Happy Easter (belated) and Passover!
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If you or a loved one is looking to make positive changes in life, please consider contacting us at 248-358-8508 for a free consultation. It might be the best call you’ve made in a while. Please also inquire about our therapist training/certification program.
UPCOMING SEMINARS. WORKSHOPS, and ITEMS of INTEREST
Friday April 1, 2016—Mr Shulman presents “Cultivating Honesty and Integrity in Our Kids and Ourselves” at the Annual Michigan Social Workers Conference in Lansing, Ml. Registration required.
Friday April 1, 2016—Mr. Shulman presents “Men’s Issues in Therapy and Recovery” at the Annual Michigan Social Workers Conference in Lansing, Ml. Registration required.
Tuesday April 5, 2016—Mr. Shulman presents on understanding and treating hoarding disorder at The Plymouth, Michigan Kiwanis Club. 6:30-8pm. Call for info.
Thursday April 7 – Saturday April 9, 2016—The Silent Epidemic: A Conference on Suicide (Information, Intervention, Hope). Plymouth, Ml. For more information on how to register for 1, 2, or all 3 days, see: kevinssong,n/conference — Monday May 16, 2016Mr. Shulman presents on understanding and treating hoarding disorder at The Livonia, MI District Library 7-8.30pm. Free.
–Thursday July 27, 2016Mr. Shulman presents on understanding and treating hoarding disorder at The Dexter, MI District Library 7-8:30pm. Free.
Facts, Stats, Quotes & More!
New Film Highlights Hoarding Disorder
The New Film “Hello, My Name is Doris” is a light-hearted but heart-felt comedy about an older woman, Sally Field, who has hoarding disorder and her attempts to restart her life after her mother dies and she develops a crush on a young co-worker.
New Book Outlines The Long History of Retail Therapy
Conspicuous Consumption is not a product of market capitalism, but a mark of civilization,
suggests Frank Trentmann in his new book Empire of Thing (Harper, 862 pages)
A Quote by Mahatma Gandhi: A man who was completely innocent, offered himself as a sacrifice for the good of others, including his enemies, and became the ransom of the world. It was a perfect act.
A Quote by Dwight L. Moody:
We are told to let our light shine, and if It does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining – they just shine.
A Quote by James E. Faust:
A rebirth out of spiritual adversity causes us to become new creatures.
A Quote by Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson:
Freedom is within our grasp, and Passover reminds us that we need to reach.
A Quote by Rabbi Menachem Mendel:
I do not want followers who are righteous, rather I want followers who are too busy doing good that they won’t have time to do bad.
A Quote by Jonathan Sacks:
The message of Passover remains as powerful as ever: Freedom is won not on the battlefield but in the classroom and the home. Teach your children the history of freedom if you want them never to lose it.
A Quote by Rabbi Nachman:
The Exodus from Egypt occurs in every human being, in every era, in every year, and in every day. What Happened to The American Dream? 213 of Generation X’ers Don’t Expect to Retire Comfortably!
Financial Infidelity More Common That We Think?
A recent Consumers Report survey estimates that 2/3 of adults in relationships combine their finances with their partners but 42% admit to lying to being financially dishonest with their partners, up from 31% in 2011.
Marriage: A Mixed Bag on Health?
Studies suggest married people are healthier and drink less alcohol but are 4.4 lbs heavier than their single counterparts.
Tears of Joy?
52% of people worldwide report feeling better after crying; on average, women cry 2 to 5 times per month and men once every 2 months.
The Good News About Chipotle’s and Other Food Poisoning Reports?
Thanks to new technology, health officials are finding food-borne outbreaks faster than every before!
So Much for Preventing The Next Stock Market Crash!
Nearly two-thirds of Wall Street trading jobs are now filled by workers with less than nine years experience, suggesting they have little ability to handle market crises.
Monthly Articles of Interest
Click on blue hyperlinks to view full articles
This Really Puts Thinqs in Perspective!
Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds: Free 2 hour/4-Part Online Documentary
It Pays To Pause Before You Tie The Knot!
13 Questions Every Couple Should Ask Before They Take The Leap!
This Can’t Be True!
N.C. Man Arrested for Not Returning VHS Tape… from 2002!
Shopaholic Today, Recovering Shopaholic Tomorrow!
NBC’s Today Show Highlights Shopping Addiction
The More of Less!
New Book Due in May by Minimalist Activist Joshua Becker
International Womens Day Should Be Every Day!
March 8th Date and Website Signals Calls for Awareness & Action!
How Much Is Enough?
NBCs Today Show Highlights Hoarding Disorder
15 Steps To Forgive Someone Who’s Hurt You!
Timeless Wisdom from The Late Dr. Wayne Dyer
This Month’s Featured Article
by Terrence Shulman
Easter. Passover and Rebirth
As most of us slough off the winter snow and delight in the new buds of spring, Passover and Easter remind us of the triumphs of breaking free and being reborn. You don’t have to be religious to embrace these vital themes and journeys.
This is a great time to ask ourselves the following questions:
What did I learn during my winter slumber?
What have I been enslaved to and how am I finding new freedom from this?
How have I recently died (symbolically) and who has this process given rebirth to?
During my winter slumber I found myself unexpectedly busy and fruitful these last three months of 2013. So much so that I hardly got to enjoy much winters slumber!
What does it mean to be free? According to Buddhist teachings, spiritual slavery is borne of an over-involvement with our egos and an oppressive attachment to worldly goods, pursuits and relationships. But, as it was for the Israelites in Egypt and Jesus on the cross, deliverance is possible. But we must work out our liberation with diligence—that’s where recovery comes in…
In Buddhism, to achieve such self-liberation is to achieve enlightenment, or nirvana, a state of clarity and release from suffering. Few people have found this enlightenment and, so, for most the quest continues through a constant cycle of death and rebirth (whether figuratively or actually in terms of reincarnation).
In much the same way that we continue to learn and grow through therapy, recovery and other self-development work, each year we celebrate Passover and Easter (as well as the transition from winter to spring), as a reminder of the story of death and rebirth, slavery to liberation.
For those who’ve wandered “40 years” between enslavement and freedom (how many have been in their addictions that long!) and those who have felt crucified and resurrected and those budding flowers of spring both delicate and strong beyond measure, we face the cycle of the seasons within and without. We must grow, we must move toward freedom and toward rebirth. It is our calling and destiny.
Remembering a Friend of C.A.S.A.
John P. (1959 -2016)
Another reminder that life is short and we need to live it to the fullest because we never know when our time or the time of our loved ones is up.
My friend of nearly 9 years, John P., died recently after a 6-month battle with brain damage which left him in a diabetic coma and, later, a persistent vegetative state. It was a sudden and sad end to the vibrant lie of a vibrant man. He had stopped eating properly after his elderly mother died last year. He’d been her caregiver in many ways. I’d tried reaching out to him after his mother’s death but he didn’t follow-up. I’d visited him at the hospital and twice at the nursing home where he, sadly, wasted away.
John was court-ordered to our metro-Detroit C.A.S.A group about nine years ago after a second shoplifting conviction. He was a stocky, gruff man with a dark black beard and walked with a cane due to a fragile ankle that had been crushed in an auto accident but had been reconstructed with surgery.
John was a divorced father of three children who, at the time of his recent death, all were in their 20’s and 30’s. He was especially proud of his youngest, a daughter named Miracle, who’d recently been accepted to a prestigious college. He’d named his construction/remodeling/handyman service after her.
John was a former U.S. marine who, by all accounts, was a stand-up guy but, like many of us who come to C.A.S.A., he fit the profile of the overgiver, the strong one, and one who kept his feelings close to his vest; thus, shoplifting became his release valve and, overtime, coping mechanism. Within a relatively short period of time, John found something in C.A.S.A. that allowed him to be more vulnerable and to be himself. Soon, he was a regular weekly attendee and for the last 8 years, had been one of C.A.S.A. primary group facilitators. He donated his handyman skills to fix things at the church where we met for C.A.S.A. He took sincere interest in the lives of many of our members. He offered wisdom, humor, and support.
John, I’m going to miss you. You died too young. I’m glad I got to know you and I’m glad the last nine years of your life were some of your best. You made a difference in the lives of so many. You were the embodiment of recovery. Thanks for being a friend and inspiration and support to me along the way. Rest in peace.
Books by Terrence Shulman
Click here to order!
| SOMETHING FOR NOTHING: Shoplifting Addiction & Recovery | BOUGHT OUT AND WENT! Compulsive $hopping and $pending |
Click here to order!
| CLUTTERED LIVES, EMPTY SOULS: Compulsive Stealing, Spending & Hoarding | BITING THE HAND THAT FEEDS The Employee Theft Epidemic |
SPOTLIGHTS
OTHER ASSOCIATES ARE DOING GREAT WORK, TOO!
Younique Wellness for Body, Mind and Spirit
htto://youniauewellness.net
Think Beyond Belief Publishing
http://kevinalexzander.com
http://zantimekoawanzi.com
Alabama Court Referral Program
S.T.E.P.: Stop Theft Education Program
3rd Millenium STOPLifting Online Education Course
www.3rdmilclassrooms.com
UnSTEAL.orp–A Non-Profit Corporation
http://unsteal.org
Getting Out From Going Under (Debt)
http://aettineoutfromaoinaunder.com
April Benson, PhD and Stopping Overshopping
http://www.shopaholicnomore.comftext-prouram
Surviving Suicide with Heart and Humor
http://writeonmvmind.com
Jack L. Hayes, International, Inc. Loss Prevention
http://havesintemational.com
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