Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - January

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January 8

Step by Step

” …(W)e spent three or four hours formally going through the Six-Step program as it was at that time.

Complete deflation.
Dependence and guidance from a Higher Power.
Moral inventory.
Confession.
Restitution.
Continued work with other alcoholics.” – Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “Personal Stories,” Ch 10 (“He Sold Himself Short”), p 292.

Today, the program’s original steps still serve to simplify the purposes of what later would become the 12 steps. “Complete deflation” is the goal of the first step – “admitted we were powerless” – and “Continued work with other alcoholics,” the marching orders of the 12th step. In between, we find and concede to a higher power from which we seek the strength and honesty to admit our faults to ourselves and someone else, and then make amends – restitution – for those wrongs. Today, if 12 steps seem too high to climb for now, “Keep It Simple” and look to the original six steps. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

SMILE AGAIN

Tis easy enough to be pleasant
When life flows along like a song.
But the man worth while
Is the man who can smile
When everything goes dead wrong.

~ Emily Wheeler Wilcox ~

We can truthfully, gratefully, and humbly say, “because of my recovery program, I can smile again.” An addictive substance wipes smiles from the faces of men and women who become addicted. With honesty and thankfulness, we can say that the worst problems we face in recovery would have been a lot worse if we were still using.

In our new lives, even when everything goes dead wrong, we have learned to weigh any disaster against what it would have been like if we were still using. We are always aware that, if we smile while sharing with another, the hurt can become a lesson, and they, too, can smile again.

Recovery assures me that, while into each life some rain must fall (and sometimes it’s a torrent), behind the clouds the sun is still shining brightly. Bright days always come.

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

Lead us from the unreal to the real world.

~ Hindu invocation ~

In pursuit of pleasures and escapes during our active addiction, we created a bubble of unreality around ourselves. Stepping into the bubble was exciting; it carried us off into gambling, or erotic and romantic pursuits, or shopping, or drugs and alcohol, or the codependent thrill of scooping other people out of their troubles. We used a whole system of half-truths and self-deceit to allow the bubble to exist. It led us to become more self-centered and more grandiose as we tried to force the unreal world to exist in reality.

Now, as we live in freedom from our addictive and codependent behaviors, we continue to peel back the layers of unreality. We no longer fight with reality as it is, or try to shape and mold it to fit our desires. We see more clearly by living more honestly. One of the benefits of our new life is that we feel clearheaded. Life seems simpler now, and we feel a peace of mind that we could not have even imagined in the past.

May I continue to see and accept reality as it is given.

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

Learning stamps you with its moments.

~ Eudora Welty ~

We never stop learning. We absorb information every waking moment. And while we sleep, we process what we encounter during the day. The conclusions we reach about these daily lessons will likely be based on the perception that dominates our lives. Do we perceive our experiences as for our good or for our undoing?

Since learning is ongoing, we are fortunate to have a more positive context within which to interpret our experiences. Alcoholics Anonymous, as well as other Twelve Step programs, offers us a set of guidelines to live by, which helps us interpret every moment.

We can anticipate what lies ahead, or we can dread it. What we learn from each experience reflects our attitude. Our commitment to the Twelve Steps determines it.

I will soak up the day like a sponge. My education is within my control. How lucky I am to have this program!

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

If I take meds, I can’t use drugs

My psychiatrist said I needed to stop using all drugs and alcohol and take a psychiatric medication. She said that if I did, my symptoms would diminish. I wasn’t sure if I believed her. Why should her medication take care of my symptoms better than my street drugs? I wanted to get better—and maybe medication could help—but I was afraid to give up my drugs.

Eventually, I got up the courage to tell all this to my support group. Several of them admitted that they were taking prescribed psychiatric medication. They all agreed that it was tough to get clean and sober, but that medication acted on the body differently and really did work better than street drugs. Well, was I glad to hear this. It made it a lot easier for me to believe my doctor, get clean, and give medication a try.

I will ask my support group and my doctor to help me get abstinent and then stay stable.

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

There is an end to grief, if we have the courage to accept our personal goodness and our ongoing right to happiness.

~ Justin Langley ~

Making peace with our losses takes time and trust. When we were living in the pain of our addiction we acted in ways that were heartbreaking to our selves and others. But now we have a new choice: we can walk the road of self-forgiveness and stop punishing ourselves for past deeds, or we can decide that we don’t deserve to feel good, that clinging to our pain, guilt, and self-loathing will somehow make up for some of the damage.

Believing our wrongs are too great to be righted leaves us in a perpetual state of mourning. It’s a risk, but we can choose to believe that change is possible, not all at once but slowly, one day at a time.

Believing that God loves us and wants us to be happy gives us the courage to make amends and face our past head on. When we take the leap of faith necessary to grieve and let go of the past, we take back our best selves, and the lives we were meant to live.

Today give me the strength and the courage to grieve my losses.

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

Health—what my friends are always drinking to before they fall down.

~ Phyllis Diller ~

You may question your resolve or need to stay sober when nearly every day new research credits moderate drinking with living longer and other positive outcomes, such as reducing or preventing diabetes, rheumatism, bone fractures and osteoporosis, and poor cognition and memory.

But what such studies often fail to mention are the negative effects of drinking, such as obesity, high blood pressure, and mental impairment. While it may be tempting to use such studies as an excuse to drink, you know your behaviors do not reflect those of a moderate drinker. Your recovery depends upon steadfast devotion to improving your overall health and quality of life while remaining committed to your sobriety.

Sound health requires daily attention to your spirit, mind, and body. A healthy body requires good nutrition and engaging in a daily exercise program. A healthy mind depends upon a good night’s sleep and exercising your mental capacities through learning and enjoyable activities. A healthy spirit needs a relationship with a Higher Power built and strengthened through prayer, faith, and trust.

Today I will focus on abstinence and maintaining a healthy

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

Don’t be afraid to take a big step. You can’t cross a chasm in two small jumps.

~ David Lloyd George ~

Taking a risk can be scary. Whether the risk involves a new relationship, asking for a raise, being honest, or changing a behavior, it’s still pretty hard to do. Sometimes we may wish we could approach a risk with only partial involvement, almost as if we had one foot inside a door and one outside. That way, if things get too difficult, we can always run away.

But we can’t take a risk unless we commit ourselves to it. And we can’t commit ourselves unless we have faith that no matter what happens, we’re okay. We may feel vulnerable, but we don’t have to feel alone if we remember our Higher Power is with us.

Perhaps we took a risk today and are still feeling scared and exposed. Or maybe we’re planning on taking a risk tomorrow and are filled with fear. Remember it’s okay to have feelings of fear, doubt, and insecurity.

Tonight I will relax and know I never approach a risk without my Higher Power to guide me.

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

Dealing with anger

Anger has its place, but chemically dependent people tend to let anger run away with them. The old saying “Be angry, but sin not” is a tall order for us. Two sins of anger are revenge and resentment. Either of them mixed with anger has a way of poisoning the angry one, both mentally and spiritually.

Since revenge and resentment are killers for us, it is best to turn over to our Higher Power the situations and people we are angry with.

How do I deal with my anger?

When I feel angry, whether justified or not,

I pray that I keep it in check and turn it over.

Today I will deal with my anger constructively by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

… that they may solve their common problem…

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS PREAMBLE ~

Newcomer

When they say we’re here to solve our common problems, I’m really put off. Adults should be able to handle their problems on their own, shouldn’t they?

Sponsor

We don’t go to meetings to solve our “problems,” but rather our “problem”—singular. Meetings address the problem none of us could solve on our own: the disease of addiction.

I can identify with your discomfort at the thought of accepting help from a group of people. I’ve always wanted to think of myself as independent. Talking about what’s bothering me feels like I’m risking my pride, my privacy, and my autonomy.

Deep down, though, I care a great deal about what other people think of me. I’m afraid that if they really get to know me, they’ll find out I’m not good enough. I’m afraid they’ll want more from me than I’m capable of giving. I’d rather believe that I don’t need others than risk being challenged or let down by them.

I’m not alone in having these fears and resentments of others. Most of us who’ve resorted to addictive substances or behaviors have problems in our relationships with other people.

When, through the help of other recovering people, we solve our common problem of addiction, we become truly independent. We’re free of our deadly attachment to a drug. We’re free to acknowledge our connections with other human beings.

Today, I add the word “help” to my vocabulary.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

God does not willingly inflict punishment on men. Our pain and our suffering are the direct results of a violation of the Moral, Natural or Civil Law.

We who were guilty of overindulgence must pay the price, not FOR our indulgence, but BECAUSE of our indulgence. The consequences must follow as the night follows the day. It is the LAW.

We have violated this LAW and we have paid dearly for it, but we do not have to persist in our violations. The body will heal, sins will be forgiven, things will right themselves if, and when, we put our thoughts and actions in tune with the immutable laws of God, of Nature and of man.

As sins bring punishment as a natural consequence, so right living brings its own compensations, not as a reward for good deeds done but as a CONSEQUENCE.

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

1) When you accept others, you accept yourself.

2) No decision (right or wrong) is complete until it is fully accepted.

3) When things are going great, sobriety is good. When things are going bad, sobriety is better.

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

For Another Day

Thank You, dear God, for another day,
The chance to live in a decent way,
To feel again the joy of living,
And happiness that comes from giving.
Thank You for friends who can understand
And the peace that flows from Your loving hand.
Help me to wake to the morning sun
With the prayer, “Today Thy will be done,”
For with Your help I will find the way.
Thank You again, dear God, for another day.

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

BEGIN TODAY

The first step that the earnest student must take to locate the Inner Light within himself is to settle on a definite method of working, selecting whichever one seems to suit him best, and then giving it a fair trial. Merely reading books, making good resolutions, or talking plausibly about the thing will get him nowhere.

Get a definite method of working, practice it conscientiously every day; and stick to one method long enough to give it a fair chance. You would not expect to play the violin after two or three attempts, or to drive a car without a little preliminary practice.

Get to work on some concrete problem, choosing preferably whatever it is that you are most afraid of. Work at it steadily; and if no improvement at all shows itself within, say, a couple of weeks, then try your method on another problem. If you still get no result, then scrap that method and adopt a new one. Remember, there is a way out. The problem really is, not getting rid of your difficulties, but finding your own best method for doing it.

. . . Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it to you (John 16:23).

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

From the Rooftops

If only you could love, you would be the most powerful being in the world.

~ Emmet Fox ~

I walked off the airplane along with hundreds of passengers at 11:00 p.m., drenched in weariness after five hours of air travel. Just then I noticed a young man striding down the jetway wearing a huge wooden sign in the shape of a heart, painted with red letters: “Pam, will you marry me?”

I looked ahead to see an attractive young woman waiting for him at the door. This is going to be rich, I thought, as I positioned myself to view this historic proposal. Sure enough, the fellow got down on one knee and asked for her hand in marriage. Although Pam was terribly embarrassed, she uttered a definite “yes,” echoed by a round of applause from the crowd that had gathered. All the tired travelers came to life in the presence of this bold expression of love, and we walked lightheartedly together to the escalator, laughing and talking buoyantly.

Can you imagine how the world would be different if we all made such a stand to manifest our dreams? A Course in Miracles1 tells us that all acts are expressions of love, either as skillful statements or calls for love in dis–guised forms. Love is the power that moves the universe, and it is the aching need of our world. If only we stood for love as we have for fear!

Practice expressing your love courageously. My friend Jeffrey has devoted his life to giving love. Whenever he sees me, he showers caring upon me through word, hug, and energy. He is one of the happiest people I know. He is a love giver rather than a love seeker. In giving what he wants, he has gotten it all.

Give me the courage to express my true caring without fear or reservation.

I stand for love, and love stands for me.