Essentials Of Recovery

Created to carry the message of recovery to all addicts. Whether the addiction is alcohol, drugs, food or any other addiction the program of recovery is the same. I am a recovering alcoholic of over twenty-seven years, a day at a time of course and I believe my primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve recovery. Remember seven days without a meeting makes one weak. Sign up to get emails.This Blog is NOT IN ANY WAY affiliated to either A.A. or N.A. Help to stop drinking.

Thursday, 30 March 2023

Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Chapter 5 HOW IT WORKS - p. 64

We did exactly the same thing with our lives. We took stock honestly. First, we searched out the flaws in our make-up which caused our failure. Being convinced that self, manifested in various ways, was what had defeated us, we considered its common manifestations.

- Big Book - Alcoholics Anonymous - Fourth Edition - Chapter 5 HOW IT WORKS - p. 64

A.A. Speaker Lynette F. - South Africa

DAILY DOSE OF EMMET FOX #essentialsofrecovery

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.

© 1931 by Emmet Fox

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery

OUR GROUP CONSCIENCE

. . . sometimes the good is the enemy of the best”

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS COMES OF AGE P- 101 ~

I think these words apply to every area of A.A.’s Three Legacies: Recovery, Unity and Service! I want them etched in my mind and life as I “trudge the Road of Happy Destiny” (Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 164). These words, often spoken by co-founder Bill W., were appropriately said to him as the result of the group’s conscience. It brought home to Bill W. the essence of our Second Tradition: “Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.”

Just as Bill W. was originally urged to remember, I think that in our group discussions we should never settle for the “good,” but always strive to attain the “best.” These common strivings are yet another example of a loving God, as we understand Him, expressing Himself through the group conscience. Experiences such as these help me to stay on the proper path of recovery. I learn to combine initiative with humility, responsibility with thankfulness, and thus relish the joys of living my twenty-four hour program.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc

JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrecovery

God – Centeredness

“Gradually as we become more God-centered than self-centered, our despair turns to hope.”

~ Basic Text p. 92 ~

What a glorious thing to have hope! Before coming to Narcotics Anonymous, many of us lived lives of utter hopelessness. We believed we were destined to die from our disease.

Many members speak of being on a “pink cloud” their first months in the program. We’ve stopped using, made some friends, and life looks promising. Things are going great. Then reality sets in. Life is still life—we still lose jobs, our partners still leave us, friends still die, we still get sick. Abstinence is no guarantee that life will always go our way.

When the reality of life on its own terms sets in, we turn to our Higher Power and remember that life happens the way life happens. But no matter what occurs in our recovery we need not despair, for there is always hope. That hope lies in our relationship with our Higher Power.

This relationship, as expressed by the thought in our text, develops over time: “Gradually we become more God-centered.” As we rely more and more on the strength of our Higher Power, life’s struggles don’t have to drag us into the sea of despair. As we focus more on God, we focus less on ourselves.

Just for today: I will rely on my Higher Power. I will accept that, regardless of what happens, my Higher Power will provide me with the resources to live with it.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY #essentialsofrecovery

A.A. Thought for the Day

Before I met A.A., I was very unloving. From the time I went away to school, I paid very little attention to my mother and father. I was on my own and didn’t even bother to keep in touch with them. After I got married, I was very unappreciative of my spouse. Many a time I would go out all by myself to have a good time. I paid too little attention to our children and didn’t try to understand them or show them affection. My few friends were only drinking companions, not real friends. Have I gotten over being nobody but myself?

Meditation for the Day

Be calm, be true, be quiet. Do not get emotionally upset by anything that happens around you. Feel a deep, inner security in the goodness and purpose in the universe. Be true to your highest ideals. Do not let your-self slip back into the old ways of reacting. Stick to your spiritual guns. Be calm always. Do not talk back or defend yourself too much against accusation, whether false or true. Accept criticism as well as you accept praise. Only God can judge the real you.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may not be upset by the judgment of others. I pray that I may let God be the judge of the real me.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrecovery

~ Page 89 ~

Review the Day

When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. Were we resentful, selfish, dishonest or afraid? Do we owe an apology? Have we kept something to ourselves which should be discussed with another person at once? Were we kind and loving toward all? What could we have done better? Were we thinking of ourselves most of the time? Or were we thinking of what we could do for others, of what we could pack into the stream of life?

We must be careful not to drift into worry, remorse or morbid reflections, for that would diminish our usefulness to ourselves and to others. After making our review we ask God’s forgiveness and inquire what corrective measures should be taken.

~ ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS ~

© 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrecovery

IDENTIFY, DON’T COMPARE

Good Judgment

There’s always danger in com-paring ourselves with others. If we use behavior and drinking as yardsticks, such comparisons can lead us to believe that we might not really be alcoholics. This mistaken conclusion has been the un-doing of some alcoholics.

The better course is to identify with the problems others have in common with us. Though drinking patterns and habits may vary between two people, individuals may at least share the fears and delusions that drinking brought.

Other common factors that bind alcoholics together are emotional immaturity, a misplaced faith that alcohol solves problems, loneliness, and a tendency toward resentments. These also make good discussion topics for meetings.

At the very beginning of AA, the founders had trouble coming up with a real definition of alcoholism. Since then, we’ve done very well by letting members “diagnose” themselves. It’s best to leave it this way: If your drinking is a problem in your life, AA has an answer for you.

Today I will not waste time comparing myself with others. Having accepted my alcoholism, I’ll devote my attention to the things that enhance sobriety.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrecovery

Spirituality is…the awareness that survival is
a savage fight between you and yourself.

~ Lisa S.

As recovering people, we’re getting stronger each day. We go to meetings to learn how to be better people. But we also go to remind ourselves of the beast inside us—our addiction. This beast is waiting for us to slip—to go back to our addiction—so it can regain control.

Thus, it’s wise to learn all we can about our disease. That’s why it’s important to do a good job on our Fourth Step. When we work Step Four, we learn how our addiction acts, thinks, and feels. With the help of our pro-gram, we can quiet the beast, One Day at a Time.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, I’m fighting for my life. Thanks to You, I’m winning today and my life is free.

Action for the Day

I’ll talk to a friend about my addiction, the beast inside me. I’ll do this so it will have less power over me.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

FR. LEO'S DAILY MEDITATION #essentialsofrecovery

REASON

For here we are not afraid to follow wherever it may lead, or to tolerate error so long as reason is free to combat it.”

~ Thomas Jefferson ~

As an alcoholic, I was often afraid to challenge the thinking and ideas of other people. My people-pleasing demanded peace at any price. Yet I did not agree with so much of what I heard, read, and practiced. Now I see that my attitude and behavior—along with my alcohol consumption—kept me sick.

In my spiritual program, I am free to reject, consider, and have my own opinions in life. I do not have to agree with everything that is said. In this way, I am discovering my value and self-esteem.

Lord, I am grateful for the freedom to cooperate.

© 2008 Leo Booth

A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

Reflection for the Day

When I meditate upon such a vision,Bill W. continued, I need not be dismayed because I shall never attain it, nor need I swell with presumption that one of these days its virtues shall all be mine. I only need to dwell on the vision itself, letting it grow and ever more fill my heart…Then I get a sane and healthy idea of where I stand on the highway to humility. I see that my journey towards God has scarcely begun. As I thus get down to my right size and stature, my self-concern and importance become amusing.” Do I take myself too seriously?

Today I Pray

May the grandiosity which is a symptom of my chemical addiction be brought back into proportion by the simple comparison of my powerlessness with the power of God. May I think of the meaning of Higher Power as it relates to my human frailty. May it bring my ego back down to scale and help me shed my defenses of pomp or bluster or secret ideas of self-importance.

Today I Will Remember

God is great. I am small.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery

DISLOYALTY

Health is the greatest gift,contentment the greatest wealth, faithfulness the best relationship.

~ Buddah ~

I have a history of chaotic relationships filled with destructive drama and a lack of loyalty. For many years, however, I believed that I was in fact a very loyal friend – and that it was my friends who were disloyal to me.

I was an avid ─ even rabid ─ people-pleaser. I drove myself crazy trying to figure out what people wanted and how I could best provide that for them. Because I thought I knew what was best for everybody, I failed to truly listen to the people in my life. Instead, I tried to impose my will upon them…then I wondered why they didn’t appreciate all of my efforts on “their” behalf. When they inevitably became frustrated with me, I was wounded by what I perceived to be their lack of loyalty to me.

Only recently in my recovery program have I come to learn that my efforts at people-pleasing were actually symptoms of my own disloyalty. I was failing to relate with people as they are – rather I was relating to them as I thought they “should be”. That is perhaps the most egregious form of disloyalty…insisting that others be loyal to my concept of them and myself.

Now I am taking steps to honestly listen to people and to relate with them as they are and as I truly am. I am no longer hiding behind food. In order to be loyal in my relationships, I must be loyal to the ‘Truth of Reality.’ Only then can we share the joy of faithful relationships.

One day at a time

I will practice listening to the people in my life and I will honor them as they are. Each day I can choose to be loyal, rather than critical or people-pleasing.

~ Lisa ~

ELDER'S MEDITATION OF THE DAY #essentialsofrecovery

If anyone has children, they better teach their children to follow the traditions that we’re leaving behind because it is later than we think with all that’s going on.”

~ Juanita Centeno, CHUMASH ~

The habits, attitudes and beliefs that carry the human through the trials of life are developed at a very young age. If we are taught respect at a very young age, the odds are we’ll be respectful through our whole lives. If we are taught to dance at a young age, we’ll dance our whole lives. If we are taught to sing the traditional songs while we are young, we’ll sing those songs throughout our whole lives. And who do we drum and sing songs to? Our children. This is how we keep it going.

Great Spirit, today, teach me to teach the children.

Today’s Gift

Come stand by my side where I’m going, Take my hand if I stumble and fall, It’s the strength that you share when you’re growing, That gives me what I need most of all.
—Hoyt Axton

The bear cub was miserable. Her father, the leader of the pack, had left a month ago to find them winter shelter and had not yet returned. Everyone went on as if nothing had changed.

One evening the cub had a dream in which her father appeared and said, “Daughter, I know you grieve for me, but your burden is too heavy to carry alone. Share it with the others and let them comfort you. Sharing will only lighten your load, and if you can accept help now you will find it easier to give when others are in need.”

The next morning the little cub woke with a much lighter heart. As it turns out, everyone in the pack shared the same dream. There was much hugging and crying and reaching out and healing.

We can easily lighten our loads by asking support from those who love us, knowing our turn to help will come.

What help can I ask for today?

THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrecovery

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.

Published by Hazelden

Daily TAO – Disengagement #essentialsofrecovery

Wearily I open my prayer book,
Sepia photograph of sage on amber page,
Flaming raven Sanskrit, strange syllables,
Intone, chant, repeat.
Number vows with beads:
Every resolution is inspiration petrified.

There are some days when one is disengaged from Tao, not interested in devotion, and everything just becomes an empty form. Gone are spiritual bliss, deep insight, and integration with the rhythm of the universe. Instead, there is duty, form, and stiff discipline. One can try to remember the reasons for one’s quest, think of the achievements of the past, reaffirm one’s goals, and still not be inspired to do one’s practice. What do you do?

Every once in a while, it is permissible to skip things for a day. If you are angry, under great stress, or ill, then it is best simply to rest. But if one has made vows, if it is only a matter of laziness or indifference, then you must exert your discipline and practice even if it means that you are just going through the motions. In at least half the cases, something significant will happen. The rest of the time, going through your forms is in itself a good practice. It builds a tremendous momentum that will manifest itself in later times.

DAILY ZEN #essentialsofrecovery

Not thinking about anything is Zen. Once you know this, walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, everything you do is Zen. To know that the mind is empty is to see the Buddha...Using the mind to look for reality is delusion. Not using the mind to look for reality is awareness. Freeing oneself from words is liberation.

-Bodhidharma

Walk In Dry Places

Thursday, 30 March 2023