Life in ThailandThai ways of living - be it countryside or city - have their own distinct styles, rhythms and habits. The kingdom, and especially Bangkok, is also home to an interesting variety of locals and expatriates. Learn about the views and lives of local and expatriate communities, in addition to helpful tips for those exploring and living a Life in Thailand.
Staff Writer
ThaiAsiaToday.com's Steve Thompson learns from Mike, a 'sober alcoholic' for 14 years, how his interest and respect for Buddhist concepts, along with Alcoholics Anonymous' (AA) 12 Steps helps him to help other 'battle the bottle'.
Steve Thompson (ST):Would you mind telling our readers a bit more about yourself please Mike?
Mike C (MC): Sure, my name's Mike and I'm a sober alcoholic of 14 years and a student of Buddha's teachings for over 12 years.
ST: I believe you spent many years in the Armed Forces and that was how you first visited the kingdom?
MC: I was born in America and joined the United States Air Force (USAF) when I was 18 – I stayed in service for 30 years. I went from one stripe to an eagle on my shoulder. My career took me to 66 different countries as a pilot and Thailand was #1 in my heart for 40 years of all the places my travels took me.
ST: When did you make the move here?
MC:My last (USAF) assignment was in Hawaii in 1980 and I stayed there 25 years until 2005 when I moved to Thailand permanently. During the Vietnam War, I spent two years as a combat pilot in Vietnam, one year in Laos and two more in Thailand and left part of my heart here. I fell in love with the people I met and lived with during those five years.
I was traveling back and forth from Hawaii to Thailand, Laos and Vietnam so much I finally made the big move. The people of Thailand smile continuously and so do I. So now my smile is in a place where people smile back. Most of all it is a spiritual place with peace and serenity for me.
ST: I believe you have been impressed in general by the Thai attitude to age and aging?
MC: Old age is revered and respected in Thailand. In my opinion, Thailand was a wonderful place to come as a young man but when you are an old man it is the only place to come. I am the luckiest, happiest man on planet earth. I am home here and I love Thailand and the people of Thailand.
It's my belief that hundreds of years of Buddhism practiced here in Thailand has produced the gentlest, most generous, most tolerant, loving, happy people in the world. My country of birth (America) has so much wealth and abundance but the people are not happy with what they have and want more and more.
ST: So when did you first come to believe that you had a problem with alcohol?
MC:Let's get to my problem and my solution. When I was in Vietnam and Laos I flew combat missions every day and drank every night. After five years of doing that I became an alcoholic. When they took away my airplane and the war was over I was still drinking every day. Of course this addiction lasted until 14 years ago when I hit a dark bottom.
I know that to be a lay follower of Buddha you need to observe five precepts: do not kill; lie; steal; engage in sex or take intoxicants (including ya ba and alcohol). Once you are addicted to alcohol the other four precepts are unlikely to be followed and you become a complete zero. I was in all sorts of trouble when I hit bottom and spiritual emptiness was the worst of all. I am lucky I did not kill someone driving a car while drunk.
ST: How did Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) help?
MC:In AA when we get started working through the various steps we ask for help and get a sponsor, sort of like a teacher to lead us through the steps. I told my sponsor I was guilty of many things but I had never been a thief. I never stole money or property. He told me I was indeed a thief … I had stolen time from my family, my job and myself and that time was priceless.
ST: What's the most challenging aspect of fighting alcoholism?
MC: Alcoholism is a disease of the mind, spirit and the body. The biggest problem is an alcoholic will tell you he does not have a problem despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary. Denial will last for years and often until death. This is a fatal disease. You cannot treat only the mind or the body or the spirit and expect recovery. You must treat all three.
ST:And is there any sense that this is something the Thai people needn't worry about?
MC:Alcoholism is not a farang disease, it's universal. I don't know of a Thai family that has not been affected by an alcoholic in some way just like I don’t know of a family that hasn't had someone injured by a motorbike! The solution is also universal. Alcoholics can recover no matter what sex, race, age, religion or location. Thailand is a great location to recover.
ST: How did you begin fighting your addiction?
MC:Okay, let's do the steps with the help of the teachings of Buddha.
I hit my bottom very hard and went to my first meeting of Alcoholics
Anonymous (AA) over 14 years ago (in Hawaii). I had nowhere to go but
up. I was willing to try anything to stop the pain. When I saw a room
full of nice people laughing, hugging each other and having a good time
I tried to run away.
A man in the group – Ted - spotted me and grabbed my arm. “You're in
the right place. Come sit down and I will be your temporary sponsor,”
he said. I listened to a speaker talk about his experience, strength
and hope. They talked and read through the 12 Steps of AA. They gave me
the literature and told me to come back the next week and display the
literature.
The meeting was wonderful, full of humor and encouraging sharing by the
people present. They were having a good time and I had a good time,
too. So at the first meeting they gave me a 'Big Book' of AA, gave me a
service position - literature, I got a sponsor and a beginning to my
recovery. Ted became my sponsor to this day and that group became my
home group until I moved to Thailand. After the meeting, Ted and another alcoholic, Jeff, spent one hour of
their time trying to open my mind and help me. It was a spiritual
experience that these two men would spend time on me, a broken down
worthless excuse for a human being. I decided I would do exactly what
these men did to get sober and stay sober. So step one was really that
I surrendered!
After I had been sober for a year I just happened to pick up this black
book right here in my hand from a hotel room - The Teachings of Buddha
- and the first thing I read jumped right out at me. “Though he should
conquer a thousand men in the battlefield a thousand times, yet he,
indeed, who would conquer himself is the noblest victor.” Wow that
really hit home.
I had been a warrior in a thousand battles not far from here in Laos, I
had been fighting all my life, I was fighting everybody and everything.
I was a fighter pilot and I had a chest full of medals that told you I
was victorious but it was a big, fat lie. In the end I was fighting
myself and losing the battle. I thank my Buddha for teaching me to win
this battle and I did conquer myself.
ST: That's so inspiring Mike, thank you very much. Would you continue our
discussion next week so that our readers can discover how you combined
AA's 12 Steps with your interest in Buddhism to conquer your addiction?
MC: It would be a pleasure.
ST:Thanks a lot. We look forward to hearing the rest of your story!
Click back on January 17, to learn more about Alcoholics Anonymous' 12 Steps.
Please note: The images accompanying this article are in no way related
to the subject of the article ('Mike'). Mike's full name or real name
has not been used to protect his anonymity in respect of basic
journalistic ethics.
Life in Thailand 
Life in Thailand
Thai ways of living - be it countryside or city - have their own distinct styles, rhythms and habits. The kingdom, and especially Bangkok, is also home to an interesting variety of locals and expatriates. Learn about the views and lives of local and expatriate communities, in addition to helpful tips for those exploring and living a Life in Thailand.
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