New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/31/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Ideally, both members of a couple in love free each other to new and different worlds. --Anne Morrow Lindbergh We cannot possess another's spirit, even though we may desire to do so while struggling to feel love. We must not block one another's invitations for adventure even though we fear being left behind. We won't find the happiness we long for if we've tied another to ourselves by strings of shame, guilt, or pity. Being free to love, or not, is the only path to real love. A trapped butterfly soon loses its splendor - and life; likewise, a trapped lover quietly awaits the relationship's death. Traveling separate, yet parallel, paths keeps a relationship vital. Bringing fresh ideas, favored hopes, and fruitful experiences to each other's attention is the enhancement a relationship must have to stay strong. Let's not corner our partners but instead trust that real love is the promised gift of being free. You are reading from the book: Worthy of Love by Karen Casey Worthy of Love by Karen Casey. © 1985 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/27/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Your Destiny Watch your thoughts, they become your words. Watch your words, they become your actions. Watch your actions, they become your character. Watch your character, it becomes your destiny. You are reading from the book: The 12 Step Prayer Book Volume 2 by Bill P. and Lisa D. The 12 Step Prayer Book Volume 2 by Bill P. and Lisa D. © 2007 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/26/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Make yourself at home. It was night, only a few months after I'd begun my skydiving adventure.One of the other skydivers was sitting in a lawn chair. The evening lights had been turned on and he was wrapped up in a sleeping bag, reading a book under the hazy glow. He was one of the full-time skydivers, who had been attracted to the gypsy lifestyle of the skydiving community as much as the sport itself. "What are you doing?" I asked. "I'm in my living room, reading a book," he replied. "Do you like the view of the backyard?" he asked, making a gesture toward the rolling hills that cascaded gently in the background. "Sometimes I take my sleeping bag and curl up under the stars in the landing area over there." I looked around, almost envious of his freedom. Sometimes, we get so busy and involved creating a home for ourselves that we create a structure that's too safe, limiting, and confined. We forget about our real home, the planet earth. It's good to sleep indoors. It's nice to make ourselves comfortable in our home. But don't let your cozy nest become a locked, confining box. Stretch your arms. Push the lid off the box. Get out into the world. Walk around. Move about. See how connected everything is. See how connected you are, too, to all that is. Make yourself comfortable, wherever you are. Make yourself a home and be at home in the world. God, help me relax and make myself at home in your bountiful world.   You are reading from the book: More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie More Language of Letting Go © 2000 by Melody Beattie. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/25/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Anger dwells only in the bosom of fools. --Albert Einstein Anger can be a healthy emotion, provided we don't wallow in it or attack other people. When we express anger honestly and without reservation, we can prevent walls of resentment from building up and blocking us off from the intimacy that we strive for in our relationships. When we allow anger to fester in our heart, we surrender our peace of mind and lose our sense of purpose and self-worth. When we harbor anger rather than openly and respectfully expressing it, we no longer hear our inner spirit. Thus we are cut off from our innate wisdom to guide us in our actions. We're often drawn to people who express their feelings honestly. This style of communicating serves as an invitation to build a relationship with them based on trust. From this trust we learn to open ourselves to God's love for us as we are. Today I will feel my anger, express it when necessary, and then let it go so that I can deepen my trust of other people and of God. You are reading from the book: In God's Care by Karen Casey In God's Care by Karen Casey. © 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/24/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: The elevator is broken; use the Steps. --Anonymous Elevators are easy. We push a button and we go right to the top. The way is fast, quick, and silent. We don't work up a sweat. We don't get out of breath. We can't trip and fall. There is not much time to communicate with anyone else along the way so we don't have to use any effort or thought. We can daydream as we face the front of the car and stare at the numbers as they change from floor to floor. Our addictions were our elevators out of living. The chemical highs we experienced were just like an elevator ride. Until we crashed. I will sometimes sweat, stumble, get out of breath in my climb, but I'll take the time to talk with and learn from others who are taking the Steps with me. You are reading from the book: Easy Does It by Anonymous Easy Does It © 1999 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/19/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. -- Chinese proverb Life holds so many choices now that we are sober. We'd like to go so many places. We'd like to see so many things. We have so much to do. We are slowly learning how to trust our dreams and reach for them. Our program teaches us that we live One Day at a Time. We make progress by doing First Things First, Easy Does It. Our dreams may seem very big and far away. We wonder if we'll ever get there. But our faith tells us to go for it. And we know how: One Step at a Time. Prayer for the Day Higher Power, help me know this gentle truth that my life matters. Help me set goals that I can grow toward, one step at a time. Action for the Day Today I'll think about one of my goals. I will list ten little steps that will help me get there. You are reading from the book: Keep It Simple by Anonymous Keep It Simple © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/18/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Having boundaries doesn't complicate life; boundaries simplify life. --Beyond Codependency There is a positive aspect to boundary setting. We learn to listen to ourselves and identify what hurt us and what we don't like. But we also learn to identify what feels good. When we are willing to take some risks and begin actively doing so, we will enhance the quality of our life. What do we like? What feels good? What brings us pleasure? Whose company do we enjoy? What helps us to feel good in the morning? What's a real treat in our life? What are the small, daily activities that make us feel nurtured and cared for? We have deprived ourselves too long. There is no need to do that anymore, no need. If it feels good, and the consequences are self-loving and not self-defeating, do it! Today, I will do for myself those little things that make life more pleasurable. I will not deny myself healthy treats. You are reading from the book: The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie The Language of Letting Go © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/17/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: An error doesn't become a mistake until you refuse to correct it. --Orlando A. Battista In our lives, we have always been drawn to extremes. If it isn't white, it must be black. If a little bit feels good, we take a lot. If we are going to do something, only perfection is good enough. So if we don't win, we lose, and if we can't do it perfectly, we feel like a failure. In this program we learn to seek progress, not perfection. And we can only make progress by trial and error. We learn nothing if we don't try new things and sobriety the moment we decide to enter this program of recovery. When we surrender to our powerlessness over our addictions and codependency, we have to begin to learn how to live in a new way. It doesn't just happen all at once. So when we take our errors and our slips and agree to learn from them, we become stronger in our sobriety. Today I accept my imperfection as a permanent condition, and I will keep coming back to the program of recovery. You are reading from the book: Wisdom to Know by Anonymous Wisdom to Know © 2005 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] A Thoughts For Today - 1/17

  Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Recovery Links Daily Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Weekly Spiritual Readings Daily Prayers AA Thought for the Day January 17 Working With Others . . . the thought came that there were thousands of hopeless alcoholics who might be glad to have what had been so freely given me. Perhaps I could help some of them.  They in turn might work with others. - Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 14 Thought to Ponder . . . Sharing is sometimes more demanding than giving. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . E S H = Experience, Strength, and Hope. Click here to read more Daily Recovery Readings - http://ift.tt/2mzlLsJ ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Coping God willing, we members of AA may never again have to deal with drinking, but we have to deal with sobriety every day. How do we do it? By learning -- through practicing the Twelve Steps and through sharing at meetings

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Reminder ^*^*^ January 16

​​ ​​ ​​ ~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~ ​​​^*^*^*^*^ (\    ~~    /) (    \(AA)/    ) (_ /AA\ _) / AA \ ^*^*^*^*^ Reminder We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day, "Thy will be done." We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. 1976, 2001 AAWSAlcoholics Anonymous, pp. 87-8 Thought to Consider . . .It works - it really does.*~*AACRONYMS*~*F I T ​Faith, Intuition, and Trust *~*^Just For Today!^*~*HowFrom "Physician, Heal Thyself!": What is this power that A.A. possesses? This curative power? I don't know what it is. I suppose the doctor might say, "This is psychosomatic medicine." I suppose the psychiatrist might say, "This is benevolent interpersonal relations." I suppose others would say, "This is group psychotherapy." To me it is God. 2001 AAWS, Inc. Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 308 ​ *^Daily Reflections^*HITTING BOTTOM Why all this insistence that every A.A. must hit bottom first? The answer is that few people will sincerely try to practice the A.A. program unless they have hit bottom. For practicing A.A.'s remaining eleven Steps means the adoption of attitudes and actions that almost no alcoholic who is still drinking can dream of taking. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24 ​ Hitting bottom opened my mind and I became willing to try something ​different. What I tried was A.A. My new life in the Fellowship was a little like learning how to ride a bike for the first time: A.A. became my training wheels and my supporting hand. It's not that I wanted the help so much at the time; I simply did not want to hurt like that again. My desire to avoid hitting bottom again was more powerful than my desire to drink. In the beginning that was what kept me sober. But after a while I found myself working the Steps to the best of my ability. I soon realized that my attitudes and actions were changing - if ever so slightly. One Day at a Time, I became comfortable with myself, and others, and my hurting started to heal. Thank God for the training wheels and supporting hand that I choose to call Alcoholics Anonymous.Copyright 1990ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC.​ *~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*Never Again!"Most people feel more secure on the twenty-four-hour basis than they do in the resolution that they will never drink again. Most of them have broken too many resolutions. It's really a matter of personal choice; every A.A. has the privilege of interpreting the program as he likes. "Personally, I take the attitude that I intend never to drink again. This is somewhat different from saying, 'I will never drink again.' The latter attitude sometimes gets people in trouble because it is undertaking on a personal basis to do what we alcoholics never could do. It is too much an act of will and leaves too little room for the idea that God will release us from the drink obsession provided we follow the A.A. program."LETTER, 1949*~*^Big Book Quote^*~* "A body badly burned by alcohol does not often recover overnight nor do twisted thinking and depression vanish in a twinkling. We are convinced that a spiritual mode of living is a most powerful health restorative."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionThe Family Afterward, Page 133*^Twenty Four Hours A Day^*A.A. Thought for the DayThe A.A. program is more a way of building a new life than just a way of getting over drinking, because in A.A. we don't just stop drinking. We did that plenty of times in the old days when we "went on the wagon." And, of course, we always started to drink again, because we were only waiting for the time when we could fall off. Once we've gotten sober through the A.A. program, we start going uphill. In our drinking days, we were going downhill, getting worse and worse. We either go down or up. Am I going uphill, getting better and better? Meditation for the DayI will try to obey God's will day in and day out, in the wilderness plains as well as on the mountain tops of experience. It is in the daily strivings that perseverance counts. I believe that God is Lord of little things, the Divine Controller of little happenings. I will persevere in this new way of life. I know that nothing in the day is too small to be part of God's scheme. Prayer for the DayI pray that the little stones that I put into the mosaic of my life may make a worthwhile pattern. I pray that I may persevere and so find harmony and beauty. Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 ​ You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1.  Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily.IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT http://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2.  Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. It is suggested that you turn on your notifications to be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook!​​​ -- TransitionsDaily.org is an Open A.A. Online Meeting Service #000720350.   Did someone forward this message to you? For more Information and to join go to http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt.   Feel free to share http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery!   You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link http://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work!   To Donate Go to: http://ift.tt/1LFEb4b   To unsubscribe, it is best to email us at TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with your request.

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/15/2018

Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: We all carry it within us; supreme strength, the fullness of wisdom, unquenchable joy. It is never thwarted and cannot be destroyed. But it is hidden deep, which is what makes life a problem. --Huston Smith How does one lose touch with his strength, his wisdom, and his joy? Perhaps it is in the nature of humanity. Our most profound qualities are hidden deep. They never go away, but we cannot always find them. There may be nothing wrong with us when we lose touch. It doesn't have to mean that we are "bad" for getting depressed or for feeling inadequate. Who doesn't have that problem? It is the nature of life that we sometimes feel this way. This program helps us unearth the resources hidden within us. When we cannot find those reassuring feelings of strength and wisdom and joy, we may think they are gone forever. We even doubt we ever had them or could have them again. But they are still there. They cannot be destroyed. And when we regain contact we know they have been with us all along. I will have faith that the innermost places in me can never be destroyed. You are reading from the book: Touchstones by Anonymous Touchstones ©1986, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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Boredom and Monotony in Recovery

Boredom and Monotony in Recovery

Boredom & Monotony were a chief activator of my urge to drink and drug throughout my active addition and alcoholism.  In my early years; I hated being bored or in a state that wasn’t in some way chemically enhanced through any number of substances.  I used them just as often as an escape from boredom as I did to numb overwhelming feelings.  As my disease progressed, I began to acquire a learned fear of boredom as I began, at some level anyhow, to understand that my idle hands truly were the devil’s playthings.  If I left myself alone with myself; the obsession to drink, use, or indulge in otherwise addictive behavior was unvaryingly soon to be breathing down my neck.  Since the death of my mother at 11 years old; my relationship with the mundane has been one of dysfunction, fraught with poor choices after succumbing to the insidious and unrelenting obsessive nature of my disease.  I can intimately recall time after time literally hating the feeling of boredom because experience had proved that it would inevitably result in the all too familiar feeling of self-loathing after loosing the battle of wills to my addiction; a feeling we addicts and alcoholics know all too well. 

It’s no surprise then, to come to realize that boredom in Recovery is an often overlooked yet incredibly challenging aspect of learning to live in long-term recovery.  Early recovery is often marked by the recovering person being overwhelmed by all of the things we must do and learn for the first time; often we’re in treatment, or a sober house, or both and have a surplus of support around us.  Many of us were also on the proverbial pink cloud of early recovery for the first six to twelve months; which may have sugar-coated the dull times of recovery; at least in the beginning.  We all however, will at some point or another, be faced with having to deal with boredom and monotony in recovery – as even the “full throttle” recovery approach isn’t sustainable for the long haul, as social media favorable as it may indeed be.  The reality is that boredom is bound to set in at some point in our recovery; for any number of reasons, and the first step I must do is recognize it for what it is and allow myself to accept that boredom is a normal human experience.  Refusing to acknowledge the fact that boredom is setting in does not in fact make it disappear.  Next, I can understand that I have choices on what I am going to do with these feelings and this experience.  I can choose to accept it as a normal part of the recovery process.  I can call or reach out to a friend or a sponsor.   I can use the time to meditate; or pray – to connect with the God of my understanding.  I can seek help if I come to understand the boredom is becoming a more than occasional visitor in my life.  Often; we may become a bit rudderless in recovery and lose sight of or lack any long-term goals for which we can spend time each day working toward.  Many psychological and behavioral experts concur; actively seeking a fulfilling goal is quite effective in staving off boredom – case in point I give you this very podcast which has indeed been a God send in my own recovery. The mitigation of the monotony monster is just one more reason I have no plans of prematurely ending this weekly production; as it helps keep yours truly much less bored – and I need all the help I can get to continue to be clean and sober 24 hours at a time.


© 2016 - 2018 The Way Out Podcast www.wayoutcast.com

New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/14/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Step Two: Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. -- Step Two of Al-Anon We come to believe in a better life through the powerful gift of other people - hearing them, seeing them, and watching the gift of recovery at work in their lives. There is a Power greater than us. There is real hope now that things can and will be different and better for our life and us. We are not in a "do it ourselves" program. We do not have to exert willpower to change. We do not have to force our recovery to happen. We do not have to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps just so we believe that there is a Power greater than ourselves - one who will get the job done in our life. This Power will do for us what our greatest and most diligent efforts could not accomplish. Our Higher Power will restore us to a sane and beneficial life. All we do is believe. Look. Watch. See the people around you. See the healing they have found. Then discover your own faith, your own belief, your own healing. Today, regardless of my circumstances, I will believe to the best of my ability that a Power greater than myself can and will restore me to a peaceful, sane way of living. You are reading from the book: The Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie The Language of Letting Go © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! [aarecoveryreadings] AA Thoughts For Today - 1/14

  Bluidkiti's Recovery Forums Recovery Links Daily Recovery Readings NA Just For Today Daily Spiritual Meditations Weekly Spiritual Readings Daily Prayers AA Thought for the Day January 14 Choices "Yet we finally did make choices that brought about our recovery. We came to believe that alone we were powerless over alcohol. This was surely a choice, and a most difficult one. We came to believe that a Higher Power could restore us to sanity when we became willing to practice AA's Twelve Steps. In short, we chose to 'become willing,' and no better choice did we ever make." - As Bill Sees It, p. 4 Thought to Ponder . . . I am worth staying sober for. AA-related 'Alconym' . . . S W A T = Surrender, Willingness, Action, Trust. Click here to read more Daily Recovery Readings - http://ift.tt/2mzlLsJ ~*~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~*~ Unity In many self-governing countries we are now seeing the inroads of ignorance, apathy, and power-seeking upon democratic systems. Their spiritual resources of right purpose and collective intelligence are waning. Consequently, many a land has become so helpless that the only answer is dictatorship. Happily for us, there seems little prospect of such a calamity in AA. The life of each individual and of each group is built around our Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. We very well know that the penalty for extensive disobedience to these principles is death for the individual and dissolution for the group. An even greater force for AA's unity is in the compelling love that we have for our fellow members and for the principles upon which our lives today are founded. Bill W. c. 1962 AAWS, Twelve Concepts for World Service, 26th printing,  p. 8 Thought to Consider . . . Only those who see the invisible can accomplish the impossible. *~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~* P R O G R A M =  People Relying On God Relay A Message *~*~*~*~*^Just For Today!^*~*~*~*~* Quitting >From "More about Alcoholism": "Though there is no way of proving it, we believe that early in our drinking careers most of us could have stopped drinking. But the difficulty is that few alcoholics have enough desire to stop while there is yet time." 2001 AAWS, Inc., Fourth Edition; Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 33 *~*~*~*~*^ Grapevine Quote ^*~*~*~*~* "The other day, I sent an AA friend on a job interview. He went to the wrong address and he lost the man's name. In another office, he stated his purpose, was offered a job, and came back with one better than the job I sent him to look for." Wayne, Pa., June 1984 "The Mysterious Ways of the Higher Power" AA Grapevine ~*~*~*~*^ Big Book & Twelve N' Twelve Quotes of the Day ^*~*~*~*~* "When ready, we say something like this: 'My Creator, I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows. Grant me strength, as I go out from here, to do your bidding. Amen.' We have then completed Step Seven." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, Into Action, pg. 76~ "...with us, to drink is to die." ~Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, How It Works, pg. 66~ Where humility had formerly stood for a forced feeding on humble pie, it now begins to mean the nourishing ingredient which can give us serenity. -Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions p.74 Misc. AA Literature - Quote The temptation is to become rather possessive of newcomers. Perhaps we try to give them advice about their affairs which we aren't really competent to give or ought not give at all. Then we are hurt and confused when the advice is rejected, or when it is accepted and brings still greater confusion. 'You can't make a horse drink water if he still prefers beer or is too crazy to know what he does want. Set a pail of water beside him, tell him how good it is and why, and leave him alone. 'If people really want to get drunk, there is, so far as I know, no way of stopping this - so leave them alone and let them get drunk. But don't exclude them from the water pail, either.' Prayer for the Day:  Dear Heavenly Father, Please help me to control my attitude and to respond to others with love and kindness.  I pray that my attitude reflects your character always. In Jesus name, AMEN! Click here to make a Donation This is not spam. You are receiving this because you joined this list. Click here to receive Daily Recovery Readings in email. Click here to receive AA Thoughts For Today in email. Click here to receive Daily Prayers in email. Click here to receive Weekly Spiritual Meditations in email. **Click here to receive all 4 in email. ***If at anytime you wish to unsubscribe then send an email to bluidkiti@bluidkiti.com with unsubscribe in the subject line.  Please note what you are unsubscribing from. If this message was forwarded by someone other than bluidkiti@bluidkiti.com, please reply to the person sending the email.

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Thoughts For The Day~*~Satisfaction ^*^*^ January 13

​​ ​​ ~A.A. Thoughts For The Day~ ​​​^*^*^*^*^ (\    ~~    /) (    \(AA)/    ) (_ /AA\ _) / AA \ ^*^*^*^*^ ​ Satisfaction ​ No satisfaction has been deeper and no joy greater than in a Twelfth Step job well done. To watch the eyes of men and Women with wonder as they move from darkness into light, to see their lives quickly fill with new purpose and meaning, to see whole families reassembled, to see the alcoholic outcast received back into his community in full citizenship, and above all to watch these people awaken to the presence of a loving God in their lives - these things are the substance of what we receive as we carry A.A.'s message to the next alcoholic.c. 1952 AAWSTwelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,  p. 110Thought to Consider . . .I keep my sobriety by giving it away. *~*AACRONYMS*~* D E N I A L Don't Even Notice I Am Lying *~Just For Today~* BetterFrom "Getting active:" ​"After our first month's sobriety, many of us​ notice a distinct difference. After three months, our minds seem still clearer. And during our second year of recovery, the change is striking. More mental energy seems available to us than ever before."​ c. 1975, Living Sober, page 16 *~Daily Reflections~* IT DOESN'T HAPPEN OVERNIGHT We are not cured of alcoholism. What we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition.ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 85The most common alcoholic fantasy seems to be: "If I just don't drink, everything will be all right." Once the fog cleared for me, I saw - for the first time - the mess my life had become. I had family, work, financial and legal problems; I was hung up on old religious ideas; there were sides of my character to which I was inclined to stay blind because they easily could have convinced me that I was hopeless and pushed me toward escape again. The Big Book guided me in resolving all of my problems. But it didn't happen overnight - and certainly not automatically - with no effort on my part. I need always to recognize God's mercy and blessings that shine through any problem I have to face.Copyright 1990ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS WORLD SERVICES, INC. *~As Bill Sees it~* The Shared GiftA.A. is more than a set of principles; it is a society of alcoholics in action. We must carry the message, else we ourselves can wither and those who haven't been given the truth may die.<<< >>>Faith is more than our greatest gift; its sharing with others is our greatest responsibility. May we of A.A. continually seek the wisdom and the willingness by which we may well fulfill that immense trust which the Giver of all perfect gifts has placed in our hands.1. SERVICE MANUAL, p. 52. GRAPEVINE, APRIL 1961 *~Big Book Quote~* "We have no desire to convince anyone that there is only one way by which faith can be acquired. If what we have learned and felt and seen means anything at all, it means that all of us, whatever our race, creed, or color are the children of a living Creator with whom we may form a relationship upon simple and understandable terms as soon as we are willing and honest enough to try."Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th EditionThere Is A Solution, pg. 28 *~Twenty Fours A Day~* ​​ A.A. Thought for the Day​When we were drinking, we were living an unnatural life physically and mentally. We were punishing our bodies by loading them with alcohol. We didn't eat enough and we ate the wrong things. We didn't get enough sleep or the right kind of rest. We were ruining ourselves physically. We had an alcoholic obsession and we couldn't imagine life without alcohol. We kept imagining all kinds of crazy things about ourselves and about other people. We were ruining ourselves mentally. Since I came into A.A., am I getting better physically and mentally?Meditation for the DayI believe that my life is being refined like gold in a crucible. Gold does not stay in the crucible, only until it is refined. I will never despair or be despondent. I now have friends who long for me to conquer. If I should err or fail, it would cause pain and disappointment to them. I will keep trying to live a better life.Prayer for the Day I pray that I may always call on God's strength, while the gold of my life is being refined. I pray that I may see it through, with ​ God's help. Hazelden Foundation PO Box 176 Center City, MN 55012 ​​ You have 2 Options to Participate in the Transitions Daily Email & Discussion Group:1.  Join the Private Announcement Only Google Group TransitionsDaily, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join” in the subject line. You will be manually added to the closed Google Group TransitionsDaily.IF YOU ALREADY RECEIVE THE DAILY TOPIC EMAIL, NO ACTION IS NECESSARY ON YOUR PART TO CONTINUE. MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND AT http://ift.tt/2f53TEc members of this group cannot be seen by other members or by non-members. You are completely anonymous with no sale or disclosure of membership to other members or the redistribution of emails of any kind. Once you have been added, you will receive a confirmation email. Please allow 24 – 48 hours for entry. You will then receive one topic email daily.2.  Join the Transitions Daily Secret Facebook Group, send an email to TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with “Join Facebook Group” in the subject line. Make sure and either send from the email associated with your Facebook account or specify your Facebook email in the message. You will receive an invitation via email to join the secret Facebook group where all discussion takes place. Every day the topic email is also posted in the Secret Facebook group.If your anonymity in regards to other members of the Facebook group is an issue, it is suggested that you create a Facebook personal profile with no personal information, using only your first name and last name initial. Only members of the group are able to see your information. Non-members cannot see your posts or that you are a member. It is suggested that you turn on your notifications to be reminded of new posts.Topics are posted Daily via Email and Facebook!​​​ -- TransitionsDaily.org is an Open A.A. Online Meeting Service #000720350.   Did someone forward this message to you? For more Information and to join go to http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt.   Feel free to share http://ift.tt/1MBbjVt in meetings, with friends, sponsors, and especially your sponsees in recovery!   You can also download the Transitions Daily Flyer by clicking on this link http://ift.tt/1MBbjVv to use in your service work!   To Donate Go to: http://ift.tt/1LFEb4b   To unsubscribe, it is best to email us at TransitionsDaily@gmail.com with your request.

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/13/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Although the act of nurturing another's spiritual growth has the effect of nurturing one's own, a major characteristic of genuine love is that the distinction between oneself and the other is always maintained and preserved. --M. Scott Peck. M.D. Those we love must be free to love us in return, or leave us. The honest evidence of our love is our commitment to encouraging another's full development. We are interdependent personalities who need one another's presence in order to fulfill our destiny. And yet, we are also separate individuals. We must come to terms with our struggles alone. One gift of life available to each of us is security, the sense that accompanies the recognition of our spiritual center. Helping someone else discover their spiritual gifts strengthens our own. Nothing is too difficult when we act in unison as separate entities, relying on the spiritual core that strengthens us to meet any situation. My own spiritual center will be strengthened if I help someone. You are reading from the book: The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey and Martha Vanceburg The Promise of a New Day by Karen Casey & Martha Vanceburg. © 1983, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/12/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Feels Like War In the contours of his man-face, I still see my own son. The jaw, the nose, the spacing of his eyes. But I know not to be fooled by the familiar façade: I already know there's somebody else who's living inside. I've been doing battle with this invisible stranger, trying to fight the beast that has wriggled itself underneath my son's skin, but I am so very weary because it often feels like I'm battling against him. And sometimes when looking into the face of my child, I'm swayed into feeling like I'm on the wrong side. I want my son to know whom I'm fighting for. I want my son to know whom I'm fighting against. And I want my son to know why. I want my son to know that I want him to win. I want him to live. I want him to come on home. I want my son to know that even though I'm so very weary from this fight, I won't give up. For him. My child has no idea how hard it is for me to constantly wage war against an invisible enemy-a disease-in what feels like a war against him. He has no idea the toll it takes, hating the addict and loving the son. You are reading from the book: Tending Dandelions by Sandra Swenson Tending Dandelions © 2017 by Sandra Swenson. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/11/2018

Today's thought from Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Live big! --Brady Michaels Sometimes, that's the best advice we can hear. Win or lose succeed or fail, go for it, and go all the way. As my flight instructor told me on the first day of flying lessons, "Keep one hand on the throttle and one hand on the yoke." "Aahhhhh!" I would say during my early lessons as the plane lifted into the air, but I kept the throttle pushed all the way in. There are times when it's wise to be cautious. And there are times when the best thing we can do - the only thing we can do - is go for it by living big. Ask her out. Request the raise. Say no - and mean it. Learn to drive a racecar or climb a tall hill. Learn to snorkel or surf. Dreams remain dreams until you act upon them. Then they become real life. Will you throw a few coins into the beggar's cup, or will you bring him a hamburger and fries from the local fast-food place? Will you do an average job at work, or will you look for ways to go big - really give it your best - in the everyday areas of your job? Will you put your all - your heart and emotions - into the relationship with the people you love? Will you wait for another, more convenient time to pray, or will you start genuinely trusting God? You don't have to get a life. You've already got one. Live it, and live big. God, help me let go of my fear and timidity, and learn to live big. You are reading from the book: More Language of Letting Go by Melody Beattie More Language of Letting Go © 2000 by Melody Beattie. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/10/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves. --Will Durant Sometimes we say bad things about others. When we do this, it makes us look bad too. Our friends worry what we might say about them behind their backs. They're afraid to trust us. We become known as gossips. The things we say about other people tell a lot about us. We are kind or unkind. We gossip or we don't. This doesn't mean we have to say everyone is wonderful all the time. As we work our program to see ourselves better, we begin to see other people more clearly too. We see their strong points and their weak points. But we can know these things without gossiping about them. Prayer for the Day Higher Power, help me see others clearly, and in their best light. Let me bring out the good in others. Action for the Day Today, I'll list the people I'm closest to at work, school, and home. I'll think of how I talk about them to others. Am I kind? You are reading from the book: Keep It Simple by Anonymous Keep It Simple © 1989 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/9/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: The best thing that can come with success is the knowledge that it is nothing to long for. --Liv Ullmann Success may be defined in many ways. In our youth, we may have measured success in terms of having a million dollars, two cars, a swimming pool. But we are coming to believe that success means staying clean and sober, living an honest life, and relying daily on our Higher Power. Material success provides momentary pleasures but doesn't leave us with lasting happiness. We've all experienced the rush to buy another "toy," certain an inner void would be filled. Soon, we were tired of it and looking for another distraction. We are now learning how to fill those voids with genuine sustenance; our daily commitment to the program and our relationship with God. I will measure my success today by the quality of my sobriety and relationship with God. You are reading from the book: In God's Care by Karen Casey In God's Care by Karen Casey. © 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/8/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: He who helps a friend in woe is like a fur coat in the snow. --Russian Proverb We came in from a very hard life when we came into recovery, kind of like coming in from a blizzard in Siberia! The old life was dangerous, cold, and lonely, and it forced us to use all our energy just to survive. Sooner or later it would have killed us. We were definitely in woe. Someone - a family member, a friend, a boss, a probation officer - offered us a chance to get sober. That person saved our life, as surely as if he or she walked out into a blizzard and wrapped around us like a fur coat. Thanks to our Higher Power, we accepted the help this time. In the future we will have the chance to help others who are still out there freezing in the blizzard of addiction. We can offer them the kind of help that saved our life. We can't make them accept our help though. We just keep it handy, like a fur coat, in case they reach out to accept it. Prayer For The Day Higher Power I am willing to help another addict. I will be ready when You put someone in front of me. Today's Action Is there an alcoholic or an addict in my life I wish I could help? I realize that my example is the best way to show them recovery. I will talk with my sponsor about this person and how I am best able to help him or her today. You are reading from the book: God Grant Me... by Anonymous God Grant Me. . . © 2005 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/7/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Success can only be measured in terms of distance traveled. --Mavis Gallant We are forever moving from one experience to another, one challenge to another, and one relationship to another. Our ability to handle confidently all encounters is a gift of the program, and one that accompanies us throughout every day, providing we humbly express gratitude for it. Success is ours when we are grateful. We are not standing still. No matter how uneventful our lives may seem, we are traveling toward our destiny, and all the thrills and tears, joys and sorrows, are contributing to the success of our trip. Every day, every step, we are succeeding. We can reflect on yesterday, better yet, on last week or even last year. What were our problems? It's doubtful we can even remember them. We have put distance between them and us. They were handled in some manner. We have succeeded in getting free of them. We have succeeded in moving beyond them. How far we have come! And we will keep right on traveling forward. As long as we rely on the program, we are assured of success. I can do whatever I need to do today, with success, when I humbly accept the program's gifts. You are reading from the book: Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey Each Day a New Beginning by Karen Casey. © 1982, 1991 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/6/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: A good listener is not only popular everywhere, but after a while he gets to know something. --Wilson Mizner A good salesperson is usually a good listener. Being a good listener also helps in being a good parent or spouse, neighbor or friend. When we are truly able to hear what others are trying to say, we are better able to enter their world, and let them into ours. Listening to the collective wisdom of others helps us gain understanding and perspective on the world around us. When it comes to recovery from a life-threatening illness like addiction, listening to others who are in recovery is like receiving a gift of ideas. It is not always easy to listen, because it's often our nature to want to be the center of attention. But listening is an art worth developing. It enriches our lives, improves our relationships, and helps us feel better about ourselves. Today may I enrich my spiritual life by listening to others. You are reading from the book: Body, Mind, and Spirit by Anonymous Body, Mind, and Spirit © 1990 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/5/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Judged My child became an addict in his teens, lured to drugs and alcohol by a culture that glorifies substance use-the same culture that now, so ignorantly and harshly, passes judgment on him. And me. I am judged for helping, fixing, and pushing (or not helping, fixing, or pushing enough) this sick child of mine who won't be helped or fixed or pushed. I am judged for over-reacting and under-reacting, enabling and letting go. Most hurtful of all, I am judged to be a mother whose love must be somehow flawed. When my child became an addict, I became the mom of an addict-a role I wasn't prepared for and certainly didn't want. It's a role the whole world seems to have an opinion about, whether they know anything about addiction or not. Whatever I do (or don't do), I am judged to be wrong, but I no longer pay attention to that. I just keep doing what I'm doing, with love. Judge tenderly, if you must. There is usually a side you have not heard, a story you know nothing about, and a battle waged that you are not having to fight. Traci Lea LaRussa You are reading from the book: Tending Dandelions by Sandra Swenson Tending Dandelions © 2017 by Sandra Swenson. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/3/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: A Year To Grow This new year can be a time of growth in sobriety. While we have no crystal ball that tells us what luck and fortune the year will bring, we do have a program that gives us the power to make the best of this year, to grow in sobriety. We can make progress in overcoming resentment and selfishness, we can help others in their search for happy sobriety, and we can make better use of our talents and opportunities. We can live sober, and we also can find happiness and true self-esteem in sobriety. In our drinking, a desperate search for happiness and self-esteem compelled us to drink, but we could never find our happy destiny in the bottle. No matter what came to us, things had a way of turning sour as we continued to drink and to take other harmful substances. In our new life, we have good reason to feel confident and optimistic. We have friends who understand us; we have sponsors who will share with us their own experience and hope. We have a Higher Power who is, as the poet Tennyson said, ". . .closer to us than breathing, and nearer than hands and feet." We face nothing alone, and in the new year all experiences can help us grow. I face this day with confidence, courage, and optimism. I will know that my Higher Power is present in every person and situation. You are reading from the book: Walk in Dry Places by Mel B. Walk in Dry Places by Mel B. © 1996 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/2/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: The new is but the old come true; each sunrise sees a new year born. --Helen Hunt Jackson We know that a totally new life can begin on any day of a year, at any hour of the day, or at any moment of an hour. That new life began the moment we decided to surrender and admit to powerlessness over a substance or an impulse. It began when we accepted the fact that we needed help and could receive it simply by asking. Many of us used to choose New Year's Day as a time for making good resolutions and swearing off bad habits. When we failed, we simply shrugged and said, "Maybe I can start tomorrow, next week - or next New Year's Day." We were always going to "turn over a new leaf." Now, in recovery, we no longer depend on doing it all alone. We know we can stay abstinent only by sharing with fellow members. Let me remember, each day in recovery is another milestone. I no longer have to use a calendar. You are reading from the book: Easy Does It by Anonymous Easy Does It © 1999 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 1/1/2018

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is: Living today The beginning of the New Year will often bring back sad memories. This has been the big day for hangovers, coming down, remorse, guilt, and shame. But if we stay with our new purpose - staying clean and staying close to our Higher Power - we don't have to fear the New Year. God has forgiven our past mistakes and tomorrow is not yet here. If we do what we know is right today, all else will be taken care of. It's not always easy to do what is necessary today, but it's impossible to change yesterday or to guarantee what tomorrow will bring. Our year will unfold better by living each day as it comes instead of regretting the past or anticipating the future. Am I learning to live one day at a time? I pray for the willingness to deal with today, instead of being obsessed with the past or the future. You are reading from the book: Day by Day - Second Edition by Anonymous Day by Day © 1974, 1998 by Hazelden Foundation. All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any manner without the permission of Hazelden. Online daily inspirations Read a Thought for the Day from six of our most popular daily meditations books. They're posted online, every day, at hazeldenbettyford.org.   Are you or a loved one struggling with alcohol or other drugs? Help starts here. Call us at: 1-866-755-3221               Managing your email subscriptions Have an account on hazelden.org?  Sign in now to manage your preferences. Can't sign in? Send us an email to Change your email address.   Unsubscribe from Today's Gift. Stop all Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation email. To send us feedback, please email todaysgift@hazeldenbettyford.org Hazelden Betty Ford Foundtion, 15251 Pleant Valley Rd., P.O. Box 11, RW3, Center City, MN 55012-0011, 1-866-755-3221 Please feel free to forward this email to a friend.    

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