Sadly, chances are we will waste our gifts or miss our messages if we are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs. How can we hear God when we are out of our minds from alcohol or other drugs? Or, maybe we might manage to hear God, but are too incapacitated to take action how will we ever be of service? We won’t, at least not consistently enough to feel like we are both fulfilled and fulfilling

Thoughts are automatic, they just happen. We cannot control a thought before it occurs. People say, “Change your thoughts, change your life”. This is true! Changing our thoughts can change our lives. But until we recognize our thought patterns, we cannot change our thoughts. Thoughts are like habits; they have become engrained because we have repeated them so many times.

Acceptance of our emotions does not mean that we don’t challenge our emotions. We are much more capable of challenging our emotions when we don’t judge them as good or bad. Feelings just ARE. Feelings are messengers alerting us that something has happened to us. Remaining neutral by observing our emotions and getting curious about them is a better approach than judging them.

The Christmas holiday season can be a very hard time for people who are early in recovery from substance abuse. For people who are still learning how to be free from using alcohol or other drugs, the holidays are full of hurdles they must clear to remain sober. Chances are we have spent dozens of Christmases in the past drinking or using other drugs to celebrate the holiday (or to dull the pain of the season). This means the season is full of triggers.

Nowcovery principle two has been developed from observing multitudes of people overcome obstacles and barriers to live a life that they feel happy about living. It is not the business of outsiders to judge someone else’s life to determine if it has improved to an “acceptable” level. We don’t know another’s story, nor do we know what they are going through internally. Nowcovery empowers us to determine if changes need to be made in our own lives, as well as determine whether we want to make those changes. However, we must be willing to conduct an honest inventory of our situations and behaviors.

Anyone who is in long-term recovery from alcoholism has at some point had to do some deep searching within themselves to find an answer to this question. People can become obsessed with knowing, “am I an alcoholic or do I just really like to drink”? For many, they won’t seek help until they know the answer to this question.

Principle number one of Nowcovery™ is built upon the need for humans to live meaningful and fulfilling lives. So many of us have spent a lifetime running away from authenticity because to be authentic means you must know yourself.

Addiction lies to you in a voice that sounds like your own. It can sound logical because you are used to listening to it. It doesn’t strike you as a lie, or as odd, because you haven’t gotten the awareness you need to discern that it’s not you talking. All these comments above are addiction speaking.

I get this question from so many friends and family members of someone who has a drinking or other drug problem. “Why do I have to quit when they are the ones with the problem?” “I shouldn’t have to let go of alcohol; I am not the one that loses control.” And they very well may not have a drinking or other drug problem, but that doesn’t change my answer to them. My answer is yes, you do need to quit drinking or using drugs too. Here is why.

Who (or what) do you run to during these bottoms? Is this person/substance/process helpful? Is this person/substance/process saving you? The condition of your life will be reflective of what or who your savior is. Is your tree of life bearing fruit? Or is it desolate? Better question yet, how well is your soul?

It all begins with NOW

We all have a climb

Nowcovery group

Hearing your higher power