Mark S

If you want Recovered Podcast to come to you so you can share your story with us, please reach out to mark@recoveredcast.com and let me know.  We would love to come to your roundup, your conference, your event, your open talk….whatever, we want to carry your message to the person who still suffers.

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
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There was a time when we ignored trouble, hoping it would go away, or ran from it. But we always were left stuck to it. In AA, we learned that trouble is just a fact of life. We had to learn how to deal with it. Surprisingly, we found that trouble could converted into blessings.

In recovery, nothing is wasted. Through failure, we learn a lesson in humility which is probably needed, painful though it is.

Bill Wilson once wrote:

Great suffering and great love are AA disciplinarians; we need no others.

Pain is the touchstone of spiritual progress. The pains of alcoholism had to come before sobriety and emotional turmoil before serenity.

AA was born out of trouble, the trouble that is the fatal malady of alcoholism. Every single one of us came into AA in trouble, that is why we came.

Tonight, we talk about dealing with trouble in recovery.

I have trouble with the equipment

First thoughts?

Did you come into recovery with trouble?
Did you think the 12 steps could help?
What did you want out of AA when you first came in?
What did you actually receive?

How does your spirituality help you with trouble?
How does prayer help?
How do you pray?
How do you meditate?
What is the difference for you?
How do you know if you are going to pray or meditate?

What have you learned from trouble?
How have you changed because of trouble?

What troubles are dealing with today?
What step, prayer, slogan, what part of the program are you working to help?

What would you say to the new guy about trouble?

Check out this episode!

If you want Recovered Podcast to come to you so you can share your story with us, please reach out to mark@recoveredcast.com and let me know.  We would love to come to your roundup, your conference, your event, your open talk….whatever, we want to carry your message to the person who still suffers.

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

Call Us Now  http://recoveredcast.com/speakpipe

This is a short episode with my mobile studio.  The same mobile setup I plan to use as we try to go on the road with Recovered Podcast. 

Today, I talk about my Higher Power and trying to be ok with him right now.  Not easy….

Check out this episode!

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

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There are a variety of characteristics that make up what we refer to as “spirituality,” but it seems to me that tolerance stands out as one of the primary things we need to work on in recovery. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines tolerance as

2. sympathy or indulgence for beliefs or practices differing from or conflicting with one’s own.

important for recovering people to remember.

We addicts know The Way Things Ought To Be. We tend to be hard-headed, opinionated and prone to black and white thinking.

Generally, we are solidly for or against things, and rarely see the world in shades of gray.

First to mind?
What were you thinking on the way over?

What does tolerance mean to you in your recovering program? (to permit)

Why is tolerance important in recovery? (respect for the other)
Page 84: open
…fear. When these crop up, we ask God at once to remove them. We discuss them with someone immediately and make amends quickly if we have harmed anyone. Then we resolutely turn our thoughts to someone we can help. Love and tolerance of others is our code. And we have ceased fighting anything or anyone – even alcohol.

When have you been intolerant?
What gets in the way of being tolerant? (control, selfishness)

What is needed for you to be olerant (love/charity)
Page 122: open
All members of the family should meet upon the common ground of tolerance, understanding and love. This involves a process of deflation.

How is tolerance important to you and your home group?
Page 19: open
Nothing would please us so much as to write a book which would contain no basis for contention or argument. We shall do our utmost to achieve that ideal. Most of us sense that real tolerance of other people’s shortcomings and viewpoints and a respect for their opinions are attitudes which make us more useful to others. Our very lives, as ex-problem drinkers, depend upon our constant thought of others and how we may help meet their needs.

Is tolerance a spiritual principle for you?
Page 83: open
Their defects may be glaring, but the chances are that our own actions are partly responsible. So we clean house with the family, asking each morning in meditation that our Creator show us the way of patience, tolerance, kindliness and love. The spiritual life is not a theory. We have to live it. Unless one’s family expresses a desire to live upon spiritual principles we think we ought not to urge them.

Page 67: open
…Though we did not like their symptoms and the way these disturbed us, they, like ourselves, were sick too. We asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience that we would cheerfully grant a sick friend.

Page 70: open
We have commenced to see their terrible destructiveness. We have begun to learn tolerance, patience and good will toward all men, even our enemies, for we look on them as sick people. We have listed the people we have hurt by our conduct, and are willing to straighten out the past if we can. In this book you read?

How has your tolerance grown?

What is the difference between codependency and tolerance?

Page 125: open
We do talk about each other a great deal, but we almost invariably temper such talk by a spirit of love and tolerance. Another principle we observe carefully is that we do not relate intimate experiences of another person unless we are sure he would approve. We find it better, when possible, to stick to our own stories.

We Have calls and
Tonight’s call are brought to you by
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________________________________________________________
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hand-selected coffees delivered
FRESH to your doorstep from
America’s top local roasters.

If you want premium coffee delivered to your door
And you want to help the podcast

Well, act right now …
If you act now, you, our Recovered Listener will receive

? your very own FREE bag of freshly roasted coffee.
? and you Pay only $3.97 for shipping.

Just go over to
recoveredcast.com/coffee

And start receiving premium coffee beans delivered right to your door.

Check out this episode!

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

Call Us Now  http://recoveredcast.com/speakpipe

Tonight’s show is Recovered on the Road from Columbus Ohio at author Annie Highwater’s book signing party as she launches her new book “Unbroken.”  

Addiction, conflict, and dysfunction can destroy any family.  But even in the depths of adversity and despair, there is hope.  Annie’s new book “Unbroken”share how we can learn to cope and overcome many pitfalls.  

We interview Annie at Outside the Lines Art Museum located inn German Village located in Columbus, Ohio.

Contact Annie for any questions:

annieunhooked@gmail.com

Check out this episode!

Our Premium Members are the reason why the Recovered Podcast is still online.  Please consider upgrading today.

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

Call and leave a message and become part of the show

http://recoveredcast.com/speakpipe

This episode was recorded from my new mobile studio.

One of the most common discussions I have with my clients is when they can start trusting their loved one again. Here are what some of the components look like in making that decision.
An enormous part of your loved ones’ recovery process and progress is built around them starting to pull themselves up by their own boot straps. Making decisions, weighing options, thinking through possibilities and starting to re-build their life on their terms, their way all starts with repaving the road of trust.

The more your loved one can come up with their own game plan, the more confidence will be built in their personal recovery as well as their addiction recovery. The alcoholic/addict needs to reconnect with themselves, and start to trust their own core instincts for planning and developing a road map toward their goals. Even if you don’t agree with the path they wish to take, or if ultimately it turns out to be the wrong one, let them be the lead Iditarod dog.

One of the first steps the recovering alcoholic/addict should commit to is starting to earn back the trust that was lost due to their addiction. Not only your trust, but the personal challenges in rebuilding their own trust for themselves.

I have created an acronym for what the family and friends of the alcoholic/addict should be experiencing as their loved ones’ recovery process strengthens:

Check out this episode!

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

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To “live one day at a time” is to focus on the present moment, and not worry about the past or future. We recovering individuals, we all have felt some guilt and shame about our past, and this can be a trigger to use. Also, we recovering individuals may be unsure about our future and anxious about the unknown, which can also be a trigger to use. Focusing on the present moment allows us to work on developing useful coping skills now, so that we can be prepared for the future and able to handle the past.

Tonight we will talk about a useful coping skill
Tonight, we talk about living
One Day at a Time

First Thoughts

What does this slogan mean to you today?

When you were new, did you worry about the future, why?
Did this slogan help? How and why, talk to the new person.

When you were new, did you worry about the past?

When did you first hear this slogan?
What did it mean to you in early recovery?
How did it help?
How can this slogan help the new person?

Today, do you worry about the future? Why?
Today, do you worry about the past? Why?

How can this slogan help with guilt and shame?
How does this slogan help you keep a positive attitude?
How does a positive attitude help your recovery?

What is the Serenity Prayer?
Can this help?

Why are goals important to your recovery?
What are some coping skills you have developed in recovery?

This slogan helps us focus on one problem at a time, how does this help your recovery?
This slogan helps us to stay in the moment, how does this help your recovery?
This slogan helps us to stay present, why is this important?

We Have calls and
Tonight’s call are brought to you by
Stay Roasted Coffee
________________________________________________________
Stay Roasted
custom coffee plans provide
hand-selected coffees delivered
FRESH to your doorstep from
America’s top local roasters.

If you want premium coffee delivered to your door
And you want to help the podcast

Well, act right now …
If you act now, you, our Recovered Listener will receive

? your very own FREE bag of freshly roasted coffee.
? and you Pay only $3.97 for shipping.

Just go over to
recoveredcast.com/coffee

And start receiving premium coffee beans delivered right to your door.

First call up is?.

Check out this episode!

These weekend episodes are typically reserved for our Premium Subscribers.  Our Premium Members are the reason why the Recovered Podcast is still online.  Please consider upgrading today.

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

Call and leave a message and become part of the show

http://recoveredcast.com/speakpipe

Check out this episode!

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

Call Us Now  http://recoveredcast.com/speakpipe

The Twelve Traditions are the principles that keep 12-step support groups focused on their primary task of fellowship. The Twelve Traditions serve as the framework by which the internal operations of all 12-step programs operate.

As the Twelve Steps lay the spiritual path of recovery for individual members, the Twelve Traditions provide the principles that keep the group healthy and grounded. This is best exemplified by Tradition One which states:

“Our common welfare should come first; personal progress depends upon AA unity.”

The underlying principle is simple: if the group is drawn into controversy or becomes dominated by individuals, the unity of the group will be jeopardized.
The aim of Tradition One is to ensure cohesion while honoring all voices in an open dialogue.

First thoughts?

What does unity mean to you?

Unity Definition: joined as a whole.

What is it that provides the “cohesion” that keeps your groups “joined?”
Common experience of alcoholism?
Caring for others?
Commitment?

12 and 12 suggests that conformity to the AA principles is the key to unity.
But what principles?
12 & 12 says faith and good works.
Other Principles:
Honesty
Hope
Faith
Courage
Integrity
Willingness
Humility
Brotherly Love
Discipline
Perseverance
Spirituality and Service

12 & 12 says that Unity is the most cherished quality our society has.
Do you see this attitude in your home group?
How?

How can we cherish unity and not pay attention to the individual?

12 & 12 says most individual cannot recovery without the group.
What is your reaction to this?

How do you help with unity in your group?

How do you handle it when you are in the minority opinion?

How is unity expressed in your meetings?
How is unity expressed in your group conscience meetings?
Can you have unity at a meeting if that meeting does not have group conscience meetings?

How does diverse opinions help unity in a group?
What are the dangers to a group if the is sameness of opinion?
How can conflict resolution help unity in a group?
What can you do if you strongly disagree with the direction of a group which is being legitimately lead by group conscience?

How can you practice tradition 1 in your life?
How can you practice tradition 1 in your work life?
How can you practice tradition 1 in your family?

Check out this episode!

These weekend episodes are typically reserved for our Premium Subscribers.  Our Premium Members are the reason why the Recovered Podcast is still online.  Please consider upgrading today.

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

Call and leave a message and become part of the show

http://recoveredcast.com/speakpipe

Check out this episode!

Our generous Recovered Podcast Community allows us to be self supporting and not rely on outside contributions.  If you would like to join us, there are two ways.

1. Episode Sponsorship  We will recognize you by first name only at the top, mid, and end of the episode.  Any amount will qualify.
2. Premium Membership  This is the single most effective way to support the show.  Watch the video in its entirety and learn how to become Premium

Call Us Now  http://recoveredcast.com/speakpipe

If there’s one thing that I know for certain, it is that when I finally became willing to turn myself over to the program, my entire life changed. When the people in the rooms say that all we need is honesty, open mindedness, and willingness, they aren’t kidding. I personally felt that I actually just needed willingness because that willingness is what lead to open-mindedness, and eventually lead to honesty.

Willingness can be defined as being eagerly compliant. For me, Willingness means embracing change rather than fighting it.

It is not possible for people to find success in recovery unless they are willing to put in the necessary effort. In order for recovery to take hold, there needs to be a powerful driving force supporting it. This power is provided by the willingness to change.

First to mind?

Willingness seems to be the beginning to recovery

Read big book and as bill sees it

How willing were you the first time you came into AA?
Why or why not?
Is there a relationship between willingness and desperation?
The expression, “the gift of desperation”, what does that mean?

Have you ever tried to get clean for someone else?
How did that work?

Did you ever experience the desire to get clean and have a desire to keep using at the same time?

What about expectations and willingness? Is there a relationship?
What is the problem with too high of expectation?
How about too low of expectation?

What were your expectations of AA?

How can a pink cloud be dangerous?
Is a pink cloud a bad thing?

What about the steps and willingness?
What slogan speaks to you about willingness?
What prayer helps with willingness?
What tradition helps your willingness?

WE HAVE CALLS

Check out this episode!