Here's a "mind trick" that my sponsor turned me on to that makes sobriety (and the following of the 12 Steps) for me SO much easier...it also works well for my family members who are helping me recover and seems to help them remain patient and supportive of me (especially with our new HHK motto that I mention below...Hurtless/Helpful/Kind)
AA provides alot of emotional support for me, and I am a dedicated following of the 12-Step program, but for some reason I've never really been able to "stop wanting" to drink. I've been in several 12-step programs for several years now (alcohol, pills, chilhood issues), and just recently found a free book from EnTaoing University called "Ancient Illuminations Beyond Enlightenment". (just Google "EnTaoing" for the web address, or write to me). They had an amazing claim that they could teach you (via the free book alone) how to "adjust your Naturally Arising Thoughts" such that they are thoughts and feelings and emotions that you "personally choose" to have bubble up. I thought their free "Perfect You" videos also helped so that my thoughts/feelings/emotions no longer revolved around drinking and pills.
For me personally, my Naturally Arising Thoughts are typically "How much longer till I can have a drink?" or "God, I hate my life". After only a few weeks of practicing this new school's free method my cravings for drinking have been dramatically reduced and I can go FAR longer without having to call my sponsor, and can go longer without fighting severe cravings. I believe that very soon my cravings will be so dramatically reduced (I no longer "think" of drinking...how amazing is THAT) that I may be able to decrease my reliance upon AA meetings, and will be able to really put my life back together...and I'm finally sleeping through the entire night again, which is one of the Most Recent things I'm grateful for.
Has anyone else tried the method in this book (it really supplements all the tenets of AA, and by no means "replaces" them ...just makes the program easier to follow, and enables longer periods of sobriety)? I also found that I'm a nicer person because I practice their "lifestyle suggestion" of being "Hurtless - Helpful - Kind" (maybe my girlfriend will consider coming back to me...a long shot but now it seems "almost possible"). If you have any comments or can tell me how to make the methods in that book work even better please send me an email but please don't put me on any of your junk lists... >>>>
I'm ChrisHaven11 "at" Yahoo "dot" com (just put those together if you'd like to message me...I'm happy to share in detail and would really LOVE to hear from other people who use EnTaoing's "mind trick"). Also, if you just want to know the "fastest" way to implement these sobriety-enhancing techniques, feel free to message me and ask me any question. I'm simply Very Grateful for having encountered this method and wish to "pass it on" (as my sponsor always suggests, and wisely so I think)
Supplementing good thoughts with bad YEP I've done it, I had to because I was beating myself up more then anyone could.
I had to stop telling myself I was a loser and a failure, that I was ugly and stooopid LOL.
Had to build my self confidence up and take my past for what it was, " my past " .
So extra outside help is sometimes what some need, for the newcomer I say stay in the program and get that sponsor, go to meetings, lots of them, work the steps and find a higher power, at least for the first year or 2.
I don't 'have' to call my sponsor, I choose to. I no longer crave drugs because NA's sole promise that "an addict, any addict can stop using drugs, lose the desire to use and find a new way to live' has proven itself in my life. I don't seek to "decrease my reliance" on meetings. "Ours is a simple, spiritual, not religious program known as Narcotics Anonymous." I'm sorry if I sound dismissive of your 'mind trick' but I guess I am. "The solution is in the steps" The 12 steps of Narcotics Anonymous have given me a life I never dreamed possible. I know freedom and joy. These were mere words to me before working the steps with a caring sponsor. I wish you well, and I am also a firm believer in doing whatever works for you, but for me I respectfully decline your invitation to try this technique. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" the program of NA works fine for me just the way it is. Peace.
For me also the obsession and compulsion to use drugs was lifted a long time ago. Through Gods guidance and incorporating spiritual principles in my life I am able to approach all life's terms with faith and hope.I also have "no reliance" on attending meetings,I do so to give back what was given to me and to partake in fellowship. Prayer and meditation and seeking the will of my Higher Power allows me to know I can never pick up that "first one' again.I no longer obsess on a first or when I can again,, I am blessed..My sponsor and my grandsponsor also share with me a tremendous spiritual realtionship over and above the 'work" we do.I would never want to replace that.I am not being close minded about your offer I will just rely on methods that have worked for over 26 years for me,.Don't get me wrong,I still have many trials and struggles but by applying 3rd/11th steps daily in my life and working toward a solution with God controlling results Im good.Thanks for writing ,see you on the backside peace...
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Our purpose is to remain clean,just for today,and to carry the message of recovery.
