[bluidkiti]

February 26

Step by Step

Today, understand we cannot take Step Seven of asking a higher power to “remove our shortcomings” without first surrendering completely to the Sixth Step of being “entirely ready.” If we cling onto some character defect such as fear, resentment, anger, self-pity or remorse, we probably have not been thoroughly honest in our Fourth Step of “a searching and fearless moral inventory …” Some – if not all – of those character defects likely triggered our drinking, at first abusively and eventually compulsively, and holding onto them even with an honest desire to let go of them may threaten the quality of our sobriety – maybe sobriety itself. An “honest desire” to surrender our defects, then, is not sufficient. Because the program is one of action, we must be active in releasing our defects and not taking them back. Our thoughts, feelings and actions of yesterday influence our subsequent tomorrows; thus, what we do today may well impact tomorrow, and a history of carrying from yesterday into tomorrow is one of self-destruction. Today, if we are mired in defects that we know contributed to our drinking, let’s review our Fourth to see if it wasn’t as “searching and fearless” as it should be. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

THE ELEVENTH PROMISE

We will suddenly realize that God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

~Big Book ~

When we are new in recovery and survive a major problem or make progress, we try to explain it by saying we have been saved by coincidence. Then our new friends are quick to tell us that there are no coincidences in recovery, only miracles. God is doing for us what we could not do for ourselves.

As we meditate on this Promise, we must practice patience, belief, and trust in our Higher Power. God always lets us know that miracles come in His time, not ours.

This promise tells us we must accept God’s help, not merely be resigned to it. We must let go of our problems personally and turn them over to God with faith.

When I drank or used, my higher power was the substance I was using. I seldom admitted it. The Eleventh Promise tells me I have found a Higher Power that can and will do great things for me in spite of myself.

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

To remain whole, he twisted. To become straight, let yourself be bent. To become fall, be hollow.

~ LaoTzu ~

The first three Steps of our Twelve Step program make the ancient spiritual wisdom real in our lives. First we give in to the fact that we are powerless in a very real way in our lives. Then we open ourselves to the healing that comes not of our own making but from our Higher Power.

We live the paradox of spiritual development. Every day that we admit the ways in which we are powerless, and every day that we live in true humility, we become stronger, wiser men. Although we aren’t totally powerless, there are some things we can never control. Owning up to that truth makes us stronger. Having the respect that is inherent in humility makes us grow in wisdom.

Today I am grateful for the spiritual guidance I am learning in this program.

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

Nothing is real until you are close to it.

~ Joyce Wadler ~

Addiction kept us from being close to the people and the experiences in our lives. It’s not that we weren’t present, but our feelings, perceptions, and reactions lacked clarity and sincerity, because our vision was distorted by the chemical that consumed us.

Living free of mood-altering chemicals brings us much closer to the currents running through our lives. Without the cloud of alcohol or other drugs we see who our friends really are; we recognize what our experiences are trying to teach us.

What do we gain from being closer? Our awareness of the presence of a Higher Power is heightened. We come to believe that each encounter is by design. We don’t doubt that we have a particular investment in every experience. We trust that all is well. We know that God is in charge.

Living on the outskirts of life used to satisfy me; I didn’t know it could be different. Today I feel my involvement and cherish life.

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

I can manage my anxiety and my addiction

My anxiety disorder kept getting worse. It got harder to go to the grocery store and harder even to drive my car. Eventually, I couldn’t leave my apartment and then I lost my job. To solve my psychiatric problem, I tried street drugs and alcohol. They didn’t help at all; in fact I developed a dual disorder.

Given both the addiction and the psychiatric illness, I learned to work a program of dual recovery. For me, this means I use the Twelve Steps for both illnesses. It means that I see a therapist regularly and attend an anxiety support group every week. Through the help of my combined recovery program and my higher power, I now have my anxiety in check and I am gratefully abstinent from alcohol or other drugs.

I will meditate on the advantages of using specific recovery programs for my specific illnesses.

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

Joy happens as we cease fighting everyone and everything and surrender to the good orderly direction of life.

~ Nancy Folsum ~

Living on the edge of depression and panic, we had little experience with joy. Our hearts were worn and battle-scarred, utterly unfamiliar with the peace that joy can bring.

Days and sometimes years into our recovery, we one day find ourselves sitting side by side with joy. What a new feeling. It’s solid, it’s peaceful. It has nothing to do with where we’re sitting or standing. It has nothing to do with what’s going on outside us, or with who said what to whom. It is a feeling too happy to be true, and joy is the only word that pops into our head to describe it.

Joy is the gravy of recovery, and it is beyond measure. Now that we are living in a healthy and life- filled way, there’s always a chance that joy will find its way into our day. In this knowledge we rejoice.

Today let me know that joy is the reward of persistently working my program of recovery.

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

It is impressive to see a person who has been battered by life in many ways… still striving to find the path to a more fulfilling existence, moved by the wisdom in knowing, “I am more than my problems.”

~ Nathaniel Branden ~

Naturalist Henry David Thoreau left behind the comforts of home to live in the woods and fulfill his basic needs in a Spartan-like existence. He explained, “I wanted to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and to see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.” Thoreau’s desire to experience life more fully has, for decades, provided a power of example to many. Each person in recovery—including you—is a power of ex-ample. Each is a role model for those who stumble into the program, for those who lose their way, and for those who struggle each day with courage and hope. Each has a story that started in tragedy and is continuing in triumph.

When you see yourself as a role model, you can view your progress. You can understand how your story can be inspirational to a newcomer.

I will serve as a source of inspiration to others. I will freely give of myself and my experiences to those in need.

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

People often say that this or that person has not yet found himself or herself. But the self is not something that one finds. It is something one creates.

~ Thomas Szasz ~

In the late sixties, people used drugs and politics to find themselves. The flower children advocated love, not war; they listened to hard rock and political ballads; they looked inward to find out who they were. Yet instead of finding themselves, many seemed to escape from themselves and life.

Many of us today look frantically for ways to discover who we are. We may dress differently or wear makeup. We may consult horoscopes or psychics to gain insight into our being. We may trace our family origins or isolate ourselves in cabin retreats to discover our roots and meaning.

Yet we are not the result of dress or psychic insight or family patterns. We are blank pages upon which we draw who we want to be. Just as an architect draws blueprints for a building, so must we draw blueprints for who we want to be. We are the creators, not the created. We are the artists. Now grab the pencils and let the sketching begin!

I have all the tools I need to create the very best me possible.

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

Learning to live

Just as we learn to walk or talk, we must learn to live, day by day. When we got clean and sober, we had to learn how to live all over again. (Judging by our past we had not done so well in this area.)

If our desire is strong enough, God will take our hand and lead us step by step, day by day, into our new life. In time we will become the loving, mature adults we could not be for so many years before.

Am I learning to live?

Higher Power, help me let go of my will and follow yours.

I will work on learning to live today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Freedom is nothing else but a chance to be better.

~ ALBERT CAMUS ~

Newcomer

This thing of having to go to meetings all the time—I feel as if I’m substituting a whole new addiction for the old one.

Sponsor

Like you, I depend on the tools of the program. I have habits (attending meetings, reading program literature, offering service, praying, meditating) that have replaced many habits of my actively addicted years. I wouldn’t want to have to live without my new habits. By maintaining our healthy sobriety, we are treating a disease, not acquiring another one.

When we were using, we were far from free. Substances and behaviors that threatened our lives and serenity were in charge. Today, once we choose to take the simple steps that support recovery and healing, we have lives in which we can make independent and worthy choices.

Today, I know the difference between healthful habits and addictions.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Frequently we are asked “Why waste your money on that guy? He’s a phony if ever I saw one.” We have all heard this and often it was true but after all, the monetary loss each month was way below our old whisky bills. Every once in a while the long shot does come in and the pay-off is tremendous.

It is simply a case of betting on people instead of horses. These bets on people can’t lose, for if the phony abuses your generosity, the fault is his, not yours and he is debited and you are credited by the Great Bookkeeper who has charge of the Treasury where “neither moth nor rust doth corrupt and where thieves do not break through and steal.”

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~ WALK SOFTLY AND CARRY A BIG BOOK ~ (Official & Unofficial Sloganeering From the 12 Step Programs) ~

1) GOD: Great Out Doors

2) In order for someone to “give” you a bad day, you have to take” it.

3) When you are being here now, you don’t have to cover up anything.

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

Run the Race

Help me this day, Higher Power, to run with patience the race that is set before me.
May neither opposition without nor discouragement within divert me from my progress in recovery.
Inspire in me strength of mind, willingness, and acceptance, that I may meet all fears and difficulties with courage, and may complete the tasks set before me today.

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

PRIMING THE PUMP

An understanding faith is the life of prayer. It is a great mistake, however, to struggle to produce a lively faith within yourself. That can only end in failure. The thing to do is to act as though you had faith. Act out what you wish to demonstrate, and you will be expressing true faith. This is the right use of the will, scientifically understood.

Verily I say unto you, if ye have faith, and doubt not, ye shall not only do this which is done to the fig tree, but also if ye shall say unto this mountain, Be thou cast into the sea, it shall be done (Matthew 21:21).

This statement of Jesus is perhaps the most tremendous spiritual pronouncement ever made, Jesus knew the law of faith, and proved it many times. We shall move mountains when we are willing to believe we can, and then not only will mountains be moved, but the whole planet will be redeemed and re-formed according to the Pattern in the Mount.

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

Who’s the Phony?

Be humble before God, but great in Him.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

An interviewer asked a number of movie executives, “What is your greatest fear?” Over 80 percent of these wealthy, powerful, and successful people answered, “I fear that if people knew who I really am, they would discover I am a phony and that I don’t really know what I am doing.” The irony of this common fear is that these people are among the most respected in their industry—not for fooling people, but for the real achievements they have engineered. So, indeed, each is a phony—but the phony one is not the successful business person; it is the one who believes, “I am a phony.”

To be successful in any endeavor, we must allow Spirit to work through us. There is a higher power that will flow through us if we allow it. Rarely do great artists claim credit for their own achievements. When we are at our best, we become an open channel through which Spirit can express. In the Hindu tradition, Krishna is the incarnation of God who gingerly plays the flute that makes all the maidens swoon. God is the player, and we are the flute.

The belief system of the ego, demonstrated by the movie executives’ responses, is the inverse of the truth. We are phony in our unworthiness and genuine in our strength.

Let me not identify with smallness, but the greatness in which You created me.

I cannot fail because Spirit lives in me, through me, as me.