Daily Reprieve

From Yesterday’s Reflections (Sorry, I got the 18th and 19th twisted) ;

Very deep, sometimes quite forgotten, damaging emotional conflicts persist below the level of consciousness.  (Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 79-80)

Only through positive action can I remove the remains of guilt and shame brought on by alcohol. Throughout my misadventures when I drank, my friends would say, “Why are you doing this? You’re only hurting yourself.” Little did I know how true were those words. Although I harmed others, some of my behavior caused grave wounds to my soul. Step Eight provides me with a way of forgiving myself. I alleviate much of the hidden damage when I make my list of those I have hurt. In making amends, I free myself of burdens, thus contributing to my healing.

END OF QUOTE

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I understand this contribution to say that it is helpful to remove the baggage of guilt and shame to get at deep rooted, possibly subconscious pain.  This seems to imply that the amends process can be a lay the groundwork for deeper healing.  It may also require professional assistance after the guts of the 12 recovery program have had a chance to dig away the rubble of alcoholic consequences.

This entry was posted on August 19, 2014 at 10:21 pm and is filed under Uncategorized with tags Addiction, Alcoholism, Journal, Life, Personal, Recovery, Spirituality. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.