samseb5351

I was sitting yesterday with my family at the Royal Easter Show (for non aussie folk its kind of like a big carnival with rides, exhibitions, animals etc We were watching the woodchopping and marveling at the speed some of the experienced men would cut through wood. My son leant over to me and said "i reckon Dadda most of the speed of chopping wood and being affective is technique not brute strength " smart kid.

I got to thinking about the long road of my recovery, the things I have done that worked and then stopped working and the things that have stuck with me. It seems to be the techniques of recovery, the tools I have used that get me through life. . It never seems to be the absolutes I throw ahead of myself or the expectations I have on who I should be, the energy of fear and anger, of fighting or avoiding also are poor motivators for me, But the techniques of seeing that stuff clearly as it rises and falls away give me a chance to stay cool and calm. You can sit and conclude all sorts of reasons why we are no longer indulging in an addiction But at the end of the day for me at least it was the simple act of sitting that had more effectiveness than the willful expectation I was in a fight I must win to survive.

Dee74

Sounds a lot like Urge Surfing - it really works for me too
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html
D

freshstart57

I agree, Sam, in that if I had seen myself engaging in mortal combat against an unbeatable foe, I would have already reduced my chances at success.

Sitting is sometimes called zazen or vipassana or mindfulness. It is a technique that can be learned, and it works. It is great not only for sobriety purposes, but for general mental hygiene. Urge surfing is a particular example of this.

samseb5351

One of my biggest influences in this kind of mindfulness practice is Pema Chodron in paricular a book called "when things fall apart". Even-though I am an atheist I find these kind non judgmental platforms of practice helpful. I could give many Quotes with a similar them from Pema hers is an example of one.

"You're the only one who knows when you're using things to protect yourself and keep your ego together and when you're opening and letting things fall apart, letting the world come as it is - working with it rather than struggling against it. You're the only one who knows."

soberlicious

No combat. Combat creates struggle, and struggle cannot be sustained. One can observe desire, not act on it, and allow it to pass all without struggle. It was this concept that helped me the most with my addiction and other struggles in my life...this idea of equanimity and the practice that can lead to it. I found it very quietly empowering. I saw this same idea paralleled in AVRT when I read about it years later.