More Recovery Thoughts and Quotes - May

[yukonm]

May 1

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We know that while the alcoholic keeps away from drink, as he may do for months or years, he reacts much like other men. We are equally positive that once he takes any alcohol whatever into his system, something happens, both in the bodily and mental sense, which makes it virtually impossible for him to stop. The experience of any alcoholic will abundantly confirm this. - Pgs. 22-23 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

The question is not if you will recover, but how.

Although giving up drugs and alcohol shatters my illusions about who I was, I use the duration to shape myself into a better being through the 12 Steps.

Gifts

Today I will be thankful for the many gifts that are mine. Life is a gift. Health is a gift. Love is a gift. Friends and family are gifts. If I take the time to say thank you, I have so many things to be thankful for. When I learn to say thank you, to give praise and gratitude, my life immediately feels more full.

I embrace the gifts that surround me

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Although thoughts are things, they are not actions; although feelings are real, they are not facts. They only have the power we give them through our actions.

When I act kindly, I give power to loving thoughts and feelings; when I use harsh words and 'get even' I give power to angry thoughts and feelings.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Prayer does not change the situation, it changes the person who prays.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

When I look within, I find that I have all that I need. It feels wonderful to discover that I already am the beautiful person that I would like to be.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I have no medical evidence that I have brain damage, but I know this; that good feeling I got after about four beers or a couple of shots; that complete feeling of well-being, self confidence and self acceptance - happy, joyous and free. That's the exhilaration of brain cells dying. - Doug D.

[yukonm]

May 2

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We doctors have realized for a long time that some form of moral psychology was of urgent importance to alcoholics, but it's application presented difficulties beyond our conception. What with our ultra-modern standards, our scientific approach to everything, we are perhaps not well equipped to apply the powers of good that lie outside our synthetic knowledge. - Pg. xxvii - 4th. Edition - The Doctor's Opinion

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

'For a time we are living inside a scream where there seems to be no exit, only echoes. The small cares that seemed so important yesterday seem like nothing, and our daily concerns become petty and irrelevant. When we finally reclaim ourselves, as we ultimately do, we are changed.'-- Kent Nerburn, Simple Truths

I am swept into a reality where I see what is truly important, my recovery, and I carry that knowledge back to my daily life.

Opening to the New

Today I will be open to what life offers to me. The world comes to greet me like an old friend each morning. My daily habits comfort and ground me. The thought of moving into my day pleases me. Life unfolds one second at a time and today I will be present to witness it. How much of my life do I let pass by unnoticed? How many of my feelings go unfelt? Today I will recognize that my time on Earth is limited. I choose to value my life a day at a time and embrace it while I have it.

I am open to life

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

They say that young people don't get sober, they get caught. Getting caught is a great way to find recovery. We don't care how you get here, whether it is your parents that force you, a school counselor, the courts, or a guilty conscious--you're here. So decide not to get recaught, but to recover instead.

If I'm young, I am respectful of the old farts. If I'm an old fart I don't recite platitudes to the young.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

If you are in the wrong place, the right place is empty.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am open to making small changes in my life that lead me, a step at a time, on my spiritual path to recovery. I have faith in the guidance that I am receiving. I trust that I will know intuitively when the time is right for those changes.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The secret to long sobriety: Don't drink and don't die. - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 3

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

When it will serve any good purpose, we are willing to announce our convictions with tact and common sense. - Pg. 77 - Into Action

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Right now the battle is over, so surrender. You are drug free and at the turning point for a whole new view on living. The weight of the past will drop from your shoulders because a new fellowship is here to help you carry every burden, from this hour forward.

Give me the courage to share one of the burdens of my past battles at the next meeting I go to today. By sharing, I divide; by dividing, I lighten my load.

The Healing Universe

Everywhere I look life is in a process of healing from something. A plant that has been stepped on fights to come back to life. A tree that has lost branches sprouts new growth. An animal that has lost a leg learns to run on three. Life is always reaching for life. It's an unbroken circle. Like a lover reaching for their beloved , or a child holding onto his mother until the pain passes. Life is programmed to heal itself and it will strive towards that with all its will. I will allow this powerful force that's build into my DNA to work its magic on me. I won't resist my own healing. I will allow it in.

I am built to heal

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Although there are no Twelve Step gurus, and God knows we are not saints, there are times when the words and actions of some members touch us so much that we practically consider them saints. We never forget though, that they are human and still suffer. So we reach out to them as they reach out to others.

I remember that the 'alcoholic that still suffers' could just as well be an old-timer as it is a newcomer, my sponsor as my sponsee.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Bring the shoes and the soul will follow.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

It is beautiful to know that I am the creator of how I think and feel today, that I can choose my now. Today I choose to feel joy and I will do all that I have to do to make that possible.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The doctor had patched up the young boy, who thanked the doctor for healing him. The doctor said; 'No, I just treat the wound, God heals it' - A favorite story of Dr. Bob's.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Bring the shoes and the soul will follow.

Much better than taking your foot out of your mouth to put the other one in. Walk the path of recovery, one day at a time. My sponsor said to suit up, show up, and the rest will follow.

[bluidkiti]

May 4

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Resentment is the 'number one' offender. It destroys more alcohlolics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. - Pg. 64 - How It Works

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

You will be receiving many gifts from people in the programs: gifts of help, time, energy, possibly money, talents, and knowledge. You will never be able to pay them all back. You are not obligated to pay them back. You are obligated to be of service to others and give to them what is being so freely given to you today.

I appreciate the generosity of others and my only obligation comes in the future, to offer what gifts I can to someone else in recovery.

Inner Cleansing

I am in a process of healing. I am taking the time to allow my body to become clean and whole and as I do that, my mind seems to heal, too. Thoughts arise, thoughts I have blocked out during normal waking hours. They scare me, sometimes. Where are they coming from. Me? But as I allow them to come forward a curious thing happens. They become less threatening. They are, after all, just thoughts. They only really have power when I fear them and push them away. If I welcome them into the sun lit rooms of my mind, they sort of spread out and relax. They are just fears. Anxieties. Parts of me I don't want to know about. But today I understand that I cannot really keep secrets from me. Today I let these thoughts have room to breathe and as they do, a curious thing happens. They dissipate.

I awaken to my inner life

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'Suit up, Show up, Sit up, Shut up' is what we used to tell newcomers. We used to say this for darn good reason. Drunk drunks and newly clean addicts shouldn't be running at the mouth about recovery when they don't understand recovery. Unfortunately 'Politically Correct' (or rather, 'Therapeutically Correct') often hijacks our meetings. Do not be afraid to take our meetings back.

In order to continue to help the newcomer, I Suit up, Show up, Sit up, and Speak up!

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Work the program, not the problem.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I choose to think positive and loving thoughts. I know that if I do this I will feel loving and positive and create a positive and loving world for those around me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I looked up 'Willing' in the dictionary. It said: 'Cheerfully ready' - Cindy F.

[yukonm]

May 5

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Logic is great stuff. We liked it. We still like it. It is not by chance we were given the power to reason, to examine the evidence of our senses, and to draw conclusions. That is one of man's magnificent attributes. We agnostically inclined would not feel satisfied with a proposal which does not lend itself to reasonable approach and interpretation. Hence we are at pains to tell why we think our present faith is reasonable, why we think it more sane and logical to believe than not to believe, why we say our former thinking was soft and mushy when we threw up our hands in doubt and said, 'We don't know.' - Pg. 53 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

There will be many times when nothing anyone does (even sponsor, counselor and yourself), seems right. But these 'nothing is ever right' times will pass like a cloud overhead. Do not make decisions until the cloud passes, so that you make them in the full light of your good senses.

Let me understand that the 'nothing is going right' times will soon drift away like clouds overhead.

Seeing Deeply

Every day I experience another piece of myself. Yes I am laid low, but at the same time worlds are opening up to me on the inside. My body is struggling to heal and so is the rest of me. I am watching myself deepen inside and become more aware. It is forced upon me by illness, but I cannot help but being a little bit grateful for the time to slow down and go within. I am seeing the subtleties of life, I am watching myself watch the world around me. I have a witness inside that is constantly with me but I seldom take time to be with it. As I witness my own thoughts, I learn about who I am inside, what makes me tick. As I watch myself interact with others, I see how I act in relationships. As I notice the little things, life seems to matter more.

I am renewing my relationship with life

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

The old timers used to say that the world's most difficult prayer was 'O, Lord, be as good to me today, as I was to my fellowman, yesterday.'

I say what I mean, mean what I say, and don't say it mean.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Looking for the right person? Become the right person.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will let my Higher Power handle my worry so I can be free, I choose to be alive in this moment and not blocked by the conversations that go on over and over in my head. I will stop trying to figure everything out and will trust that I will get the right answers at the right time.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

How many alkies does it take to change a lightbulb? Change? What do you mean, change? - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 6

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

We needed to ask ourselves but one short question. 'Do I now believe, or am I even willing to believe, that there is a Power greater than myself?' As soon as a man can say that he does believe, or is willing to believe, we emphatically assure him that he is on his way. It has been repeatedly proven among us that upon this simple cornerstone a wonderfully effective spiritual structure can be built. - Pg. 47 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Regaining the natural habit of sleeping takes time. If you are tired right now from lack of sleep, it is normal. As long as you don't 'take' anything for it, you will be OK. Rest, pray, and know that it won't always be so difficult.

Give me a quiet spirit to meet the times when I don't have all the sleep I think I need.

Fear

Today, I allow myself to experience my fears as fears. I don't need to let them control and color the circumstances of my life. They are real, and it is understandable that I have them. Healing can mobilize my deep fears, they come up more intensely than normal. But this is a part of my process, and growth and healing aren't neat and tidy. When I am very afraid, I will comfort myself or seek comfort from someone else. I will understand that even though I fear the worst, the worst will not necessarily happen. My feelings feel very powerful inside me, but they are not facts. I can survive my fears and understand that they will pass.

I have compassion for the fearful part of me.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

If God is your co-pilot, switch seats! (Anonymous Sage) There is something special waiting for you to do today that won't get done if you are flying around doing your own thing.

When I let my Higher Power pilot my life, I know that inspiration will guide my actions and that 'special something' will get done.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You are less likely to fall into temptation if you don't walk along the edge.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I feel my entire body energized by my powerful positive, thoughts. I feel alive and full of joy as I feed myself with loving and positive energy.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

The first drink I ever had I realized what my problem was: I had an alcohol deficiency. - Trip S.

[yukonm]

May 7

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Highly competent psychiatrists who have dealt with us have found it sometimes impossible to persuade an alcoholic to discuss his situation without reserve. Strangely enough, wives, parents and intimate friends usually find us even more unapproachable that do the psychiatrist and the doctor. - Pg. 18 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Withdrawal is a condition that can last many months and produces chaos: chaotic emotions, chaotic thoughts, chaotic family situations, chaotic desires. But we take one step at a time, one hour at a time and the chaos eventually calms.

I know everything changes and the chaos will pass in these changes as long as I don't use mind-affecting chemicals.

Unseen Hands

There are forces in this ever alive and vibrating universe that want to help me if I can let them. I will pray to unseen hands to guide me toward wellness, to lift me towards God. If I am low, I will allow this legion of tiny hands to lift me in the blink of an eye. I will ask and trust that help is at hand. I will free my mind so that it can include more experience that it normally does. I will allow the veil to be lifted so that I can see this spiritual and alive universe for what it is and people for the tender and vulnerable creatures that we all are.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Don't ever think you have nothing left to learn in the fellowship and that everyone wants to hear you talk incessantly because you are so wise. You can not have an open mouth and an open mind at the same time.

When I do all the talking, I can only hear what I already know.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Reputation is what people think of us. Character is what God knows about us.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I choose to accept live on life's terms.all of it. I am open to all I see, hear, think and feeling the moment, without resistance. I am opening to be fully alive and enjoying the adventure.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Alcoholism is a disease which tells us we don't have it. - Anon.

[yukonm]

May 8

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

BUT THE EX-PROBLEM DRINKER WHO HAS FOUND THIS SOLUTION, WHO IS PROPERLY ARMED WITH FACTS ABOUT HIMSELF, CAN GENERALLY WIN THE ENTIRE CONFIDENCE OF ANOTHER ALCOHOLIC IN A FEW HOURS. UNTIL SUCH AN UNDERSTANDING IS REACHED, LITTLE OR NOTHING CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED. - Pg. 18 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

We often feel tremendous remorse for transgressions of the past. Today, at this hour, we can stay clean, stay sober, stay drug free. This is the beginning. Later in our program, we will work steps to neutralize our transgressions. But at this hour, we must heal our bodies first.

God, as I understand You, keep me clean and sober, now.

New Life

I can feel my body and my spirit trying to come back to health. I am breathing in and out with relaxed, complete breaths and with each breath I take, I feel more serene. I sense the life within each pore of my body and it feels good, it feels right, it feels alive. My body needed to fall apart a little, it needed to get my attention and tell me it needed tender, loving care. Today, I will pay attention to what my body is trying to tell me it wants and needs and I will give it what it is calling out for.

I listen to what my body is asking for and I do something about it

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

We are now learning to keep our thoughts in recovery and not in the insanity of the past. The program fixes it so we don't have to suffer from insanity anymore. Now we can enjoy it!

Crazy-making is what I make of it.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You cannot think your way into right actions. You have to act your way into right thinking.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

I am letting go of all self-criticism today and changing all my judging thoughts to thoughts of love. I am becoming softer and more gentle and accepting of myself, making more space to feel joy and love.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

I had an unusual childhood....and a long one. - Anon.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You cannot think your way into right actions. You have to act your way into right thinking.

Another thing that I did wrong for most of my life. I looked at my intentions and people were judging me by my actions.

The other thing was "Just because I had a feeling, I didn't have to act on it."

As the first step says, "My life is unmanageable when managed by me."

Like the last line too. A friend said, "I was a big kid who never grew up." I told her I was looking to connect to my inner child. I had to heal the old hurts, real or imagined and give her the love she felt that she lever received.

[yukonm]

May 9

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The great fact is just this, and nothing less: That we have had deep and effective spiritual experiences* which have revolutionized our whole attitude toward life, toward our fellows and toward God's universe. - Pg. 25 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

This is a 'We' program, not a 'Me' program. We do this together. Look at our steps. They all say 'We admitted' or 'We came to believe.' Doing it together makes us stronger and less likely to fool ourselves with dysfunctional ways of thinking.

Let me know that I am no longer alone and need never be alone again.

Healing Light

I am surrounding myself with healing light. I am inviting a warm, yellow/white light to surround me. I breathe it in deeply into all parts of me and I breathe out any lingering fear or darkness. Healing energy is quietly pulsing in and around me, imbuing me with a feeling of well being. I allow this energy to fill each pore of my body. This healing energy has its own intelligence and I become one with it and direct it towards those parts of me that need healing. I rest in this vibrating yellow-white light and let it fill me, surround me and make me well. Even the act of allowing this lifts me up.

I am filled with healing energy

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Few of us realize that God is all we need until God is all we have.

If I can't find God, I know who moved.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

Rather than getting even with those that hurt you, the challenge is to get even with those that help you.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I am letting a power greater than myself remove all my fear. I am now free to look within for my answers.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

My sponsor said; 'OK, the only way to disprove a belief system is to adopt it. You can't stand outside the experience and say it doesn't work. So, for six months, live this program, really live it. And a t the end of that time if you say: 'It doesn't work, my life's still in the toilet.' Then I'll be happy to say; 'You're absolutely right, for you it doesn't work, bon voyage.' And I've tried that with a lot of guys and there's no way you can do that and say AA doesn't work - Because it does. - John L.

[yukonm]

May 10

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

The central fact of our lives today is the absolute certainty that our Creator has entered into our hearts and lives in a way which is indeed miraculous. He has commenced to accomplish those things for us which we could never do by ourselves. - Pg. 25 - There Is A Solution

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

Sometimes you might feel spiritually dead or emotionally empty. No matter how dead or empty you sometimes feel, believe us when we say if you keep coming back, you will feel alive and full once again!

Whether or not I believe in a Higher Power, I will practice believing by praying anyway--the worst it can do is teach me discipline, the best it can do is work!

Being Authentic

I will stop fighting with myself and give my mind, body and heart the rest and inner quiet that they are craving. I'm not going to rush myself into wellness or force my thoughts into a phony sort of gaiety. I will accept myself as I am and feel what I feel. Thoughts and feelings won't kill me. Resisting the ones I don't want to experience puts me in a constant struggle with my own insides. My random thoughts and feelings are trying to tell me something. If I turn away and refuse to listen, I only hurt myself. Instead I will let the adult in me listen to those younger, fearful or anxious selves that are bubbling up inside of me just as a loving parent would allow a child who is hurt to pour out all of their feelings knowing that the simple act of pouring, it in itself, the cure.

I am willing to know myself

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

If you rely on meetings alone to keep you sober, then you must find a 24 hour meeting. Meetings are for identifying and sharing. People in the meetings will tell you what they did and suggest what you can do, but they can't do it for you.

I can pray for a good harvest, but I still have to plow.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The first year is free.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today I will look for opportunities to continue to grow through seeing the beauty around me and in me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Between any two alcoholics there's probably one good brain left. - Doug D.

[yukonm]

May 11

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

Be determined that your husband's drinking is not going to spoil your relations with your children or your friends. They need your companionship and your help. It is possible to have a full and useful life, though your husband continues to drink. We know women who are unafraid, even happy under these conditions. Do not set your heart on reforming your husband. You may be unable to do so, no matter how hard you try. - Pg. 111 - To Wives

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

There is a certain universality to the truths taught in our 12 step programs. They are nothing new. These principles are derived from eons of experience and spirituality. What is new is our personal understanding that living these principles gives us a reprieve from our addiction.

Thank you God, as I understand You, for my daily reprieve from addiction based on my sincere attempt to practice these principles.

Accepting Caring from Others

I will soak up any extra attention that I get while I'm not feeling up to par. Even if I don't need it at the moment, I will soak it into my pores and store it up for a time when I do need it. I will let the attention feel good. I will allow it to restore my faith in and affection for people. I enjoy the little things people are willing to do for me, going a bit out of their way, worrying about how I'm doing. It feels good if I let it. It restores me if I willing to feel good.

Feeling grateful for what is coming my way has a healing power all its own.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

Don't let your starting point in recovery ever discourage you. Don't let your starting point today put a frown on your face. Anyone who gets to be an old-timer had to be a newcomer first. Smile and start.

My journey of a thousand smiles begins with the First Step.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

You can change any thought that hurts into a reality that hurts even more.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

Today my trust in the overall and the long run is deep and is growing. When events and people do not act as I would like them to act, I reach deeper inside for my faith and let it comfort me.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

No matter how bad things are, eventually drinking will make them worse. That's a flat out guarantee. - Cubby S.

[MajestyJo]

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The first year is free.

This reminds me of what they said to me on my one year anniversary, "Now the work begins." They were right. It is one thing to get sober, it is another to work to stay sober.

This morning my thought for today was, "When things become a chore, I need to have a change in attitude."

[yukonm]

May 12

AA 'Big Book' - Quote

To be doomed to an alcoholic death or to live on a spiritual basis are not always easy alternatives to face. - Pg. 44 - We Agnostics

Hour To Hour - Book - Quote

You will probably misjudge and misunderstand many people and their motives for a time. The muddled thinking of early recovery has a way of making us take things the wrong way. Remember your vulnerability and that withdrawal distorts thinking. Don't be hard on yourself or those around you. Do nothing permanent for eight months to a year. This way your regrets will be minimized.

God, as I understand You, hold my tongue from uttering words and restrain my steps from moving in directions that I may one day regret.

Recall a Pleasant Moment: Soothe the Heart and You Soothe the Self

You can calm and nourish your heart by regularly meditating or praying. These activities produce the 'relaxation response' - a physiological state that is exactly the opposite of stress, a state that reduces blood pressure and increases blood flow to the heart. Many forms of meditation and prayer organically incorporate feelings of love, appreciation and forgiveness. Some traditional Buddhist practice use 'loving-kindness meditation,' during which they focus their attention on the heart and generate feelings of loving kindness for others and themselves. Not only does this create the feelings in your mind, but it creates them in the body as well. A form of such 'intentional heart focus' has been found by the HeartMath researchers to create greater coherence in the heart in as little as one minute. To experience the benefits of this 'intentional heart focus,' try the following next time you're feeling stressed: Take a break and mentally disengage from the situation. Bring your attention to the area of your heart. Recall an experience with a loved one in which you felt happiness, love or appreciation or just meditate for a moment on those kinds of thoughts and feelings.

Re-experience these feelings while keeping your attention on your heart. Let your breathing be relaxed and regular.

- Tian Dayton PhD

Pocket Sponsor - Book - Quote

'When one is a stranger to oneself then one is estranged from others too. If one is out of touch with oneself, then one cannot touch others.' ~Anne Morrow Lindbergh, Gifts From the Sea 1955

I cannot touch others if I am not in touch with myself. I keep in touch with myself through Step Ten.

"Walk Softly and Carry a Big Book" - Book

The best things in life aren't things.

Time for Joy - Book - Quote

When I place myself in the hands and heart of my Higher Power today, I know that I will get my needs met. Only then do I trust that I will come from good and love, keeping the good of others in my mind and my heart.

Alkiespeak - Book - Quote

Say what you mean, but don't say it mean. - Anon.