Testimonials for A New Beginning
What I like about your book so far is the way it is in a progressive chain of events. For example, homelessness - a prior crisis led to chain of events that led to this crisis (true for me). You also don't feed into the victim mentality too much. Yes, once in a while we are in the wrong place at the wrong time, but most of us are just reaping the results of past decisions.
I like the book better than the radio show, although I learned something I needed in my life at this moment about commitments on the show I listened to. I plan to use your two types of core commitment techniques. I like the comfort zone challenge as well. The book is easy to read so far.
I am glad I met you.
- Dewey Andersen, CA
My name is Lindsey Stockton. I recently graduated from Stanislaus State University in Turlock, CA. I received my B.A. in Psychology. Now, I will go directly into a two years Master's program to obtain my Masters in Psychology, along with a marriage and family therapist certification. This information by itself does not sound all that extraordinary, because the fact is that it’s not. There are probably millions of people around the world that could rattle off the same story. So, you may be asking yourself, “What’s the big deal?”
The big deal is that these goals weren’t even a twinkle in my eye (so-to-speak) less than a year ago. In fact, all of my energy was being uselessly squandered in the form of self-destructive coping skills. Looking back, I find it truly miraculous that I was able to survive as long as I did on the path that I was on.
For as long as I can remember the ways in which I sought out coping with life always led me to disastrous ends. From eating disorders, to drugs and alcohol, to shopping; you name it, and I have probably used it as a way to fill a void that was constantly expanding inside me. I always ended up at the same conclusion: “I just can’t do life.” I knew I was lacking something important, but I didn’t know what exactly, and the bigger problem was that I didn’t know any alternatives as to how to go about getting whatever it was that I needed. Everything that I had learned up to that point about how to make myself “feel better” was ineffective, short-lived, and down-right destructive. And it was killing me. Every single day I was dying physically, emotionally, mentally and spiritually.
The English language lacks the words to adequately express the depths of despair that I had come to feel, but I will try: Imagine that that you are at the bottom of a hole, thousands of miles deep (that you, yourself have dug, and subsequently placed yourself at the bottom of). You can see a faint glimmer of light, but you feel that it is too far away to even attempt to climb toward it, so you just give up and sit, and wait, knowing that the end result is death. So here you are, filled with shame and despair because you have put yourself in this situation and because you can’t find the resolve to even try and get yourself out of it. This still does not illustrate the full magnitude of the degradation that was taking place, but it will have to suffice for now.
Death was approaching. While I didn’t necessarily want to die, I didn’t really want to live either. Moreover, I wouldn’t even have known how to start living had I been able to make that decision on my own.
Through Addison C. Arthur and the book he has written, Spinning on Your Own Axis: A New Beginning I have learned and put into place skills that have helped me truly live. The book starts from a crisis situation (which I was most certainly in) and takes the reader step by step to a place where he/she is effectively living a life of purpose and fulfillment. In the process no stone is left unturned. Everything from finances to brain function is covered. The book brings to light many components that one may not even recognize as having a significant impact in their life, and clearly illustrates effective ways to deal with these factors. The information in A New Beginning has proven invaluable to me; I apply it on a daily basis. For me, it has served as a “guidebook” for living a stable and balanced life.
Fortunately, life does not have any shortages of moments for which to practice the skills taught in Addison’s book. It has been helpful for me to view using what I have learned in the book as a fun, and novel experience. This has been especially true when encountering situations that might be less than enjoyable. I look at these situations as opportunities to put the new skills I have learned to use.
Reading, and more importantly utilizing A New Beginning has been the best decision I have ever made for myself. In doing so I have gained stability, autonomy, and confidence; all of which have helped me to make the right choices for living a life that serves me (as well as those around me) well. Today, I hold my head up high, and am proud of the person I have become. A New Beginning has been, and will continue to be an essential part of who I am, and how I decide to live my life.
- Lindsey Stockton, CSUS, Turlock, CA