Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - February

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Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - February 1

February 1

Step by Step

Today, tear down the wall that BITTERNESS has built between me and recovery, serenity with the world and myself, inclusion instead of exclusion from others in recovery who have found what I have not, a positive instead of a negative influence on everyone around me. Unlike anger, which in some cases is justified, bitterness has NO justification. Like alcohol, the power of bitterness is in its destruction not only of everything and everyone around me, but of myself as well. And, like alcohol, bitterness is the epitome of selfishness, of rejection of all that is good and constructive – and a validated ticket to loneliness and isolation. With as much work as I expended on drinking, it takes as much if not more to keep bitterness going. Today, I’m too tired and disgusted with bitterness to give it the time and effort needed to fuel 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) ~

BOREDOM

Is not life a hundred times too short for us to bore ourselves?

~ Nietzsche ~

Boredom is a form of conceit. When we are bored we are saying, “Okay, life, you are not doing your job of keeping me entertained.” To think that life, or those around us, or the world itself is here primarily to keep us amused and entertained is “stinking thinking.”

This thinking can screw up our attitude and take us back to the point where our addiction seems like the only way out of that boredom. We may be miserable, but at least we aren’t bored, we think.

Those who learn to work the Program find that life is far from boring. Each day brings many quiet moments of joy, compassion, and insight. Rich serenity replaces the empty landscape of boredom

I am not in recovery just to be abstinent; I am living to learn, to help others, and to keep bus through positive action.

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

All the art of living lies in a fine mingling of letting go and holding on.

~ Havelock Ellis ~

The wisdom that we attempt to develop in recovery is how to balance the letting go and the holding on in our lives. Many of us have sunk into deep holes of crisis and despair by holding on too tightly when we needed to let go. In other ways, perhaps, we have given up too easily when, with faith and trust, we could have held on to opportunities and values that seemed out of reach.

The Serenity Prayer speaks of the wisdom to know the difference. This power to discern between what we must accept and what we can change creates a deep sense of peace. It brings calm to our intimate partnership, success to our recovery from addiction and co- dependency, and greater effectiveness in our work life.

Today I pray for the wisdom to know the difference between what I must accept and what I can change.

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

There is no greater joy than to see my baby’s face break out in a smile. It reminds me of the significance we have in each other’s lives.

~ Maty Larson ~

We have heard, over and over, that there are no accidents in this life. But what does that really mean? Can it mean that the pain we felt when a special relationship ended was intentional? Can it mean that the illness of a friend was God’s will? Can it mean the promotion we failed to get was God’s plan too? We can feel pretty crazy trying to figure out the real reason behind any set of circumstances, and we’ll only be spinning our wheels.

How we respond to these situations is what causes the pain or confusion. When we learn to trust that God initiates our experiences, we will begin to know freedom from fear and confusion.

Every day, we will have opportunities to increase our understanding of God’s presence in our lives. I he smiles we give and get are not accidental; they are part of the divine plan. So may be the chaos. It’s I tow we handle the chaos that matters.

I very person I meet today is in my life by design. What I give to or learn from others helps each of us to grow.

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

I can find a silver lining

Of course given a choice, I would never have asked for a dual disorder—two illnesses that affect one another and require an extended period of recovery. But here I am—and here they are—like it or not!

And yet I can see now that because of hitting bottom, because of the pain and suffering, I have found a new faith and a better way to live. In my process of recovery, I have found my higher power. While “spirituality” used to seem like a foreign word, becoming spiritual is now an integral part of my life.

I will take five minutes today to think of one improvement in my life that has come about through my illnesses.

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

He who hesitates is sometimes saved.

Recovery is teaching us to think situations through to the end before we act. In the past, we often reacted first and thought later. Unable to wait out the pain, we tried to “fix” our problems by artificial means: drugs, alcohol, food, sex, excitement. Our only goal was to escape and get relief from the ups and downs of life. Rushing from one situation to another, we seldom slowed down enough to relax and really think through the consequences of our actions.

Now, we’re learning to solve problems instead of escaping from them. Learning to sit still with discomfort, knowing it will eventually pass, has given us real personal power in our day-to-day living. What a wonderful freedom to no longer be driven by the demons of obsession and compulsion, but instead to experience our feelings as friends instead of enemies. When we allow ourselves to sit with such friends, open to what they can teach us, we will never be alone.

Today let me think difficult situations through to the end before deciding how to act.

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

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

~ Step Two ~

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 Two.

Step Two Prayer

Higher Power, I believe in your power to restore me to sanity. I know everything you do is for my greatest good and the highest good of those around me. I am committed to living a life free from addiction. I am committed to release from the struggle, fear, and hopelessness I felt in the past. I am ready to let go of the insanity of using and to replace it with the sanity of sobriety.

I ask for your help so I can do these things with strength and purpose. I ask for your guidance so I may open my heart to love and forgiveness. I ask for your help so I may live each day true to a mission of sobriety, and to reflect this mission in my every word and action. Higher Power, thank you for listening to my prayer.

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

The Bookshop has a thousand books, All colors, hues, and tinges, And every cover is a door That turns on magic hinges.

~ Nancy Byrd Turner ~

When we start our day, we have a wealth of meditation books to help lead our focus to faith, strength, and hope. Throughout each day, we have pamphlets and books to enrich our minds and expand our understanding of the disease that affects our lives. We learn we are not alone in our struggles and triumphs; there are many before us, many now, and many to come who will ask the same questions, have the same struggles, find the same hope.

Our literature is written by those who, through the help of their Higher Power, can communicate their feelings and thoughts. By keeping a journal to record our thoughts, dreams, feelings, goals, and daily events, we can create our personal book to use for a better understanding of ourselves. This, combined with the literature of the program, will enrich our lives with valuable and inspiring words.

I can begin my record of growth and goals, plans and dreams, and all my feelings. I can be the author of the book of my life.

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

Doing our best

Perhaps we are saving our best effort for the “big break.” When such and such happens, then I’ll give it my best shot. What we don’t realize, however, is that success comes from doing a lot of little things well. Learning to live means learning to manage all our daily responsibilities.

If we can’t keep our clothes clean, take out the garbage, or get up on time, how can we expect to handle promotions, marriages, and crises? Daily effort may seem inconsequential, but our big break is the result of all our todays well lived.

Do I always give my best effort?

Higher Power, help me take care of each thing as it comes along.

Today I will do my best when I

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

To accept a favor from a friend is to confer one.

~ JOHN CHURTON COLLINS ~

Newcomer

I’ve been okay for the past few days, so I haven’t called you. I feel as if I’m calling you too much. I don’t know what you could possibly be getting out of it.

Sponsor

I identify with your fear of imposing on other people, so I want to say first that I’m grateful for your phone calls. They help me to stay sober, just as much as they help you. They remind me, every day, of our addiction, and they remind me of the ways we’re growing and being healed.

When we stay in daily touch with a sponsor, it helps to keep us from “slipping through the cracks.” Though I go to a meeting, make coffee or put away chairs, say hello to a few people, even put up my hand and share, there may be parts of my recovery process that I don’t understand, don’t like to talk about, or don’t get to talk about in depth. I can share more deeply and at greater length with my sponsor. My sponsor knows me pretty well by now and is likely to bring up recovery issues I’d rather evade or bury. Calling our sponsors isn’t always easy, but it’s part of our commitment to ourselves and our recovery.

Today, I’m willing to know others and to be known by them.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

To us alcoholics, our Twelve Steps of Recovery are the stars on which we set our course of sobriety. Like the seafaring man, we will not get them completely in our grasp, nor do we need to do so.

If we but follow the course they indicate, we too, will reach our haven.

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

1) There but for the grace of God, go I.

2) The one good thing about repeating your mistakes is that you know when to cringe.

3) We all suffer from self-centered fear.

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

My Daily Prayer

God, I turn my will and my life over to You this day for Your keeping. Your will, Lord, not mine. I ask for Your guidance and direction. I will walk humbly with You and Your fellowman. You are giving me a grateful heart for my many blessings. You are removing the defects of character that stand in my way. You are giving me freedom from self-will.

Let love, compassion, and understanding be in my every thought, word, and deed this day. I release those to You who have mistreated me. I truly desire Your abundance of truth, love, harmony, and peace. As I go out today to do Your bidding, let me help anyone I can who is less fortunate than I.

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

OUR FATHER

This simple statement in itself constitutes a definite and complete system of theology. It tells all that man needs to know about God, and about himself, and about his neighbor. Oliver Wendell Holmes said: “My religion is summed up in the first two words of the Lord’s Prayer.”

“Our Father.” In this clause Jesus lays down once and for all that the relationship between God and man is that of father and child. This eliminates any possibility that the Deity could be the relentless and cruel tyrant. The vast majority of men and women are at their best in dealing with their children. Speaking of the same truth elsewhere, Jesus said:

If you, who are so full of evil, nevertheless do your best for your children, how much more so will God, who is altogether good, do for you? (Matthew 7:11)

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

Choice Words

Only in the sacredness of inward silence does the soul truly meet the secret, hiding God.

~ Frederick William Robertson ~

A friend of mine conducts retreats in Assisi, Italy, the birthplace and home of St. Francis. Much of the retreat time is spent in silent meditation. The program has a rule: Do not speak unless what you have to say is more powerful than the silence.

The Quakers understood this principle and incorporated it into their prayer services. The Quakers sit silently, and no one speaks unless he or she is moved by Spirit to do so. One must not speak until he or she is literally exploding, or quaking. That is the sign that God, and not the ego, is moving through the person.

In my seminars, I’ve noticed a wide range of energies that issue forth when various people speak. When someone speaks from her heart, she may say but a few words and the entire room is riveted; that is how compelling sincere expression can be. Others may go on for a long time and say nothing; the room goes dead, for the speaker is proceeding from their head or ego.

Try practicing periods of silence. Take a morning or a day regularly and go into the quiet chamber of the heart. You will be amazed at the wealth of aliveness you find behind your words, and you will discover that words often detract from truth. When you speak again, your words will be chosen, powerful, and healing. Make every word you speak count, and you will co-create with God.

Lord, make my words an instrument of Your peace.

I use the power of the word to create good, success, and healing.