Even More Recovery Readings

[majestyjo]

January 21

Step by Step

“Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” – Step Nine

Today, this, the Ninth Step, may be second to the Fourth in the courage, strength, honesty and humility required to carry it out. Each of us, in our drinking days, inflicted some injury on someone else, and the Ninth directs us to apologize and make amends to them. Why? Responsibility and consequences. The rare exception to extending an amend is if doing so would inflict hurt on anyone else, for example, someone who isn’t aware that they were wronged and would suffer if the wrong is admitted. Doing so is not fully altruistic, though. In giving voice and accepting responsibility and consequences of our misconduct, we start the process of reconciliation. But not everyone can be expected to accept our amends on our word. If the injured party has heard it before or if the injury cuts too deep, we must be prepared for rejection. Then, our greatest amend may well be to give truth to our voice by staying sober. Today, my sincerest amend to anyone I have hurt will be my sobriety. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

HONESTY

Honesty’s the best policy.

~ Cervantes ~

How grateful we became when we moved out from the shadows of our past. Our Program asked us to be honest. We found that truth shone a bright light on our road to recovery. We could see all the little ways we had shaded the truth to serve our own ends. We could also see the awful pain this truth-twisting had caused us. We discovered there really was no such thing as a half- truth. There is either the truth or a lie.

Honesty is the bedrock of a life of recovery. Without honesty we lose our contact with our Higher Power. Without our Higher Power we lose our shield from our addiction. Without our shield we are hopelessly vulnerable to relapse. We are asked to be honest in all our affairs. This means we are careful to think before we speak and to guard against exaggeration.

At the conclusion of each day, I review my actions and ask myself if I have been honest in all I have said and done. Honesty in recovery takes practice, so I practice as if my life depends on it. It does.

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

Where there is great love, there are always wishes.

~ Willa Cather ~

We can always think of ways to improve our intimate partnership, but usually our best ideas are for changes in our partner. We wish we had a more generous attitude from our partner; we wish we had a more agreeable partner—someone who was more fun or who would lose weight—and we want more sexual pleasure. But these ideas are the easy ones to think of. The harder and more effective ideas are those that call for changes in ourselves.

We enter into a life partnership to enjoy the relationship. We take pleasure in each other’s lives and we are on the same team. But we don’t walk in the same footsteps because we all need to stand on our own as adults. Intimacy is not the merging of personalities but the bridge between separate people. Once we have our adult separateness, we can be more intimate, more loving, and more generous with each other.

Today I will pay more attention to the ways I can be a better partner.

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

We do not have to get caught in the middle of other people’s issues.

~ Melody Beattie ~

Learning to respect boundaries, our own and other people’s, eliminates much of the stress that hinders relationships. Accepting the behavior and the opinions of our friends as legitimate for them allows our relationships to teach us tolerance and patience and love. Our journey on this planet is not about “fixing” or controlling others, but about loving them wholly, just as we want to be loved.

We need other people. Our humanity is enhanced by our mutual experiences. But we also need to let others learn from their mistakes and their own experiences, rather than to help them avoid what they need for their growth. We hate to see our friends in pain. Our compassion is triggered when trouble trips them. But their journey must be inviolate. We’ll only prolong their struggle by intervening where we aren’t needed.

It’s hard to back away when a friend is in trouble. But telling her I love and support her may give her the strength she needs.

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

I can handle the panicky feelings

I know the frightening feeling, I know instantly that something’s wrong. Suddenly I feel hot, dizzy, then chilled. My heart beats fast and hard and I can’t catch my breath. I’m caught off guard and can hardly move. I think I’m going to die—

Funny thing. I don’t die. The worst has never happened. Every time I’ve had a panic attack, I’ve managed to catch my breath and get to a place of safety. No passing out, no heart attack. It’s hard for me to believe sometimes, but my higher power is taking care of me. I continue to muddle through and I am grateful.

I will think up a brief prayer or affirmation to help me feel safe when I feel panicky.

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

Sobriety is a big gift box with a hundred little packages inside to unwrap.

~ Oscar Morris ~

Sobriety is its own reward and then some. Sobriety is a condition of openness and receptivity to the treasure of life. It is the ability to view the world through gentler glasses and hear our fellows with kinder ears. It is the ability to see things as they really are, instead of how we’d like them to be. It is a condition of honesty and willingness to be true to ourselves and others.

On this day we can look out the window when we get up in the morning. No matter what we see — another building, a yard, even an airshaft — it can remind us that we’re not the same people we used to be. We can look at this world without fear. It won’t bite back anymore.

Sobriety is seeing the world with open eyes. It is like seeing a daffodil as though for the first time. It is the gift of learning how to view the world as a friendly and loving place to be. Sobriety is crying without shame and laughing with abandon. It is a gift that wakes us up with hope and puts us to sleep with peace.

Today let me cherish my gift of sobriety and not take it for granted.

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

… the tortoise is good at nurturing energy, so it can sur-vive a century without food.

~ Chinese proverb ~

The ancient Chinese taught that it was wise to emulate the tortoise because it knew when to withdraw into itself to remain safe and restore its energy. Like the tortoise, you can choose to withdraw from energy drains. Getting caught up in other people’s problems, spending time with negative people, or finding yourself in situations that are far too dramatic can disrupt your serenity. You may think you can help resolve a problem or shift someone’s negative outlook to a more positive one, yet get caught up in a whirlpool of drama or negativity.

Many of the people you will meet will be wonderful sources of positive energy, inspiration, hope, and serenity. Others will be Gloomy Guses, Angry Andys, and Negative Nancys. Some meetings you attend may be dominated by people who spend more time complaining than by working the program.

Whenever you find yourself around negative people or situations, take a step back. Cultivating a sense of inner peace will help you keep your focus on staying clean and sober.

Today I will cultivate a sense of inner peace. I will choose to be around people who inspire me and will attend meetings that keep my focus on my recovery.

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

I am bigger than anything that can happen to me. All these things, sorrow, misfortune, and suffering are outside my door. I am in the house and I have the key.

~ Charles Fletcher Lummis ~

So many things seem to loom over us. There’s our addiction to alcohol or other drugs, food, or people. There are our fears of expressing love, of feeling, of being alone, of being abandoned, of being rejected, of failing. There are the miseries of childhood, unhappy relationships, a failed marriage, or death. Sometimes there’s even the world in general—all people, places, and things. Some days just about everything seems ready to swallow us up.

Yet nothing has absolute power over us if we have a strong belief in ourselves and a Higher Power. Our Higher Power strengthens us and helps us stay in good condition.

The negative conditions we see are not lurking in the shadows, ready to spring upon us at any moment. There are not people “out to get us,” nor traps set to foil our goals. We are secure because of the faith we have in our Higher Power.

The only thing in this life bigger than me is my Higher Power. Tonight I can feel safe and secure no matter where I am.

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

Keeping our motives honest

Motives are important in dealing with other people. If we’re frank with someone and that person gets upset, we might think he or she just can’t handle our directness, our honesty. But “honesty” without love is more like brutal frankness. If we want to be confrontational, we have to put up with the consequences.

But what is the real reason for being confrontational (“honest”), for pointing out others’ flaws? Are we perhaps afraid that our own flaws will be discovered? Are we protecting ourselves by focusing attention on others?

Are my motives always honest?

Higher Power, help me see where my motives are selfish or mean or petty, so that I stay honest in my program.

Today I will examine my motives concerning

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Get rid of the poisons.

~ M. F. K. FISHER ~

Newcomer

I’m trying to take your advice not to get too hungry angry, lonely, or tired, but sleep is still a problem for me. When I get into bed, my mind starts racing. I toss and turn; it’s as if I’m being flooded with adrenaline. Then I’ll pass out for a while, and the dreams I have are horrible—they’re like hallucinations. When I get up, I feel exhausted.

Sponsor

In the first few weeks of recovery, especially from physical addictions—alcohol, food, drugs, cigarettes—sleep disturbances are likely to occur. Our bodies are still undergoing a process of detoxification and rebalancing. When we feel as if we’re being flooded with adrenaline, that’s probably exactly what’s happening. Night and day may be turned around. Sleep problems vary from person to person, depending on former addictive patterns. Some may sleep a lot, with dreams that feel hallucinatory; others may feel as if they’ve been lying awake for days. When we used our addictive substance or behavior, we were numbing ourselves so that we wouldn’t have to feel certain things. Those feelings don’t go away just because we’ve entered recovery.

The extremes you’re experiencing will level off as recovery continues. Bodies have a natural tendency to heal. One morning, you will wake up refreshed, surprised to realize that you’ve had a night’s rest. You can help the process along by avoiding caffeine or heavy eating at night, by drinking plenty of water, and by beginning to add some form of gentle exercise to your day. A walk or some gentle yoga or stretching can do more than you’d think to help your body detoxify and regain hormonal balance.

Today, I cooperate with the natural process that is healing my body and spirit.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Next to the God-inspired Program itself, we should be most thankful to our founders that they have resisted the pressure of various “movements” to ally themselves to us.

Reform movements are often only against something but AA is always FOR something. We do not resist evil but strive to overcome evil with good. Their forces are negative; ours positive.

Their machines stand idle while they strive to eliminate friction; ours run on power sufficient to overcome the friction, and the source of our power is infinite.

They say everything bad should be eliminated; we say everything bad is an opportunity, sent to us from God, that we may transform it to Good.

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

1) It’s a selfish program.

2) If you want to know what’s in your heart, listen to your mouth.

3) FEAR: False Expectations Actually Realized

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

Every Morning

Every morning I will rest my arms awhile upon the windowsill of heaven, gaze upon my Higher Power, and with that vision in my heart turn strong to meet my day.

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

SHARING THE KEY

In order to “Golden Key” a troublesome person or difficult situation, think, “Now I’m going to Golden Key John, or Mary, or that threatened danger”; then lift John or Mary or the danger into the presence of God and think only of God.

There after the person is certain to be in some better, wiser, and more spiritual person. A pending lawsuit or other difficulty will probably fade out without coming to a crisis, justice being done to all parties concerned.

. . . O Lord God, thou art that God, and thy words be true, and thou hast promised this goodness unto thy servant (2 Samuel 7:28).

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

I’m Off to Be the Wizard

If you do not get it from yourself, where will you go for it?

~ Buddha ~

In the film Willow, a young man in medieval times seeks to be-come an apprentice to the village shaman. Along with two other hopefuls, Willow is tested before an assembled crowd. “If you can answer this question correctly,” the wizard informs the three, “I will teach you the ancient magic.” The elder extends his hand and asks, “In which finger does the power lie?” Each of the first two applicants chooses a finger, and to the groans of the crowd, the wizard shakes his head. Finally, Willow makes his choice and he, too, is rejected.

Willow goes off to live a life of adventure and romance; he joins an army, weathers a war, and grows through many fascinating encounters. After a long time, Willow returns to the village, where the wizard asks him, “What did you want to answer when I gave you the test?”

“I wanted to say, The power lies in my own hand.’”

“That was the correct answer,” the wizard affirms. “Why did you not say it?”

“I guess I just didn’t believe in myself enough,” Willow admits.

The illusion of the world is that other people have the power to make us into something we are not. The truth is that we are already everything, and no one outside of ourselves has the power to add to, or diminish, our wholeness. In spite of this fundamental reality, many of us have spent a great deal of time chasing illusions that the power rests somewhere other than in our own hearts and minds.

Beware of any individuals, organizations, or religions that assert that they have the power to save you or crucify you. People may have worldly power, but that is not the same as spiritual power. In the long run, only spiritual power has any meaning or worth—and you have all of it.

Help me remember that the God I seek lives within me, as me.

I am the way, the truth, and the life.

[caressa222]

January 22

Step by Step

“Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.” – Step 10

Today, Step 10, the extension of the Fourth, is a reminder that the self-inventory isn’t a one-time shot. Just as the car needs an occasional tune-up, so it goes with our moral fiber. Neglect of the 10th Step risks progress in recovery and consigning us to stagnation. While the Fourth challenges us with self-inventory, we’re commanded in the 10th to “promptly admit” when we are wrong. In doing that, we could be sparing ourselves pent-up anger, resentments, fears, frustrations and thoughts of “revenge,” none of which has a part in recovery. Today, when I am wrong in anything, I’ll admit it and let it go. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

MIRACLES

Chance is perhaps the pseudonym of God when he did not wish to sign.

~ Anatole France ~

Chance is that unplanned and unexpected happening that brings happiness and freedom to us. It is often another name for a miracle.

Miraculous good fortune comes to all of us when we work our Program. We accept the miracles of chance (luck) with gratitude. In fact, we help to make our own miracles by constant attention to thinking and behaving to the best of our ability and within our limitations, and by staying open to our Higher Power’s will for us.

We make positive efforts to deserve the fortunes of chance. We cannot depend on luck, but must try to become receptive to the good things that happen to us. We accept the fact that, in recovery, miracles happen not to just a few at rare times, but to all of us, often.

I am learning in my Program that I must never depend on miracles to solve my problems. But I can create the emotional and spiritual climate within myself for them to occur by working my Program.

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

In the face of uncertainty, there is nothing wrong with hope.

~ Bernie Siegel ~

Are we willing to hope? Some of us have adopted an attitude of optimism about the progress of life. We know that many things are unpredictable, but we believe we have the strength to deal with whatever happens. Others of us have chosen the opposite. We dare not hope, protecting ourselves from the hurt of disappointment. But our spiritual growth calls every one of us to believe in the possibilities for recovery and all the promises that go with it.

We need to ask ourselves, do I dare to hope? That is what the Second Step challenges us to do. We simply suspend our doubts. We put them on the shelf and hold open the possibility that good things will happen. And if we don’t get what we hoped for, we can deal with it. It is a choice we make.

Today I will accept the challenge to suspend my doubts and accept that my life can get better.

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

I always have two lists: things I’m happy about and things I’m not. It’s my choice which list I focus on.

~ Anne Arthur ~

Why do we all too eagerly see the glass as half- empty rather than as half-full? It need not be a habit that we are stuck with forever. All of us feel helpless at times to change our vision of life. Discouragement and self-pity become comfortable, and we fear that discarding them will leave us vulnerable.

Seeing the glass as half-empty is a sign that our attitude is holding us back. Unfortunately, a bad attitude is seductive. It’s as though we find pleasure, perverse though it may be, in feeling sorry for ourselves. Sometimes we even imagine staying in that place forever. It’s then that we need the warmth of loving friends, and it’s no accident that we are surrounded by them in this fellowship.

We may, at first, try to ignore those reaching toward us, but we will soon feel their presence. We can thank God for the inspiration to adjust our attitude.

If I reach out lovingly to someone else today, I will not need a nudge from my Higher Power to adjust my attitude.

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

I am learning to let go

I had dreams for my life. I envisioned that one day, I would have a family and a house and a good job. I dreamed my dream for a happy life. I never dreamed I would develop a dual disorder and perhaps have to let go of some dreams.

But in coming as far as I have in my recovery, I now believe that I have a higher power who truly cares about me and wants me to be happy. And I am learning to trust my higher power. I believe that I can still have a happy life, although it may look different from the vision in my dreams.

I will read Step Three and pray to accept myself and my life.

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

See who you are. Own who you are.
Be who you are. Don’t apologize.

~ Jerry K. ~

At some point in our recovery, we need to admit to ourselves and others who we really are. Looking inside and pondering our shortcomings is not the most comfortable thing the program has asked us to do. In the past it’s been more comfortable to deny them, to look the other way, to sweep the human error element under the rug.

But the rewards are great. Once we own our shortcomings, once we tell them out loud to another person, we have taken full responsibility for our-selves — who we are, what we are — and how we have acted.

Now we are closer to our Higher Power, who has accepted us all along. Now we can return to the spiritual support that is always available. When we admit who we are to ourselves and others, we are given the gift of self-acceptance and a sense of belonging to the human race.

By opening ourselves this way, we enrich our relationships with our Higher Power, ourselves, and our fellow humans. These relationships bring a new sense of belonging and meaning to our lives.

Today help me tell myself, my Higher Power, and at least one other person who I really am.

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

The most difficult part of attaining perfection is finding something to do for an encore.

~ Author unknown ~

Living life striving for perfection can be as difficult as making a piece of furniture without any wood, nails, or tools. Whenever you set impossible-to-reach goals, create expectations that you will make no mistakes—ever—or constantly demand that you be the very best in all you do, what you may find is that you rarely achieve such things. From time to time you may, but the odds are not in your favor. No one, really, is perfect.

Demanding perfection of yourself, while noble, more often than not results in defeat or shortfalls. In fact, often your quests for perfection will lead to mistakes, errors in judgment, or things done in haste.

Mistakes are a fact of life. But rather than view them as annoyances that reveal your weaknesses or prevent you from achieving perfection, consider them to be important communicators. Mistakes are valuable guideposts to destinations along your path of recovery and growth. They provide important cautions and help you refocus your concentration. So, there is a value to falling short in your quest for perfection. Mistakes and missteps are what you learn from. Without them, you would not learn how to persevere.

Today I will accept that perfection is illusive. Instead, I need to strive to be the best person I can be.

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

Be yourself. Who else is better qualified?

~ Frank J. Giblin, II ~

Almost every magazine devotes its cover to movie stars and famous personalities. We are taught that we need to look like the most attractive and glamorous people. We need to wear what they wear, eat what they eat, and fix our hair like theirs. The message we are given is: Don’t be yourself, be like someone else.

There will always be someone who looks better than we do, has more money, scores better on tests, or has more creative skills. If we’re always trying to mimic other people, we won’t be looking at ourselves. Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but it keeps us from being ourselves.

We need to stop focusing on what others have that we don’t have. We need to look inward at our good qualities as well as our imperfections. We need to see who we are by being ourselves. Life is not made up of people who are good and bad, happy and sad, rich and poor, beautiful and ugly. Life is made up of people being themselves.

I will start to be myself. Help me show others the real me, not an imitation.

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

Accepting the past

Noted psychiatrist Carl Jung once said, “If one can accept one’s sin, one can live with it. If one cannot accept it, one has to suffer the inevitable consequences.” We must come to accept our past acts before they will stop causing us pain.

All the Steps help us do this, but in particular, Steps Four and Five (the inventory Steps) and Steps Eight and Nine (the amends Steps) help. If we attend to these Steps properly, we will no longer regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it.

Am I coming to accept myself?

Higher Power, help me accept the ways I’ve behaved in the past—and the ways I behave in the present—that cause me pain, so that in your time I may be freed.

I will work on self-acceptance today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Over and over, we begin again.

~ BANANA YOSHIMOTO ~

Newcomer

Yesterday was such a difficult day. But here it is, morning again—somehow, I’ve gotten through another twenty-four hours, and without a drug. I wish I’d known yesterday that things wouldn’t feel so bad this morning.

Sponsor

Yesterday, we did the best that we could. Yesterday is over. We have slept. We think we know some of what today will hold. We may boil water in the same kitchen, take the same route to work, see some of the faces we usually see. At the meeting we attend, we’ll hear the familiar readings, take comfort from hearing the words we’ve heard before. Perhaps our shoulders, hunched with any tensions we’re experiencing, will drop at the sound of those accustomed words, and we’ll relax.

Along with the predictable, there may be a thousand unexpected experiences: a new color in the sky, a smile answering our own, a phrase of music, a sense of willingness rising within us to do something differently.

Let’s take some deep, slow breaths and begin the day with faith that whatever it brings, we’ll be present for it.

This day is a gift that recovery has given to me.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Nothing is impossible for God, therefore nothing is impossible for you and God if you are both playing on the same team. There is a big difference between being on God’s team and getting God on your team.

To get on God’s team we must train rigidly, know all the rules of the game, follow the instructions of the Great Captain in the spirit as well as in the letter, go to your Captain frequently when in doubt, co-operate with the other team members, do not try to be the big Star, be on the practice field early and stay late and put all you have into your efforts. Who knows—you might become a Regular upon whom God can rely to play his position as it should be played. One thing is sure—if you do make His team you are sure to win.

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~ POCKET SPONSOR ~ (Back to the Basics for Addiction Recovery) ~

The sole purpose of AA is to help the alcoholic stop drinking. The sole purpose of NA is to help the addict stop using. The sole purpose of CDA is to help the chemically dependent give up mind affecting chemicals. The soul purpose of all these fellowships is service, unity, and recovery.

“I do not put the sole purpose of any fellowship above the soul purpose.”

~ Shelly Marshall ~

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

1) Sobriety is never an accident.

2) You can be about as happy as you decide to be.

3) From Shame to Grace

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

Sobriety Prayer

If I speak in the tongues of men and even of angels, but have not sobriety, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains but have not sobriety, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not sobriety, I gain nothing.

When I am sober, I am patient and kind. When I am sober, I am not jealous nor boastful, nor arrogant or rude. When I am sober, I do not insist on my own way. When I am sober, I am not irritable or resentful. I do not rejoice at wrong as I used to do but rejoice in what is right. 

When I am sober, I can bear all things, believe in all things, hope all things, and endure all things.

Sobriety never ends and never fails.

When I was using, I spoke like an arrogant child, thought like a stubborn child, and reasoned like a rebellious child. When I chose sobriety for my life, I gave up my childish ways.

So faith, hope, love, and sobriety abide, but for me, the most important has to be sobriety, for without it, I cannot have the other three, nor can I ever have the serenity I yearn to possess.

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

IF THE KEY STICKS

We have said the golden Key is simple, but, of course, it is not always easy to turn. If you are very frightened or worried it may be difficult, at first, to get your thoughts away from material things. But by constantly repeating some statement of absolute Truth that appeals to you, such as There is no power but God, or I am the child of God, filled and surrounded by the perfect peace of God, or God is love, or God is guiding me now, or, perhaps best and simplest of all, just God is with me—you will soon find that your mind is clearing. Do not struggle, be quiet but insistent. Each time that you find your attention wandering, just switch it straight back to God.

Do not try to think out in advance what the solution of your difficulty will probably turn out to be. This is technically called outlining, and will only delay the demonstration. Leave the question of ways and means to God. You want to get out of your difficulty—that is sufficient. You do your half, and God, will never fail to do His.

. . . whosever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered . . . (Joel 2:32)

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

Fear No Evil

F.E.A.R. is False Evidence Appearing Real

~ Anonymous ~

While horseback riding, I gained a profound insight about fear. Occasionally during the ride, the horse would approach the edge of a cliff or negotiate a steep or rocky part of the trail, and I would have a moment of fear. On that day, I was feeling particularly relaxed, and I noticed that in my generally calm state, the fear would arise and depart in a moment. On previous rides when I had felt more uptight, I would have the moment of fear, followed by many moments of worry: “What if this happens again?”

I realized that what most people call “fear” is really worry. When we obsess about something bad that may happen, the thing we fear is always in the future, and it is generated by something in the past. Examined closely fear has nothing to do with the now. On my horseback ride, I could see that even my moment of “fear” was actually just a call to pay close attention at that moment. Thus, I realized that fear is not real; it is but a trick of the mind.

Cats are masterful teachers of ease. You have probably observed a cat sleeping underneath a parked car when the driver starts the car. In an instant, the cat springs out from under the car and moves a few feet away Within seconds, the cat is stretched out and relaxed again, not missing a step in the dance.

When confronted with fear, ask yourself this question: Am I all right at this moment? If you are honest, you will see that you are almost always all right in this moment. If not, ask yourself what you need to do in this moment to get all right. By peeling away the onion skins of fear in this way, you will find that when you arrive at the center, there is nothing to fear.

A Course in Miracles reminds us, “I could see peace instead of this.” Stay in the present moment, and the doors to peace will open.

I pray to be released from anxious worry. Help me to feel safe in Your love and comforted in Your Presence.

I am always safe in God.

[caressa222]

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 I disagreeumption 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.

[caressa222]

January 24

Step by Step

“Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” – Step 12

Today, Step 12, the “graduation” step that bestows marching orders and ushers us into the world and puts AA into service by taking the message to other alcoholics. But to be “qualified” as a 12th-stepper, we have to see that this step is actually one in three; we are required in it, first, to have had a spiritual awakening, second, to carry the message, and third, to practice in all our affairs the principles laid out in the previous 11 steps. And without achieving each three requirements, our effectiveness as a carrier of the message is likely to be compromised. After all, how can we talk about a spiritual awakening if we have not had one, and how can we ask someone to practice AA’s principles if we don’t do so ourselves? Today, I ask myself if I have experienced the spiritual awakening that is fundamental to recovery, if I actually practice AA’s principles in all I do, and if I try to carry the message when asked. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

LOVELY THOUGHTS

What is lovely never dies, but passes into other loveliness.

~ Thomas Bailey Aldrich ~

Thinking lovely thoughts during recovery encourages lovely acts. It is true that what starts as lovely will produce an air of loveliness around those of us who work for spiritual things. Truth has a relationship with lovely deeds. A great poet wrote that “beauty is truth and truth beauty,” and also gave us the familiar words, “A thing of beauty is a joy forever.”

Our thoughts determine the way we behave and shape the personal image which we pass on to those around us. There is an “outer show of an inner glow” which results from kindness and beauty of mind. Unhealthy thoughts or false fronts are destructive. We are what we think we can be and want to be. If we recognize the best and most healthy in the world around us, we will be worthy of the honest image others have of us.

Let me think only the best thoughts so that I might be the best I can be.

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

Journal writing is a voyage to the interior.

~ Christina Baldwin ~

Many men use daily notes in a private journal as a method of meditation. It is a means to learn about themselves as they reflect with pen in hand and put uncensored thoughts down on paper. It can take many forms. Some days a person might just make a list. It might be a prayer list: all the people he loves and all the people he is concerned about. It might be a list of the day’s tasks, with notations on the spirit with which to approach them. Some guys draw pictures in their journals and say it helps them quiet their minds and deepen their understanding of a situation. Some simply record the events of the day and then reflect on how they feel about them and what they mean.

Every man in spiritual development needs a daily pattern of meditation and reflection. It should be a gentle means to respect himself, be honest with himself, and hold himself responsible for his life.

Today I will make notes on paper and use my notes to interact with my thoughts.

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

People have always wanted to talk to me about their problems. I guess I’m a good listener. Maybe I have something to contribute after all.

~ JoAnn Reed ~

No one is without value in this life. Maybe we haven’t discovered our unique purpose or special gifts, but we each have a place in the universe or we wouldn’t be here.

Each of us can offer friends a valuable gift every day—we can listen. Messages from our Higher Power often come through the words of others. We perform a wonderful service for our companions by listening and by sharing our own experience and advice.

Rapt attention—giving it and receiving it—is perhaps the most valuable contribution any of us can make. Let’s never underestimate the sacredness of listening.

I will keep my own mind quiet if a friend wants to share her concerns today. That way, my heart may be able to offer her the wisdom she needs.

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

I can pray for my needs

In part, I am afraid to pray. If I get what I ask for, I may feel guilty, as if I don’t deserve it. If my request is not met, I may feel rejected, angry, unworthy.

But slowly I am learning that it’s OK to have needs, and that to get my needs met I must ask for help at times. I am learning that a “no” does not mean I’m a bad person or that I am unworthy. My higher power is accepting and forgiving and will not reject me.

Today I will talk with my sponsor and a friend about the Eleventh Step and prayer.

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

I get a massage almost every week no matter where I am, eat a healthy diet, schedule time alone, and if I get to a point where I feel I need a block of time…I’ll cancel.

~ Anne Wilson Schaef ~

Do we love and care for our body as well as we love and care for our home and car? Do we feel our body deserves full attention and a loving maintenance plan?

Taking our body for granted is easy because of its remarkable durability and regenerative power. We may get lulled into a false sense of “nine lives” body security, believing our physical being will fix itself no matter what.

Self-care takes time and priority planning to be successful. We may find we put off our exercise and nutritional needs, saying, “Tomorrow I’ll start taking better care of myself.” But sooner or later tomorrow comes, and our body produces symptoms that demand attention.

Learning to love and nurture our body brings rewards without measure. We deserve to reap the benefits starting today.

Today let me realize that respect for my body builds a healing temple in which the rest of my life can grow.

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

How does one kill fear, I wonder? How do you shoot a spectre through the heart, slash off its spectral head, take it by its spectral throat?

~ Joseph Conrad ~

You squander time and energy when you fret about bad things that could happen or when you imagine countless scenarios in which you are rejected, you fail, or your health is in jeopardy. You waste golden opportunities when you ask “What if … ?” rather than “Why not… ?” When you dwell in a state of thinking something will go wrong, you become immobilized by fear. You can be-come so timid in your actions that you never develop self-assuredness that will help you ride out the storms of life.

Imagine you are a little boat sitting in the harbor about to set sail. There are boats much bigger, which could capsize you. Storms could toss you against rocks. But, then again, maybe these things will not happen.

Today imagine you have the opportunity to set sail out of your protective harbor. What lies ahead is unknown. View the uncertainty as an adventure. Take full advantage of each moment today. Get out of your comfort zone and discover what you can do.

Although I have no idea what may happen from minute to minute, today I will believe that everything happens for the best.

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

It’s all right to hold a conversation, but you should let go of it now and then.

~ Richard Armour ~

Do we pay close attention to those who talk to us, or do we spend more time talking to them? How well do we listen to others? Do we hear only what we want to hear, mentally editing out comments and statements from others?

A good exercise to improve listening is to repeat statements said to us, almost as if we were parroting the speaker. It may sound easy, but try it first! Too many of us pay more attention to our thoughts and don’t let in words spoken to us. As we think back over the conversations of the day, we may find we cannot recall the things discussed with co-workers, friends, or relatives. We may only recall our parts of the conversations. Can we remember things said at last night’s meeting or today’s noontime meeting? If we can’t, we probably didn’t carry much healing or strength away with us. If we begin the listening exercise and use it every day, we may find our growth improving by leaps and bounds, because we’ve started listening to others.

Help me begin the listening exercise. I will listen as closely as I can to those around me and learn from them.

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

Getting honest

Most of us have tried to con ourselves into believing that maybe it was actually okay for us to use drugs, because we needed an occasional tension reliever, for example. When we said that, we were still considering drugs as our Higher Power.

We approached the question Why not use drugs? from every angle, hoping that we could win the argument and rationalize using. When we get honest about Why not? we begin to accept our condition.

Am I honest about my true condition?

Higher Power, help me accept that I am mentally and physically different from nonaddicts, so that I can be free of the desire to use chemicals.

I will be honest about my condition today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

A friend is a person with whom I may he sincere. Before him I may think aloud.

~ RALPH WALDO EMERSON ~

Newcomer

Someone from where I used to work showed up at the meeting I went to last night. I was uncomfortable, and I avoided looking straight at him, but I’m pretty sure he saw me. What happens to my anonymity now? I don’t want the whole world to know my problems.
Sponsor

I’m glad that you’ve raised this question; it’s an important one. What, exactly, is “anonymity” with respect to Twelve Step fellowships? The root of the word means, literally, “without a name.” I honor the tradition of anonymity by not mentioning your name in connection with the name of this program. I may decide to tell someone that I’ve been at a meeting, but I will not say that I saw you there. And I must never talk to anyone about what you’ve shared here. That won’t change after I’ve been here ninety days, or a year, or twenty years. I never have the right to break your anonymity to people in the community, even your close friends or family—that choice is yours and no one else’s. We all share this trust, and most of us are surprisingly good at honoring it. Anonymity gives a sense of freedom essential to recovery. If you bump into this person again, maybe you’ll just nod a greeting, or maybe you’ll reassure him that he can trust you to respect his anonymity!

Today, I have no room in my life for gossip or self-consciousness. I feel joy at seeing others participate in recovery.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The AA Program is so simple and so honest that it confounds the physician with his Latin prescriptions and the scientist with his intricate formulas. They have been looking for the answer through a microscope or a telescope while the solution was at their finger tips. No wonder AA astounds them— they have been like the old woman who tore her house down looking for her glasses, only to find them on her forehead.

The simplicity of our program is its attraction and we must keep it awfully simple or the results will be simply awful.

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

1) FINE: Feeling Insecure Neurotic = Emotional

2) Act, don’t react.

3) A meeting a day keep my defects at bay.

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

My first Prayer

I surrender to Thee my entire life, O God of my understanding. I have made a mess of it, trying to run it myself. You take it, the whole thing, and run it for me, according to Your will and plan.

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

THE LAW OF RELAXATION

Another of the great mental laws is The Law of Relaxation. In all mental working effort defeats itself. This is just the opposite of what we find on the physical plane, but it will not surprise us because we know that in many cases the laws of mind are the reverse of the laws of matter.

On the physical plane, the harder you press a drill the faster will it go through a plank. The harder you hammer a nail the sooner does it go into the wall. But any attempt at mental pressure is foredoomed to failure because the moment tension begins, the mind stops working creatively. When you try to force things mentally, when you try to hurry mentally, you simply stop you creative power.

In all mental working be relaxed, gentle, and unhurried for effort defeats itself.

. . . in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength . . . (Isaiah 30:15)

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

Gotta Serve Somebody

Bury not your faculties in the sepulcher of idleness.

~ George Shelley ~

After traveling extensively for many years, I had several months at home without teaching. At first I found my free time quite refreshing. After a while, however, I became very self-involved. Spending a lot of time alone, I began to focus on my problems and get caught up in small thinking. Although I did not realize it, I was drifting away from the high consciousness I usually enjoy while teaching. Then one evening I presented a seminar, and I was amazed by how much better I felt. I was empowered, uplifted, and back on track. Through that turnaround, I realized I need to give. I need to stay in the presence of God, which I remember through presenting seminars and counseling. As much as students need to take my seminars, I need to give them.

The chemistry of life requires that we give in order to receive. We are not “paid” for giving by receiving later; in the action of giving, we enjoy the benefits of all we are offering. Right livelihood is like making love? as we are serving and blessing the other person, we receive pleasure and healing. In loving, we feel loved.

The prayer of St. Francis affirms the importance of regular service:

In giving we receive;
In pardoning we are pardoned;
And in surrendering we are born to eternal life.

If you feel bottled up, depressed, or self-involved, find someone to love. There is no lack of people and groups needing love, and as you extend service to them, you will find your own healing.

Lift me out of self-involvement, that I may know the joy of true service.

I find peace by giving love.

[majestyjo]

January 25

Step by Step

Today: “Courage to change the things I can,” the command of the Serenity Prayer that WE – not our Higher Power – take on those things we CAN change. Though our options might be limited, the one thing we CAN change, even control, is our attitude and how we integrate into this day, how we react and respond. Thus, today I will not take the easier, softer way and complain about ANYTHING the day serves up and, instead, I will start with the POSITIVE by willing myself to make this day good and that nothing in it will poison the rest of the day. If there is something I do not want to do, I will do it, if for no other reason than to have it done and over with and earn the luxury to say one more bad chore is done. For some, negativity and complaining can be an excuse in disguise to get out of our obligation to sobriety. Today, I am positive, not negative, and this day WILL be good. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

HIGHER POWER

Our need is God’s opportunity!

~ Anonymous ~

Finding a Higher Power is as simple as seeking God. We learn in our 12 Step Program that God can, and will, lead us to solutions if He is sought. Such a search need be only fifteen inches—the distance from brain to heart.

We must feel, as well as recognize, our Higher Power. We will never fully under-stand God. If God were within mere man’s understanding, God would never be great enough to grant us our needs. Our first gift from a Higher Power was the capacity to know and accept the truth that we were not running our entire world.

It took us many years of running the show before we realized that all our human effort could not help us with our addiction.

I not only thank God for my Program, but I thank the Program for bringing me to God.

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

Wisdom too often never comes, and so one ought not to reject it merely because it comes late.

~ Felix Frankfurter ~

A sure sign of true growth and change is the appearance of regret and grief that such wisdom came so late. Often, when we deeply understand something for the first time or make a real change that improves our lives, we wish we had learned this a long time ago. We mourn the losses and the pain that could have been avoided if we had only seen the light sooner.

However, a good life always brings change and growth. The greatest tragedy is when a man never grows and never sees the light. We always see more clearly after we learn something new, and the regret that accompanies it is inevitable. With enough distance and perspective, most of us reach the point where we say, I wouldn’t change it if I could.

Today I am grateful for the wisdom I have gained, and I will continue to seek more growth.

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

I believe that every single event in life happens as an opportunity to choose love over fear.

~ Oprah Winfrey ~

When our past is strewn with tragic and abusive experiences, it’s not easy to recall events as opportunities to love. Yet today we are safe, and we have come to believe a Higher Power has been watching over us every moment. Through the principles of this program, we are learning to forgive and to trust that we will always be cared for.

We cannot change the past. What happened and how we responded helped carry us to this point in our journey. We can cultivate love, now, for the present. The people who care for us will support us. The experiences designed for our progress will come to us. Our Higher Power will never leave our side. We can be free of fear today, if that’s our wish.
I will not fear the events in my life today. I am ready for them. They need my involvement.

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

I need to accept the help professionals can give me

I never liked doctors. I hate being sick. I resent the loss of control and feeling so vulnerable.

Well, I’m sick again. I have an addiction and a psychiatric illness. And I am faced with not just a doctor, but with counselors, therapists, case managers, and social workers. I don’t want to be sick, to lose control, to need help. But after long denying my illnesses and struggling on my own, I can see that I need professional help. I wouldn’t be here if I could have done it on my own.

I will read about Step Two today and pray for the willingness to trust.

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

Pray to God, row to shore.

~ Anonymous ~

The sign in the antique store showed a fisher-man in a rowboat being tossed about in a storm. The message was clear: the fisherman may have great faith, but now was not the time to put away the oars and kneel in prayer — it was time to pray and row!

Sometimes we find ourselves in a storm of trouble, a sea of problems, and we want God to get us out. We may even pray, “God, get me out of this mess.” But like the man in the rowboat, the way out is not just by praying to God. The way out is to pray, ask for help, and take action — do something to help ourselves.

Praying to God won’t keep us sober if we don’t also go to Twelve Step meetings. Praying to God to heal our relationships with others won’t help unless we’re willing to make amends. Health and recovery are a combination of prayer, communication with our Higher Power, and a commitment to do our part.

Today help me pray and take action.

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

And remember, we all stumble, every one of us. That’s why it’s a comfort to go hand in hand.

~ Emily Kimbrough ~

Coping with the challenges of recovery depends not only upon your inner resources, but also upon your relationships with the people in your life. The more people available to you who can offer help and guidance, the healthier you are likely to be. Being a member of a self-help group provides you with a wonderful fellowship of like-minded individuals. These are people who understand what you are feeling. You can call upon them when you are craving a drink or drug. They can help you make it through each day, free from your habit.

Take time today to assess who you can contact when you are in crisis. Maybe you have not had the time to ask a fellow member to be your sponsor. Or perhaps you are new to the program and shy about reaching out to others.

Create a Help List of members’ telephone numbers and e-mail addresses you can use during a time of difficulty. If there is no one for you to call or e-mail, then reach out today at a meeting and ask for contact information.

Today I will create a Help List of people who can be there for me. Through their support, I will know that I am not alone.

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

Some people regard discipline as a chore. For me, it is a kind of order that sets me free to fly.

~ Julie Andrews ~

If we think of the word discipline, we might visualize forms of punishment or reprimand from teachers, parents, or bosses. Yet discipline doesn’t have to be negative or an effort in blood, sweat, and tears. Discipline can be the structure we need in order to achieve our goals.

Within the program are disciplines to follow to achieve our goal of a renewed outlook on life. The Steps are probably the greatest discipline, for they provide a framework to formulate more positive beliefs about ourselves and our lives. Going to meetings is another discipline that helps keep us on track as we learn and grow. There are other disciplines, too- sharing with others, reading literature, becoming committed to a group, and practicing the program’s principles in all our affairs. All these disciplines keep us focused on our ultimate goal: freedom from all past obsessions and negativity. With the discipline of the program, we can learn to fly.

I can discipline myself to remain focused on the program. I know the benefits of such discipline.

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

Being open

Sometimes we think we’re supposed to have more recovery under our belts. Perhaps we feel the need to impress our peers with our success in staying off mind-altering chemicals. But perhaps we are really just trying to convince ourselves. We know how difficult recovery is, and surely our Higher Power is not fooled by our pretense of well-being.

If we try to hide our problems, we cannot get help for them. To get help we must tell people where we’re really at. No one can read a closed book.

Am I open with others?

Higher Power, help me believe in the saying, “Ask and you shall receive.”

Today I will be more open and honest about

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Day in, day out
I hunger and
I struggle

~ SAPPHO ~

Newcomer

I have so many problems. I have debts. I feel anxious and shaky at work. Meanwhile, friends and family members expect me to be the same person I’ve always been. I’m totally overwhelmed.

Sponsor

In recovery we have a future to look forward to. Over time, we learn new ways to approach situations that trouble us. But we can’t do anything differently if we’re still in the throes of our disease. We cannot rush recovery.

You can learn to treat yourself gently, as you would a baby or a kitten, or a sick or injured person lying in a hospital bed. You wouldn’t yell at such a person, Get up! You have work to do! Stop wasting time! You’d be tender and understanding. You would not begrudge a baby, or someone recovering from illness, time for rest, food, or medicine. Taking some time for meetings is essential to the healing process. Prayer and meditation can help calm you when you feel overwhelmed.

We are entitled to take time for recovery.

Today, I treat myself tenderly and patiently. I deserve to recover. I allow myself time for healing.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

AA has had its remarkable growth not because of its affluence but because of its influence.

The eyes of the world are upon us for we stand out as the lone hope of a world driven to despair by alcohol.

Our every action is watched by those needing our program desperately. What will your influence be on them? Will you be a steppingstone or a stumbling block?

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

1) Grace is getting what you don’t deserve and mercy is not getting what you do deserve.

2) The first step in overcoming mistakes is to admit them.

3) Selfish or Serving

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

Possibilities Prayer

I know, dear God, that my part in this Program is going to be a thrilling and endless adventure. Despite all that has happened to me already, I know that I have just begun to grow. I have just begun to open to Your love. I have just begun to touch the varied lives You are using me to change. I have just begun to sense the possibilities ahead. And these possibilities, I am convinced, will continue to unfold into ever new and richer adventures, not only for the rest of my reborn days but also through eternity.

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

THE LAW OF SUBCONSCIOUS ACTIVITY

As soon as the subconscious mind accepts any idea, it immediately begins trying to put it into effect. It uses all its resources (and these are far greater than is commonly supposed) to that end. It uses every bit of knowledge that you have ever collected, most of which you have totally forgotten, to bring about its purpose. It mobilizes the many mental powers that you possess, most of which you never consciously use. It draws on the unlimited energy of the race mind. It lines up all the laws of nature as they operate both inside and outside of you, to get its way.

Sometimes it succeeds in its purpose immediately. Sometimes it takes a little time, sometimes it takes a long time; but if the thing is not utterly impossible, the subconscious will bring it about—once it accepts the idea.

This law is true for both good and bad ideas. This law, when used negatively, brings sickness, trouble, and failure; and when used positively, brings healing, freedom, and success. We give the orders, the subconscious does the work.

. . . his secret is with the righteous (Proverbs 3:32)

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

Tuck in That Ball

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your pearls before swine.

~ Jesus Christ ~

In the 1993 Super Bowl, a strange and astounding play occurred. Late in the game, a Dallas Cowboys lineman intercepted a pass. Such a play is a freak, since linemen are essentially blockers and hardly ever touch the football. Seeing no tacklers, the 300-pound fellow went into ecstasy as he ran like mad in pursuit of the only touchdown he would probably ever make. Yards from the goal line, he raised the foot–ball triumphantly—but just a little too soon. The lineman did not see a tackier approaching from behind, and soon he was sprawled on the three-yard line, the football bounding away from him. When he looked up, he saw that the football had been recovered by the opposing team.

In the early stages of a project, it is wise to keep our thoughts and energies contained, not waving in the air. If we expose our intimate visions to negative influences, we may be knocked down or lose momentum. Jesus advised us, “Do not cast pearls before swine.” He was not referring to people as swine, but the ravaging effects of judgmental or doubtful thinking. No one in the outer world has power over us, but if our own vision has not yet gelled, we must nourish it before sending it out into the world. When a farmer plants a tree in a field, he builds a fence to protect it from being trampled by cattle. After the tree has grown strong and firm, the fence is removed, and the cattle can scratch their backs against it and rest in its shade.

Honor your tender thoughts and dreams by surrounding them with a protective womb. Then when they are born, they will bless everyone.

Great Spirit, help me to hold my visions like an unborn child. Help me protect my child so it will emerge in full strength, health, and vitality.

I honor my tender thoughts, feelings, and visions. I surround myself with people, energies, and influences for success.

[caressa222]

January 26

Step by Step

Today, my program as based on three concepts: choice, consequences, and responsibility. I understand now that drinking is a choice and the reasons I concoct to justify drinking are nothing more than rationalizations – excuses – or contributing factors to which I am surrendering my control. If I choose to drink, there are the inevitable consequences as all actions have, and my long history with drinking proves that the consequences are usually the same, are never less and usually worsen. And with those consequences comes responsibility to them, and the consequences are predictable – a hangover, regret for what I did or said when I was drunk, maybe another DUI, possibly waking up in the county jail’s drunk tank – again. Today, the consequences are too high for me, and I don’t want to be responsible to them. And if I don’t want to be responsible to the consequences of drinking, the choice is clear and logical – don’t drink. I choose not to. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

HEALTHY PRIDE

Pride works from within; it is the direct appreciation of oneself.

~ Schopenhauer ~

Pride should not be feared. It is listed among the “seven deadly sins,” but that is arrogance or false pride, not healthy pride which is a necessary part of self-esteem. Our Program teaches us that the pride that “goes before a fall” is an unhealthy state, a symptom of egotism, grandiosity, and arrogance.

No harm will come to spiritual growth from the pride experienced when we freely admit to ourselves that any accomplishment of ours was not made by us alone. Humble pride acknowledges the guidance of others and faith in a Higher Power whom we call upon for inspiration and motivation.

With humility and God’s help, lean learn to have healthy pride in my accomplishments and growth in the Program.

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

You alone can do it, but you cannot do it alone.

~ O. Hobart Mowrer ~

A guy likes to feel independent and self-sufficient. We all naturally want to feel competent and on top of our game. As we live our lives, we gain some savvy about this drive to be our own master. The young boy has a simple idea: the less he needs others, the stronger and better he will be. But the wiser, experienced man knows that a man is stronger and wiser if he is willing to accept the help that is available.

We alone can turn toward the help. We alone can decide to accept what we cannot change. We alone can open ourselves to spiritual grace and stop getting in the way of our Higher Power. The smarter man accepts the paradox that when we take our self-sufficiency too far, we become weaker. We are in the driver’s seat when we decide to receive the help of others and our Higher Power.

Today I will open myself to the help that surrounds me.

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

Having loosened our grip on the past, we are free to reach for the future.

~ Ann D. Clark ~

Every day of our lives we think of some situation we wish we had handled differently. Perhaps we left a job we now miss, disciplined a child needlessly, or responded rudely to a friend. Our Fourth Step inventory abundantly details our many regrets, but the past is gone. We can’t take back the job or the punishment or the rude responses. However, we can make certain the Tenth Step we do every night is not filled with similar regrets.

Recovery has given us a second chance. Let’s not waste this gift by hanging on to what can’t be changed. We all know what we don’t like about our behavior in the past. That’s all we need to remember when we decide how to behave in the present. We won’t be ashamed in the future, if we take charge of our present.

Today is a new beginning. Whatever happened in my past need not control what I do with today. Today is mine to be proud of.

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

I need to get out more

I feel shaky and fragile these days. I’ve been sad and quiet for so long—eating alone, working alone, being alone with my thoughts. It hurts and it’s hard to face the world.

On the other hand, maybe it hurts because I’m withdrawing, because I’m not facing the world. Perhaps I could call a friend to talk with or walk with; perhaps I could go to a coffee shop or to the zoo. (Of course, I could always go to a Twelve Step or support group meeting.) Although I don’t feel like taking action now, perhaps now is the best time to do something to help my mood. It will help if I can move toward the world instead of away from it.

Today I will try one new activity that involves other people.

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

All experience is an arch to build on.

~ Henry Brooks Adams ~

We can learn something from any experience, even one that is painful. In fact, we often learn more from painful experiences than from pleasant ones. When we say or do something foolish or hurtful that causes us embarrassment or guilt, pain gives us a reason to learn and behave differently next time. It may hurt to be arrested for drunk driving, but the pain of that experience may be the beginning of recovery for someone who is addicted.

We can’t change the experiences we have, but we can learn from them. Our life is a gift that comes wrapped in what we experience each moment. When we accept this gift and open it willingly, no matter what the wrapping looks like, we put ourselves in a position to discover unexpected treasures. We live life to the fullest, and we learn who we are as we grow. In that way, all experience is positive in building our new lives.

Today let me learn something that will help me grow in wisdom and maturity.

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

I know no subject more elevating, more amazing, more ready to the poetical enthusiasm, the philosophical re-flection, and the moral sentiment than the works of nature. Where can we meet such variety, such beauty, such magnificence?

~ James Thomson ~

There is the story of a religious teacher who spent hours preparing his daily sermons, seeking to impart the greatest wisdom and the most stirring observations. Parishioners often commented on how wonderful and inspiring his talks were.

He was about to deliver another of his sermons when a little bird came and alit on a nearby window sill. It began to sing away with a full heart and all those present listened. Then, as suddenly as it had arrived, the bird flew away. The preacher thought for a moment. He scanned the pages of his sermon, then looked out at the parishioners and announced, “The sermon for this morning is over.” While many things can be worked hard for, some things simply exist—and exist well. Appreciating nature and being able to connect with it in some way increases your ability to appreciate the blessings in your life and the beauty that surrounds you each day.

Today I will notice the natural beauty around me. I will marvel at the beautiful songs of the birds, the crispness in the air, and the sight of bare trees against a winter sky.

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

It is a matter first of beginning—and then following through.

~ Richard L. Evans ~

How many times have we started a project or a new path of living only to abandon it after a short time? We may have thought it wasn’t what we wanted or there wasn’t enough time. Instead of following through, we usually gave up just when it was getting challenging and difficult.

What are our dreams today? Do we wish we could speak a second language, know how to operate a computer, exercise regularly, or attend more meetings? What’s stopping us? Each task we’d like to accomplish can only be done by persistence and dedication. We learn a new language one word at a time, learn how to operate a computer one step at a time, exercise regularly one day at a time, and attend more meetings one night at a time.

We don’t have to give up an endeavor just because the hard work has begun. Instead of looking down the road where we want to be, we need to look at this moment. If we take a step toward our goals, we’ll be closer than if we never took that step.

I can walk toward my goal, remembering each step I take will bring me closer to achievement and personal reward.

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

Embracing virtues and new attitudes

Because of our addiction, our actions (and inaction) have fostered cynicism, futility, and distrust. How could we ever have hoped to succeed with attitudes like that?

Now we are cultivating the virtues of understanding, love, and patience. It is often slow and difficult. We know that our Higher Power loves us and will lead us, if we only ask.

Am I developing new virtues?

Higher Power, take my hand and lead me from the old attitudes toward new virtues.

I will work on the following virtues today

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

This is a “we” program.

~ SAYING HEARD AT MEETINGS ~

Newcomer

Why must I have a sponsor? Can’t I do this on my own?

Sponsor

Sponsorship is a strong suggestion—not a rule. Yes, some people do stay in recovery without a sponsor. And no, we can’t recover on our own.

There are great advantages to taking the program suggestion to maintain a relationship with a sponsor. Recovery is a major change—it’s one of the most difficult, most courageous things we can do in our lives. A sponsor, someone who’s survived the ups and downs we’re facing in early recovery, can serve as a guide and mentor. He or she can answer our questions and help us through the Steps, giving us the benefit of his or her experience. With a sponsor present to witness our recovery process, to offer perspective and support, we may have a gentler ride.

When I was active in my addiction, I avoided the intimacy of relationships in which I might have to open myself to others or trust them. Even at times when there were many people in my fife, I managed to avoid “people situations” that made me uncomfortable. A sponsor-sponsee relationship can be the start of learning that human beings can depend on one another.

Today, I’m not alone in recovery.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

We alcoholics were up to our necks in the quicksand of yesterdays with a lifetime of tomorrows on our shoulders. Of course we sought escape in the bottle, for no man has courage and strength enough to survive this ordeal.

AA has taught us that TODAY is the only day we have. Those horrible TOMORROWS which we hold in such dread have no substance except such as we give them in our living of successive TODAYS.

Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t been, and may never be, born.

It is on the foundation of today that we build tomorrow.

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

1) If you want to put the world right—start with you.

2) FINE: Freaked out, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional

3) Adult Child of Alien Invaders.

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

Enough to Need

Dear God, never allow me to think that I have knowledge enough to need no teaching, wisdom enough to need no correction, talents enough to need no grace, goodness enough to need no progress, humility enough to need no repentance, devotion enough to need no improvement, strength sufficient without Thy Spirit, lest, standing still, I fall back forevermore.

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

THE LAW OF PRACTICE

Practice makes perfect. This familiar proverb embodies one of the great laws of human nature and—being a law—it is never under any circumstances broken.

There is simply no achievement without practice and the more practice, provided it is done intelligently, the greater will the proficiency be and the sooner will it be attained. It is true in every conceivable branch of human endeavor. Practice is the price of proficiency.

In metaphysics the effects of this law are particularly striking. Thought control is entirely a matter of intelligent practice. And true religion may well be summed up as the Practice of the Presence of God.

. . . be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only . . . (James 1:22)

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

Accept the Grace

By Grace I live. By Grace I am released.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

A doctor, lawyer, and engineer were lined up to be executed by guillotine. “Do you wish to face the blade, or look away?” the henchman asked the doctor.

“I’ll face the blade!” the physician replied, and placed his neck on the guillotine. The executioner released the blade, which fell to a point just inches above the doctor’s neck and stopped.

The assembled crowd buzzed excitedly. “This is obviously a sign from God,” announced the king. “You are pardoned.” Joyfully, the doctor arose and went on his way.

The lawyer, next in line, also chose to face the blade. Down it fell, and once more it stopped inches from the man’s naked throat. Again the throng tittered, and the king informed the prisoner that divine intervention had obviously been issued, and he, too, was free. Happily, he departed.

The final prisoner was the engineer who, like his predecessors, chose to face the blade. He fitted his neck into the crook of the guillotine and looked up at the apparatus above him. The executioner was about to pull the cord when the engineer pointed to the pulley system and called out, “Wait a minute!—I think I see the problem!”

Within us resides an overworking engineer who is more concerned with analyzing the problem than accepting the solution. Many of us have become so resigned to receiving the short end of the stick that if we were offered the long end, we would doubt its authenticity and refuse it. Often we do better to enjoy our good rather than analyze it.

I pray to be open to the good that is offered me. Help me go beyond my old ideas of punishment and accept love.

I choose my freedom, and I live in a forgiven world.

[caressa222]

January 27

Step by Step

Today, “Let Go and Let God” does not absolve me from responsibility for being alcoholic and from participation in my redemption from the damage and pain to others of my drinking days. “Let Go and Let God” commands that I turn my will over to my Higher Power for knowledge of HIS will for me and “the power to carry (it) out.” It does not give me the easy out by expecting God to do it for me. In accepting a role in my recovery instead of expecting it to come to me by reading the Big Book and going to meetings, I understand that sobriety is a two-level process. On the surface, I cannot drink; on a deeper level, I cannot expect a fundamental change in spiritual and emotional conditions that comes solely by not drinking. I am responsible for my condition as an alcoholic; likewise, I am responsible for my recovery. “Let Go and Let God” does not dismiss me from either responsibility. Today, I “Let Go and Let God” by surrendering MY self-will and listening for my High Power to show me HIS will and how to carry it out. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

REGRETS

Opportunities flit by while we sit regretting the chances we have lost, and the happiness that comes to us we heed not, because of the happiness that is gone.

~ Jerome K Jerome ~

All of us have things we regret. But when regret takes possession of our thoughts and lives, we are in trouble. There’s nothing wrong with playing the “what if’ game, as long as it remains a game.

“What if I had chosen a different career? What if I hadn’t (or had) married? What if I had traveled more? Where and who would I be today?” These are questions we all ask ourselves.

But the answer to unhappiness today doesn’t lie in past decisions. If we think it does, we’re ignoring the fact that each day is a new beginning. To concentrate on lost opportunities or to wish the past was different opens the door to despair. All we can do is the best we can do at any given moment.

Perhaps my life would have been different had I made different choices, but can I really say it would have been better? Who I am today is the person with whom I have to deal.

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

When we see men overdoing their masculinity, we can assume that they . . . are scared that they aren’t manly enough.

~ Frank Pittman ~

Masculinity is a wonderful thing. It is part of a man’s inner feeling of self-esteem, and it has a wide scope. It’s the feeling that we can protect and provide for ourselves, our family, and our loved ones; that we are tough when we need to be tough, standing up to difficult challenges; that we are true to our word, loving, and honorable.

As young boys we had boyish ideas about masculinity. Normally, children have uncomplicated ideas about life. But boys don’t know manhood until they are there. And some of us didn’t have adult men that we were close to; we couldn’t know intimately what grown men were like. So we reached manhood almost as outsiders, still trying to fulfill our boyish ideas. We worked extra hard to fulfill the simple stereotypes of manhood. That’s why we sometimes exaggerated our behavior like perpetual adolescents, always anxious about whether our masculinity was measuring up.

We don’t need to be anxious about our masculinity. When we are comfortable that we are man enough, that we have arrived, there is no need to prove anything.

Today I value my masculinity and accept myself as a good man, just as I am.

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

In analysis, as I have known it, you are confronted by your qualities and cannot disown them, though you may try to.

~ Florida Scott-Maxwell ~

We aren’t all in formal analysis, but this Twelve Step program does introduce us to the personal inventory. In this exercise of introspection, we come to know ourselves. We often don’t like who we see, but until we have acknowledged her, we are unable to change the specifics of our behavior.

Blaming other people and the “unlucky” circumstances of our lives for all our troubles is deeply rooted in who we are. But coming to believe that accepting full responsibility for ourselves will empower us, even when we are guilty of wrongdoing, is a major step forward.

Looking squarely at ourselves and owning all of who we are may not make us proud, but it does make us honest and humble. We have to be both, first, if we ever hope to forge the qualities that will make us proud.

Today I will reveal qualities that I like very much. If some that I don’t like surface, I won’t deny them; I will correct them.

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

I am willing to get help

I was afraid to ask for help at first, because I was afraid to learn that I was indeed sick. Then I was afraid that my employer and friends would find out. I couldn’t accept having an addiction and an emotional illness. In the meantime, my problems kept getting worse.

But now that I have managed to begin my dual recovery, I can see that to be willing to ask for help, I first had to hit bottom. I had to believe that it would be more painful not to change. Today I attend treatment and my Twelve Step group twice a week. I am doing the best I can and I am getting better—with help.
I will practice trusting my helpers and pray for courage to continue my dual recovery.

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

It is the act of forgiveness that opens up the only possible way to think creatively about the future at all.

~ Father Desmond Wilson ~

Today is full of endless possibilities and dreams. In many cases, we are limited only by our fear and lack of hope, in ourselves and others. Each new day we are given a clean page to live in our book of life.

What freedom we find when we choose to practice the art of forgiveness. Forgiving ourselves and others will allow us to step into this new day as free human beings. What can really hurt us in the present if we have the key to daily forgiveness? What could our friend, boss, or enemy possibly say that would be worth the emotional price of ongoing resentment?

Freedom is a gift we give ourselves every time we choose not to react to a hurtful comment. Holding on to old resentments keeps our creative energy trapped and stifled. Our choices are these: new freedom or old resentment. We choose new freedom. It is the gift we give ourselves when we choose not to let the sun rise on yesterday’s script.

Today let me forgive everyone and anything — past and present — that might distract me from, my spiritual growth.

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

Hurry up and learn patience.

~ Wes Smith ~

When he was in his mid-80s, cellist Pablo Casals would play his instrument for more than five hours each day. Someone once asked him why, at his age and with his expertise, he still worked so hard. “Because,” he replied, “I have a notion that I am making some progress.”

No matter your age, you may feel that you have accomplished little in life. You may reflect upon the years when you drank or drugged and feel deep regret over all the time you let slip by.

Be patient as you learn and grow in recovery. Do what you can, when you can. Try not to rush ahead too fast, nor look behind too long. When you feel you are progressing more slowly than you would like, trust that you are making progress. Each step you take leads you closer to where you would like to be. Each goal you set makes your dreams and desires that much more attainable. Live as Casals did—no matter your age or where you are in life, know that there is still time left for you to learn and achieve so much more.

Today I will not regret the time that I have lost. Instead, I will trust that I am exactly where I need to he—at this moment

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

Iron rusts from disuse, water loses its purity from stagnation . . . even so does inaction sap the vigors of the mind.

~ Leonardo da Vinci ~

After a long day of working or doing errands, we may want to sit and not do a thing. But although our bodies may be physically tired, our minds may be just the opposite.

If we’re plagued by tired, cranky thoughts after a day’s activity, we might discover our minds are too hooked into our feelings. We can separate the mind from the body and learn to chase away stinking thinking. We might treat our tired bodies to a bath while we treat our minds to a good book. While we’re soaking our feet or resting in an easy chair, we can put on some music. Or we can put aside the hectic pace of the day and throw our creative energies into preparing a new recipe.

There are countless ways to wake up our minds even if our bodies are tired. Instead of collapsing in front of the television or eating junk food, we can change our focus. We can tune out the signals of the day and turn on our minds.

Did I exercise my mind tonight?

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

Finding joy

In the revelation of life (not in booze, pills, or junk) our first joy is the very fact that we are alive. Next, we find gladness and joy in our daily activities and accomplishments.

Soon we discover the joy of service to others. Later our happiness widens when we learn to share the joys of our brothers and sisters. And finally, we find joy in our Higher Power.

Am I finding joy?

Higher Power, may I experience joy in the world around me, joy in being myself.

Today I will look for the joy in

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

I took the portion that was given to me and gave it to him.

~ THE BABYLONIAN TALMUD ~

Newcomer

Are there any rules about how to find a sponsor?

Sponsor

Some meetings have interim sponsorship programs. An interim sponsor works with a newcomer temporarily—a few weeks to a few months—while he or she looks for a regular long-term sponsor. Sometimes, an interim sponsor becomes the newcomer’s regular sponsor, if they both agree to it.

Long-term sponsorship is a relationship of trust, one that’s likely to have a significant impact on the process of recovery. It’s not a good idea to choose impulsively. When we attend meetings, we listen closely as people qualify or share. We’ll hear people who have the serenity and sober experience we ourselves want. If we hear someone we think we’d like to ask to be our sponsor, we try phoning or going out for coffee with him or her first. We take a little time. We soon know whether or not we have the willing-ness to share and to listen. We sense whether this is someone whose guidance we can trust.

Sponsors should have a minimum of one year of recovery. It’s suggested that a sponsor’s gender not be that of his or her sponsee’s sexual preference; for example, a heterosexual woman generally shouldn’t choose a heterosexual male sponsor. It’s a suggestion, not a rule, meant to keep the way clear, so that sponsors and sponsees don’t get distracted from their goal. The goal is continued, quality recovery—for both the sponsor and the sponsee.

Today, I welcome a sponsor-sponsee relationship that encourages and supports my recovery.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

We alcoholics are the world’s greatest squanderers. During our drinking days we squandered our money, our health, our time, our intellect, our reputations, in fact everything—not for a purpose but to make ourselves oblivious to the fact that we were doing so.

We who have accepted the AA way of living must never give up our old habit but we should learn to spend ourselves for a constructive purpose.

That purpose is to help the other alcoholic. We are the best qualified people in the world for the job. Years of conditioning and thousands of dollars went into the process of making us experts. We have no other means of atoning for the past, no other way of showing our appreciation for the Grace of God which saved us, but to squander ourselves for this world-needed purpose.

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

1) Do you really want to give up the defect? Or do you just want to give up the result of the defect?

2) Our reprieve from using is a daily grace contingent upon a spiritual base.

3) The greatest mistake you can make is to be continually fearing you will make one.

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

The Gifts I Ask

These are the gifts I ask of Thee,
Spirit Serene:
Strength for the daily task,
Courage to face the road,
Good cheer to help me
Bear the traveler’s load;
And for the hours that come between,
An inward joy in all things heard and seen.

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

THE LAW OF FORGIVENESS

It is an unbreakable mental law that you have to forgive others if you want to demonstrate over your difficulties and to make any real spiritual progress.

The vital importance of forgiveness may not be obvious at first sight, but you may be sure that it is not by chance that every great spiritual teacher from Jesus Christ downward has insisted so strongly upon it.

You must forgive injuries, not just in words, or as a matter of form, but in your heart—and that is the long and short of it. You do this, not for the other person’s sake, but for your own sake, Resentment, condemnation, anger, desire to see someone punished and things that rot your soul. Such things fasten you r troubles to you with rivets. They fetter you to many other problems that actually have nothing whatever to do with the original grievances themselves.

Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that yea are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing (1 Peter 3:9)

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

Money Love

The closed fist locks up heaven, but the open hand is the key of mercy.

~ Hindu proverb ~

Milton Petrie was a wealthy entrepreneur who knew what to do with his money. Each morning, Milton and his wife would read the newspaper to see who had been the victim of a crime or disaster, and then the Petrie’s would help them. One morning, the couple read about a beautiful model who had been viciously assaulted by several men who gashed her face many times, leaving her with huge, gaping scars and ruining her budding career. I saw a heart-rending photo of this young woman with a Frankenstein-like face. Milton Petrie called her to his office and promised her $20,000 a year for the rest of her life. She used her gift to restore her skin to its former beauty and renew her career.

The purpose of money is to extend love, celebrate abundance, and support each other. The more we try to hoard, protect, or withhold money, the more it slips away from us and becomes a source of pain and contention. The more we use money to make each other happy, the greater our own flow of joy becomes.

We do not have to be millionaires to enjoy the blessings of giving love through money. Leaving a larger-than-usual tip at a restaurant, sending an “I love you” greeting card, or simply not arguing over money matters are ways we can use money to enhance our experience of love. In the long run, it will not be our bank accounts that we remember, but the kindness we gave and received.

Abundant God, help me use money to serve love’s purpose.

Every dollar I spend expands love and returns to me multiplied.

[majestyjo]

January 28

Step by Step

Today, at day’s end, I will look back and know by the grace of God that I did the best I could in all my affairs. If in prayer and meditation I find that I have not fully surrendered to my Higher Power some problem or character defect, I will know I have asked for the wisdom and humility to surrender it once and for all and that, if there is a tomorrow for me, I may be one day closer to that total surrender. I will not have reason to regret some communication with someone else because I was either cruel or indifferent to their needs or feelings. I will be grateful that I was not have tempted to take the first drink that always leads to disaster, and I will go to sleep tonight with the comfort that my Higher Power blessed me with the words, “Well done, my child.” And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is another word for letting go.

~ Matthew Fox ~

What a wonderful discovery it is when we realize our Higher Power has forgiven our past actions! What a joy to know that as we have been delivered from our addiction, we also have been forgiven for our mistakes! We experience a love we never dreamed possible, one which accepts us for being exactly who we are and doesn’t put us down for all the trouble and pain we have caused.

As we have been forgiven, so must we forgive. Our Program instructs us as to how we can receive our forgiveness and how we can extend forgiveness to others. Forgiveness is to recovery as oxygen is to the air we breathe.

We seek to get rid of all the conditions we place on our ability to forgive. There are no “ifs” in forgiveness. “If he apologizes first” or “if she changes her ways” are some of the ways we put conditions on forgiveness.

I realize that to keep my own forgiveness, I must give it away. Forgiveness is for sharing.

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

The grand essentials of happiness are: something to do, something to love, and something to hope for.

~ Allen K. Chambers ~

A wise old man who had survived years of abuse and hard labor in a Nazi concentration camp and lost several loved ones to the gas chambers was asked how he could live without getting depressed. He answered that it was because he had a purpose in his life.

We are rebuilding our lives after the devastation of codependency and addiction. The promises of this recovery program tell us that we will experience the restoration of meaning and purpose, and we will feel like full-fledged human beings again. Now we are finding those promises coming true every day. There is always plenty to be depressed about. However, we have something to do, we have the love of others, and we have hope for our future.

Today my gratitude and purpose carry me along with plenty to be happy about.

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

I can change only myself, but sometimes that is enough.

~ Ruth Humlecker ~

Happiness is more fleeting for some of us than for others. We may ponder this notion but fail to grasp the reason. However, careful attention to how “the happy ones” go through life will enlighten us. We will note how seldom they complain about others’ actions. We will discover their willingness to accept others as they are. We will see that their attention is generally on the positive aspects of people and circumstances rather than on the negative.

We can join the parade of “happy ones” by letting go of our need to change people and situations that disturb us. Even when we are certain other people are wrong, we can let go of controlling them. Doing this means changing ourselves, of course. But this is the one thing in life we do have control over.

I will change myself if I think something needs changing today!

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

I am grateful for my life

Yes, there’s been much pain in my life. I have had extreme ups and downs. Yes, I have lived with addiction and with serious emotional problems. I have even been suicidal. These problems have cost me spiritually, emotionally, and physically. But I still have life, my life, and I am grateful.

In dual recovery I can see that I am not done realizing my potential. I still have the chance to change and grow. With the help of my higher power, I am developing the necessary acceptance, strength, and courage. Dual recovery shows me how I can integrate my experience to make today better.

I will say a prayer today in gratitude for my life.

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

I was so mixed up I tried to be perfect at avoiding perfectionism!

~ Kathryn G. ~

Oh, the struggle with perfectionism! Of all the clubs we can use to beat ourselves with, that one may be the worst. With all the “musts,” “must nots,” “shoulds,” and “should nots” we demand of ourselves, it’s a wonder we can get through some days at all.

One woman said she called one of her cats by the other cat’s name and as a result spent the next two hours depressed. Most of us don’t go that far with perfectionism, but we still make unreasonable demands of ourselves.

The “one year” test is a good one for perfectionism: “If I (fill in the blank), what difference will it make in a year?” Some things will be important in a year. Making meetings, contacting our sponsor, communing with our Higher Power, and being honest with ourselves and others are all important. And we should be concerned when we fail. But more often we punish ourselves for the little failures — forgetting someone’s name or saying the “wrong thing.” These are the “crimes” we remember the most. But now we can learn to forgive ourselves and concentrate on what’s really important: our new lives in recovery.

Today help me remember what’s important. Help me forgive myself for minor mistakes.

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

Alcoholism isn’t a spectator sport. Eventually the whole family gets to play.

~ Joyce Rebeta-Burditt ~

Alcoholism is a disease that affects everyone. Just as germs can be spread, so too can the effects of alcoholism spread to others. When you were using, here are some of the qualities you may have shown to your children and partner:

• You are autocratic and inflexible, and you discourage growth in others.

• You do not give quality time to others, and you focus on self.

• You do not show or express feelings.

• You are incapable of caring and nurturing others.

Being in recovery provides you with the opportunity to develop and strengthen new qualities that you can show to your children and partner. Starting today, you can:

• Listen to your partner and children, and be flexible.

• Set aside quality time to spend with your partner and children.

• Discuss areas that may be difficult to talk about.

Today I will see myself as part of a family “team.” I will be open and honest, giving, forgiving, and loving.

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

Either you reach a higher point today, or you exercise your strength in order to be able to climb higher tomorrow.

~ Nietzsche ~

It has been said truth will set us free. Truth is not simply being honest with ourselves and others. It is also the ideals by which we would like to live. Some people spend their lifetimes never knowing truth, while others search for it in vain. To find truth, we must set out on individual journeys.

In many Eastern countries, people believe truth is found after scaling a high mountain peak and consulting with the guru. In a way, that’s what we must do- set off on a tiring journey to consult our Higher Power. Yet our goal is not to reach the top, but to realize truth on the way. As we gain such knowledge, the journey becomes easier and less painful.

No matter how good or bad today was, we have gained ground in our search for truth. We may now have some insights to our lives. Even if we didn’t come as far in our journey as we would have liked to today, we still have tomorrow. The search for truth is an ongoing quest filled with great rewards.

Help me find the strength to press onward and upward for truth.

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

Believing in change

At first, drugs or booze turned us on; later they turned on us. We couldn’t find any peace anywhere. We began turning into the kind of person we didn’t want to be, but we didn’t know what was happening to us or how to change.

When we came to believe that our lives could and would turn around if we quit drinking or using, things began to get better.

Do I believe I can change?

Higher Power, help me to be open-minded and humble enough to believe that what has worked to change the lives of others will work to change mine.

Today I will seek change by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Sincerity is the foundation of the spiritual life.

~ ALBERT SCHWEITZER ~

Newcomer

I started out with a temporary sponsor. She was the one who spoke to me first. She seemed to like me and to have real concern for how I was doing as a newcomer. At first, we talked a lot. She knew what being a newcomer was like and said some things that went pretty deep.

Then she became hard to reach. She took her time returning my calls, and when I finally asked if something was wrong, she said she thought I should get a regular sponsor. I was angry and hurt. We’d worked together so well at first.

Sponsor

Some people prefer working with newcomers, helping them through the roller coaster of early recovery, but aren’t available as long-term sponsors. Whatever the underlying reasons, it’s a preference—just as some parents take more naturally to parenting very young, dependent children, while others have an easier time with kids who can walk and talk and read books. There’s nothing wrong with that— it’s just a fact.

Of course, it helps if a sponsor is clear with us from the beginning about the limits of his or her availability. Confusion sets in when people send us mixed signals. I don’t know all the specifics of what occurred between you and your interim sponsor, or whether there was a clear understanding between the two of you at the outset. But what is perfectly clear is her last message: when she suggested that you find another sponsor, then stopped returning calls, she let you know that she was no longer available to you.

I respect your desire to extend the relationship with your temporary sponsor; I, too, can still feel the power of my first attachments in this program. But when someone says no to us, it’s wise to believe what they say. It’s freedom.

Today, I remember that many people are willing to help me on my path.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Man was created in the image of God. We are told that the heart of man is the Temple of the Holy Ghost. A realization of this fact makes the desecration of the body as sacriligious as the desecration of any church.

We alcoholics have a lot of mess to clean up in our Temples in order to make them a fit place for communion with the God in us.

If we really want God to work in and through us in the rehabilitation of other alcoholics, we must provide Him at least a clean workshop.

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

1) The differences between selfishness, self-seeking, and self-centered. Selfishness is: It’s all for me. Self-centeredness is: It’s all about me. Self-seeking is: What’s in it for me?

2) If you want what we’ve got, you’ll do what we’ve done.

3) FINE: Frustrated, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional

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

Peace in God’s Will

My Higher Power, quicken my spirit and fix my thoughts on Your will, that I may see what You would have done, and contemplate its doing without self-consciousness or inner excitement, without haste and without delay, without fear of other people’s judgments or anxiety about success, knowing only that it is Your will and therefore must be done quietly, faithfully, and lovingly, for in Your will alone is my peace.

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

THE DUAL LAW OF THOUGHT

Every thought is made up of two factors, knowledge and feeling. A thought consist of a piece of knowledge with a charge of feeling, and it is the feeling alone that gives power to the thought. No matter how important or magnificent the knowledge content may be, if there is no feeling attached to it nothing will happen. On the other hand, no matter how unimportant or insignificant the knowledge content may be, if there is a large charge of feeling something will happen.

It makes no difference whether the knowledge content is correct or not as long as you believe it to be correct. Remember that it is what we really believe that matters. A report about something may be quite untrue, but if you believe it, it has the same effect on you as if it were true; and that effect again will depend on the quantity of feeling attached to it.

When we understand this law we see the importance of accepting the truth with joy in every phase of our experience.

Thou wilt show me the path of light: in thy presence is fullness of joy . . . (Psalm 16:11)

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

Boomerang Efforts

That the yielding is more powerful than the rigid, is a fact known by all and practiced by none.

~ Lao Tse ~

“I’ve been smoking pot nearly every day for six years,” Bonnie confessed. “I’ve tried to quit many times. No matter how hard I try, I fail. I need help.”

“Then quit trying,” I suggested.

“You mean I should just keep smoking?”

“No, just quit fighting it. Your struggle against smoking is keeping it strong in your mind. Rather than battling what you don’t want, cultivate what you do want. Meditate, pray, read uplifting books, keep supportive company, walk in nature, listen to joyful music—all the things that make you happy. Don’t let the pot smoking be a major issue. If you smoke, love yourself anyway. If the habit is not in your best interests, it will fall away in the presence of the light you are generating.”

Six months later, I saw Bonnie and asked her how she was doing. “I haven’t smoked in three months,” she excitedly proclaimed. “It worked just like you said. I didn’t make smoking a big deal; I concentrated on what I wanted instead of what I didn’t want, and I am done with it. ”

Fighting against something only gives it more power over our life. Those who fight Satan reinforce the thought that Satan is real and stronger than we are. The most direct way to dispel satanic thoughts is to focus on the light. In the presence of light, all darkness must vanish. If you lift up a log in the woods, you will find a host of bugs and worms living underneath it. The moment they are exposed to the light, they scatter. So it is with the illusion of evil. Place love where you once found evil, and you will prove that there is only love.

I place all my problems in Your care and trust You to do for me what I cannot do for myself.

God is the only power. Love is the only reality. Nothing in the outer world can have power over me because God is in me.

[majestyjo]

January 29

Step by Step

Today, I will harness courage, strength, hope, wisdom of my Higher Power, compassion, passion and work them for another person’s whose needs are far more urgent and desperate than mine. I will not accept that other person’s intellect or others barrier as an excuse to permit his voice from being heard. Today, MY voice will be HIS, and his desperate struggle for help will no longer be his silent and lonely fight. And in helping this person who cannot help himself, I am driven by the knowledge that my Higher Power has sent this person to me and He will give me the knowledge to carry out His will. And, in the end, if I am effective in helping someone else, I will NOT accept congratulations save my ego being fueled. And, in advocating for someone else today, I won’t have the time, I’ll have no reason or excuse, to use or drink. I will be too busy carrying out the commandment of the program – carrying the message. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

THE BLUES

How do you know when you’ve hit bottom? When you stop digging!

~ Anonymous ~

We learn in recovery how to deal with the down times. Our Program constantly reminds us that we hit bottom when we stop digging. Therefore we can stop a downward spiral by simply letting go and letting God and our friends help us. Our Higher Power and the Program will provide a ladder with which we can crawl out of our hole. We just need to remember to use the ladder.

God will never take away our free will. If we use our will to do the business of our Higher Power and work the Steps, we will be surrounded by love and have strength. It is when we sometimes use our free will to do the bidding of our own ego and set expectations too high that we fall into a bottomless pit.

Working with and helping others is the basic “ladder” at my disposal when I deal with the blues and down times. So I always keep in touch with my fellow travelers.

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

Can you accept the idea that some things happen for no reason, that there is randomness in the universe?

~ Rabbi Harold S. Kushner ~

Whenever something bad happens to us, we ask, why? We want to make sense out of our misfortune. How could this happen to me? Why do I have to suffer this tragedy? Sometimes we even explain our pain by saying we deserve it for being bad. It is true that many bad things have happened because of bad choices we made. But many things happen for no reason. Illness, death, and pain come into every life. There is no reasonable explanation except that these things are random.

So we accept that fact. We take reasonable precautions, drive carefully, and take our vitamins. Most of all, we hold close to our human connections because we are all in this together. The comforting bonds of trusted friends and loved ones form the human net that holds us up through tough challenges. Within our human network, we celebrate our good times, we play and take joy in life, and we support each other when we need it.

Today I will go beyond the question why? and hold close to the life-giving bonds of human love.

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

My thoughts guide my day. Noticing how I awake can help me save the day.

~ Kelley Vickstrom ~

We may envy friends who seem happy and peaceful. Why aren’t they troubled as we so often are? The fact is, we can take actions to become more content too. One of the simplest is to ask our Higher Power for a positive attitude before we even throw back the bed covers.

Being in charge of what we dwell on is easier than we might imagine. We can practice the art of focusing our minds on the positive. Begin by stopping a thought, any thought, in midsentence. Think, instead, of how lucky we are to be in recovery. Focus on a blessing that is obvious today. Anytime an unhealthy thought surfaces, drop it, replacing it with a blessing. This can become a way of life if we make the choice.

We have felt enough pain and experienced enough harm. Today can be much better. And it will be if we carefully select our thoughts.

I am as happy as I truly want to be today. No one can steal peacefulness from me if that’s what I really want.

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

I am learning about patience and rest

At night I have trouble falling asleep. During the day I have racing, tumbling thoughts. The medication isn’t helping as much as I had hoped. I feel tired much of the time.

Fortunately, my doctor is supportive. He reassures me that many people feel this way as they begin to recover from addiction and emotional illness. He says that once the medication is at full strength, my thinking will get clearer and sleep will come easier. I’m glad I can trust my doctor. I will give this more time to begin resolving.

I will take some quiet time during the day and go to sleep early tonight.

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

When one door closes, fortune will usually open another.

~ Fernando De Rojas ~

Sometimes, especially in early recovery, we concentrate on our losses instead of our gains. We see a chapter in our life closing, and we mourn. We must leave some friends behind, or say good-bye to a social life we enjoyed. We must give up active addiction, which had become our best friend and only comfort. We may even have to leave our families, at least for a time, in order to concentrate on our own needs.

We need to grieve all these losses. Then we can see more clearly what recovery has brought us. For every loss, we’ve gained blessings. For every friend gone, we have the chance to make many more. A whole new sober life awaits us when we’re ready to be part of it.

When we gave up the false comforts of addiction, we found genuine comfort in sound sleep and healthy bodies, in peaceful days and serene nights. When we were ready to give up anger and resentment, we found generosity and forgiveness toward other people, and toward ourselves, too. In recovery, it’s true, one door has closed. But another, better door has finally opened.

Today help me be grateful for my new life. Help me grieve my losses so I can appreciate all that awaits me.

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

We run heedlessly into the abyss after putting something in front of us to stop us seeing it.

~ Blaise Pascal ~

Although recovery places you firmly in the present, the work you oftentimes need to do requires you to look at your behaviors and actions of the past. These memories are hard to accept as being part of your history, and for many years you may have successfully repressed them.

To move forward, you first need to accept that you are your past. To deny your past is to deny yourself; the life you lived up to this point comprises who you are today. So, you cannot fully grow or change without reflecting upon the past with honesty. You may think, “Why should I remember the horrible things I said or did when I was using? No good can come of it. There is nothing I can do about such things now.”

But there are many things you can do. You can use the Steps to finally put those bad memories behind you. You can tell your story at meetings, share your past his-tory with your sponsor, admit to your Higher Power your transgressions, and make a searching and fearless moral inventory. Such honest reflections will lead you to bring about positive change.

Today I will look at my past with honesty and share this past with others.

© 2011 by Hazelden Foundation

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

Whatever men attempt, they seem driven to overdo.

~ Bernard Baruch ~

It’s usually very difficult for us to bring balance into our lives. We may find it hard not to put in overtime at work. We may be obsessed about housework or yardwork to the extent that we work long hours at it. Whatever we do, whatever we have, whatever we want, it’s usually not enough for us.

Any activity or commitment needs a certain amount of time, concentration, and energy. But some of us may be too absorbed in physical fitness to notice we are always tense, always on the go. Some of us may be so obsessed with money that we take on additional work, not noticing we are often hard to get along with. Some of us may be so fascinated by a hobby that we ignore people in our lives who need our time and attention, too.

Tonight we need to recognize the obsessive areas of our lives and begin to make changes. It may mean assigning time limits to different activities. Or it may mean altering our schedules, even letting go of an activity. Tonight is the time to begin to bring balance into our lives, gently and gradually.

I know I need more balance in my life. What are some changes I can make to bring the scales more in balance?

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

Letting go of fear

Those of us who have been sober and clean for a period of time share newcomers’ concerns for the future, but we do not share their fear. We know how unsafe they feel, but we know how safe they are. The richness of life is often overlooked by giving minor events too much attention.

By working the Steps, going to meetings, and sharing in the fellowship—the newcomer will learn to relax. The newcomer will feel the richness of life and lose his or her fear by working the program and staying clean and sober.

Am I losing my fear?

Higher Power, help me let go of my fear so that I can be ready to experience the richness of life as it comes my way.

Today I will combat my fear by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

They try to pass along something they themselves have not yet received.

~ LEWIS HYDE ~

Newcomer

What do I do if someone I don’t know offers to be my sponsor?

Sponsor

Sometimes, a volunteer sponsor is the best thing that could happen to a newcomer who’s floundering or confused and who would do well with strong guidance. Sometimes it’s not such a good thing. What are the motives of someone who walks up to me and announces, “I’m your sponsor”? How do I know the difference between someone whose offer of service is sincere and someone who has the wish to control me? Or worse, who wants to prey on me—sexually or in some other way?

Control is an issue for most of us in recovery. As a sponsor, I have to be careful about my impulse to try to “fix” another person. It may make me feel powerful to think I’ve got the answers; it may distract me from my own unsolved problems. Over responsibility can be an addiction, too.

If I have doubts about what someone in recovery is offering me, I can take some time to talk and to listen. I can trust my instincts. If I listen, I may discover that I already have the answer inside me.

Today, I’m grateful for the unconditional love offered by others in recovery. I trust my ability to make good choices as I form relationships with people I meet, here and elsewhere.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

On that awful day when the world had toppled about us, when all hope had departed and only wild desperation remained, then was the night darkest and nearest was the dawn. At this darkest hour we “hit our bottom.” There was no way to go but UP.

As dawn follows darkness in Nature’s scheme, so darkness follows again in its turn. All things, save God, are transitory and what one day can bring, another day can take away. Let us not feel too secure in our sobriety, for darkness will come in the regular course of events, and we must be sure we have provided ourselves with the Light which will enable us to keep our footing on the slippery paths ahead.

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

1) ALL “shoulds” are a lie.

2) God does not make junk, but some of the goods do have defects.

3) The will of God will never take you where the grace of God will not protect you

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

For Those Who Have Relapsed

O God of all mercies and comfort, Who helps us in time of need, we humbly ask You to behold, visit, and relieve those who have relapsed for whom our prayers are desired. Look upon them with the eyes of Your mercy; comfort them with a sense of Your goodness; preserve them from the temptations of their addiction; and give them patience under their affliction. In Your time, restore them to the Program and physical, mental, and spiritual health. And help them, we pray, to listen, believe, and do Your will.

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

THE LAW OF GROWTH

What you think upon grows. This is an Eastern maxim, and it sums up nearly the greatest and most fundamental of all laws of mind.

What you think upon grows. Whatever you allow to occupy your mind you magnify in your life. Whether the subject be good or bad, the law works and the condition grows. Any subject that you keep out of your mind tends to diminish in your life, because what you do not use atrophies.

The more you think about your grievances or the injustices that you have suffered, the more such trials you will continue to receive; the more you think of good fortune you have had, the more good fortune will come to you.

This is the basic fundamental, all inclusive law of mind, and actually all psychological and metaphysical teaching is little more than commentary upon this.

What you think upon grows.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever thins are of good report; if they be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things (Philippians 4:8).

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

The Search for Myself

All the music I write is a search for myself.

~ Bruce Hornsby ~

While writing my first book, I came upon a Buddhist text in which the author confessed, “I have no pretension that I am writing this book for any purpose other than my own awakening.” His candor struck a chord deep within me as I realized that I, too, write primarily for the healing of my own mind and spirit. Since then, I have spoken to countless creative artists who agree that even if no one else ever read their books, saw their paintings, or listened to their music, all of their efforts would be worth the sheer joy of producing the work.

For whom are your creative efforts directed? Do you write, sing, or dance for worldly approval, or are you hearkening to the inner writer, singer, or dancer calling to express and celebrate?

We teach what we need to learn. Sometimes teachers are reluctant to admit that they need to study what they are teaching, but that is the very reason we are in a particular position. In college, I learned a famous re–laxation technique developed by a renowned psychologist. My friend met the man and described him as “one of the most uptight people I have ever met.” Was he a hypocrite? Not necessarily. If you teach what you have mastered, even while you’re learning more, you are in integrity. The technique this man developed for his own healing helped many people who applied it.

Your right place is the one in which you are receiving the most edification. The fact that other people receive a benefit is the icing on the cake. Do what is healing to your spirit, and without effort you will offer the world healing in return.

Direct me to the work that will feed my soul, that I may feed others.

I do what I love, and the world loves what I do.

[majestyjo]

January 30

Step by Step

Today, progress, not perfection. In recognizing the difference, I might learn patience over impatience not only with others, but with myself. Progress requires that I focus on just this day while perfection forces me to look to the unrealistic and unattainable goals beyond today. And by preoccupying myself with tomorrow, I am likely to neglect something today – and that failure will likely sabotage any tomorrow I might have. Tomorrow will hold nothing good if I neglect today. Today, then, will be focused on one thing at a time and first things first. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

FAITH

The reason why birds can fly and we can’t is simply that they have perfect faith, for to have faith is to have wings.

~ James M. Barrie ~

Blind faith in a 12 Step Program was all many of us had to our credit when we began recovery. Today, we know it is our most valuable asset in the search for spiritual progress. Faith gives us an open mind, something we will always need. With the acceptance of our Program’s living principles comes the gift of belief.

The proof that our Program works comes plentifully through all that we hear and read. We see God working through us and through others in our Program. This is all the evidence we need for faith that God exists. Without an early child-like faith, the road toward peace of mind can be discouragingly rough.

I must believe that good things can happen and have faith that they will Let me not forget that the absence of faith is despair.

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

Man’s real home is not a house but the road, and life itself is a journey to be walked on foot.

~ Bruce Chatwin ~

We often say that one of our main needs in life is security. We want to be able to predict and control how things will play out. The problem with this view is that even when we gain more control, it doesn’t generally make us feel deeply secure. If we accept security as our goal, we are soon on an endless search for more. A much wiser goal is to walk the road of life, accepting that it is always insecure. Happiness isn’t found by pursuing happiness, and a sense of security isn’t found by grasping for more security. They are both found by indirect means.

We find security by making peace with our insecurity and by trusting our Higher Power to care for our lives. We find happiness by taking on work that has meaning beyond ourselves.

Today I will walk on foot the journey that has meaning and value and accept the insecure feelings that are part of life.

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

Imagine
living in your head, untrue to your heart.
Imagine the pain of separation.
Imagine
the depth of the longing for peace.

~ G. Carol ~

Before finding recovery as a way of life, many of us barely hung on from one pain-filled moment to another. We incessantly tried to figure out what was wrong with our lives. We feared everything: our coworkers, our neighbors, the long days, the new experiences, the many strangers who crossed our paths. Miraculously, we were led to this program.

We can experience the joy of peace each time we remember to turn our will and lives over to the care of our loving God. To receive this goodness, we need only an open heart and a willingness to listen for the guidance of God. This guidance may come to us through a special passage in a book, the words of a friend, or in other ways. If we believe that the guidance will come, we will hear it.

I want to know God’s will for me today. I will be attentive every moment.

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

I need to take care of myself

It’s hard for me to do Step Eight and recall the names of people I have harmed. I don’t want to think about them or what I’ve done—especially to one person: myself.

I need to put myself on my Step Eight list. Given my dual disorder, I believe it will help if I see how I’ve failed to take care of myself (or perhaps even been self-destructive). When I think about this, I feel sad. Because in recovery, I am learning that I am worthy of better. I look forward to making a change.

I will write my name in my journal and then list two ways I’ve harmed myself and two ways I’m now taking care of myself

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

Hope is always available to us.
When we feel defeated, we need
only take a deep breath and say,
“Yes and hope will reappear.

~ Monroe Forester ~

Coastal redwoods are the planet’s most enduring lifework. A fallen coastal redwood will sprout anew within three weeks. Small trees can endure more than 400 years beneath a closed forest canopy without losing their ability to grow rapidly if and when that canopy is opened.

We can be like that, too. No matter how painful our life may have been, we always have the internal resources to heal and grow into happiness. We now have the strength, insight, and spiritual tools. This combination teaches us that there is no unhappiness too great to be made better. Opening ourselves up to the miracles of recovery, we step from the dark of negativity into the light of possibility and abundance. It doesn’t happen all at once, but it does happen — one day at a time.

Today let me have complete faith that my unhappiness will be removed as I work the steps of my program.

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

Nothing evades our attention so persistently as that which is taken for granted…. Obvious facts tend to remain invisible.

~ Gustav Ichheiser ~

Desperate to feel better, a heavy drinker decided to pray to God. She began by admitting she was not certain that she believed in a Higher Being. “But,” she said, “I am willing to try.” In her prayer, she acknowledged her drinking was out of control. She prayed for a long time, ending with a single word: please.

That night she was back at the bar. The next morning she prayed again, asking God, “Why didn’t you help me stop drinking? I asked for your help.” Again she found herself back at the bar. As she stumbled home, she began to cry and shouted to the sky, “I just don’t understand! Are you not listening? I keep asking for your help to stop drinking. What is it that I have to do to get your help?”

At that moment she heard a voice. “Have you admit-ted that you’re an alcoholic?” the voice asked. “Have you gone to a meeting? Have you done anything to change, besides asking me how to do what you should be doing yourself?”

Today I will use prayer to understand the purpose my Higher Power has for me, and to gain greater understanding of those thirty I need to do for myself.

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

So long as we believe we are only human, we are going to experience pain, suffering, tears, disease, and death.

~ Donald Curtis ~

Imagine what our lives would be like without negative feelings—fear, worry, anxiety, selfishness, tension, sadness. At first we might feel a great sense of release. But what will we replace those feelings with? What will we feel? Can it be possible to feel happy and joyous and free all the time?

It has been said we experience what we believe in. Do we believe to succeed in this world we have to suffer? We might even believe our sufferings are good: “If I hadn’t been hurting so bad, I never would have made that change.”

We can try to release the powerful hold our negative ties have on our lives. We can replace those negative ties with warm and loving thoughts, a kind and forgiving nature, and an ability to see good instead of bad. Life doesn’t have to be a struggle. We don’t have to suffer to be happy.

I can turn over worries, jealousies, fearfulness, and dissatisfactions and look at the other side of living. It is filled with serenity, hope, and light.

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

Taking it slowly

Let’s not make haste and demand perfection at once—this would only blind us. If we are impatient, we cannot work a daily program. But by exercising patience, we learn to recognize daily opportunities for growth.

It is worth waiting for, striving for, and working to develop a relationship with our Higher Power. It cannot be done overnight. Let’s not go too fast, but count each day as a new opportunity.

Am I learning to take it slowly?

Higher Power, I pray that I may meet each day with patience and grow closer to you.

I will take it easy today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

How easy it was to underestimate what had been endured.

~ MARGARET DRABBLE ~

Newcomer

I heard someone share that it was her anniversary and that she wanted to celebrate by stepping in front of a car and killing herself. How can someone talk that way at a meeting? I don’t want to listen to it.

Sponsor

The first thing I notice about this dramatic statement is that it was made at a meeting. As desperate as the person who made it may have been feeling, she did not act out her addiction, but instead showed up and shared. I’ve walked into meetings feeling depressed, despairing, angry, rebellious, alone, or misunderstood, and when I’ve been willing to share my state of mind, have felt sudden relief.

Not knowing the person who shared, and not being experts, we can’t really know how seriously to take such a statement. From one person, it might be a sign that compassionate professional help is needed; from another, it might be just a bit of self-indulgent humor or a bid for attention. People come to meetings in many different frames of mind, with different life experiences, and with recovery of varying lengths and quality. Some make everything they experience sound like high drama; others are reluctant to expose depths of real pain. And, of course, there are many people with strong recovery who use the tools of the program to help them “ride the waves” of life’s problems with relative ease and even joy.

Rather than focus on your discomfort with someone else’s sharing, why not keep the focus on yourself and your own recovery work?

Today, I say a prayer for those who are still sick and suffering, in or out of this program. I give my attention to the work that’s mine to do in recovery.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

After several years on the Program, we still have to guard against rationalizing. When it comes to selling ourselves a bill of goods we are tops. Our drinking was most always occasioned by a “good reason,” or so we thought; the real reason—the fact that we were alcoholics and therefore compulsive drinkers—never occurred to us. A good reason can always be found for our actions, but the real reason is frequently obscure. Lord, teach us to know the difference.

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

1) The man who makes a mistake and doesn’t correct it, makes two.

2) The healthy person finds happiness in helping others. Thus, for him unselfishness is selfish.

3) In order to get what you want, you must do something you’ve never done.

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

Thank You, God

Thank You, God, for all You have given me. Thank You for all You have taken from me. But, most of all, I thank You, God, for what You’ve left me:

Recovery, along with peace of mind, faith, hope, and love.

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

THE IMPRISONED SPLENDOUR

“Truth is within ourselves; it takes no rise
From outward things, whate’er you may believe.
There is an inmost center in us all,
Where truth abides in fullness; all around,
Wall upon wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
This perfect, clear perception, which is Truth.”

A baffling and perverting carnal mesh
Binds it, and makes all error: and to know
Rather consists in opening out a way
Whence the imprisoned splendour may escape,
Than in effecting entry for a light
Supposed to be without.

~ Robert Browning “Paracelsus.” Part 1 ~

. . . yea shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free (John 8:32)

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

Moving Targets

All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.

~ James Thurber ~

I met a woman who changed residences every six months. In a can- conversation, she admitted that she harbored major fears about opening up to an intimate relationship. “You can’t hit a moving target,” she confessed, as a description of her protection strategy.

When we are excessively busy, we are running from ourselves. Workaholics, busyholics, and planaholics are terrified to be with themselves, dominated by the fear that they will be consumed by the loneliness or pain they have denied the empty feelings that well up in quiet moments.

Several years ago, I noticed that I had slipped into a pattern of obsessive doingness. At the time, I was ending a relationship, and I felt terrified at the prospect of being with myself at home alone. But I recognized that this was something I had to do, and ultimately the experience turned out to be one of the greatest blessings of my life. I had time to be with my–self and face myself. I looked squarely at the fears and old patterns that kept me on the run, and I made conscious choices to use my alone time as a healing, nurturing, and meditative experience. Now I can be with myself or be with people, and enjoy either experience.

A Course in Miracles explains that the fear to look within is not a fear of the darkness, but a fear of the light. If we stopped running, we would have to confront the things that frighten us—and that is wonderful, for on the other side of the shadow is the light. If you look yourself squarely in the eye, you will not find a demon, but a god.

Help me slow down enough to know Your presence. I will be still and touch the Peace You give.

In quiet I find the God within me.

[majestyjo]

January 31

Step by Step

Today, live just for today. I cannot nor do I want to forget yesterday for it has lessons to carry into tomorrow. Nor do I want to be so preoccupied with tomorrow that I neglect today for I may miss some unintended good that someone or something has to offer. I can plan for tomorrow, but I cannot fret over it and dread what demons or challenges my yesterdays programmed me to expect. But that programming from my yesterdays was dictated by a whiskey bottle and, God granting, there is no whiskey bottle in my today. I therefore cannot fear that what I do today will poison my tomorrow. My life, my sobriety, my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my recovery – all are today. Today is all I have, and I must not be lax in strengthening it to make tomorrow’s today the promise of something good. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

HAPPINESS

If it is happiness you want, change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with shoes than to carpet the whole earth.

~ Anonymous ~

“Happiness” is one of the three spiritual characteristics that the Program tells us God wants for us. The other two are “joyous” and “free.” In our study of what comes to us during our recovery, we read often about the treasured state of being happy. Someone wrote that we “have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.”

We in the Program are not selfish with the happiness we gain through our own efforts and through the sharing of our fellow members. We hope that all around us can be as happy as our Program has made us. A happy state of mind is contagious. Happiness breeds satisfaction—with ourselves, our fellow travelers, and life as a whole. It is difficult to be successful without finding happiness.

I accept happiness as a gift and thank my Higher Power for it.

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

Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.

~ Doris Mortman ~

Marketers call us consumers. Television commercials suggest that a new car will make us happy or that when we buy our special loved one a beautiful diamond, we will really be somebody. But our awakening into a healthy, new life has nothing to do with what we own. Sure, it’s fun to buy something new, but it doesn’t make us happy for long. We don’t define ourselves as mere consumers; rather, we are men with meaning in our lives.

When we haven’t got ourselves on track, when we don’t have a focus for our lives, we are easily seduced by distractions and dead-end promises. Peace of mind hasn’t come easily for most of us. We had to accept some things about ourselves that we didn’t want to accept. We had to learn some lessons that we couldn’t easily learn at first. Now we feel like real men. We have something much better than anything we could buy with money, and no one else can take it away.

Today and every day I restore my peace of mind by making peace with myself.

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

Establishing goals and following through on them help women build self-confidence.

~ Sharon Walters ~

Alcohol and other drugs created the illusion of confidence for many of us before our recovery. Some of us held prominent positions in corporations. Others of us raised children and held jobs too. All of us took on responsibilities that might have overwhelmed us had we lacked the false security that drugs could offer. But their time ran out. Luckily for us, their time ran out.

Since giving up our drugs, we have had to develop new ways to build confidence. Fortunately, having this program and the Steps as guides, we have been able to make progress. The confidence we are building now through reliance on our Higher Power is substantive and real, not illusionary and temporary. We are learning who we are through our inventories, and that has made it possible to determine what we want to do with our lives. Our goals and our ability to follow through on plans are manifestations of our hard work. Self-confidence is the lasting reward.

My confidence will not waver today if I remember to let God help me handle each responsibility.

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

I need to monitor my symptoms

I get less and less interested in work and what I eat. I feel run down, almost ill, and can’t seem to get going. Sometimes I can’t think straight, sometimes I can’t stop thinking, and sometimes all my thoughts are gloomy.

For me, the clue to giving in to depression is gloomy thoughts. Odd as it is, I want to keep thinking them. They’re comforting somehow (because they’re familiar?) and yet very painful. But in dual recovery, I can see that this symptom, among the others, is a warning sign and that I need to give it prompt attention.

When my thoughts are too dark or when dark thoughts persist, I will stay in touch with a trusted friend or my counselor.

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

Nature is the Art of God.

~ Sir Thomas Browne ~

The most relaxing activities may be the ones in which we do absolutely nothing. And if we can do nothing amid the sounds of nature — birds chirping, water bubbling in a brook, the wind rustling in the trees — so much the better. During these moments, away from the noise and chaos of our fast-paced, stress-filled lives, we commune most directly with nature and our Higher Power. Without distraction, our bodies can totally relax; there is no danger, no need to be ready to respond to anything. All we have to do is be.

If we live in the city, we can take refuge in its parks; a quiet room or the library. We can listen to the sounds of nature on records or cassette tapes. The point is to slow down, to smell and taste the rain, to hear the chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves and our own thoughts. When we remember nature, we remember — our bodies remember — that we are a part of nature, part of something greater than ourselves.

Today help me hear the sounds of nature and let them comfort and heal me.

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

Most of us are about as eager to be changed as we were to be born, and go through our changes in a similar state of shock.

~ James Baldwin ~

Addiction places you into a form of slavery that keeps you from being free to live up to your fullest potential. That is why the First Step in recovery (We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable) is so important.

The First Step places a mirror in front of you and asks that you open your eyes to the dangers and ravages of addiction. You need to see what alcoholism has done to your body, your mind, and your spirit. By opening your eyes, you can clearly see what you have destroyed in yourself and in others. You can see when you escaped from responsibilities, love, and purpose.

But just as this mirror reflects the negative effects of your addiction, so too does it show your positive aspects. It reveals that you are brave and courageous; not everyone can admit powerlessness nor strive toward making positive change. The mirror reflects a person, like any other— someone who has strengths and weaknesses, passions and hopes, dreams and desires.

Looking in the mirror is something I need to do every day. Today I remember to always be honest with myself and with others.

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

Hitch your wagon to a star.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

How often have we struggled to do something alone, refusing to have another help us? Maybe we single-handedly cooked a meal for a family get-together or moved a piece of furniture or plodded slowly through some confusing work without assistance. Instead of asking for help to make our job go smoother, we chose to take care of it all ourselves. While we probably accomplished what was needed, where did that get us?

Our ancestors settled this land by helping one another. Lands were discovered by bands of exploration parties; barns were raised by communities; crops were harvested by many hands. That same pioneer spirit extends today to the program, where each member pulls another through good times and bad.

Succeeding alone means we have survived; succeeding with others means we have truly lived. We were not put into this life to survive without others, but to live with them. By joining ourselves with the humanity around us, we have joined that spirit which connects us all.

I can be a pioneer and share my humanity with others. How are my brothers and sisters tonight?

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

Living new lives

If we thank our Higher Power each day for the problems in our lives, we will find that we can live and cope with them. And if it is our Higher Power’s will, our problems will be transformed in ways we cannot comprehend. We don’t fully understand our fives.

If we become willing to let our Higher Power handle each situation in its way, we will see that we are living ourselves into new ways of being. We will experience a freedom and joy that we could not have understood in our old ways of thinking and being.

We cannot think ourselves into a better fife; we must live ourselves each day into better thinking.

Am I living myself into a new life?

Higher Power, I am grateful for the problems in my life; they help me change myself into a new being.

Today I will live myself into a new way of thinking about

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

I like to think that at birth, everyone is allotted a quantity of alcohol to last for her whole life, and that by the time I was in my twenties, I’d already consumed my entire quota!

~ WOMAN IN RECOVERY ~

Newcomer

I can’t get my mind off what I’m missing. I think that at this point I could control myself and just use moderately. Ordinary people have a glass of wine when they eat dinner at a restaurant, or have a beer on a hot summer day. Why do I have to deprive myself?

Sponsor

Frankly, I can’t imagine a better way to torture myself than making the decision to have just a little. I’d be preoccupied with that little bit all day long: waiting beforehand for the right time to have it, then resenting its being over, afterward. For me, how could just a little ever be enough? And how could I keep from rationalizing, after a while, having just a little bit more? My biochemistry and my mental obsession make me crave certain substances whenever I have them. Other people may not react this way—but I’m not other people. My susceptibility turns something that may be safe for others into poison for me. There is one simple way for me to keep from craving more of this poison, and that is to avoid it altogether. Over time, deprivation takes on a new meaning—we no longer have the desire to deprive ourselves of this experience of recovery.

For today, I stop my craving by not feeding it. I make room for a new, better life.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Nothing great was ever achieved without overcoming great obstacles and no hero of history deserves more acclaim than those who were triumphant over self.

But do not let us swell up too much with pride. If we are honest, we know that with our character-weakened souls, with our “fogbound” brains, we could accomplish nothing of ourselves. It was only when we, in our desperate surrender, threw our lives and our wills into His keeping that He, in His mercy, removed the obstacle.

Unknown, even to ourselves, there must have slept in us that Faith of a mustard seed, that can remove mountains.

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

1) FINE: ****ed up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional

2) Be Kind to Yourself

3) The most natural state of an alcoholic is irritable, restless, and discontented.

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

Humility Prayer

Lord, I am far too much influenced by what people think of me;

Which means that I am always pretending to be either richer or smarter than I really am. Please prevail me from trying to attract attention.

Don’t let me gloat over praise on the one hand and be discouraged by criticism on the other, nor let me waste time weaving the most imaginary situations in which the heroic, charming, witty person present is myself.

Show me how to be humble of heart.

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

THE LORD’S PRAYER

The Lord’s Prayer is the most important of all the Christian documents. Everyone who is seeking to follow along the Way that Jesus led, should pray the Lord’s prayer intelligently every day.

The Great Prayer is a compact formula for the development of the soul. It is designed with the utmost care for the specific purpose; so that those who use it regularly, with understanding, will experience a real change of soul. It is the change of soul that matters. The mere acquisition of fresh knowledge received intellectually makes no change in the soul.

The first thing that we notice is that the Prayer naturally falls into seven clauses. This is very characteristic of the Oriental tradition. Seven symbolizes individual completeness, the perfection of the soul, just as the number twelve in the same convention stands for corporate completeness. The seven clauses are put together with the utmost care, in perfect order and sequence, and they contain everything that is necessary for the nourishment of the soul. The more one analyzes the Lord’s Prayer, the more wonderful its construction is seen to be.

After that manner therefore pray ye . . . (Matthew 6:9)

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

In-Your-Face Productions

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are headed.

~ Oriental proverb ~

“That’s loud!” I remarked to the massage therapist as a tight muscle on my back popped audibly while she worked it.

“Yes,” she answered, “resistance is loud.”

When we fight the flow of life, the universe lets us know in a big way. Drama, emergencies, hefty surprises, health or relationship crises, changes beyond our control, and physical and emotional pain all serve to get our attention. When we are asleep to what is happening in or around us, In-Your-Face Productions will arrange a wake-up call to get us out of a rut and back on track. Usually, such attention-getters are not gentle or pleasant, and they bring a fair amount of discomfort. The good news is that a temporary period of pain or inconvenience is a small price to pay com–pared to a lifetime of unconscious self-defeating behavior.

We can minimize or avoid the angst of In-Your-Face Productions in two ways. First, we can develop our intuition so that we become aware of our lessons in their early stages rather than waiting until they mount to a huge crisis. If you pay attention to the little red “brakes” warning light on your car dashboard, you can avoid full-out brake failure. Spirit usually whispers to us before a potential crash. Through prayer and meditation, you can sensitize yourself to hear important messages before they are played out in the physical world.

The second way to lighten the brunt of wake-up calls is to bless them when they happen. Rather than fight life or adopt a victim position, look for the gift in the experience. Imagine that the universe is conspiring not to hurt you, but to free you. An attitude of appreciation, rather than resentment, will soften and transform otherwise difficult lessons.

We do not have to live by emergency; as we become more attuned to the voice of love, we can glide, not stumble, through life.

Help me hear Your voice at the subtlest level and act on my inner wisdom.

I hear the guidance of love and proceed from the truth that keeps me whole.

[majestyjo]

January 31

Step by Step

Today, live just for today. I cannot nor do I want to forget yesterday for it has lessons to carry into tomorrow. Nor do I want to be so preoccupied with tomorrow that I neglect today for I may miss some unintended good that someone or something has to offer. I can plan for tomorrow, but I cannot fret over it and dread what demons or challenges my yesterdays programmed me to expect. But that programming from my yesterdays was dictated by a whiskey bottle and, God granting, there is no whiskey bottle in my today. I therefore cannot fear that what I do today will poison my tomorrow. My life, my sobriety, my hopes, my dreams, my fears, my recovery – all are today. Today is all I have, and I must not be lax in strengthening it to make tomorrow’s today the promise of something good. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

HAPPINESS

If it is happiness you want, change yourself, not other people. It is easier to protect your feet with shoes than to carpet the whole earth.

~ Anonymous ~

“Happiness” is one of the three spiritual characteristics that the Program tells us God wants for us. The other two are “joyous” and “free.” In our study of what comes to us during our recovery, we read often about the treasured state of being happy. Someone wrote that we “have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it.”

We in the Program are not selfish with the happiness we gain through our own efforts and through the sharing of our fellow members. We hope that all around us can be as happy as our Program has made us. A happy state of mind is contagious. Happiness breeds satisfaction—with ourselves, our fellow travelers, and life as a whole. It is difficult to be successful without finding happiness.

I accept happiness as a gift and thank my Higher Power for it.

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

Until you make peace with who you are, you’ll never be content with what you have.

~ Doris Mortman ~

Marketers call us consumers. Television commercials suggest that a new car will make us happy or that when we buy our special loved one a beautiful diamond, we will really be somebody. But our awakening into a healthy, new life has nothing to do with what we own. Sure, it’s fun to buy something new, but it doesn’t make us happy for long. We don’t define ourselves as mere consumers; rather, we are men with meaning in our lives.

When we haven’t got ourselves on track, when we don’t have a focus for our lives, we are easily seduced by distractions and dead-end promises. Peace of mind hasn’t come easily for most of us. We had to accept some things about ourselves that we didn’t want to accept. We had to learn some lessons that we couldn’t easily learn at first. Now we feel like real men. We have something much better than anything we could buy with money, and no one else can take it away.

Today and every day I restore my peace of mind by making peace with myself.

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

Establishing goals and following through on them help women build self-confidence.

~ Sharon Walters ~

Alcohol and other drugs created the illusion of confidence for many of us before our recovery. Some of us held prominent positions in corporations. Others of us raised children and held jobs too. All of us took on responsibilities that might have overwhelmed us had we lacked the false security that drugs could offer. But their time ran out. Luckily for us, their time ran out.

Since giving up our drugs, we have had to develop new ways to build confidence. Fortunately, having this program and the Steps as guides, we have been able to make progress. The confidence we are building now through reliance on our Higher Power is substantive and real, not illusionary and temporary. We are learning who we are through our inventories, and that has made it possible to determine what we want to do with our lives. Our goals and our ability to follow through on plans are manifestations of our hard work. Self-confidence is the lasting reward.

My confidence will not waver today if I remember to let God help me handle each responsibility.

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

I need to monitor my symptoms

I get less and less interested in work and what I eat. I feel run down, almost ill, and can’t seem to get going. Sometimes I can’t think straight, sometimes I can’t stop thinking, and sometimes all my thoughts are gloomy.

For me, the clue to giving in to depression is gloomy thoughts. Odd as it is, I want to keep thinking them. They’re comforting somehow (because they’re familiar?) and yet very painful. But in dual recovery, I can see that this symptom, among the others, is a warning sign and that I need to give it prompt attention.

When my thoughts are too dark or when dark thoughts persist, I will stay in touch with a trusted friend or my counselor.

***********************************************

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

Nature is the Art of God.

~ Sir Thomas Browne ~

The most relaxing activities may be the ones in which we do absolutely nothing. And if we can do nothing amid the sounds of nature — birds chirping, water bubbling in a brook, the wind rustling in the trees — so much the better. During these moments, away from the noise and chaos of our fast-paced, stress-filled lives, we commune most directly with nature and our Higher Power. Without distraction, our bodies can totally relax; there is no danger, no need to be ready to respond to anything. All we have to do is be.

If we live in the city, we can take refuge in its parks; a quiet room or the library. We can listen to the sounds of nature on records or cassette tapes. The point is to slow down, to smell and taste the rain, to hear the chirping of crickets and the rustling of leaves and our own thoughts. When we remember nature, we remember — our bodies remember — that we are a part of nature, part of something greater than ourselves.

Today help me hear the sounds of nature and let them comfort and heal me.

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

Most of us are about as eager to be changed as we were to be born, and go through our changes in a similar state of shock.

~ James Baldwin ~

Addiction places you into a form of slavery that keeps you from being free to live up to your fullest potential. That is why the First Step in recovery (We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable) is so important.

The First Step places a mirror in front of you and asks that you open your eyes to the dangers and ravages of addiction. You need to see what alcoholism has done to your body, your mind, and your spirit. By opening your eyes, you can clearly see what you have destroyed in yourself and in others. You can see when you escaped from responsibilities, love, and purpose.

But just as this mirror reflects the negative effects of your addiction, so too does it show your positive aspects. It reveals that you are brave and courageous; not everyone can admit powerlessness nor strive toward making positive change. The mirror reflects a person, like any other— someone who has strengths and weaknesses, passions and hopes, dreams and desires.

Looking in the mirror is something I need to do every day. Today I remember to always be honest with myself and with others.

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

Hitch your wagon to a star.

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson ~

How often have we struggled to do something alone, refusing to have another help us? Maybe we single-handedly cooked a meal for a family get-together or moved a piece of furniture or plodded slowly through some confusing work without assistance. Instead of asking for help to make our job go smoother, we chose to take care of it all ourselves. While we probably accomplished what was needed, where did that get us?

Our ancestors settled this land by helping one another. Lands were discovered by bands of exploration parties; barns were raised by communities; crops were harvested by many hands. That same pioneer spirit extends today to the program, where each member pulls another through good times and bad.

Succeeding alone means we have survived; succeeding with others means we have truly lived. We were not put into this life to survive without others, but to live with them. By joining ourselves with the humanity around us, we have joined that spirit which connects us all.

I can be a pioneer and share my humanity with others. How are my brothers and sisters tonight?

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

Living new lives

If we thank our Higher Power each day for the problems in our lives, we will find that we can live and cope with them. And if it is our Higher Power’s will, our problems will be transformed in ways we cannot comprehend. We don’t fully understand our fives.

If we become willing to let our Higher Power handle each situation in its way, we will see that we are living ourselves into new ways of being. We will experience a freedom and joy that we could not have understood in our old ways of thinking and being.

We cannot think ourselves into a better fife; we must live ourselves each day into better thinking.

Am I living myself into a new life?

Higher Power, I am grateful for the problems in my life; they help me change myself into a new being.

Today I will live myself into a new way of thinking about

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

************************************************

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

I like to think that at birth, everyone is allotted a quantity of alcohol to last for her whole life, and that by the time I was in my twenties, I’d already consumed my entire quota!

~ WOMAN IN RECOVERY ~

Newcomer

I can’t get my mind off what I’m missing. I think that at this point I could control myself and just use moderately. Ordinary people have a glass of wine when they eat dinner at a restaurant, or have a beer on a hot summer day. Why do I have to deprive myself?

Sponsor

Frankly, I can’t imagine a better way to torture myself than making the decision to have just a little. I’d be preoccupied with that little bit all day long: waiting beforehand for the right time to have it, then resenting its being over, afterward. For me, how could just a little ever be enough? And how could I keep from rationalizing, after a while, having just a little bit more? My biochemistry and my mental obsession make me crave certain substances whenever I have them. Other people may not react this way—but I’m not other people. My susceptibility turns something that may be safe for others into poison for me. There is one simple way for me to keep from craving more of this poison, and that is to avoid it altogether. Over time, deprivation takes on a new meaning—we no longer have the desire to deprive ourselves of this experience of recovery.

For today, I stop my craving by not feeding it. I make room for a new, better life.

************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Nothing great was ever achieved without overcoming great obstacles and no hero of history deserves more acclaim than those who were triumphant over self.

But do not let us swell up too much with pride. If we are honest, we know that with our character-weakened souls, with our “fogbound” brains, we could accomplish nothing of ourselves. It was only when we, in our desperate surrender, threw our lives and our wills into His keeping that He, in His mercy, removed the obstacle.

Unknown, even to ourselves, there must have slept in us that Faith of a mustard seed, that can remove mountains.

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

1) FINE: ****ed up, Insecure, Neurotic and Emotional

2) Be Kind to Yourself

3) The most natural state of an alcoholic is irritable, restless, and discontented.

************************************************

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

Humility Prayer

Lord, I am far too much influenced by what people think of me;

Which means that I am always pretending to be either richer or smarter than I really am. Please prevail me from trying to attract attention.

Don’t let me gloat over praise on the one hand and be discouraged by criticism on the other, nor let me waste time weaving the most imaginary situations in which the heroic, charming, witty person present is myself.

Show me how to be humble of heart.

***********************************************

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

THE LORD’S PRAYER

The Lord’s Prayer is the most important of all the Christian documents. Everyone who is seeking to follow along the Way that Jesus led, should pray the Lord’s prayer intelligently every day.

The Great Prayer is a compact formula for the development of the soul. It is designed with the utmost care for the specific purpose; so that those who use it regularly, with understanding, will experience a real change of soul. It is the change of soul that matters. The mere acquisition of fresh knowledge received intellectually makes no change in the soul.

The first thing that we notice is that the Prayer naturally falls into seven clauses. This is very characteristic of the Oriental tradition. Seven symbolizes individual completeness, the perfection of the soul, just as the number twelve in the same convention stands for corporate completeness. The seven clauses are put together with the utmost care, in perfect order and sequence, and they contain everything that is necessary for the nourishment of the soul. The more one analyzes the Lord’s Prayer, the more wonderful its construction is seen to be.

After that manner therefore pray ye . . . (Matthew 6:9)

************************************************

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

In-Your-Face Productions

If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are headed.

~ Oriental proverb ~

“That’s loud!” I remarked to the massage therapist as a tight muscle on my back popped audibly while she worked it.

“Yes,” she answered, “resistance is loud.”

When we fight the flow of life, the universe lets us know in a big way. Drama, emergencies, hefty surprises, health or relationship crises, changes beyond our control, and physical and emotional pain all serve to get our attention. When we are asleep to what is happening in or around us, In-Your-Face Productions will arrange a wake-up call to get us out of a rut and back on track. Usually, such attention-getters are not gentle or pleasant, and they bring a fair amount of discomfort. The good news is that a temporary period of pain or inconvenience is a small price to pay com–pared to a lifetime of unconscious self-defeating behavior.

We can minimize or avoid the angst of In-Your-Face Productions in two ways. First, we can develop our intuition so that we become aware of our lessons in their early stages rather than waiting until they mount to a huge crisis. If you pay attention to the little red “brakes” warning light on your car dashboard, you can avoid full-out brake failure. Spirit usually whispers to us before a potential crash. Through prayer and meditation, you can sensitize yourself to hear important messages before they are played out in the physical world.

The second way to lighten the brunt of wake-up calls is to bless them when they happen. Rather than fight life or adopt a victim position, look for the gift in the experience. Imagine that the universe is conspiring not to hurt you, but to free you. An attitude of appreciation, rather than resentment, will soften and transform otherwise difficult lessons.

We do not have to live by emergency; as we become more attuned to the voice of love, we can glide, not stumble, through life.

Help me hear Your voice at the subtlest level and act on my inner wisdom.

I hear the guidance of love and proceed from the truth that keeps me whole.

[majestyjo]

Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - February 1

February 1

Step by Step

Today, tear down the wall that BITTERNESS has built between me and recovery, serenity with the world and myself, inclusion instead of exclusion from others in recovery who have found what I have not, a positive instead of a negative influence on everyone around me. Unlike anger, which in some cases is justified, bitterness has NO justification. Like alcohol, the power of bitterness is in its destruction not only of everything and everyone around me, but of myself as well. And, like alcohol, bitterness is the epitome of selfishness, of rejection of all that is good and constructive – and a validated ticket to loneliness and isolation. With as much work as I expended on drinking, it takes as much if not more to keep bitterness going. Today, I’m too tired and disgusted with bitterness to give it the time and effort needed to fuel it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M

************************************************

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

BOREDOM

Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?

~ Nietzsche ~

Boredom is a form of conceit. When we are bored we are saying, “Okay, life, you are not doing your job of keeping me entertained.” To think that life, or those around us, or the world itself is here primarily to keep us amused and entertained is “stinking thinking.”

This thinking can screw up our attitude and take us back to the point where our addiction seems like the only way out of that boredom. We may be miserable, but at least we aren’t bored, we think.

Those who learn to work the Program find that life is far from boring. Each day brings many quiet moments of joy, compassion, and insight. Rich serenity replaces the empty landscape of boredom

I am not in recovery just to be abstinent; I am living to learn, to help others, and to keep bus through positive action.

************************************************

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

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.

~ Havelock Ellis ~

The wisdom that we attempt to develop in recovery is how to balance the letting go and the holding on in our lives. Many of us have sunk into deep holes of crisis and despair by holding on too tightly when we needed to let go. In other ways, perhaps, we have given up too easily when, with faith and trust, we could have held on to opportunities and values that seemed out of reach.

The Serenity Prayer speaks of the wisdom to know the difference. This power to discern between what we must accept and what we can change creates a deep sense of peace. It brings calm to our intimate partnership, success to our recovery from addiction and co- dependency, and greater effectiveness in our work life.

Today I pray for the wisdom to know the difference between what I must accept and what I can change.

************************************************

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

There is no greater joy than to see my baby’s face break out in a smile. It reminds me of the significance we have in each other’s lives.

~ Maty Larson ~

We have heard, over and over, that there are no accidents in this life. But what does that really mean? Can it mean that the pain we felt when a special relationship ended was intentional? Can it mean that the illness of a friend was God’s will? Can it mean the promotion we failed to get was God’s plan too? We can feel pretty crazy trying to figure out the real reason behind any set of circumstances, and we’ll only be spinning our wheels.

How we respond to these situations is what causes the pain or confusion. When we learn to trust that God initiates our experiences, we will begin to know freedom from fear and confusion.

Every day, we will have opportunities to increase our understanding of God’s presence in our lives. I he smiles we give and get are not accidental; they are part of the divine plan. So may be the chaos. It’s I tow we handle the chaos that matters.

I very person I meet today is in my life by design. What I give to or learn from others helps each of us to grow.

************************************************

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

I can find a silver lining

Of course given a choice, I would never have asked for a dual disorder—two illnesses that affect one another and require an extended period of recovery. But here I am—and here they are—like it or not!

And yet I can see now that because of hitting bottom, because of the pain and suffering, I have found a new faith and a better way to live. In my process of recovery, I have found my higher power. While “spirituality” used to seem like a foreign word, becoming spiritual is now an integral part of my life.

I will take five minutes today to think of one improvement in my life that has come about through my illnesses.

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

He who hesitates is sometimes saved.

Recovery is teaching us to think situations through to the end before we act. In the past, we often reacted first and thought later. Unable to wait out the pain, we tried to “fix” our problems by artificial means: drugs, alcohol, food, sex, excitement. Our only goal was to escape and get relief from the ups and downs of life. Rushing from one situation to another, we seldom slowed down enough to relax and really think through the consequences of our actions.

Now, we’re learning to solve problems instead of escaping from them. Learning to sit still with discomfort, knowing it will eventually pass, has given us real personal power in our day-to-day living. What a wonderful freedom to no longer be driven by the demons of obsession and compulsion, but instead to experience our feelings as friends instead of enemies. When we allow ourselves to sit with such friends, open to what they can teach us, we will never be alone.

Today let me think difficult situations through to the end before deciding how to act.

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

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

~ Step Two ~

A prayer is a humble and heartfelt communication with a power greater than yourself. A prayer can admit a weakness, communicate a need, or convey praise and gratitude. Prayers can unburden your heart, give you strength and courage, and deepen your faith and trust in a Higher Power. Use the following prayer as you work on your understanding and acceptance of Step Two.

Step Two Prayer

Higher Power, I believe in your power to restore me to sanity. I know everything you do is for my greatest good and the highest good of those around me. I am committed to living a life free from addiction. I am committed to release from the struggle, fear, and hopelessness I felt in the past. I am ready to let go of the insanity of using and to replace it with the sanity of sobriety.

I ask for your help so I can do these things with strength and purpose. I ask for your guidance so I may open my heart to love and forgiveness. I ask for your help so I may live each day true to a mission of sobriety, and to reflect this mission in my every word and action. Higher Power, thank you for listening to my prayer.

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

The Bookshop has a thousand books, All colors, hues, and tinges, And every cover is a door That turns on magic hinges.

~ Nancy Byrd Turner ~

When we start our day, we have a wealth of meditation books to help lead our focus to faith, strength, and hope. Throughout each day, we have pamphlets and books to enrich our minds and expand our understanding of the disease that affects our lives. We learn we are not alone in our struggles and triumphs; there are many before us, many now, and many to come who will ask the same questions, have the same struggles, find the same hope.

Our literature is written by those who, through the help of their Higher Power, can communicate their feelings and thoughts. By keeping a journal to record our thoughts, dreams, feelings, goals, and daily events, we can create our personal book to use for a better understanding of ourselves. This, combined with the literature of the program, will enrich our lives with valuable and inspiring words.

I can begin my record of growth and goals, plans and dreams, and all my feelings. I can be the author of the book of my life.

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

Doing our best

Perhaps we are saving our best effort for the “big break.” When such and such happens, then I’ll give it my best shot. What we don’t realize, however, is that success comes from doing a lot of little things well. Learning to live means learning to manage all our daily responsibilities.

If we can’t keep our clothes clean, take out the garbage, or get up on time, how can we expect to handle promotions, marriages, and crises? Daily effort may seem inconsequential, but our big break is the result of all our todays well lived.

Do I always give my best effort?

Higher Power, help me take care of each thing as it comes along.

Today I will do my best when I

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

************************************************

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

To accept a favor from a friend is to confer one.

~ JOHN CHURTON COLLINS ~

Newcomer

I’ve been okay for the past few days, so I haven’t called you. I feel as if I’m calling you too much. I don’t know what you could possibly be getting out of it.

Sponsor

I identify with your fear of imposing on other people, so I want to say first that I’m grateful for your phone calls. They help me to stay sober, just as much as they help you. They remind me, every day, of our addiction, and they remind me of the ways we’re growing and being healed.

When we stay in daily touch with a sponsor, it helps to keep us from “slipping through the cracks.” Though I go to a meeting, make coffee or put away chairs, say hello to a few people, even put up my hand and share, there may be parts of my recovery process that I don’t understand, don’t like to talk about, or don’t get to talk about in depth. I can share more deeply and at greater length with my sponsor. My sponsor knows me pretty well by now and is likely to bring up recovery issues I’d rather evade or bury. Calling our sponsors isn’t always easy, but it’s part of our commitment to ourselves and our recovery.

Today, I’m willing to know others and to be known by them.

************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

To us alcoholics, our Twelve Steps of Recovery are the stars on which we set our course of sobriety. Like the seafaring man, we will not get them completely in our grasp, nor do we need to do so.

If we but follow the course they indicate, we too, will reach our haven.

************************************************

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

1) There but for the grace of God, go I.

2) The one good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when to cringe.

3) We all suffer from self-centered fear.

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

My Daily Prayer

God, I turn my will and my life over to You this day for Your keeping. Your will, Lord, not mine. I ask for Your guidance and direction. I will walk humbly with You and Your fellowman. You are giving me a grateful heart for my many blessings. You are removing the defects of character that stand in my way. You are giving me freedom from self-will.

Let love, compassion, and understanding be in my every thought, word, and deed this day. I release those to You who have mistreated me. I truly desire Your abundance of truth, love, harmony, and peace. As I go out today to do Your bidding, let me help anyone I can who is less fortunate than I.

***********************************************

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

OUR FATHER

This simple statement in itself constitutes a definite and complete system of theology. It tells all that man needs to know about God, and about himself, and about his neighbor. Oliver Wendell Holmes said: “My religion is summed up in the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer.”

“Our Father.” In this clause Jesus lays down once and for all that the relationship between God and man is that of father and child. This eliminates any possibility that the Deity could be the relentless and cruel tyrant. The vast majority of men and women are at their best in dealing with their children. Speaking of the same truth elsewhere, Jesus said:

If you, who are so full of evil, nevertheless do your best for your children, how much more so will God, who is altogether good, do for you? (Matthew 7:11)

************************************************

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

Choice Words

Only in the sacredness of inward silence does the soul truly meet the secret, hiding God.

~ Frederick William Robertson ~

A friend of mine conducts retreats in Assisi, Italy, the birthplace and home of St. Francis. Much of the retreat time is spent in silent meditation. The program has a rule: Do not speak unless what you have to say is more powerful than the silence.

The Quakers understood this principle and incorporated it into their prayer services. The Quakers sit silently, and no one speaks unless he or she is moved by Spirit to do so. One must not speak until he or she is literally exploding, or quaking. That is the sign that God, and not the ego, is moving through the person.

In my seminars, I’ve noticed a wide range of energies that issue forth when various people speak. When someone speaks from her heart, she may say but a few words and the entire room is riveted; that is how compelling sincere expression can be. Others may go on for a long time and say nothing; the room goes dead, for the speaker is proceeding from their head or ego.

Try practicing periods of silence. Take a morning or a day regularly and go into the quiet chamber of the heart. You will be amazed at the wealth of aliveness you find behind your words, and you will discover that words often detract from truth. When you speak again, your words will be chosen, powerful, and healing. Make every word you speak count, and you will co-create with God.

Lord, make my words an instrument of Your peace.

I use the power of the word to create good, success, and healing.

[majestyjo]

February 2

Step by Step

Today, dependency is not confined to alcohol addiction CAN impact my relationships with other people. For years, I depended on alcohol to drown feelings I did not want or to “create” feelings I wanted and to shape my attitude and perspective. Is it no wonder that I depended on alcohol to define – in part – my relationships with other people? Honesty says yes! And my expectations in those relationships were either to dominate THEM, or to be so emotionally clinging and dependent on them that MY unrealistic expectations drove them away. Now, in sobriety, I have to admit that quitting drinking is not enough, that I must also be sober in my relationships and find the compromise between being the dominant one – and the needy one. Today, I begin the search for the way to be a contributor to healthy relationships. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

RELATIONSHIPS

Think for yourselves and let others enjoy the right to do the same.

~ Voltaire ~

One of the gifts of recovery is realizing that we can walk away from our prison cells as free people. We are no longer dependent on any other person, place, or thing for our happiness and well-being. The jail of our own making has dissolved. We discover a Power that can provide for every imaginable need.

We realize that the war is over and we have won. We have finally found a way out of our addictions. Morning has broken from our dark night. We listen to other people share their experiences in recovery and realize they are telling our story. Each time we clasp hands, we sense the power of the Fellowship running through us. Our sponsors and fellow members keep our eyes focused on recovery.

I am learning to listen enough to hear the truth and speak enough to tell the truth. I am learning not to become overly dependent on others and to avoid having anyone become too dependent on me.

************************************************

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

Just by speaking I can break out of my self-made prison.

~ June Singer ~

For many of us guys, words don’t come easily. Maybe we have strong feelings, strong thoughts, and important things on our mind, but they may not translate easily into spoken words. Even as toddlers, little boys don’t generally start to speak as early as little girls do. But that is no excuse for not working at it. Some of the most difficult challenges produce the most creative responses.

Something magical happens when the unspoken is finally spoken. A little of our private world is finally known by another human being. Even more than that, we finally know more clearly what is on our minds when we put words to it and hear ourselves say it. We may not even know that we are in a self-made prison of silence until we start to break out of it. Talking—finding words to say what is on our mind—is a big part of our healing process.

Today I will talk to someone about a feeling, a memory, or an unanswered question.

************************************************

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

My Higher Power takes many forms. One of the most comforting is the presence of the Great Mother, the magnificent Goddess who has a personal interest in guiding my life.

~ Rita Casey ~

One of the first things we learn in this recovery program is that we have a Higher Power. Next we learn that we can define our God according to our own needs. As we change and get more comfortable in our recovery, our definition of God may change too. However, wisdom is our reward for believing, and any gender or form of Higher Power will do.

Having a Higher Power’s loving guidance is perhaps the most blessed of all the rewards of this program. Never do we need to feel alone. Decisions will be easier to make when we remember to ask our Higher Power for guidance.

Knowing that we have a loving Higher Power who truly cares about our safety and well-being makes every moment of our lives more peaceful and secure. We will be on the right path if we look for the guidance that we’ve been promised.

I may not understand why I have received God’s grace, but my sobriety is a sure sign that I have. I will let her guide me all day long.

************************************************

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

I will be taken care of

I used to wonder if anyone was listening to my prayers for help with my illnesses—the mood swings and the drugs. I felt alone and out of control. I felt no one cared and eventually wondered if I was worth caring about.

And yet looking back at that time—not so long ago—I wonder if perhaps I was the one who lost faith, who stopped caring about myself. Because once I chose recovery, once I chose recovery for myself, I began to experience the care and love of many people—in treatment, in the clinic, and in my recovery groups. These days I know that I am worthy, I believe my prayers are being heard, and I trust that I will be taken care of.

I will take five minutes today to remember the people who have been helping me in my recovery.

***********************************************

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

The thought is not the same as the act.

~ Joan Ebbitt ~

We can’t just flip a switch and turn off our thoughts. Thoughts of drugs, alcohol, food, and sex may still trouble us in recovery. We may even be tempted into a relapse by telling ourselves, “Well, the thought is there, so a slip is coming; might as well get it over with.”

But in recovery we do not have to act on every thought. We must remind ourselves that the thought and the action are separate. Then we can allow unhealthy thoughts to pass us by.

We can let go of unhealthy thoughts by talking with our sponsor, sharing our thoughts at a meeting, reading Twelve Step literature, praying, or meditating. When the urge to return to addiction is powerful, we can get through difficult times by telling ourselves, “This too shall pass.”

Thoughts end. We can choose neither to act on them nor to judge ourselves for their content. We can see them as information and then move on, strengthened by our recovery program.

Today help me remember that thoughts of relapse will pass. Give me strength to control my actions until the thoughts pass.

************************************************

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

Problems, unfortunately, can be addicting. Like it or not, we take a certain amount of pride in the very problems that distress us.

~ Boise Ristad ~

Imagine you have been asked to stand in a frigidly cold room. Chances are you would take one step into the room and then run right out. Now imagine you are placed in a room that offers a comfortable temperature. You are told that the temperature will gradually drop until it reaches subfreezing. You stay in the room, and may even remain long after you begin shivering or even after the room be-comes unbearable.

The difference between the two examples is that in one you are given no chance to adjust. The same is true for living with pain and suffering. For as long as you believe that your problems are infinite and any solutions elusive or nonexistent, you may become increasingly anesthetized to the difficulties in your life. You may feel far more comfortable holding onto feelings of doom, disappointment, and confusion than striving to find ways to decrease or eliminate your problems.

Recovery gives you a choice: stay in a life in which you lace constant problems, or surrender to a life in which you actively explore different ways of thinking and acting.

I free myself from pain by seeking solutions to any problems I may face.

************************************************

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

We should be careful to get out of an experience only the wisdom that is in it—and stay there, lest we be like the cat that sits down on a hot stove-lid. She will never sit down on a hot stove-lid again . . . but also, she will never sit down on a cold one anymore.

~ Mark Twain ~

“Last night I asked for help, but the person couldn’t give it to me. Tonight I’m not going to ask because I’ll be refused.” Poor us! One person has rejected us, so now we’ve got the whole world rejecting us. We believe if one person lets us down, everyone else will too.

Such thinking, as negative as it is, can provide safety. If we believe we can’t trust anymore, then we won’t. But there won’t be any growth in this kind of safety. By condemning everyone, we won’t see those who want to help.

To find help we may have to ask several people. If we get turned away by a few people, we shouldn’t give up hope. There are many flowers in the field of life, but to pick the best, we need to look at them all.

If I get rejected it doesn’t mean I’m a bad person or no one can be trusted. It means I need to take another risk or maybe two.

************************************************

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

Learning patience

Many of us spent a long time getting sick, and we can’t expect to recover overnight. We have to want to get well, and we must be patient. If we lose control through lack of patience, we may lose all that we’ve gained.

Patience is a slowly developing virtue. It requires that we watch ourselves each day and use prayer in trying times. (Being selfish, however, retards our progress.)

Am I developing patience?

Higher Power, help me learn patience in living the life set before me.

I will practice patience today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

************************************************

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

Argue not concerning God.

~ WALT WHITMAN ~

Newcomer

It’s obvious from what I hear people saying in meetings that God is a pretty important part of Twelve Step programs. What if I don’t believe in God or a Higher Power?

Sponsor

We don’t need religion in order to recover. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop using our preferred addictive substance or behavior. To recover, we have to put down what we’re addicted to, and we have to come to meetings. Not easy, perhaps, but simple and clear.

Whether or not we believe in God, most of us recognize that we don’t live entirely independently. The phrase “a Power greater than ourselves,” from Step Two, is a reminder to me that I don’t run the universe. Whatever I believe about God’s existence, I have to accept that I myself am not God—if I’m going to recover. I can’t control my addiction on my own. Willpower stopped working for me some time ago. I owe this newfound willingness to recover to someone or something that isn’t my intellect or will.

Those who reject traditional concepts of God can still point to something inside—what some call their “better self,” their “sense of right and wrong,” their “higher self,” or their “spirit”—that got them here. The desire for wholeness has somehow proved stronger than the impulse toward self-destruction.

Today, I accept that I’m not all-powerful.

************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Probably no class of people has been brought into deep and turbulent waters of life to the extent of us alcoholics. Thousands of us were saved by a merciful God and emerged from our ordeal cleaner and stronger. That we were spared can be attributed only to the Grace of God.

There is nothing haphazard about God’s actions. He led us into deep water for a purpose; He extracted us for a purpose. Be sure you fulfill that purpose.

************************************************

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

1) On final judgment day, do you want what you deserve or do you want a forgiving God?

2) FINE: Fearful, Insecure, Negative, Egotistical

3) Boundaries create freedom.

************************************************

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

Lord, I’m Hurting

Yes, Lord, I hurt.
The pain is deep,
And I feel the mountains
Are so steep. I cannot seem to stand.
Please, dear Lord, Take my hand.
I cannot seem to find my way.
For me the sun
Is not shining today.
I know You’re there;
I’ve felt Your presence near
But now, my Lord,
My heart is gripped with fear.
Lord, help the sun to shine
And to know That You are mine.
Heal this pain I feel; Make Your presence
Very real.
Today, Lord, I give You all.
Help me, dear Lord,
Not to fall.
And if I fall,
Hold me tight,
So I can feel
Your strength and might.

***********************************************

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

OUR FATHER

Now that this clause that fixes the nature of God, at the same time fixes the nature of man. It is a cosmic law that like begets like. It is not possible that a rosebush should produce lilies, or that a cow should give birth to a colt. The offspring must be of the same character as the parent; and so, since God is divine Spirit, man must essentially be divine Spirit too, whatever appearances may say to the contrary.

At a single blow this teaching of Jesus swept away 99 percent of all the old theology, with its avenging God, its chosen and favored individuals, its essential hell fire, and other terrible paraphernalia of man’s diseased and terrified imagination, God exist—and the Eternal, All-Powerful, All-Present God is the loving Father of mankind.

If you would meditate upon this fact, until you had some degree of understanding of what it really means, most of your difficulties and physical ailments would disappear, for they are rooted in fear. If only you could realize to some extent that Omnipotent Wisdom is your living, loving Father, most of your fears would go. If you could realize it completely, every negative thing in your life would vanish away. Now you see the object that Jesus had in mind when he first placed this clause first.

… So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him (Genesis 1:27).

************************************************

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

I Had No Idea

There is more to heaven and earth than meets the eye.

~ William Shakespeare ~

I heard about a man who lived in Kansas all of his life and had never traveled more than a few hundred miles from his home. When Joseph was 85 years old, he took a trip to Oregon and saw the ocean for the first time. Joseph stood on the rugged, windswept beach for a long time, breathing deeply and contemplating its majesty. Then he walked back to his friend and told him, “I had no idea it would be this beautiful. I had to see it to know it.”

Many of us have lived for a long time in a world much smaller than the one that is available to us. We tread the familiar path, settle into routine relationships, and find security in the known. But to settle for what has been is to miss out on what could be. Imagine that there is an entire unexplored world available to you if you were to reach even a little bit beyond the familiar. If you open your consciousness, the universe will rush to show you what is truly there.

When I first stepped onto the beach in Hawaii, I was moved to tears. The rugged green mountains towered over the azure sea as the warm waters lapped over my bare feet and washed away years of East Coast in–sanity. Everything I beheld spoke of beauty, aliveness, and abundance. I had no idea that such riches existed on the planet. Egotistically, I believed that I had seen most of what there was to see and knew what was available. But I didn’t. What I thought was available was only a small portion of the good that awaited.

There is an entire unseen ocean waiting for you to explore.

Show me the life that is available to me, and let me live it. I am willing to be wrong about what I thought were my limits.

I step out beyond the known to claim the riches of my true potential.

[majestyjo]

February 3

Step by Step

Today, no self-destruction by believing I do not deserve the benefits of the program and recovery. If I am carrying into today the guilt, remorse and regret of yesterday, their strength lies in sabotaging my progress toward sobriety and in setting me up for failure, i.e., relapse. But my program of admission, surrender and service has empowered me with confidence, courage and strength, each endowed by a Higher Power, and they are powerful enough to assure me that I am worth the gift of recovery. Today, by virtue of returning from the abyss, I am earning worthiness. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

************************************************

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

K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple, stupid!

~ Anonymous ~

When we were using, our addicted minds were too clever for their own good. They told us lies. They told us that we knew things we didn’t, that we were strong when we weren’t. The addicted mind tried to analyze recovery and find its fatal flaws. That way it could return to addiction with all the reasons why the Program can’t and shouldn’t work. But the Program doesn’t have its foundation in this type of reasoning. Its foundation is faith, and faith defies reason. Reason is complicated. Faith is very simple.

Our addictions are clever, baffling, powerful, and very patient. Our Program disciplines this addiction with the simple truth. We fight the addiction with honesty. Our Program has revealed to us that truth is not complicated. It is simple. We should not dress the truth up in fancy clothes.

I want to keep it simple, just as it is. I won’t use my clever mind to twist the truth. My Program tells me that I need to keep it simple, just as I found it.

************************************************

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

Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance of success.

~ Vaclav Havel ~

We are not following the way of the mainstream. Our troubles required us to follow a path of healing and recovery that most of our community and society may not need to follow. A strong message in the world today says that success, in and of itself, is wonderful. On our path, we are always concerned about who we are, not just what we do. We always ask, what is the moral good in our choices? We don’t only ask, will it work? Financial success at the expense of our sobriety, serenity, or self-respect is won at far too high a price.

On this path, we ask ourselves daily how we are doing on the moral scale for our lives. Do our choices and our work help create something that is good? Are we following our values or are we just trying to get ahead? Do we treat everyone the way we want to be treated? Are we kind and respectful to the weak as well as the strong? Do we speak the truth when it is called for?

Today I will work for that which is good and leave success in the hands of my Higher Power.

************************************************

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

Edge up against your pain and give it a name.

~ Patricia Benson ~

Dwelling on our pain is unproductive and can heighten our anxieties. However, we do need to identify the pain, give it attention, and then be willing to let it go. Naming it sheds light on it, preventing the pain from living in the shadows where it remains free to haunt us.

Life is never wholly free from struggle and pain. As part of the human community, we learn significant lessons, and our willingness to experience the journey may sometimes appear directly related to the amount of pain we have suffered. But letting our steps be guided by our Higher Power, instead of fearfully resisting that Power, will make our lessons easier to learn and our journey smoother.

When the pain-filled moments come, as they may today, we can remember to acknowledge them und give them over to the One who has all power.

Today I will recognize my pain if it comes, and I will take responsibility for my part in it. It will leave when I do my part and let my Higher Power do the rest.

************************************************

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

I still want to feel my emotions

For a while it hurt so bad that I couldn’t stand it anymore—anger, then rage, abandonment, crying myself to sleep, then emptiness. Yet, now that I’m finally on medication I feel almost nothing. It’s as though the switch to my emotions were shut off. I’m numb.

Medication is a therapy I now know I need. But if I am overmedicated, flattened out, I have no emotions to work on and it’s hard to care about anything. As painful as it has been, I do not want to feel numb. I still want to feel my emotions, even if some of them still hurt.

I will call my doctor promptly, tell him what’s going on, and ask about an adjustment in my medication.

***********************************************

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

A man may fall many times but he won’t be a failure until he says that someone pushed him.

~ Elmer G. Letterman ~

“I’m such a failure, I might as well drink!” Feelings of failure are powerful excuses to do any number of self-destructive things. The sad part is, most of us set our expectations so high that falling short is virtually guaranteed. Or we’re so afraid of taking risks, we never get the chance to find out what would happen if we tried something new.

A 45-year-old woman decides to go back to college and halfway through finds she can’t continue. She’s so busy that she’s too tired to go to as many meetings as she’d like. So she drops out of school. Is she a failure? No — she’s honest (“I can’t do it all”). She’s brave (“I tried”). She’s sober (“I need my meetings”). And she’s smart (“This stress is going to kill me if I don’t make some changes”).

All we can do in life is try. Be honest and try. No excuses, no blaming, just try. All those so-called failures are notches of courage on our souls. And each notch brings us new peace and wisdom.

Today let me not consider myself a failure if I don’t get everything 1 go after. Help me feel proud to have tried.

************************************************

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

The biggest lesson I’ve learned… was that if you have all the fresh water you want to drink and all the food you want to eat, you ought never to complain about anything.

~ Eddie Rickenbacker ~

When the airplane he was piloting was shot down during World War II, Eddie Rickenbacker spent nearly twenty- one days floating in a life raft in the ocean. He was hungry, thirsty, and uncomfortable. He lived from day to day, having no idea whether he would survive. After he was rescued, he focused on the very basics in life and lived each day grateful for a second chance.

Are you content, or are you looking for something bigger and better? Are you grateful for challenges, which strengthen your commitment, or are you trying to find an easier path?

It has been said that money can buy a bed but not a good night’s sleep, books but not intelligence, a house but not a home, and amusement but not happiness. You can attain a deeper level of happiness and satisfaction in life by following this simple tenet: Keep it simple. Use this phrase to maintain focus whenever you find you have lost sight of the simple blessings you have been given.

Today I will be satisfied with what I have and what I have been given.

************************************************

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

Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed. . . .

~ Joshua 1:9 ~

It has been said when we are at the end of our rope, we can do one of three things: let go, tie a knot and hang on, or splice the rope and begin again. Whenever we feel there’s nowhere to go but down and nobody to turn to, that’s when we can start all over again. If we can learn to look beyond the end of something, we’ll always see an exciting, fresh beginning.

At the end of every storm is calm. At the end of every argument is silence. At the end of one relationship there is another. Although life is composed of many endings, there are just as many new beginnings. “Life goes on” is even assured by the passage of time—at the end of each minute there’s another.

Nights may have many endings, but they will also have just as many beginnings. Just as the sun will set, so the moon will rise and the stars will appear. Just as the day’s activities will end, so the evening’s activities will begin. And when those activities are over, there will be new experiences the next day.

I can be unafraid of endings because I know they are only the first half of beginnings.

************************************************

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

Practicing what we know

Our Higher Power does not expect us to live what we do not know or do not yet under-stand. But we can gain understanding by ap-plying what we know day by day. (When we turn our backs on what we already know, then we stumble.)

We already know that drinking and using only block our way. When should we begin applying what we already know? Today. For today is the only day we have.

Do I practice what I know?

Higher Power, help me apply what I know and not turn my back on my program of recovery.

I will practice what I know today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

************************************************

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

For extreme illnesses, extreme treatments are necessary.

~ HIPPOCRATES ~

Newcomer

I keep hearing people refer to this problem as a disease. I’m not sure I buy that. I’ve stopped, haven’t I?

Sponsor

The “disease debate” reminds me of the old saying, “If it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck—then it must be a duck.”

We know from experience that our addiction, untreated, is a craving so powerful that we have no choice but to put it first, before our goals and ideals, before work, health, and love. Willpower and promises may curb our addictive use for brief periods, but our physical craving and mental obsession return. Lives are shattered in the process. Some of us die.

Yet we persist in thinking that our addictive behavior is a moral issue. If we could just pull ourselves together, we could stop for good. Good intentions and inspirational messages haven’t worked for us, but we try them again and again. We forget that recovery isn’t about stopping, but about staying stopped.

We can look at it as good news that we have a disease. Accepting this helps us become willing to make the radical changes in our spiritual, mental, and physical lives that are required for our survival. We’re grateful for the “medicine” of meetings, literature, phone calls, sponsorship, and service. It’s helping us create new, healthy selves.

Today, I’m grateful for the lifesaving principles of this program.

************************************************

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

To shut off from our minds the re-collections of unpleasant yesterdays is of course impossible, but we can refuse to dwell on them unnecessarily, or to lash the present with the cruel whip of the past.

It was in the past that remorse, resentments and self-pity were found, but now we are doing our level best to lose them in order to insure a happy and sober present. Close the gate—we have passed through it.

************************************************

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

1) Alcoholism is a disease of denial.

2) When I am grate-full, I am grace-filled.

3) There are some people who learn from the mistakes of others and then there are the rest of us.

************************************************

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

The Right Road

Dear God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I am actually doing so.
But I believe this.
I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You.
I hope I have that desire in everything I do.
I hope I never do anything apart from that desire.
Lord, I’m Hurting
And I know that if I do this, You will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it at the time.
Therefore, I will trust You always, for though I may seem to be lost, and in the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, because I know You will never leave me to face my troubles alone.

***********************************************

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

OUR FATHER

Now the Lord’s says, not “My Father.” But “Our Father,” and this indicates beyond the possibility of mistake, the truth of the brotherhood of man. It forces upon our attention at the very beginning the fact that all men are the children of the Father; and that

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Here Jesus cuts away the illusion that the members of any nation, or race, or territory, or group, or class, or color, are, in the sight of God, superior to any other group.

The final point is the implied command that we are to pray not only for ourselves but for all mankind. None of us lives to himself, however we may try. In a much more literal sense than people are aware we are limbs of one body.

“Our Father”—a spiritual explosive, that will ultimately destroy every kind of human bondage.

************************************************

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

Will Power

There is no try; only do.

Yoda (in The Empire Strikes Back)

“I have been going out with this guy for a while, and he is really nice to me,” Terri explained, “but I don’t feel a lot for him. When I told my girlfriend I would try to make the relationship work, she asked me, ‘Why would you want to be in a relationship that you had to try to make work? Either you are motivated or you aren’t. Trying doesn’t create juice.’ ”

If you experience strain, it is because you are moving against God’s will. God’s will is the easiest and most effortless thing to do in the world, and it is the most effective. We are empowered when we get out of the way and let God do Its will through us. We are totally disempowered when we try to impose another will over the one that Spirit would effect.
The way that most people approach “will power” is quite self-defeating. The number of broken New Year’s resolutions is testimony to the fact that personal will power is paltry. Real will power means hitching your will to God’s will and surfing on the strength of what is, rather than what you are trying to twist it into. God’s will is for health, peace, prosperity, and joy. How much struggle could be required to accomplish what Spirit would give you?

Instead of using your will to fight an uphill battle against a mammoth monster, use it to align with peace. You can be very active and effective in creating world change without bearing the lonely and impossible burden of doing it all yourself. Accept the backing of the home office, and your battle will be transformed into a dance.

I pray to be aligned with Your will. I trust You to do for me what I cannot do for myself.

The will of God is easy and powerful. I claim it now.

[caressa222]

February 3

Step by Step

Today, no self-destruction by believing I do not deserve the benefits of the program and recovery. If I am carrying into today the guilt, remorse and regret of yesterday, their strength lies in sabotaging my progress toward sobriety and in setting me up for failure, i.e., relapse. But my program of admission, surrender and service has empowered me with confidence, courage and strength, each endowed by a Higher Power, and they are powerful enough to assure me that I am worth the gift of recovery. Today, by virtue of returning from the abyss, I am earning worthiness. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

************************************************

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

K.I.S.S.

Keep it simple, stupid!

~ Anonymous ~

When we were using, our addicted minds were too clever for their own good. They told us lies. They told us that we knew things we didn’t, that we were strong when we weren’t. The addicted mind tried to analyze recovery and find its fatal flaws. That way it could return to addiction with all the reasons why the Program can’t and shouldn’t work. But the Program doesn’t have its foundation in this type of reasoning. Its foundation is faith, and faith defies reason. Reason is complicated. Faith is very simple.

Our addictions are clever, baffling, powerful, and very patient. Our Program disciplines this addiction with the simple truth. We fight the addiction with honesty. Our Program has revealed to us that truth is not complicated. It is simple. We should not dress the truth up in fancy clothes.

I want to keep it simple, just as it is. I won’t use my clever mind to twist the truth. My Program tells me that I need to keep it simple, just as I found it.

************************************************

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

Work for something because it is good, not just because it stands a chance of success.

~ Vaclav Havel ~

We are not following the way of the mainstream. Our troubles required us to follow a path of healing and recovery that most of our community and society may not need to follow. A strong message in the world today says that success, in and of itself, is wonderful. On our path, we are always concerned about who we are, not just what we do. We always ask, what is the moral good in our choices? We don’t only ask, will it work? Financial success at the expense of our sobriety, serenity, or self-respect is won at far too high a price.

On this path, we ask ourselves daily how we are doing on the moral scale for our lives. Do our choices and our work help create something that is good? Are we following our values or are we just trying to get ahead? Do we treat everyone the way we want to be treated? Are we kind and respectful to the weak as well as the strong? Do we speak the truth when it is called for?

Today I will work for that which is good and leave success in the hands of my Higher Power.

************************************************

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

Edge up against your pain and give it a name.

~ Patricia Benson ~

Dwelling on our pain is unproductive and can heighten our anxieties. However, we do need to identify the pain, give it attention, and then be willing to let it go. Naming it sheds light on it, preventing the pain from living in the shadows where it remains free to haunt us.

Life is never wholly free from struggle and pain. As part of the human community, we learn significant lessons, and our willingness to experience the journey may sometimes appear directly related to the amount of pain we have suffered. But letting our steps be guided by our Higher Power, instead of fearfully resisting that Power, will make our lessons easier to learn and our journey smoother.

When the pain-filled moments come, as they may today, we can remember to acknowledge them und give them over to the One who has all power.

Today I will recognize my pain if it comes, and I will take responsibility for my part in it. It will leave when I do my part and let my Higher Power do the rest.

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

I still want to feel my emotions

For a while it hurt so bad that I couldn’t stand it anymore—anger, then rage, abandonment, crying myself to sleep, then emptiness. Yet, now that I’m finally on medication I feel almost nothing. It’s as though the switch to my emotions were shut off. I’m numb.

Medication is a therapy I now know I need. But if I am overmedicated, flattened out, I have no emotions to work on and it’s hard to care about anything. As painful as it has been, I do not want to feel numb. I still want to feel my emotions, even if some of them still hurt.

I will call my doctor promptly, tell him what’s going on, and ask about an adjustment in my medication.

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

A man may fall many times but he won’t be a failure until he says that someone pushed him.

~ Elmer G. Letterman ~

“I’m such a failure, I might as well drink!” Feelings of failure are powerful excuses to do any number of self-destructive things. The sad part is, most of us set our expectations so high that falling short is virtually guaranteed. Or we’re so afraid of taking risks, we never get the chance to find out what would happen if we tried something new.

A 45-year-old woman decides to go back to college and halfway through finds she can’t continue. She’s so busy that she’s too tired to go to as many meetings as she’d like. So she drops out of school. Is she a failure? No — she’s honest (“I can’t do it all”). She’s brave (“I tried”). She’s sober (“I need my meetings”). And she’s smart (“This stress is going to kill me if I don’t make some changes”).

All we can do in life is try. Be honest and try. No excuses, no blaming, just try. All those so-called failures are notches of courage on our souls. And each notch brings us new peace and wisdom.

Today let me not consider myself a failure if I don’t get everything 1 go after. Help me feel proud to have tried.

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

The biggest lesson I’ve learned… was that if you have all the fresh water you want to drink and all the food you want to eat, you ought never to complain about anything.

~ Eddie Rickenbacker ~

When the airplane he was piloting was shot down during World War II, Eddie Rickenbacker spent nearly twenty- one days floating in a life raft in the ocean. He was hungry, thirsty, and uncomfortable. He lived from day to day, having no idea whether he would survive. After he was rescued, he focused on the very basics in life and lived each day grateful for a second chance.

Are you content, or are you looking for something bigger and better? Are you grateful for challenges, which strengthen your commitment, or are you trying to find an easier path?

It has been said that money can buy a bed but not a good night’s sleep, books but not intelligence, a house but not a home, and amusement but not happiness. You can attain a deeper level of happiness and satisfaction in life by following this simple tenet: Keep it simple. Use this phrase to maintain focus whenever you find you have lost sight of the simple blessings you have been given.

Today I will be satisfied with what I have and what I have been given.

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

Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened, neither be dismayed. . . .

~ Joshua 1:9 ~

It has been said when we are at the end of our rope, we can do one of three things: let go, tie a knot and hang on, or splice the rope and begin again. Whenever we feel there’s nowhere to go but down and nobody to turn to, that’s when we can start all over again. If we can learn to look beyond the end of something, we’ll always see an exciting, fresh beginning.

At the end of every storm is calm. At the end of every argument is silence. At the end of one relationship there is another. Although life is composed of many endings, there are just as many new beginnings. “Life goes on” is even assured by the passage of time—at the end of each minute there’s another.

Nights may have many endings, but they will also have just as many beginnings. Just as the sun will set, so the moon will rise and the stars will appear. Just as the day’s activities will end, so the evening’s activities will begin. And when those activities are over, there will be new experiences the next day.

I can be unafraid of endings because I know they are only the first half of beginnings.

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

Practicing what we know

Our Higher Power does not expect us to live what we do not know or do not yet under-stand. But we can gain understanding by ap-plying what we know day by day. (When we turn our backs on what we already know, then we stumble.)

We already know that drinking and using only block our way. When should we begin applying what we already know? Today. For today is the only day we have.

Do I practice what I know?

Higher Power, help me apply what I know and not turn my back on my program of recovery.

I will practice what I know today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

For extreme illnesses, extreme treatments are necessary.

~ HIPPOCRATES ~

Newcomer

I keep hearing people refer to this problem as a disease. I’m not sure I buy that. I’ve stopped, haven’t I?

Sponsor

The “disease debate” reminds me of the old saying, “If it looks like a duck, if it walks like a duck, if it quacks like a duck—then it must be a duck.”

We know from experience that our addiction, untreated, is a craving so powerful that we have no choice but to put it first, before our goals and ideals, before work, health, and love. Willpower and promises may curb our addictive use for brief periods, but our physical craving and mental obsession return. Lives are shattered in the process. Some of us die.

Yet we persist in thinking that our addictive behavior is a moral issue. If we could just pull ourselves together, we could stop for good. Good intentions and inspirational messages haven’t worked for us, but we try them again and again. We forget that recovery isn’t about stopping, but about staying stopped.

We can look at it as good news that we have a disease. Accepting this helps us become willing to make the radical changes in our spiritual, mental, and physical lives that are required for our survival. We’re grateful for the “medicine” of meetings, literature, phone calls, sponsorship, and service. It’s helping us create new, healthy selves.

Today, I’m grateful for the lifesaving principles of this program.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

To shut off from our minds the re-collections of unpleasant yesterdays is of course impossible, but we can refuse to dwell on them unnecessarily, or to lash the present with the cruel whip of the past.

It was in the past that remorse, resentments and self-pity were found, but now we are doing our level best to lose them in order to insure a happy and sober present. Close the gate—we have passed through it.

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

1) Alcoholism is a disease of denial.

2) When I am grate-full, I am grace-filled.

3) There are some people who learn from the mistakes of others and then there are the rest of us.

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

The Right Road

Dear God,
I have no idea where I am going.
I do not see the road ahead of me.
I cannot know for certain where it will end.
Nor do I really know myself, and the fact that I am actually doing so.
But I believe this.
I believe that the desire to please You does in fact please You.
I hope I have that desire in everything I do.
I hope I never do anything apart from that desire.
Lord, I’m Hurting
And I know that if I do this, You will lead me by the right road though I may know nothing about it at the time.
Therefore, I will trust You always, for though I may seem to be lost, and in the shadow of death, I will not be afraid, because I know You will never leave me to face my troubles alone.

***********************************************

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

OUR FATHER

Now the Lord’s says, not “My Father.” But “Our Father,” and this indicates beyond the possibility of mistake, the truth of the brotherhood of man. It forces upon our attention at the very beginning the fact that all men are the children of the Father; and that

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Here Jesus cuts away the illusion that the members of any nation, or race, or territory, or group, or class, or color, are, in the sight of God, superior to any other group.

The final point is the implied command that we are to pray not only for ourselves but for all mankind. None of us lives to himself, however we may try. In a much more literal sense than people are aware we are limbs of one body.

“Our Father”—a spiritual explosive, that will ultimately destroy every kind of human bondage.

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

Will Power

There is no try; only do.

Yoda (in The Empire Strikes Back)

“I have been going out with this guy for a while, and he is really nice to me,” Terri explained, “but I don’t feel a lot for him. When I told my girlfriend I would try to make the relationship work, she asked me, ‘Why would you want to be in a relationship that you had to try to make work? Either you are motivated or you aren’t. Trying doesn’t create juice.’ ”

If you experience strain, it is because you are moving against God’s will. God’s will is the easiest and most effortless thing to do in the world, and it is the most effective. We are empowered when we get out of the way and let God do Its will through us. We are totally disempowered when we try to impose another will over the one that Spirit would effect.
The way that most people approach “will power” is quite self-defeating. The number of broken New Year’s resolutions is testimony to the fact that personal will power is paltry. Real will power means hitching your will to God’s will and surfing on the strength of what is, rather than what you are trying to twist it into. God’s will is for health, peace, prosperity, and joy. How much struggle could be required to accomplish what Spirit would give you?

Instead of using your will to fight an uphill battle against a mammoth monster, use it to align with peace. You can be very active and effective in creating world change without bearing the lonely and impossible burden of doing it all yourself. Accept the backing of the home office, and your battle will be transformed into a dance.

I pray to be aligned with Your will. I trust You to do for me what I cannot do for myself.

The will of God is easy and powerful. I claim it now.

[majestyjo]

February 4

Step by Step

Today, motivated by Einstein’s wisdom that individual happiness should be pinned on goals rather than a person or thing, I will build my sobriety and recovery to attain the full grace and redemption of the program. In doing so, I will not gamble by basing my recovery on what another person does or does not do or on a situation that may or may not play out the way I want or fear. I am playing with fire, not to mention using manipulation and abusing AA, if I decide I will not continue in recovery if the spouse who left me because of my drinking doesn’t return, or if the employer who fired me because of my drinking doesn’t rehire me, or if the judge hearing my DUI case doesn’t dismiss charges because “I’m in recovery.” In keeping my recovery goal-oriented, I am not only paying respect to the integrity of AA’s steps and traditions, I am also reinforcing the truth that I and I alone am responsible for both my alcoholism and recovery. Neither is because I might have been dealt a bad hand in life. Today, I focus on the goal of sobriety instead of people or events to maintain and progress in my sobriety and recovery. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

RESENTMENTS

Nothing on earth consumes a man more completely as the passion of resentment.

~ Nietzsche ~

Resentments are among the greatest roadblocks along the route we travel toward a more rewarding way of life. We recognize resentments for what they are: real or imagined grievances against some people, places and things. They give us an excuse to brood and plan revenge.

Resentments come to all of us at different times. We our hurting ourselves by holding on to them. It is a waste of time that could be spent enjoying the more positive aspects of our lives.

Our Program can teach us how to respond with love, understanding, and compassion to the people, places, and things that displease us. We learn not to fight the windmills of resentment.

Today I’ll remember, resentment doesn’t hurt others; it only hurts me. Time wasted in getting even can never be used in getting ahead.

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

What is laid down, ordered, factual is never enough to embrace the whole truth; life always spills over the rim of the cup.

~ Boris Pasternak ~

We like control. We want to know what to expect. We like to think we have things figured out and know the answers. But God cannot be contained by a human definition—and life will not stay in place after we try to put it there.

When we go to work, we expect our routine to fit the normal pattern, but sometimes surprises await us. When we talk to our partner about an important topic, we expect a certain outcome—but our partner is a separate person with a separate outlook. Something happens that throws us a curve ball. When we accept that life will spill over the rim, there is no need to add our anxiety to the situation. We already know that we cannot contain it, and we learn to go with the flow. We are not in charge of everything, and we never will be. We are not responsible to keep the world on track, only to deal as best we can with what comes our way.

Today, as life spills over the rim of the cup, I will strive to go with the flow.

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

Absolute miracles happen when I can trust enough and be vulnerable enough to get honest feelings out of my mouth to another person.

~ Kathy Kendall ~

Seldom do we know in detail what we or others need at any moment. All of us harbor desires and dreams, but they are frequently fanciful and motivated by our not-so-healthy egos.

Nevertheless, we want to grow and that’s good. We want to feel more secure in our journey. We will have made real progress when we have learned to trust that what we need is contained in every experience, every conversation.

We are miracle makers, each of us. Though much that happens between us seems unimportant, none of it is accidental. We can’t be sure what information is needed by our sister travelers. We can know only that God has brought us together. If we share with honesty and genuine compassion, we participate in God’s plan.

I can trigger a miracle in someone else’s life today by being honest and compassionate in every shared experience.

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

I need a group that accepts my dual disorder

I wonder if I should have let my Step group know that I also have a psychiatric illness. It didn’t go well—they got so quiet and looked away. I doubt they would ever have known the difference. I only mentioned it because I was trying to be honest, as I’ve learned to be in recovering from chemical dependency.

Right now I feel hurt and misunderstood. I even feel rejected, ashamed. But why should I be rejected? All of us in the meeting are chemically dependent. It’s just that some of us are tall, some short; some black, some white; some men, some women. And some of us—I suspect more than one of us—have a dual illness. We are all more alike than different.

If needed, I will contact Central Service or my local Intergroup to find a Twelve Step group that fully accepts my dual illness.

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

In every enterprise, consider where you would come out.

~ Publilius Syrus ~

Relapse starts long before we pick up the drink, use the drug, or eat the donut. First we may skip a meeting or two. We might be too busy or forgetful to call our sponsor. Then one little thing leads to another, like drops in a pail, until we reach the overflow point.

In recovery, we know how dangerous those little things can be, so we need to think our choices through to the end. Missing a meeting may be a symptom of impending relapse. If we’re feeling negative toward our sponsor, it’s vital that we talk to him or her. Being critical of others, especially people in the program, is dangerous. One of the first signs of relapse, in fact, is refusing to go to meetings because we’re angry at one member.

Thinking our feelings and thoughts through to the end works something like this: “If I don’t go to this meeting, it’ll be easier to skip the next, and the next. Then if I also avoid my sponsor, I can convince myself I’m doing okay even though I’m not. Then if I reject the program, I’ll have no support, no reminders about recovery. And without those support systems, I’ll probably relapse.” To maintain solid recovery, we need to see the parts of our behavior as a whole. Now, we can make healthy choices.

Today help me see all the parts of the puzzle as they really are. Help me see through my own denial.

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

You never move forward if you stay in the same place.

~ Meghan McCain ~

Making the decision to be clean and sober marks your willingness to embark on a new way of living. It is a time of joyous deliverance from your past. With deliverance comes a gradual release from unhappiness and un-healthiness, bitterness and regret, and fear and anxiety. Through the support and tools of the program, you are breaking free from your habits and old ways of doing things. You are changing for the better!

While recovery represents a huge and positive change in your life, the forward progress you make will not al-ways consist of giant steps or even grand “a-ha” moments. For the most part, you may find recovery to be repetitive and predictable. Even though you are deeply committed to your sobriety, you may find that there will be times when your new beginning feels rather unexciting.

At such times, it is important to remember that in order to get to this new place, you had to crawl out from a very dark hole. That, in and of itself, is truly amazing. Try not to forget that being clean and sober each day is a glorious achievement, and one that is necessary to progress forward.

I will remember that what I bring to each day and what I receive are what matter the most.

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

“You silly thing,” said Fritz, my eldest son, sharply, “don’t you know that we must not settle what God is to do for us? We must have patience and wait His time.”

~ Johann R. Wyss ~

The story of the shipwrecked Robinson family is a lesson in patience. It was years before their rescue. They didn’t know what their fate would be on the unfamiliar island. Yet they survived every day by working together and keeping strong faith in a Power greater than themselves.

We are certainly far from the adversities faced by that family. But at times we may feel our lives would be better if our Higher Power would do what we wanted. How many times have we prayed as hard as we could for something we felt we needed?

Today might have been one of those days where we felt our prayers weren’t answered. But we need to remember our prayers are heard. Now it is up to us to Let Go and Let God work His will in His own time.

Have I tried to be in control of my Higher Power today? How can I Let Go and Let God tonight?

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

Carrying the message

When first we experience the joys and blessings of this program, many of us are filled with a fever to carry the message and do God’s work. We absorb some spiritual principles and grow elated at the prospect of our do-gooding! At this point vanity becomes a danger. We may feel that we, above others, are true messengers of God. Perhaps we are even tempted to start preaching the way to spiritual growth. What vanity!

God works through everyone—not just a select few. God even works through the failure of others, to remind us of our past. None of us knows the way, for God has provided many ways.

How do I carry the message?

As I do my work today, may I know that all of us are from God and all are returning to God, and none of us is more beautiful than the next.

Today I will humbly try to show others the way by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

No one knows what he can do till he tries.

~ PUBLILIUS SYRUS ~

Newcomer

I feel as if I have no energy. When I get home from work, I force myself to go to a meeting, but all I really want to do is sleep.

Sponsor

At the end of active addiction, we were exhausted. Our bodies were used to brief, intense pickups—from drugs or cigarettes, from foods containing large amounts of caffeine and sugar, from the high of acting out behavioral addictions- after which we “crashed.” The boost to our physical or mental energy was brief. Low blood sugar, depression, and renewed craving were the other side of this depleting cycle.

For me, exhaustion returned after the “high” of early recovery. I badly needed rest. This meant sleep, nutritious food, and, in my case, vitamin and mineral supplements. To my surprise, it also meant exercise.

How can we think about jogging around a track when we’re feeling exhausted? If we haven’t been exercising regularly, the key word to remember is gentleness. We can begin with a few minutes of gentle stretching in the morning. We can put on sneakers and walk for a short time each day. Or we can choose some other activity that appeals to us and that feels more like play than work. Surprisingly, regular physical movement increases our feelings of energy and well-being—sometimes more effectively than napping. It helps our digestion and circulation, balances our body weight, strengthens our bones, and helps us feel centered and refreshed.

Whatever we choose to do to get our bodies moving, gentleness and consistency are the keys.

Today, I nourish my body and spirit with gentle exercise.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

In the hurry and press of our everyday living, too many of us fail to stop occasionally to allow our souls to catch up with us. We have no time to think upon those things which are of lasting value. We reserve our spiritual thinking for Sunday mornings and meeting nights, oblivious of the fact we must live every day. Find or make time this very day for just a minute with the Man Upstairs. Remember you need Him and He needs you.

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

1) Anxiety is fear of oneself.

2) Our need is God’s opportunity.

3) FGO’s: ****ing Growth Opportunities

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

O Great Spirit

O Great Spirit,
Whose voice I hear in the winds, and whose breath gives life to all the world, hear me! I am small and weak, I need Your strength and wisdom. Let me walk in beauty, and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things You have made, and my ears sharp to hear Your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand the things You have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons You have hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother, but to fight my greatest enemy: myself.
Make me always ready to come to You with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades, as the fading sunset, my spirit may come to You without shame.

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

FATHER OF ALL

He that prayeth well, who loveth well
Both man and bird and beast;
He prayeth best, who loveth best
All things both great and small:
For the dear God who loveth us,
He made and loveth all.

~ Coleridge ~

But ask now the beast, and they shall teach the; and the fouls of the air, and they shall tell thee: Or speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the Fishes of the sea shall declare unto thee… that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this (Job 12: 7-9).

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

Doctor in the House

Use three physicians still: first, Dr. Quiet. Next, Dr. Merryman, and Dr. Dyet.

~ Regimen Sanitatis Salemitanum (1607) ~

Health is our natural state, and it is within our ability to maintain good health at all times. Any notion to the contrary is a limited belief system and must be discarded without hesitation. The length and quality of your life is in your hands, and no external force has power over your vitality.

The first prescription, quiet, is essential to well-being. How can you hear the voice of God if you are preoccupied with the outer world? Each day, take time to be with yourself. Meditate, walk in the woods, or lock yourself in the bathroom. God lives not on a distant cloud, but within your heart. Spirit is not playing a hide-and-seek game. To the contrary, God is utterly desirous of being known and enjoyed. If you feel distant from God, who moved? Go to the quiet inner temple regularly, and all outer activity will be more peaceful.

Joy is as vital to good health as air. Every enlightened being I know is filled with happiness and laughter. Do not fall prey to images of God as a somber, mournful entity. God is not a mean old man; She is a joyful child. You do not need to analyze and process every thought and experience; go out and play, laugh, get silly, and cast fear to the wind. You will find truth more quickly through delight than gravity.

Diet is extremely important. Our bodies were constructed to function at a high level of efficiency, flexibility, and well-being. To keep the body healthy, we must feed it in harmony with nature. Eat fresh, live, whole, pure foods, free of artificial ingredients or preservatives. Avoid sugar, fat, salt, and processed food. Make your meals a sacrament; take time to be with your food, thank God for it, and digest it. Give your body love in the form of quality nourishment, and it will respond with robust health.

I pray to be fully healthy and manifest the well-being I deserve.

I am healthy, whole, vital, and happy as I live in harmony with my natural spirit.

[caressa222]

February 5

You are reading from the book Today's Gift.
Let there be spaces in your togetherness. --Kahlil Gibran
Sometimes it is just as important to know when to leave others alone as it is to know when to talk with them. We all need to be alone at times--to think, to work out a problem, or just to be quiet with ourselves. This is especially true in families, where we're often surrounded by others. If we tune in to our other family members, we can develop sensors that will let us know when they need some time alone. Part of good communication is knowing when not to talk, too.
Can I be sensitive to my family's needs for privacy today?


You are reading from the book Touchstones.
The human animal needs a freedom seldom mentioned: freedom from intrusion. He needs a little privacy quite as much as he wants understanding or vitamins or exercise or praise. --Phyllis McGinley
The boundaries between us in our families and our friendships often need to be reshaped in recovery. We need to know our feelings are private. We reveal them at our choosing, with whom we choose. We give up on mind reading or probing because it intrudes upon another's privacy. We actively engage in our relationships by sharing ourselves and listening to each other.
A secret that makes a relationship dishonest is destructive and ought to be told. But we cannot force another person to be honest, or pry the truth from a loved one. We can only be honest ourselves and guard our own right to privacy. Intimacy is the bridge, which is built between two separate people. Only when we let others have their privacy and we take ours can our relationships be more intimate.
I will maintain the boundaries of my privacy today and respect the right of others to do the same.


You are reading from the book The Language Of Letting Go.
Financial Responsibility
We are responsible for ourselves financially.
What a frightening, grown up thought that is for many of us - taking responsibility for money and our financial affairs. For many of us, handing over responsibility for our financial affairs has been part of a codependent trade off in our relationships.
Some of our emotional dependency on others, on this tight tie that binds us to others, not in love, but in need and desperation, is directly related to financial dependency. Our fears and reluctance to take responsibility for our financial affairs can be a barrier to the freedom we're seeking in recovery.
Financial responsibility is an attitude. Money goes out to pay for necessities and luxuries. Money must come in, in order to go out. How much needs to come in to equal that which is going out?
Taxes... savings plans...appropriate spending habits that demonstrate an attitude of financial responsibility.... Part of being alive means learning to handle money. Even if we have a healthy contract with someone that allows us to depend on him or her for money, we still need to understand how money works. We still need to adopt an attitude of financial responsibility for ourselves. Even if we have a contract with someone else to provide for our financial needs, we need to understand the workings of the money earned and spent in our life.
Self-esteem will increase when we increase our sense of being financially responsible for ourselves. We can start where we are, with what we have today.
God, help me become willing to let go of my fears and reluctance to face the necessary parts of handling money responsibly in my life. Shaw me the lessons I need to learn about money.


It feels terrific letting go of perfection as my goal. As I let go of my judgments, all parts of me come together and I feel complete. --Ruth Fishel

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Journey To The Heart

Learn to Live with Unfinished Projects

Whether your project is sewing a dress, reading a book, writing a book, building a home, or learning a lesson on your journey, learn to live comfortably with unfinished work. Whatever you’re working on, whatever you’re in the midst of doesn’t need to be finished, in perfect order, with all the loose ends in place for you to be happy.

For too many years, we worried and fretted, denying ourselves happiness until we could see the whole picture, learn the entire lesson, cross every t and dot each i. That meant we spend a lot of stressful time waiting for that one moment when the project was complete.

Enjoy all the stages of the process you’re in. The first moments when the germ of the idea finds you. The time before you begin, when the seed lies dormant in the ground, getting ready to grow. The beginning, and all the days throughout the middle. Those bleak days, when it looks like you’re stuck and won’t break through. Those exciting days when the project, the lesson, the life you’re building takes shape and form.

Be happy now. Enjoy the creative process– the process of creating your life, yourself, and the project you’re working on–today. Don’t wait for those finishing moments to take pleasure in your work and your life. Find joy all along the way.

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More Language Of Letting Go

Stare in the face of your fears

Examine your fears.

Sometimes we’re afraid of specific things. Sometimes we fear the unknown. And sometimes we’re just afraid, because that’s the way we usually feel.

Are you nervous, anxious,upset? What’s scaring you right now?

Have a little talk with yourself. Take a look at what you fear. Are you starting a new relationship or job? What are the risks? What’s the worse that could possibly happen? Sometimes it helps to go through our fears, one by one. We don’t need to dwell on the negative, but we need to be certain that we’re willing to take responsibility for the risks involved.

Then look in the other direction, and see the entire positive potential there. What can you gain by taking that risk? Does the thrill of victory outweigh the potential loss?

We may emerge from the list saying, No, I choose not to risk that. Or, we may look at the risks and say, Yes, I’ve been through worse. I can handle this,too.

Someone once told me many years ago that fear was a good thing. “If you’re not feeling afraid, it means you’re not doing anything differently. You’re just repeating the same old thing.” If fear is haunting you, stare it in the face. See what’s making you feel afraid. Then either back off, or stare that fear down.

God, help me sort through my fears,one by one. Then guide me in deciding which risks I want to take. Help me not be foolhardy. But help me let go of timidity,too.

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Intertwined Fates
We Are All Connected

by Madisyn Taylor

Being aware of the connection between all things can help you in terms of the broader effect you may be creating.


There are times when we may feel disconnected from the world. Our actions can seem like they are of no major consequence, and we may feel like we exist in our own vacuum. Yet, the truth is that our simplest thought or action - the decisions we make each day, and how we see and relate to the world - can be incredibly significant and have a profound impact on the lives of those around us, as well as the world at large. The earth and everything on it is bound by an invisible connection between people, animals, plants, the air, the water, and the soil. Insignificant actions on your part, whether positive or negative, can have an impact on people and the environment that seem entirely separate from your personal realm of existence. Staying conscious of the interconnection between all things can help you think of your choices and your life in terms of the broader effect you may be creating.

Think of buying a wooden stool. The wood was once part of a tree which is part of a forest. A person was paid to fell the tree, another to cut the wood, and yet another to build the stool. Their income may have had a positive effect on their families, just as the loss of the tree may have had a negative impact on the forest or the animals that made that tree their home. An encouraging word to a young child about their special talent can influence this person to develop their gift so that one day their inventions can change the lives of millions. A poem written “merely” to express oneself can make a stranger reading it online from thousands of miles away feel less alone because there is someone else out there who feels exactly the way they do.

Staying conscious of your connection to all things can help you think of your choices in terms of their impact. We are powerful enough that what we do and say can reverberate through the lives of people we may never meet. Understanding that you are intimately connected with all things and understanding your power to affect our world can be the first step on the road to living more consciously. Published with permission from Daily OM

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A Day At A Time

Reflection For The Day

If I am troubled, worried, exasperated or frustrated, do I tend to rationalize the situation and lay the blame on someone else? When I am in such a state, is my conversation punctuated with, :Hey did..,” “She said..,” “They did..”? Or can I honestly admit that perhaps I’m at fault. My peace of mind depends on overcoming toward rationalization. Will I try, day by day, to be rigorously honest with myself?

Today I Pray

May I catch myself as I talk in the third person, “He did…” or “They promised…” or “She said shoe would…” and listen for the blaming that has become such a pattern for me and preserves delusion. May I do a turnabout and face myself instead.

Today I Will Remember

Honesty is the only policy.

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One More Day

We have seen better days.
– Shakespeare

It is quit difficult to define some of the components that help create what we interpret as a good day. A general sense of well-being prevails, and we have a tendency to look at the world through rose-colored glasses. Everything seems to go just right.

It is not the least bit hard, however, to define a bad day. Nothing happens according to plan. We feel out of sorts, not particularly well. With the advent of health changes, we can inadvertently allow many days to become bad ones.

The only way we can stop having negative experiences is to change our expectations of what constitutes a good day. We don’t have to lower our expectations, just make them more realistic for the situation at hand. We will then find that most of our days can be good ones.

My life is and will always be a mixture of good and bad days. I can influence my interactions and thereby influence the color of my days.

[majestyjo]

February 6

Step by Step

Today, ACCEPTANCE of the things I CAN change and those I cannot. In accepting what I can change, I need both humility and courage to make changes even if they are not what I want but know I need – wisdom to accept that I cannot change what I might want. Above all, I must accept that I am powerless over alcohol. AA has quenched any desire to change that fact. With that knowledge, then, I can have faith that my Higher Power will give me the desire, strength and courage to change what I can and leave alone what I cannot change. Today, acceptance is my focus. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

GIFTS

You give but little when you give of your possessions. It is when you give of yourself that you truly give.

~ Kahlil Gibran ~

The things that really count in life are not those we can hold in the hand, but those we cherish in the heart. Material possessions can be replaced, at least in part, if they are stolen, lost or destroyed. But those things which are of greatest value to our security, serenity, and continued growth, are safe within our minds and hearts.

Even when we give generously from this store of precious spiritual tools, they magically remain with us to be given away again and again. We are taught to give, share, and be helpful without expecting others to be in our debt.

When I give of myself, the sharing doesn’t stop after a single act. Those gifts are passed on from one to another to form an endless chain of love.

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

In marriage, being the right person is as important as finding the right person.

~ Wilbert Donald Gough ~

No matter how much two people love each other, no matter how compatible they are, no matter how great they are as lovers, they will confront matters and situations where their habits and differences will clash. When we face a frustrating obstacle, our first impulse is to blame the other person who doesn’t fit what we want. However, our most effective way of improving our relationship is to look beyond that first impulse and focus on what we can change: ourselves. We need to persistently be the best partner we know how to be. Our partner is not a model of our own creation and was not put on this earth just to fulfill our own image.

As good partners we try to be good listeners and open ourselves to our beloved. We cut our partner some slack when it’s needed; we offer forgiveness. We don’t use our partner’s immature response as an excuse for us to be immature. We practice the kind of detachment that allows our partner self-determination. We don’t try to fix or mold our beloved to our wishes.

Today I will focus on being the best partner I know how to be, regardless of what my partner says or does.

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

Take time for solitude. How else can you contemplate the blessings of recovery.

~ Abby Warman ~

Is it human nature to focus on what we lack? We waste many precious hours, hours that can never be recaptured, bemoaning what we think we deserve. While it’s true that what we get may not be what we want, the circumstances that have come our way snugly fit God’s plan for our unfolding lives.

It’s far more productive to spend our quiet times acknowledging the array of gifts we have received. Perhaps we need help from a sponsor or a friend to discover that we have not been shortchanged in this life. If we always gaze upon others, comparing their blessings to our own, we’ll never come to believe that each of us receives what is truly necessary to our personal growth. We are where we need to be. We get what we are supposed to have. Let’s practice gratitude.

I am grateful. I sometimes forget that Cod is in charge of my life. I will remember and pay special attention to the gifts I’m given today.

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

I need a sponsor

Sometimes my attitude doesn’t help; sometimes my attitude even hurts. I want to do things on my own, in my own way, and in my own time. I don’t much like authority or rules. I have a strong will. Yet thinking and behaving based solely on this attitude is part of my chemical dependency.

Now that I’ve taken Step One and admitted I can’t do this alone, it’s clear to me that I need the help of a support person, someone to prevent me from being my own worst enemy. I don’t want my resistance and fears to lead me astray or hold me back. I need a guide, a coach, someone who has already walked a mile (or two) in my shoes.

At my next Twelve Step meeting I will take the first step. I will look for someone to be my temporary sponsor.

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

All our power lies in both mind and body.

~ Sallust Crispus ~

Addiction affects every part of our being — physical, spiritual, and emotional. In the early glow of recovery, we often forget the physical part, as though our bodies don’t matter as much as the rest of us. But sobriety doesn’t end at the neck; our spirit and emotions can’t get to meetings without our bodies.

During addiction, we neglected and abused our physical selves. Now that we’re in recovery, our bodies need care and repair. A balanced diet is important every day to rebuild bones and nerves and for energy and strength. Exercise strengthens our muscles, improves our endurance, and brings a great feeling of well-being. It also helps relieve stress and tension. And some of us cut back on or eliminate caffeine and nicotine to help soothe jangled nerves and improve our sleep.

All these changes pay big dividends. It’s hard for our spirit and emotions to prosper when we neglect our bodies. But with some loving care, we’ll feel better, look better, and work a better program.

Today help me remember how important my body is. Let me give my physical being the respect and care it deserves.

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

Rather than viewing a brief relapse back to inactivity as a failure, treat it as a challenge and try to get back on track as soon as possible.

~ Jimmy Connors ~

Remaining clean and sober, especially in the early days of your recovery, can be challenging. You may even question whether you really do have a problem. But even “old timers” in the program know how easy it is to get into trouble. “Sobriety,” it has been said in meetings, “is the leading cause of relapse.”

Most relapses happen with a gradual shift in attitude, feelings, and behaviors. If you start to notice that your general outlook is becoming more negative than positive, if your emotions and feelings are difficult to control, or if you skip meetings or avoid your sponsor, these are warn-ing signs that your sobriety may be in jeopardy.

Whenever you feel stressed or vulnerable, you may need extra help. Just as you might take more vitamins when you feel a cold or flu coming on, so too can you in-crease your relapse prevention dosage. Reach out to your sponsor and those in the program, attend more meetings, meditate and pray, and avoid situations and people who could trigger a relapse.

Today I will not take my sobriety for granted. I will give thanks for everything and everyone who will help me maintain my sobriety for another day.

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

God give us a mind that can or can’t believe, but not even God can make us believe. . . . You have to believe first before you can pray.

~ Harriet Arnow ~

Sometimes it’s difficult to focus on our Higher Power after a hard day at work, after an argument with a loved one, after the frustrating experience of a flat tire, long bank line, or after any of the other nuisances that are part of each and every day. “Why me?” we may cry out in frustration. On a day like today, it may be easier to believe that a Power greater than ourselves is out to get us.

But God does not choose sides. We have not been singled out for punishment. God is on our side, if we only choose to open our hearts and believe that.

As we reflect back on the events of the day, we need to remember the times we asked God for help and the times we didn’t. And we need to believe first—before we pray tonight—that God is there to help us every minute of every day.

Did I ask my Higher Power for help today, or did I decide to “go it alone”? Which do I choose to do tonight?

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

Seeing the good

The beauty of our souls shines in many ways: The greatest of these is love. In the spirit of loving kindness, every day a little ugliness is removed; our perspective on life grows broader and deeper.

In the spirit of love, our lives become fresher, our souls humbler; evil seems to disappear, and we learn to distinguish sinner from the sin.

Do I see the good in people?

Higher Power, let me walk in your love and see the good in all things.

Today I will look for the good in

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

This disease is like an elevator going down; you can get off at any floor.

~ WOMAN IN RECOVERY ~

Newcomer

What does it mean to say, “I’ve hit bottom”? People seem to mean different things by it. I’ve heard some who have been homeless, others who have lived luxuriously. And a whole lot of people seem to have had pretty ordinary lives with typical human problems.

Sponsor

I’ve heard it said that if you stay in recovery, your story gets worse as time goes on. For me, that means that as I cleared up and listened to recovering people tell about their lives, I gradually remembered more about my own: places I’d forgotten my addiction had brought me to. Actual places, yes—but even more important, places in my soul. Feelings of uselessness and despair, feelings that somehow, somewhere, I’d lost the dreams I’d once had for my life. Whether you and I consumed the same quantity of what we’re addicted to, whether we had trust funds or were living on the street, spiritually we arrived at the same place. Instead of comparing my story with yours, I think about what, exactly, brought me here. No one gets here by mistake.

Today, I remember what got me here. I know that I’m in the right place.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

We alcoholics were saved from un-numbered deaths in our drinking days and preserved for a purpose that only we could accomplish. God has His way of doing things and He selects people to be the instrumentality through which He works.

If you fail to fulfill your appointed function, then just that much of God’s work goes undone until He finds another instrument through which to work.

You were not dragged from the gutter so that you might be able to enter your home and lounge before an open fire in ease. God saved you because He had work for you to do. Go do it.

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

1) There is a big difference between being a mistake and making one.

2) Be yourself today. You are perfect for the part.

3) Sobriety is not for people who need it, it’s for people who want it.

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

Changes

Today I pray that I may understand there are some things I cannot change:
I cannot change the weather.
I cannot change the tick of the clock.
I cannot change the past.
I cannot change another person against his or her will.
I cannot change what is right and wrong.
I cannot change the fact that a relationship ended.
I can stop worrying over that which I cannot change and enjoy living more! I can place those things into the hands of my Higher Power. Save energy. Let go. Instead of trying to change someone else:
I can change my attitude.
I can change my list of priorities.
I can change my bad habits into good ones.
I can move from the place of brokenness into wholeness, in the beautiful person God created me to become.

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

HALLOWED BE THY NAME

If we trace the derivation of the word hallowed we will discover a most extraordinarily interesting significant fact. The word hallowed has the same meaning as holy, whole, wholesome, and heal, or healed; so we see that the nature of God is not merely worthy of our veneration, but is complete and perfect—altogether good. Some very remarkable consequences follow from this. We have agreed that an effect must be similar in its nature to its cause, and so, because the nature of God is hallowed, everything that follows from that Cause must be hallowed or perfect too. Just as a rosebush cannot produce lilies, so God cannot cause or send anything but perfect good. As the Bible says, “The same fountain cannot send forth both sweet and bitter water.” From this it follows that God cannot, as people sometimes think, send sickness or trouble, or accidents—much less death—for these things are unlike His nature. “Hallowed be thy name” means “Thy nature is altogether good and Thou art the author only of perfect good.” Of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity.

If you think that God has sent any of your difficulties to you, for no matter how good a reason, you are giving power to your troubles, and this makes it very difficult to get rid of them.

Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on antiquity . . . (Habakkuk 1:13)

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

Get Outside

Climb the mountains and get their good tidings. Nature’s peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees. The winds will blow their own freshness into you, and the storms their energy, while cares will drop away from you like the leaves of Autumn.

~ John Muir ~

One winter day while I was with some friends, I began to feel depressed and anxious. My friend Tom noticed my condition and suggested, “Why don’t you take a walk outside?” I continued to stew in my own juices, and later Tom offered again, “I’ll bet you’d feel better if you took a little walk.” Again I did not heed his suggestion, and my tailspin become worse. Finally, he said, “I know you’d regain your perspective if you just got outside.” Then I listened. I went to a little park where I walked around a crystalline ice-covered pond. I breathed the cold air deep into my lungs and felt the blood coursing through my veins. The stark beauty of winter was wondrously invigorating, and I returned to my friends feeling healed and renewed.

Nature is the great healer. Many of the ailments that plague our society stem from the way we have alienated ourselves from nature. We live in little boxes piled high atop one another, breathe fecund air from auto and chimney exhausts, eat food tainted by artificial chemicals, and sit at desks in front of computer monitors for many hours a day. Then we wonder why we do not feel well.

Even small doses of nature will begin to restore our sense of balance, wonder, and aliveness. I love to walk in the mountains, swim in the ocean, and enjoy the warm blessing of the sun. I am a spiritual being, and I honor my body as a friend and vehicle to feel the presence of God.

Choose an aspect of nature that you love, and immerse yourself in the world that God created. Nature will heal you.

Help me return to my source. Thank you for the beauty of nature, which feeds my soul.

I am healed by the natural world.

[majestyjo]

February 7

Step by Step

Today, be not too eager to “Let Go and Let God.” In whatever needs to be handed over to my Higher Power, there may be something I must learn about myself before – and if – I let it go. If something I think is bad and is causing me feelings I don’t want to feel, I may need another Fourth or at least a 10th step to ask if the problem is ME, not the situation or another person. And if the problem is me, I need to determine why. If the issue is someone or something else, I must ask God for His will and if the matter is something that I should and must confront instead of taking the “easy out” by letting it go. Today, I ask God for the wisdom to know the difference between dealing with something painful but which might give me growth – and expecting Him to do what He wants ME to handle. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

THE NOW

Yesterday is gone; forget it. Tomorrow never comes; don’t worry. Today is here; get busy.

~ Anonymous ~

When we live in the now, for this day only, one day at a time, we assure ourselves a comfortable reality. We cannot afford to regret the past. Solutions that worked for yesterday’s problems might be obsolete today.

Thinking into the future is projection, an act of purely wishful thinking that is a waste of precious time for growth. The time we spend “projecting” is time wasted. The future is never what we project it to be. Instead of spending time thinking about the future in the present, we can be spending time making the present better.

The only thing that emerges from thinking about the negative parts of our past is guilt and shame. The only thing that emerges from thinking about our future is fear of the unknown. We can eliminate guilt, shame, and fear from our present lives by dealing only with the present.

Today I will spend each moment in the here and now, making the present better.

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

You don’t get harmony when everybody sing the same note.

~ Doug Floyd ~

A tradition of our healing program is that we put principles above personalities. When we encounter a diverse group of people, we find some with whom we feel an immediate affinity and closeness, and others we don’t particularly like. But we can learn something valuable from both types. Whether at our workplace, at our place of worship, or in our Twelve Step meetings, the diversity of a group enriches everyone. The wisdom of two or three is greater than the closed loop in our own individual mind.

Sometimes it takes a while to arrive at that wisdom. The Twelve Steps were created by a group of people trying to formulate a set of suggestions that they had found effective as a path of recovery. They disagreed and debated over how to express that set of steps. What they created was better than what any one of them could have done alone. The groups we are in have the same spiritual creative process working for our own recovery. So we listen to the harmony created by the wisdom of our group. Even when we don’t like what we hear, we continue the dialogue and we grow through it.

Today I am grateful for the harmony created by the diversity of people in my life.

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

To gain maturity I need to become acquainted with all aspects of myself.

~ Maureen Brady ~

Learning about ourselves is often likened to peeling an onion. We’ve grown layer on top of layer, sometimes for the purpose of protecting ourselves. None of us came from the perfect home. We’ve learned there is no such thing. We’ve all experienced injuries, some physical, some emotional, and we’ve figured out how to handle these hurts and go on with our lives. To be really healthy, however, we have to unlearn many of the cures that seemed effective in the past.

Delving into our psyches to discover who we really are can be intimidating. Fortunately we have the Fourth Step to guide our efforts. Let’s not lament who we became in our struggle to grow up. Instead, let’s accept that we did the best we could. And with the help of this program, we can become who we want to be.

I write my script today. Who I choose to be is in my power. My past performance doesn’t determine my present personality.

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

I can admit my dual problems

At times before recovery, I was losing control over my moods and over my life. I felt like I was coming apart. One week I felt on top of the world, the next month I was in the gutter. It didn’t help that I kept drinking through it all. I was afraid, I was in danger, and I didn’t know where to turn.

I threatened suicide—spent two nights in a locked ward—and got a clue. At rock bottom, I realized there was only one way left to go. First, I admitted to myself that I no longer had control over my life. Then, I admitted this fact to another person: I asked for help. In doing so, I had taken the first Step.

I will humbly share my Step One story and talk about the relief, freedom, and strength of admitting (and accepting) my dual illness.

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

I’ve got four things to live by: don’t say nothing that will hurt anybody; don’t give advice, nobody will take it anyway; don’t complain; don’t explain.

~ Edward “Death Valley Scotty” Scott ~

Learning to mind our own business is one of life’s trickiest lessons. Often, we may find ourselves in the role of “master fixer,” feeling we are responsible for other people instead of being responsible to them. Putting our foot into the middle of someone else’s life we can get our toes stepped on as we discover that most people relish directing their own lives. It’s hard at first to step back and let others make their own decisions, especially if we feel we know what’s best for them. But letting others tend their own lives frees us to take care of ourselves.

In giving our loved ones back the reins of their lives we must trust that they know what’s the best for them and that they’ll do the best they can. Our negative comments and critiques are, in fact, just another form of control.

When we live and let others live we create breathing room. We have more room for ourselves and for others.

Today let me live my own life and allow others the right to live theirs.

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

All growth is a leap in the dark, a spontaneous unpremeditated act without benefit of experience.

~ Henry Miller ~

From time to time you may move through the day with little energy or interest, as if on automatic pilot—taking the same route to work, eating the same meals, attending the same meetings, or spending time with the same people. You may ask, “Where am I going in my life?” But a more productive question is, “Where am I growing in my life?”

Although familiar routines provide comfort, they can prevent you from experiencing new challenges, excitement, and opportunities for change and growth. Doing something new or different every once in a while can help you break out of the rut of your daily grind and give you something new to think or talk about.

Today, strive to experience something new and different in your life. Take a new route to work. Stop at a different coffee shop. Strike up a conversation with some-one you do not know at a meeting. Accept an invitation to dinner. Such experiences can spark a new interest in your life and stimulate you into a new way of thinking, feeling, and acting.

The goal of doing something new is awareness, not anxiety. Today I will be open to new experiences and view them as a source of challenge, novelty, and excitement.

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

Do not consider any thing for your interest which makes you break your word, quit your modesty, or inclines you to any practice which will not bear the light, or look the world in the face.

~ Marcus Antonius ~

Being honest with ourselves and others may be difficult for us. Honesty does not always mean telling the truth. Honesty can also mean knowing our limitations so we don’t make promises we can’t keep. It can mean letting our actions support our statements. It can mean living for today and not becoming wrapped up in the promises of tomorrow.

How do we feel when people are dishonest? No matter who they are, we probably lose a little trust in them. We doubt their word and don’t depend upon them for support. When we are less than honest with others, they may feel the same about us.

Dishonesty may be a quick fix at that moment, but it will never provide a solid foundation for the future. Instead, we can try to be more honest with our abilities and limitations. Honest people attract those who respect them for their honesty.

I can be honest with myself and others about the events of the day and my part in them.

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

Avoiding compulsiveness

Being compulsive people, once we leave the alcohol and other drugs behind, we want our dreams fulfilled now. But when we first get into recovery, all we have is potential. Fulfillment is not realized immediately; rather it is something we work toward.

Each day we must work on our lives with what we know today. Gradually we will grow closer toward our ideal. (Recovery is a process.) But we won’t get anywhere if we try forcing ourselves into situations we are not ready for. God sets the pace.

Have I stopped being compulsive?

Higher Power, I pray for the patience to live today with what I have and what I know.

I will avoid being compulsive today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Every new moment that arises in your life can now be a point of choice…in which you can choose to treat yourself and others with Compassion rather than Judgment.

~ DAVID HARP ~

Newcomer

I wince every time I hear the words “God as we understood Him” and “Higher Power.” When meetings close with the Lord’s Prayer, I feel like I’m being railroaded. I don’t fit into the same religious slot that other people seem to take for granted.

Sponsor

All of us qualify to be here, but not because of any religious identification or belief. Most of us are tolerant of differences, but, being human, some of us forget that not everyone shares the same religious context. Whatever an individual member has to say about the role of his or her Higher Power, the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop using the addictive substance that got us here.

Once I heard a member say, “This meeting is my church.” I’m glad that notion works for her. By the same token, I’ve always been grateful that this program is not a church—otherwise, I might have to rebel against it! We’re not required to subscribe to a particular set of religious beliefs or rituals. In recovery, each of us is free to explore what we believe.

Today, I respect others’ rights to their beliefs, just as I respect my own. I bring my love of openness, inclusiveness, and harmony with me wherever I go.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

You want the world to be better? Then be better yourself. True, you are only one individual in a thickly populated world, but your life touches hundreds of others and each of those touches hundreds more. Who knows how far the influence of one smile travels or where a word of wisdom will take root? Even should your influence for good extend no further than your own skin, there will be at least one less rogue in the world.

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

1) FOG: Fear Of God

2) Don’t “Should” on yourself.

3) Better living through denial.

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

Take Time

Today I pray that I can:
Take time to think.
It is the source of power.
Take time to play.
It is the secret of perpetual youth.
Take time to read.
It is the fountain of wisdom.
Take time to pray.
It is the greatest power on earth.
Take time to be friendly.
It is the road to happiness.
Take time to laugh.
It is the music of the soul.
Take time to give.
It is too short a day to be selfish.
Take time to work.
It is the price of success.
Take time to do charity.
It is the key to heaven.

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

THY KINGDOM COME

Thy kingdom come (Matthew 6:10)

Man being manifestation or expression of God has a limitless destiny before him. His work is to express, in concrete definite form, the abstract ideas with which God furnishes him, and in order to do this, he must have creative power. Elsewhere, he would be merely a machine through which God worked—an automaton. But man, having the nature of his Father, remains a creator. Notice the word creator means undivided. The consciousness of man is not separated from God’s consciousness.

“Thy kingdom come” means that it is our duty to be ever occupied in helping to establish; the Kingdom of God on earth. That is to say, our work is to bring more upon this plane. That is what we are here for. The old saying, “God has a plan for every man, and he has one for you,” is quite correct.

If only you will find out the thing God intends you to do, and will do it, you will find that all doors will open to you; all obstacles in your path will melt away; you will be acclaimed a brilliant success; you will be most liberally rewarded from the monetary point of view; and you will be gloriously happy.

There is a true place in life for each one of us, upon the attainment of which we shall be completely happy, and perfectly secure. On the other hand, until we do find our true place we never shall be either happy or secure, not matter what other things we may have. Our true place is the one place where we can bring the Kingdom of God into manifestation, and truly say, “Thy kingdom cometh.”

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

Buy a Ticket

Pray devoutly, hammer stoutly.

~ English proverb ~

Every day Ralph prayed to God to help him win the lottery. Each week when he didn’t win, Ralph became more and more frustrated, and he grew angry at God. Finally in exasperation, Ralph went to church, stood before the altar, shook his fist, and railed, “If you are a true God, how can you say that prayer works? I have been praying for a long time to win the lottery, and now I have less money than when I started! Why have you not helped me? ”

Suddenly, a deep voice from above the altar boomed, “The least you could do, Ralph, is buy a lottery ticket!”

God is delighted to answer our prayers, but we must act in accordance with our intentions. We cannot expect to sit around and do nothing while God dances for us. We must dream with our feet moving. God can do no more for you than It can do through you. Manifestation is a co-creative enterprise. You are not expected to do it all yourself (indeed you cannot), but do not expect God to do it all for you. “On earth as it is in heaven” means that we act with the authority of God, even on the physical plane. Vision is the key, but action is that hand that turns it to unlock the door.

I offer you my hands, feet, heart, mind, and voice to manifest your love on earth. Together we can do anything.

I act in accordance with my vision, and Spirit manifests blessings through me.