3 Books To Reinforce Your Sobriety

Posted onAuthorDavid Bradley

3 Books To Reinforce Your Sobriety

3 Books To Reinforce Your Sobriety

I haven’t have a drink since February 19th, 2007.  That was the last day I intentionally consumed alcohol for the purpose and intention to self-medicate and hide from my pain and grief.  The how and the why is for another post but while I was going through the process of “drying out” and finally allowing myself to feel, grieve and to start getting to know the real me, I had three books enter my life that helped me climb out of my hole.

Rich Man’s Gym is about strength and conditioning for body, mind and spirit.  These three elements are synergistic and require a certain level of balance.  Similar to the Yin Yang where everything is equal and interconnected.  We can’t just blog about getting after it physically.

We have to have training for the mind and the spirit…

And we also have to train the mind and the spirit with the same vigor and intensity as we would do a set of burpees or swings.

And how do you do that now?  What’s important to training the body?  Consistency, Proper form, and good nutrition.  It’s not just about what you’re putting in your body.  What are you putting in your mind and spirit?

So if you’re sober or looking to get that way and want to make sure it sticks, I’m going to give you the three books I read, studied and implemented into my life during my first six weeks of sobriety and played a vital role in staying sober.

3 Books To Reinforce Your Sobriety

I’m going to list them for you and them break them down a bit.

Now, keep in mind, none of these books are about your relationship with alcohol.  They are about your relationship with YOU…  and the other guy…  or gal…  I don’t know, God probably doesn’t have a specific gender identity.  OK, here we go!

Power Of Intention by Wayne Dyer

If your intention is your sobriety, then it’s very important to get really clear on what specifically intention is, how much power it has and how you can connect to your higher power in a way that allows you to co-create your world by your design.

If you’re a friend of Bill’s and following the 12 Steps, you already know how important this is.  Frankly, the 12 steps are the beginning and not the end.  Getting through the 12 Steps is the start of a never ending process of new growth and renewal.

To change your life, you have to change your mind.  As Dr. Dyer says, “When you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”

To reinforce your sobriety, not only do you need to have intention, you need to be intention.  This book shows you how.

Way of the Peaceful Warrior by Dan Millman

Sobriety is a fight.  Mostly mental.  You’re at war with yourself.  Getting sober is easy.  Staying sober is what’s hard.  How do you maintain it?  How do you find the strength to stay present long enough to stay sober.  Every craving and every urge is a call from the past.  You chose to answer that call or ignore it.

The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior will get you to a place of control which is something you forfeit every time you pour yourself a tall one.  You can reinforce your sobriety by learning to live in the present moment and by putting your attention on the near future.  This for me was the big lesson from this book.  Understanding what time it actually is and where you actually are became paramount to staying sober.

Conversations With God by Neale Donald Walsh

What do you say when you talk to yourself?  It’s not so much about what you say, it’s more about what is being said back and by whom.  Maybe one of those voices in your head is the man upstairs.  If you got to this place of addiction, whether it be drugs, alcohol or something else, odds are fantastically good you’ve been “self-medicating” and are in one degree or another suffering or in pain.

You very well may be a victim.  The 12 Steps as mentioned earlier are your spring board to taking 100% complete responsibility for your life.  Being a victim is one thing.  Staying a victim is something else.

Conversations with God helps to reinforce your sobriety by showing you the the power of decisions and how you and your decisions are not limited to what we believe is the physical universe.  There’s more going on than meets the eye and if you’re struggling with why this is happening to you, Neale Donald Walsh and God, have an answer that will challenge you to start living as the real you.

Bottom line here, God is in you, so should you hear him out?

Conclusion

As mentioned earlier, getting sober is easy.  Staying that way is the hard part.  Step 10 is to continue to take personal inventory.  That’s where these books come in.  You’re evolving.  This whole thing is happening.  We can’t deny that.  It’s not just about what you see right now but how you see it.  Is it happening to you or for you.  Huge difference of perspective there.  And you must be ready to assume full responsibility for the whole deal.  Meaning regardless of whether it’s happening to or for, it is most definitely happening because of you and the choices you made.  Best part about decisions, is you can always make new ones.  Like reading these books…  That would be a good decision.