Tag Archives: Addiction treatment

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 3rd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly

Step Seven

Step Seven is about humility and also about reinforcing our commitment to change. I have committed to moving forward in life without these old behaviours is the basic message behind this important Step. If you can realistically appreciate your place in the world and your unique personality, then you are accepting life on life’s terms. You have no cause to be vain or arrogant but equally no cause to be ashamed. Can I take my place in the world without false pride or humility?

Step Seven is effectively saying that we are ready for new business and new ideas. We have asked for help in removing our shortcomings and now we need to fill the void left by that clean-out. In other words, opportunity beckons. Some of us may want to do service, some renew marriage vows, some perhaps will discover new strengths th a t they were unaware existed. It is a time for excitement and creativity. Today I ask God that I may make the best use possible of the talents that I have and the opportunities that appear.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 30th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – review

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 28th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment

Al-Anon

We who are in recovery have managed with the help of a Higher Power, to rise phoenix-like from the bonfire of our addictive vanities. But how should our loved ones deal with this strange but vaguely familiar creature that has re-entered their lives? People in early recovery are often touchy and emotionally fragile. The best thing that family members can do for this ‘phoenix’ is to stay detached but supportive while they themselves go to Al-Anon. Do I appreciate the power of Al-Anon?

If instead of a triumphant hero, our phoenix turns out to be a wobbly, ambivalent and slightly lame duck, that does not necessarily mean disaster. The first bab steps are often faltering. Family members are advised to remember the ‘Three C’s’ – I did not cause this; I cannot cure this, and I cannot control this. Sometimes loved ones are so desperate for the person’s success that they find themselves managing their recovery for them. But success will only come when the addicted person takes action. Today I give thanks for the fellowship of Al-Anon.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days June 24th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment

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 May 28th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly


Steps Four and Five


We must learn from our past mistakes. The personal inventory in Step Four must be as searching and thorough as we can make it. You can’t clean a house properly if you don’t know where the dirt is. Sometimes it’s convenient to ignore things too painful to recall. But, a thorough Spring clean brings great satisfaction. Have I completed a searching and thorough Fourth and Fifth Steps?


Looking inside myself, I may still see defects of character because few people are perfect. I need not despair. Experience and the example of others has shown me that life in recovery is manageable as long as I am working towards spiritual growth. My Higher Power is there to help me face my true self. I must check my personality regularly, as a doctor would check my body, and take remedial action where it is needed. Today I ask God that I never be complacent about my personality and the need for regular check-ups.

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Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 25th by Chris B

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Silence

The ancient Greeks had nine muses. The early Roman king, Numa Pompilius, wisely added one more – Tacita, the muse of silence. For silence can be as powerful as the loudest of noises. Anyone observing two minutes of silence on Remembrance Day would agree. The value of communal silence is not appreciated as it used to be. Mediaeval monks valued silence greatly:

Everywhere peace, everywhere serenity.

Aelred, Abbot of Rievaulx.

Do I recognise the power of silence?

The Prophet Elijah in his cave, listening for the sound of God’s voice, said:

It was not heard in wind, earthquake or  fire, but in the sound of sheer silence. 

Silence isn’t empty, it’s often full of answers. Just a few minutes of silent meditation each day gives our brain and more importantly, our soul, a chance to rest and regenerate. Today I will find time for silence and I will appreciate the peace it brings.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 21st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment

Higher Power

When considering Higher Power, some people get very tied up with what this means. Are they dealing with a religious God and if so, which religion? What does this Higher Power look like? They ask. The point lies in the word ‘Power’. There is a power that helps us, a power in the meeting rooms that you can sometimes feel. Trying to put a label on this power is missing the point. It is enough for us that the power is there, and it works through other people. Empirical knowledge of a Higher Power is not possible, so let us just accept that it exists, if only because something must make the planets go round the sun. Why do we need a label? How important is it? Am I content to accept my Higher Power as an unknown but powerful source of help?

People of every outlook, background and belief find support and success in the Twelve Step fellowships. Atheists do as well as religious believers. I must look at the similarities and keep it simple. The urge to complicate things has been my downfall in the past. A Power greater than myself is all I require. Today I ask God for wisdom to keep things simple.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 15th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts


Serenity Prayer


Roman emperor Tiberius Claudius Nero was a drunk, known to his mocking soldiers as Biberius Caldius Mero (bibulous drinker of unwatered wine). He never changed. His near contemporary, the Stoic philosopher Epictetus was meanwhile teaching his students a lesson in acceptance: Make the best of
what is in our power and take the rest as it naturally
happens. Its message is similar to the serenity prayer, written two thousand years later, by Reinhold Niebuhr: God, grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Emperors come and go, but addiction is always with us. Am I ready to change the things I can?


The serenity prayer has great power to calm the troubled mind. The simple words lead us to trust that our Higher Power has things under control, even if we do not. Learning to say the prayer whenever we have to make a choice that worries us, is a great habit to acquire. Today I ask that I may make a habit of reciting the serenity prayer daily.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 6th by Chris B

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On this day in 1946 the AA Twelve Traditions were published

Twelve Traditions
The Twelve Traditions were formulated by early members of AA in response to the need to clarify certain principles and attitudes, for the sake of the integrity and long-term survival of the movement. Broadly speaking, these cover issues of administration, finance, aims and relations with other groups and society at large. They have fulfilled their purpose because since that time, the basic tenets and beliefs of AA have remained unchanged. We tend to take things for granted but in truth, it’s a record that not many institutions achieve. Am I grateful to the founders of AA?
An organisation that advises its members that compromise is fatal for recovery must match its actions to its words. So much of history tells of well-intentioned people who gradually failed to measure up to their original principles. It is part of my responsibility as a grateful beneficiary of this fellowship, to do my utmost to uphold the Twelve Traditions so that future generations will enjoy the fruits of this wonderful organisation. Today I give thanks to the founding fathers of all the Twelve Step fellowships.

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Daily Reading from Recovery Days May 2nd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment

Head to heart

Think of the worst experience that you can remember, perhaps something that made you angry or ashamed. If you could have it cancelled, but on condition that everything that happened as a result would also be cancelled – would you do it? How much did you learn from that negative experience? The worst experience is often the greatest opportunity for growth. Change does not happen through the passing of information alone, but through the way things make us feel. Willingness to change means learning from the bad as well as the good. Am I truly willing to change?

The beauty of the Twelve Step programme is that you can keep growing in it for the rest of your life. When you hear someone speaking at a meeting and you think: That’s what I want, then you are feeling something as well as hearing it. The message goes from the head to the heart and that is how spiritual growth comes about. Today I am grateful to grow in the Twelve Step programme that never stops giving.

Today I Will……..……………………………………………