Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - January

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January 23

Step by Step

“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” – Step 11

Today, the 11th Step, multidimensional in that it is among the three most demanding in the Program. The cornerstone of Step 11 is improving our conscious contact with our Higher Power “through prayer and meditation” and seeking HIS will for our lives, not OURS. We are subtly reminded in the 11th of an ever-constant theme throughout the Book Book – prayer and meditation. Without one, either or both, our self-will might have an opening to run riot. And our self-will has failed miserably – many times – for most of us. And in putting forth the humility and courage to surrender our will to Him, the “power” to carry out His will for us becomes, surprisingly, stronger. Today, I will focus on prayer and meditation to understand that His will, not mine, is what I need in both my recovery and my life. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

SELF-EXAMINATION

And the night shall be filled with music
And the cares that infest the day
Shall fold their tents like the Arabs
And as silently steal away.

~ Longfellow ~

Our nights once were the horror hours. Too often, our “friendly chemical” had been exhausted and we could only sob in anguish and cry out, “God help me.”

In recovery, many of us use those relaxing periods after going to bed for an examination of our victories and errors during the day that has just passed. These are the moments for seeking, through prayer and meditation, a more conscious contact with our Higher Power.

We examine what God’s will is for us and plan to carry it out. We devote time to meditating on the gifts recovery has brought us. We learn more about how to work and to profit from the Steps.

Solitude is a time to know my acts and thoughts. Have I sought gratitude and humility? Have I been helpful to others without seeking recognition? Have I been honest?

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

That old law about “an eye for an eye” leaves everybody blind.

~ Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. ~

Resentment and the urge for revenge can corrode our lives. We carry these dark feelings with us, sometimes in the back of our minds and sometimes up front. Such feelings keep us living in the past and tie us to the people we resent. Our spiritual goal is to reach the point of forgiveness. It is not easy to make that transition, and it cannot be done in a phony way. A good beginning is first to accept forgiveness as a goal and then focus our efforts on a thorough and searching inventory of ourselves. Finally, we can reach the point where we simply tear up the I.O.U. We stop expecting repayment for past wrongs and release ourselves from carrying old resentments. We let others deal with their own God and their own conscience.

We reach a sense of freedom and well-being that is a great reward for forgiveness. It surprises us when our own self-esteem rises as we write off the bad debts we think others owe us.

Today I am spending my efforts on my own inventory because that releases me from the burden of the past.

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

Comparing my insides to other people’s outsides causes me problems.

~ Joan Rohde ~

For most of our lives we felt inferior. Other women seemed smarter, wittier, and more attractive. We felt inadequate every time we compared ourselves to other women. Getting sober hasn’t freed us from this behavior, at least not completely. Fortunately, we now have tools that we can use in changing behavior that hinders our growth.

Talking with a sponsor, sharing with a friend, or asking God for help frees us from the hold of negative behaviors. Comparing ourselves to others doesn’t have to shame us any longer. All that’s necessary is to stop the thought, think instead of God’s presence within, and quietly bless ourselves and the woman who unknowingly triggered our reaction. Our progress in changing this shortcoming will be as swift as our decision to take this simple action.

I am in control of my thoughts. God will help me every time I start to compare myself to someone else today.

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

I want to become more open

When I joined a recovery group, I knew the purpose was to talk more about my problems, and I knew it would help. Unfortunately, but understandably, at first I could not. I was too shy to admit how I behaved when drinking and afraid to admit how I felt with my psychiatric symptoms. I was afraid I’d be rejected and then feel even worse.

I am glad to say that my assumption was incorrect. Members were typically nonjudgmental, and when I felt strong enough to share my story, I was fully supported—even encouraged. Moreover, once I’d opened up to my group, I felt less vulnerable, more accepted, more at peace. My risk earned an unexpected reward.

At my next meeting I will share a little about myself and see how it feels.

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

If someone is going to control me, it might as well be me.

~ Sarah B. ~

Ours is, and must be, a selfish program. Our recovery must be the most important thing in the world to us. Sometimes friends and loved ones are confused and hurt because we spend so much time and energy working at our recovery. It’s hard to explain why, yes, we must go to another meeting; no, we can’t skip it just this once.

But however difficult, however hurtful or confusing to others our behavior might seem, we must take care of our own needs first. We’re no use to our friends and family if we’ve relapsed, and no use to ourselves, either. Our choices must seem like selfish ones. Our recovery must come first, before the demands of others or even our own comfort. We need to keep our new determination, and work toward a new way of life.

Before, we told ourselves we’d quit tomorrow, that something would happen to make us change. Now, at last, we have the tools to arrest our addiction, but the tools will only work if we use them.

Today help me be in control of my own destiny.

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

The problem with alcohol, tobacco, marijuana, cocaine, and other dangerous substances is that they betray our trust. One consumes them to feel good, and they secretly work to destroy one’s body.

~ Rev. Samuel A. Trumbore ~

Trust is a leap of faith, and in the past such leaps may have led to great falls, trouble, and long periods of self-doubt.

To open your mind and heart in trust, use the Steps of the program. Step Two (Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity) encourages you to be open and welcoming to a Higher Power, and to trust that you are being taken care of by a powerful, caring presence. Step Three (Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him) shows that you trust this presence is there for you. Step Five (Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs) provides you with the strength to be honest with your Higher Power, yourself, and others. And Step Seven (Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings) is your trust in action.

I will follow the Steps and let them guide me through difficulties and triumphs, and teach me to trust that my Higher Power is always there for me.

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

The darkness was encumbering only because I relied upon my sight for everything I did, not knowing that another way was to let power be the guide.

~ Carlos Castaneda ~

We don’t need to be blind in order not to see. Re-member how long it took for us to “see” our addictions? Remember how the blindfold of denial kept us from seeing the reality of our lives?

But it took a person or people to help us “see” our way into the program. And now that we are members, we still need others to guide us in our recovery. Sometimes pride gets in the way and tells us we can do it alone, yet those are the times when we stumble and fall. Perhaps today was a day when we refused the guidance of others. We may have felt we were strong enough to “go it alone.” But we will feel the effects of such blind gropings if we don’t remember that we need others. Even the blind person has a cane or a companion or an animal for guidance. So we must rely upon the power of the group and our Higher Power to help us “see” our way.

Have I been blind today to the help offered by others? Tonight, can I ask for help to “see”?

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

Letting others do it themselves

Our new way of life is a se/^development pro-gram. Each person must do it for himself or herself. Sometimes an eager newcomer falls away when he or she discovers that there are no magic wands, only hard work in spiritual and emotional development.

But we can’t heal the world of addiction. We can’t shove our cherished new ideals down anyone’s throat (but we can hold out a hand when they decide they want to get well).

Do I let others do it for themselves?

Higher Power, may I realize that it “took what it took” for me and that it will be the same for others.

Today I will decide on these three personal boundaries for helping newcomers

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

The more you can experience the interconnectedness of all beings, the healthier you will be.

~ ANDREW WEIL ~

Newcomer

I’m spending a lot of time traveling, because I don’t like going to meetings in my neighborhood. What if someone who knows who I am happens to see me going in, or even shows up at a meeting?

Sponsor

Of course, you can travel to other neighborhoods if you want to—it’s not going to hurt anyone. But I wonder if your fear is justified. Most people I know are thinking about their own lives, not about mine. In the unlikely event that a neighbor sees me walking into a church or community center for a meeting, he probably won’t know just where in that building I’m going or why, unless he’s been to the same meeting!

I appreciate having meetings in common with people in my neighborhood. Though I’m certainly not required to become friends with them all, I feel strengthened knowing that we share a program of recovery. Once, in early recovery, feeling in danger of having a slip, I recognized another recovering person coming down the street toward me. We nodded to one another and moved on. I didn’t know her well, but seeing her reminded me of my own connection to the program and of what a gift recovery has been in my life. Perhaps your example will save someone else’s life one day, whether you know it or not; meanwhile, you’re saving your own.

Today, I let go of self-centered fear.
As someone who shows up for recovery, I’m willing to be a power of example.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

One of the first impressions of the non-alcoholic attending one of our meetings for the first time is the look of happiness upon the faces of our members. Time after time we have heard them comment on this fact. It is the characteristic that distinguishes us from the Dried-Up Drunks. The successful AA member radiates happiness as a natural consequence of his finding a new and happier way of living.

It is a revolutionary change for us belligerent drunks, but the cheerful face will materialize with our encouragement and as a result of our living the Program. Abraham Lincoln expressed this fact when he said, “Every man over forty is responsible for his face.”

Faces are the windows through which we see the man.

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

1) “Opened by mistake” applies to the mouth more often than it does to mail.

2) Self-centeredness is a casualty of spiritual growth.

3) If you want to make an easy job seem mighty hard, just keep putting it off.

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

Fellow Travelers

Higher Power, Who fills our whole life, and Whose presence we find wherever we go, preserve us who travel the road of recovery, surround us with Your loving care, protect us from every danger, and bring us safely to our journey’s end.

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

THE LAW OF SUBSTITUTION

There are a few great laws that govern all thinking, just as there a few fundamental laws in chemistry. We know that thought control is the key of destiny, and in order to learn thought control we have to know and understand these laws.

One of the great mental laws is the law of substitution. This means that the only way to get rid of a certain thought is to substitute another one for it. You cannot dismiss a thought directly. You can do so only by substituting another one for it. If I say to you, “Do not think of the Statue of Liberty,” of course, you immediately think of it. If you say, ”I am not going to think of the Statue of Liberty,” that is thinking about it. But if you become interested in something else, you forget all about the Statue of Liberty—and this is a case of substitution.

When negative thoughts come to you, do not fight them, but think of something positive. Preferably think of God; but if that is difficult at the moment, turn your attention to something quite different.

But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil . . . (Matthew 5:39)

With him is wisdom and strength, he hath counsel and understanding (Job 12:13)

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

A Few Kind Words

Be kind— remember everyone you meet is fighting a battle—everybody’s lonesome.

~ Marion Parker ~

Sandra was born with a physical deformity known as a harelip, and she developed a great deal of self-consciousness about it. Sandra’s self-esteem was low, and she constantly feared others making fun of her or rejecting her. Fifth grade was one of Sandra’s hardest years, and when the time came for the teacher’s end-of-the-year evaluation, Sandra was petrified. She even had nightmares as the dreaded day approached. Finally, the day arrived, and Sandra nervously forced herself to walk up to the teacher’s desk and receive Mrs. Harrison’s comments about her. When she opened up the envelope, Sandra found but one sentence: “I wish you were my little girl” Years later, Sandra recounted, “That was the beginning of the end of my self-esteem problem. Someone I respected loved me. ”

In a world shrouded with fear, guilt, and separateness, it takes but a little kindness to make someone’s day and perhaps change their life. Once I found myself in a strange city at the foot of a huge flight of post office steps, with three boxes I needed to mail and a plane to catch soon after. A man on his way out of the post office took a look at my dilemma and asked, “Would you like some help?” He carried one of the boxes all the way up the stairs and around several corridors with me. The fellow didn’t have to do that, but he did. It took him only a few minutes, but it made a huge difference in my day. I was then inspired to pass some extra kindness along to others.

Love only expands when we give it. The fearful mind shrieks that we will lose love if we give too much of it, but we can never love too much; true love only multiplies and returns to bless us many times over.

I pray to move beyond any fear of giving love. Help me bless the lives of those I touch.

I give life with my love, and receive more myself.