The Power of Suggestion - Over The Alcoholic Mind

October 01. Happy friday night everybody, and a much welcomed beginning to October. With alot of fun things going on this month from town fairs & Halloween there is sure plenty to keep busy with. Thats an essential part of my recovery today, keeping busy & exploring the many things that can be done sober that are fun & fullfilling. It was a typical friday for the most part today, aside from a customer coming to my house to put a payment down on a ring they want that is. Shortly after they arrived my mom got home, dad soon followed & we began planning for dinner. I suggested we go to a friend's pizza shop that we mutually know & it was as good as ever. Afterwards I got my coffee & went early to my homegroup meeting, anticipating an old friend who was coming to the group for the first time. He had only experienced a certain meeting that runs the same format & I suggested he move around a little bit & explore the varieties of different ways the message of recovery is carried from group to group. Thankfully he followed that suggestion & showed up, our meeting tonight was on the Tenth Tradition & many of us shared of its importance to us individually and as a group in whole. Afterwards we hung around for some social time & then my parents showed up to get me, I said my goodbyes & let some friends know I was going to a nearby fair tomorrow all day. It's the biggest in the state & a ton of fun from my childhood, what better of a place to go experience the joys in sober life than there on a saturday. I want to rewind a few seconds to what I said earlier in regaurds to tonight's topic, I had mentioned that I "suggested" to a friend that he come up to our meeting & he showed up. Tonight's topic is "The Power of Suggestion"

As alcoholics/addicts, many of us cannot be TOLD what to do or where to go, that approach will give us a sour taste or resentment that will lead us back to a drink. Being fellow alcoholics we all know this, so when we have certain things that work we 'Suggest' them rather than make them a 'must do' or 'should do'. The approach is everything to the toxic alcoholic mind, and even years into our sobriety we can suffer from this, old timers have told me & I have experienced it myself well past my first year. "You need to do this" or "You need to go here" are infractions, commands and rules will never work to help us reach our spiritual goals in sobriety. Rather, we mildly suggest to one another "We have a really great group on fridays, if you want some variety I suggest you come check it out". Or "When I was a newcomer the guys in my group suggested I keep a journal, so I did". These are very passive ways at telling an alcoholic like me of what I should be doing if I want to succeed. Is there time to be point blank? Yes, but that is probably after one is well rooted & getting used to successful experiences from prior suggestions.

In short, it is the Power of Suggestion that wins over all when carrying the message from a sober alcoholic to the newly sober. Even the 12 Steps are labeled as "Suggestions", but as I heard from many old timers, "It is suggested when sky diving that you pull the rip cord, you don't have to, but it's suggested". Had anyone told me I had to do this, or go there, I would not have done anything or gone anywhere & my recovery would never have truly begun. It was the experienced alcoholic in recovery that knew the Power of Suggestion & how it worked for them to learn to listen & apply things to their life & life got better. It continues to work for me, even today my sponsor & support group suggest things to me that will improve my life, sobriety, or spirituality. Without the simplicity of a friendly suggestion over a demanding order I would not be here today, I would have folded my cards & gotten out of the game. Returning to the bottle is most caused by resentment, that resentment can be created due to someone coming across as bossy or directive. If we just use the passive power behind suggestion we eliminate the risk of these resentments & we are working with, instead of against, the alcoholic mind to lead it to releif from the disease. So when you want to gain a yard with a recovering alcoholic, give an inch of suggestion & see what they'll do. If they follow those suggestions, that means they are truly devoted to getting & staying sober & that their desire is there. If they do not follow them all you can do is give the next right suggestion & hope for the best. And for all of you great people who read this, I hope the best for you. Pray for the still sick & suffering, in & out of recovery, because setting the drink/drug down is not enough. We must change, everything & grow in spirituality. Good Night.. Good Morning.. <3 Jimmy