Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March

[bluidkiti]

March 30

Step by Step

Today, I cannot crumble to temptation even if I think I do not feel tempted to try “just one” drink. Regardless of how many 24 Hours of sobriety, none of us is immune to the thought, however fleeting, that maybe one drink won’t do any damage. Of course it will, as we know from bitter experience. If temptation is a human foible, it is one that none of us in recovery can afford. For us, temptation is our failure to integrate into the deepest of our souls the program’s first four words – “Admitted we were powerless …” Temptation is also our own will run riot and rejection of surrendering our will to our higher power. Still, if temptation sneaks in, may I have imprinted in my conscience the outcome of all those times in the past when I did give into temptation. And the memory of that outcome is too costly and painful to give in. Today, I hope I am not tempted, but I will not take for granted that I won’t so that, if I am, I am strong and honest enough in my program to rise above it. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

WORST ENEMY

Self is the only prison that can ever bind the soul.

~ Robert Graham ~

We refuse to keep putting ourselves down. Sometimes that seems like a virtue, but it isn’t. It’s a defect. The honest approach is to know our strengths and our weaknesses. The Program provides us the tools to work on both.

In recovery, each of us chooses to become our own best friend. Liking ourselves will assure us that we can become the best person we can be. Who have we hurt more than we have hurt ourselves? Would we let anyone do to us what we have done to ourselves?

We are learning to think about our assets rather than focusing on our liabilities. Our self-talk no longer always puts us down.

I can strike a solid blow at “me, my worst enemy,” by concentrating on the small triumphs of each today rather than on yesterday’s disasters.

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

The last of the human freedoms is to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.

~ Viktor Frankl ~

Today’s quotation was written by a man who survived a Nazi death camp. His philosophy was formed in the crucible of the bleakest kind of situation, in prison with hard labor, little food, and no comforts, where everyone was worked until they died. One could say Frankl had no choices remaining, but he didn’t accept that. He speaks to all of us as we deal with our own particular circumstances. When we gain the wisdom of powerlessness, we know that we often have little choice about what happens, but we have choices about the attitudes we adopt.

When we face a tough situation on the job, we can still choose to give our best. When family problems seem overwhelming, we may not be able to fix them all alone, but we have options to be the best partner, the best father, or the best son that we know how to be. And when we turn our lives and our will over to the care of a Higher Power, we can choose to be hopeful for the future.

Today I choose to have a constructive attitude in all that I am dealing with.

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

By embracing the unfair, I no longer feel fear or rejection or lack of self-esteem.

~ Eileen Fehlen ~

It’s so human to quickly label an unwanted situation as unfair and to assume we know what’s best for us. We reason that if God would answer our prayers, our lives would unfold appropriately. It’s also terribly human to have to relearn repeatedly that God’s will and God’s timetable don’t always match our own; however, without fail they serve us well.

Learning to appreciate the good in everything that comes our way makes us courageous. In time few things will fill us with fear, and that is measurable progress. We were tormented by fear for so many years that we never expected this rebirth of spirit. Life is beginning to feel inviting, exciting, and safe. Let’s step forth together.

I can be certain that God will give me only what is right for me today.

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

I want a better life for myself

When I was using drugs and experiencing symptoms of my psychiatric illness, I cared most about simply staying high, about feeling no pain – whether emotional, physical, or spiritual. My greatest need was a negative one and I met it with street drugs.

Now that I’ve achieved a period of abstinence and stability, I can see that there’s more to life than just drugs, staying high, and avoiding pain. Some basic, positive needs that I’ve neglected include healthy food, safe shelter, and clean clothing. In recovery, I am learning that these needs are important and that I can find a way to meet them.

I will list the five most important things I need to get along in life.

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

Money is not required to buy one necessity of the soul.

~ Henry David Thoreau ~

Today we live in a society that seems to worship things. Television, movies, and magazines tell us that sophistication, respect, admiration, and self- confidence come from owning things rather than from who we are inside.

Twelve Step meetings are wonderful antidotes for that message. Here is a fellowship of people who don’t judge us by our clothing or our credit cards. Here we are cared for because of what’s in our hearts, the condition of our values, and our common goal of sobriety. And our Higher Power loves us just as we are.

When we feel caught up in a nonspiritual way of life, we can pause and remember that we have a place to come home to. We can come in from the rat race and rejoice in a fellowship that values honesty, integrity, and spirituality.

Today help me remember what’s really important in my life.

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

Religion is for people who are afraid they’ll go to hell. Spirituality is for people who have been there.

~ Teen Anon saying ~

Many times you may read newspaper stories in which neighbors describe someone who has committed a despicable crime as one who attended church regularly. You may wonder, “How could someone who believes in God act out so horribly?”

Consider the meaning of spirituality. Is closeness to God measured by the number of times you go to church? Is reading religious teachings the same as applying such knowledge in everyday life? Spirituality is not measured by who you are, but by how you live. Sinning, and then asking God to forgive your sins, conveys an attitude of self-importance—that because you have reached out to God, you earn a “free pass.”

But asking for forgiveness and then changing your ac-tions so you can protect yourself and others from harm is putting God’s help into action. Getting down on your knees and asking God for help is the first step in connect-ing with a Higher Power. But rising up and doing every-thing you can to follow a path of good and appropriate behavior is putting God’s guidance into action.

It has been said, “No God, no peace; know God, know peace.” Today I accept that God’s will and God’s knowledge need to be my will and my knowledge.

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

Here the people seem to possess the secret of tranquility. . . . Perhaps it is only by going up the old back roads leading to the lost little hamlets of the mountains or the seagirt islands and peninsulas of the world that you can still find it. Perhaps even in such places it has not long to last.

~ Louise Dickinson Rich ~

As a child we may have had a secret place we went to be alone or when we were hurt or confused. Wherever it was, we knew we could be safe there.

As an adult we may have lost our secret places. In-stead of hiding maybe we learned to run or build up defenses. We learned to cope without secret spaces, but look how we suffered for it! Now we yearn for serenity as we stop running or defending.

We can make a secret space again. Our secret space can be in a favorite chair or even in our minds when we listen to a favorite song. Wherever or whatever we use for times of need, our secret spaces should provide safety and security. It’s okay to let the child in us run to secret spaces in times of need. In doing so, we’re taking care of ourselves.

Do I have a secret space where I am safe and secure?

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

Debating the program

In school we may have joined in debates. They went on and on, and nobody ever had any answers. In our personal training grounds, the world of the streets, we often heard or participated in lengthy debates about the evils of our society. Of course, nothing ever changed.

Some people get clean and sober and then start debating about the Twelve Steps. The “answers” come to those who live the program, but such debate is of little value. Am I living the program?

God, grant me the courage to take action and thus truly live the program.

Today I will put the Steps into action by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

Ukwenza kuya emuva kuye phambili.
The doing moves backward, then forward.

~ NDEBELE PROVERB ~

Newcomer

I thought I’d lost the desire to pick up my addiction. Now I’m on the verge of celebrating ninety days, and all I can think of is how much I’d like to go back to my old life.

Sponsor

Anniversaries can be times of intense expectation for people in recovery. Anxiety, sadness, and other feelings may be mixed with jubilation and pride. Some of us go into denial: “If I’ve made it this far without the drug, maybe I don’t really have the problem.” Or “I can do this on my own now— who needs all those **** meetings!” Some of us feel like frauds; we’ve been fooling everyone into thinking that we can stay away from our addictions successfully. Intense feelings—even those of pride and pleasure—can put us in danger of picking up our addictive substances.

Anniversaries are times when it’s especially important to stay in touch with the people who’ve been sharing our journey. They can help us to celebrate and also to keep the anniversary in perspective. It’s encouraging to know that they’ll continue to be there as we continue to stay away from addictive substances and behaviors—one day at a time.

Today, I stay close to the program. When I go out, I take phone numbers, coins for making calls, and a willingness to use them.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The truly great man can afford to be humble, for hundreds of others are exalting him. You have only one horn to blow and other people can’t toot it if you are eternally tooting it yourself.

The proud man is aggressive in his own interest; the humble man is aggressive in the ideals he believes in. Humility is not passive resignation; it is rather, subjecting self for lofty purposes.

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

1) Detach with love

2) The difference between feeling grateful and being grateful, is action.

3) You don’t make as many mistakes when you keep your mouth shut.

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

Teach Me

Teach me, God, so that I might know
The way to change and the way to grow.
Give me the words to ask You how
To handle the here and live in the now.
Tempt me not with the valleys of death,
Give me freedom from fear in every breath.

And though mistakes I make in my daily life,
Deliver me from aiding strife.
Understand me, God, as I am now
And show me the furrows I need to plow
To reach my goal as a ripening food,
So I might feed others all that is good.
Fill me with energy known as the Power,
Until I come to rest at the midnight hour.

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

THE MERCIFUL

Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy (Matthew 5:7).

This is a brief summary of the law of life that Jesus develops more fully later in the Sermon (Matthew 7:1-5). As it stands, this Beatitude is as obvious in its meaning as the law in question is simple and inflexible in its action.

The point that the Christian needs to note is that the principle covered in this Beatitude lies in its application to the realm of thought. Let us be merciful in our mental judgments of our brother, for, in truth, we are all one, and the more deeply he seems to err, the more urgent is the need for us to help him with the right thought, and so make it easier for him to get free.

Because in deed and in truth we are all one,, component parts of the living garment of God, you yourself will ultimately receive the same treatment that you mete out to others; you will receive the same merciful help in your own hour of need from those who are farther along the path than you are.

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

Results and Excuses

When you are just interested in something, you do it only when it is convenient; when you are committed, you accept only results, not excuses.

~ Dr. Kenneth Blanchard ~

I had an employee, Tony, who should have been in the Guinness Book of World Records for “The Greatest Number of Different Reasons the Same Job Didn’t Get Done.” When I asked Tony about the progress of a project he was supposed to handle, he answered, “Sorry, I haven’t been feeling well; I’ll get right on to it next week.”

The next week he told me, “I had some car trouble; your job is first on my list for next week.” The following week his explanation was, “I had some hassles with my girlfriend; I wasn’t emotionally available.” The week after that, “I had a little miscommunication with the phone company about my bill; they turned off my service, so I couldn’t get the calls made.” On and on the saga went, and a job that should have taken a few weeks remained undone after months. Finally, I hired someone else who did the job in a short time.

There are two kinds of people in the world: those who make excuses and those who get results. An excuse person will find any excuse for why a job was not done, and a results person will find any reason why it can be done.

I was an excuse person about being on time; I was 15 minutes late to everything. When I showed up, I would always have a different reason: “Traffic”‘, “Got a phone call just as I was leaving”’, “Had to feed the dog”; \and on and on. Many of this situations had actually occurred, but none of them accounted for the reason I was late. My tardiness was a result of my choice, not external conditions.

We can tell our intentions by the results we create. Words mean little in the face of what we manifest. If you are going to do something, own it. If you are going to not do something, own it. You become most powerful, effective, and trustworthy as you acknowledge that you are the source of your experience. Be a creator, not a reactor.

Help me to live in integrity. I want to empower myself and others by being true to my word.

I can because I choose.