[bluidkiti]

January 9

Step by Step

” …(A)ny alcoholic capable of honestly facing his problems in the light of our experience can recover, provided he does not close his mind to all spiritual concepts. He can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial.

“We find that no one need have difficulty with the spirituality of the program. Willingness, honesty and open-mindedness are the essentials of recovery. But these are indispensable.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “Appendices,” No. 2 (“Spiritual Experience”), p 570.

“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance – that principle is contempt prior to investigation.” – Herbert Spencer

Today, I look to HOW – Honesty, Open-Mindedness and Willingness – to guide me if I continue to struggle with the concept of spirituality even if a spiritual awakening or experience may be little more than a change in personality and which usually comes over time instead of suddenly and with fireworks. If, indeed, a spiritual experience can be a simple improvement in my personality, outlook, perspective and philosophy of life, I can also expect that experience to be assured because, without alcohol, there is going to be some change in my emotional status and personality. It is up to me to employ the steps and traditions to make that change for the better. Deceit, closed-mindedness and a refusal to admit that something stronger than me – alcohol – could defeat me was my spiritual state as a drinking alcoholic. Today, as an alcoholic in recovery, I seek Honesty, Open-Mindedness and Willingness (HOW) out of necessity. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

FUTILITY OF HATRED

Hating people is like burning down your own home to get rid of a rat.

~ Henry E. Fosdick ~

Hatred has many ancestors, and it breeds many vicious offspring. It’s easy to hate someone, some thing, or some idea. That hatred gives birth to anger, resentment, envy, impatience, and fear. It soon becomes obvious to the newcomer that, by holding on to hatred, they are also breeding these other negative emotions as well.

Like a compulsion or addiction of any kind, hatred always gets worse unless we stop feeding it. When we indulge in hatred, we are unable to justify the savage feelings we experience. So we add anger, fear, and all the rest in order to fill the gap, but it’s never enough. The result is always a need for more hatred, which crowds all the positive areas of our lives with negative emotions.

The time I spend on hatred can be better used in working my Program.

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

God’s admiration for us is infinitely greater than anything we can conjure up for Him.

~ Saint Francis of Assisi ~

Those of us who look back upon a trail of guilty feelings and shame may find it hard to fathom God’s admiration for us. This whole idea, which comes from a Christian saint who lived eight hundred years ago, turns upside down our ideas of a God who is watching us and counting all the things we have done wrong. But we have been created to have a place here. And we have a right to take our place among all of God’s beloved creatures.

No matter how imperfect we are, no matter what we feel guilty about, no matter how low our self-esteem, we are living in the grace of a God who loves us and holds us close, even at our lowest point. We sometimes feel alienated from God. We have difficulty making conscious contact. Even then, we can still know that God carries us through these hard times.

Today I will walk in the light of God’s admiration and accept it to the best of my ability.

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

I wish I could keep in mind that God can provide, God will provide, and God does provide.

~ Marie Gubbels ~

Relying on God for the guidance to deal with our problems seems much too simple. We probably spent decades looking to alcohol, other drugs, and relationships for the solution to the ache that never left. We didn’t know then that God was waiting in the wings for our prayers. Even knowing it, as we do now, hasn’t prevented us from looking for help elsewhere, time and again. It has never been our nature to keep our lives simple. However, we are getting more practiced at the simpler life since becoming a part of this recovery program.

We may need to choose, daily, to believe that God can, will, and does provide for our every need. Because most of us haven’t had a life-changing spiritual experience, we must decide every day to look to God. Fortunately, a moment of quiet and a tiny prayer is all that we need to do. God is never more than a thought away.

I will practice my reliance on God at every turn of events today. I believe I will receive guidance and knowledge concerning how to proceed next.

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

I better accept myself when I am able to accept others

Even though I’m working a program of dual recovery for my addiction and a psychiatric illness, I’m still having some disturbing symptoms and I can’t go back to my old job yet. At times, I find myself withdrawing; at times, I feel bad because my recovery is not where I want it to be.

Fortunately I tend to feel better about myself when I go to a support group meeting. My fellow members have problems much like mine. They too are working a dual program and recovering. What I find is that as I accept them, I am more willing to accept myself.

I will schedule two support group meetings each week as part of my dual recovery plan.

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

The smaller the head, the bigger the dream.

~ Austin O’Malley ~

When we were small, we dreamed big dreams. We dreamed of flying to the moon or stopping a mountain lion with our bare hands. Our parents and older siblings humored us, and we knew it. But we also knew we could do these things.

As we grew older, we let go of our childhood dreams. We were told to grow up. We were told to be realistic. We were told in so many ways that dreams don’t come true. So many of us stopped dreaming. And we grew up.

When we are overwhelmed with pain and problems, resolution may seem as likely as flying to the moon or stopping a mountain lion with our bare hands.

But now, with help from our Higher Power and Twelve Step program, we’re starting to believe in miracles again. We’re learning how to recapture our childhood selves, how to let our inner child dream big dreams. We cannot accomplish what we cannot imagine. Dreams give us energy, hope, and the courage to take one more step.

Today help me dream. Remind me that I cannot accomplish what I cannot imagine.

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

I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.

~ Albert Schweitzer ~

At times you may feel there is no vision to run eagerly toward, no joy to give a sense of purpose, and no desires to fulfill your day-to-day existence.

Centuries ago, sages would give of their knowledge and skills, without any thought of personal benefit or financial gain. The message of compassion and selflessness they were teaching was far greater than any riches or personal gain. Their satisfaction came from the knowledge of how their actions gave hope to others.

Each time you reach out to another person, you send forth a tiny ripple of hope that grows more powerful with each person it touches. In doing so, you become more capable of seeing that you are not the only one who may be unhappy or suffering. In fact, you may see that your current difficulties pale in comparison to what others are experiencing. Your gift of hope to others is also a gift to yourself.

Today I choose to be of use. I will offer help to those who are feeling overwhelmed so they see they are not alone in their struggles.

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

Later. I’m still young. I’ll think of spiritual things when I’m older. On my deathbed.

~ Garrison Keillor ~

Too often we’ve thought prayer is for the aged, the sick, or the dying. If we are young, healthy, and successful, we may think we don’t need to communicate with a Higher Power. “I’m fine right now,” we may say. “I will . . . later on.”

The time to establish contact with a Higher Power is now. From the minute we come kicking and screaming into this world until our last breath, there is a Power greater than ourselves watching over us. This Power guides us, strengthens us, and helps us grow even without our acknowledging it is there. But it is because we don’t acknowledge its presence that we become lost, confused, depressed, angry, hopeless, or unforgiving.

Our time to reach out to our Higher Power is not when our bodies stop running. Now is the time to ask for direction, seek knowledge, become open to receiving divine guidance. If we open ourselves now to developing our spirituality, we will open a valuable door to our growth.

Can I begin to develop my spiritual beliefs? Can I open my mind and heart to a Higher Power?

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

Changing

You cannot build a house or a life without some foundation. While we were still drinking or using drugs, it seemed our lives could not change. There was no foundation to build on. We had no working principles in our lives. We found we could not become the good things we wanted to become.

Until we quit drinking or using, we didn’t know that there was a way we could make ourselves, one day at a time, into the kind of person we could accept. But the Steps and the fellowship make personality change possible.

How have I changed?

Higher Power, let me be willing to love myself and live myself into a new life, one day at a time, based on honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness.

I will seek change today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Which way lay safety? Which way life?

~ JACQUES LUSSEYRAN ~

Newcomer

What would be the harm of using in moderation? The rest of the world does it. I have to admit that I feel deprived, even somewhat resentful.

Sponsor

When I was free to use in moderation, how moderate was I? Was my relationship with certain substances and behaviors easy and comfortable, one that created no problems for me or others? Was it easy for me to stop, once I got started? Was it easy for me to stay stopped, if I chose to? It’s easy to slip back into denial about the seriousness of my problem, once I’ve gotten some momentary feelings of control.

Some of us consumed our addictive substances in smaller quantities than others did. Some of us are taller or thinner or shorter or younger; some spent more years in school; some can enjoy strawberries without breaking out in a rash. I can easily point to the differences between me and others; there are plenty!

Or I can go to meetings, listen, and see if there are feelings with which I identify. The addictions that call to us will always be there, if we decide to go back to them. For today, there’s no hurry to return to old habits. Let’s keep an open mind, as we go through today without putting our recovery at risk.

I look honestly at my previous life and remember what feelings and situations got me here.

For today, I give myself the chance for recovery.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

It would be most difficult to contradict the statement that you cannot get sobriety unless you honestly want it. You cannot find a God of your understanding unless you honestly seek Him. It is likewise true that you cannot reap full measure from our Program unless you honestly live it.

Self-deception is very hard to recognize for if we recognized it, it would no longer be deceptive. Honesty with ourselves can only be acquired by diligent study of ourselves, our ideals, our ambitions and our motives.

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

1) It’s hard to learn from a mistake you don’t acknowledge making.

2) The best thing you can do is get out of your own way.

3) If you make yourself available, you’ll get what you need when you need it.

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

The 23rd-1/2 Psalm

The Lord is my sponsor! I shall not want.
He directs me to go to many meetings.
He desires me to sit back, relax, and listen with an open mind.
He restores my soul, my sanity, and my health.
He leads me in the paths of sobriety, serenity, and fellowship for my own sake.
He teaches me to think, to take it easy, to live and let live, and to do first things first.
He makes me honest, humble, and grateful.
He teaches me to accept the things I cannot change, to change the things that I can, and gives me the wisdom to know the difference.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of despair, frustration, guilt, and remorse, I will fear no evil, for God is with me. The Program, God’s way of life, the Twelve Steps—they comfort me.
God prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies: rationalization, fear, anxiety, self- pity, and resentment.
God anoints my confused mind and jangled nerves with knowledge, understanding, and hope. No longer am I alone; neither am I afraid, nor sick, nor helpless, nor hopeless. My cup runneth over.
Surely sobriety and serenity shall follow me every day of my life, twenty-four hours at a time, as I surrender my will to God and carry the message to others; and I will dwell in the house of my Higher Power, as I understand Him, daily.
Forever and Ever. Amen.

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

NO RESULTS WITHOUT PRAYER

There is only one way to make spiritual progress, and that is to practice the Presence of God. Mankind is continually seeking to discover a shortcut but as usual the lazy man takes the most pains in the long run, and having wasted his time in wandering up bypaths, he is ultimately driven by failure and suffering to the realization of the grand truth that there is no substitute for prayer; that is, the conscious dwelling upon the Being of God.

If your intuitive nature is well developed, you will seldom need to use formal statements at all. This is excellent—for all who will trouble to climb a ladder when he is strong enough to leap over the wall?

But it must not be overlooked that very many people do all their work with formal statements of Truth, and get consistently good results by working in this way. Not through repeating affirmations like a parrot. Those who work like a parrot inevitably make a parrot’s demonstration—they remain in a cage. Of a good worker who used the same phrases many times it was said by a friend: “He constantly uses the old affirmations, but he stuffs them with fresh feeling every time.”

The Lord is nigh unto all them that call him, to all that call upon him in truth (Psalm 145: 18)

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

Your Point of Power

Don’t play for safety. It’s the most dangerous thing in the world.

~ Hugh Walpole ~

When popular singer Bobby McFerrin got bored with his performances, he faced a crossroad in his career. After the smash success of his 1988 song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy,” he set out on a long and grueling concert tour—but then the joy fell out. “I wasn’t being fair to my audiences or myself,” McFerrin confessed. “I wasn’t pre–sent. I wasn’t scared anymore.” McFerrin dropped out for two years, spent quality time with his family, and explored novel musical forms. He came back fresh and imaginative, established the groundbreaking ensemble, Synchestra, performed duets with premier cellist Yo Yo Ma, and went into classical conducting.

I attended a most innovative Bobby McFerrin concert, during which I and the rest of the audience waited the entire evening for Bobby to sing “Don’t Worry, Be Happy.” He didn’t.

I have a formula for knowing if a next step is the right one for you: If you feel both excited and scared, that is it. If you’re just excited and not afraid, there is no challenge, no stretching, no initiation; you are still in your safe zone, and growth is unavailable. If you’re just afraid, there is no positive motivation. Why walk through a fear unless there is something you are walking toward? But if you are simultaneously turned on and frightened, do it and watch your growth skyrocket.

You owe it to yourself, your loved ones, and your clients to stay on your cutting edge. If your career or relationship is a bore, step back and ask yourself what it would take to make it exciting. Then ask yourself what it would take to make it scary. The intersection of the two answers is your point of power.

I pray to follow my spirit and walk past fear to make my dreams come true.

Powered by enthusiasm, I step forward to greater things.