Tag Archives: Addiction recovery

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 1st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – sit comfortably


Twelve Steps

The Twelve Steps are a programme of recovery from
addiction that involves admitting defeat, selfimprovement
with help from a power greater than
ourselves, making amends, and establishing healthy
habits. They are summarised as:

  • Giving up – Steps 1 to 3
  • Cleaning up – Steps 4 to 7
  • Making up – Steps 8 to 9
  • Keeping up – Steps 10 to 12.
    The hallmarks of this programme are
    abstinence, lifelong adherence to its principles
    and relapse prevention. People who thoroughly
    follow this path rarely fail. Sometimes we just
    need to remind ourselves of the basic components
    of this simple programme. Do I fully understand
    the basic ideas and the actions I need to take?
    AA is more than a set of principles; it is a
    society of alcoholics in action. We must carry
    the message, else we ourselves can wither and
    those who haven’t been given the truth may die.
    Bill W, AA’s Legacy of Service.
    Today I reflect on these words.
    …………………………………………………    …….

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 30th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax

Better than well

This month we have explored humility, not
wanting, listening and keeping it simple. We have
looked at how mindfulness can help us bring
balance and calm into our days. The process of
spiritual growth is gradually happening within us.
You could say the same thing about learning to
enjoy life. Perhaps the two are linked. We will not
achieve this ‘better than well’ state without ensuring
that our attitudes, aims and choices are right. Do I
understand that the goal of ‘better than well’ is not
a passive state but something to be worked for?

Every day that I try my best to follow the programme of
recovery, I am learning new habits. Perhaps I can
already feel the difference. Each time that I help
another person, be true to my word and assert
myself appropriately, I increase my self-respect. If I
can tell myself each night that I did my best, then I
will feel peace of mind and will thank my Higher
Power for guiding me. I ask God today to continue
guiding me along the route of spiritual progress

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 29th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your whole body gradually


Steps Six and Seven

Judge each day by the seeds you plant, not by the
harvest that you reap. We long for quick results that
confirm our success and validate our self-image.
Sometimes it doesn’t work like that. Maturity is
about doing things that require the long view. It is
a sign of immaturity to look for instant gratification
– that’s how we used to be. Letting go of our
childish ways is a part of growing up in recovery.
When I became a man, I put away childish
things. St Paul, Corinthians.
St Paul makes letting go sound easy but some of us
struggle with impatience. We perceive all our
tomorrows as an unbearable eternity. Much better
to be patient. Can I take things a day at a time?

Steps Six and Seven are about letting go. I must now
be ready to let go of my character defects and the
shame and guilt that go with them. This is not as
easy as it sounds, unless I have help. Today I ask
God for guidance in letting go of my past.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 27th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts


Spiritual growth


Growth involves change. Twelve Step programmes
are basically a re-training of our hearts and minds to
new ideas. If we don’t grow, we are not living life to
our full potential. Growth demands that we come
out of our comfort zone. It may mean forsaking
some familiar but negative patterns of thought and
behaviour that we have become used to, but which
now are no longer fit for purpose: unsuitable
friends, inappropriate opinions and attitudes, and
maladaptive coping strategies.
Taking a new step, uttering a new word, is
what people fear most.
Fyodor Dostoyevsky.
Instead of fear of the new, my real fear should be of
not making changes. Am I ready to make the
changes I need, in order to grow spiritually?

My spiritual journey will be rewarding if I seek the
guidance of my Higher Power. Only my pride or
dishonesty will stop me from making progress.
Today I ask that I continue to receive guidance on
my spiritual journey.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 26th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly


Mindfulness

Are you listening? When you’ve read this, close
your eyes. Listen to the sound of your breathing,
in through your nose and out through your
mouth. Listen for your heart beating. Try moving
other parts of your body. Can you hear tiny
sounds of skin on skin, perhaps a joint gently
creaking? Listen and identify if you can, the
sounds around you. Buildings make sounds too.
A door that shuts, a heating system that sighs.
Footsteps pass outside, a dog barks, a distant car
door opens. Our senses tell us so much. Take a
minute to listen and relax. There is a reason for
everything. Everything has its place and its
purpose. Do I accept my place in the world today?

The simple sense of living is joy enough.
Happiness starts with peace of mind.
Start by doing what’s necessary, then do what’s
possible; and suddenly you are doing the
impossible. St Francis of Assisi.
Today I will practice mindfulness and give
myself the opportunity to relax and think about my
place in creation while I wait to do God’s will.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 25th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review expectations

Balance


Too much self-improvement can be bad for you.
Mental, physical and spiritual fitness are good goals
to have, but trying to be Superwoman, Mastermind
and the Enlightened One all at once or separately,
can cause serious burnout. The SMART acronym
helps: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant
and Time-bound. Addicted people tend to be ‘all or
nothing’ types, but what we really need in our life is
balance. Am I ready to set myself the goal of
achieving balance in my life?


Self-improvement should start with acceptance. We
can all improve because none of us is perfect. Yet,
there is good in all of us and we should start by
recognising this fact before we make any plan for
improvement. Too many people in recovery approach
the Twelve Steps, especially Step Four, as a search for
character defects alone, but it is not meant to be only
that. We should celebrate our assets too.
We are surprised to find that we have good points in our inventory.
NA Text.
Today I give thanks that I have character strengths
as well as defects.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 24th by Chris B

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Reaching out

In moments of great emotional distress, when a kind
person says: I don’t know what to say, they should
probably not say anything and just be there to listen
anyway. A gesture, however small, is often better
than words. When you smile at someone, it is a
small act of kindness. It is quite likely that those
who are happiest are those who do the most for
others; it is certainly worth a try. Am I ready to offer
help to others today?

In my father’s house there are many rooms.
New Testament, St John.
I should imagine the world as my father’s house and
people I meet, as his guests whom I should treat
with care and respect. Of course, this requires
humility and non-judgmental service. Have I
considered treating others in the same way as I
would like to be treated, if I were in need? Like it or
not, I am a part of mankind, and I cannot stay
detached, I must be involved. Today I ask God that
I will not stay detached but instead that I will find
opportunities to help others.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 23rd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your whole body gradually

Today matters


Nothing is worth more than this day.
Wolfgang Von Goethe.
Sometimes we allow a day to pass when we are so
preoccupied with trivial worries that we never
consider what a wonderful gift we have. We should
seize every day as if it is our last, but seize it gently.
A lot of the time we are held back from doing what
we really want to do through fear – of failure or fear
of the unknown. It’s time to reconsider – life really is
short. Will I enjoy every day that is given to me?


We live in a flash of light; evening comes and it’s
night forever. Spiritual teacher Anthony de Mello’s
writing also points out that all mystics, whatever
their religion or theological views, are united in
telling us: All is well, and all will be well. They say
this in spite of the apparent mess that the world is
in. It is up to me to have faith in creation and the
Higher Power that gives me today. Sometimes it
seems hard to be optimistic but if I hand things over
to my Higher Power, then it is showing lack of faith
to imagine that disaster might follow. Today I ask
God for the gift of faith.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 22nd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts

Potential for growth

If you found yourself in a wonderful museum or art
gallery but you only had time to see inside one
room, then you would come away feeling
unfulfilled and disappointed. You wish you had
been able to explore more of what was in there.
Going through life without finding out everything
you are capable of, is a similar wasted opportunity.
Recovery from addiction gives us time to reassess
ourselves. How excited would you be to discover
that you can sing, paint or write a book? Am I
exploring the full extent of my talents?


I wasted so much of my life in the mad maze of
addiction. Do I really want to settle for the wellworn
bits of me that I already know? Why not treat
my recovery as the previously unnoticed doorway
through which I can reach the secret garden that is
the undiscovered me? My own self-realisation is
good for me and for the world. I only have this life
and every moment is precious. What holds me back
from starting this exercise of discovery? Today I ask
God to help me find all aspects of myself.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 21st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly

Empathy

A person with a big ego will struggle to find the
empathy needed to offer true kindness. Addicted
people are sick people, not bad people. They
deserve to be treated the same as anyone in need of
health care. When the day comes that they ask for
help, it is important that they receive a good
response. Most people in recovery never forget the
welcome and the kindness that they received at their
first meeting. The memory remains, because people
remember how they felt at times of great stress. Will
I show kindness and empathy when I offer help to
an addicted person?

The first stages of recovery are a time of great
vulnerability. Is is a common experience that unites
us in fellowship. The kindness and support that we
all receive is a precious thing that we must keep
alive by passing it on like an Olympic torch. In
doing so, we are passing on our power – Higher
Power. Today I ask God that I will always pass on
what I receive.
……………………………………………………….