Emotional Sobriety: Friends & Lovers » Changemaker

My Original Posting About Changemaker

kberman — Thu, 01 Sep 2011 01:33:20 +0000

In 1994, I began to gather all my writings bout recovery. My sobriety date is Nov. 24, 1976. I named my company “Changemaker”. I mainly did group lectures while I worked in marketing for treatment centers. I didn’t begin to write about everything until 2004. So much of my work will use the name “Changemaker” because I believe we each to be the changemaker in our own recovery. At a later date, I began writing about “High Energy Life”. So you will see both names throughout my writing.

The following is a reprint from 9/25/2007.

Changemaker is a company that is committed to the basic belief that each person has the opportunity for self-discovery and the potential for self-healing. As individuals, we sometimes choose paths that may be harmful to us. To get off that path and onto a new road takes exploration and experimentation.

The Changemaker Test offers education for self-discovery as we believe that the change within a person involves the courage to see (insight) and the courage to act (action). The test will teach anyone 10 or more labels about themselves. Therefore, by using the labels to change themselves, the changemaker is the person who decides to learn and make the change happen.

Anyone interested in helping others to learn about themselves can start a grow group. Guidelines for monitoring groups, contents for structured groups, quotations for motivation, statistics about the group, suggested times for group, group size, help in helping others to professional guidance, etc. can be found online.

Groups are the recognized best method for people to gain information and acceptance from others. One of the main underpinings of AA is that all members are peers. Anyone has the opportunity to share and to be heard.

In grow groups, the group leader leads only by getting the group together. By caring for others, the group members can learn as well as teach self-discovery. The group leader/leaders may choose to charge or ask for donations to pay for the meeting room and materials. To lead education groups, the only requirement for the business is to have an occupational license to run a business. Grow groups are not therapy groups so no other license is required. All grow groups need to be peer groups with the leadership among all group members.

Healing begins when, in spite of all the negative self-talk going on inside a person, that person feels someone caring and loving them for no apparent reason. This unconditional love comes in spite of attempts to search for a motive.

Photo credit.

My Definition of Addiction Recovery

kberman — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 01:46:46 +0000

Although many definitions exist, my definition of recovery includes the following characteristics:

1. All mind-altering addictions are given up. Often, an addict will simply trade addictions and call this recovery. If someone is addicted to one mind-altering drug, she/he will be addicted to all mind-altering drugs, legal or illegal.

2. The addict no longer uses the past as an excuse for today. Anything that happened in the past can be the springboard for growth by the beautiful experience of forgiveness.

3. The addict has balance in his/her life to include physical health, mental health, emotional health and spiritual growth.

4. In learning to get healthier, the addict will learn “one day at a time” but with continued growth, he/she will learn to take a longer view of the future and get in touch with his/her hopes and dreams.

5. The twelve steps are essential for turning a negative direction into a spiritual direction. However, the balance comes from not allowing the group to be another addiction used to avoid family and friends.

“The closest thing to a cure for most forms of serious psychological suffering is a permanent change in the way one conducts one’s life–and the changes in feeling and self-concept that occur as part of that process.” Tom Rusk

Photo credit.

Changemaker Basic Beliefs

kberman — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 01:50:00 +0000

Tree of light by J Philipson

Therefore, by using the labels to change themselves, the changemaker is the person who decides to learn and make the change happen.

The Changemaker basic beliefs are:

(1) Anyone can get on the wrong road in human growth,

(2) Getting on the right road takes patience and exploration,

(3) Small groups are invaluable support in human growth,

(4) Healing comes from accepting spiritual guidance and direction,

(5) Everyone involved in helping others to grow needs his/her individual path of growth and is free to share it with others,

(6) Letting go and letting God means stepping out into an emotional void,

(7) As well as an individual growth program, each healer needs compassion and understanding.

(8) No healer can help guide beyond his/her individual path of growth.

(9) There is neither hierarchy in spiritual growth nor any ladder to climb or rank to achieve. We are each pilgrims with our own life issues.

(10) Life issues are with us throughout our earthly existence. That is why they are called life lessons. However, they do get slightly less painful if we do the work necessary.

2009 Changemaker Direction

kberman — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 01:44:52 +0000

Perfect Day by the wandering angel

In looking forward to the direction for Changemaker, I will mention what directions we’ve taken since Nov. 2004.

(1) Changemaker was created to share the recovery story of my sobriety which started Nov. 24, 1976. Changemaker: Healing Mind, Body, and Soul was the title for the blog for several years. Then I changed it to Changemaker: Reinventing Yourself.

(2) Some of the mind games I’ve played with myself (one friend of mine called these inner voices “the committee”) are over the words of recovery (which many don’t identify with because they are already perfect), healing (see above reason), spirituality (how this differs from religion), reinventing yourself (well, I believe that God and I are co-creators in my recovery/spiritual journey), self-help (I have a lot of trouble with this because I rarely read about God’s amazing grace in the process, personal development (appears to me to be same as self-help), and, finally, my personal favorite—transformation (how can you transform yourself?).

(3) One of the directions I took with the blog a few years ago was to develop my thinking about having a high energy life. I was inspired by this quotation from The Berkeley Holistic Health Center:

“The concept of energy and the flow of that energy in the human body is the core of the current explosion in healing. The healing principle is to “balance” the energy in the body by using relaxation to counter the body’s reaction to stress.”

(4) Another of my influences was to try to direct the message of the blog to a broader audience. My goal throughout has been to reach anyone struggling and feeling overwhelmed to know that he/she is God’s creation so if he/she reaches out for help to God that He is immediately available. God is a gentleman and won’t enter a life until He is invited.

(5) As the main blog got larger, I took 5 of the main topics in Changemaker and put each topic on a separate blog. The other five blogs are about: Personality traits (The Changemaker Test—answersbyemail.com); Help for starting peer groups—changemakergroups.com); Books in our recommended Changemaker books—cmlibraryonline.com); Healing and spirituality topics—healingforyouonline.com); and High Energy diet, fitness, emotional, and mental techniques for using your energy positively—highenergygoals.com).

(6) So for the New Year of 2009, I am focusing on my favorite topic—using spiritual practices to transform oneself, reduce stress, increase relaxation, keep watch over the rambling mind, and attend to my body’s physical demands by including exercise.

The Changemaker Test

kberman — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:59:36 +0000

It is estimated by the age of 21, each of us has acquired 20,000 hours of negative self-talk. Learn to listen to the voices in your head. Whatever you are thinking is what you are feeling.

Everyone has many personality labels yet most of us resist being labeled. Over a lifetime, we each will have hundreds of labels because we each have unique life experiences. The main way we learn our labels is from others. We generally resist these learnings as it feels that the labels have a negative connotation. Yet most of our labels are positive and negative at the same time.

We each love to learn about ourselves. But we pretend that we don’t want to know. It is the same maneuver we use to view a group picture that includes us. While oohing and aahing over all the other group members, we are secretly gazing at ourselves.

Personality labels are personality indicators. Labels can be positive and negative at the same time. By learning our personality traits, we can determine the positives about ourselves to enrich our self-image. Understanding ourselves and what motivates each of us can be a powerful tool towards meeting life’s challenges and personal dreams.

By learning our personality traits, we can determine the positives about ourselves and change the negative thoughts to positive ones. The Changemaker Test is meant to be the starting point for self-discovery. With the complete test, answers and explanations, anyone can test their friends and family.

Also anyone who has compassion for others can use these materials to begin discussion groups of persons interested in self-discovery. Anyone can start a free group online at Ning after s/he publishes a lens about anything.

The Changemaker Test includes:

The test of 25 personality traits include the categories of NLP (neurolinguistic programming), birth order, family roles, emotional energy, and MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator)

From the 25 traits, each person will learn 10 of his/her personality traits

Each of the 25 traits is explained in an individual description

Included is the Big Five Test and enneagram information

A bibliography for all the personality traits has been added and links for each of the personality labels is added.

The Changemaker Test is free at Finding Your Passion.

Disclaimer for all Changemaker Information

kberman — Fri, 03 Mar 2006 17:53:00 +0000

Our intent in offering this information is that the information will be used to benefit others. Always be aware that persons seeking information about themselves or others may need professional guidance. In fact, we have experienced the terrible toll of living with depression and/or substance abuse. We completely believe in and are grateful for psychiatrists as well as others in the healing professions.

Only psychiatrists and/or medical doctors can prescribe medication for mental health. Psychologists sometimes will tell a patient that the patient doesn’t need medication without being honest with the patient
and revealing that they can’t prescibe medication. So it is patient beware!

Of course, many psychologists will refer their patients/clients/customers to the medical profession for medication. If a beneficial relationship between psychologist and client exists, the client can still be referred to medical doctor for medication only.

Changemaker believes that the patient has to be very self-educated about these problems. With the education, the patient/client/customer can then choose his/her medical team. Remember the doctors work for the patient.

When you hire your professional, always receive a free consultation to see how you feel with this professional. At this first meeting, ask the professional for a diagnosis as you would expect from any other medical professional.

Also ask for the plan for recovery; such as, how many sessions may be needed and how much this will cost. If you unable to get any clear direction, be aware that the treatment will probably be long and costly if the professional has no clear direction. Be sure to read our post entitled: “How to Know if You Need Therapy”.

Changemaker Quotation

kberman — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 18:32:00 +0000

Having collected quotations for 20 years about the topics and ideas expressed in the Changemaker family of blog and website, the following quotation is the best we’ve found that states our core belief about inner healing.

“It is the courage to be open and loving which is the manifestation of underlying strength and power. And it is only in embracing the possibility that you have a Higher Self that knows how to love, that knows truth within, that is truly powerful, that you can begin to face and dismantle the false beliefs of the protected self, the ego. You can’t begin to look at these and deal with them if you don’t believe there’s anything else. You can never move into the feeling of personal power until you recognize truly that there’s a peaceful place within you that is already there, that doesn’t have to be fixed.”

Jordan and Margaret Paul