Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - August

[bluidkiti]

August 1

Step by Step

Today, caution against perverting "Take It Easy" into procrastination or neglect of the new responsibilities that sobriety requires. "Take It Easy" instead means we tend to my our spiritual and emotional care lest we be unqualified to help someone else with their own. Adversely, "Take It Easy" does not bestow "permission" to put off or ignore responsibilities to ourselves, others and the 12th step marching order to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. The program shows us how to balance the scale between taking it easy and procrastination, and if it's weighted down by taking it easy at the expense of responsibility to ourselves and others, we become as irresponsible dry drunks. Today, seek the balance between taking it easy all the time and giving all our time to everything and everyone else. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M.

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

GROWTH

Growth itself contains the germ of happiness.

~ Pearl S. Buck ~

When we're out of sorts with everyone and everything and we realize that we're the one who needs to change, that's growth.

When we mind our own business and don t take the inventory of another, that's growth.

When we don't expect anyone to change their opinion simply because it differs from ours, that's growth.

When we think we're right at one moment and are proven wrong the next, and are happy about it because we've learned something, that's growth.

When we are as happy about another's progress as we are about our own, that's growth.

When we welcome each new day instead of dreading it, that's growth.

I used to seek happiness in material things and overdependence on other people. Now growth, itself is happiness.

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

Hope has nothing to do with optimism. Its opposite is not pessimism but despair.

~ William Sloane Coffin ~

Despair is the loss of all hope. We are all vulnerable to slipping into that frame of mind at times. When our troubles are at their worst, we may indulge in angry and rebellious negative thinking. Such negative thinking is basically self-centered and self-indulgent. At other times we may feel that our lives are going well and we have no good reason to despair, yet we lose our spirit and vitality.

We can use our spiritual focus at these times to interrupt the negative thoughts. When we catch ourselves thinking life is unfair and we are worthless, we can stop following our thoughts down that track. Simply turning our attention elsewhere can help us restore our spirit for life. This doesn’t mean we fake optimism. It means we choose to suspend our doubts and, just as we might try on a new shirt, we try on the thought that we are in the care of a Higher Power who accepts us as we are. When we do that, a feeling of peace and calm will follow.

Today I will suspend feelings of despair and rest in the faith that a Higher Power is present in my life.

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

Let us not become involved in terminal seriousness.

~ Julie Riebe ~

Developing a healthy and balanced perspective is one of the gifts of this program. However, we have to work at it. It doesn’t happen by simply laying the alcohol or other drugs aside. We need the help of caring sponsors who say “So what!” when we get on the pity pot. We also need the help of our Higher Power.

We soon discover that the more involved we get with the Steps of this program and the more we let God take an active role in our lives, the easier all situations become. We also discover that letting God play a part doesn’t mean that we no longer have a responsible part to play; instead, it means that we no longer are trying to take full responsibility for the outcome of every experience that engages us. Gaining this healthy perspective on our lives is a profound blessing. Were it not for this program and all the help we are receiving, we’d still be manufacturing mountains from every molehill, or molehills from every mountain.

I will utilize the program and my Higher Power today to keep situations in their proper perspective.

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

I acknowledge the benefits of treatment

When I was in treatment, I felt scared and ashamed at first. I didn't know anyone. I didn’t trust anyone. I didn't know what would happen. I was angry and exhausted.

But it became clear that treatment was a good place to be with my dual disorder after all. Eventually I felt more relaxed, safer, understood. I acknowledged that I needed to be there (for months I'd just kept relapsing). While it wasn't easy adjusting to new faces, new routines, and new ideas, I was tired of suffering. Eventually I let go of my fears and found the relief and the freedom of recovery.

I will continue to pray the Serenity Prayer and pray to be open to change.

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

I to myself am dearer than a friend.

~ William Shakespeare ~

We can’t put off telling ourselves about our goodness. It’s tempting to believe we can reward ourselves only when we accomplish something remarkable. But it is remarkable to be recovering. It takes honesty and courage to work these Twelve Steps. We’ve been in battle, we’ve suffered. Now, having been there, we’ve learned about tolerance, forgiveness, serenity, faith, and gratitude.

We are scarred, yes, but they are scars of triumph, scars of survival. There’s a level of humanity and wisdom that suffering has revealed to us. It has made us deeper, more well-rounded individuals. Having nearly lost our lives, we are more careful to increase our blessings. We don’t take our physical, mental, or spiritual health for granted any more. We actively work toward harmony and balance.

We’ve been given a rare gift — the chance to witness and partake in the change from sickness to health, from pain to healing, from sadness to joy, from emptiness to serenity.

Today let me compliment myself on the fine person I’m becoming and always was.

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

Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

~ Step Eight ~

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 Eight.

Step Eight Prayer Higher Power, I pray for your guidance. You have helped me to recognize and remove my defects of character. I come before you ready to take on the challenge presented by Step Eight. I need your strength to guide me as I make a list of all I have harmed. I will take responsibility for the errors of my ways. I will do everything I can to face up to those I have harmed and to confess my sins against them. I seek your forgiveness for not living a life of love.

Higher Power, I ask for your strength so I may look into the eyes of those I have harmed and find the courage to speak with honesty and regret. I ask for your strength so I may listen to whatever is said to me without anger or defensiveness. Higher Power, thank you for listening to my prayer.

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

. . . each cycle of the tide is valid; each cycle of the wave is valid; each cycle of a relationship is valid.

~ Anne Morrow Lindbergh ~

Any photograph will show us a moment frozen in time. Forever after, anyone who views that picture will see that moment as it was.

Many things in our lives have cycles. Nothing ever stays the same from one minute to the next. We may not like change in our relationships, for we may expect that any variation from our happy moments will mean pain or loss or rejection. Even in a relationship's dark moments of anger and pain, we may fear changes that can bring happiness, hope, and success.

Yet change is a valid measurement of growth and time. It has as natural a rhythm as the ebb and flow of the ocean, the change of the seasons, the waxing and waning of the moon, the rise and set of the sun. Tonight, we can be assured that our relationships are right where they need to be in their natural places.

Tonight help me experience the natural rhythms in my relationships without fear.

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

Following the leader

Whether in the program, church, or any other organization, any mortal leader we may have is but an instrument. Should any of these leaders die, our true leader remains (as always).

If we allow the absence of any person to turn us away from our Higher Power, we don’t know who our real leader is. If we allow the absence of any person to halt our spiritual progress or prevent us from doing what we know is right, we are not following our true leader, our Higher Power. All others are but temporary instruments.

Am I following my true leader faithfully?

Higher Power, help me recognize and acknowledge my true leader.

I will share my faith in my Higher Power today by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

The truth cannot always be told openly, but somehow it does come out.

~ SIGMUND FREUD ~

Newcomer

Some days I don't feel as if I can share how difficult my problems are. I've been in recovery long enough to know that what's bothering me will eventually subside. I've heard "This, too, sha1l pass" often enough. Why complain about problems that are going to go away anyway? Why bother anyone?

Sponsor

The slogan "This, too, shall pass" is meant to give comfort, not to make stoics and martyrs of us. There's nothing wrong with letting others see what's going on with us and airing our feelings, whatever they happen to be. In fact, it's necessary for recovery.

My addictive behavior in the past was often triggered by a belief that my needs and feelings were somehow excessive, that no one would tolerate hearing about them. When feelings of unworthiness and shame kept me from speaking, the result was more of the same: low self-esteem and a sense of separation and difference from others.

We're not required to share everything that's going on in our lives whenever we put a hand up at a meeting. But we need to make sure that we don't carry things all by ourselves. We have plenty of options. Sharing at meetings is a good one. Others include making program calls, sitting down for coffee with a recovering friend, or scheduling a therapy or counseling session. And then there's talking regularly with a sponsor. It's an excellent way to begin letting go of the old habit of keeping quiet.

Today, I lighten my load by sharing with others.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

It has been observed by many in AA that the surest bet to get our Program is the man who needs it most desperately. His very desperation lends strength to his efforts. He has been backed up to a wall and he must fight his way out of his dilemma or else he must die. There is no alternative.

Only the coward quits in despair, and the alcoholic can't be a coward, for if he was, he would have quit the unequal game long before his alcoholism was fully developed.

Yes, it takes a brave man to fight his way to the gutter and it takes a brave and desperate man to fight his way out.

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

Count Your Blessings

Count your many blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God has done!

~ From "Count Your Blessings" by Johnson Oatman Jr. ~

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

RAISED CONSCIOUSNESS

THE FIRST COMMANDMENT

I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.

Thou shalt have no other gods before me (Exodus 20:2, 3).

Moses lived in Egypt over three thousand years ago, and he led some six hundred thousand people out of Egypt and through the wilderness. That is historical. But, Moses also stands for a faculty in yourself, and the things that Moses did typify your states of mind.

The mountain means prayer—the elevated consciousness. We are told that the general public were not allowed to go up Mount Sinai, but that does not mean that certain people were not good enough to go up. It means that if we want to go up the mountain—if we want to raise our consciousness, if we want to get closer to God—we must prepare ourselves by prayer. If we want to go up the mountain, we have to become a high priest spiritually and we must rid ourselves of our faults and weaknesses—otherwise we cannot elevate our consciousness and get our contact with God.

Moses had his revelation, and then he realized it as the experience that God and man are one. When he got that revelation, Moses brought back the laws of life, beginning with the First Commandment, as we call it.

What is the beginning of the First Commandment? I am the Lord thy God. Our trouble in our religious life nearly always is that we think, "In the beginning Me." That is very human but it does not get us the revelation that Moses got. After affirming I am the Lord thy God . . . the First Commandment says thou shalt have no other gods before me.

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

The Most Powerful Prayer

When you pray, think. Think well what you’re saying and make your thoughts into things that are solid. In that way, your prayers will have strength, and that strength will become a part of you in body, mind, and spirit.

~ Walter Pidgeon's character in the film How Green Was My Valley ~

An angel attempting to earn his wings was given the mission of finding the person on earth whose prayers had the most power to reach heaven. He journeyed for a long time and then returned with this report: "l circled the entire world and found many people reciting rote prayers without feeling or conviction. Many prayed so that others would see them, and some prayed to be victorious over others. I heard many prayers, but felt little heart. Just when I was about to give up I heard the tears of a little boy in a poor section of a big city. He was reciting, “A...B...C..." and on through the alphabet. When I listened closer, I heard him pray, "Dear God, I do not know how to read, and I cannot recite from the prayer book, but I love you with all my heart. Take these letters and form them into words that are pleasing to you." The angel was given his wings.

It is not the form of our words or acts that brings us closer to heaven, but the sincerity of our intentions. Bring a pure heart to your prayers and deeds, and you will succeed.

Open my heart to true caring and pure love. Let my words and deeds be motivated by sincerity and kindness.