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Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March
March 1
Step by Step Today, enough! No more self-defeatism from failing to attain perfection when perfection is impossible. No more self-abuse by drinking myself into oblivion every night, awakening to a shot of whisky to calm the shakes. No more dodging responsibilities to myself, other people and my employer. No more watching the clock for the 10 a.m. mid-morning hit from the bottom hidden in my car in the employee parking lot, and no more counting minutes to race home and again start drinking myself into oblivion. Enough! No more! Recovery begins today. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ BEST EFFORTS If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain. ~ Emily Dickinson ~ Success can’t be measured by the numbers of those who have heard a message of hope for a better life. We constantly remind ourselves of this whenever a single cry for help arses. One success in a 12 Step Group more than makes up for any number of failures. We can never feel discouraged by delays in success. We keep giving the message since we know that God’s delay does not mean God’s denial. When success comes we are reminded not to let pride carry us away. We have learned in recovery to keep our winnings in proper perspective. I am not in the results business. My main task is to make my best effort. Results are added benefits. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Every man I meet is in some way my superior. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~ When we are in a competitive frame of mind, we compare ourselves to those around us. We may conclude that we are better in some ways and worse in other ways. Perhaps the smallest part of our personality takes a dark pleasure in looking down on others. Some of us feel inferior to almost everyone. The true measure of a man has many dimensions. Is he physically strong, mentally determined, generous, a good father, a good partner, courageous, honest, wise, warm-hearted, responsible for himself, intelligent, musically talented, athletically gifted, a good communicator? Good qualities are countless. No one has all of them—and sometimes too much of a good thing is a bad thing. When we reach the place where we accept ourselves and make peace with who we are, we can comfortably accept everyone else, knowing that their strengths and weaknesses add up in different ways, and everyone deserves basic human respect. Today I will practice respect for everyone I meet. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Recovery is an intensely spiritual process that asks us to grow in our understanding of God. ~ Melody Beattie ~ God isn’t defined for us in any Twelve Step program. We have the freedom to create any image that pleases us. The shaming God of our youth can be gone. Instead we can call upon a Higher Power for guidance in handling the changing circumstances of our lives. Listening to other women in our group share their beliefs about God makes us aware of how valuable the guidance will be. Never must we handle anything alone. Never. Understanding this influences how we perceive every situation in our lives. Circumstances that used to baffle or overwhelm us do so no longer. Snarled relationships untangle, and God’s presence Is evident everywhere. The more we trust in the Presence, the more conscious we are of it. The more we believe, the better our journey. Believing in God’s presence today will make every experience rich with meaning. I am not alone, now or ever. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I feel lighter and stronger When I was still using – and even after several months of abstinence – it seemed that much in my life was a struggle. Some days it took all I had to get through the day (or the hour). I didn’t think I could do it. But I held on (I guess I had faith). And these days I find myself feeling lighter. The obsession has truly been lifted and my emotional problems are manageable. I feel less vulnerable. I feel stronger in my program. I do not feel the fear as before. These days I feel more alive than I can scarcely remember. I sense that I can do what a need to do for my recovery. Slowly, the Promises that follow Step Nine are coming true. Today I will thank my higher power for my progress and pray for deeper acceptance of my life. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ As we are enveloped with hurt, so are we also nourished with the energy of new growth. ~ Mary Summers ~ In the writings of St. John of the Cross, the “dark night” is a time of disorientation and confusion. But it is also a time of deep healing. Though we struggle in darkness, it is at this time that our Higher Power is working the hardest to guide us through to renewed health and wholeness. It has been proven time and time again that new possibilities are on the horizon even as we plow through times of darkest despair and deepest sadness. Looking out, inward, and through our pain, we glimpse that new light of hope. A willingness to believe there is a light at the end of the tunnel can make even our most difficult days bearable and filled with growth. Before they can soar, our spirits must take the small steps so necessary for change. The glimpses of hope we occasionally see are those small steps. Today give me hope. Let me feel all my feelings in each small step I take. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him. ~ Step Three ~ A prayer is a humble and heartfelt communication with a power greater than yourself. A prayer can admit a weak-ness, communicate a need, or convey praise and gratitude. Prayers can unburden your heart, give you strength and courage, and deepen your faith and trust in a Higher Power. Use the following prayer as you work on your understanding and acceptance of Step Three. Step Three Prayer Higher Power, for so long you have been unknown to me. I have kept myself separate from you. Now I understand that I have never been alone. Even in times of great trouble and darkness, you have always been with me. Today I accept that thy will—and not my will—will guide me. I trust that you will provide me with direction, illuminate my path, and lessen my burdens so that I may do your will. With a bowed head and an open heart, I ask that you show me how to live. I ask that you free me from the bondage of my past. I ask that you provide me with guidance in all of my actions. Higher Power, I accept you. I trust in you. I turn over my life to you. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ There are no rules of architecture for a castle in the clouds. ~ Gilbert Keith Chesterton ~ When we were children and were asked, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” our answers were usually delivered quickly. There was no reason for us to believe our dreams couldn’t come true, for we hadn’t yet learned fear, doubt, and insecurity. As we grew older, we began to lose our dreams. We either became overly practical or highly irresponsible. Our fantasies were unable to fly because they were weighted down by doubts. We became negative and cynical. How could we possibly dream of castles in the clouds? Our highly practical side said clouds couldn’t hold castles; our irresponsible nature said someone else would have to build them. We are learning many things are possible now, if we will only believe. We are learning to live without constant fear, insecurity, or hopelessness. We are slowly building health and happiness. Right now, we are also building the foundations to our castles in the clouds. Through time and belief in ourselves, we will be able to build anything we want. I can be whoever I want to be; dream whatever I want to dream. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Becoming vulnerable When we choose not to escape through that first drink, fix, or pill, we are refusing to choose death. We are trusting that life can be interesting, life can be worthwhile, life can be more than it ever was before. Had we no hope of this, we never would have stopped using. In one way we have been losers. To finally give life an honest try is to become vulnerable. (Is there really a Higher Power who looks out for me?) And while we know the program works, we aren’t sure if we are willing to risk working it. But it is only through taking this risk, and becoming vulnerable, that our life will ever “open up.” Do I dare become vulnerable? Higher Power, grant me the courage to give life an honest try. I will risk being vulnerable today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ God is a circle whose circumference is nowhere and whose center is everywhere. ~ NICOLAUS CUSANUS ~ Newcomer How can I believe that a Power greater than myself can restore me to sanity? I used to pray a lot, but it didn’t work. Look what happened to me! Sponsor Yes, it’s an excellent idea to look at what did happen to us. There was a progression of events, inner or outer, that led to greater and greater discomfort. At last, living in active addiction became intolerable. Something within us wanted to surrender—and now, however long it took us, we are in recovery. Something in us must have wanted to choose life, not death. In recovery, we can embrace and nurture the part of ourselves that is aligned with Spirit. The sanity we’re rediscovering in ourselves includes acceptance of our human limitations, letting go of results we can’t control. We can let go of praying for things to happen exactly as we want, on our timetable. We can begin to be open to the miracles all around us. My life was given to me as a gift, and now I’ve been given that gift all over again. I have a choice of what to do with it. Should I blame my Higher Power for the fact that it took me so long to get here? Or should I greet the Spirit within me and say, “Welcome! I’ve been waiting. I’m glad you finally came home.” Whatever happens today offers me opportunities to deepen my relationship with my soul. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ The door of living that opened upon our advent into AA is also able to close upon those years of daily dying that are behind us. That door opened into a long hall that stretched out to a vanishing point; our eye cold not perceive its end. We should not be content to just pass through this portal and close the door upon our past, but we should move on, for our happiness is up that hall, and we must constantly advance to attain our happy goal. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) If you make yourself available, you’ll get what you need when you need it. 2) When you’re grateful for what you have, you don’t need much. 3) GOD: Group Of Drunks. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ No Other I have no other helper than You, no other father, no other redeemer, no other support. I pray to You. Only You can help me. My present misery is too great. Despair grips me, and I am at my wits’ end. I am sunk in the depths, and I cannot pull myself up or out. If it is Your will, help me out of this misery. Let me know that You are stronger than all misery and all enemies. O Lord, if I come through this, please let the experience contribute to my and my brothers’ blessings. You will not forsake me; this I know. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ HOLY COWS! Most people have certain sections of their lives where, for various reasons (mostly unknown to themselves), they do not with to make any change. These places are set aside and surrounded with an aura of spurious sanctity like the sacred cows of the East, which are considered too holy to be touched. But if you really mean business about regenerating your soul and body, there must positively be no sacred cows in your life. Nothing is truly sacred but your own indwelling Christ and the process of His awakening. Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light (Ephesians 5:15). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Prototype, Not Exception Let not the world see fear and sad distrust govern the motion of a kingly eye. ~ William Shakespeare ~ On my birthday, I made up my mind to have a wonderful day. I made plans to be with friends, scheduled a massage, and put worldly matters aside. Then an emergency repair forced me to curtail some of my celebration appointments. As I stood in the rain with the repairman, my mind began to grumble. Then I decided, “No, I will not allow this to ruin my day,” and I kept my attitude high. The repair was handled, and I went on with my celebration. At the end of the day, I felt wonderful, and the interruption actually added to my joy, for I gained strength in choosing peace. I remember the love, not the disappointment. The next morning, I began to feel sad that my day of joy had passed. Then I realized that I have the power to make every day a celebration. Why would a birthday, weekend, or vacation be an exception to life? Happiness is the way of life, and any other kind of day is the exception. During World War I, the French and German armies held a cease-fire on Christmas. Soldiers from both armies went into local towns, ate dinner, drank wine, and sang together in the same taverns. The next day, they went back to killing each other. It seems to me that if they could agree to not fight for one day, they could agree to not fight for another, and another, and another, and sooner or later they would not fight at all. Some theologians teach that Jesus was an exception to life—that he was God’s only begotten son. But Jesus was not an only child. He had many brothers and sisters, including you and me. We, too, are the sons and daughters of God, holy offspring of a perfect divinity. Jesus was our elder brother who found his way home and showed us the path. He is not a deity to be worshiped, but a model to be emulated and equaled. He said, “Even greater things than I shall you do.” He would not have uttered those words if we were lesser or different than he. The love and the good and the beauty is the truth; anything else is the exception. Help me to live my potential of love every day. I am a child of God. I deserve to live in celebration. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 2
March 2
Step by Step Today, I will remember gratitude if I take undue credit for the sobriety I have found through AA. While it is justified to take pride in being sober the last 24 Hours, that pride must be within the boundaries of the program and cannot be stretched to egoism or seeking praise from others. For when pride extends beyond the boundaries to egoism, I risk taking back the surrender to the power that carried me when I passed out or stumbled in my drinking days and even in some difficult sober days. Yes, I was the one who grabbed the lifeline of AA, but someone or something else had to toss it to me first. Gratitude. And our common journey continues. Step by Step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ GRATITUDE We have no right to ask, when sorrow comes, “why did this happen to me?” unless we ask the same question for every joy that comes our way. ~ Philip S. Bernstein ~ Self-pity used to overwhelm us. We bitterly asked why fate had burdened us with the obsession that brought us to a 12 Step Group. Now that recovery fills our lives, we are grateful for the good fortune that we have been shown a way out. Gratitude brings humility for our progress and compassion for all those who still suffer. We are not only grateful for what we have received. We are grateful for the opportunity to give. We want to always do more than feel grateful. We need to express that gratitude. My reply to every complaint I have is “compared to what?” No matter how badly I think I hurt today, every day with my old problems was worse. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ I visualize the course nine or ten times every night as I’m going to sleep. By race day, I’ve run the course a hundred times in my head. ~ A. J. Kitt, Olympic skier ~ A world-class athlete reaches the pinnacle of performance by intense work and dedication. No one doubts his priorities. He practices for hours every day, endures the pain of pushing his body to the limit, and develops his mind psychologically to be ready to respond in a split second. We can use that same model for our healing recovery program. We need to put our recovery above all else—because without that, we have nothing. We need to accept the pain that comes with facing ourselves and our truth, because on the other side of the pain is peace of mind. And we can develop our self- image as recovering men in the care of our Higher Power, succeeding as we meet the challenges of our days. A very helpful daily practice is to visualize ourselves in a quiet place, feeling well, content, and safe. Staying with this image for fifteen minutes or so, just enjoying its peace, creates a sense of strength and serenity for the next few hours or for the rest of the day. Today I know my first priority is recovery and I can picture myself feeling content in a quiet setting. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ As I recover, I am learning to detach with love and mind my own business with dignity. ~ Kathy Kendall ~ Very few situations actually need our input. On most occasions we can contribute most by observing or listening. Although controlling how others live and think may still appeal to us, we are learning from our friends and sponsors the wisdom of detachment and the necessity for boundaries between ourselves and others. Our desire to “help” friends make decisions may be rooted in love: we don’t want to see our friends get hurt by making wrong choices. But the wisdom of the program tells us that we hurt our friends more by doing for them what they need to do for themselves. While this may be hard to believe at first, we can learn to trust that it is true. It is enough to live our own lives thoughtfully. We have been given a second chance through getting clean and sober. Now it’s time to give our lives all of our attention. Let’s free other people to do the same. I have enough to do just to live my life today. I can show my love for others best if I let them live their lives too. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I wonder about quitting my medication I write squiggly because my hand shakes. I feel edgy most of the time. Even my digestion is out of sync. I don’t feel like keeping up with my medication schedule with these side effects. On the other hand I know I need the medication. I felt horrible, helpless, and hopeless before it started working. If I stop taking it now, I might get seriously ill again. I want to stay stable. I want to keep working my recovery program. I just may have to cope with these secondary problems for now. I will call my psychiatrist to report any problems with my medication and ask for reassurance and support. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Tolerance and celebration of individual differences is the fire that fuels lasting love. ~ Tom Hannah ~ Love is a healer of hearts and a forgiver of pasts. Love waits until we are ready to share and never threatens to leave if we aren’t “good enough.” Love encourages our growth, wanting us to be all we have in us to be. Love is a resting place and safe haven at the end of a stormy day. Love protects solitude, and in solitude we find God. Love doesn’t demand time, words, or promises, but is delighted at being together and sharing space. Love is kind in all things, especially in honesty. Love freely speaks its mind, not to hurt and control, but to share, inform, and connect. We can live today by giving this kind of love to each person we encounter. Our reward for this giving is the growth of our own honesty, kindness, and willingness to forgive. And the love we give may return to us. Today let me trust that love comes to those who act lovingly. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Dawn is a shimmering of the horizon. Dusk is a settling of the sky. ~ Tao ~ Sunrise and sunset represent the measure of a day. When the sun rises and daylight comes, the moon sets; when the sun sets and darkness comes, the moon rises. Without such alteration, a day would not have a beginning nor an end. So too are there cycles in your life: endings as well as beginnings. You may view the loss of a loved one as an ending. But you can also consider that your life after such a loss can be a beginning. Similarly, you may view the loss of your habit as an ending. But you can also consider that your life without the habit can be a beginning. One way to ease the pain of loss is to write about it. Putting your feelings into words may make it easier to let go and transition into a new frame of mind or new way of doing things. You can compose a letter to a past habit you have let go, a departed loved one, or anything you have lost. Write those things you always wanted to say, but did not. Write about regret over conflicts left unresolved. Let your words flow freely. Even though I may grieve today over a loss, expressing my feelings will help me work through this grief. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” ~ Galations 5:14 ~ Happy and harmonious relationships are essential. If we treat people with uncaring concern and indifference, they will think there are no paths to our hearts. If we meet people with the expectation that they will do more for us than we will do for them, they will turn away from us. How did we treat people today? Were we short with co-workers or customers; impatient with students, patients, or children; unloving toward friends or relatives? Were we so wrapped up in ourselves that we weren’t aware when people around us needed a bit of attention? We can repair the roads to our hearts so the paths are straight and true. We can rebuild relationships with those around us. If we can help others feel safe, comfortable, and at ease in our presence, we will encourage positive feelings. Then people will feel safe and will turn to us in friendliness and in safety. What are the messages on the road to my heart? Help me firm the road’s foundation with love, peace, and safety. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Trusting my Higher Power We know that other people, jobs, and new places could not relieve us of our addiction. Then where does our hope lie? The God of our understanding can give us freedom from addiction if only we will admit our problems and accept help. Am I trusting my Higher Power? Higher Power, let nothing from the past stop me from trusting you. I will deepen my trust in God today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Anyone can get sober…. The trick is to stay and to live sober. ~ LIVING SOBER ~ Newcomer At one meeting someone mentioned having had a slip. He had been back in recovery for three days. No one criticized him; in fact, everyone applauded. To be honest, it makes me think about seeing what it would be like to have a few drinks or a drug again, just for a day or a weekend. Sponsor Over the years, I’ve watched people come and go in recovery. I’ve been grateful to the people who relapsed and were lucky enough to come back and share their experience. They taught me a lot by talking about how their disease had continued progressing even when they weren’t active in it, and about how much more quickly their misery had returned this time. I’m grateful to them for having had the slip for me; now I don’t have to risk it. There’s a danger in going back out to experiment with controlled using; few who leave ever make it back. This is a life-threatening disease. People like us, who depend on using an addictive substance, can die from it. We understand the seriousness of our addictions and have no need to test recovery by trying to use “safely.” Today, I want life—all of it. I embrace my recovery; I stick close to those who know how to stay stopped. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Life is too short even if we live the whole of it to its fullest, but we alcoholics have wasted so many years of our lives that we must now double our efforts if we hope to do any living at all. Truly, for us, it is later than we think. There is one consolation, however, and that is, that it is possible to use a single moment to produce an eternity of benefits for humanity. Much time has been frittered away but there is still ample time to do good. Life is not measured by its length but by its width and its depth. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Nobody ‘gives’ you a bad day without your permission. 2) Depression: when you’re taking more than you’re giving. 3) If you can’t make a list of all you are grateful you have, make a list of all you are grateful you don’t have. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ All That We Ought All that we ought to have thought and have not thought, All that we ought to have said and have not said, All that we ought to have done and have not done; All that we ought not to have thought and yet have thought, All that we ought not to have spoken and yet have spoken, All that we ought not to have done and yet have done; For thoughts, words, and works, pray we, O God, for forgiveness, And repent with penance. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ CONFUSION OF DUTIES It cannot be your duty to do anything that is beyond your reach or your strength at the moment. It cannot be your duty to do anything that sacrifices your own integrity of your own spiritual development. It cannot be right to be hurried, or sad, or discouraged, or angry, or resentful, or antagonistic, under any circumstances. If you have no time for prayer and meditation, you will have lots of time for sickness and trouble. Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandment: for this is the whole duty of man (Ecclesiastes 12:13). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Take the Best and Leave the Rest Love is the way I walk ingratitude. ~ A Course in Miracles ~ My dog Munchie is quite discerning. He eats only what he likes and rejects everything else. If I offer Munchie a piece of plain bread, he walks away from it. If I give him a slice with peanut butter on it, however, he licks off the peanut butter and leaves the bread. Take what belongs to you by right of your joy and consciousness, and let the rest go. We are not required to put up with situations we cannot digest. We are required to do what expands and heals us and reject what causes us to contract. The awakened mind functions as a “blessing extractor.” Like a vegetable juicer that grinds up a carrot and spits the pulp out of one chute and sends juice out of another, the blessing extractor takes any experience and draws forth the good from it. It shows you how you can enjoy, learn, or grow from all events and relationships. All else is chaff, which goes back into the field to grow next year’s crops. When looking back on past relationships, we must take the best and leave the rest. Bless the other person, yourself, and the relationship for the gifts you gained and the experience through which you grew. Hold on to your appreciation, and release the regret. It does not belong to you. Recycled properly, the relationship will become fertilizer to grow on. Similarly, every teacher will offer you wisdom you can use, as well as ideas you do not understand, agree with, or wish to employ. Take the best and leave the rest. There is a nugget of good in every experience. Receive what God wants you to have, and let Spirit take care of the rest. Show me what is mine, and give me the wisdom and strength to put aside all else. I open myself to be fed by love in the forms that speak to my heart, and I release everything that does not belong to me. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 3
March 3
Step by Step Today, understand that taking care of myself does not have to mean I am selfish and not placing everyone and everything after me. If I am Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired – HALT– my Program requires that I bolster myself so that I have something to share as an effective and meaningful 12th-stepper. We as alcoholics are predictable only in unpredictability and extremities – all or nothing with little or no middle ground. Tending first to our physical, emotional and spiritual health is the middle ground between active alcoholism and being in service to others, and we have little to pass on if we have neglected ourselves. The eventual outcome, if not a relapse, will be an alcoholic who is little more than a dry drunk – or a dead drunk. Today, if I feel the physical, emotional and spiritual need to seek and meditate with my higher power, let me not feel guilty or selfish because, in the end, I have nothing to offer to others if I have nothing to offer myself. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ SELF-ESTEEM We can help one another find out the meaning of life. But in the last analysis, each is responsible for finding himself. ~ Thomas Merton ~ “Because of my changed attitude, I am today he best me I’ve ever been.” The ability to say those words at any moment is one of the many rewarding experiences of recovery. Those words are not boastful. They describe a newly found self-esteem. Those words go beyond satisfaction for our ability to correct character defects and make amends. They are more than an appreciation of character growth. They are a daily personal challenge to make every tomorrow a day on which we can repeat the words, “I am the best me ever.” Whatever progress I make will not come to me as a gift. I need to work for every inch of growth. Others can show me the way to be the “best me ever,” but I have to do the work. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Love is an ideal thing, marriage is a real thing a confusion of the real with the ideal never goes unpunished. ~ Johann Wolfgang von Goethe ~ Everybody knows about the adjustment required by two people when they decide to become life partners. Part of that adjustment is moving from feelings of pleasure and excitement to managing the more practical aspects of daily life. In that interdependent life, we have to carry our share of the work. Sometimes we may feel let down; sometimes our partner will feel let down by us. We have to deal with differing sexual appetites and learn how to respect the differences while maintaining the connection. The practical is never as heavenly as the ideal. When we enter the realm of the partnership, while we may struggle and feel confused or frustrated at times, we come to know each other more deeply—and we become more vulnerable. Our first task is to be sure that our partner, while vulnerable in deep and real ways, is in good hands with us. That means we don’t willingly hurt our partner and we don’t use abusive or threatening words. At the same time, we expect our own vulnerability and trust will be handled with care by our partner. When these ground rules are in place and followed, our intimacy continues to deepen through the practical details of our lives. Today I accept the real world of daily life in my love life. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Time and again I have searched for you, not knowing that it was me I needed to find. ~ Betty MacDonald ~ We may have spent many years looking for the partner who would complete our lives. We were certain that happiness was guaranteed when the search culminated in the perfect selection. How tragic it seems when we discover that happiness still eludes us. The search, coupled with the belief that someone else is our ticket to happiness, has lead us down many dark alleys. We are learning now that finding our true self oilers us the wholeness we thought would come from our attachment to another person. The Steps will guide our self-discovery. Through the Steps, the meetings we attend, and the friends we make, we’ll find our real self. Knowing her fully, accepting her completely, will fill the void we thought only another person could fill. I will pay attention to who I am today. I will honor the whole of me. I know genuine happiness can be found only in this way. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I feel good when I share at meetings Even though I can’t always put into words just what I have in mind, I am now sharing at my meetings and my fellow members are listening to me. I realize how good it feels to say what I’m feeling and be known. I have been shy and reserved much of my life, but in treatment eventually I got used to seeing a circle of people look at me. And it got easier to think on my feet. Now at my regular Step meeting, I like it when they pay attention to me. I feel like a part of the group. I feel especially good when someone thanks me for sharing. I will write down two other ways I can become a stronger part of my recovery group. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Yesterday is a cancelled check; tomorrow is a promissory note; today is the only cash you have — so spend it wisely. ~ Kay Lyons ~ An elderly man said, “I just realized I’ve spent my life thinking ‘I’ll be happy when so-and-so happens.’ But so-and-so never happens, or if it does, I find something new to wait for. Now I realize I’ve never been happy.” Think of all the todays he let slip by waiting for tomorrow. Other times, we may lose today in dwelling on yesterday. We worry, fret, and fume, thinking of how we could have done things better. We don’t know the first thing about tomorrow. We need to find a reason to smile today. A reason to be grateful for being here today. Today we won’t drink, today we are sober, today we can do or say one small thing that will make us happy. With the gift of sobriety, today will bring us what we need to be fully alive. Yesterday is gone; tomorrow is but a dream. Only today is truly ours for the taking. Today help me make the most of this day. Guide me as I work the Steps and feed my recovery. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Failure after long perseverance is much grander than never to have a striving good enough to be called a failure. ~ George Eliot ~ When Thomas Edison and his assistants finished their long labors over an improved prototype of the first electric light bulb, Edison gave the bulb to a young helper. But the nervous boy dropped the fragile bulb. Again, Edison and his assistants produced a prototype. Edison once more handed it to the boy. This time, he carried it safely to another room. In that simple gesture, Edison changed the boy’s feelings of self-worth from failure and incompetence to success and self-confidence. How often do you pay attention to your accomplishments? More often than not you pay them little heed. Instead, you focus on past difficulties, false starts, and failures. Samuel Beckett once said, “Ever tried. Ever failed. No matter. Try again. Fail again. Fail better.” When you learn to pay scant attention to your failures, it means you have ceased to fear them. Starting today, accept that mistakes and failures are in-evitable. But they are also valuable teachers that provide lessons to help you change. By learning from your mistakes, you are more capable of moving forward. I can rise each time I fall and learn something in the process. I will focus on my achievements and successes rather than failures so I can become more confident. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Here is a mental treatment guaranteed to cure every ill that flesh is heir to: sit for half an hour every night and mentally forgive everyone against whom you have any ill will or antipathy. ~ Charles Fillmore ~ What is forgiveness? In a way, it’s the ability to let go of negative feelings toward ourselves or others and replace them with good, positive feelings. Are we forgiving to others? In retrospect, we may discover ill will toward people with whom we had contact today. Perhaps some driver cut us off in traffic and we shouted in anger. Or maybe we snapped at friends, co-workers, or family members. Maybe we nagged at someone whose behavior bothered us. Maybe we carried some resentful feelings toward someone in our past. Tomorrow, and maybe for several days, we can take time to forgive people for their negative behaviors. After we’ve done that, we can forgive ourselves for our reactions towards others. Letting go and forgiving is the best way to cleanse ourselves, leaving more room for positive feelings. Who do I need to forgive? Right now, I can let go of my negative feelings and replace them with good feelings. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Experiencing growth It is not easy to stay clean and sober. It takes all the strength we have. We may suffer men-tally or physically, but now we can learn from our experiences. In our using days, we could suffer the same experience many times and not learn a thing. Now we are facing life for the first time, and we have the chance to grow through our experiences. If we take that first pill, fix, or drink, we halt our chances of growing. Am I growing from each new experience? I pray for the strength to endure and for the ability to grow through each life experience without that first fix, pill, or drink. I will strengthen my abstinence today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ My way is to begin with, the beginning ~ GEORGE GORDON, LORD BYRON ~ Newcomer Things have been going badly for me ever since I got up. This has been one of my worst days in recovery. Sponsor Recovery shows us that we’re free to start the day over any time we like, morning, noon, or night. Sometimes I say to myself, “I’ve gotten through the past twenty-four hours without acting on my addiction. This moment I’m beginning a new twenty-four-hour period. I’m starting my day right now.” Then, no matter where I happen to be, I take a few minutes to do some of the things that usually help me. I pray for the willingness to do whatever is necessary to stay in recovery. If possible, I read a page of program literature or make a phone call, and plan to attend a meeting as soon as there’s one I can get to. I take several slow, deep breaths. I treat myself with gentleness. Whatever we’re able to do today is enough. If we haven’t picked up our addictions, we’ve participated in a miracle. With the help of my Higher Power, I’m getting through whatever this day brings. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ In AA no man is the official mouthpiece of the Movement. No one person represents AA officially. Here you find a God of your own understanding; when you talk you give only your own opinions, you give your own interpretation of the Twelve Steps and practice them as you think they should be practiced. If you use your method and stay sober, we will admit your way is good for you but we admit no authority on your part to tell us how to work them. Because it worked for you is no sign it might not be poison for someone else. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) The more you have, the more you want. 2) If you review your problem closely enough, you will recognize yourself as part of the problem. 3) Worry is a prayer for something you don’t want. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Love Higher Power, remind me that: Love is patient; Love is kind. Love is not jealous; it does not put on airs; it is not snobbish. Love is never rude; it is not self-seeking; it is not prone to anger; neither does it brood over injuries. Love does not rejoice in what is wrong, but rejoices with the truth. There is no limit to love’s forbearance, its truth, its hope, its power to endure. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ YOU SET THE CLOCK There is nothing in the universe that you cannot do or be if you are mentally ready. People speak of golden opportunities but what we call opportunity is really our own mental readiness. Napoleon said, “Opportunities? I make opportunities”; and while this would be merely a vainglorious boast for one who is not on the spiritual basis, yet when you do understand the Truth of Being, it is simply a statement of fact. The Romans could have had the telephone; the Greeks could have had the cinemas; the Babylonians could have had the automobile—had they been mentally ready. The laws of nature were the same in those ages as in ours, the same materials were in the ground—so they had to go without them. Supply the necessary mental condition, and the demand, the opportunity, or the occasion, will present itself automatically. Whenever you are ready you will find that everything else is ready too. Take ye heed, watch and pray; for ye know not when the time is (Mark 13:33). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Beyond the Dark Night Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. ~ Psalm 23 ~ At some point, everyone passes through a dark night of the soul. This is a difficult time in which we are moving from an old life to a new one, with no apparent security or help in sight. It appears that the old is being taken away by a hand larger than our own, and there is no solid ground on which to stand. As old friends or supporters fall away, we feel like misfits in a world that does not understand us. The activities and things that once gave us comfort seem empty or unavailable, and sometimes it appears that all is lost. At such a time, we are called upon to search deep within ourselves for faith. Although the dark night is painful and harrowing, it is an important and productive time. If you are passing through a dark night, take comfort in the truth that there is a bigger picture than the one you are seeing, a larger hand operating behind appearances. The dark is a time to clear away the old to make way for the new and better. Nothing is taken away that is not replaced with something more valuable. The field is being turned over so that old weeds and dead roots can be dissolved and new seeds sown. Spring is not far behind the winter. When I have gone through such experiences, this message has come to me loud and clear: Surrender to love. Do not try to fight the changes, and do not try to understand them. In your anxiety, do not attempt to clutch at the old for security; instead, do your best to release what was, and be open to what is to come. Define all the changes as good, and look for their blessings. The day will come when you will look back at such a time and say, “Thank you.” Hold my hand, God, during a time of shadows. Though I see You not, I trust that You are present. All change is good. I surrender to love. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 4
March 4
Step by Step Today, extend a kindness to someone and watch out for expecting something in return, even a simple thank you. Ask if we are selfless if we expect something in return. At a meeting, am I overtly or unconsciously seeking approval or congratulations if I say how many 24 Hours of sobriety I have if it has no relevance to the discussion? Might I have a motive? If I volunteer to drive someone unemployed and whose jobless benefits have run out to a meeting, how service-oriented – what kind of 12-stepper – am I if I suggest a couple of bucks for gas? And if the occasion comes up that I receive a token for however many 24 Hours I have, do I want it presented to me standing behind the speaker’s podium, or do I prefer a private exchange with my sponsor? If I am honest enough to identify anything but a fully altruistic reason for my “service,” something is clearly wrong, maybe not enough to endanger my sobriety but certainly enough to crimp its quality. Today, if I get the opportunity to be of service to someone or if someone needs a simple kindness and if I feel a twinge of indignation or anger if I get nothing in return, may I be indignant at myself for my selfishness – and get to work on it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ FACING PROBLEMS If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere. ~ Anonymous ~ We are constantly aware that problems aren’t burdens suffered by us alone. Since the beginning of time, all mankind has had to cope with problems. We need to remember to identify with others and their problems and not compare our problems to theirs to see who has the greater troubles. This will also eliminate self-pity during crises. By accepting these difficulties, we can begin at once to seek advice from friends who have solved similar problems. By walking through problems without complaint instead of timidly trying to sneak around them, we will grow spiritually. Problems won’t get rid of my character defects; problems expose them. By facing difficulties through the Program, I will grow spiritually. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Great opportunities to help others seldom come, but small ones surround us every day. ~ Sally Koch ~ From its earliest days, the Twelve Step program began with the Twelfth Step. When the first recovering man in Ohio was tentatively making his way into sobriety, day by day, he quickly realized that his progress depended upon telling his story to other suffering alcoholics. He realized that by helping others, he was helping himself stay sober. A fundamental rule of good mental health is to be helpful to others. We can do that by telling our story: where we were and how far we have come. But helpful-ness is an attitude. We can cultivate this attitude, looking for ways to be helpful while not taking on a caretaking role. Generosity of spirit in all our dealings with others, without looking for anything in return, creates a feeling of connection with others. Helping others can also dispel depression and self-pity. Today I will look for ways to be helpful and generous to others. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ I pray that my recovery be filled with dynamite and feathers. I pray that my recovery be filled with quiet laughter. ~ Jill Clark ~ Some lessons in life are painful. We may wish they’d all be easy and gentle, but if they were, we might not understand their value. Occasionally our Higher Power has to get our attention; we feel the pinch when that’s the case. We deserve variety in our experiences. Our emotions are created to serve us, to teach us how to get the most from the events and the people in our lives. The invitation to respond with a less familiar emotion is a gift. It’s how we discover the many parts of ourselves. Until we know all of ourselves, we can’t really love any part of ourselves. Praying for help to understand our experiences, praying for the willingness to appreciate the dynamite and feathers, will give us the helping hand we need. I will experience the calm times and the storms. From both I’ll discover my purpose. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I don’t have to be alone with the pain These days, I’m not sleeping well and I’m tired most of the time. I’m OK at work for a while, but then I can’t stop the memories and I can’t concentrate. At times I feel disconnected from the world. Some days I have to leave work and go home, where I feel guilty and alone with my illnesses. It’s hard not to think about using. But it may not have to get so bad (and it doesn’t have to get any worse). When I manage to pause for a moment and take a deep breath, I realize I can call my sponsor and support person, my first lines of help. I can call them at work or at home. When I talk, they listen closely (even when I cry). I am grateful for their support. They care about me. I trust them – and need to let them help me more. I will put together a list of my supportive friends and their telephone numbers. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ When we neglect caring for our body, we limit our life. ~ Maurice Hillary ~ The best gift we can give our mind and spirit is to nurture and care for our body. When our body is in healthy harmony, we are able to focus on our deeper needs and gifts. An uncared-for, out-of-tune body can demand all our attention and energy and leave little zest for the rest of living. Sometimes we take our body for granted, expecting it to keep working well no matter how we feed it or how little fresh air, sleep, and exercise we give it. Sooner or later, that kind of neglect leads to limiting physical problems that can limit our spiritual, mental, and emotional lives. It’s part of our sober work to learn how to love and care for our bodies so we can develop a daily physical maintenance program that will take us into the healthy years ahead. Giving our body the respect it deserves will keep it friendly and on our side for life. Today let me honestly assess my total physical condition and make plans to lovingly care for the temple that is my body. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ There is perhaps no more effective way to relieve psychic pain than to be in constant contact with another human being who understands what you are going through and can communicate such understanding to you. ~ Frederic Flach ~ One of the greatest benefits in recovery is the support of others. Without this support there would be no circle of fellowship. This inclusive fellowship touches everyone, and you are an integral part. Just as there will be times when you need comfort, support, and someone to talk to, there will also be times when someone needs your comfort, support, and a listening ear. How can you offer support? Listen to the challenges others say they are facing. Draw from your experience to let them know they are not alone. Recognize the strengths others cannot see in themselves by pointing out and vali-dating their progress. Offer a lighthearted outlook and as-sure others that ups and downs are a part of the recovery process. Set aside any desire to pass judgment about the actions of others. Refrain from giving advice, even when you feel you know the answers. Serve as a resource of positive energy. And offer guidance based upon the Twelve Steps and the lessons you have learned in your recovery. Today I remember that recovery is a fellowship of supportive people. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Walk with the wise and be wise; mix with the stupid and be misled. ~ Proverbs ~ We may not believe we are wise. We may ask, “How could I be wise if I got myself into so much trouble and pain? How can I be wise if I now need the help of others to stay out of trouble and feel less pain?” But what is wisdom? Very simply, it is good sense. It is the ability to make a choice that will be good for us. No one is born with wisdom. It is learned through trial and error. Just a glance into our past will assure us we have certainly had our share of trials and errors. We have made a wise decision by joining the pro-gram. Because of this decision, our lives have become more manageable and less insane. We have learned of an all-wise Power greater than ourselves. We have be-come willing to turn our lives and our wills over to this Power. We have become wise, for those who walk with this Power are wise. Have I made wise decisions today? How can I use the program to gain greater wisdom? ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Reaching a balance with sex Sex has always been a problem for us in one way or another. Some of us had too much, some too little; some were immoral and some prudish about the whole thing. As with other areas of our lives, we need to be realistic about sex and learn to reach a balance with ourselves. Taking “chastity vows” and “letting it all hang out” are both a little extreme. We find that the balance must be ours—not an institution’s or another’s views. Have I found my balance with sex? Lord, help me see that my attitude toward sex is between my Higher Power and me and not based on the views of others. Today I will seek a better balance with sex by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ I’ve been inside institutions, my family…. ~ SUSAN GRIFFIN ~ Newcomer There are some people at meetings who start their sharing by saying, “Hello, Family.” It sounds phony to me—do they really mean it? I don’t think I’ll ever really be a part of this community. It certainly doesn’t feel like a family to me. Sponsor I can understand your shying away from the word “family.” Our first addictive responses may have occurred when we were living with our family of origin. Some of us are angry at the kind of nurturing we received. Some of us wish we could help family members who need recovery; we feel disturbed at our inability to make that happen. Resentment, fear, shame, powerlessness, and a host of other feelings may surface in connection with our families. We may not yet be willing to call others in recovery our “family.” We’re not required to. But we do need each other’s stories, service, and recovery. In time, our mistrust lessens, if we keep showing up and working the program. We may even begin to sense that we are members of a community. Today, I depend on a group of people in recovery to keep coming back and sharing. I depend on myself, too, to participate in this process with others. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ We have finally found a way to foil alcohol simply be refusing to look upon it as a beverage and rather as something to which we are allergic. We have found that we don’t have to drink; we have demonstrated that we can be happier without it. Now that we are sober, how are we going to use our sobriety? Can we sit back and bask in this newfound sunshine? Forget it, kid. Better men than you have tried it. If still you don’t believe it, go back to the gutter or the jail or the jitter-joint and ask those who tried that method. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) GOD: Giver Of Desires 2) Pain heals; abuse scars. 3) Depression is anger turned inward. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Help Me Remember Lord, Help me remember that nothing is going to happe to me today that You and I together can’t handle *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ SPOTLIGHTS To recognize failure intelligently is the first step toward building success. Recognize success with thanksgiving, and build more success on that. You can have anything in life that you really want, but you must be prepared to take the responsibilities that go with it. God is ready the moment you are. You really do not know John Smith; you only know the idea that you form of John Smith. One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all (Ephesians 4:6). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ From Where? No one reaches love with fear beside him. ~ A Course in Miracles ~ Carla sat down with Brian, her newly hired business manager, and formulated a priority list of jobs that needed to be done. After the list was recorded, Brian handed the paper back to Carla and asked her to make one more distinction among the listed tasks: “Write an ‘F next to those jobs that you think need to be done immediately because you are in fear, and place a ‘J’ next to those jobs that proceed from joy and creativity.” Fear is never a good reason to do anything. Any action born of fear cannot succeed, except as a lesson that fear does not work. Enthusiasm, delight, and service, on the other hand, are excellent motivations for endeavors, and they will attract tremendous support because you are investing in aliveness rather than self-protection. We always get more of whatever energy we put out into the universe; our actions are less important than the beliefs and feelings that motivate them. At a world peace conference, an African priest told me, “In my hotel room I saw a big sign warning, ‘Be sure to keep your suitcase locked. Protect yourself from thieves.’ As I began to lock my suitcase, something did not feel right. I was not afraid of theft before I saw that sign, so why should I go into anxiety after reading it? It occurred to me that the problem of nuclear weapons stems from people protecting themselves before the bad guys get to them. I felt hypocritical being a speaker at a peace conference and buying into paranoia. I would have been contributing to the very energy I am trying to offset.” While you must consult your own intuition about what you lock, the priest illuminated an important principle: When we act out of fear, we add to the sum total of darkness on the planet, and when we act from love, we bring light to the world. I pray to stay on purpose. I am here to love. I release fear and embrace trust. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 5
March 5
Step by Step Today, if at a meeting or in a conversation with an AA member I hear his experiences on Skid Row, let me not make the smug and sanctimonious comparison that, “I was NEVER that bad.” If the other guy’s bed where he passed out or detoxed was a plastic bag on the ground under the bridge where the homeless and down-and-outers congregate but my bed was in my house; if his basin to vomit was the river running alongside the bank of the ground under the bridge of the homeless and down-and-outers but my basin was the pristine sink in my bathroom; if he landed in the county jail’s drunk tank but I never did; if he was in the hospital psyche room for the uninsured next to my room that was a little nicer because I had insurance; if his drinking cost him his family and home but I have a house even though it, too, is empty of anyone but me; if his last drink was two days ago and mine two years ago but both of us have not drank in this, the current 24 Hours; how, then, do I con myself into thinking, “I was NEVER that bad?” The other guy may have been on Skid Row, but I built my Skid Row in my own house. Today, I will not climb a moral pedestal with the lie that I NEVER got as bad as someone else – because I did. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ NEEDING PEOPLE I was never less alone than when by myself. ~ Edward Gibbon ~ In order to continue to grow spiritually, we will, happily, always be among the lucky people who need people. For the rest of our lives, we will give to friends and receive from them. We will make progress together. But each must welcome the reality that he or she needs, at times, to be alone with only personal thoughts. Such times fill the necessity for a prayer and meditation. We will never be at a loss for inspiration for contemplation. New friends said, “Welcome to our world.” We can well meditate on that wonderful world of gratitude, love, honesty, open-mindedness, willingness and other elements of spiritual progress. I must be like a ship’s captain who constantly consults instruments to make sure I am properly on course. My “instruments” are other people. What they teach me is what feeds my meditations when I am alone. That way I am never alone. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ I just keep goin’ up there and swingin’ at ’em. ~ Babe Ruth ~ Even Babe Ruth had his share of strikeouts. On this recovery path, relapse is always a possibility, and we need to learn how to avoid it—and how to deal with it if it happens. What do many guys feel first when they re-lapse? Shame. This feeling may be unavoidable, but we do best if we don’t stay there long. It is not what we de-serve to feel, and it weakens us rather than strengthens us. After a relapse, the first productive thing to do is tell our recovery group and our sponsor. When we do that, we expose our addictive and codependent side. That side may want to stay hidden and secret, but our recovery requires that we shine the light of day on it. The second thing to do is ask ourselves what we can learn from this relapse. If we can learn the lessons it has to teach us, it is no longer a deficit but an asset that strengthens our healing. Some relapses happen when we fail to take care of ourselves; we get too worn out, too depleted, too needy. Some happen because we associate with others who support our addictive impulses rather than with those who have our best interests at heart. The bottom line is that a relapse occurs because we are addicts and codependent. After a strikeout we can still go up there and swing at ’em again. Today I know once again that lam powerless over my addiction and my codependency. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Time brings summer to a close as well as winter to an end. Time ages the brilliant petals of flowers as well as prepares new buds. . . . we can trust that time will bring the good to us as well as take away the bad. ~ Amy E. Dean ~ We can stop worrying. We can stop criticizing other people. But we can’t stop the passage of time. Let’s be grateful for that. Had it been possible to stop time, we might still be in unhealthy relationships, perhaps living on the edge of danger or in a blackout. The passing of time not only moves us beyond the bad, but also advances us beyond the good. We hate to let it go. However, we need to move on and be open to new opportunities. Life is ebb and flow. We’ll have periods when problems seem rampant. At those times it helps to remember that this too shall pass. All will pass when the lesson has been gleaned. Let’s relish whatever this moment gives us and know that its time will soon be gone. Time is my friend today. Each minute brings to me an experience I am ready for. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can’t use alcohol or other drugs when I take medication I want to feel better. My symptoms are tormenting me. My doctor told me it would take a couple of weeks for my medication to work, but it’s been longer than that now and I feel like I can’t hold on. Today, I’d just as soon score some of my own drugs again. I know I’d feel better – right away – if I took them. And yet, I also know that if I mixed street drugs with my medication, I could get very sick. I would lose my abstinence. And I would be taking back the control I gave to my higher power in Step Three. I will pray to my higher power for the courage and strength to resist the urges and to find healthy ways to cope. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Smiling, laughing, and expecting the best is the penicillin of depression. ~ Julias Murphy ~ As the architects of our day, we can design and build a work of art. What a wonderful opportunity to be able to draw the blueprints of each day. Starting our morning with breakfast and an air of positive expectancy does wonders for our emotional outlook. Learning to look for the good and happy events in life acts like an emotional vitamin that lifts our feet and spirits. We are all wonderful works of art and we deserve to have days filled with light and good cheer. The more positive we are, the more we seem to attract positive people, places, and things into our lives. Nothing is as contagious as good cheer and a positive attitude. And nothing can defeat us when we welcome the good things in life. Today help me decide to be happy and approach every situation with a hopeful and positive outlook. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Many of us spend our whole lives running from feeling with the mistaken belief that you cannot bear the pain. But you have already borne the pain; what you have not done is feel all you are beyond the pain. ~ Saint Bartholomew ~ Chuang Tzu told a story about a man who was so afraid of his shadow and his footsteps that he ran away from them. But the more he ran, the louder the footsteps sounded and the more swiftly his shadow followed. Falling into a panic, he ran until he dropped dead from exhaustion. What the man never came to realize is that if he had only stopped running, the things he feared would have stopped chasing him. His wild imaginings would have been put to rest. You may believe that when you run away from your feelings, you are more capable of avoiding them or making them disappear. But the truth is the more you avoid your feelings, the greater and longer your pain will be. Once you stop running and face your feelings, the process of release begins, bringing relief from the pain, anxiety, and fear. In letting your feelings in, you are letting them go. Today I will express my feelings of sadness, grief, anger, and joy. I will feel them, express them, and release them. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Remember that you may have and not have. You may receive a property and not enjoy it. You may inherit wealth arid not use it. To grasp the great promises of what God can do for you … is the way to possess the possessions and realize the wealth. ~ H.C.G. Moule ~ There is so much we have that we take for granted. We seem to focus more upon material things than the wonders of what we already possess. Today we may have wished for more clothes or more money or a bigger house. We may believe more material things will make us better, more powerful, or happier. Yet we own a wealth of things we never had to buy. We can survive with these things and become a better person. We can take more control of our life and add to our happiness. We were given these things without working overtime or taking out a second mortgage. The wealth we have within us is a gold mine of health, intelligence, and faith. Without these God-given gifts, we are poor in mind, spirit, and body. With these gifts, we truly do have more than money can buy. Do I realize the value of my mind, health, and faith? I can give thanks for these gifts and learn to appreciate them more. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Finding happiness within When we were taking drugs, we were looking for fulfillment and happiness. We couldn’t face the reality of life, so we tried to create a world that we could feel comfortable in. We searched for our pleasures in sources outside ourselves, in people, places, and things. In working our spiritual program we come to realize that happiness and contentment are to be found within. Gradually we become aware of our achievements and the beginning of gratitude slowly sets in. Little by little, the peace, pleasure, and happiness within grow, and then we can reach out and say, “Hey life, here I am!” Am I full of inner peace and happiness? I pray I may always remember that peace and happiness come from my Higher Power and that I may be grateful for it. Today I will express gratitude for my inner peace and happiness by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Someone else’s legs do you no good in traveling. ~ NIGERIAN PROVERB ~ Newcomer I went over to offer help to someone at a meeting; she’d been sharing about a problem I thought I knew something about. She was chilly and asked me not to intrude. I felt pretty hurt. Sponsor Many of us drank or drugged in a controlled, calculated fashion. The desire to maintain the illusion of control over the uncontrollable may have come with us into recovery. We may be “people-pleasers,” overly helpful or compliant, trying to take care of others, attempting to manipulate them to like and take care of us. Eager to come to the rescue, we may have trouble minding our own business. We may want to have the answer to other people’s problems— it’s a great distraction from our own. We may be quick to offer unasked-for advice, rather than sit with the feelings that another person’s pain has awakened in us. Today, I listen to my own and other people’s feelings. I don’t try to fix anyone, even myself. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ One day we were practicing alcoholics, then in twenty-four hours we were on the Program – arrested cases. Was it because one day we were weak and spineless and the next day we had completely reversed our character? No, the Power had been there all the time but we had never before tapped it. Our best-intentioned friends had advised us to use our Will Power, not realizing that it was the stubbornness of our Will Power that made us persist in our drinking. It takes a person of great will to continuously defy the pleas and threats of our combined words. No, it wasn’t Will Power we lacked, it was Won’t Power. We Won’t take that first drink. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) If your heart is full of gratitude, there is no room for resentment. 2) To an alcoholic, if one is good, one in every color is better. 3) It’s easy to see the difference between ourselves and our inferiors, but it is much harder to see the difference between ourselves and our superiors. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ The Twelve Rewards Spirit of the Universe, I humbly ask for Your help so I may continue to realize the rewards of recovery: 1. Hope instead of desperation. 2. Faith instead of despair. 3. Courage instead of fear. 4. Peace of mind instead of confusion. 5. Self-respect instead of self-contempt. 6. Self-confidence instead of helplessness. 7. The respect of others instead of pity and contempt. 8. A clean conscience instead of a sense of guilt. 9. Real friendship instead of loneliness. 10. A clean pattern of life instead of a purposeless existence. 11. The love and understanding of my family instead of their doubts and fears. 12. The freedom of a happy life instead of the bondage of addiction. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ TURN WITHIN Don’t wait about for God to act dramatically—because He probably won’t. When people expect a dramatic miracle from the outside, they are really hoping to change conditions without changing themselves; to get something for nothing, in fact, and that would be a violation of cosmic law. Don’t wait for God to tell you what to do from the outside—He won’t And the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God, and into the patient waiting for Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:5). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Whom Did You Expect? Experience is the worst teacher. It always gives the test first and the instruction afterward. ~ Niklaus Wirth ~ When I taught adult school, I offered a yoga class followed by a stress-management course that I called “Easing on Down the Road.” The first night of the semester, the yoga class ran a few minutes overtime, and I noticed one of the students from the second class standing outside the door, nervously pacing back and forth. The man kept looking in the window, checking his watch, and making an anxious face. When his class began, he fidgeted and squirmed most of the time. He was one of the most uptight students I have ever encountered. During his class, I found myself inwardly complaining, “Why does someone as nervous as he is have to be in my class?” Then another internal voice asked me, “Whom did you expect to take this class—calm and peaceful people?” The voice had a point. I had advertised to teach stress management, and I shouldn’t have been surprised to get stressed students. My complaint was as unfounded as a doctor wanting to see only healthy patients. If you offer a service, welcome challenge from those who come to you to receive it. They are the contingent that will keep you on the cutting edge of your creativity and force you to go deeper into your latent genius. Your difficult clients will motivate you to open to the next level beyond the one that is currently comfortable, and ultimately improve your skills. You are here to make the world a better place. Staying in the safety zone changes nothing. Stretching into uncharted territory will bring light to places that were dark. Congratulations on signing up to be an angel. I pray to offer service to those who can be most helped by my unique talents. I serve on the cutting edge of my destiny. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 6
March 6
Step by Step Today, should I hear myself or another AA say the program isn’t working, grant me the humility to be open to the possibility that maybe it is I who isn’t working. I need only to see the countless alcoholics who have recovered without drinking again to know that the problem may be with ME and not the program. Let me not find excuses in the indefensible to rationalize or justify a pending wet or dry drunk, like I am lonely, I have lost too much, no one likes me, I don’t feel anything when I drink or I’m still traumatized by the mustache my mother got when she went through menopause – all excuses. If the program isn’t working for me, maybe I’m not working the program and I need only to fall back on the very first four words of the 12 step to tell me that I’m not working:“Admitted (I was) powerless …” Today, I admit that I am powerless. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ PATIENCE How poor are they that have not patience. ~ Shakespeare ~ Patient people do not simply stand and suffer. They are busy carefully planning what positive thing they will do next. It is simple to start demanding wisdom right now. But patience is teemed with acceptance. One doesn’t happen without the other. Wisdom comes with acceptance, and that takes patience. We can’t demand it. We can only accept it. Patience does not tell us, “grin and bear it.” It does remind us that if we resist acting rashly, all answers will come, in God’s time, not ours. Patience promises rewards for tomorrow and nourishes a desire for change if we give progress ample time. Patience insists that I make real instead of false starts at growth. It tells me that my greatest teacher is time. I must act only when my plans are well constructed. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Listen, or thy tongue will keep thee deaf. ~ Native American proverb ~ Much of what we learn on this path comes from others also making their way. We go to meetings and listen to their reflections and their stories and we say, that’s like me. When neighbors or friends at work tell us about their lives, we often gain insight about our own. Sometimes we think, I guess I didn’t have it so bad. By being a good listener, we may get encouragement to stay on the path. It’s an honor to have others disclose to us what they have been through. And it’s a trust that we ought to respect. Listening with an open heart isn’t always easy. It doesn’t mean that we simply sit there while others talk. It means that we engage actively to perceive what they are telling us and to understand how they came to feel and think as they do. When we put our ego aside, we stop thinking about what we will say in response; we stop trying to offer helpful advice or a better answer. We just take in what they are trying to tell us. Today I will actively engage as a good listener. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story or tell a story about them. ~ Isak Dinesen ~ Sharing our experience, strength, and hope with others in this program helps to clarify for all of us the miracle of recovery. Telling another woman how we survived the most awful of experiences lets her know that her life is survivable too. It’s not by accident that the founders of AA stressed the value of telling our stories. Each time we share an aspect of our own traumatic past, its sting is diminished. The more we repeat these awful truths, the less their hold on us. Our storytelling lets our listeners know that their own experiences are not so different after all. What lucky women we are. No longer do we hide ourselves from others. Each conversation with a sponsor, sponsee, or friend is an opportunity to lighten our load. I will tell a part of my story to someone today. She may be helped by it, and I will be freed from it! ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I am learning how to break my pattern Sometimes a less healthy voice in me still runs through to old lines: If I drink enough, I can stop my troubling thoughts. I’ll have a hangover the next day, but at least the thoughts will be gone for a while. I don’t like being hungover, but I can’t stop feeling so trapped inside my head. In the midst of an episode with my dual disorder, it’s hard to hear the voice of my higher power. But on a day like today, when I’m thinking clearly, I hear healthy messages like these: Be sure to take your medication faithfully. Try a relaxation exercise. Call a friend and go for a walk. But whatever you do, don’t drink – it makes things worse in the long run. I will write down two steps I can take to help me avoid using when I’m having symtoms. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ No man is an island, entire of itself; every man is a piece of the continent, a part of the main. ~ John Donne ~ In active addiction we were lost and alone. We couldn’t trust anything or anyone, especially ourselves. No place was safe for us; no people were safe for us. The loneliness was the worst of it. There was no one to talk to, perhaps no one who wanted to talk to us. Our self-esteem was so fragile we couldn’t trust people to be gentle enough, so we simply avoided them. With no belief in a Higher Power, our spiritual lives were empty, bankrupt. In recovery, though, all that has changed. Our newfound spirituality has opened a whole universe to us. We’ve reconnected with ourselves, our Higher Power, other people, and the world itself. Suddenly we belong here and we’re safe here. The world is no longer a lonely and frightening place. Now, it’s a loving place filled with people worthy of respect. As we learn to love ourselves better, we love others better, too. As we earn our own trust, we feel safer trusting the goodness of others. Empowered and enlightened by our recovery, we can recognize people, places, and things dangerous to that recovery. We can forgive them for being as they are but choose to be different. Now, we’re connected to the universe, and it’s connected fo us. Today help me appreciate my place in the world. Help me be worthy of it. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Time is a dressmaker specializing in alterations. ~ Faith Baldwin ~ Think of the time-related devices you possess. You probably own at least one wrist watch. You have calendars in your office and home. Your car, your cell phone, and your computer display the time. All of these devices have value. They help keep your day organized, provide you with vital reminders of appointments and commitments, and generally keep you focused throughout the day. Recovery provides a measurement of time that has similar value in your life: one day at a time. This twenty- four-hour plan utilizes a calendar with just a single day on it with only one to-do item: stay clean and sober. While your goal is to never drink or drug again, to say that you will give up drinking or drugging forever presents a daunting stretch of time. Too, it provides you with little opportunity to measure your progress. But if, instead, you use the twenty-four-hour plan—if you say, “just for today, I will not drink or drug”—you have a greater chance of success. You will be more focused on your goal and more capable of effectively measuring your progress at the end of the day. Just for today, I will not drink or drug. I will use the twenty- four-hour plan to provide me with the framework for this achievement. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ It used to be that, if I had a good working day, I thought I was a wonderful person, but otherwise I thought I was a terrible person. ~ Byron Janis ~ How often are we buoyed up by successes and achievements, only to be let down on an unsuccessful day? If we do well or have a good day, then we may feel we’re good people. But if our day has gone badly or we’ve made a mistake, then our self-image becomes negative and critical. No matter what happens, no matter what our achievements, we’re still good people inside. No one can be wonderful all the time. A good day on the job doesn’t mean we’re good, and a bad day doesn’t mean we’re bad. We can look at our self-image and see how we really feel. Then we can remember we are good, no matter what we feel. We may not be who we want to be; we may not act the way we want to act; we may not live the way we want to live. But we have the power to change all those things as long as we look inside and see the way we are. We are good inside. How do I see myself? Tonight, I can look within and ask for the courage to see good. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Feeling desperate When we were drinking and using chemicals, we became accustomed to waking up to a feeling of impending doom, that desperate feeling of “What did I do or say yesterday?” and “What did people think?” Even though we’ve quit using drugs or alcohol, sometimes, even after a good day, many of us continue to experience this feeling. It is a bad habit that is gradually eliminated simply by time and by rationally thinking over the previous day. Am I learning to handle such feelings of desperation? Higher Power, help me feel enough peace of mind to look at things rationally and to help me avoid being led into feelings of desperation by old habits. If I feel desperate today, I will handle it by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ The place I really have to reach is where I must already be. ~ LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN ~ Newcomer I heard someone share that she’d always thought of smoking marijuana as her big, secret problem. Once she stopped smoking pot, it didn’t take long for her to recognize that alcohol was another problem, in fact the major one. Now, in addition to AA, she goes to meetings for overeaters, and she says she also has problems with codependency. What should I make of all this? I think I may have more than one addiction; should I be going to another program, too? Am I going to spend the rest of my life just going from meeting to meeting? Sponsor I don’t blame you for feeling upset at the thought of a lifetime of nothing but program-hopping. Who wouldn’t? Many of us do have multiple addictions. Everyone’s story is different. Some cross-addicted people find the tools and principles of one primary program sufficient for dealing with whatever addiction issues come up for them. Others gratefully avail themselves of the abundance of specialized programs of recovery. Whichever we decide, most of us need a solid foundation in sobriety before considering a second program. Today, you’re right where you should be, establishing a sober routine. That’s a big change in itself, and it’s bringing about still more changes. For now, why not keep your focus on staying with what you’ve begun so well. In time, more will be revealed. Today, I take the time I need to strengthen the roots of my recovery. I choose to branch out in new directions when it is clearly appropriate. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Few of us have any real direction to our conduct. We live from day to day, taking care of our problems as they arise, and this is sound AA advice as regards our long-range thinking and planning. This does not mean that we should take this too literally and give absolutely no thought to tomorrow’s needs. It is absolutely true that tomorrow may never be born, but, on the other hand, it might, and in that event a well filled refrigerator will come in mighty handy. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) You are exactly where God wants you to be. 2) GOD: Give Over Decisions 3) Practice makes it better. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ New Day Thank You, God, for today. This is the beginning of a new day. I can waste it or use it for good. What I do today is important because I am exchanging a day of my life for it. When tomorrow comes, this day will be gone forever—leaving in its place something I have traded for it. I want it to be gain, not loss; good, not evil; success, not failure; in order that I shall not regret the price I paid for today. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ OPEN YOUR MIND Have you an open mind? Is the window of your soul open for fresh air and the sunshine of Truth to come in, or is it closed and shuttered by mental laziness or the emotional congestion that we call prejudice? None of us knows how many fine things we have missed through being self-satisfied and cocksure. No one can be considered really intelligent who does not have a readiness to examine new ideas with an open mind. The history of scientific discovery shows that almost every new step was opposed by the very people who should have welcomed it. Harvey was denounced for claiming that the blood circulated through the body; Galileo was persecuted for saying that the earth went round the sun; Pasteur was branded a quack for advancing the germ theory of disease; Jenner was threatened with the police for pioneering vaccination. The finality of the atom, which was a scientific dogma in the childhood of most of us, has been completely discarded. Probably the only incorrigible fool is the man who says that anything is impossible, or that there is any limit to the conquests that divine Intelligence working in mankind can achieve. The Lord is able to give thee much more than this (2 Chronicles 25:9). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Masters All Don’t bunt. Aim out of the ballpark. Aim for the company of the immortals. ~ David Ogilvy ~ One of the ways in which we hurt ourselves on the spiritual path is to define ourselves as seekers, students, or addicts. For a time, we are, of course, looking and learning. After that, however, we must acknowledge the truth of our wholeness. Everyone on the planet is a master of something. The question is not “Are you a master?” but “What are you a master of?” As godly beings, we have the ability to succeed at whatever we put our mind to. Humanity’s challenge is not that we lack the ability to succeed, but that we have applied our skills to things that hurt us. I once hired a man who I did not know was a drug addict. I loaned him money that he hedged about repaying, and I gave him privileges he abused. When I confronted him, he manufactured some of the most convincing lies I have ever heard. I would go to him with facts that clearly pointed to his lack of integrity, and he would quickly and deftly come up with excuses that I believed. Eventually, he stole a few items and left without notice. In retrospect, I realized I was dealing with a master—a master liar! This fellow was also a master artist. He could have been a great success, but most of his energies went down the drain of his addiction. Many of us have mastered drama, emergency, lack, worry, and sabotaged relationships. We are able to take a situation with great potential and find a way to undermine it—that is truly mastery! Now we must take the skills we have used to hurt ourselves and apply them to our healing. We must harness the force of intelligent love and build the life we choose rather than the one we fear. We must step forward with the magnificent, innate wisdom we were given and make the planet a heavenly place to live. All of this is clearly within our capacity. Let us manifest our mastery of the divine, which is what we came here to do. Help me use my gifts to make my life and the world a magnificent place. God has imbued me with greatness. I let it shine! |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 7
March 7
Step by Step Today, if I can open myself to the premise that AA is about living sober and not about not getting drunk, I may begin to learn if my emotional and spiritual disease stems from my alcoholism or if alcohol contributed to it. If my life was a Broadway play, it would have three acts: Act 1, Before Alcohol; Act 2, The Drinking Days; and, Act 3, The Morning After. In my case, I used alcohol from literally my first drink as a SOLUTION to certain harsh realities – or my perception of them, at least – and, from my first to my last drunk, drinking was my way to go to oblivion, that dark and seemingly safe place which is beyond the reach of reality, pain, agony and responsibilities. Alcohol for me, was self-medication. That self-awareness, a spiritual awakening in its own sense, indicates my alcoholism was cemented in my reaction and response to the realities of my life even before my first drink. And the value of that knowledge is that my program must be built on living sober, not on fighting a temptation to drink. Today, I may have figured out that my program has to be about learning how to live sober, not on how not to drink. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ RESPONSIBILITY Faith is our greatest gift; its sharing with others, our greatest responsibility. ~ Anonymous ~ Places and things never wronged us. We justify old actions when we blame other things for what we once did to ourselves. This can cause us to return to old behaviours. We want to give up all stinking thinking. We cannot safely act the way we think we are expected to, but we can work at being ourselves. We take risks only if they aim at spiritual progress. We become assertive only in seeking whatever can help us grow. Above all, we must try to stop being a “blame thrower” and start shouldering our responsibilities. If we react with compassion, understanding, and love then we will achieve spiritual progress. If we let ourselves be hurt or angry or full of self-pity, we achieve no growth and accept no responsibility. It’s not always what happens that is my responsibility; it’s how I react to what happens. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ One has to go beyond the pairs of opposites to find the real source. ~ Joseph Campbell ~ We have the habit of seeing things in absolute terms, as either black or white, all or nothing, good or evil. Perhaps we find comfort in the simplicity of a clear and total answer. But this habit leads us down many mistaken paths. We might think, since I made a mistake I must be a bad person. Or perhaps, after he insulted me, I can never be his friend. Rarely do we find truth at the extremes. Within our complex human nature we must deal with many different drives and forces. We feel generous and giving, and we feel selfish. We want to be helpful and caring, but sometimes we get so angry we feel like hurting some-one. When we can accept the mixture of drives within ourselves, we can learn to manage them as good and mature men. Sometimes we need to make repairs after we break our own rules. Sometimes we say something that we regret, and we need to stay in the dialogue to reach a new understanding. When we can accept our own complexity, we become much more understanding of the same in others. Today I will look for the middle ground between extremes. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ There’s a lesson to be learned in every painful experience. ~ Mary Timberlake ~ We can learn from every experience, but we may not perceive the full impact of the lesson until months of other experiences have passed. In the interim, however, our reliance on God to help us through will count as a valuable lesson, one that we may need repeatedly. It might be helpful to believe that every moment of our lives is giving us “something to grow on.” Many hours in a week go by almost unnoticed; thus it’s difficult to realize that they, too, were contributing something to our divine plan. Getting comfortable with the knowledge that we’re alive to experience God’s lessons and fulfill our destiny makes the problems we face more acceptable and less painful. God intends us not to suffer pain but to experience the world’s joys. Remembering that will lessen the sting. I will remember that God is with me throughout today’s experiences. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can ask for help One thing I don’t like about recovery from my dual disorder is having to ask for help. (Normally, I wouldn’t borrow a dime from a friend.) When I need help, sometimes I feel ashamed and vulnerable. When I ask for help, sometimes I feel like I’m causing trouble and I’m afraid I’ll be rejected. As I talked about this issue with my dual recovery group, I was reminded of two things: (a) I’m a person who is worthy of help. (b) I have two biological illnesses that need treatment and follow-up care – just like heart disease or a broken bone. If I can keep these awareness’s in mind, I can learn to deal with the loss of control – and freedom – that come with needing help. I will write out a card that reads “It’s OK to ask for help. It means I’m taking care of myself. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ First keep the peace within yourself, then you can also bring peace to others. ~ Thomas k Kempis ~ Ours is a program of sharing, but we can’t share what we don’t have. No matter how much we talk about serenity, peace, or love, we can’t share those things if we don’t really have them ourselves. But how do we find them? Humility is a good place to start. Admitting we don’t have all the answers and are still struggling can open the door to being helped by those who are farther along in their recovery programs. When we keep an open mind and are willing to listen and learn from everyone we meet, we soon discover that everyone has something to teach us. Those still trapped by addiction can teach us how to recognize our errors and how to avoid those pitfalls in the future. When we meet people who radiate peace and serenity, we can notice how they live and try to follow their good example. We have lessons to learn from everyone we meet, if only we pay attention. We can look and learn and become more the person we want to be. Then we can bring peace and joy to others, too. Today help me recognize my limitations, and help me be humble enough to learn from others. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Those who have one foot in the canoe and one foot in the boat are going to fall into the river. ~ Tuscarora tribe saying ~ In the past, how many times did you tell yourself, “This drink is going to be my last”? Or perhaps you said that, after one last cigarette, you would stop smoking; after one last hit, you would stop drugging; after one last scratch ticket, you would stop gambling; after one last piece of cake, you would stop overeating. Engaging in the last of anything does not stop your craving, nor does it steel your will to walk away from it. When you make a promise to yourself, it must be one that is made with your full commitment—otherwise, it cannot be considered as a binding agreement. It is like speaking a truth with your hands hidden behind your back and your fingers crossed. Renew your commitment—or make a full commitment—to the program. Say, “I will become fully involved” rather than, “I will have one last. The program offers tools, support, and guidance that will help you make promises you are sure to keep. Today I will be fully engaged in the actions I need to take and the support I will receive from others who understand what I am going through. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ That’s the risk you take if you change: that the people you’ve been involved with won’t like the new you. But other people who do will come along. ~ Lisa Alther ~ When we made the decision to enter the program, it was only a short time before we started making changes. As a .result, many of our friends may have become only passing acquaintances; committed relationships may have changed or ended; family members may have become difficult to deal with or may have abandoned us. Mostly, we have sensed that we “outgrew” those we knew in the past. And we may have been told, “You’ve changed! I don’t like the new you.” The excitement and hopefulness we gained with our new way of life were not shared by those who were once close to us. We soon felt alone and rejected instead of supported and accepted by the ones we cared about. Making changes is risky. But as we become more honest with ourselves and with others, we will soon discover that new people will come into our lives and give us the support we need. I can become willing to let new people into my life. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Accepting God’s love God’s love is so encompassing and powerful that we cannot understand it. Doubtless, many have turned away from our fellowship because they could not accept such love. Why would anyone want to love me? What’s in it for them? Maybe these words were once ours, but as we apply our newfound principles we come to understand love, not in our intellect, but in our being. It is through the love and grace of our Higher Power that we have gained so much. Am I accepting God’s love? Higher Power, may I come to know the influence of your love, helping me day by day, hour by hour. Today I will accept God’s love from God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ The difficulty in life is the choice. ~ GEORGE MOORE ~ Newcomer I’m confused. Should I spend the evening with my old friends? I haven’t told them I’m in this program yet; I’m afraid that they won’t understand. They may tell me that I don’t really have a problem. I don’t want to have to cut off my ties to all my friends just because they’re not in this program. Sponsor Decisions, decisions—what freedom! What adventure! When I was active in my addiction, I didn’t have the luxury of making up my mind; my addiction was in charge. Today, how do I reconcile the suggestion to avoid people, places, and things that once led to using with the fact that I have some old friends who genuinely care for me and with whom I want to stay in touch? In trying to make a hard decision, I first ask myself honestly whether my choice will take me closer to my addiction or further from it. If I elect to spend time with non-program people, I feel free to excuse myself to use the phone, to check in with my sponsor or n recovering friend. I make sure that I have my own transportation, and I leave when I’m ready. When you’ve had more experience and are more sure of your recovery, you may decide to share some of your recovery story with old friends—or you may not! The choice is always yours. Whatever else I do, I stay close to meetings and recovering people. I choose nonaddictive ways to celebrate being alive. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Do you hold some great resentment against anyone? Can you afford to keep it? Sure, I know he “done you wrong” but why? Was there any justification for it? Could you have been a little bit wrong also? Does everyone share your dislike for him? If they like him and you don’t how do you account for it? Is it possible they know him better than you do? Catfish, as ugly as they are, make delicious chowder and a skunk has a valuable fur. No person is either entirely ugly or bad. Maybe there is something wrong with your vision or maybe you haven’t gotten close enough to him to really see him. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Repression without expression, leads to depression. 2) It’s hard work taking everyone else’s inventory. Worst of all, they seldom seem grateful! 3) We’re all here because we want more. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Release Me Lord, keep me from the habit of thinking I must say something on every subject and on every occasion. Release me from wanting to control everyone’s affairs. Keep my mind free from the recital of endless details—give me wings to get to the point. I ask for grace enough to listen to the tales of others’ pains. Help me to endure them with patience, but seal my lips on my own aches and pains—they are increasing and my love of rehearsing them is becoming sweeter as the years go by. Teach me the glorious lesson that occasionally it is possible that I may be mistaken. Keep me reasonably sweet. I do not want to be a saint—some of them are so difficult to live with— but a sour old person is one of the crowning works of the devil. Give me the ability to see good things in unexpected places, and talents in unexpected people. And give me, O Lord, the grace to tell them so. Make me thoughtful, but not moody; helpful, but not bossy. With my vast store of wisdom, it seems a pity to not use it all, but you know, Lord, that I want a few friends at the end. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ HOW TO BE UNHAPPY Sit down quietly where you are not likely to be disturbed. Relax the body–and begin to think about yourself. Every time your thought wanders to something higher, bring it back gently but relentlessly. Think about the past. Think over all the opportunities you have missed and the time you have wasted. Especially think of all the occasion upon which you have been badly treated. Think about your body and wonder if your age or your job or the climate isn’t to tell. See if you cannot discover a pain or an ache somewhere. Think about finances and if they are going well now, insist that this is probably too good to last. In any case, think about yourself, that is the main point, and if you will keep this up faithfully for fifteen or twenty minutes, there can be no doubt about the result. Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? There is more hope of a fool than of him (Proverbs 26:12) ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ God’s Law Above All I am under no laws but God’s. ~ A Course in Miracles ~ A woman came to our healing group and requested prayer while she awaited the results of a biopsy. That night in a dream, I saw a photographic negative covered by a large book. When I meditated on the meaning of the dream, I recognized that the negative was a medical x-ray, symbolizing the laws if medicine. The book was A Course in Miracles, symbolizing the power of Spirit to heal anything. The message was clear: The laws of God supersede the “laws” of this world. The next day I received a phone call from the woman, telling me that her test results showed that she was healthy. All of the “laws” to which the world subscribes have no power in the face of divine grace and true love. The “laws” of medicine, economics, government, and social expectations are limited belief systems and cannot provide us with the security that universal principles offer us. To truly be healed, we must go beyond what the world tells us and take refuge in the reality of Spirit. Let me know without a doubt that only Your law of peace is constant. I surrender all beliefs in limited laws. My power is absolute universal love. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 8
March 8
Step by Step Today, if I doubt or fear what lies ahead on the road toward sobriety, I will remember that I am walking Robert Frost’s “Road Less Traveled,” less traveled, at least, by me. If I become shaky or uncertain about what bends I might encounter on this unfamiliar road, let me look back at the road I hope to leave behind, a road that is well-traveled and littered with broken whiskey bottles, broken dreams and promises, losses of people and places and things. If on the road I walk now the uncertainty is strong enough to tempt me to turn around and get back on the other road I know too well, let me not forget the reasons I left that one for the road less traveled because, unlike the less walked road, I know all too well the twists and turns of the other one. And with the stinging memories of that road I’ve left behind, the program has given me the map of the road less traveled. And, today, our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ OPEN MINDS Minds are like parachutes. They won’t work unless they are open. ~ Anonymous ~ Unless we maintain open minds, e cannot hope to make attitude changes for the better. Open-mindedness will prevent selfishness and reduce the possibility of painful resentments by not allowing intolerance and prejudice. It is fortunate that we are individuals with personal opinions and that we can express different views without causing problems. We can disagree without being disagreeable. Besides, variety in viewpoints keeps recovery from being dull or boring. In our Program, open minds remind us that common welfare comes before personal wishes. When I lock the doors of my mind, I am keeping more of value out of my heart than can ever be harboured in a tightly closed mind. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ To be without some of the things you want is an indispensable part of happiness. ~ Bertrand Russell ~ We learn, as we make peace with ourselves, that we have enough. Our old mind became anxious if we thought we needed something we could not have. We feared we would not be safe or comfortable, and we sought security in the comfort of things. Like the rush to the food market before a storm, the prospect of scarcity haunted us and we got anxious. On the spiritual path we learn to say, “I have enough. I will not have more to deal with than I can handle. All will be well. I am in the care of my Higher Power.” We can’t say it once and have it settled. Just as we practice safe driving or healthy eating habits, this is called spiritual practice because we continue doing it. We often forget the reassurance and we need to keep returning to it. Something changes inside when we accept that we can be at peace, and we can be happy, even when we don’t have everything we want. Today I live with satisfaction that I have enough. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Change comes about when we stop trying to shape up the other person and begin to observe patterns and find new options for our own behavior. ~ Harriet Lemer ~ Accepting that we can’t change someone else affects every detail of our lives. Many of us have spent years frustrated, even frantic at times, trying to control the actions and the opinions of others. At last we have been helped to look at our own behavior. What a relief to be rid of the burden of being responsible for others’ actions! Focusing only on ourselves is empowering. Every day feels more adventurous when we take full responsibility for our thoughts and words, leaving to others what belongs to them. Being personally responsible for learning new patterns of behavior is like teaching a small child how to skip. Effort pays off in time. I will have many chances today to mold my behavior to match my self-perception. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I want to feel useful and productive For a while I hardly knew who I was or where I was. But slowly, with medication and a good therapy group, I got reoriented and back on my feet. Now I’m abstinent and stable and I feel much stronger. I don’t want to just hang around anymore. I want to use my talents to make something, or make something work. I want to help. I want to be with other people these days. In fact, I’m ready to go back to work. I believe I can handle it now. I want to earn my keep again. I will talk with professionals who can help me with getting a part-time job and vocational training. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ What a piece of work is a man. How noble in reason. ~ William Shakespeare ~ As we grow in recovery, we look increasingly to our Higher Power for help and guidance. When we get around to asking our God to remove our shortcomings, we have reached a healthy place in recovery by admitting we actually have some. But there’s a difference between asking to be saint-like and having our shortcomings removed. We’re asking for help in changing the things we do that hurt ourselves and others. We are not asking to be made perfect. When we first come to this challenge, we may discover we’re secretly fond of these shortcomings. The thought of living without them fills us with anxiety. They are links to the past, to our family of origin, and it may feel like betrayal to live without them. All the more reason to ask for help in removing them; they are danger points that can prevent sober spiritual growth. But what joy we find when we ask for help in removing them. Suddenly we feel we can change, are changing, every day. We no longer need to flounder out of control, hurting ourselves or others. Now we can begin to put our lives in order. Today help me ask for help and guidance. Help me let go of my unhealthy links to the past. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ The difference between transformation by accident and transformation by a system is like the difference between lightning and a lamp. Both give illumination, but one is dangerous and unreliable, while the other is relatively safe, directed, available. ~ Marilyn Ferguson ~ In the past, the idea of recovery may have frightened you or intrigued you. With no awareness of the components of recovery, you could only make assumptions. But now that you are in the program, you know that the doing of recovery requires conscious decisions to change. Very few people wake up in the morning thinking, “I want to do something so different and foreign to me that it will require every ounce of my focus, energy, and strength.” Doing requires the four Ps: preparation, patience, planning, and perseverance. Through dedicated attention to each of these things, progress can be made. Unlike lightning-bolt changes—those things that happen so suddenly that there is no time for preparation—changes brought about from your actions can provide you with the greatest sense of pride and accomplishment. Doing the changes you are making today will light the path ahead of you so you can take each step of the journey with the confidence you need to take action. Today I dedicate myself to making slow, gradual progress. I will be patient but dedicated in all of my actions. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. ~ Marie Curie ~ Most of us have heard older relatives tell of the fears we had in childhood. Many were natural childhood fears; the first day of school, big dogs, even the dark. As we grew older, we understood the fears and grew out of them. Now when we hear reminiscences of those fears, we can laugh. But what happens when we confront today’s fears: meeting new people, attending a social event, giving up an obsession, spending time with our parents? Instead of understanding the cause of our fear, we may let the fear overrun us. We can put things in perspective by questioning, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?” Maybe what we fear isn’t always negative. Maybe we fear we’ll get that promotion or we won’t have an argument with our parents. Whatever our fears may be, we need to see them as lessons to study. Once we understand each new lesson, we’ll become masters of our lives. We will run our actions instead of our fears. I can study at least one of my fears to understand it better. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Going to any lengths Before we sought help, we became very ill— physically, mentally, and spiritually. We couldn’t stand to look at ourselves in a mirror. We had to hit bottom before we could help ourselves. But when we did, we became ready to try anything, to go to any lengths. We must never forget where we came from and in what condition we arrived. We must not forget that we are pill heads, drunks, and junkies. If we do forget, our willingness to “go to any lengths” will fade away. Am I still willing to go to any lengths? Higher Power, I pray that I may always remember where I came from and in what condition I arrived at this program. The lengths I will go to today are God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Chance everywhere has power. ~ OVID ~ Newcomer I heard someone say the other day that “coincidence is God’s way of remaining anonymous.” Am I really supposed to believe that God is involved in every insignificant piece of luck I have? It’s a bit much for me to believe that my Higher Power is interested in whether or not I get a good parking space. And what about the days when everything isn’t going my way? Sponsor Some people experience coincidence as evidence that our lives are in the hands of a loving God, and some see good or bad luck simply as part of the randomness of events. Maintaining good recovery doesn’t require that we take a stand on this subject! There’s another way of thinking about seemingly chance happenings: Wherever they come from, whatever else they are, coincidences are sober opportunities. When I bump into someone I’ve been thinking about making amends to, I have an opportunity to do it on the spot, and I don’t pass it up. When I’ve been avoiding taking one particular Step and find myself at a meeting where that very Step is being discussed, I have a chance to let go of my resistance then and there. What we call coincidence involves a meeting of events with our own awakened spirit. In recovery; we often see openings for taking action and for feeling gratitude—opportunities that we would have missed if we were still active in our addictions. Today, I am awake and alive to opportunities for sober action. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ So you have dried up – you’re off the stuff. That’s fine, but many of us have to face the ridicule of our former drinking pals and unfortunately some of us couldn’t take it. Who is the ringleader of that jeering section? The chances are he was the guy who needed the program as badly as you did. He didn’t want you sober because you were frequently worth the price of a bottle. He had no logical argument to use so he resorted to ridicule. Remember that he who laughs at you tonight, tomorrow morning you can kid Hell out of. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Don’t assume evil motives for what stupidity can explain. 2) Keep It simple and remember to thank yourself. 3) You get what you need and inevitably find out it was what you wanted all the time. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Please, Lord Please, Lord, teach us to laugh again; but God, don’t ever let us forget that we cried. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ HOW TO FAIL IN EVERYTHING Knock everything systematically. No matter what you hear of, deprecate it and predict the worst. Mind everyone else’s business. This will insure you neglecting your own. Never perform today what you can possibly postpone unto tomorrow. Leave the important things to someone else instead of seeing to them personally. Have no organized arrangements. Trust to luck for everything. Be a sanctimonious humbug, and when you bungle things say it is “the Lord’s will” or that the trouble is that you are too good for your surroundings. Sit down and wait for something to turn up. Finally, conduct your life in all respects as if there were not God. Deliver me from all my transgression: make me not the reproach of the foolish (Psalm 39:8). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ The Right of Consciousness Circumstances do not make the man—they reveal him. ~ James Allen ~ When I complimented my friend on her car, she reported, “My husband wants the car as part of our divorce. But because I brought the car into the marriage, I argued with him. Then I realized that it was my consciousness that drew the car to me. My husband can take the car, but not my consciousness. I told him he could have the car. I still have my consciousness, and with that I can attract a dozen more cars if I want to.” What we have is not a result of luck or circumstance, but thought and attitude. Some people succeed at everything they do, and others fail consistently. The life we live is not cast upon us like a net; it is magnetized by our attitude. No one can take from you anything you deserve by right of your consciousness, and you cannot keep something you have not earned by virtue of your thoughts. The most powerful way to improve your circumstances is by upgrading your consciousness. If you try to change your situation without changing your mind, sooner or later you will revert to your former position. When you change your mind, life has no choice but to re-cluster itself according to the new level of vibration at which you are operating. Help me keep You in my thoughts, that my world may reflect divinity everywhere I look. My consciousness of good magnetizes ever-increasing blessings to me. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 9
March 9
Step by Step Today – and every day that follows if any – I accept reality as it is and not as I want it to be through my character defects or as I think my reality should be. Failure or refusal to recognize and accept the reality of my being makes my recovery one that is not based in fact, honesty and integrity and, predictably, I may be setting myself up for relapse. Being abstinent is not the end of recovery: it is the beginning because I have to confront the emotional and spiritual defects of a sick character that take significantly longer than just being dry to repair. Today, in my Fourth and 10th steps, may I have the objectivity – not to mention guts – to be honest about my reality so that my recovery is based in truth instead of denial of my actual emotional and spiritual sickness. A recovery of anything less than absolute self-awareness and honesty makes me little more than a dry drunk. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ PROCRASTINATION Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday. ~ Don Marquis ~ We were constant procrastinators before we began our 12 Step Program. Addiction created the habit of delay because, as long as we had our substance, everything else could wait. Now we know that action truly is the magic word. The slogan “Easy Does It” doesn’t mean to put things off. It means to do it, but do it in God’s good time. Slow growth doesn’t mean postponement. We can’t put off airing problems to other people for fear of being ridiculed. We need answers early during our progress. When we attempt to ask for solutions, we can be clear and direct in our questions. We know our friends will always give us the right to be wrong and quickly correct faulty thinking. I can solve problems just by “pressing on.” Procrastination is not living one day at a time. I will do today what I am meant to do today. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is that little voice at the end of the day that says: “I’ll try again tomorrow.’1 ~ Anne Hunninghake ~ A key quality that distinguishes a successful athlete, or a top-notch performer in any field, is the way he responds to his bad days. Everyone has good days and bad days, and the good ones are certainly easier to handle. But do we allow the bad ones to throw us off our course? Are we so shaken by our mistakes or troubles that we lose our focus on our goals? Adult development is a process; it’s never an end goal that we reach and hold. Our healing and recovery includes preparing ourselves to respond well to the bad days. We can do that by keeping our eye on the big picture, knowing that however bad things may seem at the moment, they will change. We learn to reach deep into our spiritual center for the courage to stay focused in the midst of our hardest days. We don’t have to do it alone. We have the spiritual support of our Higher Power and the companionship of our friends to keep us on the path. Today I will stay in touch with my spiritual center to find the courage for another day. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Believe the best in yourself. Then it is easier to believe the best in others. ~ Mardy Kopischke ~ Most of us have struggled—perhaps for years— trying to see the best in ourselves. But our less- than-stellar behavior has muddied our attempts to focus on our positive qualities. We have always had them; however, it may require a careful inventory and our sponsor’s feedback to bring our positive qualities into focus. Why is it so much easier to remember the actions over which we feel shame? Many of us can’t see the good in ourselves until we can recognize what it looks like. It helps to start by identifying the good in other people; then we can learn to identify it in ourselves. This effort will ensure us many rewards. It’s really not important how we go about identifying our best attributes. That we come to appreciate them is the goal. And the beauty of this is that by openly expressing our appreciation we strengthen the good in ourselves and in others. The contribution I can make today is really so easy. All I need to do is focus on a positive quality not only in someone else but also in myself. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I have one goal today: stay clean and sober I want to do it. I know I can do it. I’ve done it before. I will do it again. Now that my psychiatric symptoms are getting better, I want to stop using more than anything else. I want my life back again – all of it. Today I know what to do and I know who can help me. I have no excuses anymore. I’ll be OK without my drug. The most important thing in my life today is staying straight. Today, it’s the only thing I have to do. I will write out the most important thing I can do to remain abstinent on this clean-and-sober day. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Look inside. See the wonderful and the painful. Be open to the process of taking an inventory. ~ Margaret M. ~ Inventory? We thought we only had to do that when the tax man came around. Now we’re supposed to look closely at ourselves and write it all down— a pretty scary proposition. But if we feel the fear and move through it, we’ll see and find a lot. To know who we’re working with on this journey through recovery, we’d better interview ourselves pretty well. We have a long way to go together; it will be an easier trip if we start out with an honest look. But an honest look means giving ourselves credit for all the good in us, too. An inventory isn’t just of negatives, but of everything in us. We need to be aware of the major roadblock we call “perfection.” This has stopped many efforts and is a way of avoiding this self-search. This is all new behavior for us. It’ll feel scary, maybe confusing at first. But we can learn to let go of fear and take our time. Now we have support systems and trust in our Higher Power to help us. With the new strength we’ve found, we can face an inventory with courage and get to know and love our true selves for the first time. Today help me trust my Higher Power to guide me through the maze. The reward at the other end is worth it. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ It’s this simple—if I never try anything, I never learn anything—if I never take a risk, I stay where I am. ~ Hugh Prather ~ In the movie Cast Away, Tom Hanks plays a man who is marooned on an island after a plane crash. As the days turn into weeks, then into months, and finally into years, he loses hope that he will ever be rescued. But then the tide brings him a piece of metal and he forms an idea. If he could build a raft, using the metal as a sail, he could perhaps escape the island and return to civilization. His plan works. He yearns to resume life where he left off, but everything has changed. Filled with despair, he visits a friend who asks how he was able to survive on the island. He thinks for a moment and then answers, “I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive… I had to keep breathing… so that’s what I did.” Recovery requires you to trust even when you feel there is no reason to hope. To embark on a new path requires you to try new ways of acting, behaving, and living. Unless you try, you will never know if you can succeed. Today the risks I take will give me wings. With these wings, I can experience a new way of living. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ If one only wished to be happy, this could be easily accomplished; but we wish to be happier than other people, and this is always difficult, for we believe others to be happier than they are. ~ Charles de Secondat Montesquieu ~ How many times have we gone out to dinner with friends and ordered what they ordered? Or bought a pair of shoes or some clothing because we liked the item on someone else? Imitation can be the sincerest form of flattery, but it can also be a way of trying to capture the same things we admire in another person. How often do we compare our emotions? “If only I were as happy as she is,” we might say. It may be easier to look at how others feel instead of looking at our-selves. We may not even know how we feel unless we look at someone else for comparison. Yet appearances are not always the true story. Some-one can seem like the happiest person, yet be miserable inside. Happiness has to come from within us. It’s okay if our expressions of happiness don’t reflect the expressions of others. The only reflections we need to see are our own. I can look in the mirror and see happiness the way it really is. If I want to be happier, that’s up to me. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Having a sponsor Why do people in this program always suggest we get a sponsor? Doubtful people ask, “If I have the whole fellowship to turn to, why do I need a sponsor?” Considering the fact that we have tricky minds, the whole fellowship would give us too many answers. If we didn’t like one answer, we could go to another and then another until we got the answer we wanted. But this would be self- will run riot and contrary to turning our will over to the care of God. A sponsor can put a check on our self-will. Do I have a sponsor? Higher Power, may I learn not to operate on self-will and may my mind stay clear so that I don’t play games with my life. Today I will talk with my sponsor about God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Anything done with focus, awareness, or mindfulness is a meditation. ~ DAVID HARP ~ Newcomer I hear people talk about meditating, but I don’t seem to know how. When I try sitting still, my mind wanders, or I fall asleep. I just don’t get it. Sponsor Even in recovery, we have an endless capacity for being con-fused. There are literally dozens of different approaches to meditation and many books and classes that teach them. Some forms of meditation come out of ancient traditions, some are religious, and some are just methods of relaxation. You can practice meditation alone or with others, in silence or chanting, sitting or walking. Even cleaning house can be a form of meditation! Over time, I’ve found a simple approach to meditation that feels natural and right for me. If you’d like to try it, here’s how: Take three to five minutes for time out to sit quietly, without distractions. Scan your body and mind, and let go of any tensions you notice. Breathe naturally, and pay attention to what that feels like. Whatever thoughts or sensations arise, don’t make yourself wrong for having them. Afterward, you may notice that you feel calm and refreshed. Whatever I choose to do today, I practice doing it with ease and pleasure. I keep it simple. I don’t judge my progress. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ When we become fully conscious that we, as men, are spirit primarily, that our bodies are but necessary instruments through which the spirit works; that the mind is not a collection of brain cells but is actually a series of thought waves as free of actual substance as the winds or the rays of light or heat, we appreciate the fact that chains are powerless to restrain the thoughts which are actually the mind. We can and do select the thoughts we store up in those brain cells. We keep what we want and we discard what we please. The kind of thoughts we think become habit and so become us. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) GOD: Good Orderly Direction 2) Refuse to star in their psychodrama. 3) Repression causes depression. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ My Prayer for You I thought of you so much today I went to God in prayer, To ask Him to watch over you And show you that we care. My prayer for you was not for rewards That you could touch or feel, But true rewards for happiness That are so very real. Like love and understanding In all the things you do, And guidance when you need it most To see your troubles through. I asked Him for good health for you So your future could be bright, And faith to accept life’s challenges And the courage to do what’s right. I gave thanks to Him For granting my prayer To bring you peace and love. May you feel the warmth in your life With God’s blessings from above. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ HOW TO KEEP FROM GROWING Never be original. Find out what is usually done and copy that. Realize that you have nothing more to learn. This will destroy all danger of success. Sneer at those who are more successful than yourself. Tell yourself that it is now too late, and that you really did not have the proper equipment; and it will be especially helpful to keep saying that people are against you. Never learn from experience. Keep on doing the same fool things time after time. Never wait to hear the other side of the story. Knowing both sides will only unsettle your mind. Use your wit destructively. Be smart at the expense of absent people. Stand on your dignity. Never forget that you have a position to keep up. Try to get everything cheap. Study and practice to become the perfect “chiseler.” This will build an invincible poverty complex. …the heart of fools proclaimeth foolishness (Proverbs 12:23). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Hold Your Ground If you don’t run your own life, someone else will. ~ John Atkinson ~ After the filming of Field of Dreams was completed on location in Iowa, one of the farmers who owned the plot of land where the movie was shot, plowed a section of the baseball field. Soon he was faced with such an outcry from neighbors and visitors that he yielded and restored the field. Later he acknowledged, “Well, I guess if it makes people happy to come, that’s fine with me.” Don’t let anyone plow under your field of dreams. While it may mean little to them, it is precious to you. If you love your project or vision, stand behind it. It needs your energy and caring. If your venture is worthwhile, the world will come around. And even if the world does not stand in acclaim, you cannot afford to abandon the child of your heart. Give me the strength to uphold what You would have me do. I believe in me, and I believe in You. I bring my visions to life with faith and action. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 10
March 10
Step by Step Today, Step Eight – ” ...became willing to make amends …” – Understand that simply becoming willing to be free of my character defects means nothing if I do not understand WHY I must make those amends. To become willing, I must first accept that I have damaged not only myself but others whose anger at me, the injury I inflicted on them and possible permanent damage may still be too fresh for acceptance of my apologies. It is in Step Nine in which we hear the need for more than becoming willing: we make our amends“except when to do so would injure” those to whom we apologize and others who may be collateral damage on our trail of destruction. A failure to see or to understand and feel the need to release the defects that contributed to my misconduct may mean I might still harbor those defects, however deeply, and that they may resurface to derail my recovery. Today, if I have an amend to make, God grant that I feel with honesty, sincerity, humility and a healing hand why I must do so. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ COMPLACENCY First we work the Program because we HAVE to. Then we work the Program because we are WILLING to. Finally we work the Program because we WANT to. ~ Anonymous ~ To think at any time that our battle for continuous emotional growth has been won could be the biggest mistake in our life today. Self-satisfaction is a tougher enemy than discouragement. Overconfidence can make us open to self-importance and a target for failure. Watchfulness has to be the guiding force in everyday living. We will always remember that people like us who once lived with despair usually find it more difficult to deal with success than with failure. We can fight tendencies toward being smug by being alert to it. Watchfulness takes patience. It would be easy to become complacent if I began to believe that all I had to do in recovery was to accept my problems and relax. As my sponsor says, “If we don’t grow, we gotta go.” ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ At the heart of the simple life is an emphasis on harmonious and purposeful living. ~ Duane Elgin ~ At some point, we all complain about the fast pace and complexity of modem life. We rush the kids to school or day care, and when we get to work, we practice multi-tasking, trying to be more efficient and productive. Driving home from work, we catch up on some phone calls. But somehow, as busy as we are, we are never led to that point of completion with calm and quiet—only to more busyness. To have a simpler life, we have to consciously choose it. Busily running around and embracing more tasks does not open the door to simplicity. We can decide not to be frantic and scattered in our daily tasks. Instead we can be attentive, present in the moment, and focused on the one thing that is before us. Being in harmony with our surroundings is at least as important as efficiency. When we choose to push back against the hectic pace and move toward simplicity and harmony, we think more clearly, we know ourselves better, we make better choices, our physical health is stronger, and maybe we are actually more productive. Today I will choose simplicity and harmony. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Today I will stop brooding—and start meditating. ~ Nancy T. ~ The Eleventh Step suggests that we meditate in order to know God’s will for us. Not recognizing how to do that at first, we mistakenly think that when we “shut up,” we’re meditating. But we eventually realize that quieting the mouth is not the same as quieting the mind. To meditate—to free our minds of worries, snarling questions, and constant complaints— makes it possible for us to know the best step to take next. We are good at “getting quiet” (perhaps becoming sullen is a better description), but clearing our mind of all thoughts is not easy. With enough practice, however, we will begin to savor the meditative moments and seek them far more often. When that occurs, we’ll find the serenity we have been promised, the serenity we observe in others. We’ll also find we know how to handle those situations that used to baffle us. I can figure out my next best move today if I quiet my mind long enough to receive God’s message. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I don’t have to stay depressed all day. This morning I woke up again with a nightmare (not Fun!). I’m not surprised – They’ve been showing up now and then as I deal with this depression. At first I felt so bad I didn’t think I could get out of bed – but somehow I did. And then, somehow, I showered, ate, and took my medication. Somehow I completed my early morning routine. I’m surprised by my strength (and pleased). This afternoon I feel better; in fact, I feel pretty good right now. I don’t feel tired or sad or guilty. I think I feel good enough to walk around the park. This change feels great. I will spend five minutes today thinking about how a recovery plan helps me stay abstinent and stable. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ If you listen, you get your own answers. ~ Walter C. ~ One of the wonderful things about a Twelve Step recovery program is that each of us gets to decide for ourselves what it means and how it works for us. How often do we stop to think about our place in the big picture? For most of us it hasn’t been an everyday experience. But when the program came into our lives, we were compelled to look at this — and compelled as well to figure out just what shape our Higher Power might take. It was one of those tasks we needed to do early in recovery. People around us had a lot of different ideas. We talked a lot; listened even more. Finally our own ideas began to emerge. We began finding a relationship with God as we understood God. Over time it has changed, and will continue to change, as we journey through life. It’s comforting not to travel alone. As we grow in recovery, our ability to accept and understand a Higher Power will also continue to develop. With this growing relationship, we gain courage and serenity every day. Today help me remember that my relationships with myself, my family and friends, and my environment are all enriched when I put God into each of these areas. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ A compromise is an arrangement whereby someone who can’t get exactly what he wants makes sure nobody else gets exactly what they want. ~ Barbara Florio Graham ~ Because recovery can seem like it is one struggle after another, you may feel as if you are constantly battling “enemies.” You may not take the time to ask yourself, “Are these enemies real or imagined?” Instead, you may strive to safeguard yourself against what you think are personal attacks by others, attempts to control you, or deliberate actions designed to set up roadblocks in your recovery. In doing so, you may withdraw from interacting with those who have the most experience or your best interests at heart. When you are at a heightened level of defensiveness or feel vulnerable, you can easily misinterpret words and actions and blow things out of proportion. Then, your battle with another becomes real. To foster a less volatile and more cooperative spirit, first bring your emotions under control. When you feel defensive, take a moment to ask, “Am I overreacting?” Listen more closely to the words of others. You may find what you thought was criticism is really someone reaching out to you in kindness and support. Today I will remove my battle armor and really listen to others. I will be respectful of them and keep my emotions in check. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Little do [we] perceive what solitude is, and how far it extendeth, for a crowd is not company, and faces are but a gallery of pictures, and talk but a tinkling cymbal where there is no love. ~ Sir John Lubbock ~ Today we may be learning what friendship means to us. We may have found that time and the changes we’ve made have changed the cast of characters in our lives. Friends from the past may no longer be friends; people we never thought we would be close to may now be meaningful to us. Yet we may find it difficult to open up to these people and may hesitate to form friendships beyond a meeting hall or cup of coffee. Friendship is based totally on trust of another person. Today we are working on trust issues. We are learning we need to take risks to feel comfortable with ourselves and others. Extending the hand of friendship to another or touching the hand extended toward us is the first step in getting to know others and letting them know us. I can be a friend to another. I can take a risk to share myself and also let someone share with me. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Exercising patience To be patient means being willing to wait for fulfillment. We can head straight for our goal of becoming clean and sober, asking for patience as we pause for the stoplights along the way and wait. If we refuse to wait and plunge ahead, we are sure to go the long way around and per-haps lose sight of our objective in the process. We must always keep in mind that our objective is a clean and sober way of thinking and living. We must have patience or our objective will slip away. Do I exercise patience? Higher Power, help me to do the things today that will make me ready. Help me to be willing to wait for the right things. I will exercise patience today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ The door must either be shut or be open. ~ OLIVER GOLDSMITH ~ Newcomer Step Three begins with the words “Made a decision . . .” Sometimes I wonder whether I did make a decision to come here. I felt desperate; there really wasn’t any choice. Sponsor Many of us have felt the desperation you speak of and saw this program as our last chance. Some of us came here to placate another person, to help a friend we thought needed recovery, or because a court of law required us to. Some of us came here with willingness and eager curiosity; we sensed that we were “home” right from the beginning. Others were reluctant and skeptical. Though each of us had to make a conscious decision to come to a meeting, it may feel as if something more than our own intentions got us here. Now that we’re here, we still have to make the decision to stay sober. We can elect to embrace recovery, or we can reject it and turn ourselves back over to addiction. We pray each day for the courage to remain in recovery. No one can force us to choose life and love, but it’s here, if we have the willingness to choose it. Today, it’s easy and natural to make decisions that support my recovery. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Man has taken the raw materials of Nature and created works of such beauty and power as to be second only to Nature itself, yet only an insignificant few have contributed materially in this work. For the most part, man crawls through life on a plane but slightly higher than brute creation. The train of progress has a thousand deadheads for every paying passenger. We are no longer bums but passengers on the train of progress who have not only paid our fare but are willing to get out and push when the going gets tough. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) It’s hard to be Grateful when you’re Hateful. 2) Motivate, don’t denigrate. 3) Keep the focus on yourself, but once the picture is taken, move on. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Self-Respect Prayer O God, teach me that self-respect cannot be hunted It cannot be purchased. It is never for sale. It comes to me when I am alone, in quiet moments, in quiet places, when I suddenly realize that, knowing the good, I have done it; knowing the beautiful, I have served it; knowing the truth, I have spoken it. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ HOW TO DESTROY YOUR HEALTH Get emotional and excited over every trifling occurrence, especially if it is no concern of yours. Eat and drink indiscriminately. Your stomach is only a sink, anyway, and being make of cast iron, will stand anythin. Cut down on your sleep. This is an excellent way to undermine the nervous system. Never relax. That would give the body a chance to recuperate. Avoid all exercise. Exercise promotes circulation. Read as much as you can about diseases and ailments. Your public library will carry many suitable books. Discuss your own ailments at great length and, if you have had an operation, give dramatic little lectures about it at every opportunity. Take good care of your dog, and your horse, and your automobile, but neglect your body. The bible says that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit, and to go against the Bible is always a good shortcut to trouble. … If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and will do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statues, I will put none of these diseases upon thee … for I am the Lord that healeth thee (Exodus 15:26). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Get Fired If you aren’t fired with enthusiasm, you will be fired with enthusiasm. ~ Vince Lombardi ~ Andrew was an attorney who hated law but loved computers. It was no surprise, then, that when his firm went bankrupt Andrew researched bankruptcy laws and recorded his notes on his computer. After several months, he realized that he had arranged a wealth of information in a way that no one else had. Andrew took his notes and computer program to some executives at Apple Computers, who were so impressed by what he had done that they offered him a handsome sum of money to develop the program. Now he works with enthusiasm as a legal program consultant for Apple. The key ingredient for success is enthusiasm. You can have a wealth of skills, but if your heart is not fully present, you will feel unfulfilled, and your work will reflect it. If you have enthusiasm, you will find the energy to acquire the necessary skills and draw to you all the people and support you need to succeed. We dishonor ourselves and others by staying in positions out of familiarity or obligation. If you tolerate boredom or compromise, the universe will fire you so you can be in your right place where you can really be fired. The word enthusiasm comes from the Latin de Teos, meaning “from God.” Whenever you are enthusiastic about something, no matter what it is, you are in God. When you act without excitement, you have strayed from your source. If it is not a “Hell, yes!,” it is a “No.” If you practice this principle, you will be in your right place, you will feel fulfilled, and miracles will happen through you. Give me the courage to live from enthusiasm and not fear. I do what I love, and the universe fulfills me and everyone I affect. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 11
March 11
Step by Step Today, should I be tempted to try “just one” and then “just one more night,” let me have the honesty to admit to myself that I have already premeditated a slip or relapse and to find the wisdom “to change the things I can.” And a temptation is something I CAN change. Grant me the courage to do what the program suggests when temptation calls – reach out to a sponsor, co-member, or even an online contact BEFORE I take the drink. Asking for help AFTER is too late. And if I don’t have the sense to seek help before the drink, let me remember the yesterdays of morning afters and their residue: hangovers, shakes, guilt, remorse, memory loss, fear, shame. Is any of that worth the instant gratification of a drink and, with all honesty, does my drinking history have even ONE drink? No! Today, if I am tempted, let me have the courage to muster the honesty to tell myself that I am premeditating a relapse, that a slip is a myth and that the consequence simply isn’t worth it. And, today, I’ll call help. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ THE READY PUPIL God gave us two ears, but only one mouth. Some say that’s because our Higher Power wanted us to spend twice as much time listening as we did talking. ~ Anonymous ~ One of the most valuable things we can do is to become a good listener. When we concentrate on absorbing what wiser and more experienced members say rather than thinking about what we imagine others want to hear from us, we will grow in our Program. We are aware that “when the pupil is ready, the teacher will appear.” Often, the teacher is an unlikely source. Some of the things we most need to hear may come from someone new to the Program. If we are highly educated, it may come from someone with no education at all. If we are materially successful, it may come from someone who has nothing. We are all teachers and all students in the Program. We constantly learn from each other, wherever or whoever we are. I shall never stop learning as I will always be a pupil in my Program. Thankfully, I will never graduate. There are no diplomas, only revelations. I will be a good listener. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Never believe that a few caring people can’t change the world, for indeed, that’s all who ever have. ~ Margaret Mead ~ The pessimists and the naysayers believe that the future is bleak. Storm clouds are always present somewhere, they say, leading things inexorably to the worse. Yet our own recovery and our restored lives are living proof that growth and improvement are always possible. We know how bad things felt in our own lives and how much better they have now become. Our own experience is all we need to give us hope. When a couple of guys in Ohio first got together to find a path out of alcoholism and despair, they started a Twelve Step recovery program that has brought hope and transformation to millions. When so many around them were hopelessly caught in the grip of alcoholism, these guys dared to hope that they could be restored to sanity. They changed the world. On this day, perhaps we see danger looming. We may despair about a relationship, or worry about a friend or loved one. But if we care, and if we keep the faith, we know that things can change for the better. Today I will carry the knowledge that a Power greater than ourselves can restore us. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ To experience a feeling is to open a window to our soul. ~ Sarah Desmond ~ Abstinence and recovery offer us the opportunity to really know ourselves. It surprises us, initially, to discover how unfamiliar we are with our feelings and our motivations. Alcohol and other drugs muffled most of what we felt and thought for much of our lives. Now meetings and the Steps are helping us foster an acquaintance with our true self. It’s both fun and a little scary. We don’t necessarily like every aspect of who we are now. And most of us loathe who we used to be. But having the tools to peel away the layers of denial about the past and having the willingness to face our feelings are paramount to becoming who we’d rather be. What we’re getting to, what’s deep in our soul, is the person God has hoped would emerge all along. Having the chance to know our soul is a profoundly important gift. Let’s gently unwrap it. I will respect all my feelings today. They tell me important things I need to know about myself. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can take the time I need to recover. I tend to want things when I want them, and usually that means now. I want to be recovered now. I want to feel whole and healthy now. I am impulsive and impatient. But my Twelve Step program is teaching me the truer meaning of now: with the help of my higher power I accept where I’m at in my recovery. To me this means I know I can’t just say Be well and then be well. Change is slow and methodical. To recover, I need to take small steps every day. I must work on each problematic symptom, habit, routine, thought pattern, or attitude one at a time and one day at a time. Following my Step Ten inventory, I will select something I want to change and work on changing it today. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Moderation in all things. ~ Terence ~ During active addiction, our lives went from one extreme to the other. Depending on our level of intoxication, we believed we were all bad or all good; angels or devils. We abused ourselves terribly, then went on frantic health kicks to make up for it. We made friends — and enemies — in an instant. We quit jobs, left spouses, alienated our loved ones, all on the whim of a moment. But life doesn’t have to be that way. In recovery, we have a chance to learn a moderate, balanced approach to living. With our new healthy mind and body, we can think things through and make decisions based on our long-term good instead of reacting to the feelings of the moment. If we stay up too late one night, we can choose to have an early evening the next. If we’re stressed out, we can choose a few days of quiet and exercise, which will help us recuperate. When we’ve taken on too heavy a load at work, we can find rational ways to rearrange our schedule. Now we can look to the future and assess our needs based on what we know is good for us. No longer motivated by distorted thinking and impulsive reactions, we can think and plan ahead. Once we took pride in our hell-bent lifestyle. Now we can relax and enjoy the serenity of moderation. Today help me avoid impulsive decisions and appreciate balance. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Imagine how little good music there would be if, for example, a conductor refused to play Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony on the ground that his audience may have heard it before. ~ A.P. Herbert ~ From time to time you may feel bored with the meetings you attend. You may hear the same stories and slogans. You may interact with the same people. So you may come to the decision that since you are not drinking or using, you have your addiction under control and no longer need to attend meetings. Rather than step away from meetings, consider ways to give meetings greater meaning. Perhaps you are bored with the stories people tell because you are only half listening. Strive to listen more closely. Maybe you are tired of the same slogans because you have not fully appreciated their meaning. Choose a slogan and break it down, word by word, so you understand its purpose in your recovery. Maybe your disinterest in others is due to your lack of effort in getting to know them better. Engage with them so you can learn more about who they are. Approach your next meeting with a renewed effort and change your way of thinking. A greater perspective will be your reward. Today I will truly listen to the stories of others and seek new meaning in the experiences they are sharing with me. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ For it is not physical solitude that actually separates one from other men, not physical isolation, but spiritual isolation. ~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~ We’ve discovered that our growth today depends on our mental, physical, and spiritual health. If we picture these as the three legs of a stool, we can see that shortchanging the importance of one or taking one of them away will upset the balance. We can be at a meeting, for example, yet be unwilling to listen and learn. Or we can bow our heads in prayer at the end of the meeting, yet be unwilling to feel the spiritual strength flowing through the circle of joined hands. By blocking the flow of any aspect of our growth, we are isolating ourselves without even being physically alone. The remedy to physical isolation is being with others. The remedy to spiritual isolation is opening ourselves to the spirit of life and love that exists everywhere. We can be open to that spirit whether we are alone or with others. How can I end my spiritual isolation tonight? ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Seeking happiness Happiness is not a goal for us, it is the result of following the Twelve Steps. If we make happiness an object of pursuit, it will only lead us on a wild goose chase. We know this because whenever we sought happiness out of a bottle, needle, or pill, it always eluded us. When we are following our true purpose, we often find the happiness we never dreamed possible staring us in the face. When we work the Steps, help others, and go to meetings, we can’t help but have happiness presented to us. It is a result. The sooner we stop seeking happiness for itself, the sooner we realize that it’s the by-product of our new life. Have I stopped chasing rainbows? Higher Power, help me see happiness as the result of the way I live. I will practice the program today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ What loneliness is more lonely than distrust? ~ GEORGE ELIOT ~ Newcomer When I hear, in Step Three, “turn our will and our lives over to the care of God,” my hackles go up. I want to lead a free, independent life. I don’t want to give up my ability to think and to make my own decisions. Sponsor Step Three doesn’t ask us to give up our ability to think or to make choices, but rather to trust in the existence of love and caring. When we were active in our addictions, we tried to care for ourselves with a substance or behavior that may have helped us at first, but eventually failed us. What seemed to feed us, in time starved us. In recovery, we become open to choosing more dependable ways of loving and caring for ourselves. To prepare for Step Three, it’s useful to make a list of some of the many things that support and nurture us each day. We find love and nourishment in helping and accepting help from other recovering addicts, in the dependability of meetings and program principles, in the people we meet on our path who put more light in our day. Music, exercise, creativity, laughter, meditation, prayer, tuning in to nature’s rhythms, noticing the miracle of our own breathing and our bodies’ capacity to heal—there is food for our spirits everywhere, if we are willing to be fed. In recovery, we come to know ourselves as whole human beings, better able to think for ourselves and make our own decisions, while sensing the loving support of something greater than our separate selves. Today, I am willing to open myself to the abundance of love and care that recovery offers me. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ In our early days of sobriety, when our minds were still full of cobwebs, when we were unable to concentrate on what was being told us, when we were actually antagonistic to any spiritual help, many thousands of us were held on by the great bond of understanding, sympathy and friendliness of the Group. We will dwell together in peace and harmony only so long as we are united in our one and only purpose of “carrying the message to other alcoholics.” We are organized for no other purpose, we have prospered in fulfilling that purpose, and we shall lose our sobriety and die as an organization when we depart from that purpose. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) You need all the help you can give. 2) GUILT: God Understands I Lack Trust 3) Rule 62: Never take yourself too seriously! ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Do It Now Dear God, I expect to pass through this world but once. Any good thing, therefore, that I can do, or any kindness I can show to any fellow traveler, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ PRAYER AS TREATMENT Treatment is a psycho-spiritual term that means knowing the spiritual truth about any person or situation. If, like most people, you believe that appearances are realities and that they cannot be changed, then you cannot give a treatment. But if you believe that the Bible is right when it says, For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he . . . (Proverbs 23:7). Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment (John 7:24). Then it is in your power to change anything for the better and to heal most things. Begin every treatment (No matter how many you may give) by saying: I can overcome this difficulty. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ One Link at a Time It is a mistake to try to look too far ahead. The chain of destiny can only be grasped one link at a time. ~ Winston Churchill ~ Author and Unity minister Eric Butterworth gave a 15-minute radio talk every day for over 30 years, during which he inspired countless millions with illuminating ideas. When someone asked Dr. Butterworth how he was able to come up with a unique address for such a long time, he answered, “I just do one at a time. Sometimes I sit down to write a week’s worth of talks, and the prospect seems overwhelming. Then I remember that I just have to write one. So I write what is most alive within me at that moment, and when I am done, I ask myself what is stimulating to me now. Before I know it, they are all done.” I have written a dozen books in 15 years. If at the outset someone had told me I would do that, or asked me to take on such a project, there is no way I would have agreed. But each book showed up in its own time, along with the energy and enthusiasm to make it happen. Somehow they add up. If you feel overwhelmed with projects or responsibilities, ask yourself, “What do I really need to attend to right now?” Then handle the project at hand as if it is the only one. You will have a lot more fun thinking of it in that way, and you will be amazed at how the bowling pins fall one after another if you focus on what can be done in the moment. God never requires anything of us that is beyond our capacity to perform. The secret is to forge the chain one link at a time. Show me how to live one day at a time. I will do what I can with joy and enthusiasm, and trust You to do what I cannot. Now is my moment. I do my best and leave the rest to God. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 12
March 12
Step by Step Today, let me not forget that my character is one of extremes. One drink wasn’t enough, so it became so many to skyrocket me into oblivion. Anger wasn’t expressed in acceptable forms and instead became spontaneous explosions of verbal or physical abuse. Love was obsessive and possessive instead of allowing those I “loved” to be themselves and not what I demanded they be. When I was drunk, I was the best thing to happen to anyone but, the morning after, I was the worst that happened to them – and myself. In apologizing, either I expected not just acceptance but praise for being “big” to apologize in the first place, or I was so self-defeating that I prefaced apologies with, “I wouldn’t blame you if …” Today, when I am faced with responding to anything, let me remember the steps and principles of surrender of self and will to a higher power, of humility, gratitude and selflessness, and of service in reacting with neither expectation of unreasonable returns nor with self-defeatism. Today, I am sober. I am free to be what I am. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ TRUTH If you don’t tell the truth about yourself, you cannot tell it about other people. ~ Viginia Woolff ~ Truth, like all precious things, can be both given and accepted joyously. But we will give it only after much examination of our motives and the possible effect on the person who receives it. Hastily offered truth can be more harmful than silence. If truth can motivate either healing or growth in a friend, we can’t hesitate to speak it, even if it makes us uncomfortable. May we also gratefully accept truths about ourselves from others. We will know they are offered as gifts. We shall always try to speak the truth with love. Love and truth complement each other. Love without truth is sentimentality; truth without love is cruelty. I will be careful when I speak the truth, trying to be helpful and not hurtful to others. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Fear will assault us, but we will not be afraid. ~ Rabbi Harold S. Kushner ~ Worry and concern are among our biggest challenges as we follow our paths. Nothing can finally and completely shield us from the vulnerabilities and unknowns. We may be haunted by experiences from our past when our safety and security were stripped away. In the back of our minds, we carry images of chaotic moments. Now we are seeking something called peace of mind and serenity—but we have to find a way to do that in the face of universal insecurity. Many of us feel innocent about our controlling behavior because we think we are only trying to make everyone safe and secure. The practice of a good life requires us to learn attitudes and understandings that help us let go of fear when it assaults us. This means that we turn to our spiritual foundation, knowing that we are never alone and that even though we cannot control everything, the forces of a Power greater than ourselves also move in our best interest. We can quiet our minds by cultivating a close relationship with our Higher Power. Today I will walk my path, knowing that my Higher Power is beside me. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ The subconscious … works to create the reality according to the programming it has been fed. ~ Susan Smith Jones ~ The mind is seldom quiet. Even when we don’t think we are thinking, we are. Our lives reflect our thoughts. It should be obvious that the way to get a better life is to think better thoughts. If it’s that easy, why don’t we have more productive, joy-filled lives? As youngsters we learned to interpret the faces and the comments of those close to us. That helped us determine how to evaluate ourselves. If we received a glut of criticism when we were young, we may think poorly of ourselves as adults. Just as the messages we heard in the past told us who we were, the messages we hear now do likewise. But as adults, we can now decide which messages to accept: some we should cherish, many we should discard. We have the maturity now to replace them at will. I don’t have to accept how anyone defines me today. I can give myself only positive input. My output will reflect it. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ When I “think bad,” I feel bad I just realized how much I’ve been silently talking to myself. I’m surprised at how negative this self-talk is. I’ve been hearing self-defeating thoughts such as I’m so alone and I’m never going to get well. I can see how these thoughts could keep me down. Maybe this is what my friend was getting at when he asked me if I was ever too hard on myself. Maybe he’s got a point. I could try the simple slogan he suggested: Stop! It sounds like it could help me deal better with my negative self-talk. When I hear any negative self-talk today, I will write it down in my notebook along with a realistic counter thought. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ What we plant in the soil of contemplation we shall reap in the harvest of action. ~ Meister Eckhart ~ We all know someone who always has a new plan of action when it comes to their life work but never seems to do anything about it. Maybe we’ve been this way. In the past we simply didn’t have the tools to make the changes we dreamed about, so we probably didn’t get very far. Now, if we are guilty of more talk than action, it helps to remember that all changes, even good ones, are uncomfortable at first. It’s easier to talk about looking for work than actually pounding the pavement and facing rejection. It’s easier to promise now and act later. In recovery, though, we’re learning how to “walk the walk” and not just “talk the talk.” We’re learning that reliance upon our Higher Power enables us to take reasonable risks. We’re learning that making mistakes doesn’t mean we are a mistake. And we’re learning to trust our thoughts, our feelings, our instincts. When we are one with ourselves we cannot go wrong. Our Higher Power won’t let us. Now we can think about things and do them, too. Today help me act. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ There is no royal road to anything. One thing at a time, all things in succession. That which grows fast withers as rapidly; that which grows slowly endures. ~ Josiah Gilbert Holland ~ In early spring, ripe tomatoes are found in grocery stores. Garden shops have hundreds of flowers in bloom. Such things have been grown in hot houses with controlled temperatures and highly enriched soil. A tomato that has slowly ripened outdoors in the natural sun and soil is far tastier than one that has been ripened in a factory. The exquisite beauty of flowers is more breathtaking when the result of a normal cycle of growth. It has often been said that there is no elevator to recovery; you must take the Steps. There is no “twelve and done” process that signals completion. Working through the Steps is something that requires more than one visit to ensure recovery. Even though our world moves at a fast pace—with e-mail, drive-through windows, on-demand movies, and more—your recovery needs to grow and flourish over time. Staying clean and sober is more than just a matter of putting away the bottle and the drugs. It requires daily tending, constant care, and patience. Today I will slow down my desires and try not to push things too quickly. With care and attentiveness, I will create an enduring recovery. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Most of us spend 59 minutes in an hour living in the past with regret for lost joys, or shame for things badly done . . . or in a future which we either long for or dread. ~ Storm Jameson ~ Do we often travel through life accompanied by the ghosts of our past, present, and future? Instead of focusing on the events in our present journey, we may find ourselves diverted by thoughts of what once was, what we haven’t done, and what we may never do. As long as we travel this way, we will miss a good part of each minute. We will not learn to use our present time to its utmost: to experience, listen, feel, learn, plan, and grow. The ghosts of the past, present, and future are crutches we lean on when we’re too weak to use our own resources. We can be strong if we learn to rely on ourselves, our Higher Power, and our companions in life. How can I live in each minute without thoughts of the past or future? ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Believing in abstinence When we came to the fellowship, some of us weren’t sure that we were “addicts.” We knew we were unhappy. We knew we drank and used drugs too much, but we didn’t know whether we used chemicals too much because we were unhappy or whether we’re unhappy because we used chemicals too much. It was suggested to us that we try not using drugs along with working the Twelve Steps to see if our lives changed. They did! We have come to believe that there is no problem that taking a drink, fix, or pill will not make worse. Am I convinced that abstinence is the only way? Higher Power, help me carry the message that if we simply don’t take a drink, pill, or fix, our lives will change for the better. Today I will carry the message of abstinence to God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ A beginning, even the smallest, is all that is needed. ~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS ~ Newcomer I don’t have much faith in anything. How can I possibly take Step Three, turn my will and my life over to the care of God—even “God as we understood Him”—when I’m having so much difficulty believing and trusting? Where do you people get your faith? Is it for real? Sponsor You’re not alone in thinking you lack faith; many of us entered recovery feeling that way. But, in fact, we do have faith, even if we ourselves can’t see it yet: faith that this program can help us with the problem of our addictions. Our willingness to try recovery is a significant beginning. By showing up, we’ve begun to take Step Three. Whatever our creed, or our refusal to embrace one, we do have the willingness to try this program. What eventually may come from this beginning is not something we have to worry about. The actions we take today are all we need concern ourselves with. In the present, our willingness to follow the program frees us from having to depend on an addiction. Today, I begin to act out of faith that this program works. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ The mind of man is unable to approximate the untold millions of dollars that have been spent by us alcoholics in the futile chase after happiness, only to find what we purchased was not happiness but misery, want, illness and despair. By calling off off the hunt, by quitting our quest for fun that we had always believed hid in the bottom of a bottle, we found happiness. The price of this happiness was only that we give happiness to others and we learned that the more we gave the more we had. We could eat our cake and have it too. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) When you’re down, take a Step and then the Step takes you. 2) Keep an attitude of gratitude. 3) A closed mouth gathers no foot. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ To Change I pray that I may continue to change, and I appreciate You for investing in me Your time, Your patience, Your understanding; and for seeing in me someone worthwhile. I am sorry for the past—but I will change for the better, and I am grateful for the opportunity. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ CAST THY BURDEN Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the rightious to be moved (Psalm 55:22). We sometimes hear the expression used, “cast the burden,” and it is useful to consider what this phrase really means. Used intelligently, it is one of the great keys to spiritual victory. To cast the burden means really to insist upon harmony and peace of mind, and to cease from worry and anxiety there and then. If, when you are faced with trouble, whether it be old or new, you can affirm positively the harmony of being and then refuse to reopen the case, no matter how much fear may urge you to do so, you have cast your burden upon the Lord, and you will win. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Rocks or Light? Tour task is not to seek for love, but to find the barriers in yourself that you have built against it. ~ A Course in Miracles ~ The Hawaiian spiritual tradition teaches that every child born into this world is like a “bowl of light” containing the radiance of heaven. If rocks are placed into the bowl, the light of original innocence is hidden. Fear, guilt, and unworthiness are some of the stones that mask our true brilliance. The more rocks in our bowl, the less light we shine. Angry, nasty, or irksome people have lots of rocks in their bowls, while radiant, happy, and joyful people have few. The game of enlightenment is not about going out and getting something we do not have or becoming something we are not. We are already enlightened; we have simply covered our wisdom. We started out fine; then we got de-fined; now we must be re-fined. Health, happiness, and success are our birthright, and we carry all we need within us to manifest all the good we seek. But first we must remove everything from our consciousness that works against the full expression of what we are. What rocks are in your bowl? Begin to note the beliefs and attitudes you hold that stand between you and the light that you are. When you act out of fear or self-doubt, you add more rocks to your bowl. When you let go of one of these impediments, you release your true essence to shine. Help me to release anything that stands between me and the expression of the light that I am. I claim my identity and inheritance as a being of splendid light. I am as God created me. I am the light of the world. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 13
March 13
Step by Step Today, pharmacology claims a vaccine may be pending in the treatment of alcoholism and other addictions. I won’t waste any thought on the myth that I might return to responsible drinking some day. An “addiction vaccine” may, in fact, treat and even stop addiction from developing. But any vaccine treats only physical dependency, and alcoholism is a three-pronged condition that also includes emotional and spiritual ailments. A vaccine, then, will do nothing for the psychology of addictive behaviors like drinking, gambling, over-eating and sexual obsession. Any “cure” that lets me slide by with drinking without the shakes, hangovers and dry heaves is worth nothing if the morning after still greets me with regret, remorse, shame or an appearance before a judge because of a DUI. Alcoholism is a three-edge sword of physical, emotional and mental dependency and, until there’s a vaccine to repair a damaged emotional and spiritual soul, I am never “cured.” Today, because an emotional and spiritual cure can’t be condensed in a syringe, I’ll stick with AA. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ WILLINGNESS God is not willing to do everything and thus take away our free will and the share of glory which belongs to us. ~ Machiavelli ~ To be willing is to be ready and prepared. If we are willing, we are eager to accept even unfamiliar challenges if those challenges promise rewarding results. Willingness is not to be confused with being wilful. Wilfulness can return us to our old habits of wanting everything our way and on our own terms. Willingness prepares us to accept responsibilities. It gives us courage to change our attitudes. It rids us of fears of living in an imperfect world. We have become willing to practice the principles of the Program, willing to continue our spiritual progress, and willing to work at our new way of life. I can always profit by being strong-willed, as long as that means “strong-willingness,” not hard-headedness. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Being defeated is often a temporary condition. Giving up is what makes it permanent. ~ Marilyn vos Savant ~ Powerlessness and helplessness are two very different things. When we encounter something we cannot change and we pray to accept its truth, we gain the wisdom of powerlessness. The new reality that follows acceptance may transform us or teach us a new lesson. Sometimes, however, we encounter something that can be changed, yet the challenge seems overwhelming. It’s natural to feel intimidated when facing a high mountain before us. We feel like running away or pre-tending it isn’t there, or we just want to lie down and give up. When we actually give in to those feelings and hide from the hard task, we choose helplessness, and nothing gets better. Challenges rise up in everyone’s path. So we look squarely into the eye of the challenge before us today. We get to know its dimensions as well as we can see them. It may seem either daunting or small. We can choose to take one specific action that will move us a little closer to our goal. Just one small action keeps us from the condition of helplessness, of giving up. Today I will do what I can in this one day, and it will be progress. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ I wonder what my life would be like if I were to focus my energy and thoughts only on things that really matter. ~ Robbie Rocheford ~ We spend much of our precious time spinning our wheels. Our minds wander from thought to thought and person to person with no real sense of direction. Fortunately, we can develop the discipline of taking charge of our thoughts. We have merely to pause, quiet our minds, and focus. It’s a technique that we can hone, and practicing it empowers us. It also frees us to spend our precious moments on beneficial ideas or activities. Our attitude about a task will determine our approach to it. It may seem impossible to be in charge of our thoughts, but that’s because we have never understood that we could responsibly and actively take control. Any negative thought can be stopped, even in midstream. And a replacement thought, such as “God is in charge,” can be substituted. The exhilaration we will feel at realizing the power of this technique is astounding. Our recovery will be enhanced many times over as we grow in our reliance on this tool. I will pause throughout the day to clear my mind. Taking charge of my thoughts will be enlightening. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can share my mistakes and be OK It was awhile before I could do a Fifth Step – I was afraid I’d be condemned as a bad person. I didn’t trust anyone enough. But I’m glad to say that I was wrong. When I finally did my Fifth Step, I was not rejected or judged, as I thought I would be. Instead, my Fifth Step listener understood me – but more important, she accepted me. I felt relief. I felt humble. I felt grateful. When I go to sleep tonight, I will say a prayer to acknowledge my courage and my faith. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Knowledge is power. ~ Francis Bacon ~ When we were actively addicted, we didn’t know what was wrong with us. We tried to control our addiction over and over again, always failing. When we began to recover, we knew we had to surrender, to admit we were powerless, but we didn’t know how to go on from there, how to live our lives to maintain sobriety. The next step was listening to people in our Twelve Step groups tell their stories. They told us their secrets, their successes, their failures. They told us how they were changing their lives. We accepted the help and support of a Higher Power. We were becoming spiritual. We read books and pamphlets about addiction and slowly acquired the tools to live without chemicals or compulsive behaviors. As we become more confident in recovery, we test our powers more each day, learning from each effort how to handle situations in the future. Early in recovery we knew almost nothing. Over time, we’ve learned how to change our lives from pain and misery to hope and joy and new growth. For us, knowledge is power indeed. Today help me be open to new ideas and experiences that can further enrich my life. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Expecting the world to treat you fairly because you are a good person is a little like expecting the bull not to attack you because you are a vegetarian. ~ Dennis Wholey ~ Some of life’s lessons are hard. Just because you are honest with others does not mean they will be honest with you. Just because you hold the door for someone or let someone go ahead of you in traffic does not mean another will do those same things for you. Just because you make time for a person in need does not mean you will be given similar attention. And just because you have stopped using does not mean your family or a loved one will stop criticizing you. Expecting others to acknowledge the hard work you are doing in recovery and provide you with praise or support—particularly from those you have harmed in the past—is like waiting at an airport for a cruise ship to arrive. Expectations are unmet desires. Rather than be sur-prised or disappointed when others do not behave or respond to you in the same way you have treated them, let go of the desire or expectation. If I feel good about myself, praise and recognition from others is not necessary. If I treat others well and attend to those things I need, I can feel good about myself. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ The secret to not being hurt like this again, I decided, was never depending on anyone, never needing, never loving. It is the last dream of children, to be forever untouched. ~ Audre Lorde ~ How wonderful it would be if we could never be hurt for the rest of our lives! Imagine never again having to experience the physical and emotional pain of death or loss or change. We might think that all would be well for us, once the potential for any hurt is removed. Yet hurt is part of the cycle of growth and learning. We had to skin our knees in order to finally ride a bi-cycle. We had to miss a longed-for event in order to learn how much it meant to us. We had to grieve over the loss of someone dear to us in order to learn how much love we felt. There are no assurances that we’ll never be hurt again. We all feel physical and emotional pain at one time or another. What is assured is that we can ease our pain through the faith and trust we have in ourselves and in our Higher Power. Have I been living in a never-never land today, shutting myself off from people for fear I’ll be hurt? ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Changing our ways We must be willing to grow in understanding. When we were using chemicals we understood everything in one way, a way that caused us pain and misery. When we quit drinking or using other drugs, we began to see things in another way. This new way of seeing things means we’ve had to make some changes in our way of living, and any new way of thinking means new ways of being. Are we willing to make the changes in our living that correspond with our new ways of thinking? Am I changing my ways of living? Higher Power, give me the courage, belief, and willingness I need to allow change to take place in my life. One way of living that I will change today is God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ It is improper for us to stoop in order to please. ~ JEAN PAUL SARTRE ~ Newcomer I used to be arrogant about everything. I always had to be right. I constantly feared that people were trying to take advantage of me. Now I listen to others, take suggestions, and try to be helpful. I’m constantly being guided by other people—I guess I’ve turned my will over. Sponsor Turning our will and our lives over to the care of another human being may not be such a good idea. Sponsors, therapists, doctors, teachers, people practicing Twelve Step recovery—any of them may give us useful guidance, but they are all human. We can listen to what they have to say, keeping an open mind. But people in recovery don’t automatically get wisdom or sainthood conferred on them. People aren’t perfect, and they couldn’t possibly all know what’s best for us; otherwise they’d all agree. As we accumulate sober experience, we get better at trusting our own instincts, something that may have been a source of danger when we were active in our addictions. We learn from experience what’s good for us, what nourishes us and brings us peace and joy. It’s not a spiritually sound practice to turn people, even those we respect and love, into our Higher Power. “Turning it over” includes trusting our inner guidance, acting responsibly, and accepting that we can’t control outcomes. Today, I look within and trust my truth. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ When God makes a tree it is exactly the species, size and shape He intended it to be. Nothing the tree can do will alter it in the slightest degree. God, however, in His Wisdom, created man with all perfection, yet allows him to make of himself what he will. He gave us independent minds and wills because He intended that we, the highest form of all living beings, should work out our own mental and moral evolution from mortality to immortality. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Play as if everything depended on God; work as if everything depends on ourselves. 2) You only have to go to meetings until you want to go to meetings. 3) HALO: Helping A Loved One ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Unselfishness Prayer Higher Power, guide me as I walk the narrow way between being selfish and unselfish. I know I must be selfish, to concentrate on my own recovery, so I do not slip and be of no use to myself or anyone else. Yet I must also be unselfish, reaching out to others, sensitive to their needs, and willing to meet them at any time. With Your help, I can do both, and keep a balance that will give me a proper perspective in my life. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ DIG DEEPER The study of the Bible is not unlike the search for diamonds in South Africa. At first people found a few diamonds in the yellow clay, and they were delighted with their good fortune, even while they supposed that this was to be the full extent of their find. Then, upon digging deeper, they came upon the blue clay, and to their amazement found as many precious stones in a day as they had previously found in a year. In your exploration of Bible Truth, see to it that you do not rest satisfied in the yellow clay of a few spiritual discoveries, but press on to the rich blue clay underneath. The Bible, however, differs from the diamond field in the sublime fact that beneath the blue clay there are more and still more richer strata, awaiting the touch of spiritual perception—on and on to Infinity. O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! (Romans 11:133). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ The Way Out Live for another if you wish to live for yourself. ~ Seneca ~ “I just called to let you know how much I love you,” a friendly voice resonated over the telephone. “Thank you, Cliff—I really appreciate that,” I responded. “I’ll tell you why I called now,” continued Cliff. “My knee was hurting, and I know the only way I can feel better is to give love.” Just as it is impossible to whistle and chew crackers at the same time, you cannot give love and be depressed. A Course in Miracles teaches that there are only two emotions, love and fear; at any moment we are experiencing one or the other. The surest antidote to pain, self-pity, loneliness, or depression is to reach out to give love or help someone. Dr. Gerald Jampolsky, author of Love Is Letting Go of Fear, recounts that if he began to feel depressed, he would call someone who was ill or visit a nursing home. I learned the same lesson when teaching. On many occasions I would feel tired, upset, or self-involved when scheduled to teach. If I hadn’t been obligated to be there, I probably would have stayed balled up in my own little world. Going to teach and being present for the students always shifted my attitude. By the end of the class, after giving of myself I would feel 100 percent better, and I would wonder how I could have ever felt so troubled. Studies have shown that people in nursing homes and rehabilitation centers heal more quickly when they have a pet or plants to care for. The act of giving love is nurturing to the soul. Should you feel separate, make a list of people to whom you could give love through a phone call, visit, or other act of kindness. Simply making this list will lift you immeasurably, and acting on it will change your life. I pray to reach out beyond my separateness and discover that my healing is joined with service. Love heals me as I give it. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 14
March 14
Step by Step Today, if I need to talk or open up about something that bothers and weighs me down, I will not be held back by my old character defects of fear, uncertainty, anger, self-imposed isolation or the thought that I might come off as “unloading” or “dumping.” The program has taught that recovery is partly about mutual sharing and support, and I can’t expect either if I hide what I know I must give voice to, be it an admission of a wrong done long ago and still requires amend or the dread of saying I have been diagnosed with a potentially serious condition because to say it will make it true. In asking for help, I might not get a solution but I might get release from anxiety, fear, dread, loneliness and all those other traits of my emotional and spiritual disease simply by talking to an empathetic ear that might have some experience, strength and hope to share. Today, I will not be alone. I shall be a part of, not apart. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ BACKING OFF He has spent all his life letting down baskets into empty wells. ~ Sydney Smith ~ We can always resist an argument where there is obviously no chance of either side solving a problem. Taking time to evaluate the situation will save us possible embarrassment and apologies. We don’t have to be winners in matters that are unimportant to spiritual progress. We have also learned there is no disgrace in changing directions when one way won’t work. Of course nobody wins by retreating from a confrontation, but aggressiveness is sure to be useless. Sometimes backing off is winning if nothing if nothing is to b gained by confrontation. We can often avoid another blow to the wounded dignity we brought into our Program. To void what is impossible to win doesn’t make me a quitter. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ He knows not his own strength that hath not met adversity. ~ Ben Jonson ~ A man who has never had difficult times, lived through the pain of loss, or confronted a big mistake has nothing to fall back on. In getting through our hard times we learn to know ourselves better. We find our strong sides and our weaknesses. And in the end, as difficult as some adversity can be, we have survived—and survival itself is a good thing. Some of us are in the midst of difficult times today. From this spot we may not be able to see where the road leads next. We are fearful about how things will turn out. In the spiritual life, we accept that we cannot know where this path leads, or even what is around the next bend, but we never have to be alone. Because we will stay true to ourselves and do what is honest and fair, we can take risks to make things better. Today I will rely on my Higher Power and my friends as my guide through difficult times. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Before I can become a significant other, I must become significant to myself. ~ Kelley Vickstrom ~ Why is it so hard to feel as if we matter? Putting other people’s wishes and needs before our own may seem natural. We may feel shame when we say no. As girls, we may have watched our mothers and grandmothers tending to the whims of everyone else. Probably without ever being told, we simply followed suit. What’s worse, we may not have even expected appreciation for our actions. Now that we are learning to think of ourselves, we feel a bit selfish. However, we must begin to honor our significance, and we have to understand that to do so is not egotistical. In order to lovingly appreciate others in our lives, to treat them as significant, we have to value our own significance. Our Higher Power considers us significant; it’s time we followed suit. Affirming my own significance will help me appreciate other people. Today I will value my interactions with others. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can ask myself: How am I doing? Before I got into recover, I didn’t want to know what I was feeling or thinking. I couldn’t stand to look at my behaviour. I was in denial about my dual disorder. Now I am abstinent and stable – no longer in denial. And I am learning to take care of myself on a daily basis. I realize that I can no longer afford to avoid my thoughts or actions – I might relapse to my addiction or have a setback with my emotional illness. A regular Tenth Step inventory helps me. It teaches me what to keep doing to help myself. It also teaches me what to stop doing to avoid hurting myself. Today I will set aside five minutes to answer for myself the question, How am I doing. ©1995 by the author. All rights reserved. Published by Hazelden® *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Courage is the price that life exacts for granting peace. ~ Amelia Earhart ~ When we feel angry, lonely, worried, or sad we can ask ourselves, “Is there a pattern here?” That simple question can help us take a giant step forward in recovery. When we feel these things, most of us feel like victims. We’re not used to taking responsibility for our part in our problems. If we find ourselves broke again, ending a romantic relationship again, having the same argument this year that we had last year, we may have established a self-destructive pattern. Not because we’re stupid but because we aren’t familiar with happiness, and stir up what we know best: misery. Looking for patterns in our behavior and accepting responsibility for them takes honesty and courage. But when we put aside our fears and really see what we’re doing, we’ve taken a huge step in changing. Happiness may feel downright strange at first, but we can get used to it. Today help me see the patterns I create, and grant me the courage to change. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ There are always two voices sounding in our ears—the voice of fear and the voice of confidence. One is the clamor of the senses, the other is the whispering of the higher self. ~ Charles B. Newcomb ~ During one Sunday service, a religious leader asked his congregation to pray for something that would make each of their lives better. Then he asked them to share what they had prayed for. One woman had just lost her job and had no health benefits nor income. She said she had prayed for a new job. A man was concerned about his wife’s serious illness and had prayed for her recovery. A mother shared a prayer for her adult son to give up drinking and become a better father to his children. One member’s prayer was unique. She had asked for the ability to let go of any fears, doubts, or insecurities she might have and to trust that no matter what happened to her, it was the right thing. Having trust that your life is under the care of the divine oversight of something greater than yourself can free you from worry and assure you that all is well. I still my fears through prayer. Each day, I pray for the wisdom to be able to live in each moment and to handle whatever comes my way. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength. ~ Isaiah 30:15 ~ By lifting and stretching we stimulate our cardiovascular system, firm up muscles, and add to our strength. But how do we build our spiritual power, increase our strength of belief, build firm foundations of faith, and shape our ability to hope? Increasing physical power takes time, dedication, and work. So does increasing spiritual power. We need to spend more time in prayer and meditation with our Higher Power, building a strong relationship. We need to work hard at relying upon our spiritual guide to help us in times of need. We need to awaken and exercise our spiritual muscles by taking Step Eleven every day and night. Prayer once a day does little to improve spiritual power, as sure as one deep knee bend each morning does little to improve leg strength. Just as we would set up an exercise program, we need to schedule our spiritual program. At first it will be hard, but through patience and practice, we will become spiritually stronger every day. Higher Power, I want to lift the weight in my heart. Help me find ways to develop and exercise my spiritual strength. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Making amends There is no benefit in trying to make amends until we are entirely willing to do it. We must be ready to make our amends without pre-conceived ideas about how the other party will receive them. The success of the amends Steps does not depend on the acceptance of the other party but merely on our total willingness to admit where we were wrong. There is magic in working the amends Steps, magic we can never believe in until we work them. Have I made all of my amends? Higher Power, help me to be willing to ask forgiveness of you and to admit my mistakes to those I have wronged. Please remove my fear of doing so. Today I will make amends to God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ We should pray as if everything depended upon God, and act as if everything depended upon us. ~ ABRAHAM JOSHUA HESCHEL ~ Newcomer I hear so much about “letting go.” But there are serious situations going on in my life that I can’t ignore. Am I supposed to assume that things will get better on their own if I just let go? Sponsor The phrase “letting go,” as it’s used in the program, doesn’t mean ignoring problematic situations, reneging on commitments, or repressing feelings. On the contrary, recovery makes it possible for us to take the responsible actions we feared and avoided when we were active in our addictions. “Letting go” challenges our illusion that we’re in control of the universe, but it doesn’t suggest that we do nothing. There’s a difference between acting responsibly and thinking we’re in charge of how things turn out. We’re responsible only for the actions we choose to take, not the outcomes. When we take an action that we know to be right, we change ourselves in the process. The effect on others is out of our hands. We don’t have power to change other people. Nor can we change the past. Letting go means accepting our human limitations. It’s a great relief to know that we’re neither the cause nor the cure for most problems. Today, I let go and let God. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ It is very noticeable that most of the great religious teachers or prophets prescribed nothing but a code of morals and ethics. All their teachings were characterized by an almost complete lack of formal religious observances. They have pointed out the direction but never the path. If we follow other men’s paths we fall over the same stones they fell over and we got lost where they got lost. Each of us must carve out his own path and the progress we make will be determined by our own efforts to advance. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Set boundaries: keep boundaries. 2) A slip occurs when the desire to drink is stronger than the desire not to drink. 3) Misery is an option. But acceptance and gratitude did not come as standard equipment either. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Light a Candle O God of my understanding, light a candle within my heart, that I may see what is therein and remove the wreckage of the past. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ WHAT DID JESUS TEACH? Jesus Christ is easily the most important figure that has ever appeared in the history of mankind. This is true whether you choose to call him god or man. His life and death and teachings have influenced the course of human history more than those of any other man who ever lived. There can hardly, therefore, be a more important undertaking than to inquire into the question of what Jesus really did stand for. What did Jesus teach? What did he really wish us to believe and to do? How far does the Christianity of today present his message to the world? What did Jesus teach? …for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you (Luke 17:21). This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you (John 15:12). If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it (John 14:14). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Becoming I call on your pride. Remember what you’ve done, what you dream of doing, and rise up. Great Heavens, consider yourself with more respect! ~ Gustave Flaubert’s advice to a depressed friend ~ While waiting at a stoplight, I found myself next to a thrift- store truck transporting donated clothing and household goods. On the side of the truck, a huge sign suggested, “If It’s Not Becoming to You, It Should Be Coming to Us.” Every person and thing in this world has a purpose and a right place. If you are using and enjoying what you have, then bless it. If it is not working for you or if you don’t use it, pass it on—it has more value elsewhere. I once took a job in a sheltered workshop for mentally handicapped people. While the job offered many valuable lessons and rewards, I was not happy there. For months I guilt-tripped myself for wanting to leave, and rationalized all sorts of reasons why I should stay. Egotistically, I believed I was doing a better job than anyone else could, and if I left, these unfortunate mentally handicapped people would be bereft. I even made up a story in my mind that I had been mentally handicapped in a previous life, and some kind fellow had taken care of me; now I was repaying the karma I owed. Finally, I got sick and realized I would rather leave and take my chances than wither in the position. The moment I gave notice, I felt free, healthy, and alive again. At that point my career as a writer took off, which has blessed me immeasurably. When I later visited the workshop, I saw the fellow who replaced me was doing a far better job than I ever did. Out of guilt, I was stealing his job from him and withholding my right work from myself! Make a vow to participate in only those career and social situations that are becoming to you; if not, let them “be coming” to someone else. Give me the strength and wisdom to be in my right place. I claim my right place and support others to be in their right place. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 15
March 15
Step by Step Today, attitude may be the second most force in sobriety and recovery – second only to abstinence. But attitude cannot begin and end with taking on mere gratitude. If I am uncertain, even afraid, of life without alcohol, it doesn’t parallel the certainty of life WITH alcohol. If a Fourth Step is a painful revelation, the pain pales to what we endure by continuing to drink. If sobriety is “boring,” we need only ask ourselves if we really want the drama and trauma of the county jail drunk tank, a court sentence, fines and fees, community service, the threat of being fired or the substantial risk of having family and friends walk away. And if sobriety is “lonely,” we need only to go to a meeting or call a sponsor or someone in recovery instead of falling back into the desolation of drinking alone. If we can say the growing pains of sobriety come nowhere near the pains of drinking, if we can be honest and confront the character defects we find in our Fourth, if we can commit to recovery more than abstinence and if we nurture the 12th-step mandate to help others who still hurt, we can say we have an attitude that has grown into a thirst for recovery. Today, I choose an attitude of recovery and, with God’s blessing, every day that follows this one. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ SOLITUDE I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. ~ Thoreau ~ Before the activities of any day begin, we dress our minds as carefully as we dress our bodies. Each day requires both planning and examining if it is to be helpful in our 12 Step progress. We perform such duties in solitude. Otherwise we will be lacking in the ability to cope and get the best from each day. At the end of the day, silent and alone in thought, we weigh our words and actions of the past hours so we may understand how well we measured up to the hopes and expectations we had at the day’s beginning. That way, we can enrich tomorrow’s plans by the successes or mistakes we uncover. Daydreams are not worthless if I have hope they can come true and faith that they will materialize. Solitude is my companion when I plan and evaluate. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ My intuition can lead me in the right direction when my will and God’s will are one. ~ Kathy McGraw ~ Sometimes we mistake ego for intuition. Then we wonder why doors don’t open. We may try to force circumstances to meet our expectations. Our chemical dependency led us to behave this way in the past, and this behavior helped to get us here to this program. Today we are striving for times when things do flow smoothly, when doors open at just the right moment, when we experience effortless living—in short, times when our will and God’s are one. But how do we do it? The key is to slow down and ask ourselves if what we are about to do feels right. Doing God’s will always feel right. By contrast, being driven by our own ego often feels wrong, very wrong. In our using days we were adept at ignoring the feeling that something was wrong. However, our growth through the Steps makes ignoring what is wrong impossible now. That’s good for us. And it’s even better for the people in our lives. Wanting to follow God’s will is the first step to actually following it. My ego is always ready to jump in where God’s will is needed. Today I’ll slow down each time I’m ready to Jump, and I’ll listen instead to my feelings. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I am slowly recovering my self-respect When I was using chemicals and feeling depressed enough to miss work, I lost interest in most everything. I lost energy and confidence. I often felt guilty, ashamed, and angry. But since I’ve stopped using chemicals I’m feeling better. I had managed to see a psychiatrist and get both medical and psychological treatment for my mood disorder. I’ve started going to a support group and a Twelve Step group. In general, I’m seeing how others recover from a dual disorder and seeing that I too can change my life little by little, one day at a time. I will make one change in my day’s activities that will help me feel better about myself. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ I told that little five-year old living inside me how courageous she is and what a great job she did surviving — it was an important turning point in my recovery. ~ Janet P. ~ Since addiction and codependency often run in families, it’s likely we had some unmet needs as children. Some of us had absent or abusive parents. Some of us grew up in poverty. Others grew up in a place that looked and seemed normal on the outside but was very wrong on the inside. We can’t run from our past or deny what happened. Doing that, we risk repeating the same behavior in our adult relationships. As recovering people, we need to learn how to be our own nurturing parents. We need to love and protect the child who still lives within us. We need to speak to that child with encouragement and acceptance and trust. We’re in charge now, and can give ourselves what we need to help our spirits blossom and grow. We can’t change the past, but now we can change the future. Today help me replace negative self-talk with words that a kind and loving parent would say to a beloved child. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ The Fox and the Stork One evening the fox invited his friend the stork to dinner. For a joke the fox prepared soup and served it in a shallow dish. The fox could easily lap up the soup. But the stork, with its long bill, went hungry. The fox gave the stork a sly grin and said, “I am so sorry. It seems as if the soup is not to your liking.” “There is no need to apologize,” the stork replied. “I would like to repay your hospitality and invite you to dinner tomorrow night.” The next evening, the stork served the fox a meal in a long-necked jar with a narrow mouth. The stork could easily reach into the jar and eat, but the fox could not and went hungry. “I will not apologize for the dimer,” the stork said, “because one bad turn deserves another.” After that, the fox and the stork were no longer friends. The moral of the story: Revenge may be sweet, but the damage it does cannot be repaired. No matter how wronged you may feel by the words or actions of another, remember that revenge, retaliation, and harboring resentment serve no useful purpose. I will let go of past resentments and consider no one to be my enemy. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Joy enters the room. It settles tentatively on the windowsill, waiting to see whether it will be welcome here. ~ Kim Cherin ~ Is joy a welcome feeling for us, or do we find it hard to express positive feelings? If we grew up in an alcoholic home, we learned early not to trust positive feelings because they usually wouldn’t last long. We may have lived with or were familiar with people who had emotional mood swings, and we learned positive feelings didn’t have a beginning or end. Is joy welcome in our lives or do we still fear it? Even if we’re still living in an uncomfortable situation, we now have tools to detach ourselves from the behaviors of others. We now have a concept of a greater Power. If we trust the tools and the Power, we can relax and let positive feelings into our lives. There can be laughter now, perhaps even from us. There are smiles we can respond to and we can initiate some. There are peaceful, loving moments we can experience with others. There can be much joy in our lives, if we can only begin to let it in. There is joy to feel, if I let myself. What can I feel joyful about in my life tonight? ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Living honestly We can live ourselves into being new people as we act honestly in each situation, one by one. Each day, honestly lived to the depth of our ability, will result in new experiences, richer and fuller than the day before. Unless we live our honesty, we are destined to stay in our old ruts. Being honest with ourselves and others creates many new opportunities for us. Do I practice honesty in all of my affairs? God, grant me the humility to be honest with others today and the light to be honest with myself. I will cultivate self-honesty today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ I am years gone from my family, and miles away. ~ JERROLD MUNDIS ~ Newcomer I keep hearing that recovery is a bridge back to life, but I don’t think that I’ll ever have a decent relationship with my family. I called a family member on the phone last night and said that I was in recovery. I got such a skeptical response. It’s always the same story: no matter what I do, I can’t please these people. Sponsor It takes time to build a feeling of centeredness and self- worth. In the early days of my recovery, my sense of self was easily shattered by a word or look that confirmed my old belief that I didn’t deserve much. I had to practice “Easy does it,” especially with family members. I decided to keep family interactions light, for the time being. I made program calls just before and just after any call I made to my family. In time, I had enough self-esteem to face emotionally charged situations without threatening my recovery. We have the responsibility to protect our new recovery by keeping some distance between ourselves and the people, places, and things that we drank or drugged or acted out over. And we have the opportunity to build self-esteem by participating in meetings. We can start simply: show up, help make coffee, set up chairs, empty ashtrays. We can listen, raise our hands to share, thank the speaker, say hello to another newcomer. Giving service, no matter how small the action, builds feelings of usefulness and self-respect. Today, my thoughts and energy go into self-esteem, not self-rejection. I show up for my life. I deserve to surround myself with the love that is in the program. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ How many times have we postponed that call to the guy we sense needed us? We felt that he didn’t phone us just to “shoot the breeze.” True, he didn’t come right out and call for help, and we did have something else to do. We decided we would take care of it tomorrow and then found out that tomorrow was too late. Today is truly the only day we have; what we can do, what we should do – we must do today. The map of the United States is different today because Longstreet was one day late arriving at Gettysburg. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Be grateful you have been given two ears and only one mouth. 2) Refuse to attack yourself. 3) Always remember we are being taken care of. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ What Is Best O Lord, You know what is best for me. Let this or that be done, as you please. Give what You will, how much You will, and when You will. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ JESUS’ TEACHING Jesus explains what the nature of God is, and what your own nature is; tells us the meaning of life and of death; shows us why we make mistakes; why we yield to temptation; why we become sick, and impoverished, and old; and, most important of all, he tells us how all these evils may be overcome, and how we may bring fulfillment into our lives, and into the lives of others. Jesus warns us, not once but often, that obstinacy in sin can bring very severe punishment, and that a man who parts with the integrity of his soul—even though he gain the whole world—is a tragic fool. but he teaches that we are only punished for—and actually punished by—our own mistakes; and he teaches that every man or woman, no matter how steeped in evil and uncleanness, has always direct access to an all-loving, all-powerful Father-God, who will forgive him, and supply His own strength to him to enable him to find himself again. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him (1 John 2:29). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Dolphins Await Dismiss whatever insults your soul. ~ Walt Whitman ~ One night at a Hawaiian retreat, I had a vivid dream of swimming with dolphins. The next morning I attended a business meeting that I found boring and purposeless. Although I sat and tried to be present, all I could think about was going to the beach. When I recognized I was useless at the meeting, I politely excused myself and made a beeline for the beach. Soon after I arrived, a huge pod of dolphins surfaced in the bay, and I swam out to play with them. For a long time I was surrounded by their delightful presence, and I was thrilled to frolic with them. I was able to look into their eyes, which was like peering into a warm eternity. Was I ever glad I left the meeting! If your spirit is not present where you are, and you feel intuitively called elsewhere, you must hearken to your inner voice. I am not encouraging you to be irresponsible and run away from things you need to do. I am encouraging you to be responsive to your spirit. It is not responsible to engage in activities that affront your soul. Years ago I sat in a group with my teacher Hilda, watching a video of an old musical. I was tired and wanted to leave, but I felt socially obliged to stay. So I sat there and silently fumed; my body was present, but I was elsewhere. The next day when | told Hilda about my experience, she commented, “So you were the one who was fogging the atmosphere. I felt a disturbance somewhere in the group. You should have gotten up and gone when you wanted to. That would have been a greater service to yourself and everyone.” Honor your soul by being where you belong. Help me to be attuned to the call of my soul. Give me the courage to honor my intuition. Spirit speaks to me through my heart, and I answer through my deeds. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 16
March 16
Step by Step Today, if I believe that alcohol plunged me to depths deeper than I have ever been, I can also believe that AA can lift me to heights I have never known. The journey begins with the first four words of the program: “Admitted (I am) powerless …” Although the program is there for the taking, what I take from it will be only as good as I put in it, and the work of investing in my recovery starts when I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired, when I can’t live with myself any longer because all I have done won’t let me forget, when I accept responsibility for what I have done to myself and others, when I understand that sobriety means more than abstinence and when I understand that there is no easier or softer way to get sober. Today, I am ready to begin achieving a height I have never experienced, and the beginning is in the words, “Admitted (I am) powerless.” And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ ATTENDING MEETINGS Three suggestions for speaking at meetings: be interesting, be brief, be seated. ~ Anonymous ~ The meetings we attend are like stones for the foundation of recovery. Some meetings we give more than we take; others, we take away more than we give. We always win either way. We remember that when we are called on to speak, we are but a fellow traveler. What makes us unique is not our pretty face, interesting voices, or important jobs. It is our story, the exact way we are experiencing our recovery. Our lives are much more interesting than our opinions. When we share our actual experiences, people take much more away than if we just shared an idea. We are normally long-winded with an opinion and short-winded with an actual illustration. When we address a group we are humble. It is only by the grace of God that we are asked to share with the group. At meetings I will share my recovery experiences and not my opinions. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ We are who we are, shaped and molded by the times, by the events, and by the persons we encounter on our way, and no one ever changes very much or escapes entirely from that mold. ~ Ruth Casey ~ Everything we experience today is woven with all that has gone before. We are a tapestry in progress. We grow and change, heightening some of our patterns, successfully diminishing others, and maintaining still others. We need feel no shame for this person we’ve become; we’ve done our best. From this point forward, with the help of the program, our Higher Power, and the wonderful friendships that sustain us, we will add many new colors and stronger threads to the tapestry that continues to be us. Even though there is often much we want to change in ourselves, there is much that will and should stay the same. Let’s trust that God will guide our efforts in changing those traits that deserve our attention now, leaving the rest for another time. We have been loved, guided, and protected even though we are not perfect. That will be true always. All that has gone before will help me handle whatever today offers. I am in God’s keeping now and forever. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can start a list of people I have harmed I find it hard to acknowledge that I’ve hurt other people through my dual disorder. It seems I can remember only my own pain, whether due to my addiction or my emotional illness. But in working the first seven Steps, I see more clearly that, indeed I have hurt loved ones and others. It’s just hard to admit it. I’m afraid that if I start thinking about my past behaviour I’ll get depressed again or I’ll feel guilty enough to drink. I know that I need to be strong and stable when I begin writing the list. And I will trust my higher power to help me. Today I will start my Eighth Sep by putting just one name on the list. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ No one has ever done anything too bad to be forgiven. ~ Ruth Sheppard ~ When we learn to forgive ourselves, we grow, spiritually and emotionally, in leaps and bounds. As we loosen our noose of self-loathing, we begin to breathe with a new sense of energy and purpose. No longer tied by the shackles of self-hate, we are able to see the world as friend instead of foe. We each have a choice about how we view the world. Do we see it as friendly or unfriendly? Do we expect people to be safe or unsafe? Wounded by life, we may find it difficult to forgive ourselves and others. A willingness to forgive ourselves for real and imagined wrongs is like taking a fresh drink of water. Nothing parches and dries out the heart faster than the shame of self-loathing. Nothing refreshes and rejuvenates like self-love. Living in today we begin with the simple wish to love ourselves better. Nurturing a friendship with ourselves gives the world a friendlier feel. Today let me trust that I am lovable and worthy of the same forgiveness I would wish for others. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Holding onto anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else—you are the one who gets burned. ~ Buddha ~ Anger is, in its essence, a protective response to a perceived hurt. The key word is perceived. More often than not, there is no need to protect yourself. But that does not mean your anger should be ignored. When you have a hard time going with the flow, you can say or do hurtful things. When you feel sensitive and others offer advice, you may push them away. When you are at a heightened level of stress or worry, anything that happens or is said to you can be like a match lit to your short fuse. All these things create a life of chaos—both for yourself and for others. Deal with your anger by talking about what makes you feel angry. Be aware of what can spark anger, and practice a mental countdown during such times. Take a deep breath and count backwards from ten. When you do this, you can replace anger with calmness and focus. Until you acknowledge there is a price you pay from the fallout caused by your anger, you will not seek ways to effectively change your behavior. Today I will use a mental countdown whenever I feel angry. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Few begin with anything like a clear view of what they want to do, and the fortune they seek may come in a very different form from that which they have kept in view. ~ The Independent, August 1898 ~ Take a look at the most focused and purposeful people we know, and we’ll find one common trait. Al-though most worked toward some goal, they all simply began without knowing what would happen. Christopher Columbus set out to prove the world wasn’t flat, not to discover the New World. Alexander Graham Bell was fascinated with recording and projecting human voices, not creating a worldwide communications network. What those people share is the fact that they started. They didn’t just sit back and dream. They chose an objective and had faith to begin and follow through, despite repeated failures and years of work. We can dream and fantasize to our heart’s content. But we will never realize our aspirations until we take that first step. What would I like to achieve? Higher Power, I ask for faith to take the first step toward this achievement. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Giving up possessiveness Gradually we begin to see that everything be-longs to God. As long as we strive to possess, we are not free. It is possible to simply use things without possessing them. Ownership is really only stewardship, and whatever is in our care must be used for the good. But this doesn’t mean we won’t have what we need. If we first seek the spiritual in life, we will not go wanting, and we will discover that less is more. Am I giving up my possessiveness? Higher Power, help me to keep in mind that the air which sustains me is not mine. Today I will select two of my possessions to give to charity; they are God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Falling in love.. .is as much a drug as any that people swallow, snort, smoke, or shoot. ~ ANDREW WEIL ~ Newcomer I’m attracted to another newcomer who goes to some of the meetings I go to. I can’t help it; I just can’t get this person out of my mind. My heart pounds when we’re in the same room, and I can barely concentrate. Sponsor More than once in early recovery, I became intensely pre-occupied with thoughts of another person. In each case it was someone I didn’t know well, but felt attracted to. Like you, I could hardly think about anything else. Though I was certainly distracted, I stayed sober. I went to lots of meetings—not always for the best reasons! These intense romantic preoccupations were something I have since learned to call obsession. Obsession doesn’t have much in common with the process of getting to know others and letting them get to know me. We can learn something about ourselves by paying attention when an obsession starts taking over our mental space. Is some feeling—anger, fear, or sadness, for example- making us uncomfortable? Obsession can function to keep us “safe” from the present reality. Our addictions served the same function when we were active. Today, I practice staying in the moment. I reach out to other newcomers in the spirit of friendship. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ The dollar is worth but about half its value of only a few years ago. Capital gains taxes have depreciated all properties by twenty-five percent. Moneys invested in stocks and bonds can be swept away between dawn and dark. The sound investment of today can be a white elephant on your hands tomorrow. Your dollars invested in the rehabilitation of human souls are the only investment that can’t lose. The dividends are paid whether the project fails or not. This way you can’t fail to win. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) HALT: Horny, Arrogant, Lazy, and Tragic 2) We’re responsible for the effort, not the outcome! 3) My gratitude speaks when I care and share the NA Way ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Prayer for Healing Higher Power, You have told us to ask and we will receive, to seek and we will find, to knock and You will open the door to us. I trust in Your love for me and in the healing power of Your compassion. I praise You and thank You for the mercy You have shown to me. Higher Power, I am sorry for all my mistakes. I ask for Your help in removing the negative patterns of my life. I accept with all my heart Your forgiving love. I ask for the grace to be aware of the character defects that exist within myself. Let me not offend You by my weak human nature, or by my impatience, resentment, or neglect of people who are a part of my life. Rather, teach me the gift of understanding and the ability to forgive, just as You continue to forgive me. I seek Your strength and Your peace so that I may become Your instrument in sharing those gifts with others. Guide me in my prayer that I might know what needs to be healed and how to ask You for that healing. It is You, Higher Power, whom I seek. Please enter the door of my heart and fill me with the presence of Your spirit now and forever. I thank You, God, for doing this. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ LETTER OR SPIRIT Jesus made a special point of discouraging the laying of emphasis upon outer observances; and, indeed, upon hard-and-fast rules and regulations of every kind. What he insisted upon was a certain spirit in one’s conduct, knowing that when the spirit is right, details will take care of themselves. Yet, in spite of this, the history of orthodox Christianity is largely made up of attempts to enforce all sorts of external observances upon the people. Who also hath make us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit; for the letter kelleth, but the spirit giveth life (2 Corinthians 3:6). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ ILVU4FR The trick, according to Chiang, was for Jonathan to stop seeing himself as trapped inside a limited body with a forty-two inch wingspan….The trick was to know that his true nature lives, as perfect as an unwritten number, everywhere at once across space and time. ~ from Jonathan Livingston Seagull, by Richard Bach ~ Robert signed Janet’s senior yearbook in the above personal shorthand, meaning: “I love you forever.” Shortly after graduation, the two married and bore a beautiful son, Teddy. Robert was offered a good job and flew to New York for the interview, from which he called with the exciting news that he had been hired. Tragically, he never arrived home; he was killed by a drunk driver. Several months later, Janet’s funds were dwindling and her life looked hopeless. Four-year-old Teddy was drawing with crayons one day when he said, matter-of-factly, “Daddy,” and wrote “ILVU4FR,” followed by “MDTNBK34STBX1142.” Janet took the paper to Robert’s business partner and the two decoded: “Midtown Bank on 34th St.” Remembering Robert’s business trip, Janet dipped into her small savings and flew to New York. There she found Midtown Bank and learned that Robert had taken a safe deposit box, in which she found a life insurance policy for $200,000. A very thin veil separates the physical world from the world of spirit. While everything on earth seems solid, it is interpenetrated with other dimensions that we can perceive with higher vision. If necessary, we can communicate with those in spirit, and they with us. Love has the power to span dimensions. If you have a dream or the sensation of departed loved ones, it is likely that they are in your field of consciousness and wish to communicate with you. There is nothing spooky about interdimensional communication; it is as real and natural as two people on different parts of the globe communicating via telephone. Open your mind and heart to a greater universe, and be blessed by love from all dimensions. Open my eyes, mind, and heart to the highest communication in spirit. Everyone I love is always with me. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 17
March 17
Step by Step Today, I begin reconditioning my thought processes to think as a sober alcoholic instead of one still drinking. Much of my thinking has been under the influence but, without that influence, I have to believe that my thoughts will change – for the better. As such, I need to adapt myself to a perspective unfamiliar to me. Not doing so will make me little more than a dry drunk. And AA promises that recovery is more than being dry. I must make a conscious decision that I will no longer think in terms of “me” and that the thinking patterns that enabled my alcoholic drinking must change. Today, I start to retrain my brain to think in terms of sobriety and dismantle my thinking from the perspective of the drunk that I am working to dropkick into yesterday. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ THIS TOO SHALL PASS Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace during a storm. ~ Anonymous ~ We learn in our recovery that life has a way of recreating itself. The discovery is one we are taught not to fight. We remember how badly we hurt when things would pass away from us, whether it was a lost doll, a lost dog, or a lost dad. We closed ourselves off from the possibility that anything of value could come from the loss. Yet the doll was replaced, a cat came into our lives, and a father figure emerged. The key to staying in our Program is to remember that life does recreate itself. There will be many moments when we find ourselves squarely in the middle of a passing away. We will be hurt and wonder how we can go on. Not to worry, this too shall pass. This cold winter of a moment will break soon into a sunny spring of a future. There can be no comings if there are no goings. Life can’t be recreated if there is no passing away. I need to remember that sometimes it is darkest before daybreak. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ A “no” uttered from the deepest conviction is better and greater than a “yes” merely uttered to please or what is worse, to avoid trouble. ~ Mahatma Gandhi ~ We don’t like to make anyone unhappy with us. We don’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings. We feel best when others tell us they like what we do. And we have the idea that we are strong enough to put aside our own wishes and feelings when others have strong desires. In our denial we tell ourselves, “I can handle it.” We have even violated our sense of what is right because someone else insisted. Many a man has gotten himself into serious problems because he didn’t muster the courage to say no at critical times. In sexual situations we said, “I couldn’t hurt her feelings.” In work situations we said, “I am only doing it the way everyone else does it.” Within our families we said, “I don’t want to cause an uproar.” But now, with our good values and our good intuition, we can find the strength to stand up for what we believe. We have our honor and our self-respect for staying honest. Today I will speak my honest truth, not to be right but to be true to myself. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ I don’t always know what I want, but I do know what I don’t want. ~ Helen Neujahr ~ We don’t want pain or confusion in our lives. We don’t want friends to depart. We don’t want a boss to be too demanding. And we don’t want to lose control of the outcomes that are unfolding around us every day. There is so much we don’t want. How lucky we are to be in this program and to have a caring Higher Power to help us handle the situations that we don’t want in our lives. We need the help of a Higher Power because we seldom know what is really best for us. Had we had our way in years past, we most likely would not be recovering. Instead, we may have stayed in a relationship that was quietly killing us, or we may have killed someone else or ourselves because of our addiction. God had a better plan for us then; God continues to have a better plan for us now. We must be ready to relinquish that which we think we want if the evidence confronting us suggests God thinks differently. We must let hindsight offer us enlightenment regarding God’s better plan. I will trust God to direct my thoughts and my actions. I will try to want what God wants for me today. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can find acceptance I have a dual disorder of chemical dependency and psychiatric illness. Today I am clean and sober, attending outpatient treatment, and taking psychiatric medication. But even though I am taking care of myself, at times I feel ashamed. I feel like hiding. I feel like I’m less than other people – separate and unloved. Except when I go to my dual recovery meeting. There, I can be seen and be safe. There, I don’t feel judged – we all have similar problems. There, I feel part of a caring community. They simply accept me with my two no-fault illnesses. I will make a commitment to regularly attend a Twelve Step meeting for my dual recovery so I can be with people who accept me – the people I need. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ The world is so full of a number of things, I’m sure we should all be as happy as kings. ~ Robert Louis Stevenson ~ When we first began recovery, we were sick and lost. The world seemed a grim and bleak place to us, with no comfort or relief in sight. We had given up our addiction, our best friend and worst enemy, and we had nothing to replace it. We retreated from the misery of our physical selves, ignoring our bodies and the outside world. Gradually, in recovery, our vision has cleared and we can see the world around us again, not through the foggy eyes of compulsion and need, but as it really is, full of variety, majesty, and beauty. The seasons change. Life and light shift. Trees, grass, and flowers go from gaudy to gaunt and back again. The wind changes direction announcing rain or snow or sun. We’ve rediscovered food, the crackling of wood in a fireplace, the color of a sunset, the smell of new earth and rain. We can be grateful instead of bitter, and open instead of shut off from others. We are growing instead of dying. We’ve found love and warmth. From near-death, we’ve found rebirth. Today let me take time to look up at the sky and down at the earth and appreciate the beauty I see. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ A painful time in our life is what I call a “healing crisis.” We are letting go of something old and opening to something new. ~ Shakti Gawain ~ Healing is a combination of three components: letting go of something that has a negative impact on you, believing in yourself, and appreciating the gift of time, to get better—in mind, body, and spirit. When a cut is healing, pulling the scab off inflicts more hurt. Simply put, healing begins when you leave the cut alone. The same is true of healing yourself. You cannot get better when you stay in difficult situations or associate with unhealthy people. Healing begins when you can let go of the negative people, places, and things in your life so you can free yourself from pain. Healing also requires time and patience. Focus on each moment by taking care in what you say, what you think, and what you do. Just as healing is a matter of time, so too is it a matter of opportunity. One of the greatest healing therapies is your connection to yourself. Healing takes place when you open your heart in love and acceptance of who you are becoming through the process of healing. Healing is the journey I will take today. The destination for this journey will be to know myself better and to love myself more. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ The great rhythms of nature, today so dully disregarded, wounded even, have here their spacious and primeval liberty. . . . Journeying birds alight here and fly away again all unseen, schools offish move beneath the waves, the surf flings its spray against the sun. ~ Henry Beston ~ We think about the many things that are happening around the world. Tonight it is tomorrow somewhere. A new day is dawning, birds are awakening. A rhythm is starting unlike our rhythm now. Somewhere on the ocean, a supertanker is delivering products to a new location. Beneath it are miles of depth teeming with many varieties of fish. A rhythm is happening that is unobserved. Birds are flying somewhere in the world right now. There is a nest of eggs with a parent patiently maintaining their warmth. Somewhere there are farmers plowing, children playing, musicians creating, teachers teaching. We are a part of it all. We belong to every creature and every place. We are here—and we are everywhere. Tonight I can close my eyes and imagine all the life around me and know I am part of it all. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Getting in touch with our feelings When we were using alcohol and other drugs we lost our moral path. It caused us anguish to feel one way but act another. Eventually we got so confused that we wondered how we really felt. But now in the program, we want to get honest with ourselves. We want to know our feelings and be able to express them. After a while, those around us will begin to feel that they can trust us and depend on us. Can I reveal my true feelings? God, give me the courage to be honest with myself and others about how I am feeling, especially if it’s not how I wish I felt. The true feelings I will disclose today are God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ The easiest kind of relationship for me is with ten thousand people. The hardest is with one. ~ JOAN BAEZ ~ Newcomer Where were you yesterday? I called you at nine in the morning and eleven at night; both times I got your answering machine and left a message. I know you’re a busy person, but I thought that people in this program would at least have the courtesy to return my calls. Sponsor I did have a busy day yesterday; I missed talking with you. This is going to happen once in a while, so I’m glad that you have other phone numbers and a meeting list. When I was newly recovering, my motto was “I want what I want when I want it!” Sometimes my sponsor wasn’t available instantly and had to call me back later; sometimes she said things I didn’t want to hear at all. When my response was to withdraw—to stop calling, or miss meetings so I wouldn’t have to see her—I closed the door to healing. But when I could summon the courage to say, “I feel hurt, I feel angry, I’m afraid to trust you!” we could talk about what was going on and reason things out together. Thank you for letting me hear how upset you were that our routine was disrupted; it’s an important part of the work you are doing in recovery. I won’t always be able to give you what you want when you want it, but I do respect your feelings. Today, I have the courage to call my sponsor, even though I may have thoughts or feelings I’d prefer to ignore. I keep the lines of communication open. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Too few people can distinguish the difference between the moderate or social drinker and the compulsive drinker. In fact, the line is so indistinct that the drinker himself does not know until it is too late. The Niagara River is a smooth-flowing stream until it reaches the Falls and then, in a matter of feet, it becomes a churning torrent of danger and death. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) No two of us are alike, that should make us grateful! 2) If you want to know what’s in your heart, listen to your mouth. 3) Take the program seriously, not yourself. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Things to Give Today, I pray I may give: To my enemy: Forgiveness. To my opponent: Tolerance. To my customer: Service. To a friend: Kindness. To all people: Charity. To my family: My heart. To every child: A good example. To myself: Respect. To You, Higher Power: LOVE With all my heart, With all my soul, With all my mind. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ MIRACLES Jesus taught through miracles. If the miracles did not happen, the rest of the Gospel story loses all real significance. If Jesus did not believe them to be possible, and undertake to perform them, then the Gospel message is chaotic, contradictory, and devoid of significance. But the deeds related to Jesus in the Four Gospels did happen, and many others too, “the which, if they should be written, every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written.” Jesus himself justified what people thought to be a strange teaching by the works he was able to do; and he went further and said, … the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works… (John 14:12). Now what, after all, is a miracle? Those who deny the possibility of miracles on the ground that the universe is a perfect system of law and order, to the operation of which there can be no exception, are perfectly right. But the explanation is that the world of which we are normally aware, and with whose laws alone most people are acquainted, is only a fragment of the whole universe as it really is; and that there is such a thing as appealing from a lower to a higher law—from a lesser to a greater expression. In the sense of a real breach of law, miracles are impossible. Yet, in the sense all ordinary rules and limitation of the physical plane can be set aside or overridden by an understanding that has risen about them, miracles can and do happen. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Move the Spotlight If someone in your life talked to you the way you talk to yourself, you would have left them a long time ago. ~ Dr. Carla Gordan ~ I wondered why I had signed up for this expensive astrology consultation. As the astrologer discussed my chart, I found myself feeling bored and impatient. Finally, he made an assessment that rang my chimes: “You are the kind of person who, if you did a job with 99 percent excellence, would berate yourself for the other one percent.” I had never thought about myself that way, but he was correct. The entire reading and fee were worth that insight. The amount of abusive self-talk we put up with is incredible. We must retrain our mind to spotlight what is working rather than what is not. The rational mind is programmed to search for errors and imperfections. But the nature of the heart is to find what is lovable and expand on that. The habit of fault-finding is learned, and, as such, we can re-educate our vision to find perfection. A Course in Miracles tells us that we are much too tolerant of mind-wandering. We allow our fearful mind to run in every which way without calling it to return to sanity. We will have as much insanity in our lives as we allow; we can eliminate it entirely if we choose. In prayer or meditation, ask that you become aware of patterns of thought with which you hurt yourself: “Poor me,” “Never enough,” and Why can’t I?” are trains of thought that will take you over a cliff if you ride them. If you read the destination printed on the train before you step onto it, you can choose another train and replace those negative patterns with “Blessed me,” “Always enough,” and “How can I?” A Course in Miracles asks us to affirm, “I can elect to change all thoughts that hurt” Instead of being a fault-finder, become a perfection-finder, and quickly the world you live in will reflect your vision. Show me how to think in harmony with Your will. I want to live in the world You created. I find the good because I seek it. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 18
March 18
Step by Step Today, stop thinking about what I have lost to alcoholism with pangs of grief, mourning, regret, self-pity, anger and a feeling of injustice. AA has shown me how to turn the pain into gratitude that I had in the first place the people, things and opportunities that are now gone. I have also learned to look not at what I have lost but what I may still gain in recovery. The Fourth and 10th steps of recognizing my character disease, and the command to service in the 12th step hold the promise of gains yet to come. Today, the bitter of the sweet from the pains of my drinking yields to the prospect that I may yet experience that which might overshadow the losses that still hurt. But I have to work the steps of restoration, reconciliation and service to yield the benefits. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ LEARNING I have learned . . . tolerance from the intolerant and kindness from the unkind. I should not be ungrateful to these teachers. ~ Kahlil Gibran ~ Once again, we are students. This time we are learning the secrets f living completely. These secrets have always been around us. We only had to clear our thinking of the obsessions, dependencies, denials, excessiveness, fears, jealousies and other destructive ideas and habits that ruled us. We had to open our minds to accept and our hearts to understand. We have found teachers in our Program. Each teacher is a new friend. We learn from them and they learn from the growth of our awareness. We find lessons in the glaring faults we see in others. We learn from our own errors. In my troubled years, I remembered my school days as perhaps the happiest of my life. I thought they were gone forever. But I’ve found them again in the Program, and I love being back in school. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Who forces time is pushed back by time; who yields to time finds time on his side. ~ The Talmud ~ We are impatient for results. Upon entering a program of recovery, going without a drink or giving up other addictive behaviors for more than a day or a week seems like a huge challenge. When we see friends in recovery with several years of sobriety, we can’t imagine achieving that. Future time can seem like a mountain. Our attitude shifts when we see time not as a challenge that we must overcome, but as our friend, working for us. Time is more like a lake that we swim in. It holds us up and carries us along. One day at a time, we live only in this present moment. We live more fully when we are present to this moment, yielding to what time will do, letting go of frets and worries about the future. On this day, I will be alive and aware of my experience. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Through learning to like myself, I’ve been more willing to understand others. ~ JoAnn Reed ~ Unrealistic expectations hinder our growth and relationships. We too often try to be superwoman and we want others to complement our drama. But no one can match our expectations. It’s helpful, then, to step back and remind ourselves that we’re all okay, we’re good enough. We are where we need to be for this point in our journey. With effort we’re coming to believe this, little by little. How do we give up unrealistic expectations, especially when they are triggered by our shame over not being perfect? Coming to believe that we are acceptable, even lovable, to our Higher Power requires a suspension of our disbelief. We must first “act as if’ and then take time to notice all the goodness in our lives. The evidence will convince us that we are protected and guided, thus loved. Meditating on this truth will give us permission to accept and love ourselves. Understanding and then loving others is only a small step away. I want to love and appreciate myself and all my friends today. We are here to help each other. God is here too. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can tell my doctor about my addiction When I first saw my psychiatrist about my symptoms, he asked me if I use alcohol or other drugs. For a few moments, I felt ashamed and embarrassed, but I managed to reply that, in fact, I was recovering from alcoholism. I knew it was important to make this information clear. Because of my addiction, I must abstain from addictive substances. But with a psychiatric illness, I might have to take a psychiatric medication, maybe just for a while, perhaps longer term. Happily, I learned that this potential jeopardy to my abstinence is avoided as long as the medication is not addictive. To get stable with my psychiatric illness, I will not have to risk relapse to my addiction. Today I will pray for honesty and humility in all aspects of my recovery. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Forget the Past, enjoy the Present, the Future will take care of itself. ~ James Thurber ~ Time was, we didn’t live in today, but only in the past and the future. We hated ourselves for things we’d done or said — rewriting conversations in our heads, spinning endless rationalizations about what had happened. Or we’d think about the ever-elusive tomorrow. Tomorrow we’d have a good job, begin recovery, make friends, make up with our families, have a wonderful place to live, meet the perfect lover, and begin to enjoy life. Yesterday and tomorrow took up all our time; there was nothing left over for today. Then in our Twelve Step program we began for the first time to live in the present. For the first time we can savor life and enjoy our surroundings right now. It’s amazing what there is to see when we look around. People are a delight, too, each of us so alike, yet so different. We see as though through new eyes and notice so much we overlooked before. Live for today. One day at a time. These simple words have the world in them. Today help me live for today. Help me put the past behind me and the future ahead of me, where they belong. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ There was a period in high school when you had to figure out who you were. You’d think, “Well, I’m not fitting in with this group or that group.” And then you’d start to examine your own inventory and wonder, “Is there anything I can do that is going to make me desirable?” ~ David Letterman ~ When you were young, you may have done things to fit in that were not reflections of who you were, but of how you thought others wanted you to be. While those days may be well in the past, it is not un-usual to still feel inferior or not good enough. Today, with no addictions to use as a comforting crutch, you may be at a loss for how to handle workplace interactions or social situations. There is one place where you need not worry about fitting in. You are a member of a program that treats all equally. There is no need to feel inferior or to strive to change just to please others. Even when you are uncomfortable or at a loss for words, take heart in the knowledge that you will always belong. I will not worry about what others think of me. I believe that who I am becoming is who I need to be. I take comfort in the sense of belonging the program gives me. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure—try to please everybody. ~ Herbert Bayard Swope ~ Principles are rules or codes of conduct we set for ourselves; like being honest, striving to be on time, and taking responsibility for bills and expenses. It is up to us to abide by these principles. When we compromise a principle for someone else’s benefit, we jeopardize the strength of that principle and its importance to us. If we want to be honest, then lying to cover up another’s actions compromises that principle. If we want to be on time and someone makes demands that cause us to arrive late, we have compromised ourselves and let someone else’s desire dominate. We need to set certain standards for ourselves and abide by them, even if another person will not be pleased. To let principles triumph over the demands and desires of another is a victory for our inner peace. If we are true to ourselves, we will learn we can count on ourselves no matter what. Is anyone making demands upon my principles? Help me be true to myself and not make compromises I will regret. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Freeing ourselves of judgments Since we tend to condemn in others what we dislike in ourselves we must free ourselves of judgments. Since whatever we express reflects back on us, why express anything but love? When we judge, condemn, and misunderstand, we invite judgment, condemnation, and misunderstanding in return. Have I stopped judging others? Higher Power, let me not judge others today but express the love that I am capable of giving. Today I will express love to God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ For a girl without a self, I was pretty stubborn. ~ ELEANOR ANTIN ~ Newcomer I feel good today. Thank God I’ve got my willpower back again. I’ve seen the light: I just have to be strong and stay away from addictive substances. Sponsor I prefer the word “willingness” to “willpower.” For me, willpower means forcing myself to do something disagreeable and self-depriving because someone else thinks I should. The trouble with relying on willpower—for me—is that I’m still a rebel in my heart of hearts. Give me something to rebel against, and, in time, I will. Though I may feel guilty when I break the rules, my rebelling somehow comforts me: It’s familiar. It lets me feel like my old self. It lets me say, “This is me, whether they like it or not!” Willingness, on the other hand, means making a free, open choice to let in the message of recovery. It doesn’t mean always having to be strong. It doesn’t mean having to have all the answers. If we have willingness, we can show up at meetings, listen, and feel supported by the presence of other recovering people and by the laughter in the room. We can grow in recovery through practicing the program and participating in the fellowship. For today, I don’t try to be strong. I go easy on myself by attending a meeting where I can relax and be myself. I enjoy listening to others share their experience. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Nothing in life is obtained except by pain and toil. This is sad news to us alcoholics who have shunned both like smallpox most of our lives. Let the famous musician tell you of his hours of dreary practice, the inventor of his hundred failures for each success, the boxing champ of his endless days of absorbing punishment in empty gymnasiums. Toil and suffering are a necessary prelude to success and we should bear our crosses, not as burdens, but as preparations for our ultimate victory. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Thou shalt not ‘should’ on thyself. 2) God only lends us people when we need them. 3) “I” is for illness. ‘We” is for wellness. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Your Gift Thank You, Higher Power, for Your gift of recovery; that through this Program I have come to know myself better than ever before, and that I have come to know others better as well. I pray that I may be eternally grateful for this, Your blessing. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ A BASIC MIRACLE Let us suppose, for the sake of example, that on a certain Monday, your affairs are in such a condition that, humanly speaking, certain consequences are sure to follow before the end of the week. These may be legal consequences, perhaps of a very unpleasant nature following upon some decision of the courts; or a physician may decide that a perilous operation will be necessary. Now, if someone can raise the consciousness of the harassed individual above the limitations of the physical plane then the conditions on the plane will change, and, in some unforeseen and normally impossible manner, the legal tragedy will melt away, and to the advantage, be it noted, of all parties to the case; or the patient will be healed instead of having to undergo the operation. In other words, miracles, in the popular sense of the word, can and do happen as the result of a change of consciousness, and a change of consciousness is usually accomplished through prayer. Thus prayer does change things. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts (Isaiah 55:9). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ The C.C.C.C. Hands of invisible spirits touch the strings of that mysterious instrument, the soul, and play the prelude of our future. ~ Henry Wadsworth Longfellow ~ Me was my first and greatest love,” Michele told our seminar group. “But because I was young and he was older, my parents forbade me to see him. Tearfully we parted, and although I grew up and went through two marriages, I held him in my heart, and he always lived in the back of my mind. Eventually we lost track of each other, and I always wondered how he was. I moved from the Bronx and started a new life in Florida. One day I walked into a 7-Eleven in Clearwater, and there he was—it had been 37 years. We talked and then we went out to dinner. I knew that our meeting was not about us getting back together. It was an answer to my prayer of completing with this man whom I loved so much.” What great mind could have known how to reunite these two people who cared about each other so deeply? Surely no human technology could draw two lovers together after 37 years and a thousand miles of distance. There is, however, a powerful organization that coordinates such events. It is called the C.C.C.C —the Cosmic Coincidence Control Center. This invisible agency neatly arranges the meeting of any two people who need to connect for an important reason. The center works day and night to keep track of all hearts’ desires and soul needs. All prayers for healing are referred to the C.C.C.C., and the agency makes sure that any incomplete soul issues magnetize the perfect people to work them out. No one is ever more than a thought away. If it is right, you will draw them or someone similar to you so that your heart may rest. Lift my vision beyond the limits of this world. Help me remember that I can and will be joined with everyone and everything I need. Thank you for bringing me the right and perfect people and events for the fulfillment of my purpose. The spirit of love arranges all meetings in divine order for the highest good of all concerned. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 19
March 19
Step by Step Today, if some destructive emotion like self-pity or anger pops up and tells me I can’t do anything right, I can say with honesty that alcoholism is one thing I did very right and did to a tee – and take the energy I applied to get drunk and thrust it on my recovery. The energy I used to get drunk will be spent instead on AA’s first four words – “Admitted (I am) powerless …” – and on the willingness to surrender my will to a higher power, on the diligence and honesty needed for the subsequent steps, and on being in service to others instead of myself. Today, I can have hope that I can do something good, something right because, if I can do drinking to perfection, I need only take a 180-degree turn and do recovery – certainly not to perfection, but at least getting started. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ LAUGHTER The most useless day of all is that which we have not laughed. ~ Sebastien R.N. Chamfort ~ When we wallowed in the self-pity of obsession, we were sure we’d never laugh again. How easy it was to weep, alone and secretly, inspired by sad music like “Born to Lose” or “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” What a shock it was to hear people laugh in our first few meetings! How could they laugh about something as serious as addiction? What an awakening when we were able to join the laughter! We laughed with them as they laughed at the sad objects they once were. Today we can also laugh for pure joy at being free of restraints, and in gratitude for the resolve not to return to our old ways. We can laugh just for being alive. Laughter is a source of growth for me. It keeps me thinking positively. It reduces the stress of problems. It tells me that any effort at progress is worthwhile. Laughter is progress. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Next time you’re feeling at odds with yourself make a list of your good qualities… things like generosity and patience and thrift. It will surprise you to discover how nice you really are. ~ Audrey Com ~ Some days we just feel out of sorts and down on our-selves. In this program, we place great importance on self-inventories. We confront our defects and our wrongs, and we make lists of them to hold ourselves responsible. Any good inventory counts both assets and liabilities. On a day when we feel burdened with guilt or weakness, we ought to remind ourselves of the best of who we are. Remember good deeds that we have done. Remember what we do well, and don’t minimize those assets. If we are going to build on our strengths, we have to see them for what they are. Our attitude toward ourselves and toward life is partly a matter of mental discipline. It does no good for anyone if we sit passively in our negativity. We can learn to affirm that we are children of creation, and we have a right to be here. In spite of our imperfections, we are a force for good. Today I will carry in my thoughts some of my good qualities. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ With one foot in the past and the other in the future, how can we possibly know what new path we might follow today? ~ Jan Pishok ~ Now is all there is. But how often, really, are our minds in the present? Honestly, aren’t we much more focused on what just happened or what we fear will happen in the next hour or day or year? Being here, now, means giving up the past absolutely. It also means relinquishing all thoughts about the future. Occupying our minds with the experience of this instant only seems hard to do. We’re far more used to greater chaos than what we experience solely in the here and now. We have a direction that’s right for us. Unfortunately, we miss the road signs because we are still looking over our shoulder at what we passed yesterday. The destiny we need, needs us too. Quietly focusing on our lives, one moment at a time, can assure us of fulfilling it. Letting go of the noise I carry in my mind changes my life. I can feel and acknowledge what’s here when my mind is open. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I want to right my wrongs I’ve done some things in my life that I know hurt other people. Many are minor, a few are major. From time to time, I’ve been troubled by these regrettable acts. Until recently, I didn’t know what I could do about them. But in the Twelve Step program, there’s Step Nine to help me out. It tells me to acknowledge the harm I’ve done. Chances are that if I apologize and make things right, if I do whatever is necessary, I can feel more at peace with myself. While making amends can be hard at times, I realize now that I can no longer afford a burden of guilt. I can’t risk relapse to addiction or to my psychiatric illness. With the help of my higher power, I can do Step Nine. I can practice making amends by apologizing the next time I offend someone. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Happy the man who could search out the causes of things. ~ Virgil ~ Honesty is the foundation of recovery. In active addiction we lied to everyone, most of all to ourselves. Dishonesty was a way of life for us, as natural as breathing. To recover, we must eliminate it. But first we must learn what it means to be honest. We must eliminate the lies, cover-ups, minimizing, and rationalizations that kept us in active addiction. We must surrender to the truth of what we did and who we were. Honesty asks that we be alert to the gray areas of dishonesty, the hidden lies. Are we easing up on the serious work of recovery because we’re too tired or too busy? We need to examine our behavior and feelings for the real truth: “Am I really too tired, or am I looking for an excuse to relapse? Have I accepted my Higher Power, or am I still trying to do it alone?” It takes time to understand ourselves, to recognize the everyday dishonesty that can hurt our recovery. But as we learned to be dishonest, we can learn to be honest. Now we have the comfort and support of the fellowship and our Higher Power to help us. Today help me be honest with myself and others. Help me recognize my dishonest behavior even when it’s disguised as truth. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ I am an idealist. I don’t know where I’m going, but I’m on my way. ~ Carl Sandburg ~ To paraphrase the Big Book, when you focus on what is bad in a day, you may view your day as a bad one. But when you focus on what is good in a day, you can view your day as a good one. It is all in how you look at things and how you will interpret what you have been given: good or bad. The program teaches that in order to be clean and sober, you need to conquer negativity and negative phrases. Recovery is not focused on such advisories as “You should not drink or drug.” Instead, recovery is focused on a simple statement: “Just for today, I will not use or abuse.” That statement allows you to make a choice and shift your perspective from what you cannot do to what you can and will do. When you make choices based on optimism, you empower yourself in ways that enable you to see your life as one that is filled with opportunities and growth. Today I will change my interpretation of what I have been given from the negative to the positive. I will begin each day with a positive outlook, and I will bring positive energy into all that I do and say. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Like the body that is made up of different limbs and organs, all mortal creatures exist depending upon one another. ~ Hindu proverb ~ We may have believed only we could solve our problems and satisfy our needs. Or we may have been super-responsible about caring for others, yet negligent in caring for ourselves. “I’ll take care of it,” may have been our most-used phrase. There are some things only we can do for our emotional, physical, and spiritual health: eat right, exercise, get plenty of rest, pray and meditate on a daily basis. Yet there are needs we cannot take care of alone: solving all our problems, comforting ourselves, developing intimacy with others, feeling loved and cared for. Those things need to come from others. Imagine how dependent we would be on others if we lost our eyesight or hearing or mobility. We don’t need a physical handicap to ask for help. We have in-visible handicaps that are linked to our emotional and spiritual needs. To mend them, we must ask others for help and guidance. We cannot do it alone. Tonight instead of saying, “I’ll take care of it,” I can ask, “Will you help me?” ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Removing defects Through working the Steps we can discover which of our character traits are valuable and which no longer work for us. And very, very gradually, as we grow in the program, we can let go of the traits that aren’t working. We have suffered much because of our imperfections. When we are ready to quit suffering, we will be willing to ask that these defects of character be removed, one at a time. When we are willing to work at them a day at a time, we will discover miraculous changes beginning to take place in ourselves. Am I letting go of all my defects? Higher Power, I am entirely ready and willing to have my defects of character removed. The defect I will work on letting go of today is God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ I still have my days when I have trouble, and I have to sit down and think about how far I’ve come. ~ WOMAN IN RECOVERY ~ Newcomer I’m overwhelmed again. There’s so much that I should get done today, so much ahead that scares me. I feel sick and Indecisive, I’ve heard the slogan “First things first,” but I don’t know where to begin. Sponsor First, I suggest that you give yourself some credit for what you’ve already accomplished today. Yes, you have accomplished something. Here you are, awake: you’ve started an-other day of your new life in recovery. You know that no matter what happens today, you don’t have to use an addictive substance. You’re identifying some feelings and reaching out for help. All this is significantly different from old patterns of behavior. “First things first” is a reminder that we can set priorities. The first priority for every single one of us in recovery is not picking up an addictive substance. Without recovery, none of the other things in our lives will have much chance to come to fruition. We have to save our lives first. If we need meetings, phone calls, or prayer to keep from losing recovery, we put those needs at the top of our list. Then we can sort out the rest and list things in order of importance. Today, I celebrate how far I’ve come. I set priorities and keep recovery at the top of my list. I take small actions that get me closer to my goals. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ No man ever lived without a God of some kind. If it was not the God of Abraham or the Christian conception, it was the sun, or Nature or thunder or mythical gods. It was golden images or idols of wood, and to some it was money, or position or fame. We all had a God even if it was no more than a bottle. No man, however brave, would have the temerity to face the forces of Nature and a hostile world unless he had recourse to something beyond his own puny strength. Every time I hear an atheist sounding off I always think of the days when I denied the fact that I was an alcoholic, knowing, deep down inside, that I was kidding myself. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) HALT: Happy, Appreciative, Lovable, Teachable. 2) When in doubt, leave it out. 3) Alcohol: It provokes the desire but takes away the performance. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ I Promise Myself! Today I pray: To promise myself to be so strong that nothing can disturb my peace of mind. To talk health, happiness, and prosperity to every person I meet. To make all of my friends feel that there is some-thing in them. To look at the sunny side of everything and make my optimism come true. To think only of the best, to work only for the best, and to expect only the best. To be just as enthusiastic about the success of others as I am about my own. To forget the mistakes of the past and press on to the greater achievements of the future. To wear a cheerful countenance at all times and give every living creature I meet a smile. To give so much time to the improvement of myself that I have no time to criticize others. To be too large for worry, too noble for anger, too strong for fear, and too happy to permit the presence of trouble. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ THE PURPOSE OF THE BIBLE Externally, the Bible is a collection of inspired documents written by men of all kinds, in all sorts of circumstances, and over hundreds of years of time. The documents are seldom original, but redactions and compilation of older fragments; and the names of the actual writers are seldom known for certain. This, however, does not affect the spiritual purpose of the Bible. The book, as we have it, is an inexhaustible reservoir of spiritual Truth, compiled under divine inspiration, and the actual route by which it reached its present form does not matter. History, biography, lyrical and other poetic forms are various mediums through which the spiritual message is given in the Bible; and above all, the parable is used to convey spiritual and metaphysical truth. In some cases what was never intended to be more than a parable was, at one time, taken for literal statement of fact; and this often made the Bible seem to teach things that are opposed to common sense. The spiritual key to the Bible rescues us from these difficulties, dilemmas, and seeming inconsistencies. And the Truth turns out to be nothing less than the amazing but undeniable fact that the whole outer world—whether it be the physical body the common things of life, the winds and the rain, the clouds, the earth itself—is amenable to man’s thought, and that he has dominion over it when he knows it. Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet (Psalm 8:6). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ The Holiest Orange From you I receive, to you I give. Together we share, from this we live. ~ Rabbis Joseph and Nathan Siegel ~ On the Jewish holiday of Purim, it is the custom for neighbors to visit each others’ houses with gifts of fruit. One Purim, three men on a business trip found themselves miles from civilization with but one orange between them. One man took the orange in his hands, held it close to his heart, turned to another man and told him, “My dear Chaim, with this orange I give you all my love, and I pray that God grants you a life of peace and plenty.” Chaim appreciatively accepted the orange and faced the third man, telling him, “My brother Yosef, this is a symbol of my deepest thanks for your friendship in my life. I wish you all the happiness your heart desires.” Yosef, nearly in tears, received the fruit and turned to the first man. “Beloved Jacob, you are a true man of God. May the angels of mercy walk by your side and return to you a thousandfold all the good you give.” Jacob received the orange and, brimming with ecstasy, gave it to Yosef again with an additional blessing. So the three men went on all night, adding more and more love to the orange until their souls were filled beyond measure. The only gifts we truly have to offer one another are the gifts of spirit. Physical objects are but cups we fill with love. A gift, no matter how expensive, is not a gift unless it is given with sincerity and kindness. Even if our physical means are meager, if we imbue a gift with intention, it will bless the receiver in the deepest way. Let my words and actions be filled only with love. Let me use all the means of this world to magnify the divine presence. I give from my heart, and I am filled in the giving. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 20
March 20
Step by Step Today, work for balance in life, the balance that is the point of compromise between doing nothing at all and over-doing everything. Alcoholics are creatures of extremes: in our drinking, we wanted all or nothing. Although we drank too much, it was never enough. We either hated or “loved” too possessiveness. We took until there was nothing left to take, or we gave till we had nothing more to give. We laughed after the joke had ended, and we cried out every emotion. In seeking balance, defer to a higher power to show us what we have to do without procrastinating to tomorrow, and listen if he hints that we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired – HALT. Also accept that we cannot shrug off the program if, today, we say that we are not “getting it.” Adversely, accept that the full benefits of the program will not be ours today – or any other day – because the program is growth, and growth is an evolutionary process and never fully accomplished. Today, balance the scales. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ ACT AS IF . . . In the arena of human life the honours and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities in action. ~ Aristotle ~ The only way we get what we need is to “act as if . . .” we have it. The key word for us is “act.” We have discovered that knowledge often follows action rather than vice versa. When we fake it in our early days, we find ourselves making it in later days. In the beginning, we are asked to “act as if” we are following instructions, trusting the Program, listening to sponsors, and coming to believe. The amazing thing is that soon we were doing those very things. We were never able to think our way into recovery. Our minds created a tremendous amount of trouble for us. We needed to turn our minds down (not off). We soon discovered the difference between doing and thinking. The key to “acting as if . . .” is faith. With faith, the Promises will come true for me. The way to faith is through my fears. I turn fears over to my faith and simply “act as if . . . .” ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ We have ever more perfect eyes in a world in which there is always more to see. ~ Teilhard de Chardin ~ Today’s quotation could be seen as one of the promises of recovery. When we enter into a program of spiritual and emotional renewal, we choose to become honest with ourselves. In the process, our eyes begin to see more clearly and we become aware of the many ways we have been dishonest with ourselves. Each new bit of self-honesty builds the base for more insight and an ever-sharper understanding of ourselves and our world. When we started with our decision to be honest, we could never have predicted what we would find down the path. We first surrender to the truth as we know it, and this clarity about ourselves and the world grows into great insight. The world opens up for us and we find ever more to see and learn. We feel very alive every moment. Today I continue my commitment to see the truth wherever I find it. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ I can’t expect you to share yourself if I can’t do the same. ~ Cathy Stone ~ We have been told we benefit from sharing our stories with others. However, most of us have shared intimate details of our lives in the past, only to have them repeated all over town. We may have decided that nothing was safe to share. Now we are asked once again to share our secrets. What seems even stranger is that we’re asked to tell them to people whose last names we don’t even know. How crazy this seems when we first enter a Twelve Step program. Until we do it, however, we will not reap the benefits that are in store. We can only discover how like others we really are by telling them about us and then listening while they share similar stories. The intimacy that follows transforms our lives. Our time for self-disclosure has come. Let’s rejoice and reap the rewards. I will tell a trusted friend who I really am today. I can count on affirmation and acceptance if I choose my friend well. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I am learning more about myself At first I thought Step Four was about my guilty deeds. I often felt like skipping my meeting when it came around – I felt guilty enough already without being reminded. But I have learned that Step Four is useful for more than just recognizing errors and faults. I can use it to recognize my assets, too. It is really a tool for simply learning more about myself. And in recovery, I need self-knowledge. Perhaps I’ll learn that I have more to offer than I thought. I will write out my top two assets on cards and stick them on my bathroom mirror. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ I thought it was a mistake, but I was afraid to trust my feelings. ~ Jennie L. ~ For a long time we couldn’t trust ourselves in any way. We were good at lying to ourselves and others. We became experts in denial, refusing to consider any opinion but our own. Our choices were based on addiction, not on logic. We were driven by compulsion, not reason. As our addiction progressed, our thinking grew so distorted that we could no longer count on our sanity. How could we trust ourselves when we couldn’t even control our addiction? Then, as we began to recover from addiction, that same mistrust became one of our strongest allies. We hesitated before acting, we questioned ourselves closely to be sure we were doing the right things for the right reasons. Now that we’ve made progress in recovery, our judgment has improved. We can pay attention to what happened, how we felt, and what the results were. Soon we’ll notice that our reaction to dangerous situations is very clear; our “gut hunches” are accurate. We are trusting ourselves, perhaps for the first time. Today help me pay attention to my feelings and respect my own judgment. Help me listen to myself. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you”? ~ William A. Ward ~ Thinking that you are thankful for something a person has done for you or for a gift you have received is not the same as expressing your gratitude. It is taking without giving back. Unexpressed gratitude, it has been said, “is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude.” Even when you pray to your Higher Power, you may forget to add at the end of your prayer, “Thank you.” Even when it seems that your prayers go unanswered, you need to trust they have been heard. So to express gratitude to your Higher Power following a prayer conveys your understanding that a divine power is always there for you and always ready to listen to your thoughts and needs. Begin the day by thinking of those things you often take for granted, and then offer thanks for them. Make today the time when you express long-overdue gratitude to the human angels in your life. Throughout the day, add the words “thank you” whenever others assist you. And be sure to remember to include an expression of gratitude during your prayers to thank your Higher Power for being there. I will use the words “thank you” for all of the gifts I receive today, be they big or small. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ You telling me God love you, and you ain’t never done nothing for Him? I mean, not go to church, sing in a choir, feed the preacher and all that? . . . if God love me, I don’t have to do all that. There’s lots of other things I can do that I speck God likes. . . . I can lay back and just admire stuff. Be happy. ~ Alice Walker The Color Purple ~ When we were younger, we learned bad people go to hell when they die. So we may have helped old la-dies across the street, or didn’t kick our brother, or didn’t talk back, or went to church so we could get “good marks” from the great Power in the heavens. Today we might still believe our Higher Power needs material evidence of our faith. We might still go to church because we think that’s what we should do. We may get down on our knees twice a day because we feel we should. All the program asks of us is that we come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves. It doesn’t tell us how to pray or when to pray or the things we need to do to win our Higher Power’s approval. All we need to do is make our Higher Power a part of our world. I can remember that everything is a result of a Power greater than myself. Can I include this Power in my life? ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Letting go of false pride What’s going on when we say that some things aren’t good enough for us? Some of us feel that if we can’t “win” at work, romance, or sports we won’t even play. This is called false pride. If we are operating with false pride, chances are we’ll also refuse help from others, the very help that might save our lives. If we can’t accept anything from anybody, how can we expect to recognize and receive God’s big gifts for us? We need to work on false pride by accepting little things from others. Am I letting go of false pride? Higher Power, help me open up so that I can accept things from others, whether simple or grand. Today I will work on my false pride by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ The flower must drink the nature of the soil Before it can put forth its blossoming. ~ JOHN KEATS ~ Newcomer I’ve had to cut back on meetings lately, because my life is so full. There’s so much to do, so much lost time to make up for. And the meetings are repetitive; I feel as if I can predict in advance what’s going to happen there. Sponsor It’s natural to experience fluctuations in our enthusiasm for sober routines; there are ups and downs in any relationship. At times, meetings seem like something “they” are requiring me to do, rather than something I’ve chosen. When I’m sitting there, I don’t always pay close attention. I may feel irritated by a personality, bored hearing something I think I already know, or too distracted by my thoughts to focus on principles. But I keep going anyway, and the meetings—as if by magic—get better. Suddenly, I hear exactly what I need to hear. I suspect that the problem isn’t so much with meetings as with my attitude. By attending meetings and making calls consistently—not just when we feel desperate—we keep the lines of communication open. That way we maintain a basis of support for ourselves and others; we can count on its being there when we need it most. I have a life now, and I am responsible for it. Today, the decision I make to maintain my recovery is my own decision. Establishing a sober routine and sticking to it is a tool for maintaining that life. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ The only way that AA can be considered a Reform is in the fact that our way of living is the result of a reformation in our thinking. Our new pattern of action is the result of a new pattern of thinking. As our thoughts are focused more and more on more and more, our minds grow in the capacity to absorb more and more. As our thoughts are directed to the God of our understanding and our suffering alcoholic brethren we find that self is pushed back into the little space it deserves. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) HALT: Have A Laugh Today 2) Gratitude is not the word but the desire to say the word. 3) The basic ingredient of all humility is a desire to seek and do God’s will. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ My Worth I pray to remember that my worth is not determined by my show of outward strength, or the volume of my voice, or the thunder of my accomplishments. It is to be seen, rather, in terms of the nature and depth of my commitments, the genuineness of my friendships, the sincerity of my purpose, the quiet courage of my convictions, my capacity to accept life on life’s terms, and my willingness to continue “growing up.” This I pray. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ TRUTH DEMONSTRATED Truth never chasten, but what we have to deal with on this plane is man’s apprehension of the Truth, and throughout historical time, this has been steadily and continuously becoming more plain to us. Jesus Christ summed up this Truth, taught it completely and thoroughly, and, above all, demonstrated it in his own person. Most of us now can glimpse intellectually the idea of what it must mean in its fullness. To accept the Truth is the great first step, but not until we have proved it in doing is it ours. Jesus proved everything that he taught, even to the overcoming of death in what we call the resurrection. By surmounting every sort of limitation to which mankind is subject, he performed a work of unique and incalculable value to the race, and is therefore justly entitle the Savior of the world. …when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth….(John 16:13). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Pray to Be Wrong Would you rather be right, or happy? ~ A Course in Miracles ~ When a friend and I were about to watch a video, the television showed only snow and distortion. My friend suggested, “Put in the video head cleaner,” but I knew the problem was more serious, and I went on to spend a great deal of time fussing with wires and connections. Every now and then, she repeated, “Try the head cleaner,” but I told her that was not the trouble. Finally, to appease her, I ran the head cleaner, and to my great surprise the picture completely cleared up. I was glad that I was wrong! A problem is a call for us to open up our consciousness and view a situation from a different perspective. If we stubbornly cling to a position, we may miss the very awareness we need in order to master the situation at hand. No one knows it all. Be innocent enough to consider that the universe may be bigger than what you “know” to be true. You may gain more by being wrong than by tenaciously clinging to being right. Make a list of all of your problems, troubles, and dilemmas. Then hold it in your hands and pray, “Dear God, please let me be wrong about all of this.” Your prayer will be answered because we are already whole, and as we allow Spirit to work on our behalf, our challenges are handled by grace. I pray to be humble enough to see a grander picture than the one I have known. I open my mind to live in a bigger universe. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 21
March 21
Step by Step Today, the Seventh Step and asking a higher power, in willingness and humility, for the knowledge to let go of our character defects, chief among them anger and resentment. But Step Six warns that we must be “entirely ready” to release those defects. So how do I become “entirely ready?” If we find ourselves obsessed with anger or resentment against someone or something, even justifiably – to the extent that anger and resentment can be justified – and we play out in tje mind a scenario of “revenge,” we are thwarting a potential higher quality of sobriety than we might otherwise have. And, if for no other reason, we empower the person or situation that we resent to the extent that they actually control us. Then it’s time to let go of the anger and resentment and leave to a higher power whoever or whatever angers me us. Today, entirely ready, ask a higher power to take the emotions we cannot handle and for the discipline not to take them back. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ FRIENDSHIP The only reward for virtue, the only way to have a friend is to be one. ~ Emerson ~ Friendship is not a one-word motto to be hung on a wall. Friends are not statues to decorate a mantle. Friendships are as real to us as love and gratitude, and friends are as much a part of all our lives as the air we breathe. Without friends we could not enjoy the full benefits of recovery. All the truths we follow daily we receive from friends through hearing and reading their messages but mostly by watching them in action. Our primary goal is to add to our wisdom by giving. Without friendships, our caring and sharing would be empty gestures. None of us needs ever to be alone again, because each of us in our own way works for the good in others. We are bound together with a common problem and work together on a solution. If I permit myself to become incapable of friendship, I will find that I will be unable to reveal myself to others and to my inner self. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Spring is nature’s way of saying, “Let’s party!’’ ~ Robin Williams ~ Our lives are always enriched when we get closer to nature. In springtime, just going for a walk around the block can lift our spirits. Sometimes we feel blue, or we are overwhelmed with emotions that are painful or frightening. Even when our feelings are based on real concerns, we need to manage them in order to confront difficult situations. One of the best things we can do for ourselves is to get outside. Putting ourselves under the open sky, feeling the weather against our skin, and moving our muscles in a walk or a run changes our emotions and relieves tension. During the worst of times we may have a hard time making ourselves go out and move. But when we do, we always feel better. Spring is nature’s promise that nothing is forever. Change and new life are sure to come. Today I welcome spring as the metaphor that life is constantly being renewed and refreshed. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ The willingness and courage to trust and accept our feelings brings peace of mind and the knowledge that all is well. ~ Abby Warman ~ There is no shame in whatever we feel. Our feelings are products of our thoughts. If our feelings are uncomfortable, perhaps we should consider monitoring our thoughts. We can always change them if they’re causing us pain. It’s important to remember that our feelings serve as signals of who we are at the moment and what we think about others. They serve us like friends, even when we don’t like what they tell us. We came to this program for help to stop using chemicals. But that’s only the beginning of the help we are receiving. The other women at meetings and the literature suggested as resources for growth help us understand how lucky we are to have an illness we can recover from and a program that guarantees our well-being. I will appreciate my feelings today. Whatever they are, I know that all is well. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ It will help if I don’t compare I see my friends with houses and cars. They’re raising families, advancing their careers. I want what they have. I deserve what they have. They’re not better than I am. This is not fair. When I get feeling like this, I know that I’m not accepting myself. It’s difficult to do with addiction and psychiatric illness, but I find I need to do it again and again. No, my friends are not better than I am. No, it’s is not fair. But I am who I am: a good person in recovery from two no-fault illnesses. And I am doing the best I can. Today I will acknowledge my grief and focus on today’s recovery. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Being fearless isn’t courage; courage is doing the right thing even though you are afraid. ~ Jean L. ~ Every frightening situation offers us a chance to grow. Some of us thought that in recovery all roads would be paved with gold, that all problems would be instantly, magically solved. We soon discovered, though, that things weren’t that easy; life just doesn’t work that way. But as we met and solved problems, as we conquered our fears and faced life on its own terms, we learned we’re richer for every challenge that comes our way. An easy ride can’t teach us how to handle a bumpy road. Strength and character come from experiencing and overcoming our fears, not running away from them. Working through our problems teaches us how to deal with a similar problem next time, how to capitalize on our strengths, and how to shore up our weaknesses. Adversity shows us our limits, how much stress and anger we can handle, how to take care of ourselves, and how to be truly independent. Now, in frightening situations, we still feel afraid, our hearts pound, our knees knock, and our hands shake. But we’ve learned that the flip side of fear is self-confidence and self-love. Today grant me the help 1 need to solve the problems I might encounter. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ The difficult things of this world must once have been easy; the great things of this world must once have been small. Set about difficult things while they are still easy; do great things while they are still small. ~ Taoism ~ Before you entered the program, your life was likely filled with chaos and disruption. Because your top priority was your addiction, everything else became secondary. Today you are free from your addiction, but you may still live with chaos and disruption. You may not pay attention to things until they reach a crisis stage. Handling events before they get out of hand is like practicing preventive medicine. Rather than be rushed to the hospital with a heart attack, it is better to eat right every day and exercise. Taking such action can avert future trouble or keep a bad situation from growing worse. Today resolve to be a troubleshooter rather than a troublemaker. Think of those things you usually put off until the last minute. Consider what tasks you have not yet completed. Pay attention to those who need your attention. Ask, “What needs to be taken care of today?” Then step up and face your responsibilities. I would rather handle things effectively than move from one crisis to the next. Today I will take care of my personal and professional responsibilities while they are still manageable. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Do not lose your inward peace for anything whatsoever, even if your whole world seems upset. ~ Saint Francis de Sales ~ Today may have been filled with tense people, hectic schedules, or confusion and anger from those around us. We live and interact with a variety of situations that can range from slightly stressful to very stressful. How we handle ourselves in those situations can determine our inner peace. We can be like an amoeba and suck up the surrounding mood and con-form to it, or we can remain detached from the situation and be in touch with ourselves. Just because the environment around us is like a battlefield or is so uncomfortable we want to squirm, that doesn’t mean we have to prepare for battle or move about restlessly. Whatever is happening outside of us is somebody else’s issue. Our most important is-sue is us and our own inner peace. The only way our inner peace can change is if we allow it. We are in control of our inner selves—not the world around us. I can remain calm and serene in the face of any crises because of my strong faith. I believe all is well with me. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Nurturing new growth Spring is a time of new and beautiful growth. There can be growth for us, too. We have spent too long in the fall and winter of our lives, the mind-altering chemicals filtering the sunshine and fading the flowers. Finally, our lives appeared empty and dead. But like earth at the end of winter, there is still life within us. And when we make the conditions suitable, using abstinence, pa-tience, and love, our lives will again bring forth new growth. Am I returning or preparing for new growth? Higher Power, may I feel your love shine down on me to help me grow. I will prepare for new growth today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ We feel and know that we are eternal ~ BARUCH SPINOZA ~ Newcomer I’m feeling anxious and overwhelmed. My mind is tormenting me. I could hardly sit still at the meeting I went to. How am I going to get through the rest of the day? Sponsor When I’m anxious, I seem to forget to breathe properly, so let’s bring our attention to our breathing, and inhale and exhale gently but deeply. Let’s breathe in a way that feels natural, not holding our breath at any point, so that the inhalation continues naturally into the exhalation. Let’s visualize bringing breath into the belly, as if we were breathing in and out through the navel. As thoughts and distractions come into the mind, we notice that they’re there, but we don’t worry about them. We let them keep flowing out gently and easily, like the breath. For these moments, there is nowhere else we have to be, nothing at all that we have to do. The past no longer exists. The future hasn’t been born yet. We are here in this moment. Our bodies are breathing for us. Body and mind are one. There is only the present moment. After our brief meditation, we feel centered and energized. We can use this technique to lower our stress levels whenever we wish. Today, I gently bring myself into the present moment. I remember to breathe. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Jobs are as good or as bad as the mental attitude we have toward them. No man holds a job but what some other man is envious of him on its account and every job has its good and bad points. Too often we hear the excuse that the job was the cause of the drinking, when most frequently it was the drinking that made the job obnoxious. One man swinging a pick is digging a hole in the ground and his fellow workman beside him is doing his part in the erection of a Temple. Maybe it’s not the job at fault, maybe it’s your attitude toward it. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Reason to be grateful: you learn to wake up instead of coming to. 2) It’s a shame that booze doesn’t turn off one’s mouth at the same time it turns off the brain. 3) To thine own self be true! ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Right Living Higher Power, deliver me: From the cowardice that dare not face new truth; From the laziness that is contented with half-truth; From the arrogance that thinks it knows all truth; These things, good Lord, that I pray for, Give me the strength to work for. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ THE SERMON ON THE MOUNT The setting forth of the Sermon on the Mount is an almost perfect codification of the religion of Jesus Christ. It covers the essentials. It is practical and personal. It is definite, specific, and yet widely illuminating. Once the true meaning of the instruction has been grasped, it is only necessary to begin putting them into practice to get immediate results. The magnitude and extent of these results will depend solely upon the sincerity and thoroughness with which they are applied. That is a matter which each individual has to settle for himself. If you really do wish to become a different person altogether in the sight of God and man, then Jesus, in his Sermon on the Mount, has clearly shown you how it is to be done. If you are prepared to break with the old man, an start upon the creation of the new one, then the study of the great Sermon will indeed be to you the Mountain of Liberation. …But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Life Beginning Fear not that thy life shall come to an end, but rather fear that it shall never have a beginning. ~ John Henry Cardinal Newman ~ I was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 17, I was sure my life had come to an end,” Edward told the seminar audience. “I hated the chemotherapy, all the medicalese, and the whole arena of sickness I seemed to enter. Sure, my body didn’t feel good, but my Spirit was dying in all those morbid thoughts. Then, one day I was scheduled for chemotherapy when I discovered that there was a Grateful Dead concert the same night. The concert was much more attractive than the chemo, and I struggled with the decision over what to do. I realized that I had lived my whole life trying to please my parents and make everyone happy. I decided that this was my chance to make myself happy, and I went to the concert. Soon my condition reversed, and I have been cancer free for years. I believe that it was my choice to be kind to myself that made all the difference.” It is not the years in our life that count, but the life in our years. We may live a long time in a small shell of fear, or a short time in a blaze of celebration. When we follow our spirit and live from joy rather than self-protection, the whole world opens up to us, and we have the power to make our dreams come true. Cheri Huber declared, “I don’t want to tiptoe through life just to arrive safely at death.” What dreams have you been postponing? What steps could you take now to make them a reality? Do you live from fear or delight? What gift could you give yourself that would remind you that life is beautiful and worth living? Answer these questions honestly, and the road to freedom will be illumined for you. I want to live today. I want to put my dreams into action. I want to leave behind all that is not me and fully celebrate my gifts. Thank you for showing me the way to freedom. Today I begin my life anew. I take my life in my hands and celebrate every wonderful opportunity to soar. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 22
March 22
Step by Step Today, put into practice the strategy of living sober and and not as an alcoholic struggling not to get drunk. There is more to life than living with a daily struggle not to drink. But before I can apply my program and recovery to every realm of my life, I have to make sure I’m walking the walk and not just talking the talk. I have to be honest that I have begun at the very beginning, with the program’s first four words – “Admitted (I am) powerless …” – and that I have“come to believe” in something greater than myself, that I have done all the steps thoroughly and honestly, and that I am truly an effective carrier of the message. Memorizing every word in the Big Book, burning in my mind every word of the 12 steps and traditions and of every 24-hour inspirational achieve nothing if I don’t put action to them. Today, if I am only in the program, I’ll get with it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ BEING NEEDED The most general survey shows us that the two foes of human happiness are pain and boredom. ~ Schopenhauer ~ Filling a need is more vital than being loved When we are needed, we are automatically loved. No effort of ours can ever be too great or too small. We have never heard anyone who is involved in a program of spiritual growth complain of being bored. The discoveries and excitement of spiritual exploration are limitless. Also, carrying a message of hope to those who still suffer strengthens our own hold on the serenity and security of a personal recovery. Feeling needed is the greatest encouragement we will ever receive that our goals can be achievable. If people stopped volunteering to fill other people’s needs, the end of civilization would be close behind. My pain is forgotten and my boredom is gone when I am needed. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ If you treat every situation as a life-and-death matter, you’ll die a lot of times. ~ Dean Smith ~ We have lived through many crises. Many of us grew up in situations that were chaotic and filled with turmoil. We felt constantly on the edge of catastrophe and needed to be ever-vigilant to avoid it. We lost our ability to sift and screen what was genuinely in need of our attention and what we could just turn over to the work of the universe. The spiritual part of recovery promises that we can rest in the care and security of a Higher Power. Not every situation has to automatically go to the top of our priority list of things to fix. Even if this is a random universe, forces are always in play to keep things working and put things in order. Often our anxiety and our attempts to fix things only get in the way of a good solution. So we can relax and trust that if we reserve our energy for the things we can improve, this change within ourselves will make the world a better place. Today I will be more discerning about what really is critical and try to stay out of the way of my Higher Power. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ When we are all wrapped up in ourselves, we present a very small package to others. ~ Georgette Vickstrom ~ Self-centeredness affects many people, not just recovering women. In this program, we are honing the skills that can free us from its clutches. Being willing to use these skills is the hallmark of our recovery. Everybody on our path today needs our attention. Each person we meet may have something to teach us, or perhaps the reverse is true. But if we are focused on ourselves we’ll miss these opportunities. Being open to other people helps us grow. If our attention is forever inward, we’ll never grow beyond our current limited understanding. Let’s be willing to give more of ourselves to others today. The benefits we’ll reap will move us forward in our personal journey. Today I can put aside my tendency to look at every circumstance in relationship to myself. With God’s help, I can put my attention on others. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can let go I didn’t want to work on myself. (I didn’t want to admit I had a problem.) I didn’t want to accept help. I didn’t want to get “better” – because I didn’t know what “better” would be like. I was scared and could not trust. One day I finally told my counsellor how scared I was. She looked at me and said, “Yes, I think I understand. And I want to help you.” Somehow, I believed her. Somehow, I trusted her. Once I’d told her how I felt, I was able to admit my problems, accept her help – and begin recovery. For that moment, I let go. And once I let go, I found a grip. Today I will give someone a chance to earn a measure of my trust. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Mutual aid is as much a law of animal life as mutual struggle. ~ Prince Petr Alekseevich Kropotkin ~ Admitting we need help can be so hard sometimes, especially if we let our egos get in the way. No matter how huge the problem, we think we have to solve it alone. Yet, how different we feel when someone asks us for help. We find great joy in supporting other people. When someone needs us, we find vast resources of patience and time. So next time we hesitate to lean on another for support, we can remember how good it feels to help someone else. That can be our gift to others: letting them have the great feeling that comes from giving of oneself to another. We all rely on each other for strength, comfort, and support. So now it’s our turn, to turn to our Higher Power and to our friends and loved ones. Today we can be human and vulnerable. Today we can admit we need help. Today let me put my ego aside and ask for what I need. Let me be gracious to those who want to help me. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Just because you have a… handicap… doesn’t mean that you can’t be happy; it just means that it takes a lot of work to figure out how to do that. ~ Jodie Foster ~ One day a blind woman prepared to cross a street. But as she did, her cane made contact with a car parked in the crosswalk. “Who owns this car?” she demanded in a loud voice. “This car is in my way. Can’t anyone notice I am blind?” A man tapped her on the arm. “I am blind, too,” he told her. “But my dog and I would be happy to take you across the street.” The woman drew her arm back from his touch. “This is not right,” she snapped. “Yes, it is wrong,” agreed the blind man. “But why not cross the street safely with us?” Having a visible handicap, or an invisible one such as an addiction, can be stressful. You have to work extra hard doing things most people take for granted. Yet rather than bemoan the difficulties and challenges you face, you can be thankful for those who offer help by providing a guiding arm, holding a door open, or offering a seat in a crowded meeting. Today I will accept the assistance of those who reach out to me. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which [were] overcome while trying to succeed. ~ Booker T. Washington ~ When hurdlers race, they look ahead to see each hurdle that must be leaped. High-jumpers see the height of the bar they have to clear. Businesspeople look at charts to see their positions and the number of positions they must pass in order to reach their goals. Students are well aware of the number of credits and course requirements needed for a degree. Not all of the obstacles in life are as easy to see. Those of us who grew up in alcoholic homes had to overcome tremendous obstacles just to survive. Some of us may have such a low self-image that by just feeling satisfied with an accomplishment, we have over-come tremendous blocks to our growth. As we measure each day’s successes, we need to keep in mind the obstacles we have to face. When we have leaped over a hurdle in life, we have earned a great success. Overcoming one obstacle means there is one less hurdle to stand in our way. Tonight I can review my day and look for my small successes. I know I have overcome some obstacles today and have done well. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Being honest inside All the answers we will ever need are available to us. Even though they seem to come from outside us—through other people—the answers are already inside us. We need only recognize them when they emerge. Something inside us hears the truth, and for a long time we pretend that we don’t notice it. But then one day, we decide to get honest about how we really feel. At that point we gain a bit of freedom. We begin to make progress when we become honest with ourselves about how we really feel. Our Higher Power can help us, but only if we present ourselves with humble honesty. Am I honest with myself about how I really feel inside? Higher Power, allow me to really feel today, even though I risk being vulnerable. Today I will examine my true feelings about God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Put some gratitude in your attitude. ~ SAYING HEARD AT MEETINGS ~ Newcomer Often I hear someone say, “I’m so grateful” or “I’m a grateful recovering [whatever they are).” I don’t understand. How can a person be grateful for alcoholism, compulsive overeating, codependency, or whatever has ruined his or her life? Sponsor I could not have begun this process we call recovery before knowing and accepting the fact that I have a disease. Lots of people out there die without ever hearing how we can stop the behavior that’s killing us. Others have to suffer even longer than I did. I’m grateful that I finally hit bottom and became willing to do something about it. I’m grateful that recovery has given me a way of life that brings me freedom and self-esteem. I’m grateful to be here, awake, showing up for my life. I’m grateful for so-called little things I rarely noticed or thought about when I was active in my addiction—a bird, a flower, a smile. Gratitude is a spiritual tool. I can choose to pick it up; I can cultivate the habit of using it. Today, I cultivate gratitude. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ We cannot give the new man our conception of the Program and expect him to get the same results as we. This is particularly true of the spiritual phases of our thinking. We must each seek and find our own solution, but we can tell him how we did it; we can direct his thinking along spiritual lines so that he too will find a God of his understanding and work out a system of procedure that will make the Program work for him. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) It isn’t “me” and “you” anymore, it’s “we” and “us.” 2) HALT: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired 3) When the horse dies, dismount. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Against Temptations May the strength of my Higher Power guide me. May the power of God preserve me. May the wisdom of my Higher Power instruct me. May the hand of God protect me. May the way of my Higher Power direct me. May His shield defend me. And may the presence of, and belief in, my Higher Power guard me against the temptations of the world. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ THE BEATITUDES The Sermon on the Mount opens with the eight Beatitudes. They are actually a prose poem in eight verses and constitute a general summary of the Christian teaching. A general summing up, such as this, is highly characteristic of the old Oriental mode of approach to a religious and philosophical teaching, and it naturally recall the Eightfold Path of Buddhism, the Ten Commandments of Moses, and other such compact groupings of ideas. Jesus concerned himself exclusively with the teaching of general principles, and these general principles always had to do with mental states, for he knew that if one’s mental state are right, everything else might be right tool. Unlike the other great religious teachers, he gives us no detailed instruction about what we are to do or are not to do. …. The hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. …the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth (John 4:21, 23-24). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Jesus and Judas Life is a long lesson in humility. ~ James Matthew Barrie ~ When Rembrandt set out to paint the likenesses of Jesus and the apostles, he walked the streets of Amsterdam to find men who embodied the character of his Biblical subjects. Rembrandt began with a tall, handsome man who bore the stature and purity of Christ. Then, after setting the images of the disciples to canvas, Rembrandt was ready to paint Judas, and he searched for a man with a tortured soul. After combing Paris, he found a homeless man sitting outside a store. The man was dirty, unkempt, and his eyes spoke of deep sadness. After painting Judas, Rembrandt thanked the man for his assistance. “Don’t you remember me?” asked the man. “I don’t think so,” answered the artist. “I sat for your portrait of Jesus,” the man answered. Within every human being is the propensity to rise to the highest of the high and sink to the lowest of the low. That is why we can never judge others for their sins or errors. Given the same circumstances, we might be in exactly their position and take the same action they did. Mother Teresa became a nun when she recognized that “there is a bit of Hitler in every one of us.” While we strive to be the Christ, we must have compassion for the Judas, who simply played out his role in the Christ drama. In the end, we are not the roles we play. We are the light that animates every soul in the dance we call life. Help me to not judge my brothers and sisters, but let me recognize my unity with them. Help me to see the spark of the divine in all eyes I look into. I am one with God and with everyone I meet. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 23
March 23
Step by Step Today, nothing negative to influence my words, thoughts and behavior. Instead, I set out on this day grateful that I am sober to be able to do what I have to do, even if it’s something I don’t want to do. I will be grateful that I am now able to function, unlike all those days that started with a hangover, shakes and the physical and cognitive inability to do even the basics. I will not complain if I have too much to do and too little time to do it, but instead will approach each task, each person, each amend, each moral checkup with a positive attitude – because today I am sober. With that, I have no reason to be negative. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ MODERATION Stay RIGHT SIZE! ~ Anonymous ~ Today, our target for a proper living pace is moderation. We know how easy it is to magnify, exaggerate, accent, and overindulge. The dependency and compulsion from which we are steadily recovering puts us among the world’s excessive people. Every day we need to tell ourselves that “more is not necessarily better.” We also need to guard against unrestraint, greed and envy. But we can adapt even dangerous instincts like fear and anger into self-improving assets if we can maintain moderation. In our desire for perfection, however, we also need to practice moderation. We can’t want more than we are capable of achieving. We could destroy ourselves by trying to be perfect. In this, above all else, we need to practice moderation, for we will never be perfect. When I create impossible dreams, they backfire and blow up and leave me with negative feelings. I want to practice moderation in all things, even the good things in life. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a stroke of good luck. ~ H. Jackson Brown, Jr. ~ Managing desires is one of the most crucial elements of being an adult. Children want many things that aren’t good for them, and their impulses can often get them into trouble. They need loving, caring adults to protect them from the harm that can come from getting what they want. As adults, our spiritual development includes learning how to regard our desires and how to manage them. On the one hand, it isn’t healthy to become so controlled and repressed that we never let ourselves have fun, and on the other hand, we know that indulging every desire will kill us. Sometimes we want something very badly and when we don’t get it, we feel desperate or very disappointed. However, life continuously points us in directions we hadn’t expected. Disappointment can serve to reset our lives. Not getting our desires, if we keep our eyes open, points us in directions that can be better than what we had imagined for ourselves. Today I will be open to the new directions that life points me toward. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Friends should be chosen carefully, because loving them will change our hearts and souls. ~ Jane Nakken ~ We may not have picked our friends carefully in our youth. Many of us felt pressured to hang out with a crowd that didn’t share our values. We frequently lived up to their expectations of us rather than our own. The internal conflict was painful, and we may still suffer from it. The blessing for us now is that we have the Twelve Steps to rely on for clarification and support of our values. Having friends we can trust, friends who share our values, is one of the many gifts of this recovery program. We no longer have to feel different, isolated, or self-conscious because of our values or our secrets. We can dare to let others know who we really are, and we are learning they won’t go away. Discovering the joy of friendships that nurture us helps us continue our careful selection of friends. Our youthful experiences with friends need never be repeated. My choice of friends today reflects the health of my recovery. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I am willing to change Before recovery, the way I was living caused me many problems. Step Six asks me if I’m ready to start changing my life. Can I let go of old ways? Can I learn new coping skills? What am I really willing to do to allow change to happen? Having done Step Five and dealt with some of the past, there is less to hide, less to be ashamed of, little to hold me back. I feel more open to learning new ways to handle my problems and meet my needs. I feel more open to letting myself be changed. I believe I am now ready to start this process of gradual transformation. I will say the Serenity Prayer and I will complete my regular activities on today’s recovery plan. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ The only way to get the best of an argument is to avoid it ~ Dale Carnegie ~ Nobody wins an argument when our energy is directed toward making someone else wrong. Our feeling of defensiveness is a red flag that can warn us when tempers are getting out of hand. We will meet many people in life who will not see things our way. Believing we are right and trying to prove it to someone else is usually a one-way ticket to hurt and resentment. There are some people who seem determined to argue. They seem never to have learned the art of listening and negotiation. Deep insecurity and spiritual pain may cause them to become master fighters. Inside, though, they feel so little power that their egos become involved in being right and proving others wrong. If we’re like that, we need to work extra hard to restore our self-esteem. If we know people like that, we need to try to be patient. We need to try to understand their pain and tolerate their fears. Power-based arguments are usually attacking and hurtful. Learning to back down and choose peace is the mark of a solid spiritual recovery program. Today let me take a deep breath and choose peace when I feel my red flag of defensiveness flying. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ In general, any form of exercise, if pursued continuously, will help to train us in perseverance. ~ Mao Tse-Tung ~ One of New Zealand’s greatest runners, Murray Halberg, once won an alarm clock in a race. The problem was, the prize was for second place. Every day thereafter, Halberg never had a problem waking up and training. The clock symbolized his not-fast-enough performance and gave him the incentive to push himself harder in his training. As much as you understand the value of daily exercise, you may find it hard to keep up your motivation and commitment. One day without exercise turns into three, then into a week, until months go by without engaging in any physical activity. But when you think about exercise as something as valuable to you as your recovery, you can figure out ways to stay committed to daily workouts. A workout buddy or group exercises can provide fellow-ship of like-minded individuals. If you prefer to exercise alone, you may find it helpful to keep a daily log of what you do. Think of this as your exercise “inventory.” Or you can sign up for the services of a personal trainer at a local gym or YMCA, who can function as your physical health and well-being “sponsor.” Today I will consider ways that will help to develop my motivation and dedication to exercise each day. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ There are parts of a ship which, taken by themselves, would sink. . . . But when the parts of a ship are built together, they float. So with the events in my life. Some have been tragic. Some have been happy. But when they are built together, they form a craft that floats and is going someplace. And I am comforted. ~ Ralph W. Sockman ~ If we only remembered the unhappy times we’ve had, we’d sink into depression. Likewise, if we saw only happiness, we’d have a limited vision of our lives. When we take the good along with the bad, we see reality. When we strive for a balance of opposites, we move closer to maturity. When we accept that for every bad day there will be a good one, we accept life as it is. There is a saying, a ship in harbor is safe, but ships weren’t built to stay in harbors. We captain our own ships. When we sail, we are taking risks. There will be calm sailing, but there will also be ferocious storms. We can weather anything with a supportive crew and a determined belief to guide us. I am not afraid to be captain of my ship. Tonight I can bless all the things in my life that help keep me afloat. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Getting-well It is important to remember we have been gravely ill, emotionally, physically, and spiritually. To get well, we must work on all three areas. Getting sober and clean is only a first step, because addiction is only a symptom of the real illness. Once clean and sober, we must learn how to live. And then we must learn to be aware of God’s presence. Let us work on these changes, day by day, and the light of God’s presence will shine forth in our lives. Am I recovering emotionally, physically, and spiritually? Higher Power, help me remember that my addiction is just a symptom of my emotional, physical, and spiritual illness. I will work on my spiritual health today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ My giant goes with me wherever I go. ~ RALPH WALDO EMERSON ~ Newcomer This town is full of memories I’d like to get away from. I haven’t had a change of scenery for a long time, and I’m thinking about a move. The job situation is supposed to be a lot better on the other side of the country, and I think I’d like the climate better there, too. Sponsor Understandably, some of us yearn to make dramatic changes in our outer lives, now that we’ve made such a big inner change. We’re living without substances we depended on for so long, and we may suddenly feel freer—we may want to change everything as fast as possible. In my early recovery, it scared me to think of facing problems my addiction had caused at work and home, especially in relationships with people. I dreamed of starting a new, problem-free life somewhere else—a “geographic cure.” Luckily, I accepted the suggestion that we not make major changes during the first year of recovery. There can be freedom in not making a change. Without the stress of an unnecessary move, or a major work or relationship change, I could jump into recovery with both feet. It helped me to get to know myself better, to get clear about my motives and readiness for change. We can live rich, fulfilling lives; no one’s stopping us. Giving ourselves time at first to concentrate on the basics of recovery provides us with a solid basis for moving on in our lives. Recovery is a bridge back to life; today, I work on making the foundations strong. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ To us alcoholics who were prone to give meanings to words that were not intended by the speaker, words are a particularly lethal weapon. In our drinking days we invariably put the wrong interpretations on the best-intended words of our friends. We then sounded off with a flow of words that we did not mean and knew full well that we did not mean them. The thoughtless sentence or the fancied slight was forever coming between us and those we loved. The world’s attitude toward us, either friendly or hostile, is largely determined by our own words. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Ya gotta wanna. 2) Replace guilt with gratitude. 3) “Opened by mistake” applies to the mouth more often than it does to mail. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Prayer to Know Grant it to me, Higher Power: To know that which is worth knowing, To love that which is worth loving, To praise that which pleases You most, To work for that which helps others. Grant it to me: To distinguish with true judgment things that differ, and above all to search out, and to do what is most pleasing to You. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ THE POOR IN SPIRIT Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Matthew 5:3). To be poor in spirit does not in the least mean the thing we call “poor spirited.” To be poor in spirit means to have emptied yourself of all desire to exercise personal self-will, and, what is just as important, to have renounced all preconceived opinions in the whole-hearted search for God. It means to be willing to set aside you present habits of thought, you present views and prejudices, your present way of life if necessary; to jettison, in fact, anything and everything that can stand in the way of your finding God. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Joy Is My Compass Joy is the most ineffable sign of the presence of God. ~ Leon Bloy ~ Pick out a treat,” I offered four-year-old Kate at the candy display. Quickly she grabbed a packet of M&M’s with one hand and a Milky Way bar with the other. “You can only have one,” I told her. “Eenie, meenie, miney, moe,” she counted, finally landing on the M&M’s. “Okay, we get the M&M’s,” I confirmed. Immediately, Kate threw the M&M’s back in the bin and clutched the Milky Way bar. “I want this one.” Within our hearts, each of us knows what we really want. While our minds and emotions may go through all manner of drama and machinations, when we are confronted with the reality of choice, our heart will speak. Sometimes it is only when we receive what we do not want that we recognize what we do want. When confronted with a difficult decision, flip a coin and imagine that you will be committed to the alternative the spin lands on. Then notice your gut reaction to the result. If you feel delighted, that is your path. If you are disappointed, go with the other alternative. Joy is the best compass. Help me to be in touch with my heart’s desires. I trust you to know for me and through me. Divine guidance moves me in the direction of my highest good. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 24
March 24
Step by Step Today, no looking beyond the current 24 Hours about the length of my sobriety, be it one day, one week, one month, one year, one decade or longer. Alcoholism is chronic and incurable but can be in arrested by abstinence, and all the 24 Hours of clean time we accrue are gone if we buy into the myth that we can get away with “just one.” And “just one” set in motion the basis for relapse. Even if we have racked up a significant number of 24 Hours and we “slip,” we am no more sober than the alcoholic who woke up this morning with a hangover. Remember the yesterdays when we awoke to the harsh reality that the 24 Hours we had before then were gone, and know that our yesterdays are the best predictor of our todays and tomorrows – and learn from yesterday to avoid repeating its mistakes today. Keep the ego in check – the other alcoholic who woke up hung over yesterday but is sober this morning is no less clean than we. Today, when it comes to being and staying sober, take it literally just for today. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ PEACE Peace is when time doesn’t matter as it passes by. ~ Maria Schell ~ We came into the Program with very little peace in our lives. Somebody or something was always coming by and tipping over our apple cart. Everywhere we turned we found nothing but turmoil. All our relationships seem loaded with pain and anxiety. There were days we cursed God for bringing such chaos into our lives. The Steps have revealed that we have been the author of turmoil. We have seen how are addiction created war with everything it touched. The energy was within us, and it could not be satisfied until it destroyed everything, including our own lives. The Steps have slain the dragon, quieted the turmoil, won the war. There is now a gentle quality to our relationships, and the attitude of “live and let live” prevails in our lives. The need to turn my apple cart over to generate excitement has become a distant memory. I have finally found my sought-for peace of mind. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Getting angry can sometimes be like leaping into a wonderfully responsive sports car, gunning the motor, taking off at high speed and then discovering the brakes are out of order. ~ Maggie Scarf ~ Anger can multiply our difficulties in many situations. All of us can look back and remember times when we only made our problems worse because we stepped on the gas and lost all ability to use the brakes. Our masculine roles sometimes glorify aggression for its own sake. We are proud of how aggressive we can be, and we may confuse it with anger. Now we are growing into more adult manhood. We are learning to manage our feelings and use them well. This doesn’t happen overnight. We would do well to recall how energized we have felt when we let our anger fly and how much we loved that energy at the moment. Only later did we face the damage we caused. Saying we are sorry isn’t enough; we must also be willing to take on the harder task of changing our behavior. When we accept that we love the power and the energy of our anger and aggression, we can begin to rein it in and take charge of it rather than be ruled by it. Today I will not indulge in the pleasure of anger allowed to run wild. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ My children have a Higher Power, and it’s not me. ~ Carolyn White ~ We all have certain people in our lives, whether they are adults or children, who we think would fare better if they followed our will. Discovering that everyone has a Higher Power, one of the first lessons of recovery, relieves us of a heavy burden. It means we aren’t to blame for what anyone else chooses to do. Of course, we can’t take credit for their successes either. What would make us want to assume responsibility for how others live? Surely we all have enough to do in our own lives. Perhaps our insecurity drives us to try to control others. We fear their actions won’t include consideration of us unless we interfere. Fortunately, our interference is seldom successful. If it were, our lives would be far more complicated. Crises would be far more prevalent. I will focus on my life and my Higher Power today. Others’ actions are not my responsibility. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I stay strong by “carrying the message” One way I maintain my duo recovery is to carry the message of recovery to others who still suffer. When I share my experience, strength, and hope with someone who wants help, I recall my own struggles. I remember what has worked for me before and recognize what is working for me today. I stay close to the truth about dual disorders and so stay grateful and humble and strong. In my dual recovery I am finding out that the more I give, the more I get; the more I help others, the more I help myself. I will introduce myself at meetings to newcomers and make sure my name is on phone lists. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ People who fight fire with fire usually end up with ashes. ~ Abigail Van Buren ~ How did we get so convinced that our way is usually best? That surely didn’t come from a lifetime of constant success. How did we get fixed in our thinking on a given issue? Not from a track record of first exploring all other alternatives. This rigidity probably helped us survive childhood. But now it’s a wall that isolates us. It closes our minds off from ideas that are more in keeping with where we want to be. And it closes us off from people who we would like to be with. In recovery, we are noticing others who are not so fixed in their thinking. They don’t pass judgment or criticize quickly. Their tranquility is obvious, and we want more of it. Their openness lets them hear more from others, and that is the way to knowledge, change, and growth. We find that listening to others is now a blessing, not a burden. Today help me be open to the example of others. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ The search for happiness is one of the chief sources of unhappiness. ~ Eric Hoffer ~ Think about all of the components that go into creating a glowing campfire. There is the pit that must be dug in order to contain the fire. There are the sticks of varying sizes that must be gathered together and organized in the pit. And then there is the spark from a match that is needed to ignite the sticks. From this creation of a camp-fire are many by-products: something that cooks food, something that warms the body, something that produces an exquisite aroma, and something that provides light in the darkness. Happiness can be seen in much the same way. It is a by-product of all of the positive and enjoyable things you gather together each day. It is the effort you exert into seeking the treasures of life. And it is the spark you add to your day-to-day existence. Happiness is an outcome of the effort you put into life. It exists in the harmonious relationships you create, in the sense of purpose that awakens you in the morning, and in the feeling of connection to all of life. Today I will remember that happiness is not something to strive for; rather, it is something I create. It is the outcome of purposeful living. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ We cannot swing up a rope that is attached only to our own belt ~ William Ernest Hocking ~ Imagine a drowning person waving for help. A passerby picks up a bundle of rope, tosses it all to the victim, then walks away. That drowning person has no way of reaching safety without another’s help. To many of us, that may be a scene from our childhood, where we reached out and asked for help many times, to no avail. Who do we depend on today? We may not want to place any dependency on any-one but ourselves. But do we truly believe we can provide all the guidance, strength, and hope we need? Even if it is difficult to trust others, we can trust in a Higher Power. That Higher Power doesn’t have to be a god; it can be a belief that all is well, that we are doing just what we need to, that we are safe. By making a connection with someone or some-thing, we can learn to depend on something other than ourselves. When we call for help, we can be rescued only if we believe we can trust another to answer our call. I can believe I cannot save myself without help. I need to depend upon something or somebody else. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Forming new habits We form habits and then these habits begin to form us. For so long we had such self-destructive ways of being: We were self- centered, angry, and critical people, and so we behaved selfishly, angrily, and judg- mentally in the world To stay clean and sober we must develop new habits, new patterns of living. We must give up old hangouts, old friends, old atti-tudes, and ideas. It seems this is the only way to form new habits—for example, kindness, love, and honesty—on which our program is based What habits do I want to develop? Higher Power, help me to form new habits to replace the old ones that nearly destroyed my life. The new habit I will work on today is God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ This is a simple program for complicated people. ~ SAYING HEARD AT MEETINGS ~ Newcomer I heard a speaker with years in recovery share that she’d al-ways done it her own way—that she met friends at bars if she felt like it, had never had a sponsor, and sometimes went for months without a meeting. I know newcomers who’ve done similar things. What’s the big deal? Sponsor Some people in recovery cling to rebellion. While they don’t want to return to the horrors of active addiction, they aren’t willing to surrender what they think of as individualism. They “get away with” skipping Steps and ignoring suggestions. One helps out at meetings, but keeps booze in the house. One gives advice to newcomers, but goes unsponsored. The program doesn’t ask that we give up what truly makes each of us an individual. It offers us clear guidelines, and promises that if we follow them, we won’t have to risk a relapse. The program works for us, if we work it. Testing our recovery by trying to see what we can “get away with” is like playing a game of Russian roulette. Today, I feel safety and strength as I follow the principles of this program. I know that true individuality comes from the self-knowledge that recovery affords me. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Lie is not a succession of days on earth but rather it is an accumulation of experiences. Days are simply time locations where experiences transpired. The day on which no event occurred is a day lost out of life, for it had nothing in it to justify its memory. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) We’ll love you until you learn to love yourself. 2) It says in the Big Book: ‘We insist on being happy.” 3) HALTS: Hungry, Angry, Lonely, Tired and Serious ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Recovery Prayer Today and every day, I pray to be ever mindful that recovery is the most important thing in my life, without exception. I may believe my job, or my home life, or one of many other things, comes first. But if I don’t stay with the Program, chances are I won’t have a job, a family, sanity, or even life. If I am convinced that everything in life depends on my recovery, I have a much better chance of improving my life. If I put other things first, I am only hurting my chances. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ GREAT POSSESSIONS One of the saddest passages in all literature is the story of the Rich Young Man who missed one of the great opportunities of history, and … went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions (Matthew 19:23). This is really the story of mankind in general. We reject the salvation that Jesus offers us—our chance of finding God—because we “have great possessions”; not so much that we are very rich in terms of money, for indeed most people are not, but because we have great possession in the way of preconceived ideas—confidence in our own judgment, and in the ideas with which we happen to be familiar. We have pride, born of academic distinction; sentimental or material attachment to institutions and organization; habits of life that we have no desire to renounce; concern for human respect; or perhaps fear of public ridicule. And these possession keep us chained to the rock of suffering that is our exile from God. The poor in spirit suffer from none of these embarrassments, either because they never had them, or because they have risen above them on the tide of spiritual understanding. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Golden Moments Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good; try to use ordinary situations. ~ Jean Paul Richter ~ The phone blared at 6.45 A.M. I rolled over in the hotel bed, picked up the receiver, and heard the music for my wake-up call. Awkwardly, I pulled myself together and wandered toward the bathroom. Five minutes later, the phone rang again. Who could be calling at this hour? “Good morning Mr. Cohen,” a pleasant voice resonated. “This is your wake-up call. Have a wonderful day.” After she hung up, 1 stood for a moment and looked at the receiver. The key word was wonderful’, she offered it quite sincerely, and I felt it. I tried to reason why a human being would call me after the automatic call, but I gave up and decided to just enjoy the gift. I went on to have a wonderful day. It is not through world-shaking triumphs that we build our life, but in the common daily interactions. The tone of our voice can win or lose a business deal, and a thoughtful hello can change a stranger’s attitude. We never really know how far a little blessing will go. Go beyond the norm of expected kindness by even a little bit, and you will become a miracle worker. Never underestimate the power of a kind word or act. Even if your gift does not seem to be received, your heart will soar. Love is always received in the heart of God, where we all live. Today I will walk the path of kindness. I will take the little moments of life and weave them into gold. My simplest words and acts change the world, beginning with my own. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 25
March 25
Step by Step Today, focus on compulsiveness so as not to react to anyone or anything with the heightened emotions that nurtured the defects of my character. From a behavioral standpoint, we alcoholics drank with compulsion. As such, my alcoholism is both physical and behavioral. To get the discipline and humility to prevent compulsion from gaining an upper hand in all my affairs, I can exercise Step Three as I begin this day by handing over to my higher power my will and ask instead for His will. Today, as I set out, I surrender my will – or self-will run riot – to my higher power with faith that He will strengthen me to act accordingly and responsibly instead out of the compulsion that contributed to my spiritual and mental disease. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ ONE DAY AT A TIME Time ripens all things. No man’s born wise. ~ Cervantes ~ We come to understand time in a different way. Each day we discover there is an order to life that is only revealed day-to-day. The moments when life forces us to reconsider our schedule are no longer met with anger and frustration. We begin to trust our Higher Power to actually dictate what will happen in our lives. We find ourselves staying close to people who developed some measure of humility, for they seem to have a better sense of timing. We remember the times when we demanded, “I want what I want when I want it.” The funny thing was, we were usually disappointed when we got what we wanted. We are even finding a new appreciation for the seasons of the year, and for our lives. We find ourselves enjoying winter just as much as summer, our old age as much as our youth. Each new day deposits within us new wisdom. Today I will remember that rather than fighting time, I will become time’s passenger. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ My father didn’t tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it. ~ Clarence Budington Kelland ~ The most powerful teaching is done by example. We all have strong feelings about our fathers and what we learned or didn’t learn from them. They are as unique to us as our own identity is unique. Some of us have fathers who stand as great examples of how we would like to live. Some of us have fathers who are negative examples that we want to avoid. Some of us feel we never really got to know our fathers. For most of us, it is a complicated mixture of all those things. Now, as we continue to grow and change in adult-hood, we are faced with growing beyond what our parents taught us, both the good and the bad. We need to forge ahead and become our own growing version of adult men. There are many men who can serve as examples to us; some of them were in our past, and some of them are now friends and mentors. Sometimes the example is unconscious. It is always helpful to notice who we admire, who sets an example that we would like to follow. Take the best of what they have to offer and leave the rest. Today I am grateful for what I received from my father and from all the other men who have set examples in my life. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ I don’t train for a marathon when I simply want to run five-mile races. ~ Patricia Roth Wuertzer ~ Our insecurity, our fear that we’re inadequate, pushes us to overextend ourselves. We spent many years using alcohol and other drugs rather than ful-filling our dreams and aspirations. We may try to make up for lost time by demanding too much of ourselves now. Making some progress every day is the best way to succeed at our goals. We’ll discover almost immediately how good it feels to say we’ll do some-thing and then do it. But we must be wary of the compulsion to do too much. We’re still addicts, after all. Life is a process. Recovery is a process. Every day we get chances to learn whatever we didn’t master yesterday. No one is keeping score. Let’s ease up, make some progress, and leave time to smell the roses. Today I’ll remind myself that I don’t have to complete a big project every day. Making some progress is enough. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I am grateful for my helper When I first got into treatment, I told my counsellor how much I didn’t want to go. I insisted I wasn’t addicted and that I needed only two things: tranquilizers for my nerves, and freedom. I’m glad I got this denial and anger out of my system. And I’m grateful for all my counselor’s help. First she just listened quietly and patiently. Then, slowly, she let me see that I was scared and in pain. Gently and with understanding, she helped me look at my drug use and my anxiety problems. She helped me feel better and then she helped me get on the path of recovery. Today, I will thank my helpers and practise patience with my moods. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Depression is nourished by a lifetime of ungrieved and unforgiven hurts. ~ Penelope Sweet ~ Carrying old sacks of anger and hurt on our backs often gives us a gloomy attitude. But many of us had no idea how much resentment and hurt we were carrying until it was removed. The sad part is that it takes a lot of energy and muscle for us to stay tied to someone else through resentment. The solution is forgiveness, which is an act of courage that can’t be faked. When we forgive someone, we feel differently. We are flooded with a new sense of freedom. We actually feel lighter and seem to walk taller. Forgiveness begins with an ounce of willingness. For many of us, the final act of forgiveness is like a miracle. Out of the seed of our willingness, a flower grows. A subtle internal shift seems to have occurred in us and the intensity of the old emotions is replaced with peace of mind. Resentments were a barrier to this growth; forgiveness is the beginning of a new freedom. Today give me the courage to be willing to let go of old hurts and resentments. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ To fall into a habit is to begin to cease to be. ~ Miguel de Unamuno ~ Sometimes it may feel as if your habit is constantly in your thoughts. You may find yourself driving by old haunts or running into people from your past. Or a scene from a movie or television show may spark a mental jour-ney down old habit memory lane. Such times of remembrance—whether they cause you to feel pain, regret, sadness, yearning, or even happiness— are natural. Even though you have let go of your habits, they are still a part of your psyche and memory bank. That means that they will always be with you, even when they are no longer your constant companions. That is why it is so important to identify yourself in meetings as someone who has an addiction. Through this acknowledgment you weaken the hold habits have on you and strengthen your resistance to temptation. You are also striving to minimize those times when memories of your habits gain unexpected entry into your mind. Telling yourself and others, with openness and honesty, that you are an addict confronts your habits head-on. It says, “I recognize what my habits are, and I will not let them rule my life or ruin my day.” Expression, rather than suppression, will help to free my mind from the control of my addictions. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Do not look to small advantages. Desire to have things done quickly prevents their being done thoroughly. Looking at small advantages prevents great things being accomplished. ~ Confucius ~ The best work we can do is that which takes time. The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel is the result of years of work. Barns built centuries ago still stand firm. The finest and most brilliant gems are the results of hours of study, cutting, and polishing. Doing anything well means not merely getting the job done. We are probably very capable of quantity work when we want to be. But it’s the quality work—the kind we can step back from and admire today and for years to come—that really counts. Whether we are working on ourselves, improving our relations with others, or restoring a fine piece of furniture, our best effort is the one that takes time and lasts. I can work on one thing patiently and thoroughly, knowing the results will be better with time. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Experiencing change In recovery, there are great upheavals. Just as our whole drug world is let go, so too are many of our old ideas. Many a premise of our lives will prove weak and unreliable. The only thing unshakable is God. Though fundamental change is shattering, our Higher Power will guide us through. Am I experiencing a great upheaval? Higher Power, help me to accept the need for change and to accept your help to endure it. The area of my life I will work on changing today is God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Anticipate the good so that you may enjoy it. ETHIOPIAN PROVERB Newcomer I’m getting closer to ninety days—I’m in the eighties now. I’m excited. It’s a miracle that I’ve been able to stay in recovery without interruption for this long. But I feel worried, too—or maybe I’m scared. I don’t know what I’m feeling! Sponsor “Anniversary anxiety” is something many of us experience in recovery. For the preceding days or weeks, we’re aware of the upcoming anniversary and its implications. We may anticipate speaking at a meeting or celebrating with recovering friends. Will we measure up to their expectations? To our own? Perhaps we’ve been sharing our day count and enjoying the applause. As we approach ninety days, we may be afraid we’ll become “invisible” at meetings. Depending on local program and group customs, we may be eligible to chair meetings. Are we going to have to handle more responsibilities than we feel ready for? The day of the anniversary itself, and the days following it, may be a setup for feeling as if we’ve graduated or won an athletic event. We may be afraid that recovery will disappoint us, once the cheering dies down. It helps to know that this phenomenon is a common one. If you’re experiencing it, one of the best antidotes is to share your concerns, both at meetings and with a sponsor. We’ve been there. Today, I use the same tools of recovery that worked in the very beginning: meetings, sharing, reading recovery literature, prayer. They work. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ No man with certainty can see beyond this instant. Yesterday we had a friend, hale, hearty and bubbling over with energy and ambition. Today we write a letter of condolence to his widow. No one knows the day or the hour but this we do know – we are alive right now, we can help them right now. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) When we remove me from “blame” all that’s left is bla, bla, bla. . . . 2) Detachment comes with the development of spiritual trust. 3) Service is gratitude in action. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Kindness and Service O Lord, help me always to remember thankfully the work of those who helped me when I needed help. Reward them for their kindness and service, and grant that I may have the will, the time, and the opportunity to do the same for others. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ COMFORT FOR MOURNING Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted (Matthew 5:4). Mourning or sorrow is not in itself a good thing, for the will of God is that everyone should experience happiness and joyous success. Jesus says: … I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10). Nevertheless, trouble and suffering are often extremely useful, because many people will not bother to learn the Truth until driven to do so by sorrow and failure. Sorrow then becomes relatively a good thing. Sooner or later every human being will have to discover the truth about God, and make his own contact with Him at first hand. He will have to acquire the understanding of Truth, which will set him free, once and for all, from our three-dimensional limitations and their concomitants-sin, sickness, and death. There is really no need for man to have trouble, because if he will only seek God first, the trouble need never come. He always has the choice of learning by spiritual unfoldment or of learning by painful experience. Family troubles, quarrels and estrangements, sin and remorse, need never come at all if we seek first the Kingdom of God and Right Understanding; but if we will not do so, then come they must and for us this mourning will be a blessing disguise, for through it we shall be “comforted.” And by comfort the Bible means the experience of the Presence of God, which is the end of all mourning. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ At Faith Value Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. ~ Hebrews 11:1 ~ “Hurry up, or we’ll miss the bus!” shouted Paul. The streets of New York City became a blur as we jogged toward the bus terminal. Two blocks in five minutes—was it possible? “You guys go up and catch the bus, and I’ll get the tickets,” offered Tom. We ran up the long escalator, brushing past less anxious passengers. At the top of the ramp, we saw the bus closing its doors. Running full speed, we reached the bus just as it was pulling out of its parking space. We pounded on the door, and the driver let us in. “Can you wait for our friend?” I implored. “He’s getting our tickets.” “Sorry, fellas, I’m already late.” Paul stepped off the bus, looked toward the escalator, and exclaimed, “There he is!” The driver rolled his eyes and indicated he would wait. Within moments, Tom showed up, short of breath, tickets in hand. As we made our way back to the bus, I told Paul, “It sure was great that you saw Tom coming; the bus would have left if you hadn’t.” “That was good acting, don’t you think?” Paul retorted. “What do you mean?” “I didn’t see him coming; I only said that to stall the driver. We were lucky he showed up when he did!” Real faith is acting as if your good is on its way even before you have evidence it is so. Jesus told us to give thanks for the answers to our prayers before we see the results. Faith is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it becomes, and the more power you have to bring your good into visibility. Proclaim your good as if you already have it even before you see it, and you will see it. Help me to celebrate my blessings before I can touch them. Make the invisible visible to me. I believe in my good, and manifest it. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 26
March 26
Step by Step Today, recognize that that much of my life has been expecting other people to meet my demands and expectations to fulfill my needs and wants. In selfishness and vanity, I often rejected those who failed or would not give me what I wanted or needed when I wanted or needed it. In those times of looking to the outside for fulfillment, I had not a clue how to look inside myself and beyond something stronger than other people to attain what since have become different needs and expectations. In AA, I understand now that I put my sobriety first and foremost above everyone and all else to earn acceptance, friendship, love and empathy. And my expectations of others were so unrealistic and selfish that I became needy to the point of being pathetic. Now I see the consequences, sometimes disastrous, of putting all my expectations on others but am able to look inside myself and to a stronger power stronger to earn what I need. Today, I will take from what AA has given me to meet my needs and not weigh anyone with expectations so selfish and heavy that I ignore that they, too, have their own needs. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ CHOICES Use wisely your power of choice. ~ Og Mandino~ Escape from physical, emotional and mental control of our old obsessions and dependencies has given all of us the freedom to make choices. But the right to choose is only an opening. We need to exercise that right and to choose well. We learn that we cannot misuse or neglect choices once we have determined a course to take. We come to know how to choose between positive and negative, humility and arrogance, gratitude and self-centeredness, pride and dejection, high and low spirits. Knowing is not enough, however. We carry out our choices and use wisely the power of choice. As we work our Program, we find that the fear of making decisions slips away. If our choice proves wrong, we can learn from the experience. I am the result of any choice. I am, at any given moment of life, the sum total of the choices I have made. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Tuning and training the mind as an athlete tunes and trains his body is one of the primary aims of all forms of meditation. ~ Lawrence LeShan ~ The longer we follow the steps that guide our path, the more we grow as men. We all know about getting in shape and staying in shape physically. Working out brings results very quickly, and if we are working on our golf game or improving our running time, the more we practice, the more progress we make. We can attend to our minds in the same way. One difference between these kinds of development is that age is on our side as we train our minds. No aging process can diminish the kind of person we are. Spiritual growth moves forward by paying attention to it and by devoting some time every day to prayer and meditation. Conscious contact with our Higher Power, sitting quietly for a few minutes every day, influences us throughout the day in the background of our minds. Today I will quietly open my mind to the deep truths and allow them to train my thoughts. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ When we loosen our grasp on our concerns, there is room for the spiritual essence of all life to move through us in such a way that healing occurs. ~ Carol Sheffield ~ When we stay focused on a problem, we exaggerate it. The solution can’t reach us when the mind isn’t free to accept it. What we must do is develop the desire and the skill to release all thoughts from our mind. Then and only then can we be receptive to the spiritual solutions that reside within. This recovery program, with its Steps and slogans and principles can reeducate us. We are up to the challenge. It’s human nature to hang on to old ideas, old ways of doing things. But we are growing, perhaps in spite of ourselves, and our old methods don’t live up to current demands. It’s time to trust what our sponsors tell us. Release the grip on a problem, any problem. The answer will come. I will not be caught in a problem today if I am quiet and ready for the solution. Stillness engulfs me now. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I want to stop feeling sad Sometimes I am overwhelmed with sadness. Suddenly I feel alone and helpless. I don’t know where it comes from, but I know how much it hurts and frightens me. I am grateful to my therapist. With his help I am exploring my sore spots, what he calls my buttons, and how they get pushed. It seems that the more I know myself and my moods, the better I can take care of myself. I want to stop feeling so sad, to stabilize my emotions, and avoid a relapse to my addiction. I will review my day’s events and look for triggers of a sad mood. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Cast all your cares to God; that anchor holds. ~ Alfred, Lord Tennyson ~ To surrender is to win. To fight or run is to lose. When we lose we are isolated and lonely. When we fight, we can’t reach our potential. But when we surrender, we are alive and connected with society. Surrender does not make us weak. It has helped so many before us reach quality sobriety. What surrender does is make us humble. It forces us to admit to ourselves and to others that we are not perfect. We make mistakes and it’s ok. Surrender brings us face to face with the humility we avoided when we were drinking and using. Humility deepens us, improves our character and self-esteem. Humility is based on a foundation of trust in our Higher Power. We can’t let go unless we’re sure we won’t fall. With the help of our Higher Power, we know we’re protected. Now we can fully surrender and cast our cares to God. Today help me surrender. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Total absence of humor renders life impossible. ~ Colette ~ What one person considers funny can be quite different from what another appreciates as humor. Think about fellow addicts who, despite having a very tragic story that brought them into the program, can, with their wit and wry way of telling a story, bring laughter to a meeting. Then think about those who continually shed tears at meetings or with whom conversations always turn to the dark side, the things that cannot be done, and the impossibilities of life. Which person do you choose to be around? Which person seems to impart the greatest advice? There are certainly those in meetings who act as if they are playing a room in Vegas. They provide entertainment, but after a while you may feel like saying, “Enough al-ready.” Too, there are those who rarely talk about any-thing with depth and keep what they say at a very surface level. With such people you may feel like asking, “But how do you feel?” Striking a balance between being lighthearted and humorous and having a depth of feeling is part of the delicate dance of recovery. The greatest benefit comes when the two coexist. Feelings enable you to see the truth; humor keeps the truth from becoming too overwhelming. Today I will strive to take things with a more lighthearted approach and outlook. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ One of the most tragic things I know about human nature is that all of us tend to put off living. We are all dreaming of some magical rose garden over the horizon—instead of enjoying the roses that are blooming outside our windows today. ~ Dale Carnegie ~ How we love to think about all the things we want to do! Our lists are probably quite long to include all the things we want, when we have the time or the money. What are we waiting for? What are our excuses? Many times we make excuses to avoid planning, saving money, or changing schedules. Many times we use our excuses like bricks, building a higher and higher wall until it’s impossible to scale. To live is to experience new, exciting, interesting, and diverse things. To live is to break schedules and change patterns and do things out of the ordinary. To live is to participate in all the fun, all the travel, all the people, all the activities. Are we going to live—starting tomorrow? I will think about one thing I really want to do and write down what I need to do to accomplish it. To help achieve it, I’ll then share this plan with another. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Worshipping What we worship says a lot about the direction of our lives. Whatever else we worshipped, eventually we worshipped our addiction—going to any length to obtain and use our drug of choice. In our new life, however, we are learning to worship a new spiritual Higher Power. As we work our Twelve Step program and learn about our new Higher Power—one who offers us no guilt, shame, danger, or losses— it might help to look at how others are coming to understand their Higher Power. We can learn from their example, just as we teach others indirectly by our own example. What are my actions saying now about the direction of my life? Higher Power, help me to express my developing and deepening beliefs. I will express my love of God today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ I think even lying on my bed I can still do something. ~ DOROTHEA DIX ~ Newcomer I’m not doing well with meditation. I tried going to a class, and I got fidgety after ten or fifteen minutes. I tried paying attention to my breath, but my back hurt, I was nervous and distracted, and I kept thinking how badly I wanted to leave. Forget about doing it at home—I can sit for five minutes, then I have to get up. How do people endure all-day meditations? Sponsor You may not be ready for long sessions of sitting meditation. For a beginner, even fifteen minutes may be too long. If you sense that the form of meditation you have tried is the one you’re best suited to, you might consider starting with very brief sessions, as little as three to five minutes. After a few weeks, you may want to try adding another minute or two. You can work up to fifteen minutes gradually, over a long period of time, and then see whether you wish to add a bit more or not. Surprisingly, the key is knowing when to stop. When something makes me anxious, I limit the amount of time I do it. I may have the willingness to do something for a few minutes every day that would frighten me for half an hour once a week. Lengthening the time little by little, being sure that I don’t exceed the time limit I’ve set for the day, allows me to increase my tolerance gradually. If sitting continues to be daunting for you, you may want to consider exploring forms of meditation that include walking or chanting. Today, I do not judge my rate of progress. I take one small step on my spiritual journey. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ We in AA have many religious affiliations and there are some of us who contend that AA is all the religion they need. Yet this fact remains: the spiritual facts on which AA is based would not have survived the ages but for the tenacity of formal religions. Without religions, our moral, political and social structure would collapse. There is a lot in all denominations that can be criticized but without them life would be chaos. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Take the cotton out of your ears and stuff it in your mouth. 2) You cannot learn to love yourself until you learn to forgive yourself. 3) It says: “here are the steps we took,” not suggested, not understand. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Make Me God, who touches earth with beauty, Make me lovely too; With Your Spirit re-create me, Make my heart anew. Like Your springs and running waters, Make me crystal pure; Like Your rocks of towering grandeur Make me strong and sure. Like Your dancing waves in sunlight, Make me glad and free; Like the straightness of the pine trees Let me upright be. Like the arching of the heavens, Lift my thoughts above; Turn my dreams to noble action, Ministries of love. God, who touches earth with beauty, Make me lovely too; Keep me ever, by Your Spirit, Pure and strong and true. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ THE BLESSED MEEK Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth (Matthew 5:5). On the surface, this Beatitude seems to be contradicted by the facts of everyday life. But either Jesus knew what he was talking about, and is to be taken seriously, or his teaching should be dropped altogether. If He is to be relied upon, then let us pay him the compliment of assuming that he knew best about the art of living. The fact is that when correctly understood, the teaching of Jesus is found to be the most practicable of all doctrines: and the whole essence of his teaching and of its application is summed up in this text. When you possess the spiritual meaning of this text you have the secret of dominion—the secret of overcoming every kind of difficulty. We notice that there are two polar words in the text—meek and earth. First of all, the word earth in the Bible really means the whole of your outer experience, and to “inherit the earth” means to have dominion over that outer experience. So we see that when the Bible talks about possessing the earth, governing the earth, making the earth glorious, it is referring to the conditions of our lives, from our bodily health outwar4d to the farthest point in our affairs. So this text undertakes to tell us how we may possess, or govern, or be masters of our environment. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Stinkin’ Thinking You can’t afford the luxury of a negative thought. ~ John-Roger ~ When I was a child, my mother told me never to flush the toilet when I was sitting on it because “you might catch a cold in your tush.” Trusting my mother’s advice, I was careful not to flush imprudently, and I successfully avoided the dreaded tush cold. One day when I was 30 years old, I began to flush while sitting on the toilet, and I could hear my mother’s voice warning me against it. But this time I decided to question her well-meaning advice. Would I truly catch a cold in my tush? Then it dawned on me: I didn’t even know what a “cold in the tush” was! Could her fears be unjustified? So I flushed and did not catch the ominous tush cold, which helped me let go of a long- held program that had run me for years without ever thinking about it. As little children, we regarded our parents as gods. They were bigger than we were, they gave us valuable advice that helped us navigate our world, and they purveyed rewards that made us happy, and meted out punishments that hurt us. Our tiny minds did not have the ability to distinguish illusions from truth, so we accepted all of what our parents told us—even if some of it was untrue. Our psyche is like an iceberg, a tiny portion of which is apparent, and most of which lies below the surface of our awareness. The belief systems we adopted as children can control our entire lives unless we call them to consciousness. If you have the courage to question what you have always accepted, you may discover that you have been living out many false beliefs. From your heart and your own experience, what do you really know to be true? Meditate on this question, dare to live the answers you discover, and you will find unprecedented healing and freedom. Help me to discard all illusions and live the truth of my own soul. I release all past beliefs and march forward in the light of my own wisdom. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 27
March 27
Step by Step Today, if I am afraid, anxious, worried and uncertain about anything, I can draw strength from the mercy and blessing of my higher power that guided me through the darkness and fear of alcoholism to face the challenges before me now. If I believe that drinking was the darkest chapter of my life but that I survived with the strength of a higher power, I can also believe that the same strength can lead me through a lesser turmoil. Step 2 of coming to believe in a higher power is refuge from any storm I am weathering now, and the Third Step of yielding to a greater power calms any fears or doubts with faith. Today, I can draw strength and hope from the yesterday when I had my last drink to believe that, with faith and strength in the power that got me through those days, I can get through anything less – with unconditional faith and by seeking His will over mine. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ FORGIVING Joy to forgive and joy to be forgiven hang level in the balance of love. ~ Richard Garnett~ If we are unable or unwilling to forgive others for whatever they do, we won’t be able to forgive ourselves for our actions. The agony of resentment, guilt, remorse, and shame will overpower us. These emotions will halt our progress toward the comfortable and rewarding living we are promised in recovery. Early in recovery, we often were told to pray for those whom we thought had wronged us. This philosophy is as old as civilization. Forgiveness will always triumph over guilt and shame. Recovery is one-third love and two-thirds forgiveness. We’ve been our own worst enemies during most of our lives. We’ve often hurt ourselves over what we thought was justifiable anger and resentment. Self-forgiveness is strength, not weakness. Gaining the strength is simple. I need only remind myself that “God has forgiven me. Why not forgive myself?” ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Somewhere in each of us we’re a mixture of light and of darkness, of love and of hate, of trust and of fear. ~ Jean Vanier ~ We have gone to extremes in our lives. We’ve got a penchant for seeing things as all or nothing, black or white. A real man is made up of mixtures and blends, but we tend to think of ourselves as either the greatest or the worst, the smartest or the dullest. In our progress toward recovery, we see that we are not separate from other people. We are like all people. As we learn to know ourselves, we see parts that we like and parts that appall us. But honesty with ourselves trumps any other defect. So in the very act of admitting a defect, we lay the foundation for accepting ourselves. Today I will be honest with myself about my many facets and accept the mixture as truly human. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ To each particular person the world speaks a different, particular word and calls for a different, particular response. ~ Mary McDermott Shideler ~ It’s reassuring to hear that we are special. Most of us felt like failures for much of our lives. We lacked both confidence and enthusiasm. Occasionally we still tremble, fearing that we can’t handle what’s happening to us. However, we have been told that our experiences are unique and that no other woman could handle them in our specific way. We are coming to believe that this is true. So many miracles are happening in our midst. The fact that we survived numerous dangerous moments should indicate that our work isn’t yet complete. But what will we be called upon to do today? Can we fulfill this request adequately? Never fear. That we are here means we can. It also means that whatever is about to happen needs each of us, specifically. This is wonderfully reassuring. I am invited to experience particular situations today. My presence is needed if I am called. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I am learning to deal with a slip with my emotional illness Yesterday I got extremely upset when I had a serious disagreement with my roommate. I felt angry and sad. When I woke up this morning, I convinced myself I couldn’t get out of bed, so I just stayed there until evening. Tonight I feel a little better, even though we haven’t resolved our problem. While I didn’t solve it by sleeping, I don’t want to be hard on myself for staying in bed so long. It was a slip, and I want to forgive myself for it. Today I see yesterday’s events more clearly, and I can see better what I need to do differently tomorrow. When I make a mistake today, I will try to forgive myself and concentrate instead on the question, What can I learn from it? *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ The house fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. ~ Matthew 7:25 ~ Recovery is like building a house. First we need a solid plan. Next we need the materials. Last we need the manpower to build the house. In recovery, the plan is the Twelve Steps. The materials are literature — books, pamphlets, tapes — and time to think and meditate. And the manpower is what we get from our sponsor and from our fellowship of other recovering people. It’s also what we look to our Higher Power for. When we feel we’re at the bottom again and can’t take another step forward, sometimes the only difference we can see between now and the old days is that we’re not alone. There are probably many other differences. But it’s easy to forget them or dismiss them when we’re in pain. Our Higher Power can give us the manpower we need to continue building our house when there’s a work slowdown. There’s a lot of construction, cleaning, and decoration yet to be done, but with our Higher Power as foreman we can enjoy the process of creation. And we can trust that we’ll be there to nail down the last shingle. Today help me use all the resources available to me to build my recovery. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Long afterwards, she was to remember that moment when her life changed its direction. It was not predestined; she had a choice. ~ Evelyn Anthony ~ It used to be that choices in life were quite limited. The purchase of a consumable, product, for instance, often boiled down to this one or that one. But today you exist in a world that has an over-whelming amount of choices. Do you want to drive to a particular destination? You can take any number of routes—toll road, highway, back roads, shortest route, fastest route. Do you want to order takeout for lunch? You can choose from Italian, Chinese, Thai, and more. Do you want to watch a movie? You can go to a multiplex or sit in the comfort of your living room and find a movie on cable TV or through an on-demand service. While everyday life is much more complicated, the program offers clarity and consistency. It urges you to keep things simple in your recovery. The Twelve Steps are easy to understand and follow. Gathering in fellowship to share stories, experiences, and wisdom provides great support. Your choice to be in recovery is a simple one—one that you renew every day. Today I choose to be clean and sober. I will show my commitment to this choice in all of my actions. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ When, against one’s will, one is high-pressured into making a hurried decision the best answer is always no because no is more easily changed to yes than yes is changed to no. ~ Charles E. Nielson ~ There are many people we have never refused a favor or help. We may have even sacrificed our time, our schedules, or a friendship to accommodate as many people as possible. Then we entered the pro-gram and learned we didn’t have to do what everyone wanted. We could say no and that would be okay. But there may be one or two people we find hard to refuse: a parent or a spouse or an ex-lover or someone we feel we owe. No matter what they ask us, no matter what our schedules, needs, or prior commitments, we may find it almost impossible to say no. What are we afraid of if we say no? Do we think we’ll lose their love or approval, or they’ll say bad things about us? We aren’t working the program if we can say no to some people and not to others. To be our own persons, we need courage to refuse when we feel it is in our best interest. I can practice saying no to someone who is difficult for me to refuse. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Accepting myself Accepting myself means not having to be rich, famous, powerful, or even “good.” It means not having to impress others. It means living authentically. It means being comfortable saying, “I don’t know.” To be free from fear means that we can live as we choose; it means we don’t have to be anything in particular. We can just be aware and accepting. Do I feel free to be me? Higher Power, help me to accept myself just as I am. I will practice accepting myself today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Before a secret is told, one can often feel the weight of it in the atmosphere. ~ SUSAN GRIFFIN ~ Newcomer When I had a wisdom tooth pulled a few days ago, the dentist gave me a medication that contains codeine. I’ve heard people at meetings say they take their doctors’ prescriptions, so I knew it was okay to use it if necessary. As it turned out, I didn’t need to take any—the pain wasn’t that bad. I don’t know why, but I kept the pills. They’re still in my medicine cabinet. Codeine isn’t something I ever took when I was active. Sponsor You’re right in thinking that you are in a danger area here. I recommend that you throw out the medication right now, and I don’t mean just tossing it into the wastebasket. Flush the pills down the toilet, or put them in a rubbish bag and take it out of your house; I’ll wait here while you do it. There are medical reasons to use some drugs as prescribed. It’s when we prescribe for ourselves, or start imagining pains to justify unnecessary doses, that we’re in trouble. We can let the doctor know that we have a history of abusing substances and that it may cause us problems to take home more pills than we’re likely to need. Knowing this, he or she may prescribe nonaddictive medicines when there is a choice. Even if our use of pain killers is legitimate, sharing with a sponsor or at a meeting the fact that we have prescribed medicines in our possession is a good idea. If it’s not a secret, it may seem less compelling to us. Today, I don’t have to have secrets. I stay on the recovery path by sharing feelings and events that might otherwise threaten my serenity. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Many of us can recall being fired from jobs for drinking and at the same time being given a letter of recommendation that spoke in going terms about our ability. Of course the former boss was trying to be kind in avoiding any mention of the drinking problem, but such letters are actually dishonest, and it was equally dishonest when we used them to procure new jobs. How much better it would have been if they had tried to do something constructive about the problem rather than lowering us in our own esteem by making us a party to the deceit. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) HALTS FEAR: Hope, Acceptance, Love and Tolerance Stops Forgetting Everything’s All Right 2) When you feel needy, feel needy. You deserve more. You matter. 3) Detachment is neither kind nor unkind. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Guide Me Thank You, Higher Power, for this beautiful day, for strength, for health. Help me to live this day for You. Place in my path some way to serve others. Help me to know that no other walks in my shoes; that there is something that only I can do today. Guide my thoughts and deeds that I may feel Your presence today and in all the tomorrows. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ INHERITING THE EARTH Let us see how we are to go about inheriting the earth. This Beatitude say that dominion, that is, power over the condition of our lives, is to be obtained in a certain way, by nothing less than meekness. The word meek in the Bible connotes a mental attitude for which there is no other single word available. It is a combination of open-mindedness, faith in God, and the realization that the will of God for us is always something joyous and interesting and vital. This state of mind also includes a perfect willingness to allow this will of God to come about in whatever way divine Wisdom considers to be best, rather than in some particular way that we have chosen for ourselves. This mental attitude of teachableness, willingness to be led, is the key to dominion, or success in demonstration. There is no word for it in common speech, because the thing does not exist except for those who are up on the spiritual basis of the teaching of Jesus Christ. If we desire to inherit the earth we must absolutely acquire this “meekness.” The lord reighneth; let the earth rejoice…(Psalm 97:1). ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Where to Build a Sidewalk Shift your sail with the wind. ~ Italian proverb ~ I attended a conference at a Pennsylvania college, J enjoyed walking through a huge grassy mall between the buildings. The area was landscaped beautifully, and the sidewalks were laid out in an interesting, irregular pattern. When I com-mented on this to a friend, she told me, “The sidewalks were designed by the people who walked on them. When the mall first opened, the architects did not designate sidewalks; instead they waited for a few weeks to see where students walked. After the engineers determined the footpath patterns, they laid down the sidewalks. They realized that no matter where they put the sidewalks, people would walk where they wanted and just trample the grass. So they decided to save themselves some work and make it easier for the pedestrians.” The sidewalk designers understood that there is a flow to life, and when we are one with it, we are empowered. When we tune into the energy flow, we can use it to our advantage, rather than struggling to make the world fit into our expectations. The ancient Tao Te Ching, recorded by Lao Tse, is a magnificent poetic instruction book on how to be strengthened by changes. Jungle lore tells that monkeys learned how to evade capture by making use of ease rather than force. Hunters would put some nuts in a glass jar with a rim smaller than its base. A monkey of inferior intelligence would reach into the jar and grab the nuts, but because the hand with the nuts in it was too large to fit through the rim, the animal would stand there struggling, and the hunter would grab him. The smarter monkeys, however, didn’t reach into the jar; they simply opened one palm and tilted the jar so the nuts fell into it. If you are trying to clutch onto something that won’t fit into your life naturally, that’s when you get caught. Accept what shows up, and you are free. Take advantage of the tide of events, and life will support you in ways that you could not manipulate through anxious struggle. Build on what is, rather than what isn’t, and you will be one with life. Show me how to live. Help me move with energy, that I may be free and happy. The door to my good is open now. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 28
March 28
Step by Step Today, I will not romanticize my drinking days as “fun” or good if a newcomer to the program or even a veteran talk about “the good old days.” By embellishing drinking before “things went bad” and even constructing a vision that any of it was good, I am probably pining for days when I might have drank “safely” without being honest that those days never existed at all. And by longing for non-existent “good old days,” I am vulnerable to a slip or relapse and denying the truth that I am now, and forever will be, “powerless over alcohol.” More pointedly, if I try to re-do my last drunk into something that is not true, I have basically forgotten my last drunk. And as one of the program’s old sayings goes, if I can’t remember my last drunk, I haven’t had it yet. Today, I will remember with honesty how it was and that it has been, so far by the grace of God, my last drunk. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ EGO E.G.O. = Edge God Out Ego can be one tough customer. It generally fights this business of recovery and a Higher Power tooth and nail. It can cry like a baby and tell us how much care it needs. It can scream like a pouting teenager demanding that we leave it alone. It can romance us like a long-lost lover seducing us into sleep. The ego can take on many disguises to get its own way. It wants no competition for affection. When we were caught up in our disease, the ego and the drugs and alcohol met up and made an unholy alliance against us. The disease told the ego what it wanted to hear, and the ego fed the disease its poison. My ego must be cut down to size. This will help stop my disease from doing further damage to my life. My ego will never provide serenity, only endless demand. Only my Higher Power, the Program, and my friends can end this war within me. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ My history is a gift, like my body—it’s what I am made of. ~ Shawnee Undell ~ If our bodies are the hardware, our histories are part of the software. We sometimes cringe when we look back at things we did or things that happened. We are tempted to indulge in magical thinking, hoping to turn back the clock and relive events to make them turn out differently. But our experiences, good and bad, are the stuff that teaches what we need to learn. When we look back, we cannot change what happened. History is history. But we did choose what we made of what happened, and we can still choose: that is always open to revision. Even today we can deepen and improve upon how we respond to what happened. Our growth continues into the present and for as long as we live. Today I am responding constructively to what has happened in my history. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ There are many realities. We should remember this when we get too caught up in being concerned about the way the rest of the world lives or how we think they live. ~ Natalie Goldberg ~ One of the most elusive truths we’ll ever struggle to grasp is that everyone has a unique perspective about every circumstance, a perspective that reflects a personal understanding of the universe. We never doubt that truth for ourselves, of course. We simply fail to acknowledge that it’s true for everyone else too. There are times we can’t shake the need to be right; our egos seem to depend on it. Unfortunately, we can’t maintain any real peacefulness if we are always in conflict with others who have their own viewpoints. Winning the “battle” then becomes a painful victory. Believing in valid, separate realities is only difficult at first. But like any other opinion or attitude, it can become habit with enough practice. We have nothing to lose by giving it a try. I don’t need everyone to agree with me today. I only think I do. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can learn and grow stronger by sitting still Now that I’ve been in recovery for a while, I feel much better. I have added new friends and a support group meeting to my life – very important commitments. But sometimes I feel like I’m too busy – I feel like I’m pushing the river instead of letting it flow. When I told a friend in my support group about my pace, he offered me a tool called meditation. I listened carefully and learned that instead of trying to grow or change through doing or thinking all the time, one method of meditation is to do nothing, to simply sit still and focus on breathing. By sitting quietly and just breathing, it is possible to learn about myself, to slowly, subtly, enhance recovery. I’ll devote five minutes today to sitting still and just breathing. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ To flee vice is the beginning of virtue. ~ Horace ~ Some people, places, and things are risky for our recovery. It’s tempting, especially at the beginning, to go back and visit, to test our new powers, to brag a little to the friends we had then, showing them (and ourselves) how far we’ve come and how much we’ve changed. But we need to remember that those people, places, and things haven’t changed — they are just as dangerous today as they were then. This is a lesson we need to learn again and again. Even after years of sobriety, we’re tempted at times to test our new resolve, thinking this time we’ll be able to handle temptation. But that’s a gamble, like racing a train to a railroad crossing — and for us, the results can be just as deadly. We may not have quite enough recovery to resist the allure of old ways and old friends. We may not be strong enough to resist temptation. We may feel vulnerable and worthless and give up the fight to recover. But life doesn’t have to be like that today. We can walk past temptation, and find the strength, one day at a time, to start a new and joyous life. Today help me remember the dangers of giving in to temptation. Help me keep myself safe. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ To do the same thing over and over again is not only boredom; it is to be controlled by rather than to control what you do. ~ Heraclitus ~ Cartoonist Leigh Rubin conveys a humorous look at bore-dom in his comic drawing of a goldfish in a bowl, entitled “Diary of a Fish.” The diary runs from Sunday through Saturday and conveys the same entries about how the fish spent its day: It swam. It ate. It slept. Now you may view your existence as one of dull routines, causing you to feel bored and disinterested in life. When someone asks, “So what’s new with you?” you may let out a sigh and mumble, “Same old, same old.” But the things that once partnered with your addiction can be transformed and refashioned to add freshness and rich-ness to your life. Being spontaneous can open you up to new experiences. Taking a risk can offer learning and challenge. Doing something out of the ordinary can pro-vide an opportunity to grow. Embracing unpredictability can strengthen your ability to flow with life’s challenges. If you feel there is nothing special going on in your life, do something different from what you did yesterday. Even simple changes can provide enough stimulation to make life more interesting and enjoyable. Today I will make an effort to change the scenery of my life. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ My world is composed of takers and givers. The takers may eat better but the givers sleep better. ~ Byron Frederick ~ At the end of every Perry Mason show the murderers were caught. Whether their motives were greed, revenge, or justice, their guilt would surface and right would prevail. Before the program, we may have refused to see our guilt. We may have taken from others because we believed they owed us. But after we entered the program we learned nobody owes us anything. We now tell the store clerks when we’re undercharged for a purchase. Our guilt over the dishonesty of taking what wasn’t ours would be too much for us. The giver inside us isn’t bothered by guilt and shame. Because we aren’t taking from others today, we’re only receiving what we deserve. Today, we haven’t stolen, lied, or cheated. Tonight we can sleep better because we’re givers instead of takers. How did I give to others or myself today? Tonight I can have a clear conscience knowing I was a giver and not a taker. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Maturing In terms of age, most of us are fifteen going on thirty or forty or fifty. People in the pro-gram have observed that members stopped growing emotionally about the time they started using mood-altering chemicals. It may sound funny, but these observations appear accurate. If we look around us, many newer members do seem stuck in their teenage years. But abstinence, patience, and working the program help us mature to our proper ages. Given time, we can become the adults we have only pretended to be for so long. Am I maturing? Higher Power, help me to grow emotionally. I will act maturely today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Bring the body, and the mind will follow. ~ SAYING HEARD IN MEETINGS ~ Newcomer What do people in recovery mean when they say they have “smart feet”? Sponsor In recovery, we develop daily habits that we don’t question: the habit of attending meetings, the habit of picking up the telephone to call a sponsor or to share with another recovering person, the habit of starting and ending the day with our preferred combination of prayer, literature, and meditation. We do these things whether we feel like doing them or not, and in time they become second nature to us, automatic as our addictive behavior was in the past. If we don’t have to discuss these habits with ourselves, argue about whether or not they’ll make us feel better, or question whether we’ve outgrown them, our burden is lighter. Once we’re at a meeting or sharing with another recovering person or with our Higher Power, the unexpected happens. We’re lifted out of the tyranny of addictive thinking. “Smart feet” are feet that carry us to a place we need to be, whether we know it ahead of time or not. Today, I’m grateful for simple habits that open my heart and mind to recovery. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Why is the world? Why are we here? What is our purpose? Why must we live and suffer and die? Without God, there would be no answer. We do not know the great extent of God’s purpose, but we do know that we as individuals, each and every one, must somehow fit into that purpose. We can only know God as He has revealed Himself to us. We know His principle attribute is goodness. Therefore His purpose must be good and we can best serve that purpose by aspiring to the highest standard of goodness that we can conceive. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Some people grumble because the roses have thorns instead of being grateful that the thorns have roses. 2) When you are in it up to your ears, keep your mouth shut. 3) Boredom is the feeling that everything is a waste of time; serenity, that nothing is. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Anniversary Prayer Dear God, I had another anniversary today, one more year in recovery. It has been difficult at times, but it has allowed many blessings. I am a human being again. I feel new strength in my body, spirit, and mind. The world has never looked so good. I have the respect of my friends and family. I am productive in my work. I do not miss the slippery people and places. When I have been tempted, You, my Higher Power, have sustained me. I have found a home in the Fellowship and friends support me. Stay close by me, God. I thank You. This is the life I love. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ AS MEEK AS MOSES Moses—who overcame the old age belief to the extent of manifesting the physical body of a young man in the prime of life when, according to the calendar, he was one hundred and twenty years old, and then transcended matter altogether, or “dematerialized” without dying—was known pre-eminently for this quality; “as meek as Moses.” apart from his own personal demonstration, Moses also did a marvelous work for his whole nation, getting it out of Egyptian bondage in the face of incredible difficulties. Moses had an open mind, ready to be taught new things and new ways of thinking and working. He was not, in the beginning at least, free from serious faults of character, but he gradually rose above these defects as the new truth worked in his soul. Moses thoroughly understood that to conform oneself rigorously to the will of God, far from involving the loss of any good, could only mean a better and more splendid life. He did not, therefore, think of his as self-sacrifice, for he knew it to be the highest form of self-glorification—the glorification of god. …the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works…I am in the Father, and Father in me (John 14:10-11). There is a marvelous oriental saying that “meekness compels God himself.” ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Let It Go We must not conceive of prayer as an overcoming of God’s unwillingness, but as laying hold of His highest willingness. ~ Richard Chevenix Trench, Archbishop of Dublin ~ Day after day, I sat at the foot of my mother’s hospital bed, worrying that she might die. She was not recovering after her surgery, and I was fogged with worry. Within a week, I contracted a staph infection and became ill myself. I had to go home and stay in bed, unable to do much of anything. After a few days of rest, I recovered, and so did my mom. My anxious doting in the hospital did no one any good. The best thing I could have done for both of us was to let her be. Praying or holding an intention for a particular result is not intended to be a struggle or an endurance contest. True prayer can bring us peace and illumination as easily and effortlessly as flicking on a light switch brings light to a room. After you have prayed sincerely, release your prayer to God. When you mail a letter, you must let it go so it can be delivered to where it is going. After dropping the letter in the mailbox, you do not stand there and make sure no one tampers with it, watch it to see that the letter carrier tucks it away safely, follow him or her back to the post office and trail the letter through the sorting process, insist on sitting next to the mail sack while it is being flown across country, follow it through its next sorting, do a security check on the next postal deliverer, and make sure the addressee picks it up. At some point you must just let go and trust the postal service to do its job. To breathe down the neck of postal service workers would only annoy them and waste your energy. Pray and act decisively, and then release your intentions so God can take care of you in ways that you could not take care of yourself. I release my sense of struggle, and trust You to answer my prayers and fulfill my dreams. God is my trustworthy source of Good. I let go and let God. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 29
March 29
Step by Step Today, if I start my day with dread, I probably need to do a 10th Step or re-do my Fourth. Clearly something is wrong and I have not yet reaped benefits of sobriety or, worse, I am little more than a dry drunk. The Serenity Prayer tells me that I have no control over what this day might serve up, but it also tells me what I can change is me. The program gives me the tools to do it, from its first four words – “Admitted (I am) powerless” – to the 12th Step’s promise of a new me through a spiritual awakening and its command to practice all the steps “in all (my) affairs.” And if I take the attitude that the day ahead is something to just get through, I will likely make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. Today, I am powerless over whatever this day has in store, but that my attitude toward it can make or break the peace of mind that recovery promises – and faith in my higher power will give me the courage to change me. Sobriety and life are not things to endure or just get through. Today, I will live, not just endure or get through. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ TOGETHERNESS Nothing that is worth doing can be done alone, but has to be done with others. ~ Dr. Reinhold Niebulur ~ Countless troubled people have agonized and sometimes died, many by their own hand, because they were defeated loners. They never learned that they needed help in solving what seemed like overpowering problems. It’s not a sign of weakness to ask for help. It’s a sign of strength. The more closely we identify with others today, the more certain we are that nobody can solve our problems for us. But caring friends can guide us by sharing their experiences. The secret behind the magical success of sharing is that sharing cannot be done without caring. To care is to experience, the most vital part of love. Sharing problems is only a small part of giving. We must share strengths, successes, experiences and hopes. Whenever I am practicing the principles of my Program, I am comforted by knowing that I never work alone. Sometimes, I am led. At other times, I can show the way. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ The true name of eternity is today. ~ Philo ~ Today is the only focus for our recovery. When we look into the future, we worry. What if I slip when temptations mount at some future time? What if I get lost and confused and fall back into my codependency? The only real truth is how we live today. The sun will come up tomorrow and we will live the new day as we do this day, in the present moment, staying true to ourselves. Tomorrow’s problems are only in our imagination. What are we doing today? Eternity is beyond time. It is at hand. Today I am mindful of my immediate moment. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Inside me is a stirring truth that is guided by my Higher Power. I am empowered by truth and joy. ~ Laurel Lewis ~ Remembering that our Higher Power’s wisdom and truth are as dose as our quiet moments offers us welcome relief in troubled times. However, we must guard against hearing the voice of our injured ego instead of the voice of God. Many of us have for decades been led by our disabled ego. When faced with fear and discouragement, we need profound willingness to follow God’s will rather than our own. Having access to God’s truth every minute of our lives can make each decision less frightening. No experience, regardless how unfamiliar, can be too much for us if we remember to listen for our Higher Power’s direction. As we strengthen our reliance on the Messenger within, we experience new levels of joy and inner peace. And we understand the real meaning of life. I will listen to the still, small voice within and feel secure and joyful, knowing that my actions are God’s will. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I can make a commitment to recovery I am coming to believe that there is nothing more important in my life than my dual recovery – in other words, abstaining from addictive substances and maintaining emotional stability. This is because I see myself now as a valuable person who has two illnesses and who deserves to be treated well. One good way to value myself is to devote time each day to my dual recovery activities. The ones that help me the most are meetings, physical exercise, and spending time with supportive friends. If I do these, I believe that my higher power will take care of the rest. I will make a commitment to recovery by making a commitment to my daily recovery plan *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ A friend is one who knows all about you and loves you just the same. ~ Elbert Hubbard ~ No one is perfect, but most of us want to be, especially in recovery. If we were still able to work or go to school or do housework when we were drinking or using, imagine what we can do in recovery. But this kind of thinking, sets us up for failure. Recovery does not mean becoming superhuman. It means returning to simply being human, with all our strengths and our weaknesses. It also means accepting a Power greater than ourselves. Learning to accept or at least tolerate another’s faults and weaknesses, rather than passing judgment on them, is crucial to our own recovery and our ability to make real, lasting friends. First, of course, we must slowly learn to accept ourselves, stop judging ourselves, and replace the “bad parent” inside with the good parent — to become our own best friend. As we keep trying to improve in certain areas, we can learn to love ourselves today even though we are not perfect and never will be. Today help me care enough about me to be a good friend to myself. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ I generally avoid temptation unless I can’t resist it. ~ Mae West ~ Each time you run errands, you face a multitude of challenges to your recovery. Grocery store aisles with tasty junk foods and sugary treats tempt your desire to overeat. Liquor store displays with beverages in pretty bottles beckon you to drink. Shopping malls are filled with store displays trying to convince you to take out your credit card. Scratch tickets seem to reach out from their cases, teasing that you can be rich beyond your wildest dreams. Those who are not in recovery are tempted just the same. However, their lives are not ruled by an addiction. They can easily turn away from unhealthy foods or purchase a single bottle of wine and make it last for a week. They can stick to their spending limits and avoid money games with nearly impossible odds of winning. So how do you handle such temptations? Recovery teaches that it is not enough to simply stop an addiction. You also need to develop an understanding and acceptance of how your addiction caused you—and others— great harm. The more conscious you are of the power of your addiction, the greater your willpower can be to ignore the temptations around you. My will to overcome my addiction is greater than any temptation I face. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ I must slowly learn to lose control, to let go the petals when it is time . . . learn step by softly- treading step, that what I am, what we are, is this Power to move and be moved, to change and be changed. ~ Linda Roach ~ Letting go doesn’t mean releasing our grip on life and falling into the abyss below. Letting go is a gentle process of easing the grip on some facet of our lives: an obsession, a character defect, or negative feelings toward someone. We can think of ourselves as pilots flying a plane full of passengers. As we take off and begin our flying pattern, we need to gradually ease the plane into the right coordinates. We can’t make a sudden turn, or our passengers will be tossed about. Instead, we need to gently shift directions, bearing in mind the wind as we work our way into the correct path. We must guide ourselves gradually. We cannot re-solve that tomorrow morning we’re going to totally eliminate a character defect. But what we can do is be-come willing to let go. We need to prepare ourselves to change gently, step by step. I need to remember letting go is a gradual process. With the help of my Higher Power, I can begin to let go. ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Smiling It is not uncommon for people addicted to chemicals to want to get back at those who rejected them or hurt them. For many years we probably operated on the law of revenge, and there was no bad situation that we couldn’t make worse. Now what is our guide? Have we tried the law of kindness to see how it could affect our neighbor? A smile can raise hope, and hope is a haven for us all. Let us smile to bring hope. Am I willing to smile? Higher Power, help me accept myself and others—and help me smile. Today, I will give a smile to all I meet, and especially to God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ The best things in life are not things. ~ ANN LANDERS ~ Newcomer Style has always mattered to me. When I was active, I felt scorn for people who had no taste or flair. I know there’s arrogance in that, but some part of me still loves glamour and doesn’t want to give it up. Sponsor I used to think my addiction had something to do with being cool. I thought my use of addictive substances and behaviors made me stylish and sophisticated. Meanwhile, I didn’t know how to live my life. Romanticizing addiction and its trappings is a form of denial many of us have to address. Certain drinks, drugs, or behaviors may have seemed to us like instant power or sophistication-less boring and regular than the alternatives. Some of the rituals and accoutrements of addiction continue to be glamorized by advertising, films, and popular images and myths. We may tell ourselves that creative people have always been involved with drugs. We may feel a pang: is recovery going to strip us of our originality, our flair for the unusual? We’re who we are in spite of, not because of, addictive substances and behaviors. The originality and flair that you associate with addiction come from a deeper part of you. We can be true originals in recovery, through coming to know ourselves. Today, I let go of any illusions about my addiction. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ Do you want to be happy? Then go buy that strange kid on the corner a bag of candy. It may help cause his teeth to decay but what’s a tooth between glad hearts. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Our program takes the “M” in “Me” and “turns it over” to create “We.” This is a “We” program. 2) HELP: Hope, Encouragement, Love, Patience 3) Act as if… ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ To Be Honest Higher Power, help me to be honest with myself. It is so easy to alibi, to make excuses for my shortcomings. It is so easy to blame others and circumstances as a child does. Help me to see myself honestly, a human being who needs You this day and every day. Help me to surrender my weak will to Your strength. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ HUNGER FOR RIGHTEOUSNESS Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteouness: for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:6) Righteousness is another of the key words of the Bible, one of those keys that the reader must have in his possession if he is to get at the true meaning of the book. Like earth and meek and comfort, it is used in a special and definite sense. Righteousness means not merely right conduct, but right thinking. In the Sermon on the Mount, every clause reiterates the truth that outer things are but consequences. As within, so without. When people awaken to a knowledge of these truths, they naturally begin to apply them in their own lives. Realizing at last the vital importance of “righteousness” they begin immediately to try to put their house in order. The principle involved is simple, but unfortunately the exemplifying of it is anything but easy. Now, why could this be so? The answer lies in the potency of habit; and habits of thinking are at once the most subtle and the most difficult to break. Perhaps failure to achieve righteousness is the failure of halfheartedness; you long but not too deeply. Your hunger and thirst do not rise from a sense of total need. Have a mental stocktaking or a review of your life. It could not happen that a wholehearted search for truth and righteousness, if persevered in, should not be crowned with success. God is not mocked, nor does He mock His children. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ The Answer Is You I have good news and I have bad news: The bad news is that we have lost the key to the door behind which the secret of life is hidden. The good news is that it was never locked. ~ Swami Beyondananda ~ When human beings appeared on the planet, a group of gods got together and decided to play a game. “Let’s hide the secret of life!” one suggested. “Great idea!” another agreed. “Where shall we hide it?” “Let’s plant it at the top of the highest mountain,” one proposed. “No,” responded another, “people will even climb to Mount Everest.” “How about at the bottom of the ocean?” asked another. “No, they will invent submarines.” On and on the gods pondered, trying to find a suitable hiding place. Finally, one god had a bright idea: “I know!” he exclaimed. “Let’s hide the secret of life inside each person—they’ll never think to look there!” We remain in darkness when we seek external solutions for internal needs. We believe our problems exist because of causes outside ourselves, and then seek to rearrange the outer world. Even when we succeed, we feel empty because the external situation was not the cause of our pain. To truly be healed we must deal with our experience at its source—our own beliefs, attitudes, and actions. In their important book, Conscious Loving, Gay and Kathlyn Hendricks put forth the core principle that each partner must take 100 percent responsibility for everything that happens in their relationship and their world. Empower yourself by identifying yourself not as a victim of circumstances, but as the source of your experience. The whole game changes when you realize the answer is within you. Give me the strength to release anyone else as the source of my experience and to own my responsibility for creating the life I choose. I am the answer. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 30
March 30
Step by Step Today, I cannot crumble to temptation even if I think I do not feel tempted to try “just one” drink. Regardless of how many 24 Hours of sobriety, none of us is immune to the thought, however fleeting, that maybe one drink won’t do any damage. Of course it will, as we know from bitter experience. If temptation is a human foible, it is one that none of us in recovery can afford. For us, temptation is our failure to integrate into the deepest of our souls the program’s first four words – “Admitted we were powerless …” Temptation is also our own will run riot and rejection of surrendering our will to our higher power. Still, if temptation sneaks in, may I have imprinted in my conscience the outcome of all those times in the past when I did give into temptation. And the memory of that outcome is too costly and painful to give in. Today, I hope I am not tempted, but I will not take for granted that I won’t so that, if I am, I am strong and honest enough in my program to rise above it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ WORST ENEMY Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul. ~ Robert Graham ~ We refuse to keep putting ourselves down. Sometimes that seems like a virtue, but it isn’t. It’s a defect. The honest approach is to know our strengths and our weaknesses. The Program provides us the tools to work on both. In recovery, each of us chooses to become our own best friend. Liking ourselves will assure us that we can become the best person we can be. Who have we hurt more than we have hurt ourselves? Would we let anyone do to us what we have done to ourselves? We are learning to think about our assets rather than focusing on our liabilities. Our self-talk no longer always puts us down. I can strike a solid blow at “me, my worst enemy,” by concentrating on the small triumphs of each today rather than on yesterday’s disasters. ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances. ~ Viktor Frankl ~ Today’s quotation was written by a man who survived a Nazi death camp. His philosophy was formed in the crucible of the bleakest kind of situation, in prison with hard labor, little food, and no comforts, where everyone was worked until they died. One could say Frankl had no choices remaining, but he didn’t accept that. He speaks to all of us as we deal with our own particular circumstances. When we gain the wisdom of powerlessness, we know that we often have little choice about what happens, but we have choices about the attitudes we adopt. When we face a tough situation on the job, we can still choose to give our best. When family problems seem overwhelming, we may not be able to fix them all alone, but we have options to be the best partner, the best father, or the best son that we know how to be. And when we turn our lives and our will over to the care of a Higher Power, we can choose to be hopeful for the future. Today I choose to have a constructive attitude in all that I am dealing with. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ By embracing the unfair, I no longer feel fear or rejection or lack of self-esteem. ~ Eileen Fehlen ~ It’s so human to quickly label an unwanted situation as unfair and to assume we know what’s best for us. We reason that if God would answer our prayers, our lives would unfold appropriately. It’s also terribly human to have to relearn repeatedly that God’s will and God’s timetable don’t always match our own; however, without fail they serve us well. Learning to appreciate the good in everything that comes our way makes us courageous. In time few things will fill us with fear, and that is measurable progress. We were tormented by fear for so many years that we never expected this rebirth of spirit. Life is beginning to feel inviting, exciting, and safe. Let’s step forth together. I can be certain that God will give me only what is right for me today. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I want a better life for myself When I was using drugs and experiencing symptoms of my psychiatric illness, I cared most about simply staying high, about feeling no pain – whether emotional, physical, or spiritual. My greatest need was a negative one and I met it with street drugs. Now that I’ve achieved a period of abstinence and stability, I can see that there’s more to life than just drugs, staying high, and avoiding pain. Some basic, positive needs that I’ve neglected include healthy food, safe shelter, and clean clothing. In recovery, I am learning that these needs are important and that I can find a way to meet them. I will list the five most important things I need to get along in life. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul. ~ Henry David Thoreau ~ Today we live in a society that seems to worship things. Television, movies, and magazines tell us that sophistication, respect, admiration, and self- confidence come from owning things rather than from who we are inside. Twelve Step meetings are wonderful antidotes for that message. Here is a fellowship of people who don’t judge us by our clothing or our credit cards. Here we are cared for because of what’s in our hearts, the condition of our values, and our common goal of sobriety. And our Higher Power loves us just as we are. When we feel caught up in a nonspiritual way of life, we can pause and remember that we have a place to come home to. We can come in from the rat race and rejoice in a fellowship that values honesty, integrity, and spirituality. Today help me remember what’s really important in my life. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ Religion is for people who are afraid they’ll go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have been there. ~ Teen Anon saying ~ Many times you may read newspaper stories in which neighbors describe someone who has committed a despicable crime as one who attended church regularly. You may wonder, “How could someone who believes in God act out so horribly?” Consider the meaning of spirituality. Is closeness to God measured by the number of times you go to church? Is reading religious teachings the same as applying such knowledge in everyday life? Spirituality is not measured by who you are, but by how you live. Sinning, and then asking God to forgive your sins, conveys an attitude of self-importance—that because you have reached out to God, you earn a “free pass.” But asking for forgiveness and then changing your ac-tions so you can protect yourself and others from harm is putting God’s help into action. Getting down on your knees and asking God for help is the first step in connect-ing with a Higher Power. But rising up and doing every-thing you can to follow a path of good and appropriate behavior is putting God’s guidance into action. It has been said, “No God, no peace; know God, know peace.” Today I accept that God’s will and God’s knowledge need to be my will and my knowledge. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Here the people seem to possess the secret of tranquility. . . . Perhaps it is only by going up the old back roads leading to the lost little hamlets of the mountains or the seagirt islands and peninsulas of the world that you can still find it. Perhaps even in such places it has not long to last. ~ Louise Dickinson Rich ~ As a child we may have had a secret place we went to be alone or when we were hurt or confused. Wherever it was, we knew we could be safe there. As an adult we may have lost our secret places. In-stead of hiding maybe we learned to run or build up defenses. We learned to cope without secret spaces, but look how we suffered for it! Now we yearn for serenity as we stop running or defending. We can make a secret space again. Our secret space can be in a favorite chair or even in our minds when we listen to a favorite song. Wherever or whatever we use for times of need, our secret spaces should provide safety and security. It’s okay to let the child in us run to secret spaces in times of need. In doing so, we’re taking care of ourselves. Do I have a secret space where I am safe and secure? ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Debating the program In school we may have joined in debates. They went on and on, and nobody ever had any answers. In our personal training grounds, the world of the streets, we often heard or participated in lengthy debates about the evils of our society. Of course, nothing ever changed. Some people get clean and sober and then start debating about the Twelve Steps. The “answers” come to those who live the program, but such debate is of little value. Am I living the program? God, grant me the courage to take action and thus truly live the program. Today I will put the Steps into action by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ Ukwenza kuya emuva kuye phambili. The doing moves backward, then forward. ~ NDEBELE PROVERB ~ Newcomer I thought I’d lost the desire to pick up my addiction. Now I’m on the verge of celebrating ninety days, and all I can think of is how much I’d like to go back to my old life. Sponsor Anniversaries can be times of intense expectation for people in recovery. Anxiety, sadness, and other feelings may be mixed with jubilation and pride. Some of us go into denial: “If I’ve made it this far without the drug, maybe I don’t really have the problem.” Or “I can do this on my own now— who needs all those **** meetings!” Some of us feel like frauds; we’ve been fooling everyone into thinking that we can stay away from our addictions successfully. Intense feelings—even those of pride and pleasure—can put us in danger of picking up our addictive substances. Anniversaries are times when it’s especially important to stay in touch with the people who’ve been sharing our journey. They can help us to celebrate and also to keep the anniversary in perspective. It’s encouraging to know that they’ll continue to be there as we continue to stay away from addictive substances and behaviors—one day at a time. Today, I stay close to the program. When I go out, I take phone numbers, coins for making calls, and a willingness to use them. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ The truly great man can afford to be humble, for hundreds of others are exalting him. You have only one horn to blow and other people can’t toot it if you are eternally tooting it yourself. The proud man is aggressive in his own interest; the humble man is aggressive in the ideals he believes in. Humility is not passive resignation; it is rather, subjecting self for lofty purposes. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Detach with love 2) The difference between feeling grateful and being grateful, is action. 3) You don’t make as many mistakes when you keep your mouth shut. ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ Teach Me Teach me, God, so that I might know The way to change and the way to grow. Give me the words to ask You how To handle the here and live in the now. Tempt me not with the valleys of death, Give me freedom from fear in every breath. And though mistakes I make in my daily life, Deliver me from aiding strife. Understand me, God, as I am now And show me the furrows I need to plow To reach my goal as a ripening food, So I might feed others all that is good. Fill me with energy known as the Power, Until I come to rest at the midnight hour. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ THE MERCIFUL Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7). This is a brief summary of the law of life that Jesus develops more fully later in the Sermon (Matthew 7:1-5). As it stands, this Beatitude is as obvious in its meaning as the law in question is simple and inflexible in its action. The point that the Christian needs to note is that the principle covered in this Beatitude lies in its application to the realm of thought. Let us be merciful in our mental judgments of our brother, for, in truth, we are all one, and the more deeply he seems to err, the more urgent is the need for us to help him with the right thought, and so make it easier for him to get free. Because in deed and in truth we are all one,, component parts of the living garment of God, you yourself will ultimately receive the same treatment that you mete out to others; you will receive the same merciful help in your own hour of need from those who are farther along the path than you are. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Results and Excuses When you are just interested in something, you do it only when it is convenient; when you are committed, you accept only results, not excuses. ~ Dr. Kenneth Blanchard ~ I had an employee, Tony, who should have been in the Guinness Book of World Records for “The Greatest Number of Different Reasons the Same Job Didn’t Get Done.” When I asked Tony about the progress of a project he was supposed to handle, he answered, “Sorry, I haven’t been feeling well; I’ll get right on to it next week.” The next week he told me, “I had some car trouble; your job is first on my list for next week.” The following week his explanation was, “I had some hassles with my girlfriend; I wasn’t emotionally available.” The week after that, “I had a little miscommunication with the phone company about my bill; they turned off my service, so I couldn’t get the calls made.” On and on the saga went, and a job that should have taken a few weeks remained undone after months. Finally, I hired someone else who did the job in a short time. There are two kinds of people in the world: those who make excuses and those who get results. An excuse person will find any excuse for why a job was not done, and a results person will find any reason why it can be done. I was an excuse person about being on time; I was 15 minutes late to everything. When I showed up, I would always have a different reason: “Traffic”‘, “Got a phone call just as I was leaving”’, “Had to feed the dog”; \and on and on. Many of this situations had actually occurred, but none of them accounted for the reason I was late. My tardiness was a result of my choice, not external conditions. We can tell our intentions by the results we create. Words mean little in the face of what we manifest. If you are going to do something, own it. If you are going to not do something, own it. You become most powerful, effective, and trustworthy as you acknowledge that you are the source of your experience. Be a creator, not a reactor. Help me to live in integrity. I want to empower myself and others by being true to my word. I can because I choose. |
Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March 31
March 31
Step by Step Today, no self-pity to shake my recovery program regardless if my recovery began 24 months or 24 hours ago. Self-pity may be the deadliest of poisons that can undo, in the blink of an eye, any progress I’ve made. Self-pity is giving up my belief and total surrender to my higher power and is the epitome of selfishness. If there is adversity this day, I will face it with the courage, strength, hope and dignity with which AA endows me, and I’ve already been endowed with courage, strength, hope and dignity merely by committing myself to recovery. Nor will I whine, “Why me?” And if I say no to self-pity today, I have no reason or excuse to drink, to use – and this day, then, will be good. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M. ************************************************ ~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~ “ALMOST” PEOPLE If a man has a talent and cannot use it, he has failed. If he has a talent and uses only half of it, he has partly failed. ~ Thomas Wolfe ~ Every step of progress that we make in our Program takes us farther away from being one of the “almost” people. We know today that we cannot settle for “almost” living up to our potentials and capabilities. We used to think that near-misses meant coming close to victory. This was satisfying, we thought. But we actually were making sure our efforts always got worse, never better. In recovery, we see the wisdom of “half measures availing us nothing.” Today when we miss, we learn from a “near success” and try again, harder. Even the slogan “Easy Does It” can encourage me to see worth in almost-good efforts, but I must quickly add to that “But DO It!” ************************************************ ~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~ Solitude is important to man . . . It is his refuge when the very foundations of his life are being shaken by disastrous events. ~ Margaret E. Mular ~ In modem life, it’s much easier to pursue the busy hectic life of work and responsibilities than to pursue solitude. Even though we have often felt very alone, we have been afraid to be alone with ourselves. But it is in those quiet moments alone that we honestly meet ourselves and lay the groundwork to learn from our experiences. When we are so busy with our intense daily lives, perhaps dealing with crises, and do not take any quiet time for ourselves, we cannot look at where we are going, and we cannot learn from all that experience. Just a few minutes to simply let ourselves breathe is a valuable gem of time set aside that enriches the whole day. My quiet moments of solitude are precious elements in my growing sobriety. ************************************************ ~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~ Even on a rainy day, I can feel the sunshine. Even when the clouds are gray, I can feel a glow. There’s a little light inside me, just keeps burning. I take it with me, everywhere I go. ~ Jill Clark ~ We carry within ourselves the single necessary Ingredient for our happiness: a positive attitude. Nothing can ruin our day, unless we let it. No remark can devastate us, unless we let it. No person can have a harmful, lasting impact on us, unless we let him or her. No unhealthy, negative attitude controls our thoughts without our assent. Feeling good about the experiences we’re having, regardless of their nature, is a decision. Trusting that some good will come out of every one of them is a habit we can form. We can acquire un attitude of hope for growth and positive change. I will see the sunshine even through the clouds if that’s my choice. Today I have twenty-four hours to practice this. ************************************************ ~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~ I am not a bad person I have made many mistakes. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. I’ve hurt people deeply, including myself. This is clear to me today. But I need to keep in mind that past actions and character defects do not make me a bad person. For my chemical and mental health problems, I am working a program of dual recovery. Despite my guilt and shame I am learning to forgive myself. As I see others – friends, therapist, group members – accept me for who I am, I can better accept myself. I will ask my best friend and my sponsor to help me identify three of my good qualities. *********************************************** ~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~ Let nothing good or bad upset the balance of your life. ~ Thomas a Kempis ~ The uncontrollable obstacles of life in sobriety are tough enough, yet we often make things worse for ourselves. We may create obstacles of negative selftalk, jealousy, resentment, and fear. These can change our recovery from simple to complex. When we speak harshly to ourselves, we tend to isolate and become passive. When we are jealous, we’re not fully accepting ourselves. When we are resentful, we cannot be at peace. Fear can keep us from greater risks and greater rewards. But we can keep recovery simple and serene. We can talk to ourselves reassuringly. We can become more positive and work on keeping relationships clear of debris. With the help of our Higher Power and Twelve Step program, we can work through our fear and resentment to find lasting peace and serenity. Today help me keep my recovery simple. Help me overcome those obstacles that hurt my spiritual growth. ************************************************ ~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~ There are no atheists on turbulent airplanes. ~ Erica Jong ~ Before you came into the program, your relationship with a Higher Power may have been fleeting or peripheral. You may have felt your prayers went unanswered because problems remained. Maybe you only reached out to God when you experienced a great loss, such as the death of a loved one. Once you entered the program, you may have flinched whenever you heard the word God or were encouraged to join in reciting the Serenity Prayer. Maybe you were reluctant to open the Big Book because it resembled a religious text. Perhaps the openness with which members talked about a Higher Power made you feel uncomfortable because you had not developed such a relationship. When you make the decision to turn your life and your will over to the care of God—however you define and understand that Being—it is your belief that provides you with a new path in life. Your Higher Power will always be there for you, no matter what path you take. But the path that most directly leads to a Higher Power is the one that helps you the most. I believe in a Higher Power. I turn my life and my will over to a Higher Power and ask for guidance in making choices to improve the quality of my life. ************************************************ ~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~ Why hoard your troubles? They have no market value, so just throw them away. ~ Ann Schade ~ Some people can’t stop talking about their troubles. We innocently ask them how they are, then have to listen to a monologue about this problem and that problem. After a time, we learn to ignore these people and don’t dare ask them how they are. We know exactly how they are because they’ve told us so many times. We may wonder what those people would say if all their troubles disappeared. They might be speechless, not knowing what to say. Are we, too, afraid to say we’re fine? Do we feel uncomfortable not having something to gripe about or focus our energy on? Troubles are like strings of bangles and beads. They’re worthless, don’t add much to our appearance, and make a lot of noise. We aren’t losing anything by taking off the bangles and beads. In fact, we’ll probably look and feel better. We can get rid of the troubles we carry with us as if they were so many bangles and beads. We won’t lose a thing by losing them. I can look at all the troubles I drag around with me and get rid of at least one of them. I’ll feel much better without it ************************************************ ~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~ Handling the little things It is less the crises that damage our quality of life than the daily irritations. There is some recognition for handling the big crises, but who notices how we handle the little things? There is no recognition for handling irritations, but instead, there is peace and serenity. When peace and serenity dominate our lives daily, we begin to appreciate the real gift of this program, the gift of daily living. Am I learning to handle the little things? God, grant me patience and perspective as I practice dealing with all the little things. I will change how I handle irritations today by God help me to stay clean and sober today! ************************************************ ~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~ … who share their experience, strength and hope with each other… ~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PREAMBLE ~ Newcomer Now that I have ninety days in recovery, am I really supposed to get up in front of the room and speak? It’s hard enough to make myself raise my hand to share at a meeting! Without my drug of choice, I’m really a shy, private person. I don’t like it when people look at me. I don’t have a gift for public speaking. I don’t know how to make people laugh. I don’t think that I know enough about recovery to lead a meeting. Sponsor Speaking at a meeting is not the same as public speaking; it’s a tool that we use to stay sober. We don’t have to impress or save anyone when we speak at a meeting. We don’t have to spout principles or explain Steps we haven’t taken yet. We just have to be willing to share what we know to be true for each of us. If we set aside our egos and the baggage of fear and pride, we can talk honestly about our own experiences. We can’t anticipate or control how our words are going to help another person. Before speaking, I say a simple prayer: “Help me to be of use.” The results aren’t up to me. One time, I was so nervous that I forgot everything I’d planned to say. There were long pauses between every sentence. Afterward, a woman came up to me and said, “You’ve given me courage. In three years, I’ve never had die guts to speak. Now that I’ve seen you go through your fear, I think I can do it, too.” I’d thought I was a failure, but she thanked me! Today, I do service without calculating the results. My honesty helps me and others to deepen the experience of recovery. ************************************************ ~ THE EYE OPENER ~ We as alcoholics are so used to getting by with a minimum of effort on our part that we sometimes fail to appreciate that only those things earned have any real and lasting value. We allowed our families to cover up for us and support us, we panhandled, we were experts in the game of something for nothing. Nothing free is worth having. AA has no initiation fees or dues but it also costs a lot if you want to get a lot. You can procure a two-bit brand of AA but we don’t guarantee it will work. ************************************************ ~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~ 1) Clean and Serene. 2) Together, we can do it. 3) HELP: His Ever Loving Presence ************************************************ ~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~ The Fellowship Prayer Dear Higher Power, I am grateful that: I am part of the Fellowship, one among many, but I am one. I need to work the Steps for the development of the buried life within me. Our Program may be human in its organization, but it is Divine in its purpose. The purpose is to continue my spiritual awakening. Participating in the privileges of the movement, I shall share in the responsibilities, taking it upon myself to carry my fair share of the load, not grudgingly, but joyfully. To the extent that I fail in my responsibilities, the Program fails. To the extent that I succeed, the Program succeeds. I shall not wait to be drafted for service to my fellow members. I shall volunteer. I shall be loyal in my attendance, generous in my giving, kind in my criticism, creative in my suggestions, loving in my attitudes. I shall give to the Program my interest, my enthusiasm, my devotion, and, most of all, myself. *********************************************** ~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~ THE PURE IN HEART Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God (Matthew 5:8). This is one of those wonderful gnomic sayings in which the Bible is so rich. It is a summing up in a few words of a whole philosophy of religion. Let us begin by considering what the promise in this Beatitude is. It is nothing less than to see God. To “see” in the sense referred to here, signifies spiritual perception, and spiritual perception is just that capacity to apprehend the true nature of Being that we all so sadly lack. We live in God’s world, but we do not in the least know it as it is. Heaven lies all about us—but because we are lacking in spiritual perception, we are unable to recognize it, to experience it, and, therefore, so far as we are concerned, we may be said to be shut out of Heaven. We are very much in the position of a color-blind man in a beautiful flower garden. All around him are glorious colors; but he sees only blacks, whites, and grays. If we suppose him to be also devoid of the sense of smell, we shall see what a very small part of the glory of the garden exists for him. Yet it is all there, if he could but sense it. Our task is to surmount these limitations as rapidly as may be, until we reach the point where we can know things as they really are—experience Heaven as it really is. That is what is meant by “seeing God.” To see God is to apprehend Truth as it really is, and this is infinite freedom and perfect bliss. ************************************************ ~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~ Get Your Bearings Shake your souls. Awake!… The promised hour has come. Over the dark firmament of suffering, humanity is rising. The morning star is heralding the day when you will understand that man’s most sacred duty is to…break the fetters with which ignorance and fear have bound unconscious humanity. You will stand up free and know yourselves to be the eternal manifestation of…that great All whom you call God. ~ found in a Russian church after World War I ~ “I used to travel on business so much that some days I would wake up and not know where I was or what I was supposed to be doing,” my friend Linda told me. “I became so disoriented that every night before I went to sleep, I would paste Post-its on the hotel TV screen, telling me what city I was in, and who I was supposed to see, when and why.” We are all like voyagers in a distant city. We came from the world of Spirit to a world that has lost sight of its origin and purpose. It is easy to become distracted by fears and illusions and to forget who we are and why we came. We must take care to remind ourselves often about our identity and purpose. Prayer, meditation, spiritual study, and uplifting fellowship are like Post-its we can paste on the screen of our consciousness to help us stay on our spiritual track. If you do not surround yourself with reminders of your spiritual nature, the world will teach you that you belong to it, and you will feel lost and alone. Keep the high watch. Put up inspiring pictures and quotes in your home and office. Listen to music that nourishes your soul. Go to restaurants, movies and social gatherings that honor the presence of God. Choose friends who uphold you on your spiritual path. Get regular massage, counseling, or training by persons attuned to higher laws. It is within your power to build your life on the values you choose, but you must take an active role in staying awake. Step back often, take deep breaths, and check in with your spirit. Any investment you make in your spiritual growth will bless you many times over. Help me keep You in my mind and heart, that I may remember that I belong to the light. Established in truth, I fulfill my destiny today. |
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