Recovery

Mindfulness is the basic human ability to be fully present, aware of where we are and what we’re doing, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us. While mindfulness is something we all naturally possess, it’s more readily available to us when we practice on a daily basis.

There is more than one way to practice mindfulness, but the goal of any mindfulness technique is to achieve a state of alert, focused relaxation by deliberately paying attention to thoughts and sensations without judgment. This allows the mind to refocus on the present moment.

Benefits of Mindfulness Getting Started

Basic mindfulness meditation

Sit quietly and focus on your natural breathing or on a word or “mantra” that you repeat silently. Allow thoughts to come and go without judgment and return to your focus on breath or mantra.

Body sensations

Notice subtle body sensations such as an itch or tingling without judgment and let them pass. Notice each part of your body in succession from head to toe.

Sensory

Notice sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and touches. Name them “sight,” “sound,” “smell,” “taste,” or “touch” without judgment and let them go.

Emotions

Allow emotions to be present without judgment. Practice a steady and relaxed naming of emotions: “joy,” “anger,” “frustration.” Accept the presence of the emotions without judgment and let them go.

Urge Surfing

Cope with cravings (for addictive substances or behaviors) and allow them to pass. Notice how your body feels as the craving enters. Replace the wish for the craving to go away with the certain knowledge that it will subside.

*If you have a medical condition, you may prefer a medically oriented program that incorporates meditation. Ask your physician or hospital about local groups. Insurance companies increasingly cover the cost of meditation instruction.*

Gently redirect

If your mind wanders into planning, daydreaming or criticism, notice where it has gone and gently redirect it to sensations in the present.

Whenever you bring awareness to what you’re directly experiencing via your senses, or to your state of mind via your thoughts and emotions, you’re being mindful. And there’s growing research showing that when you train your brain to be mindful, you’re actually remodeling the physical structure of your brain.

All mindfulness techniques are a form of meditation. Meditation is exploring; not a fixed destination. Your head doesn’t become vacuumed free of thought, utterly undistracted. It’s a special place where each and every moment is momentous.

When we meditate we venture into the workings of our minds:

• Our Sensations: Air blowing on our skin or a harsh smell wafting into the room.
• Our Emotions: Love this, hate that, crave this, loathe that
• Thoughts: Wouldn’t it be weird to see an elephant playing a trumpet.

Getting Started

Things to Remember…

Go with the flow.

In mindfulness meditation, once you establish concentration, you observe the flow of inner thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations without judging them as good or bad.

Pay attention.

You also notice external sensations such as sounds, sights, and touch that make up your moment-to-moment experience. The challenge is not to latch onto a particular idea, emotion, or sensation, or to get caught in thinking about the past or the future. Instead, you watch what comes and goes in your mind and discover which mental habits produce a feeling of well-being or suffering.

Stay with it.

At times, this process may not seem relaxing at all, but over time it provides a key to greater happiness and self-awareness as you become comfortable with a wider and wider range of your experiences.

Practice acceptance

Above all, meditation practice involves accepting whatever arises in your awareness at each moment. It involves being kind and forgiving toward yourself. By practicing accepting your experience during meditation, it becomes easier to accept whatever comes your way during the rest of your day.

Spirituality and recovery go hand-in-hand. Spirituality connects us to a power greater than ourselves.

While the two are often closely linked, spirituality does not need to be defined through the lens of religion.

Religion is a set of beliefs, rituals or practices regarding a belief in God or multiple gods. On the other hand, spirituality is more of a personal search for meaning in life and a connection with the universe or something greater than ourselves.

Although some people share their spirituality through religion, this form of expression doesn’t work for everyone. Others practice their spirituality through meditation, yoga, tai chi, spending time in nature or any number of more holistic methods. Regardless of how you choose to express your spirituality, your practice should always be grounded in love and compassion while guiding you closer to your purpose in life.

The Role of Spirituality

Anyone can benefit from spiritual practices, but the search for meaning is particularly important for those struggling with addiction.

When incorporated into the recovery process, spirituality can help people understand themselves, connect to a greater sense of purpose and stay dedicated to sobriety.

Regular spiritual practice can:

• Increase compassion, empathy and attention: Contemplative practices — like meditation, gratitude, devotionals and yoga — encourage inner reflection, which can allow you to understand yourself and others more fully and generously. These practices can also help you pay more attention to and appreciate life’s little pleasures.
• Improve your sense of connectedness: Spiritual communities such as churches, meditation groups or even yoga classes can be sources of social support, providing people with a sense of belonging, security and community. Because your spiritual community is comprised of people who share similar values, it also offers an opportunity to form strong, deeply fulfilling friendships. This doesn’t just improve your mental state — it can actually boost your physical health.
• Help you live a healthier life: Many spiritual traditions have rules about treating the body with kindness and respect. This can include avoiding potentially harmful behaviors, such as eating specific foods, drinking in excess or smoking. By connecting these practices to a larger spiritual purpose, you’re more likely to stick to them and make healthier choices.
• Encourage you to work through negative emotions: Letting go of negative emotions like blame, anger, jealousy and frustration is an important part of many spiritual traditions. These emotions are inevitable, but keeping them in check doesn’t just improve your mood and overall well-being; it also benefits you physically. Lower amounts of negative emotions have been linked to longer lifespans, improved immune function, lowered blood pressure and better cardiovascular health.
• Make it easier to overcome hardships: A spiritual framework can help you make sense of life’s more difficult events, and even enables you to find meaning and growth in them. Recognizing the universality of suffering and pain can allow you to see hardships as part of the shared human experience.

Recovery & Spirituality

Have you ever asked yourself, “I can’t believe I just did that?!?” Why are you using “I” twice in the same sentence about the one “you?” It is because there are two intellects going on at the same time inside of you. If you have addiction or another mental health concern, trusting the intellect can often cause pain and suffering.

Going to the heart or the Soul can bring freedom and peace. The Soul is fed by prayer.

Prayer

Prayer is simple the act of connecting with a Higher Power than yourself, which is a central part of most 12-step Recovery Programs and the Peaceful Warrior’s Way.

To get started you may choose to recite the Serenity Prayer to yourself or out loud. Those in Recovery cite the Serenity Prayer as a powerful tool that helped to deal with cravings, compulsive urges and situations outside their control.

It goes like this: