Hello everyone! My name is Bianka. I would like to give you another warm welcome to Detox to Rehab’s Recovery Reflections. Please join us each Monday at 12pm PST on our Facebook page to listen to the experience, strength and hope shared by Reisto, Connor, Corey and myself.
We will live stream a reading from Narcotics Anonymous: Just for Today and Alcoholics Anonymous: Daily Reflections. We express how this reading has helped our recovery or how it has impacted us. Please join us, engage as an audience member, post questions and or leave feedback for us at 12pm PST. We thank you and hope we can inspire your recovery journey!
Narcotics Anonymous
November 28, 2016: Those Who Want to Recover
“We have seen the program work for any addict who honestly and sincerely wants to stop [using drugs]”
—Basic Text pg. 10
How do we know when someone honestly and sincerely wants to stop using drugs? The truth is that we don’t know! Because we cannot read minds or know another’s motives and desires, we simply have to hope for the best. We may talk to a newcomer at a meeting and think we’ll never see them again, only to find them several years later doing well in their recovery. We may be tempted to give up on someone who keeps relapsing or doesn’t get clean right away, but we must not. No matter how unwilling someone may seem, a simple fact remains—the addict is at a meeting.
We may never know the results of our Twelfth Step work; it is not up to us to gauge the willingness of a newcomer. The message we carry is a part of us. We carry it everywhere and share it freely, leaving the results to a Power greater than ourselves.
Just for today: I will share my recovery with any addict, anywhere, anytime, and under any circumstances. I will leave the results to my Higher Power.
Just for Today: http://www.justfortodaymeditations.com/daily-recovery-readings-december-5/
Carrying the Message
You never know when someone wants to stop using drugs. Even I didn’t know I wanted to stop when I was ready. It just kind of happened. What I do know is that working the steps and staying in conscious contact with my Higher Power has kept me clean and sober.
“I need to carry the message of recovery because that’s what keeps me sober today,” I said.
A part of working the steps is carrying the message of recovery to addicts and alcoholics who still suffer. No matter the circumstance I have to carry the message to stay clean and sober. It is intimidating at first, sharing your experience, strength, and hope but the feeling you get after is priceless.
I think of it as saving a life. You never know, something you say or do could save someone’s life. However, we cannot keep them clean and sober. That is up to their relationship with their higher power.
“Carrying the message under any circumstance is completely necessary,” Connor said.
There may be times where carrying the message seems like it interferes with your life or the individual who needs help does not seem serious about his or her recovery. This should never stop you from sharing your experience, strength and hope. It is our job as people in a 12-step program to hold judgment and put our recovery first. By doing these things we will not only grow mentally in the program but also spiritually.
“You never know what’s going to happen and who it is going to impact,” Connor said.
With the individuals who don’t seem ready, still do what you can to help them. They may not be ready to get sober now but they will be in the future and something you say might resonate with them and help them achieve recovery.
You cannot Give Up
“No matter what happens, I cannot give up,” I said.
There are going to be times where recovery seems like a hard goal to reach and you are going to want to give up. But no matter what¬¬¬, you cannot. There was a reason why you stopped using and drinking so why start up again? You would just go through the same miserable cycle and end up where you started.
I am not saying I am perfect. I have given up multiple times but that is because I was not doing the 12-step work and staying in conscious contact with God as I understand him. So, if you do the work, pray, and meditate, the obsession will be removed. All you have to do is stay strong and don’t drink or use no matter what.
NA and AA
The NA: Just for Today focuses on carrying the message to addicts and alcoholics who still suffer while the AA: Daily reflections puts attention on spiritual awakening. While each reading is somewhat different, they share the same importance. They give me hope and guide me in the right direction. Also, it reminded me of how blessed I am to be living a life clean and sober.
Alcoholics Anonymous
November 5th, 2016: A New State of Conciseness
He has been granted a gift which amounts to a new state of consciousness and being.
— Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 107
Many of us in A.A. puzzle over what is a spiritual awakening. I tended to look for a miracle, something dramatic and earth-shattering. But what usually happens is that a sense of well-being, a feeling of peace, transforms us into a new level of awareness. That’s what happened to me. My insanity and inner turmoil disappeared and I entered into a new dimension of hope, love and peace. I think the degree to which I continue to experience this new dimension is in direct proportion to the sincerity, depth and devotion with which I practice the Twelve Steps of A.A.
Daily Reflections: http://www.justfortodaymeditations.com/daily-recovery-readings-december-5/
Spiritual Awakening
A spiritual awakening doesn’t have to be something mind-blowing like a bird coming you and saying, “you will never drink or use again.” So, if you are searching for some miracle, you need to stop because you are living it by staying clean and sober daily.
“My spiritual awakening happened over time,” I said.
For me I didn’t even realize I had my spiritual awakening. It was more of other people realizing it before I did myself. I started to notice when I saw my negative behaviors change. For example, if someone was bothering me, instead of a fight, I would just walk away.
“Not only have I not thought about getting high I never thought about not getting high,” Corey said.
I stopped thinking of getting high and realized I also stopped thinking of not getting high. I was focused on my life and everything around me I stopped worrying about not getting high.
Another example of a spiritual awakening is when you stop worrying about getting high or drunk. The thoughts will diminish day by day and then you wake up and realize, “hey this 12-step program is working.”
The 12-step program works. It really does. You just have to do the work and the rest will follow. There is hope. You just need to sit back and watch the miracle happen.
