Recovery Road

A pair of short meditations selected from early March entries in two of Hazelden Publishing's popular meditation series of books: Walk in Dry Places, written by Mel B., and Days of Healing, Days of Joy, written by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty. Today's Meditation Monday selections are gathered around the theme of self-reflection, self-awareness, and sharing.

In her book A Woman's Way Through the Twelve Steps, Dr. Stephanie Covington explores the Twelve Steps through the lens of women's experiences with addiction and recovery. The following excerpt invites us to reconsider the word "powerless" as it's used in the First Step: "We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable."

The selections for this last Meditation Monday of February come from some of Hazelden's beloved recovery resources: Easy Does It, In God's Care, and A Woman's Spirit. Together, these three meditations can help us focus on connecting with our Higher Power and keeping faith in the promises of recovery.

In his book, Drop the Rock—The Ripple Effect, Fred H. describes how the habits and practices that we build as we work a Twelve Step program of recovery create positive effects in us that ripple outward into our relationships and beyond. This excerpt focuses on the importance of understanding and embracing the Steps not as ideas to be learned but as activities that give shape to our lives.

The selections for this mid-February Meditation Monday come from three of Hazelden's popular recovery resources: A Life of My Own, Today's Gift, and Twenty-Four Hours a Day. Together, these meditations focus on releasing control of outcomes and finding serenity through acceptance and the assistance of our Higher Power.

In her book The Recovering Heart: Emotional Sobriety for Women, Beverly Conyers explores emotional sobriety, or healing, by addressing many of the behaviors and feelings that come with early recovery. Although this book is written for women, this excerpt will likely resonate many of us.

The selections for this mid-month Meditation Monday come from some of Hazelden's bestselling recovery resources: Walk in Dry Places, Answers in the Heart, and Keepers of the Wisdom. Together, these three meditations focus on serenity and patience, especially as we interpret the things that happen to us and receive feedback from others.

In their book What Went Right: Reframe Your Thinking for a Happier Now, Michael Wetter and Eileen Bailey provide easy-to-understand ways to recognize and interrupt self-defeating thought processes. This includes our rigid black and white thinking and our problems with managing expectations.

The selections for this first Meditation Monday in February come from a trio of Hazelden's enduringly popular recovery resources: Answers in the Heart, Twenty-Four Hours a Day, and The Promise of a New Day. Together, today's three meditations invite us to claim our basic goodness and the positive value we share as human beings—even as we seek to improve our lives and our relationships in recovery.

In her book Sex in Recovery: A Meeting Between the Covers, Jennifer Matesa explores the challenges people encounter when navigating sex and romance while living in recovery. She creates a space for a vital, new dialogue about sexuality and intimacy. Many people may believe that sex is not a factor in their recovery. Matesa explains how important it actually is.