I would like to here how others work and apply the steps into their daily reprieve..... How about the traditions? How do we work them into our daily adventures? Please help....thanking each and everyone of you in advance!
Well the steps are a guide for living they are our SOLUTION and our survival kit as the book puts it, they have within them the principles we can live by which are our defense to this disease of addiction.
The tradition have to do with our own personal recovery and the unity of NA and they are guidelines for the group these are the ties that bind us together and keep us from being torn apart internally and externally.
The more you get into service the better you will understand this I am just now begining to understand what these mean since I have gotten into service in the last 2 years.
You know they say " The first year is yours after that you start giving it all back to the program", what we have is a gift for many of us and it may take some time to realize that once the newness goes away and you have gotten a reprieve from the addiction .
Hi peachz, Ill stick to the first step since its what I'm continually on. WE admit we are powerless over our addiction and our lives have become unmanageable. That's a biggie , we need to work this step completely or the others wont work right. For me being powerless over my addiction isn't just my drug use. If it were then just giving up drugs would mean i had done a good first step. Ahh i wish it were that easy. Every part of my life is affected by my addiction. So working this step in my daily life I have to remain constantly vigilant ,on the lookout for my addict wanting to control the situation.
A for instance. My daughter calls from school needing me to bring her lunch money because she forgot it. As a father and a healthy person I might say " I need to talk to that girl about being more responsible" and simply take some money 2 miles up the road to help her out. But as an addict i say.." GD it, why does she always do this to me ? Ive told her a thousand times not to forget that GD money. Shes messing with me on purpose.
In that instant i have to step back, take a breath and realize , my daughter loves me. Shes not messing with me. She needs me . I'm lucky i have her. But that's how an addict reacts. Its all about me .
This goes on throughout the day. The gas station doesn't have premium. The grocery doesn't have skim milk. The waitress doesn't come fast enough. My wife forgot to pay a bill. My first reaction as an addict ? These a**H***s are all out to get me. When in reality its just life.
I could ramble on and on. But I think you get my drift. A good solid first step is pretty much changing everything about me. It is the foundation we build on. And living it through every moment of my day takes time ,practice and vigilance.
Hope this helps you, It helps me to write it.
Your friend in recovery,
Anthony G
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The fundamental delusion of humanity , is to suppose that I am here and you are out there .
Hi,, my sponsor just suggested that I get deeper into the 11th Step in order to maintain sanity in my life. We cannot change the nature of the addict or of addiction. But as Ive experienced,the Setps help us to become,sane and serene addicts and responsible and productive members of society. Id heard once early on "3 into 4 =12" Which means the real recovery begins when i do my Third Step and then get down to writing my 4th. Thats the turning point in my recovery,,hope the same for you too.
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Raman an addict clean and serene just for today in NA Worldwide ; live to love and love to live the NA Way !!!
"In that instant i have to step back, take a breath and realize , my daughter loves me. Shes not messing with me. She needs me . I'm lucky i have her. But that's how an addict reacts. Its all about me ."
Thank you AnthonyG I needed you to point that out to me. I have asked her many times "do you like making me crazy?" I started thinking about what you said and how I react to her sometimes. They are kids. One is 10 and the other is 6. Their lives were confusing to say the least after my behavior in active addiction. Am I so naive and selfish that I expect them to be "model children" just because I now have 6 1/2 months clean. I cant change overnight how can I think they will.
Hi peachz, great thread!! This is my experience: "Our program (the steps and traditions) is a set of spiritual principles written so simply that we can follow them in our daily lives. The most important thing about them is that they work." Each step introduces me to certain spiritual principles that have the potential to improve the quality of my life, IF I apply them. They are written and numbered in order for a reason, so I study and "work" them in that order. I also work them with a sponsor in order to experience "the therepeutic value of one addict helping another." So, starting right where I am (this is true at any point in recovery) I just APPLY the principles that I have learned about in the steps in all my affairs- every area of my life, to the best of my ability. This gets easier with practice, just like using ANY other tools. Change happens slowly, sometimes almost imperceptibly, but it does happen. "Why are we here?" says that "Personality change is what we really needed. Change from self destructive patterns of life became necessary." And the steps and traditions (the principles embodied within them) make this change possible. "When we take the actions indicated in the steps, the result is a change in our personality." Good Luck on your journey, and keep growing!!!
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"With a sweet tongue of kindness, you can drag an elephant by a hair." ~Persian Proverb
I cannot imagine a life today without the help of the Steps. For the first time in my life, after many years of destruction and degradation, today, I'm able to show up for a day, everyday, and try to live it to the best of my ability. Today I have my own livelihood, I'm married, I socialize, I'm able to have clean thoughts and deal with my feelings, am free from fear, anxiety and depression, have meaningful relationships, I dream about new possibilities and I'm full of hope. All due to the Steps and trying to apply them in my daily life and situations. My experience with the Steps is that there ain't a situation/problem/crisis that I can't face with the help of the Steps. I strongly believe that our 12 Steps are all-encompassing, and as such, could be applied to every area of our lives. I've come to realize just like our literature says "the Steps ARE the principles that make our recovery possible."
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"If we do an honest examination of exactly what we are giving, we are better able to evaluate the results we are getting."Chapter 10 - Emotional Pain - NA Way of Life.
. WE admit we are powerless over our addiction and our lives have become unmanageable.
