September is National Recovery Month. I often find myself struggling with the word recovery. I’ve been to the dictionary for a definition. It talks of a return to a normal state or the process of regaining something stolen or lost. I guess my struggle with the word is that it assumes that I was onceContinue reading “Recovery”
Tag Archives: sobriety
What’s your plan?
I was listening to a podcast recently and the speaker shared a quote from Chris Voss, an FBI hostage negotiator. “When the pressure is on, we do not rise to the occasion. We fall to the preparation.” Wow! I wish I could think of a saying like that. If you ever hear me say somethingContinue reading “What’s your plan?”
Step – 12
In 1935, Bill W, the founder of AA, made a business trip to Akron, OH. The business venture didn’t go well, and Bill found himself returning to his hotel without enough money to pay the bill or to pay for the trip home to his wife. As he passed the hotel bar he heard theContinue reading “Step – 12”
Step 11 – Part 2
I am coming back to Step 11 this week to talk about meditation. I am an older guy in my 60’s, lived most of my life in a rural setting and attended a conservative church. In my younger days when I thought about meditation, I pictured someone sitting on the floor, eyes closed, humming, andContinue reading “Step 11 – Part 2”
Step 11 – Part 1
Step 11 is another of the maintenance Steps. In the first three steps we commit to turning away from our addictive and unhealthy behavior. In Steps 4 through 9 we learn how to deal with our past. In the maintenance steps we are focusing on our present. Most of us have at least an elementaryContinue reading “Step 11 – Part 1”
12 Steps – Step 10
“We continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.” Recently, someone told me that they are a big believer in the 12 Steps. They went on to say that they worked through the 12 Steps a few years ago. I would argue that they aren’t really a believer in theContinue reading “12 Steps – Step 10”
12 Steps – Step 9b
I want to come back to Step 9 this week to complete my thoughts and wrap things up. This Step instructs us to make amends when doing so won’t cause greater harm. How do we decide when that’s the case and what do we do in those instances? I return to what I said severalContinue reading “12 Steps – Step 9b”
12 Steps – Part 9
“We made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” Making amends should always be done under the supervision of a sponsor. In Step 8 we became willing to make amends all persons we had harmed. That willingness is a must but, as we move forwardContinue reading “12 Steps – Part 9”
12 Steps – Part 8
Step 8 says, “We made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.” Where does this list of persons we have harmed come from? If we have worked Step 4 as directed in The Big Book and with a sponsor, then we have reviewed our resentments,Continue reading “12 Steps – Part 8”
12 Steps – Part 6
Step 6 states, “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.” Like the other Steps, this one generated fear in me when I first looked at it and considered what it meant. I had tried many times to change my behavior and I had failed miserably. How was this time goingContinue reading “12 Steps – Part 6”