In the last two decades, Icelandic teens have embraced sobriety under a program that asks families and communities to rethink adolescent freedoms. by Sara Miller LlanaThe Christian Science Monitor Weekly/January 2, 2018 DECEMBER 29, 2017 REYKJAVIK, ICELAND —In the late 1980s, when Björgvin Ívar Guðbrandsson was a teenager, alcohol and school dances went hand-in-hand. While…
The Science and Philosophy of Meditation and Enlightenment By Robert Wright Review by Antonio Damasio Anyone writing (or reading) about Buddhism faces a critical question. What is Buddhism, really? A religion, complete with supernatural deities and reincarnation? A secular philosophy of life? A therapeutic practice? An ideology? All of the above? Robert Wright sketches an…
By Russell BrandActor and Comedian Here in our glistening citadel of limitless reflecting screens we live on the outside. Today we may awaken and instantly and unthinkingly reach for the phone, its glow reaching our eyes before the light of dawn, its bulletins dart into our minds before even a moment of acknowledgement of this…
Does Recovery Kill Great Writing?As I emerged from alcoholism, I had to face down a terrifying question. By Leslie JamisonMarch 13, 2018 The first time I felt it — the buzz — I was almost 13. I didn’t vomit or black out or even embarrass myself. I just loved it. I loved the crackle of…
By Paul Ferrini The Great Way: We listen for it, yet its note can’t be heard. We look intently for it, yet its image can’t be seen. Although it has no beginning, it leads us back to our original nature. Although it has no end, it helps us come to completion.The Great Way of All…
A Practical Manual for Moving from Fear to Loveby Paul Ferrini The Twelve Steps of Forgivenss offers us a process for unlearning our ego-based search for perfection and discovering the inner beauty, guidance and grace that already exist in our lives. It enables us to honor others and establish healthy boundaries that prevent manipulation and…
Intoxication and Its Aftermath By Leslie Jamison When Leslie Jamison was a student at the University of Iowa Writers’ Workshop, she fell in love with the myth of the alcoholic writer: the myth that liquor fed, not poisoned, great writing. By getting drunk in the same Iowa City bars as 20th-century alcoholic literary giants — John…
By Glenn C An early criticism of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was that its program of recovery was drawn primarily from the collective experiences of white men and thus unsuitable for people of color. Such declarations have since been challenged by surveys within communities of color indicating AA as one of the preferred choices for people…
By Maureen Cavanagh When Maureen Cavanagh, a hardworking small-business owner and resident of the charming, historic town of Marblehead, Mass., clicked on a link to a Salem News story headlined “Marblehead Honor Student Arrested for Prostitution,” her first thought was: “How sad. How very sad.” As she read further, however, her feelings turned to horror.…
by Bill White My relationships with White Bison founder Don Coyhis and with the Native American Wellbriety Movement are among the most important influences on my recovery advocacy and recovery research activities. I first met Don in the late 1990s as rumblings of a new addiction recovery advocacy movement in the United States were just…