Ann Schranz 004- Addiction and Recovery
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Poetry is putting a line of language around pain and puzzlement |
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Ann has been haunted by conversations of people dealing with addictions |
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To be haunted is to be "stuck" |
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Ann wants congregation to help addicts to recover |
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50% of a congregation is touched by addiction in some way |
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Ann is creating a Caring Connection group |
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Rev. Dennis Meacham was a UU minister spiraling down in round the clock alcoholism |
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Hitting bottom is the beginning of "recovery, discovery and new life" |
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Recovery is essentially a spiritual awakening |
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Recovery is "a journey of reconnection to one's true self and deepest values, as well as to others and to the life force" |
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20% will become chemically dependent in their lifetime |
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We achieve spiritual recovery from addiction when we learn to maintain attachments that are freely chosen and life affirming |
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We have an inescapable need to live with the tension of pleasure and uneasiness of our humanity |
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Religious congregations are for the purpose of helping us learn to deal with pleasure and pain with a measure of grace |
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12 step programs are highly successful in helping people recover |
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Theology and Philosophy matter -they help make sense of our lives, or get in the way |
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How does a non-theist relate to the "High Power" of 12 step groups? |
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Go to 12 step meetings and forget about "fine points, medium points and blunt points of theology." |
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12 step meetings are one of the few places where people are truly honest with themselves |
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12 step meetings esteems each person as valuable and levels the social playing field |
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Mainstream church meetings are declining while 12 step attendance is increasing |
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Religious liberals are quick to criticize religious conservatives, but they are slow to articulate their own spiritual insights |
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Articulating any complexity is hard, but worth the effort |
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Surrender to God could me "limited surrender to a limited God" |
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Book --Omnipotence and Other Theological Mistakes by Charles Hartshorne |
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Six "mistaken" views about God: 1- God is absolutely perfect and therefore unchangeable 2- Omnipotence 3- Omnipresence 4- God's unsympathetic Goodness 5- Immortality as a career after death 6- Revelation is infallible |
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Surrender to the will of others, including to God, must have limits |
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For half of its existence, the church did not worship a child-abusing Father God |
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We need to learn the right time to both connect and disconnect from one another (and from God) |
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Ten Life Strategies to Improving Ourselves: 1- Good nutrition 2- Regular Exercise 3- Cultivate a hearty sense of humor 4- Be Honest 5- Cultivate at least one healthy, passionate interest 6- Commit to altruistic activity 7- Daily prayer or meditation 8- Practice being present and fully awake to life 9- Cultivate an awareness and receptivity to the transcendent in life 10- Participate in the life of a caring community |
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