Monthly Archives: July 2025

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 31st by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – feel your body from top to toes


Higher Power

Making sense of a Power greater than ourselves
causes some people difficulty. That is
understandable. It is sometimes explained like this:

  • Addiction is powerful, more powerful than us
  • We were unable to beat it until we asked for help
  • With help, we succeeded – that took some power
    to achieve
  • The power was in other people – fellowships and
    elsewhere
  • Perhaps that power came to them from elsewherea
  • What sort of power? It doesn’t matter. It’s there.
    Can I accept the existence of a Power greater than
    myself even if I can’t put a label on it?
  • There are many atheists and agnostics in the Twelve
    Step fellowships. But, we share more similarities
    than differences. Our primary purpose is not to
    promote any religious belief but to stay sober and
    help others achieve sobriety. In our differences lies
    our strength, because we can appeal to all people
    and exclude none. Not all organisations can say the
    same. I give thanks for the recovery fellowships to
    which I belong.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 30th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly


Making choices

It’s a fine thing to say: Build your life around your
recovery, but what does that really mean? Firstly, as
with any building, the foundations must be strong: I
commit to complete sobriety, personal growth,
keeping sober company, attending meetings and
doing service – all on a regular basis. Secondly, I
commit to spiritual growth through working the
Twelve Steps and maintaining a dialogue with a
power greater than myself. Thirdly, I commit to
carrying the message to others. With these three
commitments firmly established, I can attend to
other matters: family, work and other interests.
Whenever I have a choice to make about the future
for myself or my loved ones, will I first apply the
litmus test: will this be right for my recovery?

I must keep a positive attitude to my recovery and
not allow compromises or be complacent. Regular
maintenance is essential. But I must also keep an
open mind and not shut myself off from new ideas.
The internet is an example of a new approach to
unity that many fellowships have successfully
embraced. Today I give thanks to God for my
recovery and ask to remain open-minded to new
ideas.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 29th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe slowly


Mindfulness

It is difficult to describe how mindfulness works.
Being aware of our surroundings and of our place
in the world and thus our place in the universe is
part of it. Opening ourselves to something we
cannot see or quantify, seems to bring us a feeling
of peace. Perhaps it is because our past lives have
been such a chaotic mess that we welcome these
precious moments. American poet William Stafford,
was a conscientious objector during World War Two:
Been on probation most of my life. And
The rest of my life been condemned.
So, these moments
Count for a lot – peace, you know.
William Stafford.
Am I exploring the benefits of mindfulness?


Prayer should be a dialogue, not a list of requests. It
is quite a turning point when our communication
turns from: Please give me this to: Thy will be done.
It is spiritual progress, not a sign that we have
reached our destination. We will not arrive there until
we breathe our last. Today, I give thanks for the new
relationship that I enjoy with my Higher Power.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 28th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – relax your whole body gradually

Individuality


Influences and pressures are constantly with us
today and hard to ignore. Of course, we can choose
to block some, such as social media, but its power,
often negative, is very strong. Understanding that we
are being manipulated by clever market techniques
may make us think twice. We are encouraged
into envy, jealousy or just plain wanting things.
The packaging is so glamorous that we don’t
see possible consequences – debt, pride
and disappointment, for example. People are
often led into gambling, shopping, pornography
and other behavioural addictions by clever
marketing techniques. Do I consider negative
consequences from social media and other
influences?

If I am watching a small screen intermittently,
for hours each day, how much time do I have for my
own thoughts? And how much am I worrying about
the opinions of others? I am not here on earth to
meet other people’s expectations. I am here to do
what is right for me and ultimately right for
the world. Perhaps I need to review my
responses. I ask God today for the strength to
assert my individuality.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 27th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – enjoy the moment

Tolerance

The wider our experience, the deeper our tolerance.
At fellowship meetings we sometimes hear stories
that would make great newspaper headlines if we
were not bound to silence and anonymity. Yet, we
listen with understanding and our response: ‘There
but for the grace of God go I’, is heartfelt and
entirely genuine. Tolerance should not be taken as a
sign of minimising but as one of empathy and
compassion. We have all done things we regret and
talking about them openly is the best form of
therapy. Am I ready to listen when another shares
their experiences, with tolerance rather than
judgement?

I used to judge people negatively because it made
me feel better about myself. My self-esteem was low
and I was envious of ordinary people and couldn’t
see how I could ever be like them. But now I have a
sense of purpose and am trying to do things right. I
find that I think more positively about myself and
have no need to try to bring others down to my level.
I no longer need to judge others and make
unfavourable comparisons, for the sake of my low
self-esteem and I give thanks for that today.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 26th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – feel your body from top to toes

Action and contemplation

What we plant in the soil of contemplation,
we shall reap in the harvest of action.
Meister Eckhart.
The fourteenth-century mystic is saying here what
others have said since: that both contemplation and
action are needed. It is not a case of either one or
the other, but both together. As Pope Gregory the
Great wrote, hundreds of years before Eckhart,
activity and thought are like two eyes that work
together to produce eyesight. The debate on
whether to be or to do, continues today – whether to
be Mary or Martha. Do I understand the benefits of
both action and contemplation?

Love the Lord your God with all your heart,
with all your soul and all your mind and love
your neighbour as yourself. St Luke.
In loving God, I engage in contemplation and in
loving my neighbour, I engage in positive action.
Both are a form of connection, fundamental when
dealing with the disease of addiction, which is
basically, an attachment disorder. I ask for the
wisdom to take positive action, when I need to.

Daily Reading from Recovery July 25th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – send positive thoughts


Nicotine

It’s not so very long ago that the majority of people
smoked tobacco wherever and whenever they
wanted. Successful government campaigns
changed attitudes and behaviours. Smoking is an
addiction with health consequences that are as
serious as many other drugs. It is not wise for
anyone to develop a dependence on any addictive
behaviour and cross addiction means that one
addiction can lead to another. Smoking tobacco can
easily lead to smoking other substances such as
marijuana. A lot of people find that smoking
tobacco and alcohol goes well together. Am I aware
of the dangers of cross-addiction?

Any kind of dependence can limit my ability to
grow and mature as an adult person. Dependence
makes me selfish, fearful and avoidant of
responsibility. I used to think that I was an
independent person when in fact I was the opposite.
It was only when I faced reality and asked for help
that I started to become truly mature and
independent. Today I give thanks to the fellowships

Daily Reading from recovery Days July 24th by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – close eyes briefly

Managing cravings

The psychiatrist Elizabeth Kubler-Ross was an
expert on the process of dying and much respected
for her ‘death with dignity’ approach. She
formulated the Five Stages of Grief that people
facing death or bereavement experience: Denial,
Anger, Bargaining, Depression and Acceptance.
When addicted people quit their habit, they often go
through a bereavement process similar to this,
where these five stages may be identified. Such a
process is likely to be emotional and arduous. Some
people never lose the desire for their substance or
behaviour of choice. Bill W, co-founder of AA, had
cravings for alcohol until the end of his life. That is
neither reprehensible nor surprising. Do I recognise
the power of addiction and not judge others?


Recovery from addiction is management of an
ongoing illness. Recovery is not a cure. My
addiction, although in remission, may send craving
messages to my brain for years. There is nothing
surprising in this. I just deny such requests in a
forceful manner and move on. The voice in my head
grows weaker but it may never go entirely.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 23rd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – sit comfortably

Compassion, not judgement

If I did not know about God and sin, would
I go to hell? No, said the missionary, not if
you did not know. Then why, asked the
tribesman earnestly, did you tell me?
Anon.
This familiar story illustrates the idea that
‘ignorance is bliss.’. People in denial from addiction
sometimes react like this when they find themselves
in rehab. They realise they have lost their innocent
attitude towards addiction and will henceforward
always feel guilty. Basically, they are not yet ready to
quit. Everyone deals with their problems in their
own way and in their own time. We should not judge
people for not acting in the way we would like. Am I
able to show compassion rather than judgment?

Shame and guilt are big issues. But in recovery, they
will hold me back. Of course, I feel ashamed of my
past, and even my belief that I am a good but sick
person who has done regrettable things, does not lift
the burden. However, Steps Eight and Nine provide
a way of dealing with this. I must act to complete
these steps thoroughly and over time, as I work
through my list of amends, I will feel the burden
lighten. Today I ask for insight into past actions.

Daily Reading from Recovery Days July 22nd by Chris B

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Remember Mindfulness – breathe slowly
No compromises


Contrary to popular belief, crocodiles do not make
good pets. Internet.

You do not compromise with a crocodile, and you do
not welcome it, or any potential killer, into your
home. The same is true of addiction. Alcohol and
drug-related deaths run into thousands each year.
Recovery from addiction is not a process of
negotiation, there are no grey areas, no wiggle room,
the only approach is zero tolerance. Do I understand
there is no compromise with addiction of any kind?

The world seems to expect compromises in almost
every area including truth, kindness, gratitude and
integrity. But, I can be different. I do not have to go
along with the crowd. Instead, I will follow my
conscience, when I have difficult choices to make.
Integrity is about doing what you believe is right:
If you can keep your head when all about you are
losing theirs and blaming you. Rudyard Kipling.
I ask God for the strength not to compromise on
matters concerning my addiction.