03.23.2022 - By The Recovery Show
What do you want to let go of? What is preventing you from completely letting go?
Eric was inspired by a meditation he heard on the Insight Timer app, titled She Let Go.
A very rough outline of our conversation follows:
* What does it mean to let go?
* Stop doing things that I don’t have the power to carry out (control someone else, e.g.)
* What am I letting go of?
* Resentment
* Anger
* Anxiety
* Blame
* Fear
* Shame
* Expectations
* Catastrophizing the future
* The past
* The need to be right, to win, to control
* Old behavior
* “Need” to react to triggers.
* Responsibility
* Dependence on others
* What tools do I have to help me let go?
* Slogans
* Let go and let God.
* How important is it?
* Would you rather be right or be happy?
* Easy does it. (let go of anxiety)
* One day at a time. (let go of worry)
* Live and let live – let go of trying to live someone else’s life for them and live my own
* Neutral responses
* You could be right.
* Oh.
* Random thoughts
* I have no dog in this fight.
* Not my circus, not my monkeys!
* Let go or be dragged.
* Meditation
* “Turned a 12-cylinder type A Leo into a 6 cylinder hybrid. Learned to slow down.”
* “Why?”
* “Drill down” to find something I can actually do something about. Example: I am afraid of my loved one’s drinking. Why? I am afraid that I will lose them. Why? I am afraid of being alone.
* When I let go of things I don’t like, I make room for new things (hopefully better things) to come in.
* Recognize “alcoholic” behaviors
* Provoke conflict
* Create anxiety
* When I let go of other people’s stuff, I can live my own life.
Readings and Links
We read from Reaching for Personal Freedom, the Step 1 chapter; Courage to Change, March 5.
The poem “She Let Go” was written by Safire Rose, and you can listen to it on Insight Timer, read by Jack Godsman.
Al-Anon books can be purchased online at the Al-Anon Store.
Patti asked about episodes on regaining trust. There are 3 about trust: How do you trust? – Episode 281, Trust and Trustworthy – Episode 228, and Trust – Episode 91. In addition, this search turns up other shows where trust was a topic in some respect: <a href="https://the...