The Doctor's Opinion (Continued)
C: He said: (p. xxvii, par. 2) 'On the other hand--and strange as this may seem to those who do not understand--once a psychic change has occurred, the very same person who seemed doomed, who had so many problems he despaired of ever solving them, suddenly finds himself easily able to control his desire for alcohol, the only effort necessary being that required to follow a few simple rules. '
So, even though we have a two fold disease, the disease of the body as well as a disease of the mind, recovery can only come about through the mind itself. They can do nothing about the body. They've been trying to do something about it ever since this was written back in 1939. They're not any closer to it, today, than they were then. The doctors today still tell us: don't drink it. Stay away from it. They can do nothing about the body, so recovery will have to come through the mind.
Let's take the words alcohol out of that solution, and let's put the word "food" in it. Some people are restless, irritable and discontented unless they can experience the sense of ease and comfort that comes at once by eating two Hostess Twinkies. (laughter) People who are obsessed with the idea of eating food, they get something from food that we alcoholics do not understand. Whatever it is, it makes them feel good. They begin to eat too much of it! whatever it might be. They begin to destroy their lives.
They begin to destroy the lives of those around them. Everybody sees that they can't do that, and they themselves see it from time to time. But also, from time to time, their mind believes that this time it's going to be different. Anybody (who's) operating under an obsession of the mind cannot really see the truth about what they're doing.
Let's take food out of there, and let's put gambling in. Some people are obsessed with the idea of gambling. The more they examine it and the more they study it today, they know that when the gambler gambles, the body undergoes certain changes. It create. a physical factor in the body, and makes them feel better than anything ever made them feel. They continue to gamble, and gamble, and gamble, and destroy their lives and the lives of everybody around them. Always the mind saying, I'm just going to bet two dollars this time that's all.
They really cannot differentiate the true from the false. Some people are obsessed with sex. Some people are obsessed with working. They work, and they work, and they work, and the only time they feel good is when they're working. They destroy their lives and the lives of everybody around them. Everybody can see what's happening to them, but they can't see that.
Why, there are some people who are obsessed with the idea of stopping other people from drinking. (laughter) I don't know what it is they get out of it. I certainly don't understand, but their mind becomes obsessed with the idea of stopping another person from drinking. They try everything in the world. They throw away the car keys. They have them locked up in ]ail. They put their clothes out on the front porch. They bring them back in. They stay up all night looking for them to come home.
Then when they come home, they raise hell with them, and throw them out of the house. (laughter) Everybody can see that it's not working, but they believe it's going to work. Anybody (who) operates under an obsession of the mind, whatever it is, cannot differentiate the true from the false. They think that what their doing is eventually going to be what it is they're searching for.
Ours happened to be an obsession with alcohol. Other people's is obsession with drugs of different kinds, cocaine, heroin, marihuana, it doesn't make any difference. We do those things because it makes us feel better. Until eventually it turns against us, and begins to destroy us. By then our mind has become so obsessed, we can't differentiate
the true from the false.
Now, the only hope that the practicing alcoholic, or that the overeater, or that the drug addict, or that any of us have, is, some way, to find a way to live, and be peaceful and happy and serene, whenever we're not using whatever it is we were using. If we can find a way to feel good and be free from whatever it is we're using, then we don't have to use that stuff in order to make ourselves feel better. And we do that through a psychic change. A change in the mind. A change in attitude. A change in the mental outlook. upon
life.
