Mindful Recovery: A Spiritual Path to Healing from Addiction

254 Pages·2002·0.97 MB·English

by  Thomas

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Mindful Recovery
4
A Spiritual Path to
Healing from Addiction
Thomas Bien, Ph.D.
Beverly Bien, M.Ed.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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“The practice of mindfulness is the Buddha’s main ingredient in
his recipe for lasting peace, happiness and enlightened living. It is only
through experiencing this with ourselves that we can heal what ails us,
transform ourselves and our relationships, and find true purpose and
fulfillment. This wise book provides practical exercises that will help
us to develop conscious awareness and inner understanding, and the
ways and means to free us from unsatisfying habits, addictions, and
unconscious behavior patterns. I recommend it highly.”
—Lama Surya Das, author of Awakening the Buddha Within
“Mindful Recovery combines two hitherto unrelated worlds—that
of modern cognitive therapy and Buddhist reflection. The connection
makes incredible sense, since Buddhism is not a religion in the tradi-
tional sense so much as it is a method for directing one’s thoughts and
experiences. By centering oneself in one’s here-and-now, lived experi-
ence, addicts can avoid the infantilism, the regrets, the efforts to seek
unrewarding rewards that are the basis for self-destructive behaviors.
By reading about and applying these techniques, individuals can work
on the internal urges that accompany their addictive problems.”
—Stanton Peele, Ph.D., author of The Truth About
Addiction and Recovery and The Meaning of Addiction
“Anyone interested in finding a kind, spiritual guide to recovery
that focuses on flexibility rather than the ‘one true way’ will benefit
from this enjoyable and helpful book.”
—Maia Szalavitz, coauthor with
Joseph Volpicelli, M.D., Ph.D.,
of Recovery Options: The Complete Guide
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“The material in Mindful Recovery offers mindfulness meditation
as a powerful antidote to addiction as a ‘disease’ of the mind. Thomas
and Beverly Bien have combined their professional experience as both
therapists and practitioners of meditation in providing readers with a
series of ‘Doorways’ into mindful recovery from addictive
behaviors....This is truly a book that opens many doors to greater
awakening and self-awareness. The noted analyst Carl Jung once
described many alcoholics as ‘frustrated mystics’ who were distracted
in their quest by the ‘spirits’ in the bottle instead of pursuing the true
pathway of spiritual awakening. Readers who identify with the frus-
trated-mystic group will find the path to spiritual liberation in the
Doorways of this excellent book.”
—from the foreword by G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D.,
Professor of Psychology, Director, Addictive Behaviors
Research Center, University of Washington
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Mindful Recovery
4
A Spiritual Path to
Healing from Addiction
Thomas Bien, Ph.D.
Beverly Bien, M.Ed.
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Copyright © 2002 by Thomas Bien and Beverly Bien. All rights reserved
Foreword copyright © 2002 by G. Alan Marlatt, Ph.D.
Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York
The author and publisher gratefully acknowledge the following sources for their permission to
include copyrighted material: On page 10 from The Way of Life According to Lao Tzu,edited by
Witter Bynner, copyright © 1944 by Witter Bynner. Copyright renewed © 1972 by Dorothy
Chauvenet and Paul Horgan. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers Inc. On
page 114 from The Enlightened Heart: An Anthology of Sacred Poetry,by Wu-men, edited by
Stephen Mitchell, copyright © 1989 by Stephen Mitchell. Reprinted by permission of Harper-
Collins Publishers Inc. On pages 129–130 from New Seeds of Contemplationby Thomas Merton,
copyright © 1961 by The Abbey of Gethsemani, Inc. Reprinted by permission of New Direc-
tions Publishing Corp. On page 215 from Leaves of Grassby Walt Whitman, edited with an
introduction and notes by Jerome Loving (World’s Classics, 1990). Used by permission of
Oxford University Press.
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, scanning, or other-
wise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act,
without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment
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sion should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 605 Third
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This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the
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services of a competent professional person should be sought.
This title is also available in print as ISBN 0-471-44261-5.
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in this electronic edition.
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To
Joshua Bien
and
Stacy Roalsen
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The sage...accomplishes very much indeed because it is
the Taothat acts in him and through him. He does not act
of and by himself, still less for himself alone. His action is
not a violent manipulation of exterior reality, an “attack”
on the outside world, bending it to his conquering will:
on the contrary, he respects external reality by yielding to
it, and his yielding is at once an act of worship, a
recognition of sacredness, and a perfect accomplishment
of what is demanded by the precise situation.
—Thomas Merton, Mystics and Zen Masters(1967)
Contents
4
Foreword by G. Alan Marlett, Ph.D., ix
Acknowledgments, xiii
Part One: Mindful Recovery
Introduction: Getting to Here and Now, 3
The Process of Change, 10
Part Two: The Ten Doorways
to Mindful Recovery
Doorway One: Seeing the Magic of the Ordinary, 27
Practice: Be Aware of Your Breathing, 31
Practice: Reclaim the Magic, 37
Practice: Establish Moments of Mindfulness, 38
Practice: Stop Making Hope an Obstacle, 40
Practice: Recognize Enough, 41
Doorway Two: Telling Life Stories, 45
Practice: Write Your Own Obituary, 49
Practice: Claim Your Freedom, 57
Practice: Weigh the Pros and Cons of Sin/
Redemption, 58
Practice: Contact the Hero Within, 61
Doorway Three: Journaling, 64
Practice: Learn to Write without Censoring, 68
Practice: See Mistakes as Part of Living, 80
vii
viii CONTENTS
Practice: Identify the Chapters of Your Life, 86
Practice: Write Your Own Unique Life Line, 87
Doorway Four: Meditating, 89
Practice: Establish a Meditation Practice, 93
Practice: Experience the Breath as Happening
of Itself, 99
Practice: Learn Not to Struggle, 108
Doorway Five: Recreation and Nature, 114
Practice: See Yourself and the World as Not Two, 117
Practice: Use Television Mindfully, 119
Practice: Shop for True Necessities, 125
Doorway Six: Loving, 131
Practice: See It from Their Perspective, 133
Practice: See Each Other at Meals, 141
Practice: Listen Deeply, 145
Practice: Enjoy Mindful Touching, 147
Doorway Seven: Dreaming, 155
Doorway Eight: Working, 173
Practice: Meditate on Work as Blessing and Curse, 178
Practice: Find Alternative Ways to Restore Yourself
after Work, 181
Practice: Transform Your Thinking, 186
Doorway Nine: Transforming Negative Emotions, 196
Practice: The Five Remembrances, 207
Practice: The Four Noble Truths, 210
Doorway Ten: Living Moment by Moment, 215
Practice: Imagine Nothing, 219
Recommended Reading, 227
Index, 231