Above and Beyond. J.S. Dorian

       CENTRAL RECOVERY PRESS

      Central Recovery Press (CRP) is committed to publishing exceptional materials addressing addiction treatment, recovery, and behavioral healthcare topics, including original and quality books, audio/visual communications, and web-based new media. Through a diverse selection of titles, we seek to contribute a broad range of unique resources for professionals, recovering individuals and their families, and the general public.

      For more information, visit www.centralrecoverypress.com.

      Central Recovery Press, Las Vegas, NV 89129

      © 2012 by J. S. Dorian

      All rights reserved. Published 2012. Printed in the United States of America.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

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      ISBN-13: 978-1-936290-66-6 (paper)

      ISBN-10: 1-936290-66-9

      ISBN-13: 978-1-936290-82-6 (eBook)

      ISBN-10: 1-936290-82-0

       Cover design and interior by Sara Streifel, Think Creative Design

       January 1

      “The only journey is the one within.”

      RAINER MARIA RILKE

      The words healing and curing are often used interchangeably, although they have separate and distinct meanings. Many of us have had to swallow the bitter reality that for now there is no cure for our condition. However, we can always be healed, through our own efforts or with the help of others.

      What do we mean by healing, and how does it differ from curing? In the context of chronic illness, healing relates primarily to one’s inner being, to the ways we strive to achieve healthy attitudes as well as personal and spiritual growth. As we progress in these areas, we can gain a positive perspective on our illness, our physical limitations and, indeed, on all of the dramatic changes that have taken place in our lives.

      Inner healing can move us from resentment and self-pity to faith and acceptance. The healing process allows us to transcend our fears, to nurture hope, and to face adversity with serenity.

      The essence of healing is self-acceptance, through which we affirm our wholeness no matter what our physical condition or how remote the possibility of cure.

      THOUGHT FOR TODAY

      I will be healed.

       January 2

      “What loneliness is more lonely than distrust?”

      GEORGE ELIOT

      Many diseases can be diagnosed rather quickly these days. Certain ones, however, remain elusive and require a considerable amount of detective work. As some of us have discovered, such hard-to-diagnose illnesses can present special problems.

      When our symptoms came and went, increased and diminished in severity, and seemed not only mysterious but possibly imaginary, friends, loved ones, and even our physicians became somewhat skeptical. The longer the condition remained undiagnosed and unnamed, the more skeptical some of them became, and the more our own self-doubt grew.

      Even now, months after we were finally diagnosed, certain people exhibit a degree of skepticism and mistrust. They raise an eyebrow, so to speak, when we describe our fatigue, pain, and limitations. And then it’s as though we are back in pre-diagnosis limbo, frustrated and infuriated.

      We’ll do everything we can to help those people understand the seriousness of our illness. If it becomes clear that understanding is beyond their reach, we’ll then do our best to let it go and move closer to those who do understand.

      THOUGHT FOR TODAY

      My priorities do not include convincing skeptics or defending myself.

       January 3

      “We, by our suff’rings, learn to prize our bliss.”

      JOHN DRYDEN

      As we used to know physical pain, it was something that could always be fixed, not unlike a faulty toaster. We had a rude awakening when chronic pain entered our world and threatened to overpower us.

      We discovered that doctors can’t always determine the cause of pain. Even when technology such as myelograms and CAT scans makes it possible to pinpoint the source and cause of pain, technology can’t always relieve pain entirely. So it seemed at first that this lingering pain would wring every bit of joy from our lives.

      It has since become clear that there are volumes to learn about pain, and that there is much we can do to understand it, manage it, and limit its influence. One of the most heartening lessons is this: Pain is not simply a physical problem that can be isolated and repaired like a burned-out bulb on a string of Christmas lights. Rather, pain is truly a systems problem involving mind, emotions, attitude, and inner spirit. This means that we need not suffer passively and endlessly; that we can regain control; and that we can marshal our inner resources to achieve transcendence.

      THOUGHT FOR TODAY

      My goal is not to fix pain but to manage and overcome it.

       January 4

      “Differing but in degree, of kind the same.”

      JOHN MILTON

      Every so often a sense of “uniqueness” comes over me. Recently, for example, in the waiting room of an orthopedic surgeon’s office, I felt profoundly different and totally alienated from

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