Hi everyone!
I'm sober! 263 DAYS IN!!!! Yahoo....
I'm just checking in to let you all know that I've been living soberly strong!
I am truly blessed. I've made it through the summer without and ounce of alcohol to get in the way. I've made it to Vegas for 5 days without the booze. I've survived stress and I am learning to live one day at a time.... without alcohol. My Higher Power, my God has truly removed the burden and obsession of wanting alcohol from my life.
I continue to go to AA meetings at least 2-3 times per week and have made wonderful friends there.
I'm starting to sober "date"....lol It's been tough due to the fact that there aren't a huge supply of single sober men out there. But I'm patient.
I've been quite busy lately because I went from focussing on alcohol to focussing on my health. I've learned so many thing over the last 8 months and I am now sharing my health journey with people around the world. I'm even working with a lady from Egypt. I've been working on my Health Blog but haven't gotten it running yet. I do have a Facebook page and have decided to share it with you.
Sometimes, we just need a little boost to get our asses in gear to kickstart to the new life we've been wanting for so long. Sometimes, we have to turn our focus from the bad shit, and focus on the good shit.
Once I get things going with that, I hope to post more on this blog for newly sober people. There just doesn't seem to be enough time in a day!
I hope my sober friends are doing well.....
and I'd love to see you on the other side.... "the healthy, I got my power and nobody is going to stop me side."
Get rid of alcohol, and all possibilities come back to your life.
Showing posts with label Sober Living. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sober Living. Show all posts
Wednesday, 16 September 2015
Friday, 20 February 2015
...on Living Sober (Chapter 3)
Just working on my book study on "Living Sober." The link to the PDF file of this book is on the side bar. You are welcome to read this book with me and comment on my posts (called on Living Sober) about the readings in the book. I need to stay focused because I will not let my ego mind take over my soul again.
on Chapter 3...Using the 24-Hour Plan
Because alcoholism is permanent and irreversible, many of us have come to realize that we cannot make long-term promises about staying sober. The thought of quitting forever scares many of us because we rely on alcohol in so many ways. I strongly believe that when we learn to focus on staying sober in the moment or for one more day, it becomes much more manageable.
Every recovering alcoholic began with one sober hour. When we crave the drink and our heads become filled with thoughts of drinking, we can stop....breathe...and just wait.... an hour.....
So many things can be done in that hour of pause....
-exercise
-sleep
-read
-drive
-movie
-clean
-bath
-eat
-shop
-meditate
-call a friend
-call a sponsor
...and when that hour is up....why not try one more? What have we got to lose? What have we got to gain? We can start it fresh at any time. We can decide right then not to take a drink during the forthcoming 24 hours. We are empowered to continually renew ourselves, one moment at a time. ...and if we choose to be present during that sober hour, we focus. We try living in the now just in order to stay sober—and it works. Once the idea has become a part of our thinking, we find that living life in 24-hour segments is very effective and satisfying.
I am learning to breathe and live in the present moment. When I crave the drink, I pour myself a class of ice cold water. I suck it back like there's no tomorrow. I feel the coldness of the water go down my body and I know that it is good..... I then do something from the above list and focus on the task at hand....one hour at a time....one moment at a time.
"
Wednesday, 11 February 2015
...on Living Sober (Chapter 2)
Just working on my book study on "Living Sober." The link to the PDF file of this book is on the side bar. You are welcome to read this book with me and comment on my posts (called on Living Sober) about the readings in the book. I need to stay focused because I will not let my ego mind take over my soul again.
This is what I'm taking out of it....
on Chapter 2...Staying Away From The First Drink
I got a chuckle when I read this tonight. I'll admit that I read the book more than once and tonight as I read Chapter 2, something clicked. First, it was the fact that the last few times I read this part, I most likely wasn't present or mindful of what it was saying.... Second, I got it.
How many times have I quit drinking? How many times have I convinced myself that I could drink in moderation? How many times have I told myself that I could control it if I really wanted to? I can't answer these questions for the simple fact that it's been too many times.
This chapter tells us that many of us get scared when we decide to quit drinking. Planning to never drink again is probably one of the craziest thoughts that us alcoholics can even think of.... It's almost too difficult to even consider.....
How the hell are we supposed to live in this world without any alcohol, forever?? Our lives are surrounded by alcohol. Our lives are filled with anxiety and pressure from others to drink with them. How else are we supposed to deal with the stresses of every day life? This has always troubled me over the last many times I've tried to quit drinking. I get it now....when they say....stay away from that first drink!
Doctors have discovered that it is the first drink which triggers, immediately or some time later, the compulsion to drink more and more until we find ourselves going down the same path that we have been trying to avoid for so long....
I think that if we change the idea of never drinking again, which becomes an obsessive thought in our head... to.... Stay away from that FIRST drink... then things would be so much more manageable! If I don't pick up that first drink....I can't fail.... I won't have to worry about starting the cycle over.... you know the one.... the one that got me drinking maybe one or two..... then drinking only on weekends....then drinking every night, then drinking mornings to cure the hangover..... the no sleep, the disappointed children, the bags under the eyes, the unhealthy body.....that cycle!
The fact is ....after all of my efforts of trying to take alcohol out of my life for good, I now know that I just can't drink in moderation. Once I pick up that first drink....my life begins to spiral out of control again until the whole cycle begins and I get sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
So, tonight, I've convinced my thoughts and my ego that I'll just avoid that first drink. If someone offers one, I will say no. If I'm stressed, I will find something better to do. I'll pray. I'll meditate. I'll sleep. I'll eat.
....because I am spirit
....I am not my mind....
This is what I'm taking out of it....
on Chapter 2...Staying Away From The First Drink
I got a chuckle when I read this tonight. I'll admit that I read the book more than once and tonight as I read Chapter 2, something clicked. First, it was the fact that the last few times I read this part, I most likely wasn't present or mindful of what it was saying.... Second, I got it.
How many times have I quit drinking? How many times have I convinced myself that I could drink in moderation? How many times have I told myself that I could control it if I really wanted to? I can't answer these questions for the simple fact that it's been too many times.
This chapter tells us that many of us get scared when we decide to quit drinking. Planning to never drink again is probably one of the craziest thoughts that us alcoholics can even think of.... It's almost too difficult to even consider.....
How the hell are we supposed to live in this world without any alcohol, forever?? Our lives are surrounded by alcohol. Our lives are filled with anxiety and pressure from others to drink with them. How else are we supposed to deal with the stresses of every day life? This has always troubled me over the last many times I've tried to quit drinking. I get it now....when they say....stay away from that first drink!
Doctors have discovered that it is the first drink which triggers, immediately or some time later, the compulsion to drink more and more until we find ourselves going down the same path that we have been trying to avoid for so long....
I think that if we change the idea of never drinking again, which becomes an obsessive thought in our head... to.... Stay away from that FIRST drink... then things would be so much more manageable! If I don't pick up that first drink....I can't fail.... I won't have to worry about starting the cycle over.... you know the one.... the one that got me drinking maybe one or two..... then drinking only on weekends....then drinking every night, then drinking mornings to cure the hangover..... the no sleep, the disappointed children, the bags under the eyes, the unhealthy body.....that cycle!
The fact is ....after all of my efforts of trying to take alcohol out of my life for good, I now know that I just can't drink in moderation. Once I pick up that first drink....my life begins to spiral out of control again until the whole cycle begins and I get sick and tired of feeling sick and tired.
So, tonight, I've convinced my thoughts and my ego that I'll just avoid that first drink. If someone offers one, I will say no. If I'm stressed, I will find something better to do. I'll pray. I'll meditate. I'll sleep. I'll eat.
....because I am spirit
....I am not my mind....
Tuesday, 10 February 2015
...on Living Sober (Chapter 1)
I'm going to do a book study on "Living Sober." The link to the PDF file of this book is on the side bar. You are welcome to read this book with me and comment on my posts (called on Living Sober) about the readings in the book. I need to stay focused because I will not let my ego mind take over my soul again.
This is what I'm taking out of it....
on Chapter 1... Using this booklet
This short book offers us ways for living alcohol-free. Our drinking is connected to two types of habit...
thinking habits....and doing habits....
Our mind.... It works so hard at convincing us to care and worry or do so many things that mean nothing to us. It works so hard to take over our lives...our spirit and our souls. We must truly learn to divide the mind from the soul. When we make a choice to get healthy....then we must stick to it. We can't let our mind convince us otherwise just because it's so use to getting what it wants.
We have to change our "it's 3 o'clock...I had a long day at work and need a drink " thought to "it's 3 o'clock...I had a great day at work and now I will rest my mind and body so that I don't feel like shit in the morning because I decided to drink all friggen night and hurt the people around me" thought. Once we change the thought patterns that we use to have when we were drinking to new thought patterns that fit the new us....we begin to see change...peace....and serenity. We let the thoughts pass because we know that the new thoughts are so much better!
Our body....we are such people of habit. Many of us have trouble with change. I strongly believe that drinking has been such a habit for me. I don't even think I enjoyed it as much as I thought I did. Oh ...don't get me wrong... that first drink after a long day at work always brought me to that "foggy" place....the one that didn't allow me to "feel"..... but after that, I always regretted it....I slept like shit....My kids made me feel like shit....I felt exhausted....I felt lost....
I only did major clean ups with a glass of wine. I only cooked fancy meals with my glass of wine by my side. I did yard work with a cold beer by my side. I shovelled my driveway with really cold beer by my side. ...all habits! I almost didn't believe that I could do these things without booze by my side!! But, I can....and I've been..... and it's actually been wonderful. I almost feel like these "tasks" or "chores" are pleasant now. I feel more organized. I feel like I have more order in this house. I feel amazing that I was able to break some of my old habits. I've replaced my old habits with new, healthier ones ....drinking a lot of ice cold water...resting... running... sleeping... meditating..... living in the moment.....
I've read and heard that it takes 21 days to break a habit or create new ones. I'm not sure if this is true but I do know that the changes I have made in my life have become easier on me....on my mind....on my soul
We are free to chose.... We are empowered to make decisions that will bring us freedom.
I think the greatest thing I learned in the past 45 days of sobriety is that it's okay to be quiet. It's okay to sit on my couch and just listen to nothing....It's okay to "not" have TV or radio on... It's okay to just be still. When I was drinking, my life was "loud"....my mind was always working....my body was suffering....I wasn't present. Learning to feel again is the greatest gift I could have asked for. I truly already have everything I want and need in my life.
Eckhart Tolle says in his book "The Power of Now" that true wealth is the joy of Being and the deep peace that comes with it. If you haven't found it, you are like a beggar, looking outside for pleasure and fulfillment, validation, security and love. Treasure is within.
This is what I'm taking out of it....
on Chapter 1... Using this booklet
This short book offers us ways for living alcohol-free. Our drinking is connected to two types of habit...
thinking habits....and doing habits....
Our mind.... It works so hard at convincing us to care and worry or do so many things that mean nothing to us. It works so hard to take over our lives...our spirit and our souls. We must truly learn to divide the mind from the soul. When we make a choice to get healthy....then we must stick to it. We can't let our mind convince us otherwise just because it's so use to getting what it wants.
We have to change our "it's 3 o'clock...I had a long day at work and need a drink " thought to "it's 3 o'clock...I had a great day at work and now I will rest my mind and body so that I don't feel like shit in the morning because I decided to drink all friggen night and hurt the people around me" thought. Once we change the thought patterns that we use to have when we were drinking to new thought patterns that fit the new us....we begin to see change...peace....and serenity. We let the thoughts pass because we know that the new thoughts are so much better!
Our body....we are such people of habit. Many of us have trouble with change. I strongly believe that drinking has been such a habit for me. I don't even think I enjoyed it as much as I thought I did. Oh ...don't get me wrong... that first drink after a long day at work always brought me to that "foggy" place....the one that didn't allow me to "feel"..... but after that, I always regretted it....I slept like shit....My kids made me feel like shit....I felt exhausted....I felt lost....
I only did major clean ups with a glass of wine. I only cooked fancy meals with my glass of wine by my side. I did yard work with a cold beer by my side. I shovelled my driveway with really cold beer by my side. ...all habits! I almost didn't believe that I could do these things without booze by my side!! But, I can....and I've been..... and it's actually been wonderful. I almost feel like these "tasks" or "chores" are pleasant now. I feel more organized. I feel like I have more order in this house. I feel amazing that I was able to break some of my old habits. I've replaced my old habits with new, healthier ones ....drinking a lot of ice cold water...resting... running... sleeping... meditating..... living in the moment.....
I've read and heard that it takes 21 days to break a habit or create new ones. I'm not sure if this is true but I do know that the changes I have made in my life have become easier on me....on my mind....on my soul
We are free to chose.... We are empowered to make decisions that will bring us freedom.
I think the greatest thing I learned in the past 45 days of sobriety is that it's okay to be quiet. It's okay to sit on my couch and just listen to nothing....It's okay to "not" have TV or radio on... It's okay to just be still. When I was drinking, my life was "loud"....my mind was always working....my body was suffering....I wasn't present. Learning to feel again is the greatest gift I could have asked for. I truly already have everything I want and need in my life.
Eckhart Tolle says in his book "The Power of Now" that true wealth is the joy of Being and the deep peace that comes with it. If you haven't found it, you are like a beggar, looking outside for pleasure and fulfillment, validation, security and love. Treasure is within.
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