note: Members can discuss this workshop in the Message Boards HERE
ClaraT-Host: David is the author of Voyage into Recovery: Defeating Drug Addiction & Alcoholism.
Published by iUniverse, Inc., Lincon NE ( 2005)& This book –published this year –is already
suggested reading by the American Council on Alcoholism (ACA is a member of United Way and
the Combined Federal Campaign. You can find what they say about Voyage into Recovery here
as well as more of their suggested readings. http://www.aca-usa.org/reading.htm
David, himself says in his book’s description: Nothing made sense. I was a well-educated
young man, then thirty-four years old, and I had managed to graduate from high school before
going on to receive a degree from a Maryland community college. But as smart and educated
as I was, it was nearly impossible shaking my addiction to drugs and alcohol. And reality was
fast approaching. Obviously, he addresses alcohol and drug abuse from the perspective of
a survivor. And in this book he presents tactics and strategies needed to forge and maintain
sobriety. Hailing from Bath, Maine, it is a great pleasure to introduce to you David Dickens.
Let’s let him share a bit of his experience, strength and hope with us and then we’ll open
up to members’ questions
ClaraT-Host: David, thank you for being here. We’d like to hear what you have to say.
Go ahead David.
grinder: Thank you all for having me. It is an honor to be here
Daffodil: clap clap
ClaraT-Host: smile clap clap
grinder: I was actually a little more confused than I realized. My sickness was, quite literally…
in the realms of mind, body, and spirit. I thought I had the answers…
thought I knew it all…
thought I could do it with no outside help…
or, interference, as I used to call it…
anytime I went to an AA meeting I often left with more questions than when I arrived…
and no one could quite explain…
why that was so…
I felt that the Bible…
was something invented to control the ornery masses…
and after reading the Book of Genesis…
which cut against what Darwin had said…
I turned my back on it…
and that’s when I became very, very sick. It wasn’t until…
My eyes were pried open one day…
much like Saul on the road to Damascus…
and the answers came swiftly…
I needed to look past the literal aspects…
and get to the true meaning and messages contained therein…
otherwise, much like a sinking ship, I was going down. and misery was
coming right alongside me I stopped looking for wooden boats and chariot wheels…
and began looking for Truth. any questions?
ClaraT-Host: thank you David..I know a lot of us can certainly identify with that…
okay CIR! If you’d like to ask David something…
ClaraT-Host: just raise your hand… GA SKy
skywalker: Where did you find truth?
grinder: In the New Testament….
Since Jesus spoke in parables, and Jesus was related to the Father,
it made sense that the father used a figurative language as well. I am
an overly logical person, and can anatomize something to death…
it was therefore necessary for me to look past my own narrow-minded..
preconceptions, concerning Big Bang and Darwin, not denying them….
but seeing them in relation to Scripture…Actually, I see a melding of the two…
rather than outright denunciation of either. Done
ClaraT-Host: okay andy. Your turn.
andy: what was your drug of choice and what kind of rehabilitation bring you to successful recovery?
grinder: I am a chronic alcoholic…
of the highest caliber…
but I have done just about everything…
many times over…concerning rehabs…
there were many…It was not one single program that set me straight…
but a culmination of all. Done
ClaraT-Host: thanks David. Okay…
we’re just getting started…who’s next? We’re asking David questions…from the floor
ClaraT-Host: While people are thinking…
i have to admit David, I’ve not read your book yet…but it seems interesting…
anything to me written from the perspective of the “real world” will be good…
but how would you say that your book differs from others and from the Big Book? done
grinder: When the Big Book was written…
society was peopled by a different citizen…
if Dr. Bob and Bill would have heard of…
crack cocaine, methamphetamine, the purest heroine to ever hit the streets,
AIDS, and all of the other atrocious…monsters now permeating society..
I think his book would have been expanded significantly…
And many questions concerning…chemical imbalances…
are not addressed, and this is something I try to address…
another point that tics me off…a little about AA in general…
is how they cloak Christianity…and just call it Higher Power…
and this lack of clarification…was never good…
especially considering the fact…That the first AA club…
was called The James Club. Based on the Book of James.
Much of AA’s tenents are found in the Book of James. done
ClaraT-Host thanks David
ClaraT-Host: Lizzy GA
lizzy: Did you have to make a lot of major changes in your current
lifestyle to stay clean. (I mean job, friends, etc. Done
grinder: Yes…But moving to Maine, from Baltimore City, has made that a little easier…
though geographic solutions are often faulty…
my writing has kept me out of trouble…
as it takes all of my dangerously free time…
and directs it accordingly. The adjustment…is never complete. done
ClaraT-Host: annie GA
annie: May I ask how long you have been sober?
grinder: I have 17 months clean…but rather than counting the days of clean time…
one needs to mark the winds of change. winds of change! They will begin to blow
across you! I used to count my clean days…but my psychological wiring remained the same. done
ClaraT-Host: andy ga
andy: How do you see the Dr.opinion could have been expanded on and what
are your perception on the importance of the 12 steps
grinder: 12 steps are vital. But this pre-Roosevelt text left me oft wanting…
That’s why, in fact, there are now 2 groups, AA and NA. The circumstances
have changed drastically…but don’t get me wrong…if it works for you, go with it…
but it’s important to note the dismal relapse rate of those in AA…
which runs at about 93%. not very impressive…and I was one of those relapse stats. done
andy: where are you getting your statistics and how do they compare to NA
grinder: I have a broad range of sources, including several prominent texts,
as well as the American Medical Assn. done
grinder: I do not know the relapse rate in NA, but I do know…
that some NA meeting that I have attended…particularly in the deep south and inner-cities…
were really nothing more…than a place for an addict…to make new connections. done
ClaraT-Host: Lizzy you ready? GA
lizzy: I feel very confused as to what I should do with my life. Go back to
my old stressful job where I worked 15 hour days or should I be looking at a new career? Done
ClaraT-Host: thanks Lizzy
grinder: Whatever will better put your mind in the right place…
because that’s where your relapse will try to trip you. done
ClaraT-Host: thanks… dlcnea your turn
dlcnea: have u been continuously sober since writing your book?
grinder: I have experimented…to see if that old joy was there…
and it wasn’t…There is an old saying…”It’s hard to have a belly full of beer…
and a headful of recovery.” …The need to continue using…
did not impel me to continue my debauchery…
and I mounted by recovery once again…
and marched back in the right direction. Sorry for the honesty, but it’s the truth. done
ClaraT-Host: that’s what gets us sober and keeps us there IMHO thanks David. okay…let’s see…
ClaraT-Host: daffy ga
Daffodil: I am here as a co-dependent…………
How did your lifestyle affect the significant…others in your life?
grinder: Needless to say…I rarely maintained a significant other…
as my addiction…is a jealous bed partner…
Daffodil: parents?
grinder : and since I have never been married…Parents became sick…
I guess you could say that I have estranged parents. He! He! I eventually
made a clean break…from everyone, and everything i had ever known…
even the broken pieces of my life…and started fresh, in every sense of the word. done
ClaraT-Host: thanks David
ClaraT-Host: GA dcir
dcir: I am just curious….I like the name of your book….
.because of VOYAGE! I was wondering…..if there is something behind that name….
I look at my life and recovery journey….in terms of travels, hiking, etc….
Is that “name” significant to your journey? done
grinder: Yes. In fact, recovery is something one embarks on…
and one must be prepared for many obstacles that may lie ahead…
provisions must be adequate, spiritual and otherwise, if you’re going to survive.
Because, rest assured, you are in for the fight of your life.In the early stages, at any rate. done
ClaraT-Host: willow GA
Willow: David…is there a way to honestly tell the addict what they
have done to end the relationship for us codependents?…
.i find that my situation is resulting in a total denial..
and i may have to be harsh.. done
grinder: I know some people in Al-Anon, and their approach is simple…
they have gotten their black belts in the program…But what I would suggest…
is to first realize…that there are enablers, and there are disablers…
As addiction unfolds, the latter becomes prevalent..and you must, with tact, join the ranks of the latter. done
ClaraT-Host: smile thanks David
ClaraT-Host: I have to say I was most impressed that your book is already
included on the suggested reading list for the Am. Council on Alcoholism…
As a neuroscientist…I would be interested to find out…what your book contains…
how it deals with the chemical / physical story…and what were your sources…
and how you integrate that with the spiritual illness. done
grinder: The central nervous system…is a catalyst which…
determines whether or not an individual…is physically addicted or mentally addicted to booze/drugs…
This is an important step to treating the illness…For example, serotonin and dopamine levels…
are drastically influenced…when certain chemicals are ingested…
And the role that acetaldehyde plays in the aftermath of a binge…
is equally cunning, baffling and powerful…But there are often…
chemical imbalances present which preclude the use of drugs/alcohol…
and understanding this can save your life..
.As to how this is connected to the spiritual realm…
goes back to the mind/body/spirit dichotomy…
with one affecting the others. done
ClaraT-Host: thanks David similar I think to Father Martin’s wonderful teachings.smile
grinder: Yes, Father Martin is a wonderful purveyor of wisdom. done
ClaraT-Host: Let’s see Lizzy…you’re next and then just one or two more.
lizzy: Is it normal to feel sad and depressed in the early stages of recovery?
grinder: Yes, but it’s important to understand why…
Is there a chemical imbalance? or are you melancholy over missing your crutch…
one must make that distinction. done
ClaraT-Host: ga Andy
andy: yes I was wondering David Have you ever considered trying the 12 steps?
grinder: I have been affiliated with AA…since the age of 16…
and I have always worked the steps…and believe in them.. done
ClaraT-Host: thanks David….as a conclusion…
would you share with us…what keeps you sober today?
grinder: The realization that… I had a lot of help…from my Lord and Savior…
Jesus Christ. The realization that if I do not stop drinking/drugging…
I will surely perish…and the very last thing I want to do…is to meet my Maker drunk. done
ClaraT-Host: That’s an EXCELLENT way to end this workshop
ClaraT-Host: Thank you David for being here with us.
ClaraT-Host: Clap clap clap
dcir: Thank you David!
haarley: thanks grinder,David smiles to you god bless all of you
willow: clap, clap, clap
grinder: Thank you for having me..
.and thank you for the prayers concerning my brother…you are all in mine. done
lizzy: thank you for all the helpful input
ClaraT-Host: Please bow with me….Lord Jesus…
your miracles come in all sizes and shapes….in people in books in steps even in
discussions we thank you that your wisdom is like a bottomless spring always
bringing forth from the old and the new. Thank you for CIR please bless
everyone as they go from here…give them a piece of recovery bread to take with them…
that they might “chew on it” while they meditate…help us all stay in your will.
We do ask special prayers for David’s brother and all the lost out there…
and for those suffering among us. Thank you Lord for your love. Amen
Voyage into Recovery: Defeating Drug Addiction & Alcoholism.
http://www.DADickens.com