Tel Aviv, Israel!

When my husband and I began making plans to visit Israel, about 2 months before the trip, one of the first things I did was look online for AA and NA meetings. No matter what other exciting aspects of the trip we were planning, I knew that getting to meetings would add another dimension.

Having been in recovery for many years, the principles and the connections in recovery are very important to my everyday life. By maintaining both, finding ways to remind myself of some of the basics, as well as stay connected, I not only don’t consider drinking or drugging, but I maintain my spiritual fitness. Continue reading

I am 29 Today

Ongoing Recovery, One More Day

 Today I am 29. Twenty-nine years without a drink or a drug. Since every day alive is a miracle and a gift, I count many thousands of miracles and gifts. They have not all been “good” days, but each has been tolerable. Even if I have “found it necessary to use,” I have not used. One day at a time, for 29 years. Continue reading

Traveling and Recovery

Hello Recovering People!

I have been traveling; so have not checked in for a while. Of all of the possible topics to discuss now, it seems that maintaining recovery while traveling could be useful. Spring break is coming up for those on a school schedule and others may be planning summer trips already.

In the past, my vacations were a product of my addiction, just like everything else. Continue reading

Recovery Step 12

Having Had a Spiritual Awakening 

“Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.”

Spiritual awakening? What’s that? You know when you have had one, whether sudden, like a lightening bolt (hit’s forehead and says, ” I coulda’ had a V-8″, thinking, “why did this take me so long?”) or a gradual and subtle infusion of a sense of…connectedness. I am reminded of the cute little saying, “Life is what happens while you are making plans.” Similarly, a spiritual awakening is what happens while you are working the steps. We focus on working hard at the step in front of us, working them in order, struggling to “get a God”, making ourselves write out an inventory and look at resentments, gritting our teeth and looking at our part in these old and new struggles. Then we move on, with the help of a sponsor, someone who has worked the steps and had a serious and positive change in his or her life. We look more at ourselves, at traits we want to remove; we ask for God’s help in hitting “delete” on some of the stuff in our personality and behavior we find objectionable. Continue reading

Recovery Step 11

Improve Our Conscious Contact With God

“We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry it out.”

We come into recovery with one of three positions on God.

  1. A belief that God exists, is good and can work positively in our lives.
  2. A lack of belief, or a belief that God does not exist or that we don’t know and don’t care.
  3. A belief that God exists and is not good or caring. We confuse God with Religion and may have been harmed in the name of Religion. We reject the concept that we can have a working relationship with a God who loves and cares for us. Continue reading