Day 24

Can you believe that you only have one week left? Up until today we have talked a lot about the psychology of sobriety. The remainder of the program is focused on topics like nutrition, exercise, positive addiction, relationships, role models, life purpose, sobriety and finances, and how to move forward with your new life thriving in sobriety.

As you near Day 30, it is a good time to check in. Hopefully by today you have started to recognize a shift, maybe even a significant one. If you are not sure, this is a great opportunity to go back and review your Day 1 exercise, specifically "The Before You" exercise. One thing we have seen in our own lives, and in the lives of the people we work with, is how easy it is to overlook the amount of progress that has been made. We both keep journals and find it rewarding to review past entries because it reminds us how far we have come.

Another way to measure your progress is by noticing where your attention is going. Are you focused more on gratitude, positive thoughts, and aligning your actions with your thoughts? Or does your attention need some help to be on the right track? Up to this point, each solution has provided an effective way to direct your attention in the direction of your goals-both consciously and subconsciously. And today, we focus on another useful technique-meditation. The practice of meditation is truly transformational. It will help you become happier, healthier, more relaxed, and more creative.

Whether you are a seasoned meditator or have never tried meditation before, we are excited to teach you about the powerful benefits of this tried-and-true practice.

Meditation is a technique for quieting the mind and achieving a clear, relaxed, and peaceful state of consciousness. You are fully awake and alert, but not focused on your thoughts or feelings. Some myths about meditation include that it is only for hippies, it is a spiritual or religious practice, it’s too difficult, or it is only for saints. However, many different kinds of people use meditation every day because of its proven benefits. Even the Seattle Seahawks and the Marine Corp utilize meditation in their training regiments.

Meditation is to the mind what exercise is to the body. Meditation has been proven to make you happier, healthier, more productive, less stressed, and more creative. It has also been found to be an effective technique to prevent relapse in recovery from addictive behaviors, such as alcoholism. Serotonin and dopamine, which are responsible for experiencing happiness, are often depleted by heavy drinking, and it can take up to ninety days to return to normal levels. Meditation has been proven to increase the brain’s production of serotonin and dopamine naturally, offering a significant benefit to people in recovery.

The practice of meditation has been proven as an effective technique in overcoming alcoholism by helping silence the inner "voice" that critiques, judges, and resents, as well as helping control and change impulsive negative behaviors. The first step in changing negative emotions-which unconsciously control how you feel and what you do-is to make the unconscious conscious. Meditation helps you to become conscious of the present moment-including your thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations-and helps you clean up your mental clutter.