Prayer and Meditation in Recovery

During these difficult times, it's essential to manage and use your time wisely. Many of us are leading more isolated existences, and some are finding it challenging to prioritize their recovery. If you are cut off from your usual support channels (in-person meetings) because of COVID-19, please consider establishing a routine, prioritizing meditation and prayer. 

 

In early recovery, many have a hard time processing their thoughts, leading to old patterns coming back into the picture. If you are spending more time at home than in past months, it can be hazardous to your recovery. 

 

It's vital to find healthy ways to occupy your time and stick to a routine. Writing down a schedule will help you adhere to your routine, which will strengthen your program in turn. Determine how often you need to pray and meditate, attend meetings virtually or in-person when safe and available, eat healthy, and exercise. 

 

All of the above activities will help you in your recovery and weather the pandemic until life returns to normal. Always remember that you're not alone. Your support network is still a phone call away. Call someone whenever you find yourself struggling with a specific matter, especially if you are craving drugs and alcohol. 

 

With the above in mind, if you can adhere to a routine, you will be less likely to spend too much time in your head. Routines help individuals stay focused, and writing down your daily schedule ahead of time will help you stay on track. Many will argue that the time you spend praying and meditating is salient.

 

Is Prayer and Meditation Important to Your Recovery?

 

Those working a faith-based program of addiction recovery must prioritize their daily prayer and meditation. Upon waking each day, it's always beneficial to start your day by praying. 

 

"In praying, we ask simply that throughout the day God place in us the best understanding of His will that we can have for that day, and that we be given the grace by which we may carry it out." —Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Pg. 102— 

 

People who meditate find that they are more open-minded and better able to receive guidance from the "higher power." Remember, each person can pray and meditate in their own way; there is no right way to communicate with your higher power. 

 

Having a conscious contact with a higher power is vital, but many people new to the program have a hard time with spirituality. You do not have to dive headfirst into spiritual concepts; you only have to keep an open mind when self-examining. Remember, spirituality isn't religion; but, religion is often a component of people's spirituality. 

 

"There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. But when they are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life." —Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, Pg. 98— 

 

Prayer, meditation, and self-examination are critical to navigating life today. It isn't comfortable being cut off from one another; fellowship feels a little different from afar. However, the knowledge that you have supportive peers advocating for your well-being should give you pause and make you feel grateful. 

 

If you are not praying, it's never too late to start. If you find it challenging to pray, then ask one of your peers for guidance. Many people struggled at first like you are; they can help you introduce prayer and meditation into your routine. Once again, remember—you are not alone. 

 

Faith-Based Addiction Treatment Program

 

Please contact Celebrate Hope if you are struggling with drugs or alcohol. Our team utilizes comprehensive, cutting edge treatment and offers Christian counseling. We can help you break the cycle of addiction and reconnect with your higher power Jesus Christ.

Nature Impacts Mental Health

Experts believe that nature, and exposure to natural environments, can play a significant role in mental health. Our connection to the world around us can have a dramatic impact on our wellbeing. Those who get outside and interact with their surroundings have a chance to quiet their mind and focus.

In the field of addiction recovery, a significant emphasis is placed on serenity—the state of being calm, peaceful, and untroubled. Active addiction is the embodiment of internal and external chaos; so, preventing relapse can hinge on staying grounded. Those in early recovery learn techniques for living in the moment, or just for today. They learn that a person has little control over the future and that they cannot change the past.

One of the best things a person in recovery can do is practice mindfulness; the psychological process of focusing on the present moment as much as possible. People who begin their journey of healing in treatment are taught mindfulness techniques, such as meditation and prayer. Clients who utilize tools that help them stay in the “now” can adopt a program of recovery with greater ease, typically.

At Celebrate Hope, our clients benefit significantly from the environment of our campus. Aside from comfy living quarters that are conducive to personal reflection, clients are treated to ocean views and grounds that facilitate both social interaction and serenity. When clients feel at ease in their surroundings, they can focus their attention on the present moment and fully commit to their recovery.

Nature and Mental Health

We know that when people are in an environment that has a calming effect, it aids the recovery process. However, new research may lend some credence to the importance of serenity-inducing surrounds for people in recovery. A large study, conducted by researchers from Aarhus University in Denmark, found that being raised near vegetation is associated with a lower risk of mental health disorders in adulthood, NPR reports. The research suggests that being exposed to “green spaces" might have significant physiological and psychological effects on human beings. The findings appear in the journal PNAS.

Interestingly, the scientists found that alcohol use disorder was most strongly associated with people who had a shortage of green space growing up, according to the article. The study shows that growing up near green space was associated with a 15 percent to 55 percent lower risk of developing psychiatric illness in adulthood. Of course, not everyone is fortunate enough to grow up next to a forest, but the researchers found that access to parks can have a similar effect.

"There are a lot of potential mechanisms to follow up on, but generally I think this study is tremendously important," said Kelly Lambert, a neuroscientist at the University of Richmond who studies the psychological effects of natural spaces. Lambert offers, "It suggests that something as simple as better city planning could have profound impacts on the mental health and well-being of all of us."

Addiction Treatment Surrounded by Natural Beauty

We invite men and women considering addiction treatment to take a virtual tour of Celebrate Hope at Hope By The Sea. We are confident you will see an environment that is conducive to your journey of healing. Please contact us to learn more about our faith-based addiction treatment track.

Prayer and Meditation In Addiction Recovery

Anyone who is new to recovery finds it difficult to take every suggestion given to them. After all, addicts and alcoholics can be stubborn to the bone. Even though their way didn’t work for them, one still wants to hold on to the illusion of control. The idea that, despite all the wrong turns leading up to recovery, we know what is best for us.

Resistance to suggestion can take a number of different forms. What one decides to heed or doesn't, varies from case to case. In early recovery there is a lot of information being bombarded from several directions, one may find it hard to act in accordance to what is suggested. Early on, some of the more common advice that is given that newcomers struggle to take without question, includes:

• Get a sponsor, don’t put it off.
• Staying away from romantic entanglements in the first year of recovery.
• Go to 90 meetings in 90 days.
• Pray and/or meditate daily.
• Keep it simple…
• Don’t take yourself too seriously, and any one of a number of platitudes.

All of which, believe it or not, may seem straightforward and easy to follow, but many in early recovery struggle with some of them. But, all of such advice is sage wisdom when it comes to staying clean and sober. For the purposes of this article, let’s focus on the suggestion to pray or meditate, daily.

 

Spirituality in Recovery

If you have been in the program for even a short time, then you are probably aware that ours is a spiritual program. One’s connection to a “higher power” of their own understanding is what holds a program together. Without something greater to be accountable to, we resume the comfortable position of thinking we are running the show. It’s probably been said to you by now that it doesn’t matter what your higher power is—as long as you have one.

Choosing something greater than yourself may come easier to you than keeping in constant contact with said higher power. In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, it can be hard to drown out the noise and connect with the spiritual. The suggestion to pray or meditate at the start or end of your day is a good one. When the outside world quiets down a bit, early in the morning or late at night, one is in a better position to connect. Better able to open oneself up to the sunshine of the spirit. If you are new, you may be adverse to “God,” or any ideas of omnipotence, for that matter. This is pretty normal. You may find it hard to get down on your knees and open your soul to the spiritual plane. That’s alright. Practice makes perfect.

Are you like the many who are new to the program, who feel a little goofy getting down on your knees and asking for guidance? Or perhaps you have trouble remembering to pray and meditate, after all, in early recovery we have busy lives to contend with. If you are one of those people, perhaps you would entertain another suggestion that might help. When you get ready for bed at the end of your day, put your shoes under the bed. When you wake, unless you are planning to walk around in your socks you will need those shoes. Voila! And there you find yourself already on your knees, open to the light of your higher power. It might sound corny, but it works.

 

Prayer In Addiction

It is not uncommon for people who are still struggling with substances to pray for a way out of the despair. Some of us, after all, grew up with spirituality in our live. Despite the fact that the drugs and alcohol make us deaf to the spirit, we still send out prayerful signals hoping for a response. If you have been praying to change, that is great and change is possible. But it will require something from you, first. Picking up the phone. If you would like to be free from the bondage of self, and break the chains of your addiction, please contact Celebrate Hope at Hope by The Sea.