Quakerism and Recovery Spirituality
Liberal Quakerism and 12 step spirituality: realised universalism?
The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) website records 156 AA meetings being held each week at Quaker Meeting Houses in Britain. In his introduction to Beyond My Control, Alex Wildwood notes that:
More than one author draws the analogy between Quaker Meeting for Worship and the 12 Step group, and between “the group conscience” of the AA 12 Traditions and our business meetings.
Robert Levering has observed that “increasing numbers of new Friends are attracted to the Society because of the compatibility of Quakerism with the spirituality of the recovery movemen...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 7, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Alcoholics Anonymous Faith Higher Power Recovery Spirituality 12 step spirituality group conscience Quaker Meeting Quakerism and Recovery Source Type: blogs
The Tangled Web I Wove
Oh, what a tangled web we weaveWhen first we practice to deceive.
–Sir Walter Scott
To deceive means to fool people into believing things that are not true. As addicts, we did this in many ways. We lied. We hid facts. We were sneaky. While we were trying to fool other people, we also fooled ourselves. Every lie was like a knot. Pretty soon we were a tangled mess. Our lives became unmanageable, tangled webs of life.
Our recovery program – an honesty program – tells us how we can untangle our lives. In the First Step, we admit we are all tangled up in our life of addiction. Second, we realize we can fix it. Third, ...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 6, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Addictions Adult Children of Alcoholics Al-anon Alcoholics Anonymous Cocaine Anonymous Codependency Emotions Anonymous Gamblers Anonymous Marijuana Anonymous Methadone Anonymous Narcotics Anonymous Overeaters An Source Type: blogs
Sobriety First ?
I Learned to Live the Alcoholics Anonymous Way of Life
I am an alcoholic. To me sobriety is the most important thing in my life. I used think that about my home and family? Aren’t they the most important things? But I can see now that without sobriety, I would have none of these things.
As a practising alcoholic, I was always sick or in a stupor, my family was miserable
They used to go out as much as possible, to leave me wallow in my self-pity and grog. I drank my way in and out of hospital so many times I lost count. From there I graduated to a Mental Institution.
None of those things did me any good and it wasn’t...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 5, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism Humility Recovery AA way of life Sobriety First Source Type: blogs
Freedom from Hellish-Morning-After Feelings
Sobriety and What It Means To Me
Today sobriety means freedom from fear. Freedom to look other people in the face and to have back my self-respect to feel that I am, no longer someone to be looked down upon as a no hoper or at best to be pitied as a poor helpless so and so. Freedom from those hellish-morning-after feelings, when I thought the night would never end and when it did, I dreaded to face another day.
Today, all over the world alcoholics are facing the problems of compulsive drinking and wondering where it will all end. All too often it ends up in jail cells, hospitals, mental homes, parks or as so often happen...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 4, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: 12 Step Fellowships Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholism freedom from fear Hellish-Morning-After Sobriety Source Type: blogs
12 Steps Work for My Happiness Quest
Getting To Know Yourself in Al-Anon and Alcoholics Anonymous
After many years of living, I now feel that I only existed. I breathed laughed, cried, worked, slept and awakened. I thought and read, acted and reacted to life and things about me, but I really didn’t live. I realise now that I acted or reacted to life or living, emotionally, not motivated by a positive attitude of thought or purpose. How often when I was unhappy did I think “If this or that situation had not occurred, I would be happy”. How could I be happy when I based my happiness on the actions or attitudes of other people.
I, as a person an ind...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 3, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Al-anon Alcoholics Anonymous Humility Getting To Know Yourself Happiness Source Type: blogs
Mutual-Aid Essential for Recovery
Mutual-aid support groups play a vital role in substance abuse treatment.
In 2005, a national survey of participants in mutual-aid support groups for addiction was conducted to identify key differences between participants in various recovery groups. Extensive data was collected from survey respondents on many aspects of recovery.
In their recently published article, researchers focus on the impact of survey respondents’ level of spirituality on their recovery and their participation in mutual-aid support groups.
Key findings include:
Active involvement in groups significantly improves the chances of remaining clean an...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 3, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcohol Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Victorious Alcoholism Higher Power Men SMART Recovery Sobriety Spirituality Women clean and sober Mutual-aid support Non-religious Spiritual respondents Women For Sobriety Source Type: blogs
9 Signs of a Control Freak
Identifying controlling behaviors can be frustrating.
Co-dependents, alcoholics and addicts often practice controlling behavior. Recovery means letting go of control. The first step suggests that “We admitted we were powerless over …”.
This list may help start the process.
Control freaks rarely know that they are trying to control. They believe that they are helping people with their “constructive criticism” or taking over a project because “no one else will do it right.”
They don’t see their controlling behaviors as symptoms of what’s really going on–their own anxiety ha...
Source: Recovery Is Sexy.com - January 1, 2013 Category: Addiction Authors: Sparrow Tags: Addictions Alcoholism Codependency Emotions Recovery Relationships control freak controlling behaviors letting go of control Source Type: blogs
