Episodes
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Today’s episode is titled, “What Defects of Character?” We are going to talk about the importance of being willing to acknowledge our shortcomings, thinking here of course of Step 6, and our question for you is, “What is one shortcoming or character flaw that you realized you had and what was it like to finally see it and own it?”
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For many of us, when in early addiction recovery we are not inclined to trust others or other peoples' ideas of how things should be done. But once we make the commitment to clean and sober living, we have an opportunity to learn and trust a recovery process that has worked for many others. We get to decide if it will work for us. Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on learning to trust the process of recovery on the way to a life that is happy, joyous and free.
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When we get into addiction recovery, we learn to be mindful of our actions. We hear the phrase, “Do the next right thing,” which sounds like a great idea, but what does that actually mean? How are we supposed to know what the next right thing is anyway? Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on moving from aimlessness to freedom by doing the “next right thing.”
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Many gifts of addiction recovery come to us when we are willing to work for them. Part of that work is facing the wreckage of our past. To do so we must combine right intention with the guidance of a trusted advisor in order to get real results. We must “do the work”—but how do we go about doing this work? Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on finding our way from complacency to freedom through the willingness to do the work.
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When we first get into recovery, we learn we need a Higher Power in order to grow and change. But once we have found something that works for us (even temporarily) we must learn how to rely on and be guided by this Power. And in doing so, we find we can live with a new confidence. Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope in learning to trust our Higher Power in all things.
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As we grow through our addiction recovery journey, we often come face to face with old habits that are hard to break! Fortunately, once we are a few steps down the recovery path we become willing to make new choices that support our new--and much better!--way of living. Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on letting go of old habits and opening the door to a whole new way of being.
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One thing we need in order to grow in our recovery is to walk our path with principled honesty. This can be more challenging than it sounds at first! But if we are willing to show up and do the work, we can drop the heavy load we have been carrying and enjoy a lightness of being that will transform our lives. Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on lightening the load through the power and practice of truth with integrity.
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It takes courage and integrity to walk an addiction recovery path. If we persist, we will come to know ourselves as the spiritual beings we truly are, but first we must trek through the wreckage of our past. In order to move into the Light, we must face our Shadow. Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on finding a path through the Shadow to the Light.
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Many of us in addiction recovery can affirm that we've never let go of anything that didn't have claw marks on it! Even when we were, in essence, clinging to a sinking ship! But we eventually find that when we become willing to try a new way, our lives begin to change. When we can truly “Let Go” and allow a higher power to provide guidance and direction, our lives begin to become amazing. Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on learning how to let go, trust a Higher Power and build a wonderful new life.
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Need help with alcohol? Connect with Alcoholics Anonymous here
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In early recovery, the prospect of living a life filled with peace and joy may appear distant and unattainable. However, there is a path to such a life. The journey begins with disentangling ourselves from the chaos of a life without direction by placing our trust in a Higher Power. And in doing so we begin to unlock the gateway to sanity and hope. Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on creating a life of genuine peace and joy by coming to believe in a Higher Power.
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Need help with alcohol? Connect with Alcoholics Anonymous
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Did you ever feel like life would be so much better if you could just wipe the slate clean and start over? Well, you can do just that! In fact you can start over any time you decide. Our Higher Power gives us the ability to leave behind that which no longer serves us and move ahead in a new and better way. A new beginning! Today we want to share our experience, strength and hope on energizing your life by starting over, anytime.
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Do you need help with alcohol addiction? Alcoholics Anonymous is here
SAMSA Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
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From the Daily Reflection for Dec 5, 2023: “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.
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In honor of Thanksgiving and the upcoming holiday season, we’re here today to talk about the role gratitude has played in our addiction recoveries and in our lives. We want to share our experience, strength and hope on how a thankful mindset has been a game-changer on the road to recovery as well as in life.
Please email us and let us know what gratitude has done for you. [email protected]
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A SAFETY NET - From the Daily Reflections entry for November 18, 2023. “Occasionally. . . . We are seized with a rebellion so sickening that we simply won't pray. When these things happen we should not think too ill of ourselves. We should simply resume prayer as soon as we can, doing what we know to be good for us.” TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 105 Sometimes I scream, stomp my feet, and turn my back on my Higher Power. Then my disease tells me that I am a failure, and that if I stay angry I'll surely get drunk. In those moments of self-will it's as if I've slipped over a cliff and am hanging by one hand. The above passage is my safety net, in that it urges me to try some new behavior, such as being kind and patient with myself. It assures me that my Higher Power will wait until I am willing once again to risk letting go, to land in the net, and to pray.
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When I "Let Go and Let God," I think more clearly and wisely. Without having to think about it, I quickly let go of things that cause me immediate pain and discomfort. Because I find it hard to let go of the kind of worrisome thoughts and attitudes that cause me immense anguish, all I need do during those times is allow God, as I understand Him, to release them for me, and then and there, I let go of the thoughts, memories and attitudes that are troubling me. When I receive help from God, as I understand Him, I can live my life one day at a time and handle whatever challenges come my way. Only then can I live a life of victory over alcohol, in comfortable sobriety.
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Need help? Contact the SAMHSA National Help line
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From the Daily Reflection on October 17: A Daily Tune Up - “Every day is a day when we must carry the vision of God's will into all of our activities.” ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85 How do I maintain my spiritual condition? For me it's quite simple: on a daily basis I ask my Higher Power to grant me the gift of sobriety for that day! I have talked to many alcoholics who have gone back to drinking and I always ask them: "Did you pray for sobriety the day you took your first drink?" Not one of them said yes. As I practice Step Ten and try to keep my house in order on a daily basis, I have the knowledge that if I ask for a daily reprieve, it will be granted. So let’s talk about step 11, about maintaining our spiritual condition, and about staying in touch and in tune with our Higher Power each and every day.
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“Someone who knew what he was talking about once remarked that pain was the touchstone of all spiritual progress. How heartily we A.A.'s can agree with him. . . .” Twelve steps and twelve traditions, pp. 93-94 When on the roller coaster of emotional turmoil, I remember that growth is often painful. My evolution in the A.A. program has taught me that I must experience the inner change, however painful, that eventually guides me from selfishness to selflessness. If I am to have serenity, I must STEP my way past emotional turmoil and its subsequent hangover, and be grateful for continuing spiritual progress.
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Have a problem with alcohol? Find an AA chapter near you - Alcoholics Anonymous
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From the Daily Reflection - September 20 - “See to it that your relationship with Him is right, and great events will come to pass for you and countless others. This is the Great Fact for us.” (ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 164) Having a right relationship with God seemed to be an impossible order. My chaotic past had left me filled with guilt and remorse and I wondered how this "God business" could work. A.A. told me that I must turn my will and my life over to the care of God, as I understand Him. With nowhere else to turn, I went down on my knees and cried, "God, I can't do this. Please help me!" It was when I admitted my powerlessness that a glimmer of light began to touch my soul, and then a willingness emerged to let God control my life. With Him as my guide, great events began to happen, and I found the beginning of sobriety.”
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Links for help if you need it- Alcoholics Anonymous
Narcotics Anonymous
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We were talking recently about the recovery concept of “keeping my side of the street clean” and wanted to explore it here on the podcast. We’ll start by sharing this from the Big Book, p 77-78: “We are there to sweep off our side of the street, realizing that nothing worthwhile can be accomplished until we do so, never trying to tell him what he should do. His faults are not discussed. We stick to our own." And from the Daily Reflection for Sept 7, 2023: “I made amends to my dad soon after I quit drinking. My words fell on deaf ears since I had blamed him for my troubles. Several months later I made amends to my dad again. This time I wrote a letter in which I did not blame him nor mention his faults. It worked, and at last I understood! My side of the street is all that I'm responsible for and — thanks to God and A.A. — it's clean for today.” So let’s talk about keeping our side of the street clean!
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Drawing from the Daily Reflection on anonymity, “We are sure that humility, expressed by anonymity, is the greatest safeguard that Alcoholics Anonymous can ever have.” And from the 12 and 12, p. 187, “Since there are no rules in A.A. I place myself where I want to be, and so I choose anonymity. I want my God to use me, humbly, as one of His tools in this program. Sacrifice is the art of giving of myself freely, allowing humility to replace my ego. With sobriety, I suppress that urge to cry out to the world, "I am a member of A.A." and I experience inner joy and peace. I let people see the changes in me and hope they will ask what happened to me. I place the principles of spirituality ahead of judging, fault-finding, and criticism. I want love and caring in my group, so I can grow. So let’s talk about anonymity!
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