It is a fact of life that what is old dies to make way for what is new. Endings are often painful - we mourn the death of a relationship, we regret leaving a familiar neighborhood, we don't like to say good-bye.

Endings, though, give us the chance to begin again. A new friend comes in to fill the empty space left when
an old friend moves away. A new school, a new job, a new season of the year - these are fresh starts that evolve from what has gone before.

We need not fear the inevitable endings in our lives. Daily, we are renewed. Our bodies produce new cells continually. When we are going through an ending, we may not be able to see the new beginning that lies beyond, but we can trust it will be there for us when we are ready. We can welcome the new opportunities that each
day brings and consider them gifts from the Higher Power that is with us to guide us through each end and each beginning.

I will let yesterday end so that today can begin.
 

You are reading from the book:

 Inner Harvest by Elisabeth L.

2013 - April 
 
by Dara Paprock

 Most addicts have to get to a place of hopelessness and despair in order to walk through the doors that offer sobriety and, yes, change. For various reasons  there are times alone, when feelings of despair can surface, and one might not  be unable to pick up the phone or get to a meeting. Throughout the years in  sobriety, I have learned to walk. Walk to the bus, walk to the meeting or walk  through the doors. I have learned to walk around the block; sometimes I have had  to walk in place. I have also learned to walk from situations that are fruitless, or against my higher better judgment, one step at a time.

One of the most difficult feelings to bare “stone cold sober” is a sense of hopelessness. Being extreme sensation seekers, the idea of being “okay” may sound strange, and for some, impossible. However, by the time most addicts
reach  sobriety they are exhausted. “Okay” can be pretty good medicine and it is available RIGHT NOW. Getting good at “okay” can lead to a deeper sense of well-being. Developing and maintaining a sense of well-being takes practice. Personally, I like to do something every day. Ideally, I take (at least) 20 minutes of some sort of exercise and a daily practice of meditation.To begin a practice, one might start with one to three times a week.

I have coached many people in states of despair who have struggled with various issues in sobriety including weight, phobias and stubborn resistance to change or to do the work in front of them. One of the most effective tools I can offer is to “take a walk”. With a cell phone in hand, you do not have to do any of this alone (although it’s a nice thing to walk freely, letting the arms swing). Even opening a door and walking around the exterior of the home or office building can be a refreshing break from the interior of one’s mind in a state of hopeless. It is also an opportunity to unravel a kind of “short circuiting” in the brain and central nervous system.

Walking itself (one foot then the other) not only grounds an individual by applying pressure to the bottom of the foot (where the nerve endings are) and directly affects the sympathetic nervous system, which is at work in the panic and fear mode, raising heart rate, shortening breath, etc. Encouraging the breath to deepen, releasing tension and invoking a relaxations response actually  opens a portal in the physical body to feel better. Walking can be a sort of “pressure release valve”.

Although research recommends 20 minutes of walking to increase serotonin and dopamine levels in the brain, even the short distance of a house perimeter, a five minute walk to the corner and back or standing in a bathroom and marching in place for one minute, can have a dramatic effect on a recovering addict’s mind. Remember that an addict’s mind isn’t exactly “normal” to begin with.

Skip the willingness and just do it. The willingness to put one foot in front of the other sometimes is not there. Do it anyway. Begin by crossing and uncrossing your legs. This is like unraveling the nerves, like a bowl of spaghetti. Crossing and uncrossing one’s legs can begin to break up the brain fog and let a little light in. If one can’t walk,use the eyes (I like to get as close as I can to the brain.). For example, hold the head still (if possible, sit up straight) and look with the eyes all the way to the left and then to the right (like one of those Felix the Cat clocks, whose eyes mark the seconds). There are numerous therapeutic methods that have restored neuropath ways of paralyzed individuals, which begin with eye movement.

If mobility is a limitation, alternative self-soothers are available. One is to interlace the fingers clasping the hands and thumbs, then switching which hands to which ones thumb is on top.

The following are sequences of “Brain Gyms” can be found on YouTube.com.


Brain Gym Routine (Alternate to Walking)
 

1. Drink a 6-8 oz. cup of water. Don’t skip this step.
   
2. Brain Buttons: place one hand over the navel. With the other hand, massage
     the areas on either side of the sternum below the collar bone-30 seconds;
   change  hands.
   
3. Cross Crawl: As if marching, and adding a twist, touch hand to opposite knee
     slowly for two minutes. Breathe deeply. Be sure to twist the upper body so
     shoulder moves as well as opposite leg (example on left is correct).
   
4. Hook Ups: (Part1) Sit in a chair; cross ankles. Stretch out arms, cross them
     and place palms together. Lace fingers and bring hands under and up to rest
     under chin. Close eyes, inhale through nose and place tongue on hard palette
     behind teeth. Drop tongue as you exhale, slowly. Practice as long as you want.
   
   
   Hook Ups (Part2): Uncross ankles and arms. Lightly touch fingertips
     together with both hands (Hakini Mudra). Hold the hands high, mid-level or low
     (whatever feels best for you). Close eyes, inhale through nose and place tongue
     on hard palette behind teeth. Drop tongue as you exhale, smoothly and steadily.
     Practice as long as you want.

Inhale deeply, exhale. Keep one foot in front of the other and before you know it, you will be dancing.
Namasté

Talk doesn't cook rice.
--Chinese proverb

Some of us are crazy about self-help books, inspirational tapes, and personal improvement seminars. We'll buy or sign up for anything, whatever the price, if it promises revolutionary insights or a foolproof new system. We want relief in a day and deliverance in a weekend. And we want the expert of the hour to do it for us.

There's nothing wrong with wishing, of course. But there's a lot wrong with kidding ourselves as a way of life. Think about it: If progress could be bought, we wouldn't need to be meditating. If personal transformation resulted from collecting new ideas, we'd have been transformed long ago. Exploring is great. And looking for all the inspiration and wisdom we can find is necessary for growth. But changing is doing. All the plans and schemes for
improvement put together won't change a thing if we don't put the principles into daily practice. Even catchy words are just words.

Today, I will take the best plan I have and put it into action. Today, I will say less and do more.
 
You are reading from the book:

 Days of Healing, Days of Joy by Earnie Larsen and Carol Larsen Hegarty