Tag Archives: Addiction treatment

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 14th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment


Change

If I am to continue to change, as I hope I will do, I need an idea of what I would like to become. The Twelve Steps have helped me identify character defects and I now wish to create something better. What do I admire in others? The Twelve Steps emphasise honesty, courage, responsibility, unselfishness, integrity and willingness to change. Few people have all these qualities at full strength, but some display perhaps a few of these to great effect. We should study them as role models and learn from them because the example of others is a powerful force for change in ourselves. Am I working on spiritual growth through learning from the example of others?


‘Courage to change’ is a part of the wording of the Serenity Prayer. If I am going to move from good intention to action, I must start doing things to help my recovery. Do I have a sponsor and a home group? Apart from the support and guidance that they give me, what can I learn from their attitudes and example? A child learns from watching how its parents behave more than from what they say. I will help myself to change by understanding the process of how it happens. I ask for the humility to learn from others.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 11th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment

Inferiority

Feelings of inferiority are often exacerbated by emotional pain and shame and guilt about the past. Dealing with the past, especially our own behaviour while in active addiction, is an important aspect of recovery. But replacing feelings of inferiority with self-worth is not just about the past, it is about who we are today. We try sometimes to compensate for low self-worth by perfectionism. If we do something perfectly, then we can feel good about ourselves. The trouble is that perfection is hard to sustain. True self-worth comes not from doing things but from accepting ourselves for what we are – human beings who are simply doing our best. Can I accept myself today and do my best to live life according to spiritual principles?


If you gaze too long into the abyss, the abyss will gaze into you. (Nietzsche). There are things in my past of which I am not proud. I have faced them and tried to make amends. Having been through this process, it does not help me to dwell on the past, quite the opposite. If there are still issues, despite my doing the Steps, then I must take further action, because the past will not melt away by itself. This may mean therapy, particularly if there has been trauma. Rituals such as writing down past events and then destroying the record, can sometimes give closure. With God’s help, I can rid myself of this burden.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 10th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts

Maranatha

Maranatha is an Aramaic word meaning ‘Come, Lord’ and is thus often used by Christians in the time of Advent – the four weeks leading up to Christmas. It is a way of expressing profound belief in God, primarily a Christian God but can equally be used when referring to any Higher Power. Advent for Christians is not just about waiting for Christmas Day and the birth of Christ, it is about making our spiritual selves ready for the event, so that we welcome God into our hearts. We should evaluate our attitudes and beliefs and work to remove selfishness and self-obsession. It is all part of the familiar task of ego-management that we need to perform routinely in our lives, if we are to achieve spiritual growth. How selfish am I and what will I do about it?

I was no longer the centre of my life and therefore I could see God in everything. (Venerable Bede). Humility and prayer are a good start to checking my spiritual wellbeing. In the past, I was forced to make myself the most important thing in my life, because my addiction made this necessary. How else would I get what I wanted? Now, if I have learned anything, it is that there are other things that are more important. My will and my ways have got me into trouble, and I have to find a better way – God’s way.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 9th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review expectations

Humour


The blessed Gods have fun every day. (Homer). The ancient Greeks were relaxed enough to view their universe as a place where the Gods could sometimes behave like humans, although still having immense supernatural powers. Our world today is a lot more troubled and stressful, but we have no more precise knowledge of the nature of God than the Greeks had. When we speak about God and Higher Power, we can only use our own language to describe what is essentially un-describable. We say that God is loving, or God is just, because these are the only words we have. We trust and believe that our Higher Power works in ways that we can understand, including love, kindness, justice and humour.

Does my Higher Power have a sense of humour? I certainly hope so. I sometimes laugh benevolently when I see a child struggling to do an adult task, like tidying a room. I hope that my Higher Power does the same, on seeing some of my attempts to create order out of chaos. Teaching a child is a process of growth through small steps. It is also a process that involves patience, kindness and a sense of humour. That is my process in recovery. I believe that my Higher Power will guide me in a way that a parent would recognise

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 8th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe slowly


Powerlessness and unmanageability


The wonderful film star Judy Garland died alone in a London hotel of a barbiturates overdose, aged just forty-seven – thirty years after she appeared as little Dorothy in the film The Wizard of Oz. The day she died, they say there was a tornado in Kansas. There’s probably a tornado every day in Kansas somewhere, just as there’s always someone in the world dying from a drugs overdose. Many lives are less well-publicised as hers but equally tragic. Anyone who plays with alcohol or drugs is taking a huge risk. Crucially, if they find themselves losing control, they must address the problem honestly. Those of us in recovery must be ready to reach out to help anyone who may be struggling, at any stage in the progress of their addiction. We do not judge others, but we can show ourselves by our example. Do I recognise I have a responsibility to share my recovery by reaching out to others?

Desperate people do desperate things, but I have a responsibility to help my fellow humans before they become that desperate, if I possibly can. There is progression in every illness and addiction is no different. Its roots may lie in others or partly in us and the way we feel about ourselves. Today I pray that, through showing my self-respect, I may be able to help those in distress before they become desperate.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 7th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – sit comfortably

Step Twelve

Practising the Twelve Step principles in all our affairs makes us an example to others. When we share our experience, strength and hope we really do give something of ourselves that enhances the recovery of other people – making them in part, more experienced, stronger and more hopeful. When I realise that the awful past behaviour that I still carry in my heart, does actually help someone else to recover, then we are both benefiting from a negative event. Am I ready for Step Twelve – to carry the message to addicted people who are still suffering?

God will constantly disclose more to you and to us. Ask Him in your morning meditation what you can do each day for the man who is still sick. The answers will come if your own house is in order. But obviously you cannot transmit something you haven’t got. See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and for countless others. (Bill W). Today I ask that my own house be in order, so I can be an example to others.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 4th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review expectations


Zen


Zen is a form of being and a type of meditation. It has been described as experiencing the ultimate reality while remaining grounded in ordinary everyday existence. Zen teaches that wisdom is to be found in the ordinary – that is, in oneself, in other people and in nature. It appeals to many people, including those in recovery from addiction because it emphasises simplicity and peace of mind. All forms of meditation and mindfulness seem to appear more and more attractive as the stress and apparent chaos of everyday life increases remorselessly, year by year. Making time each day for peace and meditation is an excellent habit to adopt. Am I remembering the need for self-care that comes through daily meditation?

Meditation can be as simple as finding a quiet place to sit and become aware of my surroundings while I empty my mind of everyday concerns.
It was with awe
That I beheld
Fresh leaves, green leaves
Bright in the sun (Basho)
Today I give thanks for the peace of mind that comes through meditation of all kinds.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 3rd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax each muscle from neck to toe


Yes to change

There was a time in our addicted lives when change seemed terrifying. Many of us hid from it in comfort zones that may not have made us happy but at least were places where we could somehow function, provided we could continue our addiction. Stepping out of this zone seemed just too much of a challenge, because people would judge us and expect us to be different. Self-esteem in recovery has given us positivity, so that now we welcome change as an exciting new challenge. Life is no longer threatening but a time of growth where we look each day for the opportunity to try new things that will help us progress. Do I now welcome challenges as opportunities for self-improvement?

Willingness to change applies to myself. A lot of addicted people think that other things need to change. But the world will not change to suit me. The important thing is my attitude. It may be a little alarming to introduce oneself to a stranger, or volunteer to speak at a meeting, but if I fail take a risk, I will never know what I missed. There are few second chances in life, and we should make the very most of what we have been given – our recovery. Today I ask to respond to every opportunity or challenge that comes.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days December 1st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – sit comfortably
Step Twelve
Step Twelve is about service and carrying the message.
This demonstrates the paradox at the heart of the
Twelve Steps – that you must give recovery away in
order to keep it. But doing so would be difficult if
one did not have gratitude. Genuine gratitude only
comes when we feel that something good has
happened. And like enthusiasm, when others see it,
they are inspired. The power of example is there
once again. An attitude of gratitude helps to keep
me being a giver instead of a taker. Do I have an
attitude of true gratitude today?
One major point about the Twelve Steps is that they
are all about taking personal responsibility for our
lives. We have to throw out the negativity that
enveloped us – the anger, blaming, victimhood,
selfishness and low self-esteem and replace it with
positive attitudes and actions. Gratitude,
determination, helping others, forgiveness and so on,
are much more comfortable to live with and so much
more inspiring for others to see. Today I ask to do
my best in everything that I attempt because that is
part of my mission in life.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days by Chris B November 30th on Keeping Up

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly


Steps Ten to Twelve


The last three Steps are about ‘keeping up’, in other words maintaining sobriety in recovery through the Twelve Steps and attending the support groups most relevant to your addiction such as Alcoholics Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous. You already know how much work it took to achieve a lasting sobriety and now you need to put in that little bit more, on a regular basis, to make sure that you keep what you’ve got. Addiction may have left your body, but it hasn’t left your mind, not completely. Never forget that it will quickly return if given a chance. The best way to ‘keep up’ is to go to meetings regularly and remind ourselves how lucky we are to have the gift of recovery. Just saying the Serenity Prayer daily and meditating on its true meaning will keep us in the right frame of mind and keep our egos under control. Am I making ‘keeping up’ a simple daily habit?


At the first AA meeting I ever attended, somebody said to me: You’ll need to keep coming to these meetings the rest of your life. I thought, or my ego thought, I don’t think so. But I am still going, and, like all my healthy habits, I enjoy doing it. When I hear a person share their experience, strength and hope I think: Yes, me too, and that sense of belonging, of being in the right place, returns. For that I am grateful.