Seeking Freedom If we want freedom from addiction, we must start the process ourselves. Then we must accept any help offered and follow the direction of our Higher Power. Recovery does not come to us without effort. First we seek abstinence; we want to be clean and sober. Later, we look for the joys of living. It often takes months and years to grasp the principles that will set us free. But free of what? At first, freedom from alcohol and other drugs; then, freedom from fear and from anything else that binds us. To become free, we can begin seeking our principles and our truth today. Am I seeking freedom? Higher Power, help me become free from the things that bind me. Today I will work toward freedom from ______________ G-d help me to stay clean and sober today! This inspiration is from Day by Day: Daily Meditations for Recovering Addicts
Rabbi Mitch Feld, MSW’s Post
More Relevant Posts
-
Spiritual awakenings Page 12 "Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps..." Step Twelve ❖ "How will I know when I have had a spiritual awakening?" For many of us, a spiritual awakening comes gradually. Perhaps our first spiritual awareness is as simple as a new appreciation for life. Maybe one day we'll suddenly discover the sound of birds singing early in the morning. The simple beauty of a flower may remind us that there is a Power greater than ourselves at work around us. Often, our spiritual awakening is something that grows stronger over time. We can strive for more spiritual awareness simply by living our lives. We can persist in efforts to improve our conscious contact through prayer and meditation on a daily basis. We can listen within for the guidance we need. We can question other addicts about their experiences with spirituality. We can take time to appreciate the world around us. ❖ Just for Today: I will reflect on the spiritual awakenings I have experienced. I will strive to be God-conscious. I will take time out in the day to appreciate my Higher Power's handiwork.
-
THE 100% STEP Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission we were powerless over alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 68 Long before I was able to obtain sobriety in A.A., I knew without a doubt that alcohol was killing me, yet even with this knowledge, I was unable to stop drinking. So, when faced with Step One, I found it easy to admit that I lacked the power to not drink. But was my life unmanageable? Never! Five months after coming into A.A., I was drinking again and wondered why. Later on, back in A.A. and smarting from my wounds, I learned that Step One is the only Step that can be taken 100%. And that the only way to take it 100% is to take 100% of the Step. That was many twenty-four hours ago and I haven’t had to take Step One again.
-
THE 100% STEP Only Step One, where we made the 100 percent admission we were powerless over alcohol, can be practiced with absolute perfection. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 68 Long before I was able to obtain sobriety in A.A., I knew without a doubt that alcohol was killing me, yet even with this knowledge, I was unable to stop drinking. So, when faced with Step One, I found it easy to admit that I lacked the power to not drink. But was my life unmanageable? Never! Five months after coming into A.A., I was drinking again and wondered why. Later on, back in A.A. and smarting from my wounds, I learned that Step One is the only Step that can be taken 100%. And that the only way to take it 100% is to take 100% of the Step. That was many twenty-four hours ago and I haven’t had to take Step One again.
-
UNITED WE STAND We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed. — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 30 I came to Alcoholics Anonymous because I was no longer able to control my drinking. It was either my wife’s complaining about my drinking, or maybe the sheriff forced me to go to A.A. meetings, or perhaps I knew, deep down inside, that I couldn’t drink like others, but I was unwilling to admit it because the alternative terrified me. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women united against a common, fatal disease. Each one of our lives is linked to every other, much like the survivors on a life raft at sea. If we all work together, we can get safely to shore.
-
AN ACT OF PROVIDENCE It is truly awful to admit that, glass in hand, we have warped our minds into such an obsession for destructive drinking that only an act of Providence can remove it from us. — TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 21 My act of Providence, (a manifestation of divine care and direction), came as I experienced the total bankruptcy of active alcoholism—everything meaningful in my life was gone. I telephoned Alcoholics Anonymous and, from that instant, my life has never been the same. When I reflect on that very special moment, I know that God was working in my life long before I was able to acknowledge and accept spiritual concepts. The glass was put down through this one act of Providence and my journey into sobriety began. My life continues to unfold with divine care and direction. Step One, in which I admitted I was powerless over alcohol, that my life had become unmanageable, takes on more meaning for me—one day at a time—in the life-saving, life-giving Fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous.
-
Of all that I’ve learned this is what I choose to say aloud after awakening and saying Modeh Ani, a mourning prayer of gratitude. Every morning for 35+ years I concede to my innermost self that I’m powerless over all mind and mood altering substances and I choose to stay clean. I recite this aloud because my disease is cunning and baffling and can convince me I never said it. It is the ultimate gaslighter!!
-
-
Claim Your Freedom In the military, someone else is always calling the shots. How you dress, where you go, who you are with, what you do, and even what secrets you keep are all determined by people and things outside of your control. But right now, no matter where you’re at in life, you have freedom over your recovery. You are the only person who can make the decision to heal. The fact that you are reading these words right now shows that you are aware of this. At the very least, in this area of your life, you have all the freedom you need. Today I encourage you to claim that freedom. Figure out what claiming your freedom looks like for you, then commit to that life, because you are worthy of it. I have the freedom to recover however works best for me. Today I remember that I am worthy of that freedom, and I claim it as my own. —Anonymous, U.S. Army, 2009–2016 This inspiration is from Leave No One Behind: Daily Meditations for Military Service Members and Veterans in Recovery
-
BEGIN WHERE YOU ARE We feel that elimination of our drinking is but a beginning. A much more important demonstration of our principles lies before us in our respective homes, occupations and affairs. — ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 19 It’s usually pretty easy for me to be pleasant to the people in an A.A. setting. While I’m working to stay sober, I’m celebrating with my fellow A.A.s our common release from the hell of drinking. It’s often not so hard to spread glad tidings to my old and new friends in the program. At home or at work, though, it can be a different story. It is in situations arising in both of those areas that the little day-to-day frustrations are most evident, and where it can be tough to smile or reach out with a kind word or an attentive ear. It’s outside of the A.A. rooms that I face the real test of the effectiveness of my walk through A.A.’s Twelve Steps.