Centre for Substance Abuse Prevention & Care

20/10/2024

04/08/2022

*'Be Grateful'*

Lewis Howes, in his book ‘The School of Greatness’ talks about creating a grateful mindset which he calls an ‘Attitude of Gratitude’.
He goes on to say that ‘Life is better if you develop an attitude of gratitude’.

I just love this line, which comes from a quote by Melodie Beattie:
"Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.
It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
chaos to order,
confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
a house into a home,
a stranger into a friend."

And I would add this thought — that without gratitude, you can turn any paradise into hell.

Without gratitude, you will always walk away from the table still starving — no matter what measure of abundance has been laid before you.

Without gratitude,
every job is the worst job on earth,
every spouse is deficient, every friend lets you down, every home is on the wrong street,
every gift is the wrong size, every novel is full of typos, every mattress is uncomfortable,
every cup of coffee is too weak.

Without gratitude,
every choice you ever made will always feel like the wrong choice.

Without gratitude,
summers will always be too hot;
winters will always be too cold.
The music will always be too loud,
the movie will always suck, the teenagers will always be too rude.

Without gratitude, you will always feel you were born into the wrong family. Without gratitude,
the waiter will always be too slow,
and you will always get the worst seat on the plane.

Without gratitude, every driver on the road except you is an idiot.

Without gratitude,
life is A Misery.

*The alchemy of all alchemies —is gratitude.*

Even if we learn nothing else, we must learn how to say *THANK YOU* for the umpteen blessings we receive every day and Stay blessed forever.

11/07/2022

https://youtu.be/pvcV7kixo1Y

BBC World News host Yalda Hakim interacts with Sadhguru. Their conversation covers a spectrum of issues relevant today including religious violence, politica...

10/07/2022

July 10

A positive attitude

“That old nest of negativism followed me everywhere I went.”

Basic Text, p. 137

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A negative attitude is the trademark of active addiction. Everything that occurred in our lives was someone or something else’s fault. We had blaming others for our shortcomings down to a fine science. In recovery, one of the first things we strive to develop is a new attitude. We find that life goes a lot easier when we replace our negative thinking with positive principles.

While a negative attitude dogged us in our active addiction, all too often it can follow us into the rooms of Narcotics Anonymous. How can we begin to adjust our attitudes? By altering our actions. It isn’t easy, but it can be done.

We can start by listening to the way we talk. Before we open our mouths, we ask ourselves some simple questions: Does what I’m going to say speak to the problem, or the solution? Is what I’m going to say framed in a kind manner? Is what I have to say important, or would everyone be just as well off if I kept my mouth shut? Am I talking just to hear myself talk, or is there some purpose to my “words of wisdom”?

Our attitudes are expressed in our actions. Often, it’s not what we say, but the way we say it, that really matters. As we learn to speak in a more positive manner, we will notice our attitudes improving as well.

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Just for today: I want to be free of negativity. Today, I will speak and act positively.

09/07/2022

July 9

We do recover!

“...the time has come when that tired old lie, ‘Once an addict, always an addict,’ will no longer be tolerated by either society or the addict himself. We do recover.”

Basic Text, p. 89

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From time to time, we hear speakers share that they don’t really understand spiritual principles yet. They tell us that if we knew what went on in their minds, we’d be amazed at how insane they still are. They tell us that the longer they’re clean, the less they know about anything. In the next breath, these same speakers tell us about the profound changes recovery has made in their lives. They have moved from complete despair to unfailing hope, from uncontrollable drug use to total abstinence, from chronic unmanageability to responsibility through working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous. Which story is true? Do we or don’t we recover?

We may think we demonstrate humility or gratitude by underplaying the change that recovery has brought to our lives. True, we do injustice to the program when we take credit for this miracle ourselves. But we do an equal injustice—to ourselves and to those we share with—when we don’t acknowledge this miracle’s magnitude.

We do recover. If we have trouble seeing the miracle of recovery, we’d better look again. Recovery is alive and at work in Narcotics Anonymous—in our oldtimers, in the newcomers flooding our meetings, and most of all in ourselves. All we have to do is open our eyes.

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Just for today: I will acknowledge the miracle of my recovery and be grateful that I’ve found it.

07/07/2022

July 7

God in each other

“One aspect of our spiritual awakening comes through the new understanding of our Higher Power that we develop by sharing another addict’s recovery.”

Basic Text, p. 52

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We’ve heard it said that we often see God most clearly in one another. We see the truth of this when we practice our Twelfth Step. When we carry the recovery message to another addict, we sense the presence of a Power greater than ourselves. And as we watch the message take hold, we realize something else: It’s the message that brings recovery, not the messenger. A Higher Power, not our own power, is the source of the change that begins when we carry the message to a still-suffering addict.

As the message does its work, transforming the life of another addict, we see a Higher Power in action. We watch as acceptance and hope replace denial and despair. Before our very eyes, the first traces of honesty, open-mindedness, and willingness begin to appear. Something’s happening inside this person, something bigger and more powerful than either of us. We’re watching the God we’ve come to understand at work in someone’s life. We see the Higher Power in them. And we know with greater certainty than ever that this Higher Power is in us, too, as the force driving our recovery.

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Just for today: As I carry the message of recovery to other addicts, I will try to pay attention to the Power behind the message. Today, as I watch other addicts recover, I will try to recognize the God in them so I can better recognize the God in myself.

02/07/2022

Just For Today
July 2
Comparing

"Our personal stories may vary in individual pattern, but in the end we all have the same thing in common."

Basic Text, p.84

We addicts are a varied bunch, coming from different backgrounds, having used different drugs, and recalling different experiences. Our differences don't disappear in recovery; for some, those differences become even more pronounced. Freedom from active addiction gives us the freedom to be ourselves, as we truly are. The fact that we are all recovering doesn’t mean that we all necessarily have the same needs or goals. Each of us has our own lessons to learn in recovery.

With so many differences from one addict to the next, how do we help one another in recovery and how do we use each other's experience? We come together to share our lives in light of the principles of recovery. Though our lives are different, the spiritual principles we apply are the same. It is by the light of these principles, shining through our differences, that we illuminate one another's way on our individual paths.

We all have two things in common: addiction and recovery. When we listen carefully, we hear others tell of suffering from the same disease we have suffered from, regardless of their specific backgrounds. When we open our ears, we hear other addicts talk of applying spiritual principles that promise hope to us as well, regardless of our personal goals.

Just for today: I have my own path to follow, yet I'm grateful for the fellowship of others who've suffered from addiction and who are learning to apply the principles of recovery, just like me.

25/06/2022

June 25

Not just lucky

“The process of coming to believe restores us to sanity. The strength to move into action comes from this belief.”

Basic Text, p. 25

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Coming to believe is a process that stems from personal experience. Each of us has this experience; all addicts who find recovery in NA have solid evidence of a benevolent Power acting for good in their lives. Those of us who are recovering today, after all, are the fortunate ones. Many, many addicts die from our disease, never to experience what we have found in Narcotics Anonymous.

The process of coming to believe involves a willingness to recognize miracles for what they are. We share the miracle of being here clean, and each of us has other miracles that await only our acknowledgment. How many car accidents or overdoses or other near-catastrophes have we survived? Can we look back at our lives and see that we were not just “lucky”? Our experience in recovery, too, gives us examples of a Higher Power working for our good.

When we can look back at the evidence of a loving Higher Power acting on our behalf, it becomes possible to trust that this Higher Power will continue to help us in the future. And trust offers us the strength to move forward.

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Just for today: My recovery is more than coincidence. My strength comes from the knowledge that my Higher Power has never let me down and will continue to guide me.

22/06/2022

June 22

Accepting life as it is

“In our recovery, we find it essential to accept reality. Once we can do this, we do not find it necessary to use drugs in an attempt to change our perceptions.”

Basic Text, p. 90

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Drugs used to buffer us from the full force of life. When we stop using drugs and enter recovery, we find ourselves confronted directly with life. We may experience disappointment, frustration, or anger. Events may not happen the way we want them to. The self-centeredness we cultivated in our addiction has distorted our perceptions of life; it is difficult to let go of our expectations and accept life as it is.

We learn to accept our lives by working the Twelve Steps of Narcotics Anonymous. We discover how to change our attitudes and let go of character defects. We no longer need to distort the truth or to run from situations. The more we practice the spiritual principles contained in the steps, the easier it becomes to accept life exactly as it comes to us.

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Just for today: I will practice self-acceptance by practicing the Twelve Steps.

20/06/2022

June 20

Meditation for beginners

“For some, prayer is asking for God’s help; meditation is listening for God’s answer.... Quieting the mind through meditation brings an inner peace that brings us into contact with the God within us.”

Basic Text, pp. 46-47

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“Be patient when you’re learning to meditate,” many of us were told. “It takes practice to know what to ‘listen’ for.”

We’re glad someone told us that, or many of us would have quit after a week or two of meditating. For the first few weeks, we may have sat each morning, stilled our thoughts, and “listened,” just as the Basic Text said—but “heard” nothing. It may have taken a few more weeks before anything really happened. Even then, what happened was often barely noticeable. We were rising from our morning meditations feeling just a little better about our lives, a little more empathy for those we encountered during the day, and a little more in touch with our Higher Power.

For most of us, there was nothing dramatic in that awareness—no bolts of lightning or claps of thunder. Instead, it was something quietly powerful. We were taking time to get our egos and our ideas out of the way. In that clear space, we were improving our conscious contact with the source of our daily recovery, the God of our understanding. Meditation was new, and it took time and practice. But, like all the steps, it worked—when we worked it.

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Just for today: I will practice “listening” for knowledge of God’s will for me, even if I don’t know what to “listen” for yet.

15/06/2022

*THE FALLEN FLOWERS 🌺 *
Running is a usual affair. The beauty about running is, I see life happening around me. And every morning I will see an elderly gentlemen picking up flowers fallen under the tree and neatly keep in a basket, meant for temple visits. His activity was making me curious.

One fine morning I saw him again, and decided to quench my curiosity, “why does he pick up fallen flowers, while I see a whole other elderly crowd, plucking fresh flowers”.

I asked him, Uncle, I always see you picking up these freshly fallen flowers from the ground. What do you do with them?

I use it to worship deities and gods in my house, he replied calmly.

Now this was new. Haven’t heard anything like this before. So, I asked him again, “Why will you put fallen flowers, when there are plenty on the plant itself?”.

I am helping the flowers fulfil their purpose, to be with the God in their last days. They also have life, they also want to be with God like you and me in our last days, isn’t it, he asked me. I just nodded and he continued.

People pluck the buds which have not even bloomed, and some only pluck the one’s which has just bloomed, not even letting them release their fragrance. Everyone takes what’s beautiful and leaves the plant stripped off its beauty. See, how these plants look like, stripped and deserted.

He continued, every flower has a purpose, to be with the God. While everyone takes away what’s there on the plant, I choose to pick them up. It’s not their fault that they fell down. They also deserve to be with God.

You also try it, you will find peace and happiness in doing it. I find it, that’s why I did it. I am too old support anyone, but I can help these flowers meet their destiny.

I could just nod, smile, wished him luck and continued my run.

While I was running, my head was also running. With this new inspiration and thought, I decided that let me also try picking up fallen flowers for worshipping.

I crossed a hibiscus tree and saw few flowers fallen under the tree. As I bent down to pick up, I heard a voice.

“You don’t put fallen flowers to God”, it was my Mom speaking to in my head, and then I stopped for a second.

“God is only looking for your emotion & devotion towards him, so go ahead and pick up”, it was again my Mom speaking to me in my head.

After much deliberation and looking at both sides, I picked the flowers and put it in my palms. I could feel goose bumps and my heart started racing. It was a very different kind of love I was feeling inside my body for these flowers.

I got them home, washed them and placed them where they deserved, at the feet of God.

This entire experience was overwhelming. I felt good and nice about myself. I felt as if I have saved someone’s life or helped someone come out of misery. I had never felt this level of contentment before with flowers atleast. And I feel, I will continue to do this. *Pick up who has fallen down.*

In life, we always want to be around nice and beautiful people. We want to see ourselves with people who belong to our stature, and look down on people below our stature.

But, the real satisfaction comes when we help someone and make their life better. Be it a human, animal, bird or any other form of life.

So, why not flowers, THE FALLEN FLOWERS 🌸
🙏🏻😇🌷

14/06/2022

June 15

Resistance to change

“Many of us cling to our fears, doubts, self-loathing, or hatred because there is a certain distorted security in familiar pain. It seems safer to embrace what we know than to let go of it for the unknown.”

Basic Text, p. 34

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We have often heard it said that “when the pain of remaining the same becomes greater than the pain of changing, we will change.” Our fear can keep us from growing, afraid to end relationships, change careers, attend new meetings, begin new friendships, or attempt anything out of the ordinary. We stay in situations that are no longer working far longer than we have to simply because what is familiar feels safer than the unknown.

Any change involves overcoming fear. “What if I’m alone forever?” we might think if we consider leaving our lover. “What if I find out I’m incompetent?” we may wonder when we contemplate changing careers. We may balk at attending new meetings because we will have to reach out. Our minds manufacture a hundred excuses for remaining right where we are, afraid to try something new.

We find that most of our pain comes not from change but from resistance to change. In NA, we learn that change is how we move forward in our lives. New friends, new relationships, new interests and challenges will replace the old. With these new things in our lives, we find new joys and loves.

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Just for today: I will release the old, embrace the new, and grow.