New Post on The Official Blog of The Way Out Podcast! Today's Gift - 11/19/2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:Differences. . . with no hidden cutting edge.The respect and dignity a couple show each other set the table from which they are nourished for all other activities in their lives. Any feeling can be expressed in respectful or disrespectful ways. Anger is one of the most difficult to express respectfully. Everyone feels frustrated and angry at times. The crucial thing to learn is how to be angry and still be respectful - how to deal with our impatience without blame or put-downs. Many of us have to learn how to love without being possessive, how to be playful in a lighthearted way with no hidden cutting edge. When we treat our partner with disrespect, we pour poison into our own well. It may feel satisfying at first, but the long-term consequences are not good to live with. When we are committed to respect in our relationship, we continue to learn at even deeper levels what respect truly means. We find that simply listening to each other - and letting in our differences - is a form of respect that nourishes us.Name a difference between you and someone close to you that you respect. You are reading from the book: 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact by Melody Beattie 52 Weeks of Conscious Contact © 2003 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 inspirationsRead 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 - 11/18/2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:NewcomerYou've told me I should pray for someone who's been causing me all sorts of problems. But that's not going to change that person, is it?SponsorI've heard various descriptions of how prayer works. Some say God listens, some say our thoughts affect the energy of the universe and create change; some say that we're conditioning ourselves to transform our own attitudes, and that attitudes, good and bad, are contagious. It's a mystery but it does work. Someone I worked with seemed so disrespectful and unpleasant that I dreaded encounters with her. I began saying a daily prayer for her health and complete happiness. Before gatherings that included her, I prayed that communication between us would be easy and smooth and that each person's highest good in that situation would be realized. The effects were dramatic. I experienced relief from my fear of facing her and began to see her as a whole human being. I genuinely began to want her well-being. For whatever reason, she stopped turning her back on me and sometimes actually smiled. I'm not suggesting that we try to manipulate others to behave as we wish. Specific results and timetables aren't in our hands. But I do know that our prayers are always effective in furthering our own and others' processes of healing.Today, I pray for others, placing them in my Higher Power's hands. You are reading from the book: If You Want What We Have by Joan Larkin If You Want What We Have © 1998 by Joan Larkin. 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 inspirationsRead 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 - 11/17/2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:Reflection for the DayI must never forget who and what I am and where I come from. I have to remember the nature of my illness and what it was like before I came to The Program. I'll try to keep the memory green, yet not spend my time dwelling morbidly on the past. I won't be afraid to enjoy what is beautiful, and to believe that as I give to others, so others will give to me. Can I ever afford to forget what it used to be like, even for one minute?Today I PrayMay I never forget the painful days of my addiction. May I never forget that the same misery awaits me if I should slip back into the old patterns. At the same time, may such backward glances serve only to bolster my own present strength and the strength of others like me. Please, God, do not let me dredge up these recollections in order to outdo or "out drunk" my fellow members. Like others who are chemically dependent, I must be wary of my desire to be center stage in the spotlight.Today I Will RememberI do more when I don't 'outdo.' You are reading from the book: A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous A Day at a Time © 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 inspirationsRead 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 - 11/16/2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:An alcoholic spends his life committing suicide on the installment plan.--Laurence PeterNone of us woke up one morning and found we had suddenly turned into an addict. We got to be one by practice. And we practiced often. We ignored our families - we left work early - and went drinking and drugging. Daily, we chose chemicals over anything else. Likewise, getting sober is no accident. We use the Steps. We work the program. At meetings, we're reminded to help others. We all get sober on the installment plan. A day at a time. We got sick one day at a time; we recover one day at a time.Prayer for the DayToday, with my Higher Power's help, I'll be happier, more honest, more sober. Sobriety is like a good savings account. Higher Power, help me to put in more than I take out.Action for the DayI'll go over my Step One to remind myself it's no accident I'm an addict. 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 inspirationsRead 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 - 11/15/2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:Reflection for the DayEvery man and woman who has joined The Program and intends to stick around has, without realizing it, made a beginning on Step Three. Isn't it true that, in all matters related to their addictions, each of them has decided to turn his or her life over to the care, protection, and guidance of The Program? So already a willingness has been achieved to cast out one's own will and one's own ideas about the addiction in favor of those suggested by The Program. If this isn't turning one's will and life over to a new-found "Providence," then what is it? Have I had a spiritual awakening as the result of The Steps?Today I PrayFor myself, I pray for a God-centered life. I thank God often for the spiritual awakening I have felt since I turned my life over. May the words "spiritual awakening" be a clue to others that there is a free fund of spiritual power within each person. It must only be discovered.Today I Will RememberI will try to be God-centered. You are reading from the book: A Day at a Time (Softcover) by Anonymous A Day at a Time © 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 inspirationsRead 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 - 11/14/2017

Today's thought from the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is:The chains of habit are too weak to be felt until they are too strong to be broken.--Samuel JohnsonThe Twelve Steps won't work for anyone unless they are practiced. That's why so many veterans of this program work the Steps over and over. It's a good habit, and good habits - just like bad ones - strengthen with use and time. Prayer is an important part of this program that becomes as regular as habit, and it's a habit worth getting into. Communing with God at a similar time, or times, every day brings us power for daily living and provides us with a spiritual reserve. Daily contact with our Higher Power gives us special insights into our own actions and helps us look with love on those around us.Today I will strive to make prayer a habit. 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 inspirationsRead 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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Isolation is to Addiction as Contentedness is to Recovery

Being a part of something bigger than myself was never something I ever felt I could truly achieve in active addiction and alcoholism.  Like so many other soul soothing miracles I have now been blessed to experience, perhaps there is no other feeling quite like connecting in love, service, and gratitude in an effort far greater than any one of us.  It is often said that addiction is a disease of isolation; that has certainly been my experience based on my own and the countless stories of addiction I have been exposed to both on this very podcast as well as in the rooms of 12-Step fellowships.  

The definition of isolation is to be or to remain alone or a part from others.  Synonyms of the verb “to isolate” include: separate, to set or keep apart, to segregate, detach, cut off, shut away, to keep in solitude, and withdrawal.  I spent over 20 years of my life from age 11 to the day I truly surrendered to this disease in some degree of isolation from others and from the God of My Understanding.  Those of us who know the isolation that accompanies our disease; oft preceding full and active addiction, and increasing in degree and intensity as the disease progresses until, if left unchecked, the painful aching of separation has in fact manifested itself as a reality.  You are truly alone, and then as the Big Book says you’ll know loneliness as only few of us do.  This feeling we wouldn’t wish upon our most bitter enemy, yet somehow we’ve managed to make this self-fulfilling prophesy come to be a cold and empty reality.  Life increasingly loses meaning the less connected we are to the people we love and our spiritual selves; which is precisely why being a part of a stunningly imperfect collection of  beautiful souls sharing the miracle of their own recoveries is perhaps the greatest gift The God of My Understanding has bestowed upon me as I traverse this journey as a recovered addict and alcoholic.  

I lived a lifetime of fear and loneliness, feeling less than  - desperately making every effort to fool myself and the world into believing I wasn’t absolutely dying inside.  Today I haven’t been more sure of anything in my life that I am on the right path, with an increasingly larger and utterly amazing recovery family that I love in a way that transcends sufficient superlatives with which to justly describe.  This is indeed a life you should NOT miss my brothers and sisters; and you don’t have to so long as you’re willing to go to any length to recover from your seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.  

Also recorded as the Recovery Revealed Segment in The Way Out Podcast Episode 68 http://ow.ly/7Tex30gyI5V 

Charlie LeVoir
Host
The Way Out Podcast

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