Calendar (Final).pdf

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