Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - June

[bluidkiti]

June 28

Step by Step

Today ..."having had a spiritual awakening." Today, ask seriously and honestly what "spiritual awakening" means. If I talk the program's talk but don't walk the walk, I am little more than a dry drunk and have missed one of recovery's most elusive and cherished accomplishments - a fundamental change emotionally and spiritually. If I talk of adherence to service to the program and other alcoholics who still suffer but beg off because I am too busy to give someone a ride to a meeting, my talk about being in service is little more than self-righteous, self-serving, sanctimonious ego-blowing. Today, I need to ask if I have truly undergone the basic requirement of a spiritual awakening - a fundamental change in attitude, perspective and spirituality. And if I conclude that I have not, it's back to the basics of the program. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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

SHARING

Not what we give but what we share. For a gift without the giver is bare.

~ J.R. Lowell ~

The magic of abstinence is always based on the joy of sharing. None of us can be only a giver or a receiver. In order to share, we must be both a giver and a receiver.

Nothing ever comes to someone who only holds open his arms and says, “Give to me, I'm ready to enjoy rewards." Because the rewards we receive come from the joy of giving, we must give to receive. This is called sharing.

The miracle of sharing is building the confidence that we are able to give to others, and take the rewards into our hearts. Sharing brings joy to everyone involved. It is a two-way process between giving and receiving. One can't exist without the other. Recovery can't exist without either of them.

Today, I'll remember that by sharing I give to and receive from others and they do the same for me.

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

It is perfectly true, as philosophers say, that life must be understood backwards. But they forget the other proposition, that it must be lived forwards.

~ Soren Kierkegaard ~

Real life presents us with unexpected puzzles and challenges. Like going on a trip, part of the reason for going is to experience the unexpected. Looking forward on our path, we see bends and turns ahead and we don’t know what’s around them. So we look forward to them with a mixture of anticipation and concern.

This adventure of life deepens with the understanding we get from our past experiences. What we have already learned sharpens our skills for dealing with today, and still we will meet new surprises, and we will continue to learn. Even though we have no control over what appears on our path, there is no need for fear or panic because we have turned our lives over to the care of our Higher Power. We will learn how to deal with it.

Today I rely on what I have learned about life, and I trust in God to support me.

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

When friends say I’m their anchor, I am grateful for the knowledge that I can trust them to sail without me.

~ DMG ~

An important element of this recovery program is our willingness to be there for other women. In the wreckage of the past, we seldom were. Our focus was narrow; we were self-centered, jealous, and full of fear. Now we can be counted on, at least part of the time. Being a friend, a real friend, to another woman is a gift to both of us.

Let’s not take care of each other, however, even though that’s the plea on occasion. Being a friend doesn’t mean doing for someone what she needs to do for herself. It means simply being there to listen, to love, to offer suggestions, to pray. In the end, we all have to be in charge of ourselves. Being good role models for one another is a genuine advantage of this program.

I will be a friend today and share myself, my love, and my prayers with others. I need friends too. They will be there for me.

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

I have friends

I used to feel especially alone on a crowded bus or a busy sidewalk. I could hardly talk to anyone; it seemed like other people weren't part of my world. I was lonely and scared (and angry). But I didn't know what to do.

Two friends helped me when I most needed it‒when I couldn't help myself. Together, they got me to a psychiatrist, who taught me about my illness. It was such a relief when the medication she prescribed started working. I didn't know how troubled or isolated I really was. With medication and now therapy, I am getting connected to the world again. I feel much better. And I am very grateful to my helpers.

I will ash a friend to call me tonight just to see how I'm doing; then, tomorrow night, I will call her.

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

I am weaving the linen of night and day.

~ Kabir ~

As time passes and we go through each day, we weave the tapestry of our lives. There are snags in some places and lumps in others, but the overall beauty is only enhanced by these elements. The craftsmen of India, with their fine skills, each make one intentional flaw in their work to help them remember they are human and only God can make something perfect.

So it is with our recovery. We create the beauty of our lives just by living. We may like some areas of the weaving more than others, but it is all beautiful in relationship to the whole. When our critical eyes are too sharp, we get into trouble. When we put on our glasses of acceptance and willingness, we can see the finery which we and our Higher Power have been weaving together.

Today help me see life and living as an art. Help me trust the fact that each experience is as it should be. Help me let each day and each night become a part of my weaving and allow God’s hand to guide the process.

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

There never was a night that had no morn.

~ Dinah Mulock Craik ~

When he was serving as a Green Beret medic in Vietnam, Doug Peacock carried with him what he called his “landscape of hope.” It was an old road map of the Rocky Mountains, and he took it with him always. Whenever he could, he would take out his landscape of hope and study it. He would look at the roads that had been carved out years ago into the mountains and stare into the empty spaces between those roads. He tried to imagine the rugged wilderness, the smell of pine, and the stillness at the highest altitudes. He held onto the hope that he would someday be able to leave the horrors of war behind him and experience the wilderness for himself.

Upon his discharge, Peacock journeyed through Wyoming and Montana, camping and living off the land. Grizzly bears were some of his companions, but mostly he experienced solitude. Over time, Peacock was able to let his landscape of hope become his reality. He devoted his life to saving the untamed domain of the grizzly and transformed his hope into a reality.

What can you imagine for yourself today? What will you hope for?

Today I will create a landscape of hope to guide me.

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

Anger blows out the lamp of the mind.

~ Robert Green Ingersoll ~

When we feel anger, our hearts pound faster and we feel warmer. We can go through our daily motions and from the outside look as if all was well. But under the surface is a pot of boiling anger that we keep stoked throughout the day.

Remaining angry for more than a few minutes can be as dangerous as letting a cancerous growth go untreated. It will overtake our healthy thoughts and bodies until we become emotionally and physically sick. We'll become sicker the longer we let anger run our mental, spiritual, and physical selves.

The time to deal with anger is the moment we feel it, not later. If we can't confront the source of our anger at the moment, we still need to let go of it. Getting out our anger doesn't necessarily mean yelling, throwing things, or setting ultimatums. Letting our anger go means letting it be felt and expressed, then releasing it. Anger with obsession makes us sick; anger with expression keeps us sane and healthy.

Am I holding on to anger from the past? I can let go of this anger tonight and not let it rule me.

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

Practicing

To recover, we must change; it doesn’t hap-pen by itself. Change requires practice. If we get lazy about our recovery, if we get smug or self-satisfied, we may stop practicing. If so, we may lose what we have gained, risk a slip, or even relapse.

In recovery, practice is all-important. Staying clean and sober takes practice. For starters, we must practice carrying the mes-sage to others who still suffer.

Higher Power, help me practice the program so that I can keep growing and recovering.

Today I will work on

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Housekeeping ain’t no joke.

~ LOUISA MAY ALCOTT ~

Newcomer

I’m living in the same place where I hit bottom. I’m surrounded by reminders of my active life. I’d like to move or overhaul the place, but I don’t have a choice right now. I don’t have the money or the time.

Sponsor

As we continue caring for ourselves, the physical spaces we inhabit reflect our new self-esteem, clarity, and open-mindedness in recovery. It’s a West Indian custom to buy a new broom for cleaning house after a move or major life change. I’ve tried it, and it worked; it inspired me to begin cleaning housel Of course, swept floors, made beds, and clear tabletops aren’t everyone’s idea of an orderly household; standards and personal needs and styles differ. What matters is maintaining our homes in a way that reflects our true selves and fosters our growing recovery.

Cleaning house is a state of mind. We need light and air in our surroundings, both literally and figuratively. Any time in recovery is a good time for sorting things out and letting go of what no longer fits us, whether it’s an article of clothing or a relationship. It’s something that we do periodically, throughout our lives. It may sometimes be painful, but it’s necessary. It makes room for change.

Today, I let go of what no longer sustains me.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Exactly what is AA worth to you? Have you ever figured that out? Make a written list sometime of the benefits you have derived from your sobriety. Try hard to make an honest evaluation of what it would be worth to you in dollars and cents. How much have you benefited, financially, socially?

Then make another list−how much has AA benefited by your membership? Are you trying to give as much as you have received? If not, you are getting something for nothing and that isn’t honest. You can never square the debt but you can probably give a little better try than you have been doing.

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

KAREN C.'s PRAYER

Today, I pray, I will:
Talk to someone who can help me;
Own my true destiny;
Compliment someone;
Get to know myself better;
Work to create a promising future;
Take advantage of my opportunities;
Allow myself to feel whole;
Use my support system;
Be honorable in my intentions;
Be inspired by the achievements of others;
Have the courage to own the truth;
Act as if there are no obstacles;
Treat myself and others with respect.
Today and from now on I will end
Every prayer with "Thy will be done."

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

REINCARNATION

Have you ever asked yourself why there should be such a difference between one human lot and another? Have you ever wondered why some people seem to be so happy and fortunate in their lives, while others appear to undergo so much undeserved suffering. To the honest and fearless soul, the problem of the inequality of human lives is one that clamors for solution.

Men and women are not born free and equal. They are created free and equal, but they are not born free and equal. They start this life like horses in a handicap race−no two bearing an equal burden. Now, why should this be, if indeed God is Love, and if God is just, and if God is all-powerful?

The answer is that this life that you are living today is not the only life, and that it cannot be understood or judged by itself. You have lived before, in different ages and in different civilizations. Some of those who are at the bottom of the social ladder today have walked the earth as kings, and generals, and high priests; and some who now sit in the seats of the mighty have toiled as peasants, or worn the chains of the slave. And you, yourself, in future ages, will very likely return to this earth planet and live out another life. The conditions under which you start that life will be the outcome of the lives you have already lived; but most particularly will they be the outcome of the life that you are living at the present. What is customarily called a lifetime is really but a comparatively brief day in a long, long life, and the circumstances into which you were born are the natural outcome of the way in which you have lived and comported yourself in your former lives. You are reaping today the results of the seeds that you have sown during these many previous lives.

. . . He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully (2 Corinthians 9:6 ).

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

A Place for God

Welcome me not into a manger but into the altar to holiness, where holiness abides in perfect peace.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

For many years, I have kept an altar in my home. An altar is a place where the presence of God is remembered and honored. To establish an altar is far more than a ritualistic observance; it is a high and holy gift to yourself.

We decorate our homes with photos, works of art, statues, plants, and memorabilia that lift our minds and hearts and remind us of the people, places and experiences that make us happy. Since God is the source of the deepest happiness, we magnify our joy when we adorn our home with symbols of Spirit's presence.

While all religions have altars, an altar need not belong to a particular religion. You can build an altar that represents you. Set aside a table, corner, or room as your sacred space. On your altar, place photos of great beings who inspire you, books or quotations of wisdom, candles, crystals, feathers, or any symbols of love and beauty, such as special rocks or seashells. Do your prayer, meditation, or spiritual practice at your altar space, and keep the energy field clear of jangling influences, such as chit-chat, arguments, or television. Keep the area clean and beautiful, and before long it will generate a magnificent peace and healing energy. The moment you enter your altar area, you will feel the presence of God and your sacred self. Any space you dedicate to Spirit will bless you many times over.

I pray to keep You in my life. Help me to remember Your presence throughout each day.

God gives my life meaning.