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.
Showing posts with label Discipline. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Discipline. Show all posts
Sunday, 19 July 2026
Saturday, 8 February 2025
ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery
DISCIPLINE AND FREEDOM
“Freedom to a dancer means discipline.
That is what technique is for … liberation.”
~ Martha Graham ~
I was thinking this morning that keeping in fit spiritual condition was like being a dancer. A dancer knows that without the discipline of frequent training and rehearsal, he or she will not be able to dance freely when called upon to do so. The dancer who is not in shape will look wrong, feel wrong and become injured trying to do something wild and free. The training may be dull, boring and repetitive at times, but when the performance is on, the dancer soars in the freedom of movement.
I try to look at my daily program tasks the way a dancer looks at training. I may not like every minute, but I have the continual blessing of freedom as I go about my day and the hope of great moments of breakthrough into new freedoms as I progress.
One day at a time …
I will take each step of my recovery program with my great vision of freedom.
~ Q.
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Friday, 19 July 2019
Thursday, 8 February 2018
ONE DAY AT A TIME #essentialsofrecovery
DISCIPLINE AND FREEDOM
” Freedom to a dancer means discipline. That is what technique is for … liberation.”
–Martha Graham
I was thinking this morning that keeping in fit spiritual condition was like being a dancer. A dancer knows that without the discipline of frequent training and rehearsal, he or she will not be able to dance freely when called upon to do so. The dancer who is not in shape will look wrong, feel wrong and become injured trying to do something wild and free. The training may be dull, boring and repetitive at times, but when the performance is on, the dancer soars in the freedom of movement.
I try to look at my daily program tasks the way a dancer looks at training. I may not like every minute, but I have the continual blessing of freedom as I go about my day and the hope of great moments of breakthrough into new freedoms as I progress.
One day at a time …
I will take each step of my recovery program with my great vision of freedom.
~ Q.
” Freedom to a dancer means discipline. That is what technique is for … liberation.”
–Martha Graham
I was thinking this morning that keeping in fit spiritual condition was like being a dancer. A dancer knows that without the discipline of frequent training and rehearsal, he or she will not be able to dance freely when called upon to do so. The dancer who is not in shape will look wrong, feel wrong and become injured trying to do something wild and free. The training may be dull, boring and repetitive at times, but when the performance is on, the dancer soars in the freedom of movement.
I try to look at my daily program tasks the way a dancer looks at training. I may not like every minute, but I have the continual blessing of freedom as I go about my day and the hope of great moments of breakthrough into new freedoms as I progress.
One day at a time …
I will take each step of my recovery program with my great vision of freedom.
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Friday, 12 January 2018
Daily Zen #essentialsofrecovery
It is necessary to cultivate some discipline of mind, for an undisciplined mind always finds excuses to act selfishly and thoughtlessly. When the mind is undisciplined, the body is also undisciplined, and so is speech and action.
-Anguttara Nikaya
-Anguttara Nikaya
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Monday, 4 December 2017
DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery
A DAILY DISCIPLINE
. . . when they [self-examination, meditation and prayer] are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98
The last three Steps of the program invoke God’s loving discipline upon my willful nature. If I devote just a few moments every night to a review of the highlights of my day, along with an acknowledgement of those aspects that didn’t please me so much, I gain a personal history of myself, one that is essential to my journey into self-discovery. I was able to note my growth, or lack of it, and to ask in prayerful meditation to be relieved of those continuing shortcomings that cause me pain. Meditation and prayer also teach me the art of focusing and listening. I find that the turmoil of the day gets tuned out as I pray for His will and guidance. The practice of asking Him to help me in my strivings for perfection puts a new slant on the tedium of any day, because I know there is honor in any job done well. The daily discipline of prayer and meditation will keep me in fit spiritual condition, able to face whatever the day brings—without the thought of a drink.
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc
. . . when they [self-examination, meditation and prayer] are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.
TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98
The last three Steps of the program invoke God’s loving discipline upon my willful nature. If I devote just a few moments every night to a review of the highlights of my day, along with an acknowledgement of those aspects that didn’t please me so much, I gain a personal history of myself, one that is essential to my journey into self-discovery. I was able to note my growth, or lack of it, and to ask in prayerful meditation to be relieved of those continuing shortcomings that cause me pain. Meditation and prayer also teach me the art of focusing and listening. I find that the turmoil of the day gets tuned out as I pray for His will and guidance. The practice of asking Him to help me in my strivings for perfection puts a new slant on the tedium of any day, because I know there is honor in any job done well. The daily discipline of prayer and meditation will keep me in fit spiritual condition, able to face whatever the day brings—without the thought of a drink.
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Sunday, 8 January 2017
DAILY ZEN #essentialsofrecovery
It is necessary to cultivate some discipline of mind, for an undisciplined mind always finds excuses to act selfishly and thoughtlessly. When the mind is undisciplined, the body is also undisciplined, and so is speech and action.
-Anguttara Nikaya
-Anguttara Nikaya
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Or Follow Us On Twitter #essentialsofrecovery
Friday, 4 November 2016
DAILY REFLECTIONS #essentialsofrecovery
A DAILY DISCIPLINE
. . . when they [self-examination, meditation and prayer] are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life.
~ TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 98
The last three Steps of the program invoke God’s loving discipline upon my willful nature. If I devote just a few moments every night to a review of the highlights of my day, along with an acknowledgement of those aspects that didn’t please me so much, I gain a personal history of myself, one that is essential to my journey into self-discovery. I was able to note my growth, or lack of it, and to ask in prayerful meditation to be relieved of those continuing shortcomings that cause me pain. Meditation and prayer also teach me the art of focusing and listening. I find that the turmoil of the day gets tuned out as I pray for His will and guidance. The practice of asking Him to help me in my strivings for perfection puts a new slant on the tedium of any day, because I know there is honor in any job done well. The daily discipline of prayer and meditation will keep me in fit spiritual condition, able to face whatever the day brings—without the thought of a drink.
Copyright © 1990 by Alcoholics Anonymous World Services Inc
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Thursday, 2 June 2016
Around the Year With Emmet Fox #essentialsofrec #Disipline #Recovery #Emmet #Fox
DISCIPLINED SPEECH
Read Matthew 5:33-37
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
But let your communication be, Yeah, yeah; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:33, 37).
Swearing not at all, is one of the cardinal points in the teaching of Jesus. It means, briefly, that you are not to mortgage your future conduct in advance; to seek to fix your conduct or your belief for tomorrow while it is yet today. Rather you are constantly to keep yourself an open channel for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into manifestation through you.
Of course, Jesus does not mean that you are not to enter into ordinary business engagements. Nor does he mean that the ordinary oath administered in a court of law is inadmissible. These things are matters of legal convenience. The Sermon on the Mount is a treatise on the spiritual life, for the spiritual life controls all the rest.
Read Matthew 5:33-37
Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths:
But let your communication be, Yeah, yeah; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil (Matthew 5:33, 37).
Swearing not at all, is one of the cardinal points in the teaching of Jesus. It means, briefly, that you are not to mortgage your future conduct in advance; to seek to fix your conduct or your belief for tomorrow while it is yet today. Rather you are constantly to keep yourself an open channel for the pouring out of the Holy Spirit into manifestation through you.
Of course, Jesus does not mean that you are not to enter into ordinary business engagements. Nor does he mean that the ordinary oath administered in a court of law is inadmissible. These things are matters of legal convenience. The Sermon on the Mount is a treatise on the spiritual life, for the spiritual life controls all the rest.
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Friday, 31 July 2015
Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Disipline #Procastination
31
July
Without discipline, there’s no life at all.
— Katharine Hepburn
We all have deadlines we must meet. We have bills to pay, responsibilities at work, children with school projects – all the innumerable small markers that push life forward.
When we realize we’re procrastinating, we need to be committed to not shaming ourselves. Procrastination is not an indication that we have failed. How realistic would it be if we looked forward to doing unpleasant things? It’s human to avoid what we’d rather not do.
As we free ourselves from the burden of perfectionism, we’re free to better accept our responsibilities. Meeting deadlines as well as we can, one at a time, pays off in serenity and a manageable life. When we are crisis ridden, we are forced to live by other peoples’ demands, rather than by our choices. In the face of procrastination, resentment, or perfectionism, we can turn to Step Ten for an inventory. We can forgive ourselves, try to laugh at ourselves, live in the present, and keep going. Today can be better than yesterday.
I may as well admit it – there’s probably something I’m avoiding. Is today the day to do it?
July
Without discipline, there’s no life at all.
— Katharine Hepburn
We all have deadlines we must meet. We have bills to pay, responsibilities at work, children with school projects – all the innumerable small markers that push life forward.
When we realize we’re procrastinating, we need to be committed to not shaming ourselves. Procrastination is not an indication that we have failed. How realistic would it be if we looked forward to doing unpleasant things? It’s human to avoid what we’d rather not do.
As we free ourselves from the burden of perfectionism, we’re free to better accept our responsibilities. Meeting deadlines as well as we can, one at a time, pays off in serenity and a manageable life. When we are crisis ridden, we are forced to live by other peoples’ demands, rather than by our choices. In the face of procrastination, resentment, or perfectionism, we can turn to Step Ten for an inventory. We can forgive ourselves, try to laugh at ourselves, live in the present, and keep going. Today can be better than yesterday.
I may as well admit it – there’s probably something I’m avoiding. Is today the day to do it?
From the book:
Answers in the Heart © 1989 by P. Williamson and S. Kiser
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Tuesday, 7 July 2015
Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Joy #Discipline
7
July
A life without discipline is a life without joy
— Muriel B.
Wait a minute. Isn’t joy a matter of doing what we want? Isn’t freedom the state of never having to do what we don’t want to do? And isn’t discipline – which we learned from our parents – the burden of having to do what we don’t want to do?
Actually, joy is the freedom to do what needs to be done. And gaining that freedom takes discipline. Why? Without discipline, we usually end up doing what is familiar to us. And our experience clearly tells us that old thinking and old behaviors bring us anything but joy.
It takes discipline to say no when we need to – when every fiber of our being may be urging us to give in again. It takes discipline to stand up and be counted when our pattern has been to fade into the wallpaper and blend in with any situation.
Discipline isn’t easy or fun, but it’s the best friend we can have. To practice self-discipline is to move through our days with a sure sense that we’ll get where we’re going.
Today I will remember that self-discipline is in myself.
July
A life without discipline is a life without joy
— Muriel B.
Wait a minute. Isn’t joy a matter of doing what we want? Isn’t freedom the state of never having to do what we don’t want to do? And isn’t discipline – which we learned from our parents – the burden of having to do what we don’t want to do?
Actually, joy is the freedom to do what needs to be done. And gaining that freedom takes discipline. Why? Without discipline, we usually end up doing what is familiar to us. And our experience clearly tells us that old thinking and old behaviors bring us anything but joy.
It takes discipline to say no when we need to – when every fiber of our being may be urging us to give in again. It takes discipline to stand up and be counted when our pattern has been to fade into the wallpaper and blend in with any situation.
Discipline isn’t easy or fun, but it’s the best friend we can have. To practice self-discipline is to move through our days with a sure sense that we’ll get where we’re going.
Today I will remember that self-discipline is in myself.
From the book:
Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty. © 1987, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation
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Thursday, 7 May 2015
Today’s Gift from Hazelden #essentialsofrec #Recovery #Discipline
7
May
God insists that we ask, not because He needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking.
– Catherine Marshall
An omniscient God must know what we desire before we ask. God knows that what we really need most is reliance on God. And how do we develop reliance? Like most other things, by practicing.
If it weren’t for the need to remind us daily or hourly that all power flows from our Creator, we could just say a quick prayer at the beginning of each week, or each year, and be done with it. Surely God could fill our requests a year ahead of time. But getting our wishes granted isn’t the purpose of prayer. Getting to know God is the purpose.
I need to be in touch with my Creator every hour of the day.
May
God insists that we ask, not because He needs to know our situation, but because we need the spiritual discipline of asking.
– Catherine Marshall
An omniscient God must know what we desire before we ask. God knows that what we really need most is reliance on God. And how do we develop reliance? Like most other things, by practicing.
If it weren’t for the need to remind us daily or hourly that all power flows from our Creator, we could just say a quick prayer at the beginning of each week, or each year, and be done with it. Surely God could fill our requests a year ahead of time. But getting our wishes granted isn’t the purpose of prayer. Getting to know God is the purpose.
I need to be in touch with my Creator every hour of the day.
From the book:
In God’s Care by Karen Casey. © 1991 by Hazelden Foundation
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Saturday, 7 March 2015
Walk in Dry Places #essentialsofrecovery.com #Recovery #Discipline
7
March
First things First
Order
The struggle to bring order into our lives starts with lots of little things. One recovering person discovered that it was a good exercise simply to put the cap back on the toothpaste tube in the morning. This was a reminder that things should be put in their proper place, and the discipline helped later in organizing larger matters.
It is very easy to overlook orderly procedures in the haste to get things done, or to avoid anything that seems unpleasant or demanding. But such oversight always carries a heavy price later on. When we don’t return things to their proper place, for example, we lose them or waste hours looking for them. We may bungle a job simply because we were too lazy to look up the right information or to read directions.
That’s why “First things First” is much more than just a slogan. It’s actually a principle for living, a guide that tells us there is an orderly approach to everything. If we can find that order without becoming slavishly compulsive about it, we’ll find that it simplifies lots of things later on.
I’ll try to do things in an orderly manner today. When I find myself taking short cuts or becoming too hurried, I’ll regain control by remembering to establish priorities.
March
First things First
Order
The struggle to bring order into our lives starts with lots of little things. One recovering person discovered that it was a good exercise simply to put the cap back on the toothpaste tube in the morning. This was a reminder that things should be put in their proper place, and the discipline helped later in organizing larger matters.
It is very easy to overlook orderly procedures in the haste to get things done, or to avoid anything that seems unpleasant or demanding. But such oversight always carries a heavy price later on. When we don’t return things to their proper place, for example, we lose them or waste hours looking for them. We may bungle a job simply because we were too lazy to look up the right information or to read directions.
That’s why “First things First” is much more than just a slogan. It’s actually a principle for living, a guide that tells us there is an orderly approach to everything. If we can find that order without becoming slavishly compulsive about it, we’ll find that it simplifies lots of things later on.
I’ll try to do things in an orderly manner today. When I find myself taking short cuts or becoming too hurried, I’ll regain control by remembering to establish priorities.
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