The Recovery Guy Podcast

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Episode #189 -Tuesday The Fix – Stepping into Recovery

Like any decision we make, certain steps are going to be required to accomplish that decision. Very rarely does anything worthwhile happen through osmosis. The 12 steps of recovery are exactly that. The step is defined as a movement made by lifting the foot and setting it down again in a new position. It is accompanied by a shifting of the weight of the body in the direction of the new position, as in walking running, or dancing. This is an amazing metaphor for what we are doing when we apply the steps of recovery to our life. We need to do them one at a time and we need to make sure we have our weight properly shifting as we are moving forward so as we do not lose balance. I hope this helps in your understanding of why The steps are vital to personal recovery.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. 
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. 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 that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Episode #188 – Friday The Checkup: Promises You Can Count On

One of the most beautiful things about the plan of recovery are the promises that are made. They are made to give us hope. They are exclusively for those who decide to apply the plan of recovery to their life. I was so encouraged when I came into the program of Alcoholics Anonymous because I was told “that if I worked the plan of recovery as it was outlined, I could expect these things to occur.“ They were 100% correct. I hope you have found this to be true for you.

Episode #187 -Tuesday The Fix: Step Twelve - Ready, Set, Go

Step Twelve is filled with calls to action. These are three of them.

1. First of all, understanding the meaning and the purpose of having had a spiritual awakening. It is inconceivable to me that you could thoroughly do the previous 11 steps and not have had a spiritual awakening.
2. Secondly, we carry a message of hope, sobriety, and the life we could never dreamt about prior to our AAA membership and the subsequent result of the steps. The newcomer is not the most important person in the room. The fact of the matter is those of us who are in recovery need to do the best we possibly can for ourselves for if we do not recover there is not going to be anyone here when the newcomer arrives.
3. Thirdly, we must then practice these principles in all our affairs. Practice is an ongoing lifestyle that we must work on daily to improve our relationship with God. It is within improve in this relationship that we become a greater value to those who might serve seeking to recover.

I hope you find yourself growing in Step Twelve as others will grow as a by- product

Episode #186 – Friday The Checkup: Keep Coming Back

When a piece of iron is repeatedly rubbed against another it will naturally become sharper. The more time this iron spends being rubbed, the sharper the object will be. The same principle applies in our lives. We will always seek the level we are on or ascribe to be. Like it or not, when we spend time with the friends, we have also chosen their opinions, their habits. Their actions will begin to shape and sharpen our lives. That is why it is so important we choose friends who are sold out to and committed to personal recovery. We, as well, have a responsibility to sharpen our friends. lives toward a godly vessel. The practical principal of iron sharpening iron is a good reminder for me to continue to examine my personal associations and what I am putting into them. Have you ever heard that “water seeks its own level?” We are the same as water. We will seek our own level and sharpen or become dull. This will occur because of those we choose to associate with along the way.

1. Time is our friend
2. Find others who are aligned with us
3. Be willing to listen more than we share
4. Remember it is practice not perfection
5. Share who we are and what we are doing
6. Be honest with self as a person looking from the outside
7. Develop and grow your relationship with God
8. Keep coming back

Episode #185 -Tuesday The Fix: Step Eleven- From Powerless to Powerful

Step Eleven is the 2nd of the daily maintenance steps in the plan of recovery. Without this step, it is near impossible to gain the spiritual insight needed to live a full life and be of maximum help to others.

First of all, Step Eleven is Designed to be taken daily as an avenue to the personal power available to me. It is a positive affirmation that God wants to make a positive contribution to my life. This power derived is designed to aid me in my assistance to others.

Secondly, the meditation suggested in this step helps us free our minds to find a place of contentment we found lacking in our active addiction. Meditation is the process to finding a place to release and reflect and then define inspiration required to move forward in our life. Meditation slows my spirit and my mind down to see what I otherwise might miss.

Thirdly, as we raise our mind and our spirit toward God, He then reveals His design, direction and purpose for our lives on that day. We become His ambassador in our recovered life. We are given power to not only be of maximum power to others, but we are often directed to whom they may be. God will direct us. We now have a renewed sense of belonging.

Please join us on this Recovery Journey. Also, please check out Amy’s book, My Fair Junkie https://twitter.com/AmyDresner

Episode #184 - Friday The Checkup: A Way Out

Recovery is the goal and the process. To be recovered should be the goal of every person who enters recovery. I know that seems extremely basic, but not everyone who enters treatment or recovery is looking to recover. Some are just doing it to get the pressure reduced so they can get back to their destructive way of living. Recovery is available to everyone who pursues it. I hope you have gone down the path of despair, discouragement, and distraction long enough to know that there is an easier way to go about it. The easier way is Recovery. I hope you join me and countless others on this path.

Episode #183 -Tuesday The Fix: Step Ten - Time to Clean House

Step Ten is the first step of what is considered the maintenance steps. The most exciting thing about Step Ten is that it involves an introspective look into ourselves as we would consider our day. Built into the step itself is the spot-check, the end of day checkup and periodic checkup. It will also include a semiannual and annual house cleaning. It is within this personal look that we reconcile our present, so it does not become a problem of our past.

A few things to examine may include

1. How did I start my day
2. What was my attitude toward others
3. Was there any disagreements where difficulty arose
4. How was I received by others
5. Did I feel balanced throughout my day
6. How did my day end

By examining these basic questions, I can address my day during and after the fact to determine my next step.

By doing this daily and making the proper adjustments along the way, I am likely to live a balanced life.

Episode #182 - Friday The Checkup: Chosen Ones

One of the most common aspects of any person who has suffered from addiction is that we have lost the ability to choose. Our compulsion became so deep that whether we could start was no longer up to us and most always not being able to stop was a part of that equation as well. Years ago, I heard a Japanese phrase that said “First a man takes a drink, then the drink takes a drink, then the drink takes the man.“ We could extrapolate this phrase to most every addiction, whether it be behavioral and or substance or both. When we first enter recovery, for most of us, we are not choosing Recovery. We are choosing the path that is forced upon us. That is why I believe, the life we choose first chose us. Throughout our life we are given many chances to be something and we chose to be nothing. I used to be a wandering generality, but now I’m a meaningful specific. After all these years, I have come to believe that the life that continually try to choose me, I finally chose back.

Today I choose
Light over dark
Good over evil
Kindness or uncaring
Hope over despair
Joy over sorrow

What do you choose? What commitment are you making for yourself
that will result in a better version of you. Remember, the better version
I am of me will increase my ability to be a better help to others.

Episode #181 - Tuesday The Fix: Step 9 - Direct Amends is More Than Sorry

Like every step we take in recovery, understanding the goal, practical guidance, challenges, and realistic outcome is essential to the completion of the step. On page 84 of the 12 and 12 of alcoholics anonymous it states, “we cannot buy our own peace of mind at the expense of others.” This is one of the most important reasons that we need to hold off on doing the step. How many times has our past been characterized by remorse and the apologies that come on its heels? That would be plenty of work to do before we need to take the step. Like any ladder, we need to climb it one rung at a time.

1. 1. The degree of the amends will vary with the who, what and where of the offense. What is our motive for making it
2. Many of the amends we need to make are already being made by staying clean and sober and making better choices.
3. We will feel a relief and acceleration, and this will encourage us to move forward to the completion of the step.

Completing Step Nine will be a most rewarding experience. This step will further help us crossover from a person of words to one of action.