As addicts who are finally free from the control of substances and chemicals in our lives, we have the ability to do and be whatever we want. Of course this reality comes with a bit of bad news … we can do and be whatever we want. Every choice has a consequence and sometimes we have to make about 10 choices at a time and each of them can feel like they are moving us in a direction that adds to the daily chaos.
What does this have to do with meditation?
Everything. Living in sobriety is a daily maintenance. It’s one that requires proactivity, and a conscious connection with the reasons we are choosing to remain healthy every day. Being fit in mind and body will affect this. And this is where meditation can come in. Not only does it help with stress, anxiety, anger, depression, and general bad attitudes, it can help us find our center every day and allow us to stop reacting to our worlds and begin enacting with the strength we need to live our sober lives.
The good news is everyone can benefit from mediation. If you are a family member of a loved one who is struggling with addiction or if you are currently addicted to drugs or alcohol, or if you have made the best step of your life and are currently living without chemicals and substances, mediation can help you move to the next level.
Here are 7 resources for meditation
App: Headspace
Filled with guided meditation sessions and mindfulness training, Headspace can be accessed online, or with the app. You get ten days of free content, then are encouraged to subscribe. It’s fun (you can level up your meditations) and it’s customizable to the kind of experience you want.
Free App: Insight Timer
A free app with playlists, meditations, teachers, ambient sounds, timers for your meditations and more. Find guided mediations and other meditators around the world to connect with and find encouragement in your journey.
Website: UCLA meditaion
This site from UCLA fosters mindful awareness education and research to promote well-being and a more compassionate society. There is a ton of information here with classes, events, research, articles, and so much more. Plus they have free guided meditations you can find here.
Oprah and Deepak: Creating Peace from the inside out
A 21-Day meditation experience Oprah and Deepak bring their own take on helping you discover mindfulness then you get a timed meditation-with-mantra session. It’s $50 for the streamable option (or the CDs, but the streamable option gets you access to the daily message, mantras, reflection questions, journal, and images, through the app). Find it here.
Tara Barch Free meditations
Author and teacher Tara Barch is a perfect go to in order to find meditation resources such as books, CDs, videos, and more. Here is a large collection of guided meditations. and here is a collection of videos with meditations and talks .
iAwake
Sound-based tools for people like us who are passionate about waking up, healing, and making a difference. Basically music and backing tracks for meditation, you can use these audio files in many ways. Start out by getting three free meditation tracks and go from there. Find it here.
CDs: May Cause Miracles Meditation Album
By Gabrielle Bernstein
This 10-track meditation album is a compilation of the meditations from her book, May Cause Miracles. Short, comforting, and effective; these meditations are a perfect way to begin your mediation journey. Find it here.
Bonus: Calm
This wesite and app are subsciription based, but for signing up you get access to ambient soundscapes and some intro meditations. Well worth checking out. Find it here.
Help for You or Your Loved One
Being trapped in active addiction is a life consisting of bad choices and finding yourself repeatedly in the wrong place at the wrong time. It gets old while being uncomfortable almost becomes the norm. Sometimes it takes some simple changes and it’s amazing how different of a life can be conjured up. If you or a loved one is struggling with chemical dependency and are ready for help, please call 1-844-489-0836 or visit www.firststepsrecovery.com. We are ready to give you any suggestions possible and set you or your loved one on a path that we can all be proud of.
