Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - August

[bluidkiti]

August 31

Step by Step

Today, Step 11 to answer honestly if I have "Sought through prayer and meditation to improve (my) conscious contact with God as (I) understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for (me) and the power to carry that out." Simply acknowledging a higher power and looking to Him as a guide through recovery is not enough. We must also seek what He requires of us and the knowledge and power to do what He wants of us. Why is the 11th Step important to both the early and later stages of recovery? In seeking our higher power's will for us, we are getting away from one of our most dangerous and contributory spiritual afflictions - selfishness. We dare not risk what progress we have made or seek by holding onto those poisonous character and spiritual defects like selfishness, anger, hate and bitterness that will undermine either the quality of recovery or sobriety itself. Today, seek through prayer and meditation the will of our higher power, not ours. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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

PATIENCE

Our patience will achieve more than our force.

~ Edmund Burke ~

"Easy Does It" is a slogan and a philosophy of all 12 Step Groups. Those who seek success in the Program are advised to resist being hasty and to be willing to wait. When we mature and solutions to our problems appear, we can take action. Then who we are and what we do will be lasting.

Waiting patiently and carefully is not procrastinating. Every moment we spend learning is an investment in the knowledge that we have found the right answers.

Self-doubt can cause us to put things off. But all we need is to be willing to turn it over to our Higher Power. Accepting this does not mean that we rush blindly into action. It means we also become willing to wait for our Higher Power's direction in all things. Waiting or even just having a willingness to wait is action.

I'm no longer rushing around in "the fast lane." With acceptance and willingness, I can now tell the difference between what is and what is not. Easy does it.

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

Solitude is the furnace of transformation.

~ Henri Nouwen ~

In solitude we quietly unwrap the honesty that is deep within us. Sitting in the company of just ourselves and God, we gradually realize that no one else is observing us and the image we present. Solitude may throw us into some confusion at first, or some discomfort. We might feel pushed to escape, to get out of there into a place with some action and distractions. Transformation is frightening because it is a process that we do not fully control. We can block it, or stop it, but if we allow it to progress, it is controlled by our deeper honesty and by the spirit of a Higher Power.

We can make a simple decision that we will enter the experience of solitude. We can do that for a few minutes every day in a special place we set aside, or we can set aside several days of retreat. However, we cannot create our own transformation by a simple decision. Our solitude prepares us and softens the guards we have set against the frightening process of transformation. And as we are ready, change and growth arrives.

Today I will open myself through moments of solitude.

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

It took me years to get this way. I can’t expect to change in just one day.

~ Jill Clark ~

Now that we are sober, it’s not unusual to expect everything to be perfect overnight. Placing unreasonable demands on ourselves is symptomatic of our disease. We are filled with shame for all the time we have wasted and all the people we have disappointed. We feel we must make up for all our transgressions at once so we can get on with our lives. But we can get on with life anyway. Simply deciding to change one thing is a significant Step in the right direction.

Consistently working on a behavior we want to change promises us immense rewards, but until we try it, we doubt that it will work. Fortunately, if we go to enough meetings, we’ll learn from the stories of our friends. They have experienced profound changes in their lives. We can have what they have found. It’s guaranteed.

I can change any part of me that I really want to. Today is as good a day as any to begin the process.

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

I am learning to say yes

Living with both addiction and emotional illness, I see that I have many issues to deal with. When things don't go my way or when I don’t get my needs met, I quickly feel hurt, frustrated, angry. Sometimes I even feel mistreated. Sometimes I ask, Why me?

But as I grow in dual recovery I am slowly learning acceptance, to say yes. I am learning to accept who I am and what happens to me—to say yes to it—whether to stress, symptoms, or setbacks. When I say yes, I let go—and the moment I let go, I am stronger.

I will write out a reminder to myself that reads, "Yes. This is the way it is. I will be OK."

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

In order to arrive at possessing everything, desire to possess nothing.

~ St. John of the Cross ~

Expectations can cause havoc in our daily living. We all have a basic right to be treated with dignity and respect, but that doesn’t mean life will always go our way. The twists and turns of life often carry us up rivers of disappointment to shores we never chose to visit.

Facing life as fully involved travelers, without expectations about outcomes, is perhaps the brightest way to travel. Making plans without setting up for certain outcomes makes us flexible people who learn to go with the flow. It has been said that there is a direct proportion between our level of expectation and the amount of stress we have in our lives. Trusting the results to a larger plan allows us to relax and enjoy the adventure of the journey.

As we grow closer to our Higher Power, we find we can let go. We are more peaceful and confident, less frantic and controlling. Trusting that our Higher Power will protect us, no matter what we encounter on our journey, helps us face the future with a calm and loving heart.

Today let me relax into life and let go of my expectations.

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

Even when we know what is right, too often we fail to act... putting off the unpleasant and unpopular.

~ Bernard M. Baruch ~

Recovery increases your awareness of the ways in which you have hurt or harmed others. This includes reflecting on those times when you have inflicted physical, emotional, and spiritual pain. Because of this, Step Eight presents you with realizations that can lead to shame and asks you to face up to it.

The first part of Step Eight asks you to identify those people you have harmed, but this list represents only the beginning of your work. It is the second part—being willing to make amends to those you have harmed—that requires greater insight and contemplation. Writing down a name is not the same as remembering that you hit or yelled at this person in anger, that you repeatedly lied to this person, or that you caused this person to feel incredible sadness. You may see these images in your head and want to simply erase them forever. But you cannot.

Your willingness to make amends must be heartfelt, which means that you must go further than simply saying, “I’m sorry” How did your actions affect each person on your list? What harm did you cause? The more clearly you can identify those things, the more willing you can he to make amends.

I accept the challenges presented to me in Step Eight.

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

The secret of being miserable is to have the leisure to bother about whether you are happy or not.

~ George Bernard Shaw ~

How much time do we spend thinking about our problems, our pasts, our miseries? We may spend a great deal of time feeling negative feelings. We may even find ourselves thinking miserably in happy, fun situations.

How much time we spend alone may have a direct bearing on time spent thinking miserable thoughts and feeling miserable about our lives and ourselves. Until we can spend time alone with positive feelings, we may need to depend a great deal on others to spend time with us. We need to change our belief that we will never be happy. To do that, we need to learn from others that things do get better. Tonight, it is up to us to spend our time with good thoughts of including others in our lives. This is the antidote to misery.

Tonight I can choose to be miserable or happy. I can plan some positive actions to avoid misery by including friends and the program in my life.

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

Accepting misfortune

We all know that misfortune, great or small, is a part of life. But what we may not realize is that it involves both defeat and victory.

The defeat involves knowing that we can’t change the results; the victory involves letting go of control and knowing that our Higher Power will always help us carry our burdens.

Am I learning to accept misfortune?

Higher Power, help me to accept the fact that there is great mystery in life.

Today I will work on accepting my misfortune by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn’t.

~ ERICA JONG ~

Newcomer

There's someone I tried to help, earlier in my recovery. She called me again recently and told me a long story about how hard it was for her to stay sober; how difficult her life was. I mentioned meetings again, and she promised to come to one, but then went on talking. I’m exhausted from staying up late listening to her.

Sponsor

Trying to reason with someone on a binge does neither them nor us any good. When we sense that we're letting someone who's active pull us around and around on his or her merry-go-round, it's probably the disease that’s in charge of the conversation.

Some people are genuinely drawn to recovery but just aren't ready to commit to it. No matter how good our intentions, there's nothing we can do to hurry their process. Some people use our desire to be helpful to manipulate us; if they can keep us listening, they don’t have to change.

We stop engaging in this process by detaching from argument about their many objections. We put it simply: Recovery is now the center of change in our lives. They’re always welcome to come to a meeting and try it out, if they want what we have.

Today, I don't cajole anyone to try recovery. I'm available to people who want what I have.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

It is a constant source of amazement to some of the Old-Timers to answer a call for help from some alcoholic and to find that the person in trouble is a neighbor, relative, friend or fellow employee of a member of AA.

It sometimes happens that the new man preferred it that way as he would rather discuss the matter with a stranger than someone near him.

It is also true that some of us are not quick to grasp the opportunities to pass the Message along. If you see a man is beyond his depth and can't swim, why should you wait for him to yell for help? He might be deaf and dumb.

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

1) You can speak your mind here. Nobody is paying attention anyway.

2) Sarcasim is derived from a Greek word meaning to "tear flesh!"

3) It's a 24 hour program.

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

Reason for Hope

God of hope and serenity, I sing for joy because You have given me hope and serenity as I demonstrate the principles of our Program in my life. My world is sometimes full of problems, yet You give me reason for hope. I have come to You today to surrender my will to Your unfailing wisdom. Give me wisdom as I go out to my places of daily life. Teach me and guide me as I deal with problems, real or imagined. Thank You. Your will (not mine) be done.

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

DWELLING ON SHINAR

The story of the tower of Babel begins by saying that the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. That is to say, there was unity of thought and expression. Your faith was firm and dynamic. Then you allowed your consciousness to fall. And it carne to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar; and they dwelt there (Genesis 11:2). The plain means any kind of negative thinking in contradistinction to the hill or mountain, which stands for prayer or spiritual insight. The Bible mentions that they dwelt on the plain (or in that state of mind). It is not an occasional negative thought that does the harm, it is the thought or the false belief that is dwelt upon that causes your trouble.

Habitual wrong thinking, false beliefs, long entertained, build up a conviction, both conscious and subconscious that we have to rely upon, ourselves, Of course, nothing could be more discouraging than such an idea, and in its turn it produces more fear.

In the parable these people got the absurd idea that they could reach Heaven (regain harmony) by building a material tower. This describes that sense of insecurity and apprehension that has always beset the greater part of mankind because they have not realized the Presence and Power of God, and their essential unity with Him.

Then the account says that the Lord scattered the people abroad, and confounded their language so that they could not understand one another’s speech. The confusion of tongues is a graphic description of the state of mind of those who have not yet begun to center their lives on God, for only fear and chaos can come to them until they do.

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

One More Shot

When things go wrong, don't go with them.

~ Anonymous ~

Frustrated and disheartened, the budding author threw his manuscript into the wastebasket. His latest rejection felt like the last straw, and he decided that his search for a publisher was fruitless. That night, his wife noticed the discarded manuscript, and she picked it out of the trash and cleaned it off. She believed in her husband and his work, and she was not about to see him give up. In the morning, she placed it before him at the breakfast table and told him, "Norman, don't quit now. You have a lot to offer; somehow you will get published."

The writer was Norman Vincent Peale, and the manuscript was The Power of Positive Thinking, which went on to become one of the most successful inspirational classics in history. The book has changed millions of lives, offering hope and motivation to people all over the world.

Sometimes the universe tests us with rejection; life asks us if we are confident enough in ourselves and our creations to keep going in the face of obstacles. Rejection is not always a statement about the quality of our material; it may simply be a reflection of the critic's consciousness. While we must be open to feedback, we must also hold a faith that supersedes the opinions of those who do not agree with us. If you believe in something enough, you will not be put off by obstacles or setbacks. Like the little Pac-Man icons, every time you gobble up a putdown, you gain power; the very thing that tried to devour you becomes your fuel.

No one and nothing in the world has the power to put you down; the only time you fail is when you agree with rejection. If you feel like giving up, remember Norman Vincent Peale. You may need just one more try to put you over the edge. Act with the confidence of a master, and you will find strength that you never knew you had.

Help me remember my worth and the importance of my creations.

I believe in myself as God believes in me.