Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - October

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October 25

Step by Step

“God has abundantly supplied this world with fine doctors, psychologists and practitioners of various kinds. Do not hesitate to take your health problems to such persons. Most of them give freely of themselves, that their fellows may enjoy sound minds and bodies. Try to remember that though God has wrought miracles among us, we should never belittle a good doctor or psychiatrist. Their services are often indispensable in treating a newcomer and in following his case afterward.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 9 (“The Family Afterward”), p 133.

Today, let me not be discouraged even in sobriety if AA is not enough to treat my physical, emotional or spiritual sickness. But it was never intended. If clinical depression or bipolar disorder have been ever-present shadows in my life, for example, I may need medication to stabilize those conditions, and I should not and cannot feel let down if AA does not treat such maladies. AA instead is one of multiple therapies that I might require. As the program notes, alcohol is but a symptom of our underlying problems. And if those problems should be a medical or psychological condition that warrants medical treatment, quality sobriety will be elusive if we treat only the symptoms and leave the conditions unattended. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

MIRACLES

The age of miracles is forever here.

~ Thomas Carlyle ~

Regardless of whatever addiction it was that sent us for help to the Program, we all refer to the big and small miracles of recovery that we experience. The chains of our addiction were so strong that we considered ourselves helpless and hopeless. We know that only a miracle saved our lives. There seemed no way out for us until we began to share experiences, strengths, and hopes with others who were in recovery, who were once as sick and desperate as we were.

To live without our substance seemed impossible. Small wonder that we began to believe in personal miracles when we found abstinence. One of the miracles was being able to care and share with others. Another miracle made service easy and natural.

Every moment I don't use is a miracle. That I believe in a Higher Power is a miracle. That I have forgiven myself and love others is a miracle. The age of miracles begins with recovery.

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

To become a father is not difficult, but to be a father is.

~ Anonymous ~

Many of us grew up with a gap in our hearts, a longing to know our father better, to have his time, his attention, and his love. Where was he? Why did he not get more involved with us? Was his work really that important? Did he really not think about us? Did he care but just not show it?

Our father grew up with the same images of masculinity that we are dealing with: that we must keep a wall of toughness around us, that we must not show weakness or softness because someone might think less of us. Now, in our recovery and healing, we see that the unfilled yearning was part of our search that led us into problems with addiction and codependency. We were trying to satisfy our needs and soothe our pains, but without effective means. This healing journey includes making peace with our father or the memories we have of him.

Today I will accept the pain of missing my father, and I will stand on his shoulders to become a stronger, more loving man.

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

As a woman, I may err. Just for today I will cherish my humanness.

~ Jan Pishok ~

Making mistakes is normal. We grew up in families where mistakes were common. Newspapers have typos, announcers mispronounce names, coworkers forget meetings, friends overlook birthdays, gas tanks run dry. So why do we think we must be perfect?

Expecting more of ourselves than we do of others is common among women in recovery. We fear that if we’re not perfection personified, we’re not worthy! It may be that demanding parents and teachers helped instill this when we were young, but we don’t have to continue cultivating it. Yet we do continue. Fortunately, it’s never too late to change a habit, even one as ingrained as this.

Giving ourselves permission to be human and imperfect relieves us of a terrible burden. Truly believing that no one else is perfect either makes the prospect more acceptable.

Some of my actions will be errorless today, but many will fall short of perfection, just like everyone else’s. I am as okay as I need to be.

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

I have found a better way

I never expected to have a problem with alcohol and other drugs. But in trying to cope with the problems in my life, it became all too easy for me to rely on such a dangerous "tool." At the time, I didn't know a better way. I only knew I was in deep distress and looking for relief. I just kept using the wrong rool.

Since learning about addiction and mental health problems, I have found a better way to deal with my life and I am trying more useful tools to help me change. I'm using a psychiatrist to help me work on my medical problem. I'm using a counselor, a Twelve Step program, and a sponsor to help me work on my emotional and spiritual problems. It's still not easy, but at least I'm working with the right tools.

I will read Step Two and thank my higher power for all my helpers.

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

It cannot be your duty to do anything you do not have time to do.

~ Emmett Fox ~

Running around trying to do everything for everyone can bring on an emotional collapse. When we act like a merry-go-round that never stops, we will finally run out of gas and break down, exhausted and worn out.

Energy is a barometer we can use to measure balance in our lives. We get tired when we give to others without also nourishing ourselves. Frantic giving to others can numb us to our own pain and deafen us to our own cries for help. We tell ourselves, “I can put off resting a few more hours,” “I’ll take time for myself later,” or, “I can’t possibly take a vacation now.”

We are the only ones who can choose to get off the merry-go-round and take a closer look at our living patterns. Pushing ourselves to the limit isn’t doing ourselves or those we love any favors. We must relax and take the time to recharge and when we do, life is a much smoother and more satisfying ride. One way to avoid exhaustion is to pray each day, stopping everything else and holding our lives up to our Higher Power. If we are out of balance, we will be shown. Often merely stopping to pray gives us the rest and refueling we need.

Today let me take time for myself

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

Promises are like crying babies in a theater. They should be carried out at once.

~ Norman Vincent Peale ~

By putting down the drink or the drug, you have started I he process of becoming a promise-keeper. To help you with your promise, there are a number of tools in recovery, including the Promises of Alcoholics Anonymous. These are not guarantees but commitments that the program makes in support of your desire to stop using. To be a promise-keeper, you can adopt the following promises as the ones you make to yourself:

• I will know a new freedom and a new happiness by staying clean and sober.

• I will learn to treat others with kindness and respect.

• I will be forgiving of myself.

• I will help others in the fellowship and I will give to others.

• I will devote time to meditation and personal reflection.

• I will understand the word serenity and begin to find peace.

• I will turn my life over to the care of a Higher Power.

• I will see the world with new eyes.

Today I promise to keep my promises.

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

Our weak and negative states leave us open to 'take on' outside prevailing conditions. . . . We are shaken with the wind and float with the current because we present the negative.

~ Henry Wood ~

A bad day usually begins badly. All it takes some, times is one thing to go wrong and we run to our battle stations for the rest of the day. Then it seems all that ever comes our way are more bad things. By the end of the day, we're glad it's over.

But our day didn't have to go badly if only we had detached right from the start. Instead of believing we were victims of an unset alarm clock, a ripped shirt, unpressed pants, an angry partner, demanding children, or burnt toast, we could have accepted the upsets and let go of them.

Life is so much better when we aren't drowning in the upsets around us. We don't have to absorb the antics of others or get caught up in the material and mechanical inconveniences. A sure sign of maturity is being able to accept an upset for a few minutes and then let it go.

Tonight, I can let go of minor hassles and upsets and enjoy what lies ahead tomorrow.

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

Remembering well

Do we remember how important preventive talk is for our fellowship and for our program? Drug-alogues and drunk-alogues are fine for getting to know each other in open meetings. But if we constantly sit around in social groups expounding on the “good times”—when we were abusing drugs and booze—what are we really doing?

Are we trying to tell ourselves drugs are really beneficial? Are we trying to fit in where we don’t belong? Are we forgetting the pain and disaster? Are we ignoring the new beauty we have found? Preventive talk makes us aware of the tendency to expound on the “good old days.” Preventive talk is necessary to keep our heads straight.

Do I remember the consequences well?

Higher Power, when I am tempted to talk or think about the “good old days,” let me remember the "bad old days.”

Today I will look back at

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

In spite of everything, I still believe that people are really good at heart.

Newcomer

I get upset and discouraged about what's in the news. So much of it is about violence and tragedy, lying and competition. What's going on out there is so different from what I see at meetings. I wish that everyone had what we have.

Sponsor

Sometimes it does seem as if the world "out there" is on a binge of some kind. And addictions themselves, of all kinds, are still widespread and causing considerable damage. But what about the healing, the taking of responsibility, the turning around of lives? News of recovery, changes in consciousness, spiritual growth, and service is not what sells papers, but it is a real and vital part of what's happening in the world. Twelve Step recovery has been around for less than a century but its healing principles have entered the awareness and lives of millions of people around the world.

When we think about what our individual lives were like before recovery and what fundamental changes we've been able to make in a short time, it gives us hope and a sense of what's possible.

Today, I'm blessed with hope. I let change begin with me.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The greatest piece of self-deception on the part of the drinker is the actual belief that a drink will make him feel better. We got this illusion because alcohol in the blood stream and in the brain deadens the misery momentarily, but it also served to make us thirsty and so we continued the drinking and inevitably felt worse. Whisky will pick you up a foot or so but it drops you a hundred. What made you sick will never make you well.

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

Deep Peace

May God shield you.
May God bring you
to the land of deep peace.
Deep peace of the running wave to you,
Deep peace of the flowing air to you,
Deep peace of the quiet earth to you,
Deep peace of the shining stars to you,
Deep peace of the gentle night to you.
Moon and stars pour their healing light on you
Deep peace of God, the Light of the World,
Deep peace of God.

~ Adapted from an ancient Celtic prayer ~

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

HOW MUCH CAN GOD DO?

The Bible tells us that God can heal us, that He can deliver us from our destructions, that He lifts up the weak, that He leads and guides us. But just how much can God do? Well, God can do almost anything. That may sound strange to those who have been taught that with God all things are possible. But there are some things that God cannot do, and it is fortunate for us that this is true.

God is a God of love and rules by principle, and because this is so, He cannot change His nature. He cannot break divine law. He cannot bring disease, or suffering, or lack.

He is always the loving Father, ready to hear and answer prayer.

How much can God do? He can bring heaven here and now—not by breaking the law, which is impossible to God—but by fulfilling it.

Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law (Psalm 119:18)

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

Clear Away What Isn’t

Nothing real can be threatened. Nothing unreal exists. Herein lies the Peace of God.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

Michelangelo was asked how he sculpted the magnificent classic statue of David. "I looked into the stone and saw David. Then I simply cleared away everything that wasn't David."

Our work in life is exactly the same. We do not have to create who we are; indeed, we have been created in utter perfection. We just need to discover what about our life is not who we are, and let it go.

The great Indian sage Ramana Maharshi offered one straightforward path to enlightenment: Continually ask, "Who am I?" Sincere, consistent inquiry into this most important question will eventually reveal that many of the things we identify with, are not who we are. When all of our illusions are peeled away, only divinity remains.

Who are you? You are not only your name, which could change. You are not a husband or wife only; your identity goes far beyond your relationship. You are not your bank account, which rises and falls. You are not your house, from which you come and go. You are not your job, which is temporary. You are not your emotions, which wax and wane. You are not your religion, which is a mutable belief system. You are not your body; some people have body parts removed, and they are still a whole person. You are not even your thoughts, which vacillate and turn in all directions. If you are not any of these things that you commonly identify with, who are you?

We are spiritual beings, and any other identity detracts from the majesty of our true essence. Let go of false beliefs about yourself, that the true you may shine in all its splendor.

Teach me who I truly am, that I may live my highest potential.

I am Spirit. I am whole.