Thursday, November 14, 2013

So how long does a "slip" last?

     To answer the question posed in the title of this piece, one would have to do some defining of terms I think.

      "Slip"; have no idea what this really means.  The common definition is; the accidental returning to drinking/addiction by a person who has been abstinent from their addiction.  I am not sure how one could accidentally fall (slip) back. It seems to me it is a premeditated act.  I never once in my life drank a drink and looked at the drink and said; "Oh gosh I slipped and drank!".  If I ever drank it would be on purpose and with a vengeance.

      "Drink"; while most would interpret this word as a container of some form of liquid which contained ETOH or ethyl alcohol, I would rather use the definition set up in "The Little Red Book".  That definition characterizes a drink as a negative emotion such as; anger, jealousy, sloth, etc.  I think this is the genesis of a physical "slip", I think.  The thought precedes the deed.

     So, now to the question posed.  How long does a slip last?  Hmmm.  How long does a thought last?  If the "slip" is in fact began by a thought, then I guess the "slip" lasts as long as the thought.  So maybe when the thought is held in mind for any period of time from now to infinity, that defines the period of the "slip".

     By now many readers are asking themselves; "who cares?", "what is he writing about?", or any other neurotic questions we all ask ourselves.  Here is the reason I have for writing this.

     Over the decades of recovery I have seen myself grow into a person who still in fact has aberrations of the mind, aka. "stinkin thinkin".  I also have moments of brilliant negative thinking.  Yet today the amount of time spent in that negative thinking has been reduced dramatically.  I don't seem to hold these thoughts as long as I did in the past.  I try to do whatever I have been taught to negate these thoughts and move along in life.

     The whatever procedures to break these thought patterns could be; telephoning someone and sharing my thoughts with them, meditating, writing, abandoning myself to God...".  It appears that I have the free will choice to hold negative thoughts just about as long as I want to.

     The answer to the question seems to come out as; as long as I want it (slip) to last, that is how long it will be.  Being conscious and having free will can  make me become very responsible, even when I don't want to be.

     In the recent past  I awoke with some very confusing dark thinking.  It did not feel good and I did not like it.  I also had no idea how to rid myself of if.  I tried all of my "tricks" and became even more confused and disturbed.  I then remembered the sage advice of a friend and immediately shared my thinking with the person the thoughts were of.  In no time flat, "lickety split" my thinking was repaired by the Truth and that Truth set me free.  End of slip.  Elapsed time: 1.2 hours.  Could have been quicker had I had easy access to my friend.

     In the future I must remember this process if I wish to live life; "Happy, joyous and free".  It all comes down to; "a slip is a thought which originates in my mind and I choose to keep it there and act upon it".  Of course this leads to another discussion of; "am I responsible for my actions".  oh oh time to end this writing, I think.

Love and light,
richard