Editor’s Note: E. Victoria Lee is a published author and spiritual teacher. In 2000, she wrote “Secrets in the Soul,” which is now available on Amazon.com. A fellow traveler, we are honored to have her guest blog on soberhelpnow.net.

Session 4: Developing a Higher Belief System About ME (My Energy)

From Workbook on Healing the Inner Child/Self (Updated (c) 2009)

Written by E. Victoria Lee, D.D., Author, Los Angeles (sobriety date 10/21/1981)

This session, I bring to you thoughts to ponder on this path of sobriety. I found that placing slogans where they are easily seen helped me immensely over my years of sobriety and here 30+ years later, I am still holding onto quotes that help me. You see, after years of sobriety I have had the misfortune of seeing many folks with a few to many years get complacent, start to believe they are doing well without a program, meetings or sponsor, only to fall by the way side and oftimes die. For me, I’d rather stay in sobriety than repeat those hard years of growing up all over again in this program. I have chosen to stay within the comfort of this program on my harshest day than chance going out and perhaps not be able to make it back. It’s a crap shoot as to how many times one can get sober and then lose sobriety to have to start all over again. Many are fortunate to be able to make that trek into sobriety more than once, but me, naw, I will just stay here in safe territory no matter the strife that besets. I know the pain of not being able to kill the pain. I’ve had two adult children die since being sober, lost a 21-year marriage recently, and had to make a decision to let go of property and prestige rather than stay in a loveless relationship. These are some of the reasons I so love writing these blogs for SoberHelpNow.net because it has given me a reason to move forward with purpose. Yes, folks, you can start all over again materially and financially in sobriety and it’s easier than being loaded on some form of substance. So enough about me, this time, let’s look at some of the thought I want you to ponder.

Assignment #4 – Finding and Reaching Toward the Higher Power who is always present within and without yourself. Use your answers as classic examples even when you feel nobody cares about what’s going on with you. Remember to write your answers out in a notebook that only holds your thoughts and inventories. Keep it safe as this may be the entryway to a safe harbor when times are tough.

1. “A useful way to rid oneself of negativity’s power is to stop increasing it’s power by your thinking.” Write on: What kinds of negative belief about yourself travel through your mind and what do you do to release those thoughts?  Exercise:  Sit for awhile and write down every thought going through your mind, silly, stupid, angry, what you have to do, what’s to eat, etc.  Just write, don’t edit.  Then look at how many went through in a very short period.  Think how many go through while you are awake.  Just as you harness these, many more can be harnessed and reversed or thrown out.  The point is, just be more aware of your thought patterns.

2. “Soul darkness is ignorance of a Higher Power, soul pain brings one to concentrating on everything is Higher Power, Higher Power, Higher Power.” Write on – When do you call upon your Higher Power? When you tried all you know or at the outset of your worst moments? Choose an example and write about it and how you recognize that you have begun “turning it, all of it, over.”

3. “Athough one may not recognize outer changes, renewing ones thinking will cause change to occur in both the outer and inner self.” Write on – How you know you are changing through writing out what you do now instead of what you might have done before sobriety. What is your written example.

4. “The one vision that I must keep uppermost in my mind is that of the power, presence and love of my Higher Power in my life more today, more than in the early days of just going to meetings.” Write on – How, today, are you practicing making this real in your life; so much so, that you don’t even get out of bed without first reaching out to your Higher Power for direction and guidance.

5. “My journey is composed mainly of becoming more Higher Power centered and used by my Higher Power for only right living in my life.” Write on – Some examples that point out to you unmistakenly how much you seek to align yourself spiritually with your Higher Power.

6. “Every day I give up more and more of my past, asking my Higher Power “What would you have me do and be this day?” Write on – Examples of ways you see less and less of who you were influencing who you are becoming today.

7. “I am aware of the presence of my Higher Power more of the time with each passing day.” Write on – How you recognize that you are being directed in your spiritual growth (not to be confused with religiousity) in progressing each day as a sober individual.

8. “I believe that my purpose is to serve my Higher Power even as it serves me through staying sober, no matter what is going on around me.” Write on – What is the truth you are finding for yourself in this statement? Also, as you grow spiritually in sobriety, to what length are you going to NOT throw your life away one day at a time?

THOUGHT: Always remember that YOU are very special as all are who continue to maintain sobriety. Stay Sober and connect with your Higher Power – it ain’t you!) at the beginning and ending of every 24-hour period and do make 12 step meetings regularly. If you’ve been writing each session, you see that you do have a story to tell.  This can be your legacy to your corner of the world to help someone else who may be suffering to find sobriety.