March 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Monday, March 2, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

The well-known saying “There is nothing to fear but fear itself” seems somewhat simplistic, as does the advice to always “choose love instead of fear.” How do we actually embody these bits of wisdom?

We begin by learning the art of centering by focusing on our breath whenever fear or anxiety starts to grab us. Centering allows us to blend and flow with the current situation rather than block and resist it. Instead of reacting habitually, we pause and begin with our breath. We slowly breathe in through our nose and then hold that breath for a count of four. Next, we breathe that breath out through pursed lips, relaxing our facial muscles, for a count of eight. We repeat this process until we calm down.

With each breath, we can intentionally allow our abdominal breathing to get slower, quieter, and more regular, which communicates to our entire nervous system that we are safe. Breathing in, we are present to whatever is. Breathing out, we calm ourselves. Our breath is the bridge from where we are to where we’d like to be. We ride the waves of our breath to a calmer, safer place, where we can more easily problem-solve and take positive action.

Whenever any strong emotions threaten to overwhelm me, I can practice the art of centering.

Hazelden Foundation

March 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Monday, March 2, 2020

Today, remember gratitude if I take undue credit for the sobriety I have found in recovery. While it is justified to take pride in being sober the last 24 Hours, that pride must be within the boundaries of the Program and cannot be stretched to egoism or seeking praise from others. For when pride extends beyond the boundaries to egoism, I risk taking back the surrender to the Higher Power that carried me when I passed out or stumbled in my drinking days and even in some difficult sober days. Yes, I was the one who grabbed the lifeline of recovery, but someone or something else had to toss it to me first. Gratitude. And our common journey continues. Step by Step. - Chris M., 2020

March 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Monday, March 2, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
Over a period of drinking years, we've proved to ourselves and to everybody else that we can't stop drinking by our own willpower. We have been proved helpless before the power of alcohol. So the only way we could stop drinking was by turning to a Power greater than ourselves. We call that Power God. The time that you really get this program is when you get down on your knees and surrender yourself to God, as you understand Him. Surrender means putting your life into God's hands.

Have I made a promise to God that I will try to live the way He wants me to live?

Meditation for the Day
Spirit-power comes from communication with God in prayer and times of quiet meditation. I must constantly seek spirit-communication with God. This is a matter directly between me and God. Those who seek it through the medium of the church do not always get the joy and the wonder of spirit-communication with God. From this communication comes life, joy, peace and healing. Many people do not realize the power that can come to them from direct pirit-communication.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that I may feel that God's power is mine. I pray that I may be able to face anything through that power.

Hazelden Foundation

March 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Monday, March 2, 2020

Reflection for the Day
Why don't I spend part of today thinking about my assets, rather than my liabilities? Why not think about victories instead of defeats - about the ways in which I am gentle and kind? It's always been my tendency to fall into a sort of cynical self-hypnosis, putting derogatory labels on practically everything I've done, said or felt. Just for today, I'll spend a quiet half hour trying to gain a more positive perspective on my life.

Do I have the courage to change the things I can?

Today I Pray
Through quietness and a reassessment of myself, may I develop a more positive attitude. If I am a child of God, created in His image, there must be goodness in me. I will think about that goodness and the ways it manifests itself. I will stop putting myself down, even in my secret thoughts. I will respect what is God's. I will respect myself.

Today I Will Remember
Self-respect is respect for God.

Hazelden Foundation

March 2, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Monday, March 2, 2020

Life is too short even if we live the whole of it to its fullest, but we alcoholics have wasted so many years of our lives that we must now double our efforts if we hope to do any living at all. Truly, for us, it is later than we think.

There is one consolation, however. and that is that it is possible to use a single moment to produce an eternity of benefits for humanity. Much time has been frittered away, but there is still ample time to do good.

Life is not measured by its length but by its width and its depth.

Hazelden Foundation

March 2, 2020 - Good morning and let's roll up the sleeves for another Monday and entire new week

March 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Sunday, March 1, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Do unto others …

Snapping at a friend often results in being snapped at in return. That doesn’t surprise us. Accusations generally elicit an angry defense and an argument. That comes as no surprise either. By contrast, being loving and compassionate toward the people in our lives generally results in others returning love and compassion to us. Why, then, is it harder to express love?

The fear of rejection is strong for many of us. Offering love while fearing it won’t be returned makes us feel too vulnerable. However, the principles we are being exposed to through this program will help us understand that we do receive from others what we give. The scales are balanced. Remembering that before responding to anyone around us will make our lives far more peaceful.

I will know what to expect from others today by how I treat them. I pray to be kind and loving.

Hazelden Foundation

March 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Sunday, March 1, 2020

Today, enough! No more self-defeatism for failing to attain perfection when perfection is impossible. No more self-abuse by drinking myself into oblivion every night, awakening to a shot of whisky to calm the shakes. No more dodging responsibilities to myself and other people. No more watching the clock for the 10 a.m. mid-morning hit from the bottle hidden in my car in the employee parking lot, and no more counting minutes to race home and again start drinking myself into oblivion. Enough! No more! Recovery begins today. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

March 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Sunday, March 1, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
When I find myself thinking about taking a drink, I say to myself: "Don't reach out and take that problem back. You've given it to God and there's nothing you can do about it." So I forget about the drink. One of the most important parts of the AA program is to give our drink problem to God honestly and fully and never to reach out and take the problem back to ourselves. If we let God have it and keep it for good and then cooperate with Him, we'll stay sober.

Have I determined not to take the drink problem back to myself?

Meditation for the Day
Constant effort is necessary if I am to grow spiritually and develop my spiritual life. I must keep the spiritual rules persistently, perseveringly, lovingly, patiently and hopefully. By keeping them, every mountain of difficulty shall be laid low, the rough places of poverty of spirit shall be made smooth, and all who know me shall know that God is the Lord of all my ways. To get close to the spirit of God is to find life and healing and strength.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that God's spirit may be everything to my soul. I pray that God's spirit may grow within.

Hazelden Foundation

March 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: A Day at a Time

A Day at a Time
Sunday, March 1, 2020

Reflection for the Day
Now that we're free and no longer chemically-dependent, we have so much more control over our thinking. More than anything, we're able to alter our attitudes. Some members of Alcoholics Anonymous, in fact, choose to think of the letters AA as an abbreviation for "Altered Attitudes." In the bad old days, I almost always responded to any optimistic or positive statement with, "Yes, but ..."  Today, in contrast, I'm learning to eliminate that negative phrase from my vocabulary.

Am I working to change my attitude? Am I determined to "accentuate the positive ...?"

Today I Pray
May I find that healing and strength which God provides to those who stay near Him. May I keep to the spiritual guidelines of The Program, considering the Steps, taking the steps - one by one - then practicing them again and again. In this is my salvation.

Today I Will Remember
To practice at least one Step.

Hazelden Foundation

March 1, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: The Eye Opener

The Eye Opener
Sunday, March 1, 2020

The door of living that opened upon our advent into AA is also able to close upon those years of daily dying that are behind us. That door opened into a long hall that stretched out to a vanishing point; our eye could not perceive its end. We should not be content to just pass through this portal and close the door upon our past, but we should move on for our happiness is up that hall, and we must constantly advance to attain our happy goal.

Hazelden Foundation

March 1, 2020 - Good morning to what we plan to make a restful and groovy, serene Sunday

Feb. 29, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Today's Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation

Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020

Today’s Gift from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:

Reflection for the Day

When I first read the Serenity Prayer, the word serenity itself seemed like an impossibility. At the time, the word conjured up images of lethargy, apathy, resignation, or grim-faced endurance; it hardly seemed a desirable goal. But I’ve since found that serenity means none of those things. Serenity for me today is simply a clear-eyed and realistic way of seeing the world, accompanied by inner peace and strength. My favorite definition is “Serenity is like a gyroscope that lets us keep our balance no matter what turbulence swirls around us.”

Is that a state of mind worth aiming for?

Today I Pray

May I notice that serenity comes first, ahead of courage and wisdom, in the sequence of the Serenity Prayer. May I believe that serenity must also come first in my life. I must have the balance, realistic outlook, and acceptance that is part of this blessing of serenity before I can go on to the kind of action and decision-making that will bring order to my existence.

Today I Will Remember

Serenity comes first.

Hazelden Foundation

Feb. 29, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Step by Step

Step by Step
Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020

Today, understand that even if my last drink was years ago, my next drunk, like the guy whose last drunk was 24 Hours ago, is just one drink away. My quantity of sobriety says little about its quality, and I have to re-examine that quality if my sobriety is riddled with anger, frustration, despair, hopelessness and a brain that processes my world with the same mind soaked by my last drunk. And even if my last drunk was months or even years ago, my next one is just as close as for the man who woke up with a hangover this morning. Quality - not quantity. This is the what recovery is about. And our common journey continues. Step by step. - Chris M., 2020

Feb. 29, 2020 - Readings in Recovery: Twenty-Four Hours a Day

Twenty-Four Hours a Day
Saturday, Feb. 29, 2020

AA Thought for the Day
"The alcoholic is absolutely unable to stop drinking on the basis of self-knowledge. We must admit we can do nothing about it ourselves. Will power and self-knowledge will never help in the strange mental blank spots when we are tempted to drink. An alcoholic mentally is in a very sick condition. The last flicker of conviction that we can do the job ourselves must be snuffed out. The spiritual answer and the program of action are the only hope. Only spiritual principles will solve our problems. We are completely helpless apart from Divine help. Our defense against drinking must come from a Higher Power."

Have I accepted the spiritual answer and the program of action?

Meditation for the Day
Rest now until life, eternal life, flowing through your veins and heart and mind, bids you to bestir yourself. Then glad work will follow. Tired work is never effective. The strength of God's spirit is always available to the tired mind and body. He is your physician and your healer. Look to these quiet times of communion with God for rest, for peace, for cure. Then rise refreshed in spirit and go out to work, knowing that your strength is able to meet any problems because it is reinforced by God's power.

Prayer for the Day
I pray that the peace I have found will make me effective. I pray that I may be relieved of all train during this day.

Hazelden Foundation