"Most of us pray when we are hurting. We learn that if we pray regularly, we won't be hurting as often or as intensely."

Basic Text, p. 44

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Regular prayer and meditation are two more key elements in our new pattern of living.  Our active addiction was more than just a bad habit waiting to be broken by force of will.  Our addiction was a negative, draining dependence that stole all our positive energy.  That dependence was so total, it prevented us from developing any kind of reliance on a Higher Power.

From the very beginning of our recovery, our Higher Power has been the force that's brought us freedom.  First, it relieved us of our compulsion to keep taking drugs, even when we knew they were killing us.  Then, it gave us freedom from the more deeply ingrained aspects of our disease.  Our Higher Power gave us the direction, the strength, and the courage to inventory ourselves; to admit out loud to another person what our lives had been like, perhaps for the first time; to begin seeking release from the chronic defects of character underlying our troubles; and, at last, to make amends for the wrongs we'd done.

That first contact with a Higher Power, and that first freedom, has grown into a life full of freedom.  We maintain that freedom by maintaining and improving our conscious contact with our Higher Power through regular prayer and meditation.

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Just for today:  I will make a commitment to include regular prayer and meditation in my new pattern of living.