Get up or Spiritual Nutrition

Get Up: A 12-Step Guide to Recovery for Misfits, Freaks, and Weirdos

Author: Bucky Sinister

A tough love approach to recovery for those who would be mortified to be seen reading a recovery book—the author shares his stories & the steps that come from the self-identified losers who just might save your life.

Publishers Weekly

This self-help book for the substance-abusing artistically-and atheistically-inclined is both a ringing endorsement of AA and a brilliant piece of literary performance with poetic and savagely funny insights. Spoken word artist Sinister-a self-professed "misfit" and recovering alcoholic and addict-celebrates sobriety and provides a methodical analysis of the 12-Step program interpolated with biting commentary ("The difference between the Bible and a Magic Eightball is that 400 years ago, you would've been burned at the stake for owning a Magic Eightball") and encouragement that is, by turns, sincere (in particular a foray into why artists are so prone to addictions) and comic ("Finding Your Inner A-Team"). The book is a wild mixture of autobiography, philosophy, social criticism, pop culture and nuttiness: the consummate self-help book for those too cool for self-help books. Although the author occasionally veers uncomfortably close to glamorizing his addictions, his advice is sound, detailed and heartfelt. (Oct.)

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Dale Farris - Library Journal

A San Francisco-based spoken word artist, poet, and performer, Sinister developed a drinking problem as a teenager. When he decided to get sober, he took the traditional, faith-based 12-step group approach despite his fears about losing his creative muse and his issues with higher-power mythology (he's an atheist). The risk paid off, and for six years he's been clean. Here, he shares his journey through his addiction and recovery, detailing how he managed to integrate the 12-step philosophies into his own beliefs. He frankly reveals how he was initially afraid of embracing the techniques while motivating others to join him in their own efforts to get clean. The author's advice to addicts is soundly rooted in recovery practice, but he also debunks the oft-repeated excuses that prevent addicts from getting up from their malaise and getting involved in recovery. Sinister gives readers with similar beliefs a practical, meaningful alternative to the dogma of recovery. His iconoclastic approach to addiction recovery will make a valuable addition to the growing works in this field. Highly recommended for university libraries supporting the helping professions and larger public libraries.

Table of Contents:

Acknowledgments 13 Introduction 15
1 12 Step for the Rest of Us 21 Three Types of People 25 Nature Versus Nurture 26 Where Everybody Doesn't Know Your Name 30 So Life Kicked You in the Nads 32 Clean and Sober Versus Straight Edge 34 Get the Fuck Up 39 Finding a Sponsor 40 Creating a Community 41 The Big Book Is Just a Rule Book 42 What Do You Want, a Cookie? 43
2 The God Problem 45 My Background in Religion 47 Why 12 Step, If I Don't Believe in All the Higher Power Crap? 50
12 Step and Atheists 53 The Ideal Image 55 The Baby Odin Never Cries 57 Thoughts on the Serenity Prayer 58
3 Entering: Get in Where You Fit in 65 Step 1 Admitting What All Your Friends Already Know 68 Step 2 Give Sanity a Chance 71 Step 3 Surrender-It's Not Just a Cool Cheap Trick Song 73
4 Internal Transformation: You're a Sick Puppy 77 Step 4 Get Over Your Old Bullshit 79 Step 5 You're Not a Snitch If It's About Yourself 82 Step 6 Nobody's Perfect, Especially Not You 83 Step 7 Taking Out the Emotional Trash 85
5 External Transformation: The World Is Big and Scary 89 Steps 8 and 9 Start Writing, This Is Going to Take a While 91 Step 10 Lather, Rinse, Repeat 92 Step 11 Pray Faster 93 Step 12 Get This-You Matter! 94
6 Get Off Your Drunk Ass 103 Goals and the Addict 105 Finding Your Inner A-Team 108 Achieving Your Goals the Lee Marvin Way 117 Being Happy 121 Taking Good Care of Your Hustle Monkey 122
7 The Artist and Recovery 127 The Artist, the Hot Stove Toucher 130 My Life in the Art Scene 132 Lies Artists Tell Ourselves 143 Self-Image and the Artist 144 Humility and the Artist 147 The Tough Guy 148
8 What I Learned from Joseph Campbell 153 The Hero's Journey 155 Epilogue:Live Like No One Dares 165

See also: Golf Flex or The Tao of Detox

Spiritual Nutrition: Six Foundations for Spiritual Life and the Awakening of Kundalini

Author: Gabriel Cousens

When we eat, can we feed the soul as well as the body? Can a diet have an impact on spirituality? Spiritual Nutrition empowers readers to develop personal diets that are appropriate to their lifestyles and spiritual practices. Drawing on 14 years of clinical experience and research, Dr. Gabriel Cousens discusses nutritional issues that can help answer these questions, including raw vs. cooked food; high vs. low protein; the concepts of assimilation and fasting; alkaline--acid balance; attitudes about food; nutrients, energy, and structure building.

In addition, Cousens shares his new dietary system of "spiritual nutrition" that is based on the relationship that the color of the food has to corresponding colors of the human chakra system, hence, the "rainbow diet." For true nourishment, he strongly promotes the connection of diet to meditation, fellowship, wisdom, and love.