Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - June

[bluidkiti]

June 29

Step by Step

"Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity." - Step Two

" ...(W)e believe there is no middle-of-the-road solution. We were in a position where life was becoming impossible, and if we had passed into the region from which there is no return through human aid, we had but two alternatives: One was to go on to the bitter end, blotting out the consciousness of our intolerable situation as best we could; and the other, to accept spiritual help. This we did because we honestly wanted to, and were willing to make the effort." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 2 ("There Is a Solution"), pp 25-6.

Today, accept that the one entity I trusted to run my life - myself - didn't worked. If I am in "the region from which there is no return," may I want and be willing to accept the possibility that a power stronger than my self-will exists. If I am still caught up in the myth that the spiritual entity is religious, maybe I have already set myself as being unwilling to find my own higher power. In holding onto unwillingness and not opening myself to the possibility, the recovery I seek probably is not in the cards, especially if I continue to do it my way although it has shown me time after time after time and time and time again that I simply cannot do it on my own. Today, enough is enough, and I take the step to at least consider the possibility that something better, stronger and wiser than myself can help me do it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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

If God seems far away, who moved?

Anonymous ~

We travelled near and far to find a relationship with God. We spent hours looking for God in nature or the stars. We listened to many enlightened speakers to obtain a glimpse of God's presence. The harder we tried to find God, the further removed God was from our lives. We lived our lives as if we had lost God. We thought that if we searched hard enough, we could find Him.

The new world we have found in recovery shows us what has always been there. While we were searching, we were never living with what we had. God will never be nearer to us than He is right now. Our responsibility in life is to keep our conscious contact with our Higher Power free and open. When God seems far away, that contact needs to be renewed.

When I meditate, pray, and keep my inventory current, God always is with me because I am with God. I no longer need to search for something that can't be lost.

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

We only have one person to blame, and that’s each other.

~ Barry Beck, NHL player ~

Blame is not a word that works well for us. It is an attack word, a negative assault that fails to point toward anything better. Much better is the word responsible. When a man opens a door and accidentally knocks down a child on the other side, he is responsible for his action, and he reaches down to help the child up again. It is nothing to be ashamed of or blamed for. He isn’t a bad person for doing that. But he takes responsibility.

Blame and responsibility are difficult matters for us to separate. Many of us have felt blamed and shamed from our earliest memories. As a result, when we are responsible, we have a knee-jerk impulse to feel ashamed. But taking responsibility without shame is what a strong man does. We can learn to separate them, and as we do, our self-esteem rises.

Today I will take responsibility for my actions and respect myself for doing so.

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

If what we are doing with our anger is not achieving the desired result, it would seem logical to try something different.

~ Harriet Lerner ~

How productive is anger? There is more than one school of thought. Some say we addicts can’t afford to be angry. Others warn against repressing It. Learning simply to recognize anger is a big step for many of us. One thing we all agree on is that anger is a powerful feeling that affects us in many ways. If it goes unacknowledged, our relations with others are damaged.

Anger is uncomfortable for many of us. We feel It often enough, but it makes us nervous anyway. Frequently we think we must be doing something wrong or we wouldn’t be angry. Sometimes that’s true. However, anger always signals that it’s time to assess what we are projecting onto the situations or the people in our midst. Anger doesn’t just happen. It’s sown and cultivated by us.

If I get angry today I will look for the reason within myself. I can’t change others, but I can change myself.

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

I am working a dual program of recovery

In Twelve Step literature my three-part problem is labeled physical, emotional, and spiritual. In mental health literature, it is sometimes termed "biopsychosocial."

Whatever terms are used, the important part is that I am getting better by working a combined program of recovery, recovery for both my addiction and my emotional illness. Taking care of my addiction improves my mental health. Taking care of my mental health diminishes my difficulties with addiction.

I can support my recovery by taking part in a combined Twelve Step and mental health recovery group, such as Dual Recovery Anonymous or Double Trouble.

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

He that has patience may compass anything.

~ Francois Rabelais ~

When we choose to live one day at a time, one moment at a time, we regain a more accurate, balanced perspective. This form of self-love and growth is impossible during active addiction. Now by living at a slower pace, acting thoughtfully instead of simply reacting, we get better at learning to savor the simple things.

Now we can choose to abandon the stress of commuter traffic and watch the sky long enough to spot a red-tailed hawk. We can take time to notice the fall colors throughout the woods. We can go for a walk and listen for the splash of fish feeding in the water. Or we can simply smell the rain-soaked earth while on our way to an afternoon appointment. This attention to the present is a way to combat old and familiar worries and enjoy life’s small wonders. Recovery challenges us to experience a purer joy, a more honest charm and magic, and it gives us the energy and clarity to appreciate all we see.

Today let me take life in small, manageable, delightful pieces.

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

There are some people who see a great deal and some who see very little in the same things.

~ T.H. Huxley ~

When you are asleep, you are at peace. Your body is stilled and your mind—even when caught in a dream—is quieted. But from the moment you open your eyes in the morning, you are greeted by a nonstop cacophony of sensual activity. Are you aware of all of the activity around you?

You may see daylight but not notice whether it is raining or sunny. You may be stalled by traffic but not hear its sounds. You may drink coffee but not take in its freshly brewed aroma. Throughout the day, you may hold conversations, participate in meetings, make decisions, run errands, eat lunch, work against deadlines, and juggle activities. You may do all these things with total awareness and immersion in each activity, or you may rush through your day paying it only peripheral attention.

But the more in tune you are with everything and the more willing you are to embrace the action around you, the more capable you are of seeing the transitions and transformations within each day—and the better able you will be to more fully appreciate and respond to your life.

Today I will learn more about myself and all of the things in my life by developing greater awareness.

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

If you can't be thankful for what you receive, be thankful for what you escape.

~ Anonymous ~

Those Jews who were fortunate enough to evade the clutches of the Third Reich were extremely grateful for their escape from family separations, torture, and death. Even though they may have fled their homes, possessions, friends, and businesses, and had little food in their stomachs, they could give thanks for what they did have: their lives and hope for a better future.

How thankful are we for what we have? Many times we aren't grateful for the shirts on our backs and food in our stomachs. We criticize our lives and our family, perhaps even ourselves. We find we aren't happy, healthy, mature, or serene enough. But imagine for a moment what it was like in our pre-recovery days.

Remember pain, sickness, confusion, anger, hopelessness? We've escaped from the bleakness of the past. But if we can't be grateful for the good in our lives tonight, we've not learned a thing from the program. To be grateful for our new path of discovery, all we need to do is look back at the rocky road we used to travel.

Tonight I can be grateful for what I've gained and what is gone.

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

Living the “today” approach

We must understand from the very beginning that in the program, we learn to live one day at a time. We learn, for example, not to take that first fix, pill, or drink “today.” This is easier for us to do than to think of abstaining for years or a lifetime.

But many of us miss the fact that the “today” approach can be applied to all areas of our life, not just abstinence. It helps if we can deal with issues such as love, sex, death, honesty, and resentments one day at a time. God expects no more of us than to do what we can do today.

Am I living “today” today?

God, help me live the “today” approach in all areas of my life.

Today I will apply the “today” approach to

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Life is not life at all without delight.

~ COVENTRY PATMORE ~

Newcomer

I’m tired of following the same routines week after week, month after month. I’ve been thinking about taking a trip for a few days. I know, I know—you warned me about “geographic changes.” But I want to do something different.

Sponsor

Congratulations. I’m glad that you’re planning to have some fun, and that you’re not using program wisdom to beat yourself with.

Change is good for us. It can help wake up and refresh our spirits, show us things we haven’t seen before, give us a new perspective on our ordinary lives. We can travel thousands of miles or stay close to home, as long as we take the principles and habits of recovery with us. Wherever we are, we can read a piece of program literature, pray for help staying in recovery, or phone our sponsors. The loving guidance of our Higher Power goes with us.

As we travel, it may be possible to attend meetings of our own Twelve Step fellowship or an open meeting of one of the many other Twelve Step programs. We can get listings ahead of time by making phone calls to our own program headquarters, and we can check local newspapers and phone directories when we arrive. Belonging to this fellowship is a little bit like having a membership in an international club; we can meet the “locals,” wherever we go, by attending a meeting. The faces may be different, but the program is the same.

Today, I refresh my spirit by trying something unfamiliar.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

To pity distress is a natural human characteristic, except in the case of the poor drunk. The hospitals want no part of him. He brought it on himself and besides they need their beds for really sick people Many doctors won’t make a house call if they suspect the patient has been drinking and when they do, their medication consists for the most part of something to knock him out and keep him quiet. People who spend hours raising funds for the tubercular and the cancerous call a cop when they see a drunk.

God knows the drunk and He also knows human nature, and so He invented AA.

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

FREE FROM FEAR

O God, for another day, for another morning, for another hour, for another chance to live and serve You, I am truly grateful. According to Your will, this day free me:
From fear of the future;
From anxiety of the morrow;
From bitterness toward anyone;
From cowardice in face of danger;
From laziness in face of work;
From failure before opportunity;
From weakness when Your power is at hand
And fill me with:
Love that knows no barrier;
Courage that cannot be shaken;
Faith through the darkness;
Strength sufficient for my tasks;
Loyalty to the Fellowship;
Wisdom to meet life’s complexities.
Be with me another day and use me as You will.

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

INEVITABLE RECKONING

When you understand that this present life is only one day in your long life, and that at the change called death you simply disappear unto the next plane, to come back again later on−perhaps several hundred years later-then the events of this particular life appear in their true proportion, and then you begin to have dominion. The events of this life will not appear less important because of your new knowledge, but they will no longer intimidate you, because you will know that you can control them. No seeming misfortune will any longer have power to break your heart or weaken your courage. You will understand life as the wondrous opportunity and the glorious gift that it is.

It is true that when you return you will have to meet the same types of problems but the conditions will be utterly different. Also, you will probably meet some of your present associates again, particularly if there is an emotional link either of love or hatred between you. Love will take care of itself; but you must get all hatred out of your heart, if you do not want to renew disagreeable contacts.

A thorough understanding of this doctrine makes us more tolerant. It leads us to do everything we can to make the path of others easier so as to facilitate their personal evolution and that of the race. In our own lives we face up to our difficulties courageously, knowing that to run away is to postpone the day of reckoning.

. . . all the churches know that I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts: and I will give unto every one of you according to your works (Revelation 2:23).

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

More Than Four

How can love survive in such a faceless age?

~ from "Forgiveness," by singer/songwriter Don Henley ~

The Center for Lifestyle Management reported that the average American couple spends approximately four minutes a day in meaningful conversation. This is a sobering statement about the meager level of intimacy for which most people have settled. At the same time, many people report a sense of emptiness in their lives. How can we expect to feel fulfilled if we do not tell each other the truth about who we are and what we feel?

The quality of communication may be mapped out on a diagram similar to an archery target. The most shallow level, indicated by the outermost ring, is news and gossip, which requires no personal disclosure or investment and moves attention away from the speakers. The next level is my opinions and judgments, in which we reveal a little bit of ourselves, but restrict our communication to intellectual chatter. A deeper and more rewarding level embraces my feelings; at this level we begin to bring into the light what is going on unseen within us. The next ring is my most vulnerable feelings and experiences, which are the most difficult (and most rewarding) to share, as we make ourselves naked in our pain and ecstasy. At the bull's-eye, we enter into unspeakable unity. At this level, we feel so joined with our partner that words would only detract from the golden beauty of the moment.

To create more fulfilling lives, we must speak to each other with more intimacy. The word intimacy is built on "into me see." If you want more intimacy in your life, let others see into you more, and let them know that you can see into them. Then, meaningful communication will not be resigned to a few scraps, but will nourish you like a rich banquet.

Help me penetrate to the heart in my communications with others.

I am intimately joined with my beloveds and with God.