Invictus
This week I would like to invite you to memorize the poem Invictus.  I have a 17 year old young man I have been working with who is struggling with addiction issues and a plague of doubt.  He has memorized this poem and it has changed his outlook on life.  It has given him hope in his ability to deal with his challenges.  He meditates on this poem daily for 10 minutes.  Use this poem as outlined in chapter 5 in the Innergold manual.   For this young man it has transformed his life.

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the Pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate;
I am the captain of my soul.
by William Ernest Henley; 1849-1903

“The greatest test of courage on earth is to bear defeat without losing heart.”

-Robert G. Ingersoll

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“For a long time it had seemed to me that life was about to begin – real life.  But there was always some obstacle in the way.  Something to be got through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served, a debt to be paid.  Then life would begin.  At last it dawned on me that these obstacles were my life.” -Fr. Alfred D’Souza

Without obstacles to overcome what meaning could life possibly have?  It is through the personal struggle with weaknesses that one can be made strong. Keep applying the information to your life you are learning and you’ll get better one day at a time. Pick yourself up and keep trying!

In the treatment system, we use the analogy of the butterfly that is coming out of the cocoon. A little boy discovers the butterfly and sees it struggling, he decides to help it out. The little butterfly takes flight but only to fall to the ground a few minutes later.

The boy was sad and asked is Grandpa, “Why did it die?”

The grandfather replied, with love in his heart, “That butterfly needed to strengthen its self and prepare for the days ahead. When you removed its struggle, it did not receive the strength it needed.”

Just like this butterfly, we all have struggles but these struggles make us ready for the days ahead. Keep going, you can do it.

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The great secret of life is to be happy where you are in the process doing the best you can with what you have.  It is common to think that the grass is always greener on the other side.  Your job is to face whatever challenges that may be in front of you right now (today) and do whatever you can to make them right.  If you are facing a challenge today what makes you think that it will be easier to overcome or deal with tomorrow?  Don’t fret about the past or be to consumed with the future, but live now.  I recently read a story about a minister who was having a difficult time going to sleep because he was so worried about the future and the condition of the world.  God said to him, “Go to sleep bishop.  I will stay up and watch over things.”  If you do your best today trust that things will work out.  Everything is going to be okay when all the dust settles.  Face the truth, be responsible, smile and keep moving forward.

Consider the following:  “Rock of Ages,” one of the most popular Christian hymns, was composed under unusual circumstance.   In 1775, Augustus Toplady took shelter from a storm in a cleft of a large rock at Barrington Coombe in Somerset, England, and while waiting for the rain to stop, wrote this famous song on the only piece of paper he could find – a playing card. Just doing the best you can where you are at with what you’ve got may make more of a difference in the world than you think.

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• What action can I take today to improve my sobriety and mental health
• How come I constantly slip up?
• How can I serve another person today?
• Why don’t people show me the respect I deserve?

Whatever type of question you ask your brain will go on a search for the answer.  By becoming more aware and mindful one can learn to ask more healthy questions. “I began to realize that thinking itself is nothing but the process of asking and answering questions….We need to realize that most of what we do, day in and day out, is ask and answer questions.  So if we want to change the quality of our lives, we should change our habitual question.  These questions direct our focus, and therefore how we think and how we feel….I realized that the main difference between the people who seemed to be successful – in any area! – and those who weren’t was that successful people asked better questions, and as a result, they got better answers.  They got answers that empowered them to know exactly what to do in any situation to produce the results they desired.  Quality questions create a quality life. (Awaken the Giant Within, pp.179-180).

Practice asking better question this week!

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We just wanted to let you know that we have published our first, quick read, book called, “The Language of Recovery” this is not the treatment system but is a great companion to the treatment system and help to those seeking a greater understanding of addiction issues.

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For it isn’t your father, or mother, or wife 

Whose judgment upon you must pass

The fellow whose verdict counts most in your life

Is the one staring back from the glass.



He’s the fellow to please – never mind all the rest

For he’s with you, clear to the end

And you’ve passed your most difficult, dangerous test
If the man in the glass is your friend.



You may fool the whole world down the pathway of years

And get pats on the back as you pass

But your final reward will be heartache and tears

If you’ve cheated the man in the glass.

- Peter Dale Wimbrow Sr.

Remember you are great and you have a lot to offer to others. You are priceless. You know what you did today, yesterday and what you will do tomorrow. Don’t cheat yourself.

You can do it!

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Little Eagle, a lively youngster, approached his wise grandfather, White Mountain, late one afternoon with tears in his eyes.

“Grandfather. There is so much about the ways of life that I do not understand. There are some boys who are mean to me and they always want to fight and do bad things. I’m not afraid of them but I do not want to fight. Why are they so mean?”
White Mountain looked lovingly at his grandson and thought for a moment. “There are two wolves in my heart that are engaged in a ferocious battle,” he said.

Little Eagle wiped his teary cheeks and stared up in wonder at his aging Grandfather.

“One wolf,” the Grandfather continued, “is evil. He is a very vengeful, angry, and violent wolf. He is deceptive and makes trouble everywhere he goes. The other wolf is good and he is our friend. He brings peace, love, joy and all of the great virtues wherever he goes. These two wolves battle inside the hearts of every man, woman and child who walk this Earth.” The grandfather paused again, then went on. “This battle is raging inside the hearts of those boys who taunt you, Little Eagle. “In fact, this same battle is going on inside of you too. It is a terrible struggle.”

Little Eagle pondered this new idea and thought some more about the mean boys. “But, Grandfather,” he asked with great curiosity, “which one of these wolves will win this great battle?”

“Ah! That is a very wise question, Little Eagle,” the Grandfather replied. “The wolf that wins is the one that you feed the most.”

If one feeds the addiction, it grows stronger but if one feeds the healthy self then it grows stronger and can easily manage the dark wolf.

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The nature of life is that it is full of challenges. It is in facing these challenges with faith that makes it possible to make progress and grow stronger.

Ghandi once said, “Joy lies in the fight, in the struggle, in the suffering involved not in the victory itself.”

These are wise words to remember. We must continually move towards a way of being and not be so concerned about a particular destination. There is no destination that does not lend itself to another one in the future. That is why the InnerGold system is about becoming someone by the regular practice of doing dailies based on the 5 keys to the language of recovery which are acceptance, surrender, awareness, mindfulness and faith.

It is the obstacles we face that grants us the opportunity to become stronger and more compassionate towards others.

We can commit ourselves to keep moving forward and put a smile on our face despite the challenges that we might face!

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I have been wanting to write this email for some time, but never envisioned what exactly would “push me over the edge” to do this.

I have been utterly amazed at the words you speak, the knowledge you have, and the effort you make to try and help other people – you really do want to change the world one person at a time!

I started the Inner Gold (IG) treatment right about the end of March, and a few weeks later I subscribed to the podcasts, which have caused me great behavioral changes i.e. after every podcast that I listen to, I have this urge to really change because the podcasts seem to address things I can relate to in an inexplicable manner. I hope this makes sense.

I guess it would help if I tell you a little bit about myself before the above statement would make sense. I am successful airline pilot for one of the biggest airlines in the world. I joined this company at the age of –, and before that I did the most incredible flying up in Africa, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and even Afghanistan! I started flying at the age of –, and have managed to live my dream ever since. I can honestly say that where I am sitting right now (career wise) I have managed to make a dream come true. This is something I am truly thankful for, but I have been dragging this dirty little secret with me since my youth when everything started for me in the form of a school friend telling me how he saw pictures of naked women on the Internet – the rest is self-explanatory.

Just like most of your clients/patients, I suffer from this horrible addiction of pornography too. I finally understand what it feels like to be truly frustrated with the process of trying and failing and staying sober. This is affecting my job, my self esteem, my focus, and I need help.

My biggest problem is that I can not speak to anyone about this. Not that I do not have parents or siblings, but for the exact reason that I do, and not only that, I have a wonderful brother and the best parents in the world… I guess pride is the word that I do not want to use, but know is the subject here, and I just feel like I need to vent. I need to share this with someone. I don’t think I have many friends, and the few ones I do are not exactly the ones I would like to share this with since they are not only friends, but work colleagues.

I listened to the most recent podcast where you say that pornography is the plague of our generation. This rattled me to the bone, and I don’t think any statement so far has shocked me to my core as much as what you described in this particular podcast. It is this very statement that makes me want to change like nothing else.

I have wasted time, money and emotions on pornography, and want to stop. I understand that I need to follow the IG manual’s advice (daily planning sheets, future picture statement, and meditation).

I can not begin to tell you how fortunate I am to have come across your website, and I would like to look back one day and see that I have truly recovered from an addiction.

We hope this letter helped you to relate and to realize you are not alone. As always, YOU CAN DO IT!

Have a great day.

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. . . Finally they can walk.

Do not give up, if you are less than perfect. Pick yourself up quickly, learn from your experience and move on. Mistakes are always the product of hindsight. A mistake is anything you do that you later, upon reflection, wish you had done differently. This also applies to things you didn’t do that you later, upon reflection, wish you had done. It is in the striving that life has its meaning.

Be positive and optimistic and keep moving forward. The only failure in the process of self-mastery is the failure to get up and keep trying after a setback.

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