Essentials Of Recovery : October 2015

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.

Saturday 31 October 2015

OA Big Book Study - part 4/9: step 1 #essentialsofrec #Recovery #OA #Speakers

31
October

OA Big Book Study - part 5/9: step 2 & 3

30
November

Happy ALL HALLOWS' EVE #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Prayer

31
October

RANDOM BIG BOOK ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS #essentialsofrec #AA

31
October

“When we became alcoholics, crushed by a self-imposed crisis we could not postpone or evade, we had to fearlessly face the proposition that God either is either everything or else He is nothing. God either is, or He isn’t. What was our choice to be?”

~ Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition, We Agnostics, page 53

Daily Reflections #essentialsofrec #Contorversy #Advice #Recovery

31
October

AVOIDING CONTROVERSY

All history affords us the spectacle of striving nations and groups finally torn asunder because they were designed for, or tempted into, controversy. Others fell apart because of sheer self-righteousness while trying to enforce upon the rest of mankind some millennium of their own specification.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 176

As an A.A. member and sponsor, I know I can cause real damage if I yield to temptation and give opinions and advice on another’s medical, marital, or religious problems. I am not a doctor, counselor, or lawyer. I cannot tell anyone how he or she should live; however, I can share how I came through similar situations without drinking, and how A.A.’s Steps and Traditions help me in dealing with my life.

NA Just For Today #essentialsofrec #Relationships #HigherPower

31
October

Our Relationship With A Higher Power

“Ongoing recovery is dependent on our relationship with a loving God who cares for us and will do for us what we find impossible to do for ourselves.”

Basic Text, p.96

Working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous gives us a fresh start in life and some guidance for living in the world. But the steps are more than a fresh start. When we do our best to work the steps, we develop a relationship with our personal Higher Power.

In the Third Step, we decide to allow a loving God to influence our lives. Much of the courage, trust, and willingness we need to continue through the succeeding steps comes from this decision. In the Seventh Step, we go even further by asking this Higher Power to change our lives. The Eleventh Step is a way for us to improve the relationship.

Recovery is a process of growth and change in which our lives are renewed. The Twelve Steps are the roadmap, the specific directions we take in order to continue in recovery. But the support we need to proceed with each step comes from our faith in a Higher Power, the belief that all will be well. Faith gives us courage to act. Each step we work is supported by our relationship with a loving God.

Just for today: I will remember that the source of my courage and willingness is my relationship with my Higher Power.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Peace

31
October

A.A. Thought for the Day

I have more peace and contentment. Life has fallen into place. The pieces of the jigsaw puzzle have found their correct position. Life is whole, all of one piece. I am not cast hither and yon on every wind of circumstance or fancy. I am no longer a dry leaf cast up and away by the breeze. I have found my place of rest, my place where I belong. I am content. I do not vainly wish for things I cannot have. I have “the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.” Have I found contentment in A.A.?

Meditation for the Day

In all of us there is an inner consciousness that tells of God, an inner voice that speaks to our hearts. It is a voice that speaks to us intimately, personally, in a time of quiet meditation. It is like a lamp unto our feet and a light unto your path. We can reach out into the darkness and figuratively touch the hand of God. As the Big Book puts it: “Deep down in every man, woman and child is the fundamental idea of God. We can find the Great Reality deep down within us. And when we find it, it changes our whole attitude toward life.”

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may follow the leading of the inner voice. I pray that I may not turn a deaf ear to the urging of my conscience.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #BillW #Awakening

31
October

Single Purpose

There are those who predict that A.A. may well become a new spearhead for a spiritual awakening throughout the world. When our friends say these things, they are both generous and sincere. But we of A.A. must reflect that such a tribute and such a prophecy could well prove to be a heady drink for most of us—that is, if we really came to believe this to be the real purpose of A.A., and if we commenced to behave accordingly.

Our Society, therefore, will prudently cleave to its single purpose: the carrying of the message to the alcoholic who still suffers. Let us resist the proud assumption that since God has enabled us to do well in one area we are destined to be a channel of saving grace for everybody.

~ A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 232 ~

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrec #God #Will

October

BE STILL—FOR A WHILE, ANYHOW

God’s will for us

The bible reminds us: “Be still, and know that I am God.” What does this say to the recovering alcoholic who is struggling against a tidal wave of problems?

It must be a reminder that our true place and right work is part of a great purpose, though we may still not know who we fit into the larger plan. We can know, however, that God’s plan will include peaceful actions, just and moral solutions, and results that are wholly beneficial to all concerned.

One does not have to be a theologian to decide that staying sober is part of God’s will for us. That’s why we can expect the support of Higher Power at all times, even when we feel fearful and abused.

Aside from staying sober, each of us will have individual work and responsibilities in life. We should be careful not to measure anyone’s success—including our own—against worldly standards. If God is in charge, wherever we are and whatever we happen to be doing can a part of the divine will.

In keeping sober today, I’ll know that I’m carrying out God’s will. I’ll also be open to unexpected opportunities to carry out God’s directions.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #Step10 #Recovery #Mistakes

31
October

A man who has committed a mistake and doesn’t correct it is committing another mistake.

~ Confucius ~

Step Ten tell us that when we are wrong, we must “promptly” admit it. We aren’t used to admitting our mistakes. We defend ourselves and blame others. This is call denial.

Denial is bad for two reasons. First, it keeps from learning from our mistakes, so we keep making them. Second, we don’t listen to others, so we close ourselves and become lonely.

What a relief it is to admit our wrongs! We don’t have to keep trying to do things the hard way. We can learn new way to think and act that will work better for us. We can let other people be our teachers.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, help me out of denial, so I can see the changes I need to make.

Action for the Day

Today, If I disagree with someone, I’ll promptly admit when I’m wrong. If I’m right, I’ll be gentle. I don’t have to prove anything.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #FrLeo #Saints #Sinners

31
October

SAINTS/SINNERS

“Every saint has a past and every sinner a future.”

— Oscar Wilde

I must not allow the painful things of my past to affect what I can do today. Guilt is a killer if I allow it power in my life. I have made my amends. I have apologized to those I hurt. Today I begin the rest of my life.

Alcoholism produces behavior that causes guilt and shame. In this sense it is different from so many other diseases. The shame and guilt I felt for years grew out of my alcoholic behavior and I need to remember that I am not responsible for being alcoholic. It is not my fault. However, with the knowledge and acceptance of the disease comes a determination to live responsibly. I have a sense of responsibility in my recovery. Spirituality involves being a responsible person. The awareness and acceptance of my past can help create a loving future.

Today I understand that in the failures of the past are sown the seeds of greatness.

A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #recovery #Program

30
October

Reflection for the Day

If I’m to continue growing in the Program, I must literally “get wise to myself.” I must remember that for most of my life I’ve been terribly self-deceived. The sin of pride has been at the root of most of my self-deception, usually masquerading under the guise of some virtue. I must work continually to uncover pride in all its subtle forms, lest it stop me in my tracks and push me backward once again to the brink of disaster. When it comes to pride, do I believe, in Emerson’s words, that “it is impossible for a man to be cheated by anyone but himself…”?

Today I Pray

May I know that button-popping pride is inappropriate for me as a recovering addict. It hides my faults from me. It turns people off and gets in the way of my helping others. It halts my progress because it makes me think I’ve done enough self-searching and I’m cured. I pray to my Higher Power that I may be realistic enough to accept my success in the Program without giving in to pride.

Today I Will Remember

Pride halts progress.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

One Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #Service #OA #Addiction

31
October

SERVICE

“Service is the rent that you pay for room on this earth.””

~ Shirley Chisholm ~

Midway through my first fourth step someone asked me to sponsor her. I was thrilled and eager to share my experience, strength and hope. As my work with my sponsee progressed, something began to happen in my own program. All that I had learned and was sharing with my sponsee reminded me of where I came from and how far I had progressed. I found that my recovery was strengthened through this process of giving away my experiences in program. This service allowed me to keep what I had received.

It is vital for me that I serve the program of OA in all different manners: as a sponsor; as a leader of a step meeting; as treasurer of a local meeting; and by reaching out to newcomers, people in relapse, and others in the OA fellowship. The more I give, the more I receive.

One day at a time…

I will give service to the OA fellowship so that I may remain in recovery.

~ Cindi L ~

Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Evil #Good

31
October

The sad truth is that most evil is done by people who never make up their minds to be either good or evil.

— Hannah Arendt

How often have we found ourselves in a predicament and innocently saying, “How did I get into this?” When someone has been injured by our actions because we failed to think about them, do we take the responsibility? If a friend is unfairly treated on the job, do we take a stand for him? When we know people are starving, what do we do about it? When our loved ones say they are lonely and wish we would talk to them, how do we respond?

In this program we have chosen to live by our values. We cannot sit passively and fail to live up to those values. Each situation is different, so we must think about what is called for. When we do not think about our reactions, we are in danger of adding to the evil in the world. When we act upon our principles, we feel more hopeful and wholesome.

Today, I will be alert to the difference between good and evil in my actions. I pray for the strength to take a stand.

From the book:

Touchstones by Anonymous

Step by Step #exssentialsofrec #Recovery #Service

31
October

“I spend a great deal of time passing on what I learned to others who want and need it badly. I do it for four reasons:
1. Sense of duty.
2. It is a pleasure.
3. Because in so doing I am paying my debt to the man who took time to pass it on to me.
4. Because every time I do it I take out a little more insurance for myself against a possible slip.”

– Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “Personal Stories, Pioneers of AA”, Ch 1 (“Doctor Bob‘s Nightmare”), pp 180-81.

Today, admitting that my motive to quit drinking was self-serving and hardly altruistic, I am required now to be responsible to the gift of sobriety. That responsibility is no clearer in any other than the 12th Step, the one that gives us our marching orders to carry the message to people who need and want it. A dividend like sobriety that we have earned through blood, sweat and tears brings with it a responsibility, and we appreciate and treasure that dividend when we share it with someone else, and when it works as well for them. As a drinking alcoholic, I “shared” my problems by blaming anyone and anything but myself, and it overwhelmed me; as a soberholic, so must I also share it and, hopefully, sobriety will become an even stronger condition than the attraction to alcohol. And our common journey continues.

Step by step. – Chris M.

The Eye Opener #essentialsofredc #Recovery #AA

31
October

The Founders of AA acted wisely when they fixed it so there would be no Big Shots in our fellowship. We are not the best people in the world when it comes to bearing heavy responsibilities. It has proven to be poison to many a good man.

After all, it is not necessary for your fame to spread around the world – there are more drunks on your own street than you can help.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

Daily Tao / 304 – Divination #essentialsofrec #Tao #Taoism #Zen #Buddhism

31
October

How can divination
Exceed imagination?

You may be contemplating a very bold move in your life. It might be taking a chance on love. It might be deciding to move across the world to begin a new career. It might be combining things that have never been put together before to make a new invention. What you’re contemplating is so surprising to you that you wonder whether or not to do it.

Traditionally, people turned to divination. But how can any system of divination really help you? Whether it is turtle shells, yarrow stalks, crystal balls, psychics, or spirit possession, are the forces “out there” really going to provide any true reassurance? Depending on divination means giving up control over your own life. It’s also avoiding responsibility — you are able to say it wasn’t your fault if things don’t work out.

Imaginative action is very important in life. Without it, we are less than human. For imagination to come into being, we need decisiveness and control. Unless we have these two factors, we cannot manifest the concentration to bring something new into being. We should not surrender our right to decide the course of our lives to vague propitiations of the unknown. We should explore every new possibility that appeals to us and, with wise action, build the force of our characters.

Daily Zen #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Zen #Buddhism

31
October

Some babble on about Zen,
Loquaciously showing off their ability to speak;
Pointing to the sky, they talk of voidness,
Making a useless fuss.
Raising a fist, holding up a finger,
The do not know the source;
Bringing up sayings and contemplative methods,
They quip and jabber.
They deal with students by picking up a gavel,
Or by holding up a whisk;
Winking the eyes and raising the eyebrows
They consider awakening.
They consider studying stories
To be pure concentration.
A genuine highly developed Buddhist
Is never like those
Who consider rationalization wisdom,
Who will never clarify the mind
Or see its essence.

- The Book of Balance and Harmony, p. 98 - Translated by Thomas Cleary

Friday 30 October 2015

OA Big Book Study - part 4/9: step 1 #essentialosfrec #Recovery 'Step1

30
October

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Controversy

30
October

LIVE AND LET LIVE

Never since it began has Alcoholics Anonymous been divided by a major controversial issue. Nor has our Fellowship ever publicly taken sides on any question in an embattled world. This, however, has been no earned virtue. It could almost be said that we were born with it. . . . “So long as we don’t argue these matters privately, it’s a cinch we never shall publicly.”

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 176 ~

Do I remember that I have a right to my opinion but that others don’t have to share it? That’s the spirit of “Live and Let Live.” The Serenity Prayer reminds me, with God’s help, to “Accept the things I cannot change.” Am I still trying to change others? When it comes to “Courage to change the things I can,” do I remember that my opinions are mine, and yours are yours? Am I still afraid to be me? When it comes to “Wisdom to know the difference,” do I remember that my opinions come from my experience? If I have a know-it-all attitude, aren’t I being deliberately controversial?

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrec #Recovery #NA #Courage

30
October

Courage

“Our newly found faith serves as a firm foundation for courage in the future.”

~ Basic Text, p.93 ~

Narcotics Anonymous is no place for the faint of heart! Facing life on life’s terms without the use of drugs isn’t always easy. Recovery requires more than hard work; it requires a liberal dose of courage.

What is courage, anyway? A quick look at a dictionary will tell us. We have courage when we face and deal with anything that we think of as difficult, dangerous, or painful, rather than withdrawing from it. Courage means being brave; having a purpose; having spirit. So what is courage, really? Courage is an attitude, one of perseverance.

That’s what an addict in recovery really needs – perseverance. We make that commitment to stick with our program, to avoid using, no matter what happens. A courageous addict is one who doesn’t use, one day at a time, no matter what. And what gives us courage? A relationship with a Higher Power gives us the strength and the courage to stay clean. We know that, so long as we are in our God’s care, we will have the power we need to face life on its own terms.

Just for today: I have a Higher Power who cares for me, no matter what. Knowing that, I will strive to have an attitude of courage today.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc.

TWENTY-FOUR HOURS A DAY #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Companions

30
October

A.A. Thought for the Day

I have real friends, where I had none before. My drinking companions could hardly be called my real friends, though when drunk we seemed to have the closest kind of friendship. My idea of friendship has changed. Friends are no longer people whom I can use for my own pleasure or profit. Friends are now people who understand me and I them, whom I can help and who can help me to live a better life. I have learned not to hold back and wait for friends to come to me, but to go half way and to be met half way, openly and freely. Does friendship have new meaning for me?

Meditation for the Day

There is a time for everything. We should learn to wait patiently until the right time comes. Easy does it. We waste our energies in trying to get things before we are ready to have them, before we have earned the right to receive them. A great lesson we have to learn is how to wait with patience. We can believe that all our life is a preparation for something better to come when we have earned the right to it. We can believe that God has a plan for our lives and that this plan will work out in the fullness of time.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may learn the lesson of waiting patiently. I pray that I may not expect things until I have earned the right to have them.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #Friendship #Recovery

30
October

Loving Advisers

Had I not been blessed with wise and loving advisers, I might have cracked up long ago. A doctor once saved me from death by alcoholism because he obliged me to face up to the deadlines of that malady. Another doctor, a psychiatrist, later on helped me save my sanity because he led me to ferret out some of my deep-lying defects. From a clergyman I acquired the truthful principles by which we A.A.’s now try to live.

But these precious friends did far more than supply me with their professional skills. I learned that I could go to them with any problem whatever. Their wisdom and their integrity were mine for the asking.

Many of my dearest A.A. friends have stood with me in exactly this same relation. Oftentimes they could help where others could not, simply because they were A.A.’s.

~ GRAPEVINE, AUGUST 1961 ~

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Winners

30
October

WHO IS A WINNER?

Staying Sober

Newcomers in AA are urged to “stick with the winners.” But who is a winner?

A winner in AA is one who finds sobriety and represents principles that help others find and maintain sobriety. Any person who can help others is a winner.

The losers are people who don’t make enough of a commitment to find and maintain sobriety. It may not be their fault. On the other hand, some losers eventually become winners.

It is not our purpose to apply ratings to various individuals, whether they’re winner or losers. We must know, however, that we cannot benefit from the suggestions of people who do not stay sober. We are looking for the path of recovery, not the road to ruin. The winners are people who can help us in our recovery.

I’ll spend as much time as possible with people who want to stay sober. I have no intention of joining anyone on the road to ruin.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #Recovery

30
October

The universe is full of magical things waiting for our wits to grow sharper.

~ Eden Phillpots

How nice to have the fog lifted! Sobriety lets our wits grow sharper. We can go after our dreams and ideas. We can listen to music and sing. We are part of the magic of the universe. At times we may not feel very magical, but we are. Our spirits hold much magic. Sobriety is magic. We work at making the world a better place. In doing so, we get magical powers. Power that heals and comfort others. Powers to understand things that before we could not. Powers that let us see the world as we’ve never seen it. Enjoy the magic and use your powers wisely!

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, let Your magic enter and fill my heart.

Action for the Day

I’ll list four magical powers I have from being sober.

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Food #Addiction #Recovery

30
October

FOOD

“Seeing is deceiving. It’s eating that’s believing.”
— James Thurber

It may seem strange to many but for years my belief system revolved around my eating. I believed that if I could eat I would be okay. Food for me was both the pleasure and escape. I lived to eat. Feelings, good and bad, were surrounded and stuffed down with food. Some people drank to hide, used cocaine to escape — I ate to avoid the problems in my life.

Seeing was deceiving for me because I refused to accept the reality of my eating. I covered myself with clothes, avoided the beach, rarely looked at my body. I saw only what I wanted to see — and I was dying. Now I choose to face reality. This for me is the meaning of spirituality. I choose to show my love for me by loving my food, making choices around what I eat and eating slowly. Today I choose to talk about my problems, rather than eat them.

God, help me to accept my daily bread with gratitude and abstinence.

A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Pride #EGO #Self

30
October

Reflection for the Day

When I’m motivated by pride—by bondage of self—I become partly or even wholly blind to my liabilities and shortcomings. At that point, the last thing I need is comfort. Instead, I need an understanding friend in the Program—one who knows where I’m at—a friend who’ll unhesitatingly chop a hole through the wall my ego has built so that the light of reason can once again shine through. Do I take time to review my progress, to spot-check myself on a daily basis, and to promptly try to remedy my wrongs?

Today I Pray

God I pray that the group—or just one friend—will be honest enough to see my slippery manifestations of pride and brave enough to tell me about them. My self-esteem was starved for so long, that with my first successes in the Program, it may swell to the gross proportions of self-satisfaction. May a view from outside myself give me a true picture of how I am handling the triumph of my sobriety—with humility or with pride.

Today I Will Remember

Self-esteem or self-satisfaction?

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Food #Addiction #OA

30
October

Truth

“The truth that makes men free is for the most part
the truth which men prefer not to hear.”

~ Herbert Agar ~

I spent thirty-five years of my adult life running from the truth. It wasn’t until I came to OA and began to work through the Twelve Steps that I had enough emotional support to turn and face the truth. What is my truth? I am a food addict.

Once I was able to face and accept that truth, surrender to my Higher Power was immediate. At long last I was free of cravings, free of bingeing, and free of obsessive food thoughts. That freedom allowed me to work toward the goal of becoming the person I had always wanted to be.

The way I see it, I can be an addict in recovery or I can be an addict in hell. I choose recovery.

One day at a time…

I will seek the truth in my life by working the program of recovery.

~ Cindi L ~

ELDER MEDITATION OF THE DAY #essentialsofrec #Native #ODOWA

30
October

“My children, you have forgotten the customs and traditions of your forefathers. …You have bought guns, knives, kettles, and blankets from the white man until you can no longer do without them; and what is worse you have drunk the poison firewater, which turns you into fools. Fling all these things away; live as your forefathers did before you.”
~ Pontiac, ODOWA ~

We need to think as our forefathers did. They knew the culture and the customs. The culture taught them how to live in harmony with each other. We need to think like this again. We must because God-reliant. We don’t need the firewater. This liquid is very destructive to our native people. It kills our spirit. Our Indian people are happiest when we are spiritual. When we depend on anyone or anything else, we get off track. We need to talk to the Elders and find out what the old ways were. We need to ask them to teach us the culture, the tradition and the customs. This will help us become whole again.

My Maker, guide my path as you did my ancestors.

Today's Gift From Hazeldon #essentialsofrec #Anxiety #Giving

30
October

When a person is concerned only with giving, there is no anxiety.

— Gerald Jampolsky

Whatever we give away returns to us, many-fold. When we show love or understanding, when we are gentle or express genuine concern, usually the same will come right back to us. Perhaps not in kind, maybe not in ways we expected, nevertheless our gifts bear fruit.

Many of us have longed for love and security to come from others with a promise of forever; inevitably, we became anxious that, in time, that love or security would disappear. When we view life from such a narrow perspective, no amount of love can bolster our sense of worth.

How different the world looks when we unselfishly give out love rather than longingly await the love, attention, or understanding of others. We guarantee receiving the good feelings we crave every time we share those feelings with a fellow traveler.

I am in charge of what I receive from others today. I will get back what I willingly give.

From the book:

In God’s Care by Karen Casey

Step by Step #essentialsofrec #Change #Effects

30
October

“Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks – drinking which they see others taking with impunity. After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change, there is very little hope of his recovery.”

– Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “The Doctor’s Opinion,” pp xxvi-vii.

Today, if I cannot forget “the effect” of alcohol as I grew progressively drunker, let me never forget the morning after with its consequences, none of which I care to be responsible for anymore. If I can cling to what the morning-after costs were and that they were my “bottom,” may they be potent enough to remove any desire to drink again because, should I drink again, there likely will be no stopping until another bottom hits – if I survive long enough. I abused that “firm resolution” not to drink again when I was hung over, or standing in front of a judge with my latest DUI or after I broke every promise I’d made to family and friends. A “firm resolution” is so easy then; it can be just as easy if I apply it to being sober – if I remember the consequence instead of “the effect.” Today, I don’t need or want to remember the effect; the consequences are enough. And our common journey continues.

Step by step. – Chris M.

The Eye Opener #essentialsofrec #Grace #God

30
October

Each and every one of us have what we have only by the Grace of God. Even if we acquired all our possessions through our own industry and intelligence, still you must admit that you gave yourself none of these attributes that made your acquisition possible.

These were not necessarily inherited traits, for geniuses have had morons for children. You have what you have because God so willed it, so use them as God would will it.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

Daily Tao / 302 – Aging #essentialsofrec #Tao #Taoism #Zen #Buddhism

30
October

Mist and snow blot out the world.
Bony trees are thinly fleshed with ice.
A couple laughs below a stone monument,
But behind a bristled hedge,
A cloaked woman sings a dirge.
Old age is lonely.
Dreams of those I’ve buried haunt me.
Was I ever ready to shoulder this mantle?
It smothered a carefree youth.
Now neither parent, lover, nor friends have I,
And great fame is as distant as spring’s leaves.
Dear youth, do you ever think of getting old? If you did, then you might value your time even more. Dear oldster, do you ever think of your past? Of course you do. You wonder if you did the right things.

How ironic this life is! What a tremendous bind we are born into! When young, we do not understand the dreariness of old age. When we are old, we are not permitted to go back in time. When vitality flows freely, we haven’t enough wisdom. When we have gained wisdom, fate has made us too weak to take action.

Oh, I know. The purpose of following Tao is to be well adjusted. The secret of Tao is to know how to pass into old age gracefully. Yes, I know. But may I not still reflect on the poignancy of it all?

To be fully human is to know resignation.

Daily Zen #essentialsofrec #Zen #Buddhism

30
October

True nature is always elusive,
Only the heart of no-heart
can grasp-it.
Up in the mountain,
the burning jade stays brilliant.
And in the roaring furnace,
lotus blossoms keep their fragrance.

- Ngo An, Korea, (circa 1090)

Thursday 29 October 2015

RANDOM BIG BOOK ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS #essentialsofrec #Recovery #AA

24
November

“Here are thousands of men and women, worldly indeed. They flatly declare that since they have come to believe in a Power greater than themselves, to take a certain attitude toward that Power, and to do certain simple things, there has been a revolutionary change in their way of living and thinking.”

~ Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition, We Agnostics, page 50

OA Big Book Study - part 3/9: step 1 #essentialsofrec #OA #Recovery

29
October

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Survival

29
October

OUR SURVIVAL

Since recovery from alcoholism is life itself to us, it is imperative that we preserve in full strength our means of survival.

~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177 ~

The honesty expressed by the members of A.A. in meetings has the power to open my mind. Nothing can block the flow of energy that honesty carries with it. The only obstacle to this flow of energy is inebriation, but even then, no one will find a closed door if he or she has left and chooses to return. Once he or she has received the gift of sobriety, each A.A. member is challenged on a daily basis to accept a program of honesty.

My Higher Power created me for a purpose in life. I ask him to accept my honest efforts to continue on my journey in the spiritual way of life. I call on Him for strength to know and seek His will.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

JUST FOR TODAY #essentialsofrec #Recovery #NA #Now

29
October

Living in the Now

“Living just for today relieves the burden of the past and the fear of the future.”

~ Basic Text, pp. 90-91 ~

Thoughts of how bad it was – or could be – can consume our hopes for recovery. Fantasies of how wonderful it was – or could be – can divert us from taking action in the real world. That’s why, in Narcotics Anonymous, we talk about living and recovering “just for today.”

In NA, we know that we can change. We’ve come to believe that our Higher Power can restore the soundness of our minds and hearts. The wreckage of our past can be dealt with through the steps. By maintaining our recovery, just for today, we can avoid creating problems in the future.

Life in recovery is no fantasy. Daydreams of how great using was or how we can use successfully in the future, delusions of how great things could be, overblown expectations that set us up for disappointment and relapse – all are stripped of their power by the program. We seek God’s will, not our own. WE seek to serve others, not ourselves. Our self-centeredness and the importance of how great things could or should be for us disappears. In the light of recovery, we perceive the difference between fantasy and reality.

Just for today: I am grateful for the principles of recovery and the new reality they’ve given me.

© 1991 by Narcotics Anonymous World Services Inc.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Relationships #Families

29
October

A.A. Thought for the Day

My relationships with my children have greatly improved. Those children who saw me drunk and were ashamed, those children who turned away in fear and even loathing have seen me sober and like me, have turned to me in confidence and trust and have forgotten the past as best they could. They have given me a chance for companionship that I had completely missed. I am their father or their mother now. Not just “that person the Mom or Dad married and God knows why.” I am a part of my home now. Have I found something that I had lost?

Meditation for the Day

Our true measure of success in life is the measure of spiritual progress that we have revealed in our lives. Others should be able to see a demonstration of God’s will in our lives. The measure of His will that those around us have seen worked out in our daily living is the measure of our true success. We can do our best to be a demonstration each day of the power of God in human lives, and example of the working out of the grace of God in the hearts of men and women.

Prayer for the Day

I pray that I may so live that others will see in me something of the working out of the will of God. I pray that my life may be a demonstration of what the grace of God can do.

© 1954, 1975, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation

AS BILL SEES IT #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Alone

29
October

~ Page 302 ~

Comradeship in Peril

We A.A.’s are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to captain’s table.

Unlike the feelings of the ship’s passengers, however, our joy in escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways. The feeling of having sharing in a common peril—relapse into alcoholism—continues to be an important element in the powerful cement which binds us of A.A. together.

<< << << >> >> >>

Our first woman alcoholic had been a patient of Dr. Harry Tiebout’s, and he had handed her a prepublication manuscript copy of the Big Book. The first reading made her rebellious, but the second convinced. Presently she came to a meeting held in our living room, and from there she returned to the sanitarium carrying this classic message to a fellow patient: “We aren’t alone anymore.”

~ 1. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, P. 17 ~
~ 2. A.A. COMES OF AGE, P. 18 ~

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

WALK IN DRY PLACES #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Sobriety

29
October

DIMINISHING RETURNS ARE STILL BENEFICIAL

Getting better
There’s a “Cloud nine” effect that some of us had when we first found sobriety. Some call it the honeymoon stage. It includes a feeling of great joy and relief over having found, at last, an answer to drinking.

This gradually fades away, as it should under normal conditions. We then feel as though we’re in stages of diminishing returns, where the benefits don’t seem as miraculous, and other improvements in our lives seem to come slowly.

The experience we have in getting sober is like that of people who recovery from a terrible physical illness. At first, they feel remarkably better for the first time. But then their recovery becomes taken for granted, and “feeling better” isn’t as remarkable as it was when they first recovered.

We should not expect it to be. Instead, we can focus on the contentment and well-being that living sober and steady improvement give us.

I may not have anything today like the excitement that accompanied early recovery. I’ll be satisfied with the normal blessings of good living.

© 1996 by Hazelden Foundation

KEEP IT SIMPLE #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Judgement #Step10

29
October

Each morning puts a man on trial and each evening passes judgment.

~ Ray L. Smith ~

In many ways, the Tenth Step is very natural. We continue to take a personal inventory. And when we’re wrong, we promptly admit it.

At the end of each day we ask ourselves, “How did my day go?” As we think about our day, we bring order to our life. The Tenth Step teaches us about order. It also teaches us how to correct mistakes. We do this by admitting our wrongs. This way, we have no backlog of guilt. It’s good to start each day fresh, free from quilt. Admitting our wrongs is a loving thing to do. It’s another way the program teaches us to love ourselves.

Prayer for the Day

Today, I’ll face many choices. Higher Power, be with me as I choose. When the day is done, remind me to think about how I lived today. This will help me learn.

Action for the Day

Tonight, I’ll list three choices I made today. Would I make the same choices again?

Copyright © 1988 by Hazelden Foundation

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #frLeo #RACISM

29
October

RACISM

“I want to be the white man’s brother not his brother-in-law.”

— Martin Luther King, Jr.

Addiction is always about separation, ego, isolation and prejudice. The disease makes us feel different, “less than” and we cover those feelings with false humility or we assume an arrogant and bombastic manner. Pride and feelings of inferiority put us on the defensive. It is not unusual for us to seek a scapegoat for our anger. Drinking alcoholics can be vindictive and prejudicial in their attitude towards minorities: Blacks, gays and Jews. It is a strange quirk of circumstance when a minority seeks to victimize another minority — because alcoholics are a minority group!

Sobriety is about a change in attitude and behavior. The spiritual acceptance of self must lead inevitably to the acceptance of others. The false pride and arrogance of our drinking days must give way to the vulnerable strength of sobriety. Now we are able to embrace our brother, regardless of color, class or creed.

Lord, teach me to seek You in my fellow man and greet You in the stranger.

A DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Pride #Recovery #Gratitude

29
October

Reflection for the Day

Virtually all of us suffered the defect of pride when we sought help through the Program, the Twelve Steps, and the fellowship of those who truly understood what we felt and where we had been. We learned about our shortcomings—and of pride in particular—and began to replace self-satisfaction with gratitude for the miracle of our recovery, gratitude for the privilege of working with others, and gratitude for God’s gift, which enabled us to turn catastrophe into good fortune. Have I begun to realize that “pride is to character as the attic to the house—the highest part, and generally the most empty…”?

Today I Pray

God, please tell me if I am banging my shins on my own pride. Luckily for me, the Program has its own built-in check for flaws like this—the clear-eyed vision of the group, which sees in me what I sometimes cannot see myself. May I know that any kind of success has always gone straight to my head, and be watching for it as I begin to reconstruct my confidence.

Today I Will Remember

“Success” can be a setback.

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Recovery #OA

29
October

Trial and Error

“Anything worth doing at all is worth doing poorly.”

Joachim de Posada

Imagine my shock the first time I heard this statement, which happened to be in a Twelve Step (OA) meeting. I had been reared in an environment in which anything worth doing at all was worth doing well. In fact, in my world this concept was practiced as if it had religious authority. It was perfectionism given flesh and bones.

Perhaps the idea that “anything worth doing at all is worth doing well” worked for some folks. For me, it was paralyzing. There were many things that I needed to do that I simply could not do well. These included things like trimming the hedge, praying, and making good investment choices. So how did my sick, obsessive-compulsive self-respond? Predictably, of course: I just didn’t do those things I felt I couldn’t do well. I was rarely willing to take the chance of acting and being wrong, so I did not act at all. Soon I was living a very restricted life—a life hemmed in by the fear of messing up. I needed to be perfect or just not be at all.

Then I found the program. There I learned that I am human and that making mistakes is part of being human. I even learned that making mistakes is a good thing, because in doing so I have acted. This is a program of action. I learn by acting and by making mistakes. How liberating! How freeing. I can’t tell you how much my constricted, warped life began to open up. I acted and did things poorly, and people responded warmly and in a helpful manner. I took their advice and I joined the human race. I now consider this simple concept—act, even if it means doing a thing poorly—as one of the greatest gifts of the program. My life is really my life now. Perfectionism occasionally rears its ugly head, but when it does, I simply remember where I came from and then I go ahead and make a mistake and set myself free again.

One day at a time…

Today I will do what I need to do, and I will do it as well as I can. When I make a mistake I will not conclude that I am a mistake. I will accept that I am human and I will ask for help. Perfection has never been a goal of this program and it is not a goal for my life.

~ Pete M

Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrec #teaching ##Elders #Native

29
October

“Mothers must protect the lives they have helped to bring into the world.”

–Haida Gwaii, Traditional Circle of Elders

Every child is subject to the seeds each adult plants in his/her mind.
If we plant praise and “you can do it”, the child will grow up with certain predictable behavior patterns.
If we plant ideas that there’s something wrong with you or you’re good for nothing, the child will grow up with predictable behavior patterns.
We need to honor and respect the mothers who protect the children and plant positive seeds for their growth.

Great Spirit, bless each mother and give her courage and faith.

Today’s thought from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Step5 #Honesty

29
October

An honest man’s the noblest work of God.

— Alexander Pope

Step Five says, “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” When we did this Step, the person we admitted our wrongs to didn’t run away or reject us. That person stuck with us. Chances are, we were told that we are quite human. And working Step Five helped us to see that we can change, now that we’re sober.

The most important part of Step Five is the act of being totally honest about ourselves. Then we know that relationships – with our Higher Power, ourselves, and others – can be built. We have faced the truth. Now we know we never have to lie.

Prayer for the Day

Higher Power, I know no Fifth Step is perfect. Please help me be as honest as I can in doing my Fifth Step and at other times.

Action for the Day

If I’ve avoided doing a Fifth Step, I’ll talk to my sponsor about it today.

From the book:

Keep It Simple by Anonymous

Step by Step #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Self-Pity

29
October

” …(A) terrible thing happened. I ran out of people! Even my family didn’t have much use for me. When they saw me coming, they locked up the silverware and everything else of value. I felt very lonely and hurt, because nobody understood me. I felt very sorry for myself and attempted suicide on many occasions, making sure there was always somebody within reaching distance to see that I didn’t finish the job. Any time I tried to kill myself, I was either drunk or pilled up or both …”

– Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd Edition, 1976, “They Lost Nearly All,” Ch 4 (“Belle of the Bar”), pp 478-79.

Today: ” I ran out of people, ” …nobody understood me,” “I felt very sorry for myself.” What once was my prescription for life now sounds pathetic. Perhaps I refused or couldn’t understand anyone else because I was too self-absorbed to understand them; maybe I felt sorry for myself because I had nothing to give or even offer anyone else; and possibly I ran out of people because I drove them away with my expectations that they make me and my wants or needs their total focus. As we sober up, we recover; as we recover, we can see what we allowed our addictions to do to us and, in the end, what it did made us pathetic souls. In sobriety, I have no use, no excuse, no need and don’t want to be that pathetic creature who expects to be the focus of everyone else’s attention and, when I’m not, lash out in self-righteous indignation. I may not be perfect even in sobriety, but I don’t have to be and I’m grateful to say I’m not the pathetic self-seeker I once was. So it goes with the miracles of the Program. And our common journey continues.

Step by step. – Chris M.

THE EYE OPENER #essentialsofrec #Change #Recovery #Miracle

October

We human beings are no more miraculous than the ape organically. We do not even have some powers possessed by brute creation—for example, we cannot change color at will as can some reptiles. We can’t change our physical make-up as the tadpole does when it becomes a frog, or a caterpillar when it changes into a butterfly.

Yet we are the miracle of all miracles, for we alone have a soul, which enables us to transcend this planet and commune with God himself.

Copyright Hazelden Foundation

Daily Tao / 302 – Immortality #essentialsofrec #Tao #Taoism #Zen

29
October

Immortality does not beget wisdom.
Only mortality begets maturity.

There are people in this world who have had enough adventures for several lifetimes. They are the closest conception we can have of immortals. Yet some of these people are hopelessly immature. After all, whenever life became difficult for them, they changed to a new path and by luck the new one was always rich and fruitful. Life came so easily that they took more than one helping.

Unfortunately, maturity only comes from the threat of mortality. Success only comes from the threat of failure. Without pressure, we would not plan, utilize wisdom, or exercise care. We realize that we have only a very short time to make an achievement, to prove that our existence was worthwhile, and so we strive harder. An immortal can never conceive of such effort.

It would be good if our religious traditions provided us with a foolproof way through life. After all, we live somewhat haphazardly : Our lives are a tapestry woven of both mistakes and successes. Religion doesn’t always provide us with a meaningful pattern. We must make our decisions the best that we can, and as we mature, we can see our way better.

We are motivated by death. We are frightened by failure. We have to make our peace with this mysterious, sometimes hostile world. An immortal does not need to cope with any of this. But we mortals must, and we must strive to make a good showing for ourselves.

Daily Zen #essentialsofrec #Zen #Buddhism

29
October

Black! crow standing
in his eye all eternity
Long shadows draw

Wild winds abate
In morning's first light
A broken teahouse

Bursting open
The rose dawn fills
My empty universe

No barrier now
Lofty mountain to one
Riding the wind.

- Sho Ka, 1991

Wednesday 28 October 2015

OA Big Book Study - part 2/9: Intro #essentialsofrec #OA #Intro #Study

28
October

DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrec #tradition

28
October

AN UNBROKEN TRADITION

We conceive the survival and spread of Alcoholics Anonymous to be something of far greater importance than the weight we could collectively throw back of any other cause.

TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 177

How much it means to me that an unbroken tradition of more than half a century is a thread that connects me to Bill W. and Dr. Bob. How much more grounded I feel to be in a Fellowship whose aims are constant and unflagging. I am grateful that the energies of A.A. have never been scattered, but focused instead on our members and on individual sobriety.

My beliefs are what make me human; I am free to hold any opinion, but A.A.’s purpose—so clearly stated fifty years ago—is for me to keep sober. That purpose has promoted round-the-clock meeting schedules, and the thousands of intergroup and central service offices, with their thousands of volunteers. Like the sun focused through a magnifying glass, A.A.’s single vision has lit a fire of faith in sobriety in millions of hearts, including mine.

Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc.

Just For Today #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Attitudes

28
October

Attitudes

“We can also use the steps to improve our attitudes.” Basic Text, p.53

Ever have a day when everything seems to be working against you? Do you go through periods when you are so busy taking people’s inventories you can barely stand yourself? What about when you find yourself snapping at your co-worker or loved one for no reason? When we find ourselves in this bleak frame of mind, we need to take action.

At any point in the day, we can set aside a few moments and take a “spot inventory.” We examine how we are reacting to outside situations and other people. When we do, we may find that we are suffering from a plain old “bad attitude.” A negative outlook can hurt our relationship with our Higher Power and the people in our lives. When we are honest with ourselves, we frequently find that the problem lies with us and our attitude.

We have no control over the challenges life gives us. What we can control is how we react to those challenges. At any point in time, we can change our attitude. The only thing that really changes in Narcotics Anonymous is us. The Twelve Steps give use the tools to move out of the problem and into the solution.

Just for today: Throughout the day, I will check my attitude. I will apply the steps to improve it.

Twenty-Four Hours A Day #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Reward

28
October
A.A. Thought For The Day

What other rewards have come to me as a result of my new way of living? Each one of us can answer this question in many ways. My relationship with my husband or my wife is on an entirely new plane. The total selfishness is gone and more cooperation has taken its place. My home is a home again. Understanding has taken the place of misunderstanding recriminations, bickering, and resentment. A new companionship has developed which bodes well for the future. “There are homes where fires burn and there is bread, lamps are lit and prayers are said. Though people falter through the dark and nations grope, with God Himself back of these little homes, we still can hope.” Have I come home?

Meditation For The Day

We can bow to God’s will in anticipation of the thing happening which will, in the long run, be the best for all concerned. It may not always seem the best thing at the present time, but we cannot see as far ahead as God can. We do not know how His plans are laid, we only need to believe that if we trust Him and accept whatever happens as His will in a spirit of faith, everything will work out for the best in the end.

Prayer For The Day

I pray that I may not ask to see the distant scene. I pray that one step may be enough for me.

As Bill Sees It #essentialsofrec #Anonimity #Sobriety

28
October

Anonymity and Sobriety, p. 299

As the A.A. groups multiplied, so did anonymity problems. Enthusiastic over the spectacular recovery of a brother alcoholic, we’d sometimes discuss those intimate and harrowing aspects of his case meant for his sponsor’s ear alone. The aggrieved victim would then rightly declare that his trust had been broken.

When such stories got into circulation outside of A.A., the loss of confidence in our anonymity promise was severe. It frequently turned people from us. Clearly, every A.A. member’s name–and story, too–had to be confidential, if he wished.

<< << << >> >> >>

We now fully realize that 100 per cent personal anonymity before the public is just as vital to the life of A.A. as 100 per cent sobriety is to the life of each and every member. This is not counsel of fear; it is the prudent voice of long experience.

1. 12 & 12, p. 185
2. A.A. Comes Of Age, p. 293

TWELVE AND TWELVE, P. 51-52

Copyright © 1967 by Alcoholics Anonymous ® World Services, Inc.

Walk In Dry Places #essentialsofrec #Fortitude #Sobriety

28
October

The new problems in sobriety
Fortitude

Sometimes sobriety turns up problems that were never apparent during one’s drinking days. Some people, for example, encounter marriage problems that lead to divorce. It almost appears that some things were better when we were drinking.

But there are good reasons why sobriety brings new problems. One is that we become aware of problems that were there all the time, although not acknowledged. It’s possible, too, that sobriety brings more responsibility, along with risks of failure. At the same time, we might be more sensitive to the real problems of living.

We should never use such problems as an excuse for drinking. It is true, as many people say, that drinking can only make matters worse. Nothing can be improved by a return to drinking.

I must remember today that sobriety means living on a new basis. This includes facing problems and dealing with them… not running from them as I did in the past.

Keep It Simple #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Courage

28
October

I wish you the courage to be warm when the world would prefer you to be cool.
–Robert A. Ward

Our program and the Steps have warmed us from the inside out. Just as a bonfire warms those who stand around it, the Steps take away the chill we have felt for so long.

At Times, we’ll be tempted to move away from the Steps. At times, we’ll get tired of looking at our behavior and attitudes. We are by nature, controlling people. We’ll want to

“prove our point” about something when our program tells us to let it go. We need to stay close to the Steps and the warmth they hold. Remember the chill of our disease.

Prayer for the Day: I need to member that the Steps and the fellowship of the program keep me sober, not me alone.

Action for the Day: Today, I’ll thank about what the Steps have done for me. I will think of how they have kept me warm.

Father Leo’s Daily Meditation #essentialsofrec #Oratory

28
October

ORATORY

“The finest eloquence is that which get things done.”

— David Lloyd George

I know how to talk. I know how to sound good. I know how to convince a person of my good intentions — indeed that was part of my manipulation for years.

Today I try to walk the talk. I try to demonstrate what I say in the behavior I exhibit. The bottom line is action. Talking never stopped me from drinking — my physical refusal of the first drink was the start of my recovery.

God is to be discovered not merely in pious sentiments, as attractive as they may sound, but rather in the small steps of altered behavior.

Am I doing what I am saying? Lord give me the courage to live my words.

#essentialsofrec #Recovery #Spiritual #Quotes #Inspiration

28
October

A Day At A Time #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Pride

28
October

Reflection For The Day

“Pride, like a magnet, constantly points to one object, self; unlike the magnet, it has no attractive pole, but at all points repels.”

~ Colton.

When the earliest members of The Program discovered just how spiritually prideful they could be, they admonished one another to avoid “instant sainthood.” That old-time warning could be taken as an alibi to excuse us from doing our best, but it’s really The Program’s way of warning against “pride blindness” and the imaginary perfections we don’t possess. Am I beginning to understand the difference between pride and humility?

Today I Pray

May God, who is His mercy has saved our lives, keep us from setting ourselves up as the saints and prophets of The Program. May we recognize the value of our experiences for others without getting smug about it. May we remember with humility and love the thousands of other “old hands” who are equally well-versed in its principles.

Today I Will Remember

I Will avoid “instant sainthood.”

© 1989 by Hazelden Foundation

ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Home #AA

28
October

Home

“My home is not a place, it is people.”

~ Lois McMaster Bujold ~

I’ve spent most of my adult life feeling very alone in the world. My disease of compulsive overeating separated me from others due to my isolation, embarrassment and shame. I was always the outsider looking in at others.

It wasn’t until I walked into a twelve step meeting that I found a home for myself. Here these people knew me, heck they WERE me. Whatever I thought, whatever I felt, and whatever I had done in my life, so had others in OA. I am accepted in my totality. OA is the only place where I feel truly safe and at home. I am not alone anymore. The entire twelve step fellowship is on my side ~ and what a great feeling that is!

One day at a time…

I will make OA my home.

~ Cindi L ~

Elder’s Meditation of the Day #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Lakot a#Nativeamerican

28
October

“Our religion seems foolish to you, but so does yours to me. The Baptists and Methodists and Presbyterians and the Catholics all have a different God. Why cannot we have one of our own?”

–Sitting Bull, HUNKPAPA LAKOTA

The Creator gave each culture a path to God.

To the Indian people, he revealed that the Creator is in everything. Everything is alive with the Spirit of God.
The water is alive.
The trees are alive.
The woods are alive.
The mountains are alive.
The wind is alive.
The Great Spirit’s breath is in everything and that’s why it’s alive. All of nature is our church, we eat with our families in church, we go to sleep in church.

My Creator, let us leave people to worship You in the way You have taught them.

Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Contentment

28
October

I often think I’m not doing enough with my life. I paint, I golf, I dabble, but is that enough?
— Abby Warman

Nobody can answer the question posed by Abby but ourselves. The point is, are we content? If we hesitate even a moment before replying, perhaps we need to reconsider how we’re spending our time.

The solution to fulfillment is simple: Express only love to the others in our lives. It’s not what we do, ever, but how we do it. If focusing on giving only love and acceptance to others gives us pleasure, could we want for anything more?

There is nothing anyone can do that’s more important than helping another person feel loved or forgiven, if that’s called for. Whether we are working or merely at play, our opportunities are unending. We’ll know we have done enough if we have welcomed them.

Today I can offer love to someone quite easily. Both of us will be rewarded.

From the book:

Keepers of the Wisdom by Karen Casey

Step by Step #essentialsofrecovery #Sobriety

28
October

Today, if in sobriety I cling onto such all-consuming and self-destructive emotions like resentment, anger, grief or bitterness and will not or cannot yet free myself of them, today, I at least will not take on any more feelings that I cannot handle. Recovery is partly about getting rid of the garbage and self-defeatism that I acquired pre-alcoholic and during my drinking days; it is not about acquiring more of the same. In refusing to take on any more, I at least will have something less to work through and, in fact, might be able to take on what exists one thing at a time. Today, my recovery will focus on getting rid of what needs to be rid of and not on collecting more of what I do not need. All I need remember is to “Let Go and Let God,” and not take back that which I let go. And our common journey continues.

Step by step. – Chris M.