Saturday, January 18, 2014

Recovery Readings: January 18th

The AEIOU's of Recovery

A is for abstinence
Reflect on what I have done for my abstinence; did I get to a meeting, work with others?

E is for exercise
This one is going to be confronting for the lazy me! Reflect on what exercise I have done for the day.

I is for me, what have I done for me
What did I do to take care of myself and my needs today?

O is for others, what have I done for others
Was I of service today?

U is for uncover
What is the thing/things I don't want to think about? All I need to do today is write it down, get it out of myself.

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 If you are confronted with the urge to eat, consider the following points before you take that first compulsive bite.

1. Cultivate continued acceptance of the fact that you have a choice. You choose between unhappy eating binges and doing without just one small bite.

2. Cultivate humble gratitude that you were fortunate enough to identify your problem before it was too late.

3. Accept as natural that for a period of time you may experience:
a. The conscious nagging craving to eat between meals
b. The sudden overwhelming impulse to take just one bite.
c. The craving, not for food as such but for the comfort it once provided.

As disturbing as these feelings can be they do not need to be acted on!

4. Remember each time you face a situation without overeating will make is easier the next time.

5. Develop a daily plan of action that you will live that day without taking an impulsive bite, no matter how hard the old urge hits.

6. Don't allow self pity to creep in because you can't have a treat like so called normal people.

7. Don't allow yourself to think about any real or imaginary pleasure you might get from food.

8. Don't allow yourself to think that a bite or two will make a situation better. One bite may eventually mean a binge.

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 Recovery Meditations: January 18th

~ LOVING WORDS ~

One of the hardest things in life
is having words in your heart that you can't utter.

James Earl Jones



Many years ago I had difficulty in expressing feelings of love and caring and warmth and concern. Contrary to this, I had no difficulty in expressing criticism, unkind words or constant critiques. Over the years I have learned so much about myself and others ... and now I can express feelings to my friends and loved ones about everything.

Those who are imprisoned by emotional constipation do little to make life better for themselves or for others. To be able to look at someone in your life and tell them you love them is such a beautiful gift. To tell a store clerk that you like something about them makes their heart sing. To look a little child in the eyes and tell them they have a good heart and you admire them takes them through the rest of the day on wings.


One Day at a Time . . .
Here's to letting the words out of hearts.


~ Mari ~

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Each Day a New Beginning
We are born in innocence. Corruption comes later. The first fear is a corruption, the first reaching for a something that defies us. The first nuance of difference, the first need to feel better than the different one, more loved, stronger, richer, more blessed--these are corruptions.
—Laura Z. Hobson

We are corrupted. To be human is to be corrupted. Our corruptions interfere with our happiness at the very time we are seeking happiness. When we think if only we were prettier, smarter, had a better job, then we'd be happy, we are giving in to corruptions. And these corruptions stifle our growth. We are each who we need to be. We have a supporting role in one another's lives. We can teach and learn from one another.

Recovery is choosing to help ourselves and one another to be as we are; to quit making comparisons; to understand our equality as women; to celebrate our difference, knowing they give intensity to life's colors for us all.

I can celebrate our special and different gifts today. My heart will be lightened.

From Each Day a New Beginning: Daily Meditations for Women by Karen Casey © 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation

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Food for Thought
Abstain or Overeat

For the compulsive overeater, there is always one primary choice to be made. Will I abstain or will I overeat? For us, there is nothing in between. If we have hundreds of pounds to lose or if we have reached and are maintaining our goal weight, the choice is still the same. It is the key decision we make many, many times each day.

We are free at each moment to choose which we will do. There is no magic, which will make us abstain, and there is no force, which can compel us to swallow food we do not need. The choice is ours alone.

No one graduates from OA. There is no point at which one can say, "This is it. I've got it made now." We are always aware of the fact that we are compulsive overeaters and are always one bite away from a binge. When we remember that abstaining or overeating is our primary choice, then other decisions become easier. To abstain is to choose life. To overeat is to choose death.

May I maintain constant awareness of my primary choice.

From Food for Thought: Daily Meditations for Overeaters by Elisabeth L. ©1980, 1992 by Hazelden Foundation.

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The Language of Letting Go
Gratitude

Sometimes in life, things happen too fast. We barely solve one problem when two new problems surface. We're feeling great in the morning, but we're submerged in misery by nightfall.

Every day we face interruptions, delays, changes, and challenges. We face personality conflicts and disappointments. Often when we're feeling overwhelmed, we can't see the lessons in these experiences.

One simple concept can get us through the most stressful of times. It's called gratitude. We learn to say, thank you, for these problems and feelings. Thank you for the way things are. I don't like this experience, but thank you anyway.

Force gratitude until it becomes habitual. Gratitude helps us stop trying to control outcomes. It is the key that unlocks positive energy in our life. It is the alchemy that turns problems into blessings, and the unexpected into gifts.

Today, I will be grateful. I will start the process of turning today's pain into tomorrow's joy.

From The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie ©1990, Hazelden Foundation

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Today's thought from Hazelden is:

Life is not always what one wants it to be, but to make the best of it as it is, is the only way of being happy.
--Jennie Jerome Churchill

We are generally so certain that we know what's best for ourselves. And we are just as often certain that what we think is best will guarantee happiness. Perhaps we should reflect on all the times in the past when our wishes didn't come true - fortunately.

Did any one of us expect to be doing today, what we each are doing? We may have expected children, a particular kind of home, a certain career, but did we really anticipate all that life has wrought? Addiction, and then recovery from it, was probably not in our pictures. But it does fit into the big picture. The happiness we experience today probably doesn't visit us in the way we anticipated a few years back. But it is measured out according to our needs. The choice to be happy with what is, is ours to make, every moment.

I can take life as it is, and trust that it is just right, just what it needs to be. The big picture guarantees me lasting happiness. Today's experiences will move me a step closer.

You are reading from the book:
Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey


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