[bluidkiti]

November 17

Step by Step

Today, understanding that not drinking or using by themselves do not equal sobriety or recovery. Addiction is a three-tiered disease of the physical, spiritual and emotional. Abstaining may treat the physical, by it neglects the spiritual and emotional. My self-imposed wounds to my spiritual and mental psyches, not to mention to other people, can be treated only by a basic change from within. The Fourth Step, if thorough and honest, may show that many of the feelings, perceptions and attitudes toward myself, other people and the world were developed in an alcohol- or drug-induced haze. Removing the haze, then, by itself, does not alter those perceptions. Let me understand that the reason for the 12 steps is required for more than staying off alcohol and target the spiritual and emotional for treatment. Today, while swearing off alcohol is a giant step forward, God grant me the knowledge that I must work for recovery and sobriety beyond abstinence alone. On this day, I choose sobriety over dry. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

**************************************************

~ EASY DOES IT ~ (A Book of Daily 12 Step Meditations) ~

CHANGE

Change is a process, not an event.

~ Anonymous ~

Recovery from our disease does not happen overnight. We may experience an event that stops our compulsion immediately, but recovery is not an event. There are many more things to do than just stop. We hear some people relate great and dramatic moments of spiritual experience when they are utterly and completely changed. If this is so, we are happy for them. But most of us experience a gradual spiritual awakening.

If we do things in order, we can realize certain benefits. No one element equals change, but all the elements taken together are change. We did not grow up all at once. We will not recover all at once. There is a real joy in our Fellowship in watching this process in a newcomer. The slow process of change happens week after week. Sometimes it is like watching the hands of a clock; you don't see them move, but time changes.

My recovery program is based on change as a process and not an event. If change is a single event, then it happens once and it's over. That doesn't allow for continuing growth.

**************************************************

~ WISDOM TO KNOW ~ (More Daily Meditations For Men) ~

Any soldier who has been in combat knows that there comes a time after battle, when the smoke has blown away and the dust has settled, when you must lean over and give your foe a hand. For in that moment of generosity, the war is truly over.

~ Frederick Downs, Jr. ~

Forgiveness is a healing act for both the giver and receiver. It transforms us from unhappy, angry men holding on to old resentments into men who are freed of the past and ready to live at peace in the present.

Forgiveness doesn’t mean forgetting. It means that we simply let go of feeling that someone owes us something for past wrongs. It means we write off the bad debts of previous events. Old foes can sometimes even become friends. The foe may have inspired a secret sense of respect in us: how well he fought! We could even say he was a worthy foe and now he can become our respected friend.

What we couldn’t see well at close range may become clearer with the distance of time. Personal growth in recovery calls us to name our old enemies and work toward the forgiveness that rewards us with peace of mind.

Today I will live in the spirit of forgiveness.

**************************************************

~ A WOMAN’S SPIRIT ~ (More Meditations For Women) ~

Pain isn’t fascinating.

~ Sara Theism ~

We often dwell with fascination on the painful situations in our lives. It’s as though we’re compelled to relive the experiences that traumatized us. What is this compulsion? Surely we don’t court pleasure in all this pain. But that may be the insidious hook for some of us. Fortunately, this recovery program will help us, as it has helped many others, discern between healthy pleasure and unhealthy obsession.

In our youth, pain may have been so rampant in our lives that we didn’t easily recognize pleasure. Now we need to follow the healthy behavior and attitudes we observe in other women. Even though past pain may still capture our attention, we can shake our mind free of it with determination.

I will stand in awe of the miracle of my life today. The truly fascinating thing is that I have survived. There must be a reason.

**************************************************

~ TODAY I WILL DO ONE THING ~ (Daily Readings for Awareness and Hope) ~

I can survive without street drugs

With drags, I could handle the ups and downs in my life and in my emotions—or so I thought. Without drags, I see my real problems and feel my true feelings. By letting go of drugs, I've let go of a great deal of control.

According to my Twelve Step group, my experience is not unusual (and early recovery is the hardest). I am learning that by working through the loss of my drugs and dealing with my feelings, my moods will lighten and stabilize. I'll sleep better. I'll know better what I need to do, and I'll be better able to do it.

I will take five minutes today to think about two advantages I enjoy by staying clean and sober.

*************************************************

~ BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT ~ (Inspiration and Support for Recovery) ~

Happiness follows simplicity.

~ Irish Proverb ~

Many of us can remember a time in our childhood when we were walking with an adult and our legs were tired from trying to keep up with the grownup pace. “Slow down,” we might have said. In our fast-paced lives as adults, we would do well to heed that child’s request — to slow down. Maybe our hurry isn’t as necessary as we’ve thought. Maybe it’s a habit from the days when to slow down — to stand or sit still — meant finding out what we were thinking about, what we were planning to do, what our feelings were. We couldn’t afford to know that then. Our lives were filled with pain; to acknowledge the truth about ourselves or our situation might have jeopardized our survival.

Today, though, there are things we want to see, things we want to feel. Our recovery depends on it. Besides, we no longer need busy-ness as a shield. In slowing down our lives, we simplify them, and we can enjoy the beauty of recovery. We look at life through clearer eyes, and there’s so much to see!

Today help me slow down my life. Help me to be happy and enjoy the simple beauty of rainbows and bluebirds and sobriety.

**************************************************

~ MORNING LIGHT ~ (Meditations to Begin Your Day) ~

If you are aware of your weaknesses and are constantly learning, your potential is virtually limitless.

~ Jay Sidhu ~

Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other end-of-the-year family gatherings can cause you stress and concern, particularly if your family includes those who have drinking or drug problems. Just thinking about being around them can make you wish the holidays would go away.

Family history can play a large role in addiction, but oftentimes recovery is not a shared family experience. Despite having knowledge of the genetic predisposition for alcoholism in your family, many family members may be in denial about their own drinking or the drinking of others. They may ignore such behavior or simply accept it as part of the “family experience.” Even if they are aware of your recovery, some relatives may encourage you to drink or disparage the program and the people in it.

While you may dread the upcoming holidays because you will be around alcohol and family members who will be drinking, keep in mind that the good habit you have acquired—recovery—may not be going unnoticed. Your commitment to abstinence and the changes you are making may be a powerful example to others, especially your children and young family members.

I will remember that others can see the positive impact recovery has had on my life.

**************************************************

~ NIGHT LIGHT ~ (A Book Of Nighttime Meditations) ~

It is universally admitted that there is a natural healing power resident in the body. . . . Many people have learned to relax and to keep quiet like the animals, giving nature a free opportunity to heal their maladies.

~ Horatio W. Dresser ~

Have we ever met people who never seem to get sick? They eat well, get plenty of rest and exercise, and generally seem to give physical health a priority. Then there are those who always seem sick, and they seem more concerned about their sickness than in getting better.

Medical studies have found a direct correlation between people's emotional and physical states. The person who thinks positive thoughts and expresses emotions usually spends less time being sick than someone who has a mind filled with stinking thinking.-

We are our own healers. Our minds and bodies tell us when to eat, sleep, and relax. When we listen, we are in touch with the ways we can help ourselves feel better. It's our choice—we can feel healthy or we can feel sick. Which will it be?

Tonight I can learn to listen to my body and respect its messages. I will take care of myself and get the rest I need.

**************************************************

~ DAY BY DAY ~ (Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts) ~

Finding happiness

How often we mistake pleasure for happiness! Many people enjoy every pleasure on earth, yet they are sad and lonely. Pleasure comes from the world, something outside us. As we learned from our drug-related experiences, pleasure can be deceiving and ungratifying. Pleasure left us no rewards but exacted a heavy toll. The more we sought unrealized dreams, the more unfulfilled we became.

Happiness comes from within, from being secure in knowing that we are loved and that our Higher Power loves us. We will know true happiness when we lose sight of ourselves through our love for our Higher Power.

Have I found happiness?

Higher Power, show me that happiness comes from actively experiencing you in my life.

Today I will express my Higher Power’s love by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

**************************************************

~ IF YOU WANT WHAT WE HAVE ~ (Sponsorship Meditations) ~

Just about the time you think you can make both ends meet, somebody moves the ends.

~ PANSY PENNER ~

Newcomer

Too much is going on today. I was looking forward to a real rest as soon as I'd dealt with a current crisis. Instead of relief, I've suddenly got a whole new problem to handle. Why does everything have to happen all at once?

Sponsor

One of the most comforting sayings I've heard over and over in this program is "God doesn't send us more than we can handle." We're not able to control the timing of crises, nor can we know what unexpected demands will be made on our reserves. We can drain our energy focusing on the cosmic unfairness of it all, or we can accept that we have to change our plans. When we're flexible, we find resources within us we may not have known we had.

When we wonder how we'll manage to keep going in a physically demanding situation—finishing a race, for example, or giving birth—nature provides energy in abundance at the needful moment. Our human spirits, too, find the energy we need to go through whatever is in front of us.

Today, my Higher Power doesn't send me more than I can handle.

**************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

All forward steps in the progress of civilization have been the results of great ideas. All advances in the field of science were first ideas, many of which were conceived years before they became realities. Their creators were thinking far in advance of their times.

Alcoholics Anonymous is not a new system of ideas but it is rather a new application of old ideas whose time has come.

**************************************************

~ The 12 STEP PRAYER BOOK ~ (A Collection of Favorite 12 Step Prayers and Inspirational Readings) ~

Lord, I Bring Before You

Lord, I bring before You
The needs of my parents, friends,
Brothers, sisters,
All whom I love,
And all who have asked me to pray for them.

I pray that they may experience Your help
And the gift of Your comfort,
Protection from all dangers,
Deliverance from all sin,
And freedom from pain.
May they give You joyful thanks and praise.

Lord, in Your mercy, forgive all our sins against
one another.
Take from our hearts
All suspicion, hard feelings,
Anger, dissension,
And whatever else may diminish the love
We should have for one another.
~ by Thomas a Kempis ~

*************************************************

~ AROUND THE YEAR WITH EMMET FOX ~ (A Book of Daily Readings) ~

NO OFFICE HOURS

God has no office hours. There is never a time when God is unavailable. Day or night, summer or winter, God is always present; always ready to heal, to comfort, to inspire. It is not possible that you could turn to God in prayer without receiving help.

The one thing required of you is that you shall turn to Him wholeheartedly, and that you shall expect Him to act. The greater the emergency, the easier will it be to demonstrate. The most powerful of all prayers is simply "Be still, and know that I am God."

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him (2 Chronicles 16:9).

**************************************************

~ A DEEP BREATH OF LIFE ~ (365 Daily Inspirations for Heart-Centered Living) ~

May I Believe for You?

Miracles are performed by those who temporarily have more for those who temporarily have less.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

When Rev. Mary Morrissey asked her mentor Rev. Jack Boland to support her in prayer for an expansion for her church, he asked her, “Would you allow me to believe for you?” Jack was asking Mary if she would be willing to have the project manifested on the strength of his faith. His offer was an invitation to Mary to extend her faith to allow the dream to come true through a mind that temporarily envisioned greater possibilities than she could see. Since that time, the Living Enrichment Center in Wilsonville, Oregon, has become one of the most successful new thought centers in the world, with a huge facility serving many thousands of students of truth.

If you find it difficult to believe in something you desire, ask someone to believe for you. Such an invitation requires humility and magnitude: you must be humble enough to admit that you don’t feel you can swing it on your own, and confident enough to believe that it can be done with help.

When selecting a prayer partner, choose someone who has manifested good in the area you are seeking to edify. If, for example, you have manifested financial abundance and wish to create a rewarding relationship, invite someone who has a good relationship to pray for you while you hold the vision of their abundance.

A Course in Miracles tells us that a little willingness is all that is required to set a miracle in motion. When you declare that you are willing to have your dream come true, no matter by whose hand it is manifested, you signify that willingness.

We have the capacity to open the door to miracles for one another. When you cannot believe for yourself, let someone else believe for you.

Help me accept Your gifts with a little help from my friends.

I am willing to receive support to make my dreams come true.