Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - June

[bluidkiti]

June 1

Step by Step

"The spiritual life is not theory. We have to live it. Unless one's family expresses a desire to live upon spiritual principles, we think we ought not to urge them. We should not talk incessantly to them about spiritual matters. They will change in time. Our behavior will convince them more than our words." - Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, Ch 6, p 83.

Today, if called on to 12th-Step a prospect, I will not hammer the spiritual aspect of recovery if the topic seems to push away rather than draw in the prospect. Should the prospect who is weary of spirituality subsequently embrace the program and find sobriety, the words "(Spiritual awareness) will change in time" will ring true. Paraphrasing the saying that I was born of the Spirit but was taught religion, let me understand that others, like me, also may tie the two together - religion and spirituality - but that the program will lead them to their own understanding of a higher power. Today, if spirituality cannot be discussed with a potential member, let my actions speak louder than my words. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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

TURN IT OVER

Freedom is not something that anybody can be given; freedom is something people take and people are as free as they want to be.

~ James Baldwin ~

Problems seem to be made of a thousand little Its: our family, our weight, our self-image, our job, our career, our relationships. These little Its become big Its as we magnify then. Our Its soon become dragons that devour us and chase us from place to place. The Its in our lives are always people, places, and things we cannot control. They are always outside us, and we let them attack us as enemies.

The Fellowship helps us see that usually Its are manifestations of us. Therefore, when It bothers us, It is just us bothering ourselves. When our It strikes out at us, It is us beating up on ourselves. When the Program tells us to turn It over, it quietly suggests that we give It to God. The fight has always been from within. The battle of will is one we always lose.

I always find a safe harbor when I turn It (my will, my problems, and my life) over to the care of my Higher Power.

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

No matter what accomplishments you achieve, somebody helps you.

~ Althea Gibson ~

Some of us can get so full of ourselves when we win a race or get a raise that we think we did it all by ourselves. But the question is, what is really so good about the idea of doing it all by ourselves? Isn’t it just as good to achieve something great and give credit to all those who helped us? We live in a community of friends and neighbors; we are all part of a larger system that holds us up. We have teachers and mentors who help us on our way. We have doctors who help us keep our bodies healthy. We have loved ones who support us and give us more meaning in our lives.

During our active addiction, some of us were so invested in the idea of fierce individualism that we devalued anything that required help from others. That was a limited and immature way of seeing things. The paradox is that not until we could accept help could we gain the strength required for a better life.

Today I feel very proud of my accomplishments and very grateful for all the help I had in achieving them.

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

Basically, I have two choices: either accept people and their behavior at face value, or remove myself from the situation. I cannot change other people, but I can control my behavior.

~ Lisa Keyes ~

Trying to control other people has been a long-term character defect for most of us. Becoming abstinent didn’t take away the seduction of control. Perhaps for some of us becoming abstinent even heightened the seduction. Minds no longer clouded by alcohol or other drugs see with greater clarity many more invitations to control.

At first glance, it seems unfortunate that becoming free of the obsession to use chemicals didn’t also free us of trying to control the people and events in our lives. But had that been the case, we would have relied less on our Higher Power for help to grow and change. And the greatest gift of this recovery program is learning that we have “One who is all powerful” to help us make decisions, to guide us every step of the way.

I will protect my serenity today by letting the people in my life take charge of themselves. If I begin to falter, my Higher Power will help me.

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

I can take a time out

It's late. I'm tired and in a bad mood. I'm paying bills and I'm getting more and more irritated as I open them‒especially the statements from my psychiatrist, therapist, and health plan. I'm ready to fling the pen across the room.

I clench the pen in my fist, clench my teeth, raise my arm‒and stop. Suddenly I realize that I am angry‒and not so much at the bills, but at my dual disorder arid at the mistakes I've made. It's not easy taking responsibility for my actions and making a commitment to recovery. I think what I need to do right now is to take a break and sort through these strong emotions.

Today I will practice the slogan HALT: I will avoid getting too hungry, angry, lonely, or tired.

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

There is a Secret One inside us; the planets in all the galaxies pass through His hands like beads.

~ Kabir ~

We’re often amazed by the wonders of nature. It’s hard to feel significant when we think of the vastness of the universe. How can our Higher Power remember each of us with all the planets, stars, and conditions of the world happening at once?

Then we realize we’re putting our own human limitations on our Higher Power. This is also a clever way our ego promotes us to the status of a Higher Power.

We need to let go and let God. We need to remember that we rest in His hands. Our significance is no more or less than anyone else. He is within us and we are within Him. All we need to do is follow His lead, and everything will be as it should. We will trust in His will and practice, “Thy will, not mine, be done.”

Today help me keep things in perspective. It will be refreshing to let my Higher Power manage the world.

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

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

~ Step Six ~

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 Six.

Step Six Prayer Higher Power, I am ready to learn from your infinite wisdom so that, with your help, I can remove my defects of character. These defects have resulted in considerable discomfort and pain. They have prevented me from moving forward. They have kept me from knowing a better way of living and from becoming a better person.

Higher Power, I have looked deep within me. I have seen my defects. I confess these defects to you. I am ready for your help in removing these defects. I humbly pray for your guidance so I can release these defects and become a better person. I ask for your help so I will always be a seeker of truth and remedy in my life.

Higher Power, I am open to your guidance. I trust in you. Thank you for listening to my prayer.

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

As the old man walked the beach at dawn, he noticed a young man ahead of him picking up starfish and flinging them into the sea. Finally catching up with the youth, he asked him why he was doing this. The answer was that the stranded starfish would die if left until the morning sun. "But the beach goes on for miles and there are millions of starfish," countered the other. "How can your effort make any difference?" The young man looked at the starfish in his hand and then threw it to safety in the waves. "It makes a difference to this one," he said.

~ Minnesota Literacy Council ~

Our efforts can make a difference. There will be many starfish on the paths we will travel and how we treat them will make a difference in our growth. The best resolution we can make tonight is to pay attention to the starfish we'll see. If we can reach out to all who need us, we will have made a difference to their lives and to ours.

My efforts can make a difference. I can take the first step toward making changes, taking risks, expressing feelings, and letting in the positive feelings of life.

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

Practicing virtue

Love, justice, honesty, and patience are virtues, are ways to God. But even virtues can become defects if we misuse them. Love misused turns into possessiveness, justice into cold facts, honesty into brutal frankness, patience into irritable silence.

We need to know ourselves to understand what we’re doing and where we’re going. We need to look at ourselves to make sure that we have not misused our virtues and made them destructive. We must make sure we do not become self-righteous.

Do I practice virtue constructively?

Higher Power, help me not be so eager that my virtues turn into defects.

I will practice virtue humbly today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

She who conceals her disease cannot expect to be cured.

~ ETHIOPIAN PROVERB ~

Newcomer

I finally took a formal Fifth Step. I’d been dreading it for a long time. It meant being honest in a way that I never had been before. I thought I wasn’t going to survive the experience with a shred of self-esteem. But I was wrong.

Sponsor

Congratulations on your courage. Self-esteem, as you’ve discovered, won’t come from concealing parts of ourselves we think will cause another person to reject us. When we hide in hope of receiving someone’s approval, we cheat ourselves twice: we lose the freedom of being ourselves, and we discover the emptiness of mere approval.

A formal Fifth Step is a rare opportunity to be entirely ourselves in front of another human being and not suffer ill consequences. There’s no wrong way to do it. In the company of someone whose recovery we respect and trust, we can safely reveal what we may not be ready to share even with a family member or an intimate friend. We won’t be judged.

We may instead be reminded that a complete inventory is not simply a catalog of shortcomings or of things we wish we’d done differently, but of assets as well.

Today, my self-trust allows me to reach out to others.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

Each of us has only so many hours to live and we alcoholics have wasted far too many of them in the past.

New men, by the thousands, are crowding our doors, searching for our Message of Hope. Those who are endeavouring to carry the Message are frequently pushed to the limit of their available time for this purpose.

Have you the right to monopolize the time of the Twelve Steppers by indulging yourself in so-called slips?

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

SET ASIDE PRAYER

Lord, today help me set aside everything I think I know about You
Everything I think I know about myself
Everything I think I know about others and
Everything I think I know about my own recovery
For a new experience in myself
A new experience in my fellows and my own recovery.

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

THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION

For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us (Ephesians 2:14).
This is not only one of the most beautiful texts in the Bible, but one of the most important. Consider what it says. First, that God is our peace; next, that not only are we and God one (all spiritual teachers say that) but that it is He who has made us one. We are one because that is the nature of being since He has made us that way. Then the inspired writer uses a figure of speech. He reminds us that when we lost our sense of unity with God, it is exactly as though a wall was built between God and ourselves. When that happens communication is broken and we are no longer one in consciousness, until, of course, the wall is pulled down.

In any difficulty the one important thing is to have the temporary wall of partition pulled down, and to let God do it−for only He can.

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

Happily Even After

Use no relationship to hold you to the past, but with each one each day be born again.

~ A Course in Miracles ~

On Father's Day, my friend Danielle took her two former husbands out to dinner. "l wanted to honor the two most important men in my life," she told me. "They are the fathers of my children, and we are all related." I respected and honored Danielle for keeping her former mates in her heart and acknowledging the good they had brought into her life.

Most of us are taught that when a relationship is over, both parties go their ways upset; one is the villain and the other is a victim. But what if suffering is optional? What if we can create our partings in any way we choose? What if we don't have to separate in anger and guilt, but go on to enjoy a friendship that lasts a lifetime and beyond?

We can let go of our old models of isolation and separation and replace them with kindness, caring, intimacy, and support. Because we are spiritual beings, it is not what our bodies do that determines the quality of our lives, but the state of our spirit. Although our bodies may go in different directions, we can remain whole and joined in the heart. The end of a marriage or relationship does not mean the end of love. True love spans far beyond the boundaries we have laid over it, and it does not die; it simply goes on gathering force until everyone and everything we look upon is blessed by our appreciation of each other as gifts from God.

I pray to honor the people in my life no matter what the voice of fear tells me. I will give love no matter what.

My relationships reflect the love of God.