Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - February

[bluidkiti]

February 18

Step by Step

Today, LOYALTY as a responsibility to sobriety, the program and everyone who follows it. From them – sobriety, the program and the people who comprise its fellowship – I have been given a gift. But no gift is completely free. To keep it while passing it on requires maintenance – and with maintenance comes loyalty, and respect of that gift. Today, I will be loyal to my sobriety and the steps and principles needed to develop my sobriety by not drinking or using, by answering the call if someone needing help reaches out. Today, I will not engage in the conduct of the character defects I seek to release to my Higher Power. I will act with loyalty and respect to everyone who, like me, has come to the program to work for a rebirth. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

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

THE THIRD PROMISE

We will comprehend the word serenity and know peace.

~ Big Book ~

When we read this Promise, we nod our heads eagerly. When we first decided to shake the bondage of addiction through the love, encouragement, deep concern, and help from newfound friends, we knew what serenity felt like. A life of serenity and security comes naturally when we realize that all those who preceded us in our Fellowship have not only had the same problems, but have found solutions which they willingly pass on to us.

Peace of mind is new to us. Serenity becomes refreshing and comfortable as we realize we are free men and women and come to admit to ourselves that we have experienced a miracle.

With that awareness, we find true belief. With abstinence comes mental clarity. Serenity gives us a perfect climate in which spiritual progress can grow.

I am free to seek that precious peace of mind that can mature within me. I live daily with the familiar Serenity Prayer.

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

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

All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

~ Julian of Norwich ~

Some mornings we wake with anxiety, fretting over the future or the state of our lives. Not many things we do will change the direction of events in the future. Our fears for our safety and well-being may be based more on habit than reality, and our desires for control only feed frustration.

To restore calm we can turn to the care of our Higher Power. We do that in our deep meditation, taking a few minutes alone in a quiet, undisturbed, and safe place. We can breathe slowly and deeply, allowing the chair or the floor to hold our body as we allow our Higher Power to hold us. Repeating in our minds today’s opening quote, we find calm settling over us.

Today I accept that all will be well.

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

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

The more I force things, the tougher my life.

~ Helen Neujahr ~

Are we driven to control? Perhaps we wonder if trying to control other people is part of the human condition. We’ve probably surrounded ourselves with controlling people, particularly if our friends share our disease. However, not every person alive has to control, and that means we can lessen our stranglehold. But how?

Understanding where our need to control came from is a beginning. Most of us, at least before recovery, were insecure. We wanted to protect ourselves from abandonment, ridicule, physical and emotional harm. The only way we knew to do that was to insist others fulfill our needs. We strengthened, day by day, a trait that hinders us now.

What can save us is acceptance of the first three Steps. Ultimately, we can’t control others, so why try? Turning to our Higher Power can relieve us of our obsession, and that Power, if we’ll let it, will direct our every move. The solution is simple— simple, that is, if we’re not too complicated to follow it!

I don’t need to control anyone today. I am not insecure just as long as I let my Higher Power take charge of my affairs.

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

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

I am preparing to make amends

It is hard for me to think about facing the people I’ve harmed through my addiction. I imagine that I will suddenly lose the strength to tell them I’m sorry, to tell them I want to make amends. I am afraid they won’t accept me or my offer.

Yet I must try. Because in listening to my fellow members talk about the Steps, I am learning how important it is to be free of the past. I see how releasing myself from guilt is critical to staying sober and stable. I am glad that I have taken my time in working the first eight Steps, because to do Step Nine, I will need all the courage (and all the humility) I can muster.

When I feel strong enough in my dual recovery, I will ask my sponsor for extra support as I begin to make amends to people I have harmed.

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

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

First you make your bed.

~ Joan Ebbitt ~

Active addiction creates total chaos in our lives. Even in early recovery, when drug use or other addictive behavior has ended, chaos still reigns. Living an ordinary life does not come easily when for years we’ve lived otherwise. That’s the bad news: order doesn’t return automatically.

The good news is that order will return and chaos will end with time and effort. One answer to the first question, “Where do I start?” is “First you make your bed.” Literally and figuratively, this is a good place to start. We may not straighten out the whole room, let alone the whole house, but at least the habit of making the bed is the beginning of some kind of order. Something is in place. The rest will follow.

We can start small, and build. With time, effort, and patience, and the help of our Higher Power, who guides us as we grow in confidence, order will return. We’ve already seen it starting to happen.

Today help me bring order to my life. Help me be patient with this process.

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

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

I only went out for a walk, and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.

~ John Muir ~

When your mind, body, and spirit are troubled, going out into nature can help you work through some of the difficulties in your life and reconnect with yourself in meaningful ways. Sometimes all you really need to feel better on the inside is to hear the sounds of the great outdoors and breathe in the fresh air.

The best way to begin to connect with nature is to take a slow, meditative walk around your neighborhood. Notice how different the month of February looks from the month of July. Feel the ground beneath your feet. Breathe in deeply and savor the air. Hear the sound your feet make as they connect with the ground. Hear the birds.

Then turn and retrace your steps, watching for things you overlooked the first time. Think or say out loud, “I am one with the sun. I am one with the trees. I am one with the wind. I am one with the birds. I am one with the universe. Because of all these things, I am one with myself in id my Higher Power.”

Today I will connect with nature so I can deepen my spirituality and strengthen my connection to myself.

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

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

Be glad you can suffer, be glad you can feel. . . . How can you tell if you’re feeling good unless you’ve felt bad, so you have something to compare it with?

~ Thomas Tryon ~

How many times have we come home at the end of a day ranting and raving about how horrible the day was? Or perhaps our spouse, lover, roommate, or child has carried home the burden of a bad day. How can we feel good when the day has felt so bad?

First, we have to change our way of thinking. We need to apply the old saying “opposites attract” to those times of stress and unhappiness. We wouldn’t know how to smile if we didn’t know how to frown. We wouldn’t know how to cry if we didn’t know how to laugh. We wouldn’t even know when we were sick if we didn’t already know what it feels like to be well.

By knowing how things feel—both the good and the bad—we can be more aware of ourselves. If today was bad, it’s okay to let it go now and know there will be days that will be good.

Higher Power, help me to let go of the bad feelings of the day. Help me to feel grateful for today, no matter how it has been.

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

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

Praying by acting

There is more to prayer than just kneeling at night and folding our hands. Thoughts of love can be prayers. Feelings of gratitude can be prayers. Prayers can be seen in a smile, a gesture, and even an action not done.

Joy surging through our bodies is a prayer. Caring for a child is a form of prayer. Many times, no matter what the position of our bodies, our soul is on its knees.

Do I express prayer in all that I do?

Higher Power, help me pray throughout the day, knowing that your goodness abounds in me.

Today I will make prayers of my actions by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

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

Body and Spirit are twins.

~ ALGERNON SWINBURNE ~

Newcomer

I want to be responsible, and I’m trying to clear up the paperwork and phone calls I’m behind in, and the messes I’ve made. But I can hardly sit still. I start feeling a sensation of pressure in my chest and throat. I worry that I could be having a heart attack.

Sponsor

When I first entered recovery, I didn’t realize what a profound impact the substances I’d been using had had on my central nervous system. Cleansing my body of their effects, rebuilding my strength, and restoring balance took time. I was anxious all the time, and my nerves were shot. For me, a checkup by a medical professional familiar with the effects of addiction was reassuring and informative. In my case—and this was just for me—I needed nutritional supplements and regular exercise. But I still felt scared and sad a lot of the time.

Feelings are a part of life. We don’t have to “fix” them; they’re just feelings. They pass through us without harming us, if we let them. As we go through the work of early recovery, it’s not unusual for intense emotions to arise. They seem to flow more easily when we share them with others. If chores seem daunting, we can work on them a little bit at a time. It’s okay to ask for help.

My body, mind, and spirit are going through huge changes as I recover. Today, I share my feelings. I request and accept help.

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

~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The Program is often referred to as a Selfish Program and it is primarily that. Jesus of Nazareth told us to “Love our neighbors AS ourselves.” We are supposed to love ourselves, and in so doing we should give to ourselves all the happiness we can. We have found out, however, by practical application, that we can only receive happiness if we give happiness.

We should fulfill all our duties to our families, to our communities, and to our neighbors so that we can keep in the good graces of our own conscience for that is the only avenue of approach to happiness and peace of mind.

If you really love that guy in the mirror, you must of necessity love your Creator and your neighbor.

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

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

1) Feel good about yourself by serving others.

2) The more you have on the inside, the less you need on the outside.

3) GMC: God Made Coincidences

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

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

Lead Me and Guide Me

Almighty God, I humbly pray,
Lead me and guide me through this day.
Cast out my selfishness and sin,
Open my heart to let You in.
Help me now as I blindly stray
Over the pitfalls along the way.
Let me have courage to face each task,
Invest me with patience and love, I ask.
Care for me through each hour today,
Strengthen and guard me now, I pray.

As I forgive, forgive me too,
Needing Your mercy as I do.
Oh, give me Your loving care,
Never abandon me to despair.
Yesterday’s wrongs I would seek to right,
Make me more perfect in Your sight.
Oh, teach me to live as best I can,
Use me to help my fellowman.
Save me from acts of bitter shame,
I humbly ask it in Your name.

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

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

LEAD US NOT INTO TEMPTATION

Lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil (Matthew 6:13).

Many earnest people feel that God could not lead anyone into temptation in any circumstances, and that Jesus could not have said what he is represented to have said, and so some other phrasing is sought more in accordance with the general tone of his teaching. All this, however, is unnecessary.

The facts are these—the more you pray, the more sensitive you become, and the more powerful are your prayers. Buy you also become susceptible to forms of temptation that simply do not beset those at an earlier stage. Subtle and powerful temptations await; temptations to work for self-glory, for personal distinction; temptation to personal preferences other than perfect impartiality. Beyond all other temptations the deadly sin of spiritual pride. Many who have surmounted all the other testings have lapsed into self-righteousness that has fallen like a curtain of steel between them and God.

Some old writers were so vividly sensible of these dangers that they have spoken of the soul as being challenged by various tests as it traversed the upward road. The traveler was halted at various turnpike bars, and tested by some ordeal to determine whether he were ready to advance any further. If he succeeded in passing the test he was allowed to continue upon his way with the blessings of the challenger.

Now, some less experienced souls, eager for rapid advancement, have rashly desired to be subjected immediately to all kinds of tests, and have even looked about, seeking for difficulties to overcome. Forgetting our Lord’s injunction,

Thou Shalt not tempt the Lord thy God (Matthew 4:7),

They have virtually challenged him to give them difficulties. And so Jesus has inserted this clause, in which we pray that we may not have to meet anything that is too much for us at the present level of our understanding.

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

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

Supposed to Stink

You desire to know the art of living, my friend?…
Make use of suffering.

~ Henri F. Amiel ~

As I lifted the lid off my compost container, my nose was assaulted by the acrid aroma of rotting food. “Argh!” I recoiled, “That really stinks!” Then an inner voice reminded me, “It’s supposed to stink.” Of course it is. If rotten food wasn’t repulsive, we might eat it and get sick. The obnoxious smell is nature’s way of keeping us away from what would hurt us.

In life, too, nature tries to repulse us from what would hurt us. Whenever we experience pain, conflict, antagonism, or frustration, the universe is, in effect, sending us the message, ‘This is not the way you are supposed to be doing it. Try another way.”

Stubborn as we humans can be, we sometimes put up with rotten smells for a long time for all the wrong reasons. Many of us tolerate dysfunctional relationships, addictive behaviors, abusive business situations, and noxious health conditions that undermine us every time we participate in them. We convince ourselves that it is noble to put up with pain, or “one day he will change,” or “next week I will talk to my boss.” Meanwhile, we deny the message the universe is trying to communicate: Do it differently so you can be happy and healthy.

If a rat learns to maneuver through a maze to get to some cheese, and then the cheese is taken away, the rat will go through the maze a few more times, but soon it realizes that there is no further reward in the journey. Unlike the rat, we may go down a dead-end maze many times, still hoping that somehow the cheese will be there. The real cheese lies in honoring ourselves to live in the light. We must tell the truth about our pain so we can extricate ourselves from it. There is a better way. Love yourself enough to claim it.

Speak to me so clearly that I fully recognize the message You are sending.

I claim my right to live in light without pain.