Steps on the Road to Recovery

Steps On the Road to Recovery for 4 to 10 January 1999.

Published Last Week. A daily hint published each day since June 1996. This is past my second year anniversary since starting my web pages. Page Down for the next days that are added a day at a time. I have moved to http://www.recoverybydiscovery.com and this daily page is now here at https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com/daily.htm . I would appreciate any feedback, questions and suggestions that you have.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: FOR ANYONE THAT REQUESTED MY MONTHLY E-MAIL LETTER SINCE 1 AUGUST, PLEASE SIGN UP AGAIN, I HAD TO FORMAT MY HARD DRIVE AND START OVER AGAIN, AGAIN AND LOST SOME ADDRESSES.

What I am mainly going through now is the DSM-III-R Desk Reference a "disorder" at a time and commenting on the spiritual and recovery aspects. The DSM is what the American Psychiatric Association uses to label symptoms to facilitate communication in their community. Unfortunately, the labeling from the DSM can shut down communication with those seeking temporary assistance and spread the stigmas of mental illness. The DSM can also bring some comfort by telling some that others have had the same experience. I am adding additional comfort by pointing to some ways to start getting out of the "disorders". I am not writing about cures. I am writing about how the cure process works over time. Instantaneous cures can be as traumatic as the original event that generated the disorder or illness. Instantaneous cures may not do us any good, when we get the same disorder back, since we have not changed the thought system that caused the disorder in the first place.

4 Jan 98

Today we have a long description of a "301.70 Antisocial

Personality Disorder". This is a description of what we call

"criminals". Criminals could be broken down into "Cry" "Mind"

"All". A cry of the mind to all to help. A lot of angry people

make a lot of money from a lot of these angry people. Remember

that my definition of anger is just energy to change what we have

to what we want. The energy can be either positive or negative.

In this case we are considering the negative.

For this code we must be at least 18, had at least 3 of the

following challenges before 15. I would not have put any ages

on any of this because what is, is just what is.

1. "...often truant"

2. Ran from home at least twice.

3. "often initiated physical fights"

4. Used a weapon at least twice.

5. Forced sexuality.

6. Cruel to animals.

7. Cruel to people.

8. Cruel to property.

9. Setting fires.

10. Lying, other than to avoid abuse.

11. Stealing without confrontations.

12. Stealing with confrontations.

Having any of these symptoms is a cry to the mind of all

for help. The problem is that few know how to help. What

we do most of the time usually makes things worse. Insanity

is doing the same thing that does not work or doing it harder

and expecting different results. Our society must be insane

by that definition and also crying for help.

5 Jan 99

1. "...often truant"; 2. Ran from home at least twice.; 3. "often initiated physical fights"; 4. Used a weapon at least twice.; 5. Forced sexuality.; 6. Cruel to animals.; 7. Cruel to people.; 8. Cruel to property.; 9. Setting fires.; 10. Lying, other than to avoid abuse.; 11. Stealing without confrontations.; 12. Stealing with confrontations.

Would you not say there was a pattern of anger here?

Self forgiveness will transform their anger into hurt. Hurt

will transform their pain into healing. When will our

societies be ready to pay coaches to establish relationships

with people with these challenges. They could be coached

into how to get what they want in responsible ways with good

consequences? It has been tried and works. Dr. Glasser in

"Reality Therapy" describes his coaching processes. The

processes are simple and generic and work. The current costs

are lost property, people, perspectives. We could regain our

people, have more total property and improve our perspectives

to optimistic. After all, God is optimistic.

6 Jan 99

We can also qualify for a 301.70 by four of the following:

1. Inconsistent work or study behavior like unemployment,

absences, job hopping without new jobs... We are not inconsistent

here. We have a clear and consistent message here. Another form

of anger. Some of us are just employment and study challenged.

That is just the challenge of how to resolve our anger. We may

have some unconscious blocks to work and or study. When we

get sick and tired of being with these blocks we will learn how

to remove our blocks to our success. Are we not successful

sometimes at being blocked? Do we all not have some successful

blocks to our success.

7 Jan 99

Our second chance to qualify for a 301.70 is that we could also

consistently do unlawful acts as our expression of anger. That

works, until we discover that JC abolished the separation with

God from our acts. JC abolished all forms of laws, rules and

regulations. I know that he has few followers that realize this

yet, but there are now only man made laws, rules and regulations.

Then, our issues are really only with society, not God. We are

just mad at society... Or are we? Actually is it not us who we

are really mad at, we are mad at ourselves, because we do not

fit in? If we did not have a problem with society would we

really be doing this? If we did not fit into the society that we

fit into would we really be doing this? Here we are forgiven

sons and daughters of God and this is a good life for us?

8 Jan 99

Our third chance to qualify for a 301.70 is that we could also

act irritable and aggressive to the point of fighting and abusing.

Boy, that more obvious anger. This is where we do not like

what is and what is includes ourselves. Like all symptoms there

are degrees of symptoms. We may be the passive aggressive one

that thinks about hurting others and does so in sneaky ways.

Our fourth chance to qualify for a 301.70 is that we could also

consistently not honor our financial obligations and responsibilities.

Things like not paying child support or debts. A less obvious way

to show anger, but anger it is.

Our fifth chance to qualify for a 301.70 is that we could also

consistently fail to plan ahead and be just impulsive. The DSM

limited this to jobs and home addresses, but what would jobs and

home addresses matter when the rest of the life is just impulsive.

Like everything else there are degrees of not planning ahead and

there are degrees of anger. This is just a replay of the first

symptom.

9 Jan 99

Our sixth chance to get four out of ten to get a 301.70 code is

to consistently lie and con. Our good intentions to get pleasure,

profit and or protection, do not count. What counts is that others

get to judge themselves as better, because they do not lie or con

to get pleasure, profit, and or protection. But, if they looked

closely enough, they might find that they do some level of lying

or conning.

The bible puts this in terms of any infraction of laws, rules and

regulations, is the same as breaking all of them. The only hope then,

is to accept the atonement of JC, and give mercy and grace to all.

JC has been the most radical teacher of holiness. Many mark their

time time on earth from after JC. That means that everything started

over. We can restart every day with our slates thrown away... Not

that all Christians have got this yet. I also would like to know how

other spiritual paths have this unique quality at their depths. Perhaps

some readers can enlighten me.

10 Jan 99

Our seventh chance to get four out of ten to get a 301.70 code is

to consistently disregard our safety and the safety of others. We

might speed and drink and drug and drive. Our good intentions to

cope with our pain does not count, at least to our self and others. It

does counts to God and His true followers. Here we are trying to

kill ourselves by ourselves and through others that will want to kill

us. Boy are we angry. What really needs to be killed is our egos.

You know, ego = edging god out. You know, EGO is Edging God

OUT. We really need to learn self forgiveness. Boy is that an ego

killer. I know some that would not say the forgiveness words on

the card below because of their pride. Nothing was wrong with

them, but they lashed out at the slightest hint of anything wrong with

them. Do you know anyone like that? Do you do any of that? I

sure did.

Very Respectfully,

Michael Foster, MA

Mental Health Coach

https://www.recoverybydiscovery.com

Coachemail

"Learn HOW to recovery by discovering the blocks you need to remove and the actions you need to take and what you need to let go of as your blocks to your blessings."

From my book in process, The Spiritual Cookbook (Generic Recipes for a Better Life)

If you would like a free monthly newsletter with coach's hints on a single subject, click RBD's Free Monthly Newsletter Registration Form.

I started my daily page, because it is useful for me to look for some recovery tip or secret each day for my spiritual growth. we and I only need one secret to work on and let it work on me each day. They are secrets because they are usually the opposite of what the majority of society teaches. They must be secret because they are not commonly used. A friend of mine once said "Common Sense is not much in Common.". Now that I have grandchildren I am also writing for them. I would have really liked for my grandparents to have passed on what they learned.

I am including Sunday as it is my formal day of learning the lord most high's secrets. If you would like ask questions, or contribute some of your wisdom, or want to make some comments or want to vote for which day to put on my tip of the month page or tell your success stories, click Michael Foster, M. A.