The recent events in Haiti show that there still is a lot of hope in human compassion.  When there is a large crisis in the world, it is wonderful to see everyone comes forth.  But why wait?  In the program of recovery we are given the gift of understanding how much you get filled up when you give.  Tradition one of A.A. states “Our common welfare should come first, personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity”.  Isn’t it the same for our individual communities?  How much do you find yourself giving, even if it’s just giving that extra smile to the person checking you through the grocery store.  Here is a meditation that will help bring this concept into your conscious awareness.  Close your eyes and just focus on your breathing for a moment.  Then picture yourself dressed all in white.  Picture yourself going through you average day, and each time you give to someone or something (even watering a plant) take a moment and feel the exchange of gratitude, appreciation and love.  I guarantee you…you’ll feel better when you open your eyes.  And who knows…you may find yourself getting filled with great energy as you practice this consciously through out your day. �

Family Addiction

Our family is a tremendous presence in our lives, they are the ones closest to us and the ones who know us best. When most of us started down the path of addiction we probably didn’t give too much thought to our family. We bought the lie that the only one we were hurting was ourselves. As our obsession progressed it became very evident though that that was not the case at all. It eventually became very hard to deny the very real harm we were doing to those who love us. Treatment professionals are very familiar with the various dynamics families go through when one of the members engages in that sort of self destructive behavior. Families have a way of adapting to some of the tragedies they have to deal with and the hardship of watching someone they love slowly destroy themselves. But quite often some of these mechanisms to deal with a loved ones addiction are not at all functional when that loved one is in recovery. The family has to develop new ways of thinking and coexisting, which is not always easy when there are layers and layers of hurt from the years of turmoil. But this growth is absolutely vital to an addicts recovery, there is simply no replacement for the support ones family can provide when there are healthy dynamics in place. So make no mistake about it, addiction is absolutely without a doubt a family disease.

Written by: Michael Lozovik R.R.W.

Happy Full Moon to you.  I found this quote on the Bill Wilson facebook page (yes…he has one) .  I guess he’s still giving it away.  Anyway for this week, I thought I would share his quote on meditation.

Bill Wilson We usually conclude the period of meditation with a prayer that we be shown all through the day what our next step is to be, that we be given whatever we need to take care of such problems. We ask especially for freedom from self-will, and are careful to make no request for ourselves only. We may ask for ourselves, however, if others will be helped. We are careful never to pray for our own selfish ends.

I hope you found that useful.

Warmly,  Laura

Warmly,  Laura

Warmly, Laura

Warmly,  Laura

This is even more true because I work with the body.  JL Moreno, the founder of psychodrama, said, “The body remembers what the mind forgets.”  People often have memories in their bodies - a feeling, a sensation - and they can’t attach the story to it.  Our bodies and minds work brilliantly together to protect us from pain and harm, and there are some things that we just don’t want to remember.  Our bodies also help us to disconnect, or dissociate, from painful memories, thoughts and experiences.

When we use a method like Psychodramatic Bodywork® - a combination of psychodrama and the principles of Chinese medicine - we go deep into the wounding that we’ve experienced, and can clear it much faster.  I co-facilitated a workshop using this method this past weekend, and the 3 days of work we did together was like 5 years of therapy for each person in that room.  It was extraordinary.  And the clearing of the pain and trauma by the participants will allows them to step more fully into their own power and connection to spirit, because we’ve removed the fear block and allowed them to come into their truth.

Part of that connection to spirit is learning how to trust our intuition.  For many of us, intuition - that deep sense of knowing - was “taken away” from us early on with messages like, “No, that’s not what you’re feeling, you’re feeling this…”  As we get more grounded in our bodies and more connected to spirit, we begin to trust that knowing and begin to follow through on the spiritual direction that is given.  And isn’t that what recovery is all about?

I am finding that when I’m the most anxious - like when I’m flying - if I can sit still and breathe and just practice being in the moment, I’m okay.  Fear is always future oriented.  It’s not the turbulence that’s already happened that I’m afraid of, it’s the turbulence that I’m anxiously anticipating is going to happen that causes me distress.  It also helps me to visualize my outcome.  For example, on my flight to St. Louis, I kept visualizing a safe and smooth flight, a safe touch down and then meeting my friends at that airport and hugging them.  There were a few moments of turbulence where I came back to that visualization and breathed deeply in and out, and it served to calm me down.

Another thing that I’ll often do in moments of difficulty is to offer myself an “open faced heart sandwich”, a technique invented by my teacher, Susan Aaron, who created he method of Psychodramatic Bodywork ®.  I place one hand over my heart and the other hand over my bladder (just above my pubic bone) and just breathe.  In Chinese medicine, the bladder meridian is connected to fear, so when I place a hand over my bladder, I am offering my body comfort in a time of anxiety.  Try it some time - it really works!

I would love to hear some comments about what other calming techniques people use, especially in these challenging times.

I wish you serenity in your life - one day at a time.