This is http://www.essayz.com/a9004023.htm         
Previous-Essay      <== This-Essay ==>     Following-Essay
Click HERE on this line to find essays via Your-Key-Words.
{Most frequent wordstarts of each essay will be put here.}
==========================================================
%WORSHIP NEGLECT AFFIRM ACKNOWLEDGE ADDICT CODEPEND 900402

     The   process   of   falling   into   addiction   and
codependence   includes   the   increasing   practice   of
neglecting  to  affirm uncomfortable  truths  about  human
limitations, imperfections, failures, weaknesses, etc. The
dishonesty  of  addiction and codependence  is  rooted  in
neglecting  to  affirm truths;  active denial  and  active
dishonesty are only the extreme forms of such neglect. The
majority   of  steps  into  dishonesty  involve  passively
pretending  that  the truths are not known,   through  the
process of neglecting to acknowledge uncomfortable  truths
through any  regular rituals.

     Many  religious services of worship serve the purpose
of helping participants to regularly acknowledge essential
but  uncomfortable truths.   In healthy religious  worship
services  participants  confess the importance of  keeping
present  in daily life an awareness of human  limitations,
imperfections,  failures, weaknesses, etc.;  while keeping
in  mind  that  none of those  truths  mean  that  persons
themselves are essentially limited, imperfect, failures or
weak.

     Healthy    religious   worship    services    involve
paradoxical  affirmations  of what appear to  be  mutually
contradictory  truths  about  human potentials  and  human
limitations.   Addictive and codependent behavior patterns
involve  avoiding  such paradoxical  affirmations  through
neglect  which  lays  the  foundations  for  more   active
dishonesty in later stages of the progressive disease.

     Pretending  that we can perfect ourselves through our
own  effort  involves neglecting to keep  present  in  our
daily  lives  the  evidence  that whenever humans  try  to
perfect themselves through their own effort,  they fail in
systematic  ways  which reveal the implicit dishonesty  in
the pretense.

     Failing  to  participate  in traditional  rituals  by
which    we  confess  in  clear  ways   our    own    real
limitations  and imperfections,   leads  by stages to more
and  more active involvement in pretending that we have no
real limitations and no imperfections.

     Any systematic pattern of neglecting to affirm truths
about  our limitations leads to confusion and active forms
of dishonesty about our limitations; and to behavior which
is  tragic  through its failure to deal honestly with  our
real limitations.

     Addicts  and  codependents are confused,   dishonest,
pretentious   and   negligent   in   their   failures   to
acknowledge,   confess,  and affirm truths about  what  it
means to be human with human limitations.  They pretend to
be  super-human  with  abilities  to  perfect   themselves
through  their own efforts.   They pretend that  they  can
make themselves acceptable.  They pretend that the essence
of  their own salvation and redemption is to be  found  in
their own  efforts and successes.   Such pretentions leads
to  more  active  forms  of    dishonesty    which     are
dysfunctional and  characteristic   of  the daily drama of
addicts   and their supporting cast of codependents.

                                                                                                                               
                         (c) 2005 by Paul A. Smith in      
                    (On Being Yourself, Whole and Healthy)  
                                                                                                                               
==========================================================