Even More Recovery Readings and Meditations - March

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March 20

Step by Step

Today, work for balance in life, the balance that is the point of compromise between doing nothing at all and over-doing everything. Alcoholics are creatures of extremes: in our drinking, we wanted all or nothing. Although we drank too much, it was never enough. We either hated or “loved” too possessiveness. We took until there was nothing left to take, or we gave till we had nothing more to give. We laughed after the joke had ended, and we cried out every emotion. In seeking balance, defer to a higher power to show us what we have to do without procrastinating to tomorrow, and listen if he hints that we are hungry, angry, lonely or tired – HALT. Also accept that we cannot shrug off the program if, today, we say that we are not “getting it.” Adversely, accept that the full benefits of the program will not be ours today – or any other day – because the program is growth, and growth is an evolutionary process and never fully accomplished. Today, balance the scales. And our common journey continues. Step by step. – Chris M.

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

ACT AS IF . . .

In the arena of human life the honours and rewards fall to those who show their good qualities in action.

~ Aristotle ~

The only way we get what we need is to “act as if . . .” we have it. The key word for us is “act.”

We have discovered that knowledge often follows action rather than vice versa. When we fake it in our early days, we find ourselves making it in later days.

In the beginning, we are asked to “act as if” we are following instructions, trusting the Program, listening to sponsors, and coming to believe. The amazing thing is that soon we were doing those very things.

We were never able to think our way into recovery. Our minds created a tremendous amount of trouble for us. We needed to turn our minds down (not off). We soon discovered the difference between doing and thinking.

The key to “acting as if . . .” is faith. With faith, the Promises will come true for me. The way to faith is through my fears. I turn fears over to my faith and simply “act as if . . . .”

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

We have ever more perfect eyes in a world in which there is always more to see.

~ Teilhard de Chardin ~

Today’s quotation could be seen as one of the promises of recovery. When we enter into a program of spiritual and emotional renewal, we choose to become honest with ourselves. In the process, our eyes begin to see more clearly and we become aware of the many ways we have been dishonest with ourselves. Each new bit of self-honesty builds the base for more insight and an ever-sharper understanding of ourselves and our world. When we started with our decision to be honest, we could never have predicted what we would find down the path.

We first surrender to the truth as we know it, and this clarity about ourselves and the world grows into great insight. The world opens up for us and we find ever more to see and learn. We feel very alive every moment.

Today I continue my commitment to see the truth wherever I find it.

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

I can’t expect you to share yourself if I can’t do the same.

~ Cathy Stone ~

We have been told we benefit from sharing our stories with others. However, most of us have shared intimate details of our lives in the past, only to have them repeated all over town. We may have decided that nothing was safe to share.

Now we are asked once again to share our secrets. What seems even stranger is that we’re asked to tell them to people whose last names we don’t even know. How crazy this seems when we first enter a Twelve Step program. Until we do it, however, we will not reap the benefits that are in store. We can only discover how like others we really are by telling them about us and then listening while they share similar stories. The intimacy that follows transforms our lives. Our time for self-disclosure has come. Let’s rejoice and reap the rewards.

I will tell a trusted friend who I really am today. I can count on affirmation and acceptance if I choose my friend well.

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

I am learning more about myself

At first I thought Step Four was about my guilty deeds. I often felt like skipping my meeting when it came around – I felt guilty enough already without being reminded.

But I have learned that Step Four is useful for more than just recognizing errors and faults. I can use it to recognize my assets, too. It is really a tool for simply learning more about myself. And in recovery, I need self-knowledge. Perhaps I’ll learn that I have more to offer than I thought.

I will write out my top two assets on cards and stick them on my bathroom mirror.

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

I thought it was a mistake, but I was afraid to trust my feelings.

~ Jennie L. ~

For a long time we couldn’t trust ourselves in any way. We were good at lying to ourselves and others. We became experts in denial, refusing to consider any opinion but our own. Our choices were based on addiction, not on logic. We were driven by compulsion, not reason. As our addiction progressed, our thinking grew so distorted that we could no longer count on our sanity. How could we trust ourselves when we couldn’t even control our addiction?

Then, as we began to recover from addiction, that same mistrust became one of our strongest allies. We hesitated before acting, we questioned ourselves closely to be sure we were doing the right things for the right reasons. Now that we’ve made progress in recovery, our judgment has improved. We can pay attention to what happened, how we felt, and what the results were. Soon we’ll notice that our reaction to dangerous situations is very clear; our “gut hunches” are accurate. We are trusting ourselves, perhaps for the first time.

Today help me pay attention to my feelings and respect my own judgment. Help me listen to myself.

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

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you”?

~ William A. Ward ~

Thinking that you are thankful for something a person has done for you or for a gift you have received is not the same as expressing your gratitude. It is taking without giving back. Unexpressed gratitude, it has been said, “is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude.”

Even when you pray to your Higher Power, you may forget to add at the end of your prayer, “Thank you.” Even when it seems that your prayers go unanswered, you need to trust they have been heard. So to express gratitude to your Higher Power following a prayer conveys your understanding that a divine power is always there for you and always ready to listen to your thoughts and needs.

Begin the day by thinking of those things you often take for granted, and then offer thanks for them. Make today the time when you express long-overdue gratitude to the human angels in your life. Throughout the day, add the words “thank you” whenever others assist you. And be sure to remember to include an expression of gratitude during your prayers to thank your Higher Power for being there.

I will use the words “thank you” for all of the gifts I receive today, be they big or small.

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

You telling me God love you, and you ain’t never done nothing for Him? I mean, not go to church, sing in a choir, feed the preacher and all that? . . . if God love me, I don’t have to do all that. There’s lots of other things I can do that I speck God likes. . . . I can lay back and just admire stuff. Be happy.

~ Alice Walker The Color Purple ~

When we were younger, we learned bad people go to hell when they die. So we may have helped old la-dies across the street, or didn’t kick our brother, or didn’t talk back, or went to church so we could get “good marks” from the great Power in the heavens.

Today we might still believe our Higher Power needs material evidence of our faith. We might still go to church because we think that’s what we should do. We may get down on our knees twice a day because we feel we should.

All the program asks of us is that we come to believe in a Power greater than ourselves. It doesn’t tell us how to pray or when to pray or the things we need to do to win our Higher Power’s approval. All we need to do is make our Higher Power a part of our world.

I can remember that everything is a result of a Power greater than myself. Can I include this Power in my life?

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

Letting go of false pride

What’s going on when we say that some things aren’t good enough for us? Some of us feel that if we can’t “win” at work, romance, or sports we won’t even play. This is called false pride.

If we are operating with false pride, chances are we’ll also refuse help from others, the very help that might save our lives. If we can’t accept anything from anybody, how can we expect to recognize and receive God’s big gifts for us? We need to work on false pride by accepting little things from others. Am I letting go of false pride?

Higher Power, help me open up so that I can accept things from others, whether simple or grand.

Today I will work on my false pride by

God help me to stay clean and sober today!

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

The flower must drink the nature of the soil Before it can put forth its blossoming.

~ JOHN KEATS ~

Newcomer

I’ve had to cut back on meetings lately, because my life is so full. There’s so much to do, so much lost time to make up for. And the meetings are repetitive; I feel as if I can predict in advance what’s going to happen there.

Sponsor

It’s natural to experience fluctuations in our enthusiasm for sober routines; there are ups and downs in any relationship. At times, meetings seem like something “they” are requiring me to do, rather than something I’ve chosen. When I’m sitting there, I don’t always pay close attention. I may feel irritated by a personality, bored hearing something I think I already know, or too distracted by my thoughts to focus on principles. But I keep going anyway, and the meetings—as if by magic—get better. Suddenly, I hear exactly what I need to hear. I suspect that the problem isn’t so much with meetings as with my attitude.

By attending meetings and making calls consistently—not just when we feel desperate—we keep the lines of communication open. That way we maintain a basis of support for ourselves and others; we can count on its being there when we need it most.

I have a life now, and I am responsible for it.

Today, the decision I make to maintain my recovery is my own decision. Establishing a sober routine and sticking to it is a tool for maintaining that life.

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~ THE EYE OPENER ~

The only way that AA can be considered a Reform is in the fact that our way of living is the result of a reformation in our thinking.

Our new pattern of action is the result of a new pattern of thinking. As our thoughts are focused more and more on more and more, our minds grow in the capacity to absorb more and more.

As our thoughts are directed to the God of our understanding and our suffering alcoholic brethren we find that self is pushed back into the little space it deserves.

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

1) HALT: Have A Laugh Today

2) Gratitude is not the word but the desire to say the word.

3) The basic ingredient of all humility is a desire to seek and do God’s will.

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

My Worth

I pray to remember that my worth is not determined by my show of outward strength, or the volume of my voice, or the thunder of my accomplishments. It is to be seen, rather, in terms of the nature and depth of my commitments, the genuineness of my friendships, the sincerity of my purpose, the quiet courage of my convictions, my capacity to accept life on life’s terms, and my willingness to continue “growing up.” This I pray.

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

TRUTH DEMONSTRATED

Truth never chasten, but what we have to deal with on this plane is man’s apprehension of the Truth, and throughout historical time, this has been steadily and continuously becoming more plain to us.

Jesus Christ summed up this Truth, taught it completely and thoroughly, and, above all, demonstrated it in his own person. Most of us now can glimpse intellectually the idea of what it must mean in its fullness. To accept the Truth is the great first step, but not until we have proved it in doing is it ours. Jesus proved everything that he taught, even to the overcoming of death in what we call the resurrection. By surmounting every sort of limitation to which mankind is subject, he performed a work of unique and incalculable value to the race, and is therefore justly entitle the Savior of the world.

…when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth….(John 16:13).

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

Pray to Be Wrong

Would you rather be right, or happy?

~ A Course in Miracles ~

When a friend and I were about to watch a video, the television showed only snow and distortion. My friend suggested, “Put in the video head cleaner,” but I knew the problem was more serious, and I went on to spend a great deal of time fussing with wires and connections. Every now and then, she repeated, “Try the head cleaner,” but I told her that was not the trouble. Finally, to appease her, I ran the head cleaner, and to my great surprise the picture completely cleared up. I was glad that I was wrong!

A problem is a call for us to open up our consciousness and view a situation from a different perspective. If we stubbornly cling to a position, we may miss the very awareness we need in order to master the situation at hand. No one knows it all. Be innocent enough to consider that the universe may be bigger than what you “know” to be true. You may gain more by being wrong than by tenaciously clinging to being right.

Make a list of all of your problems, troubles, and dilemmas. Then hold it in your hands and pray, “Dear God, please let me be wrong about all of this.” Your prayer will be answered because we are already whole, and as we allow Spirit to work on our behalf, our challenges are handled by grace.

I pray to be humble enough to see a grander picture than the one I have known.

I open my mind to live in a bigger universe.