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Alcoholism - To Sobriety - To Business Success - My Story
I am a true believer that alcoholism is a disease and, unfortunately that disease was bestowed upon me. I started KAS Placement when I was 23 years old (I am 28 now) and began making a lot of money for somebody my age. I would spend it ... Views: 2422
The Human Condition
Volume 1, Part 01
Have you ever wondered what is the platform for our one and only human experience? I have, for I once destroyed 99.9 percent of my human experience. With one tenth of my experience left, I took the time to learn how to learn from my insecurities. I ... Views: 1657
Recently, my daughter made a trip to the town where she was born. Unfortunately, it was not a happy occasion. The daughter of one of her childhood friends had committed suicide.
The girl was 15 years old when she decided that she could not tolerate any more bullying. The only way she could ... Views: 1895
It seems that we've all suffered a broken heart at one time or another. The pain that it causes and brings is horrific. Few, if anyone, ever wants to go through that again. So how do you prevent it? And if we can actually do that, is it a good thing?
The only sure way to prevent a broken ... Views: 5684
Loss of sleep, an ache deep in the bit of your stomach, frequent tears, a heart seems to get heavier as the days go on, depression, and feelings of isolation and abandonment are all signs of a broken heart. How, if possible, do you heal from a broken heart?
There is no quick fix. If you are ... Views: 3013
In Memoriam: Alice Miller
One of the great advocates of children and their struggles against unrecognized mistreatment has died. “Alice Miller, a psychoanalyst who repositioned the family as a locus of dysfunction with her theory that parental power and punishment lay at the root of nearly ... Views: 3031
I recently saw a banner — set in place for Recovery Month — that read: “Recovery Happens.” My question is: “What is implied here?” Words have meaning, and when those words are demonstrative of a process to behavioral change, people either simply disregard, are motivated by, or are intimidated by ... Views: 2233
When are people going to get real?
When society reads in the newspaper or catches on local news channels the headlines: Murder-Suicide, Domestic Abuse Homicide, or Workplace Violence, they are intrigued out of the common interest that everyone has been frustrated in a relationship at home, ... Views: 1716
Have you ever watched a group of children playing together? There's so much energy and so much smiling. There's lots of running around, and then inevitably, somebody starts crying. Someone gets mad. There's a bit of emotional chaos. Sometimes a grown-up has to step in and sometimes the kids ... Views: 2071
My next several blog posts are all related to the same topic. They deal with something that happened to me in July of 1988. My Dad had died the previous Thanksgiving, and I was still in the grief process over that loss. As well, I was still involved with a 12 step program for people who had ... Views: 1942
For many years, I would have told you that yes, there was drinking in my house while I was growing up, but I got out just fine, and it didn’t really affect me. Then when I was in my early ‘30s, I started to see signs that such was not the case.
I worked for a time with a prison ministry, ... Views: 2396
(Written August 8, 1990)
It was June of 1969. I had just come home from my freshman year at Texas Tech. I had not declared a major except for General Studies. I liked my psychology and sociology courses, and thought about going that direction for a major.
We lived in Fort Worth, and ... Views: 2158
Qigong (Chi Kung) is a Chinese medical therapy thousands of years old. It consists of mental as well as physical maneuvering which simultaneously adjust body posture, breathing, and the mind. Qigong for health is not strenuous and can even be performed by handicapped people. It can be done ... Views: 3080
According to Patrick Carnes, there are 11 sexual addiction behavior types. This information is important when when working with sexually addictive or codependents or co-addicts of sex addicts. As you will see, sex addiction comes in many forms and types. Anything from the lone web surfer who ... Views: 8382
Birth is a life-changing experience. Each birth brings with it a new and different set of experiences and feelings, but birth trauma can have serious and long-lasting effects.
A Swedish study showed that those who have a traumatic and painful birth are more likely to end their life with ... Views: 1327
Research shows that the parenting style used on a child during the first 3 to 4 years of his life is the strongest factor that determines his level of self-esteem.
Parenting style refers to how parents treat, guide, and nurture their young. It encompasses the messages that parents communicate ... Views: 13245
Even though there can be life long debilitating psychological effects, sibling abuse may be the most ignored - if not accepted - form of domestic (i.e. sexual, physical, emotional) abuse. Why is this kind of abuse ignored or minimized? There is a lot that is swept under the rug in the guise of ... Views: 4681
The road was long, dusty and rough. It went on winding through the forest and was strewn with rocks and ruts, which was hard on the feet. A lone pair of soft leather slippers worn by a tired peasant trod along its path. The road started up a hill, passing under a large oak tree overhanging the ... Views: 1753
The first choice that can turn ones life in another direction is the choice I am referring to.
This choice is to use or not use drugs or alcohol for the first time. If one is educated and prepared when they come face to face with this decision, is priceless. This is your first choice and very ... Views: 1323
Written October 17, 1988
I was out in the back yard shooting baskets with some of the boys from the neighborhood. It was a crisp, sunny fall afternoon, sweatshirt weather, and I was feeling great about life. I had finally gotten the knack of the jump shot, and was really proud of ... Views: 2080
Talk of Tigers
(Written March 9, 1990)
"Tell me about your tiger," she said. They were at the zoo, standing in front of the tiger cage. A huge, restless Bengal tiger paced back and forth the length of the cage. His eyes looked devoid of life, cold, neutral. The huge paws silently padded up ... Views: 1715
(Written September 20, 1988)
We were in a house trailer just outside the Lindreth trading post, in northwest New Mexico. There were six of us on the hunt that year: My Dad and I; Morris - Dad's best friend, and his son Brad; Don - who owned the trailer and was to be our guide, and his son ... Views: 1936
A while back, I jotted down some thoughts about a person I called “The Other Parent”. Since then, I’ve been collecting information and have concluded that there is a dearth of material on this subject. But I have expanded upon my initial ideas and hopefully this will be lead to more research ... Views: 2511
I received this question from someone who had just read my book, Freedom’s Just Another Word, where I confront some pretty bad demons from my past:
How did you overcome your fear of dealing with all the pain coming to the surface? I have not been able to conquer this fear I have of ... Views: 2396
I spent a lot of time walking around Houston in the middle '80s with many of the symptoms of PTSD, and didn't know it. I was having flashbacks - of occurrences I didn't remember. I felt like the man in the Bourne Identity with amnesia, who was getting glimpses of his past - a past he could not ... Views: 3261
For the last two years I've been working to overcome the effects of damage done by my Grandmother, who we all called Mamaw. When I was 8 years old, she asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I said a famous writer, and she was appalled, and said "If you are a famous writer, they'll call ... Views: 1926
Written August 5, 1990
All I really wanted to say was "I'm sorry."
I had said some hurtful things to my Father. But he had been dead for three years. How do make amends after they're gone? It wasn't perfect, not like him being there, but I was talking to him anyway. Just making up a ... Views: 1610
A good friend emailed me a while back and asked about my experience of the "inner child" on my road to healing. My inner child, who I called Little Danny, was an integral part of the book I had written, "Freedom's Just Another Word." My friend wondered if my experience of that inner child had ... Views: 1633
Celine, an only child, was 7 years old, her mother died tragically in a car accident. She and her father were devastated. However, unlike so many of my clients who lost parents and no one was there for them, Celine's father was completely there for her, even while dealing with his own grief and ... Views: 5587
Drugs have become an important element in the history of medicine to cure or increase the immunity in humans against various diseases. Due to continuous innovation, research and development in the past 4-5 decades, drugs are now available to cure majority of diseases. When taken in prescribed ... Views: 1460
Drug testing at homes, workplaces, schools, and sports is important as it helps to identify drug addiction among teenagers, employees, students, and athletes respectively. Performing drug testing using multi-panel urine drug test is easy, convenient, and provides quick results. Multi-panel urine ... Views: 1773
There weren’t a lot of statistics, because no one thought it was a problem. But then in 1990, Ramsay–Klawsnick found that adult females were abusers of male adolescents 37% of the time and of female adolescents 19% of the time; and in six studies reviewed by Russell and FInkelhor, female ... Views: 2201
The holiday season is considered to be one of the most hectic times for police and traffic departments due to the significant increase in impaired or drunk driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), there are more than 1000 people in America who are killed ... Views: 1990
The phrase “Forgive and Forget” is a nice thought but one of those things that is hard to do in practice. My question is why do we link the two in the first place? I have heard some people say that once you forgive somebody for what they have done to you, you should then just move on and ... Views: 2248
This posting is about forgiveness. I don’t know about you, but most of the time when I have seen forgiveness addressed it involves the actions of two or more persons. This posting will take a more focused view where it mainly involves action of a single person.
Part of improving oneself leads ... Views: 1792
"Not again!" I screamed silently as my dad's footsteps careened him into the wall. . . slurring a curse, he stumbled. He was home and drunk - again.
"I hope. . . " I continued my silent plea, "I hope you just keep on going past me. No need to say anything."
The very large house I lived ... Views: 1364
“There is no other closeness in human life like the closeness between a mother and her child. Chronologically, physically and spiritually, they are just a few heartbeats away from being the same person” *
This is the darkest secret of them all. It challenges societal expectations and myths ... Views: 13079
I would like to share with you a very powerful form of consciousness work called Holodynamics. First a brief background on how I came to this work.
In my practice I work with very challenged individuals. The patterns that cause illness on all levels are quite deep and usually clouded in ... Views: 4335
Gi-Dee-Thlo-Ah-EE, This is the name given to me by my mother Sosti (Mary Ann Groundhog) at the time of my birth, My Name is Lisa,
I am from the Blue People Clan and I will Break the Silence!
As you come to know me better my hope is that you will feel the pride that I have lived with in my ... Views: 2036
How do we change?
Change takes one tiny step, but to take that one step can require a journey of a thousand miles.
So many of us can dream of the life we want to have and the person we want to be. It can be especially frustrating when we get to the stage in our adventure where we ... Views: 1356
When you reach a point in your life that you realize that alcohol is creating problems, then you know that a change is required. Some people drink far more than the doctor recommends but are completely happy with the effect upon their life and their health, and that's fine; you are the person ... Views: 1558
The Parable of the Prodigal Son
While he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming.
Filled with compassion the father ran to the son,
threw his arms around him and said, "Welcome home."
His son had come to his senses.
"Let's have a party!"
His brother refused to come ... Views: 2906
“A Social Problem Does Not Exist For A Society Until It Is Recognized By That Society To Exist” – H. Blumer
The following is the first of a three-part series of articles:
It was in a high school literature class that I was first introduced to the Oedipus Complex, defined as “a boy’s ... Views: 14097
A lot of survivors of sexual and physical abuse feel they need to confront someone about it. Face down the perpetrator and tell him (usually him) – tell him what? That what he did was wrong. That it was hurtful and did substantial harm.
I imagine it could amazingly empowering to do that. ... Views: 1644
Sticks and stones may break my bones but … bullying and name-calling can emotionally scar me forever. Not the original ending to the classic verse, but probably the more accurate one. It seems that broken bones will heal far more quickly than a battered soul. Does this sound overly ... Views: 2097
As we have learned in this series so far, fairy tales are ironic. They tell a truth so shocking that it can only be revealed in innocent children's stories. 2500 years ago, in Plato’s Republic, Socrates said the truth exposed in these stories was so dangerous that they should not be allowed to ... Views: 3850
Pre-Marital Counseling In View Of Abuse
My boyfriend and I getting married in a few months and I am worried because although he is so great, he does have a temper. When he gets mad he becomes scary. At times he yells and screams and at other times he throws and breaks things. He’s only hit me ... Views: 1639
Details about Michael Jackson’s passing are still fuzzy, but already people are drawing conclusions about the superstar’s premature demise. One media thread has him using prescription medications in what may have been a troubling way ... Views: 1343
Over the years I’ve discovered that a significant proportion of adult clients who present with depression have a history of childhood abuse. The abuse may have been sexual, physical and/or emotional. At first I attributed this to the fact that I specialize in abuse and many clients who come ... Views: 2258