Justin B - Power in Recovery Prayers - Meeting 287

Justin B finally admitted powerlessness over his sexual addiction and the unmanageability of his life in September of 2013 and reluctantly entered his first 12 Step room.  After a few weeks, the approach was made by a fellow who told him how to work the program with a sponsor.  Justin hasn't looked back since then.  Through mountains and valleys of life, more has been disclosed and Justin now identifies as a grateful, multi-disciplinary addict, living in the miracle of recovery, one day at a time.  Justin is the grateful steward of the Reco12 family of recovery resources and loves learning of the myriad perspectives, backgrounds, and cultures of addicts from all fellowships, from all faith traditions, and from all over the world.  Today he talks about the power he has found in some of the recovery prayers.

Reco12 is all about exploring the common threads of addiction and sharing tools and hope from those on a similar path. We gather from diverse backgrounds, faiths, and places to learn and support one another. Our speakers are members of various fellowships, addictions, and afflictions, thus showing the common threads of recovery, no matter our addiction or affliction.

Reco12 values your support in carrying out our 12th Step mission, providing essential resources for addicts and their loved ones. We welcome contributions to cover Zoom, podcast, web hosting, and administrative costs. Become a Reco12 Spearhead by becoming a monthly donor at https://www.reco12.com/support. For one-time donations, you can use PayPal at https://www.paypal.me/reco12 or Venmo at @Reco-Twelve or with Patreon at https://www.patreon.com/Reco12Spearheads  Your support makes a meaningful impact – thank you!

Resources from this meeting:
Step Into Action (SA Workbook)
How To Listen to God by Wally P
Two Way Prayer
Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Outro music is "Just Can’t Do this On My Own" written by James Carrington, Thomas Barkmeijer and Paul Freeman and performed by James Carrington and used with full permission of James Carrington.  To learn more about this music and performer, please visit https://www.jamescarrington.net/ and https://m.facebook.com/jamescarringtonmusic 

Transcript

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Welcome to Rico 12. My name is Liza, and I am grateful to be here through all of the alphabet soup. That is me, and every program I qualify for and living in the solution that is offered in the big book of Alcoholics. Anonymous.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: It is an honor to be here today.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Rico 12 is all about exploring the common threads of addiction and sharing tools and hope.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: From those on a similar path

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: we gather from diverse backgrounds, faiths and places to learn and support one another.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Our speakers are members of various fellowships, addictions, and afflictions, thus showing the common threads of recovery. No matter our addiction or affliction.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Today's speaker for the 287th meeting is our very own justice. Justin B. As I say, Justice B. Justice B's too, whatever it all works. The topic today from him is going to be the power and recovery prayers, and we get to him and his message in just a few minutes. First, st I want to take care of some business.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Rico 12 has several recovery resources in our family, of podcasts and social media communities to learn more, listen more, and connect more, or just hang out and grow with us. You can check out the other podcasts that you can find

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Www, dot rico 12 com. Like the 1st part of the word recovery. 12. The numbers one and 2.com and join our social communities checking out the chat and show notes. They'll be here for those of you that are alive and can have access to that as well.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Rico 12 is fully self-supporting, and your contributions help us to continue our mission.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Special thanks this morning for the generous support from David and to all of our spearheads, past, present, and future. Your donations really and truly help in this project.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: If you also feel the desire to become a spearhead and support this cause. Visit Www. Dot rico, 1, 2.com, slash, support, or click on the links in the show notes and chat for one time or monthly donation opportunities.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Your support, not just financially, but with your word of mouth makes a difference in keeping us able to share these messages of recovery.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Forward, each meeting to receiving from the light reflected from our speakers, and that light inspires hope, meaning, worth, and growth in us. The listening audience.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I have now the distinct honor of introducing our guest speaker for today, Justin B.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: And give a little background on him. Justin B. Finally admitted powerlessness over his sexual addiction and the unmanageability of his life. In September of 2013, reluctantly entering his 1st 12 step room.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: After a few weeks the approach was made by a fellow who told him how to work the program with a sponsor.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Justin thankfully, hasn't looked back since then.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: though the mountains and valleys of life persist, more has been disclosed, and Justin now identifies as a grateful multidisciplinary addict, living in the miracles of recovery one day at a time.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Justin is the grateful steward of the Rico 12 family recovery resources and loves learning of the myriad perspectives, backgrounds, and cultures of addicts from all fellowships, in all faith, traditions from all over the world.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Take it away, Dustin, the floor is yours.

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Justin B: Oh, thank you so much, Liza, that just

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Justin B: I'm just baffled and and blown away by how amazing you are, Liza, and grateful that for your willingness to jump in, and, you know, sit in that seat for me today, as I felt guided

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Justin B: to talk.

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Justin B: to give my own little talk on Rico 12 about the

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Justin B: the power in recovery prayers. I just want to take a real quick minute. I'll identify in. I am Justin. I am a son of an all-powerful, all-loving God, and a qualifying addict in multiple fellowships, one of which is, I am a sexaholic. That's the one that brought me into the rooms and

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Justin B: brought me to my knees.

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Justin B: And I that's I just will qualify as that. I'm not going to share a whole lot of my backstory just that

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Justin B: when I came into the rooms my life was an absolute disaster. I had tried everything that I could think of.

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Justin B: and especially

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Justin B: prayer.

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Justin B: I was raised in a very religious home, very religious culture, where prayer was

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Justin B: a part of our day. Every day, morning around, at each meal, evening before going to bed. Prayer was what we did.

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Justin B: and

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Justin B: and I was told, and I believed, that if I just prayed harder

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Justin B: and read my Holy Scriptures harder, and went to church harder, and did all of these things harder, that

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Justin B: my problems would all be solved.

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Justin B: and it did not work for me. I tried for decades. I was 38 years old when I 1st came into the rooms, and I had been, as I look back, a full blown addict since the age of 10.

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Justin B: And so.

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Justin B: you know, 3, 3 decades nearly, of trying harder, and reading harder, and praying harder my prayers as a youth and as in as an adult up up to that point were from the heart, but they were in a very prescribed pattern.

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Justin B: But what I, what I experienced in my prayers was that they seemed to just bounce off the walls and ceilings. I very rarely did I feel that they got through, and that any other connection came back. It was so rare it would come every once in a while, and I'd go. Oh.

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Justin B: God does! He is aware of me!

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Justin B: But it wasn't a great or reliable connection for me, and early in recovery, and in my before coming into recovery

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Justin B: I felt some bitterness, and maybe some blame that I had towards other who, I felt had taught me incorrectly. I thought.

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Justin B: I mean, we're sitting here talking about prayer and about God and all of these things. And yet why am I not connecting? Why am I not able to

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Justin B: live? What is being preached, and what I'm even preaching? Why am I not able to experience that? And I felt there's some bitterness and some resentment there in that.

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Justin B: And then, when I 1st came into the rooms eventually I was exposed to one of the base prayers of 12 step recovery, that is said in nearly every meeting throughout the world. At some way or another, the serenity prayer.

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Justin B: and initially, you know, and I had heard that prayer before when I'd you know. See? Oh, shows on TV, or something like that that would throw a 12 step room in there. And and I that's that was what I thought these things were, and I'd hear that serenity prayer. And I'd go.

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Justin B: Okay, great, that's great.

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Justin B: But those lines, God

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Justin B: grant me the serenity to accept the things. I cannot change.

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Justin B: courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. Now I had somebody explain it to me, and it was a speaker on Rico 12 one of the first.st I can't remember a couple of dozen speakers.

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Justin B: he said. You know, when I was taught this prayer, the guy who taught it to me. I'm sitting in jail, and there's a big whiteboard at the front, and

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Justin B: and the guy comes in. He goes all right. This 1st line. Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change. He drew a line almost all the way across the top of that whiteboard and left about an inch of the entire whiteboard, and he said, that line is God's line. Those are the things I cannot change

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Justin B: courage to change the things I can. He goes. That's this little blank spot, like one inch of that massive line. That's the things you can change. And the wisdom to know the difference is basically knowing that the only things I can change

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Justin B: are the things that are right here with me.

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Justin B: that that are in me and with me.

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Justin B: and that's the only things I can change.

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Justin B: And and when that when that explanation hit me, I thought, Okay.

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Justin B: so if I just

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Justin B: back off and breathe and say, you know what I can't control, that I will have greater serenity, and as I practiced that I did have greater serenity

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Justin B: later I was introduced to what I understand is the full version of the serenity prayer, and I'm going to go through a few of them. I'm going to go through the rest of that full version of the Serenity prayer as Reinhold Nyber originally wrote it, and I think it may have been written a little bit different than this. But this is the understanding that I have of it today.

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Justin B: after the wisdom to know the difference. The next line is living one day at a time, enjoying one moment at a time. What more recovery is that I mean, I'm sober. One day at a time. I am only able to to deal with my life today. I can't deal with tomorrow. I can't deal with, and even an hour from now I'm enjoying it one moment at a time, and living one day at a time

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Justin B: next line, accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.

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Justin B: And and I think we've got the principle of acceptance in there. Acceptance is is the key to to well, pretty much everything having serenity in my life, accepting, in fact, the next couple of lines is taking

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Justin B: this sinful world as it is not as I would have that

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Justin B: now.

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Justin B: Sinful. Yes, that's the word that was in there. But I love being able to improvise and throw in words here for me. I may throw in taking this imperfect world, this messy world, this violent world, this rejecting world, this whatever is eating my soul right now, world as it is, not as I would have it, because

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Justin B: anything that's coming in from the outside is on God's line. The line that I cannot change grant me serenity to accept the things I cannot change

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Justin B: this imperfect, this imperfect situation, this messy world, whatever it may be, as it is not as I would have it next line, trusting that you, God will make all things right if I surrender to your will.

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Justin B: I had an experience just actually, just yesterday I was talking with my sponsor, and I was on zoom with him, and we were talking about fears. We were talking about some things, about fears, and all of a sudden a text popped up on my computer screen right above it. And I saw it. And it was from who was planning, who was supposed to be next week's speaker.

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Justin B: And and it said, Hey, I'm not able to make it next week, and all of a sudden

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Justin B: my sponsor goes. Justin, I just lost you. You lost your connection with me, and you lost your connection with God, and your face just fell. What's going on? And we were talking about fears, and I told him what happened? He goes. Well.

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Justin B: Justin, God already

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Justin B: has somebody in place for next week. He already knew this was going to happen.

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Justin B: Relax, take it easy.

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Justin B: and and all of a sudden I went. Oh.

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Justin B: trusting that he will make all things right if I surrender to his will.

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Justin B: And

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Justin B: lo and behold, I have a speaker for next week, you know, and it just happened really quickly. And the final lines of this full version of the serenity prayers that I may be reasonably happy in this life, and supremely happy forever with you in the next.

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Justin B: and and then the thy will, not mine, be done, added in there

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Justin B: reasonably happy in this life. I'm not.

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Justin B: I should not expect to be.

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Justin B: roller, coaster, thrill. Happy my entire life! That's just not how it goes.

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Justin B: But I can be reasonably happy even in the hard times, even in the imperfect world, the messy world, even when

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Justin B: things don't work out, how I am planning

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Justin B: them to work out.

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Justin B: This prayer to me has become the core of practicing the principle of acceptance of things as they are, and it brings massive amounts of peace in times when I could really lose all semblance of serenity and go into fear. Some of these lines have become part of my working vocabulary. Taking this like, I said improvised word, taking this messy world as it is not as I would have it.

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Justin B: that just really allows me to pause when agitated.

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Justin B: and connect with God.

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Justin B: All right. So that's the that's the serenity prayer, and how that has really

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Justin B: helped me

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Justin B: regain some connection with God and gain some serenity with how things are in the world.

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Justin B: The next recovery prayer that I was introduced to

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Justin B: was the step 3 prayer.

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Justin B: and this prayer, you know, I thought, okay. Step one. I have admitted powerlessness. My life is a mess step 2. I come to believe that there's a power greater than myself that can restore me to sanity and step 3. I decide to turn my will in my life over to the care of that power that's greater than me

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Justin B: and

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Justin B: And to me, those 1st 3 steps are all about me

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Justin B: and all about God.

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Justin B: And and that's how I that's how I was going into it. Okay, it's just me and God, me and God, me and God. And then.

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Justin B: a couple of years after I had taken this step, 3, I went through step 3 with somebody else. I was taking them through step 3,

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Justin B: and a couple of words jumped out at me. So I'm going to read, Step 3 prayer.

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Justin B: and I'm going to improvise. I'm going to comment on it as I go through it. God! There's God I offer myself to thee. It's all me and God

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Justin B: to build with me, and do with me as thou wilt me, and God relieve me of the bondage of self.

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Justin B: that I may better do Thy will, me and God

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Justin B: take away my difficulties, my difficulties, so that victory over them my difficulties may bear witness to those I would help. All of a sudden I heard those I would help and step 3 became so much more than just me and God, and how am I helping them not of my power, not of my love, not of my way of life, of God's power, God's love, and God's way of life.

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Justin B: and may I do. Thy will always comes back to me and God. But the purpose of that is to get out and and work with others, and serve others, and

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Justin B: bear witness

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Justin B: of the victory over these character, defect these difficulties.

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Justin B: and help others.

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Justin B: It's I think, that's that that step 3. I like to call it a covenant

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Justin B: that I always thought was just between me and God becomes up and out. It's me, God and others, and that that goes out there, and that

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Justin B: changed my my whole perspective on things, and really emphasized to me the importance of working with others. And how quickly

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Justin B: that importance actually comes in. It's not. I don't wait until Step 12 to do that. It starts at step 3

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Justin B: the next prayer recovery prayer that has kind of sequentially really affected my life

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Justin B: is what's known as the Sick Man's Prayer.

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Justin B: And this this comes from the big book of Alcoholics, anonymous

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Justin B: and and the reading from a big book goes. We asked God to help us show them people that had offended us, people who had stepped on our toes. We perceived that they stepped on our toes that they've done us wrong.

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Justin B: We asked God to help us show them the same tolerance, pity, and patience. We would cheerfully grant a sick friend. When a person offended, we said to ourselves, This is a sick man. How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry! Thy will be done.

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Justin B: Now, when I 1st heard this prayer.

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Justin B: it, the addict mind in me was like, Yeah, everybody out out there is Sickos. They're all sick.

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Justin B: and I need to help them, because I'm not sick. I got my crap together. I know what I'm doing until I heard someone add in 3 words to this prayer.

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Justin B: This is a sick man just like me.

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Justin B: How can I be helpful to him? God save me from being angry! Thy will be done!

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Justin B: It was in this sick man's prayer that I found peace with how I had previously felt. I had been misled or taught incorrectly about God and prayer. From my childhood. All of a sudden I went.

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Justin B: These people who were teaching me whether it's my parents or people at church, wherever it may be.

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Justin B: They were sick people just like me, and maybe they weren't.

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Justin B: Maybe they were. I don't know addicts.

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Justin B: But they suffered the

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Justin B: condition of mortality, this, the condition of humanness.

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Justin B: And they were sick. People just like me trying to do their best.

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Justin B: But others, just like me, are imperfect, just like me.

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Justin B: All of us here on earth are imperfect, just like me, and now I can look at pretty much everyone from my past who I previously thought had harmed me in any way.

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Justin B: and I've been able to have compassion for them.

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Justin B: just like, I hope that people who that I have harmed and continue to harm through my

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Justin B: insensitivity. My, you know my, my weaknesses, my character defects will have compassion on me at some point when they go. Oh.

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Justin B: Justin was trying his best.

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Justin B: but he's a sick man just like me.

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Justin B: and that has changed a whole lot of things in my life, and it's freed me to really let go of a lot of

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Justin B: resentments that I had carried for a long time.

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Justin B: So there's the sick man's prayer, and how it has

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Justin B: freed me up like these other recovery prayers.

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Justin B: The next prayer is the fear prayer.

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Justin B: and and this is such a a

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Justin B: one that I

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Justin B: well, when I 1st came into recovery, and I was sitting down with my sponsor, and he was talking to me about Step 4, and we got to the fears tab he goes all right, Justin, what fears do you have.

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Justin B: and I said, Absolutely none. I have 0 fear. I'm a red-blooded American man. I have short man syndrome. I will stand up to anyone anywhere. I fear nothing.

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Justin B: and he kind of laughed, and he went through a couple of examples. Do you have a fear that your wife's going to leave you? Well, I don't want that to happen. Do you have a fear that you're going to lose your kids and family?

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Justin B: Yeah, I guess I do, you know. And he kind of opened my eyes to some of these fears that I didn't think of

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Justin B: having.

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Justin B: And

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Justin B: and now, as I continue to walk this path. I'm recognizing more and more as I go along, just how much and how present fear is

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Justin B: in my life.

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Justin B: It's always been hiding, lurking below the surface and influencing me in ways that

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Justin B: have not been helpful. But the fear pressure says, God.

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Justin B: remove my fear

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Justin B: and direct my attention to what you would have me be.

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Justin B: and I think there's some powerful things in there. I would, you know, I think, if I were the one writing this prayer, I would say, direct my attention to what you would have me do.

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Justin B: But I love how the big book says, how, how you would have me be! It's a change of

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Justin B: what I am.

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Justin B: It's killing off

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Justin B: the fear that is trying to do to me.

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Justin B: and and inviting me to become something better, an instrument in God's hand to

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Justin B: well, that victory over them may bear witness to those I would help right.

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Justin B: and fear is something that victory over fear can bear witness to those I would help, of God's power, God's love, and God's way of life.

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Justin B: and I think that's a powerful thing there.

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Justin B: I think the fear prayer is something that is becoming more and more valid in my life today. I haven't said that a whole lot throughout my recovery, but over the last couple of months it has become more and more

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Justin B: meaningful to me.

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Justin B: and I think one of the reasons why is because this next prayer that I

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Justin B: I've I've pulled from the big book, but I've also added a little bit, too, because of it's the willingness prayer.

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Justin B: you know. I think with fear a lot of times that when I'm fearful, it's because I'm not willing to do what I believe God is putting in my path. I'm not willing to do that that character defect of mine, avoidance and procrastination. I love those ones. They give me control, at least perceived control, and I'm not willing to give them up, but the willingness prayers, God help me to be willing.

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Justin B: 2. And then I put in there whatever it is.

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Justin B: But what I do is I'm not willing right now. So God help me to be willing

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Justin B: to be willing

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Justin B: to be willing.

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Justin B: Yeah, you know as many times as it takes to, you know. Release this

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Justin B: character, defect this, you know, whatever it is that's in front of me that I am avoiding or not wanting to

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Justin B: change.

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Justin B: and that's a that's a powerful one for me. Is help me to be willing to be willing, because, like I said.

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Justin B: there are some things I'm just not willing to

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Justin B: at this point.

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Justin B: and hopefully that changes, and it will it will. God has proven that as I pray that prayer to be willing to be willing. Eventually the willingness comes, and then I'm it happens, and it's really cool.

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Justin B: All right. The step 7 prayer.

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Justin B: I love this prayer. And this was one, I think

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Justin B: chronologically. This was right after the step 3 prayer when I learned this and and the power of it. But I'm going to go through this

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Justin B: here and and read that, and I'm going to emphasize a couple of things here.

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Justin B: my Creator.

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Justin B: I am now willing that you should have all of me, good and bad, and I'm going to pause right here. I don't get to choose what is the good and what is the bad.

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Justin B: I'm giving it all to God

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Justin B: and

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Justin B: and I and I that when I understood that at least I think I understand it

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Justin B: all of a sudden I go. Oh, Crud, I really am not the boss. I really do need to shut down Justin Incorporated and work for God Incorporated. I can't say. Oh, you know what I am really good at

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Justin B: whatever I'm really good at.

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Justin B: I don't know. I'm good at things, but I want to keep those and not allow God to influence them or grow them or change them. I don't want them to change them, because I think they're good. No.

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Justin B: I'm now willing that you should have all of me good and bad. I pray that you now remove from me every single defect of character which stands in the way of my usefulness to you and my fellows.

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Justin B: Once again we bring others into this.

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Justin B: and I'm removing character defects that stand in my way of my usefulness to God and those around me.

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Justin B: And then this last phrase,

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Justin B: is one that I have incorporated into nearly every prayer

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Justin B: I say in public and private, whether it's at church, whether it's at home sitting around the dinner table. Grant me strength as I go out from here to do your bidding.

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Justin B: That phrase is such a powerful phrase. It's saying, Hey, God, I don't got this.

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Justin B: My strength isn't enough to go out here and do your bidding, but if you're bidding me to do something, I know you'll give me enough strength to make it happen.

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Justin B: and

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Justin B: and that's just such a powerful phrase. And and if if you'll notice, that is the I don't know if it's the only prayer, but it's the 1st prayer in the big book that ends with an Amen.

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Justin B: The Step 3. Prayer doesn't end with an Amen in the book

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Justin B: because I got to keep going on on work. But step step 7. There's an Amen Amen in there, meaning, all right, let's close. And let's get to work.

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Justin B: And

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Justin B: and I find that interesting. I don't know why exactly that is. But I've heard different people talk about that.

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Justin B: Let's see. Yeah, I got a little bit of time here. Good

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Justin B: Kay.

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Justin B: the set aside prayer. This is one that we open this meeting with every week. Just a minute before we hit record on it. And and it's 1 that when I 1st heard it I thought, Man, that's powerful, because I don't know if you're like me, you think that

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Justin B: well, I think that I know what I know, and when I think I know something, I think

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Justin B: I don't need to know anything else.

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Justin B: but I love to set aside prayer. God, please help me. Set aside everything I know about

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Justin B: well, everything, and we can list off all of those things, and then I love at the end. Well, not at the end, but towards the end. One of the lines is.

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Justin B: Help me set aside everything I know, especially about you and all things spiritual, so that I may have a new understanding of all of these things. Please help me to see your truth

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Justin B: and

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Justin B: When I 1st came in, like I said, I came from a very religious family. I thought I knew God, and I thought that the way I understood God is the only way anybody can understand God, the only true God, you know, and all those things.

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Justin B: And as this prayer has really set sunk down deep inside my soul. I realize

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Justin B: I don't have a clue

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Justin B: of who God is, and, in fact, I love the the tense of the words.

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Justin B: in step 3 and step 11.

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Justin B: God, as we understood him.

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Justin B: God, as we understood him.

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Justin B: because if I still understand God today, the same as I did yesterday, or last week, or last year, or 10 years ago.

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Justin B: I am stuck.

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Justin B: I'm stuck.

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Justin B: and there's so much more to learn, and I love in one of the

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Justin B: closing paragraphs of the 1st 164 pages. God will constantly disclose more to you and to us.

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Justin B: and he does, he can't, and and I I choose to call God a He. However, you see God I don't, whatever, but

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Justin B: God will constantly disclose more to me, and he does, and that's a i love that that I can be surprised

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Justin B: every day, if that's what I seek, and if that's what is disclosed to me. Oh, there's a whole new way of seeing you. God thank you.

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Justin B: Now I can understand this part of my life a little bit better and apply these things into my life. I love that

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Justin B: the next prayer.

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Justin B: that

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Justin B: that honestly I just learned this prayer like in the last 3 weeks I was recording a big book roundtable.

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Justin B: and David G. As we're going through. I think it was about page 63, 62 just really powerful pages, and we're just going through those things. And

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Justin B: and he said, you know one of the prayers that I use, and has made a huge difference in my life, he called. He called it. Remove the veil prayer.

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Justin B: and I just and it's become a working part of my life in the last few weeks. And here's how it goes. God, please remove the veil so that I can really see what is happening here, and not be intoxicated by and blighted

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Justin B: and not be intoxicated and blinded by stories and fears.

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Justin B: God clear. And it's it's a version of the set aside prayer, hey?

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Justin B: There's a lot of noise going on around here. I think I know what's going on, but remove that veil, open my eyes so that I really see what's happening here, and not be intoxicated by the stories and the fears that are all around here.

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Justin B: And as I'm trying to implement that prayer into my life and make it a working part of of who I am and how I go about my day.

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Justin B: I really am starting to have

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Justin B: some of the cobwebs, some of the the the

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Justin B: unclear ways of seeing things removed.

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Justin B: And I think that's something that can happen throughout my life. I'm not all of a sudden going to be like

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Justin B: Woohoo! I can see as well as an as a falcon from, you know, wherever and see everything. That's not how it's going to be, but in each situation. I can ask that

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Justin B: my site be cleared just enough so I can really see what's going on here.

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Justin B: and that is a powerful thing for me

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Justin B: now. One thing that I've learned, you know I talked about how I entered the rooms with, you know. All the prayers were from the heart, and it was in a in a kind of open-ended prayers. They weren't fixed prayers, they weren't written prayers, they were done with some sort of prescribed

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Justin B: format, but it was my own words.

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Justin B: and that's kind of where I've come to full circle. The the next thing I want to share about is the practice of two-way prayer. It's not a fixed prayer, it's not a it's not a hey

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Justin B: for any, for, hey? In this situation, when I'm fearing, feeling fearful, I pray this prayer.

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Justin B: Two-way prayer is basically

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Justin B: asking God a question.

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Justin B: listening.

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Justin B: pausing.

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Justin B: and writing what comes to my head and what comes to my heart?

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Justin B: And I learned two-way prayer.

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Justin B: Well.

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Justin B: I think it was initially I learned two-way prayer from Father Bill W. Who has been a guest on Rico 12 a couple times, and he just it just blew my mind. I went to a workshop that he used to hold on two-way prayer, and I thought, Wow, this is really cool.

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Justin B: but what I find the big difference between my previous prayers from the heart and 2. A prayer practice now before was before it was me. Talk, talk talking.

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Justin B: Amen!

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Justin B: Hit! Throat, hit the pillow, hit the food, whatever it was, and not listen. I wouldn't take the time to listen.

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Justin B: I just talk, talk, talk at God

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Justin B: rather than having a conversation there.

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Justin B: and the difference now is that I'll ask a very simple question. I'm not going to go on for 5 min talking at God, I'm going to say, Hey, God!

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Justin B: What would you have me do and be today.

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Justin B: or God? What do I need to be aware of today

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Justin B: or God? Who do. I need to reach out to today?

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Justin B: And then I sit in silence, pen in hand, pad of paper in front of me

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Justin B: this time of year, because it's still dark in the mornings. When I do this I have a candle at my desk. I light the candle, and I just sit there because it's dark, and I sit there and quiet and listen, and then I write what comes. I don't judge it. I don't filter it.

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Justin B: and when the flow stops flowing, I pause

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Justin B: and reread the question, and then read the answer that I wrote while keeping in mind the 4 absolutes. Now, if you're not familiar with what the 4 absolutes are.

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Justin B: there's some guidelines that were brought into Aa from the Oxford group, which is where the 1st members. Bill W. Dr. Bob.

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Justin B: learned and got sober about many of the things that have been brought into the 12 steps of recovery, and those 4 absolutes are absolute honesty.

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Justin B: purity, unselfishness, and love.

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Justin B: Now

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Justin B: I check it against that, and if it checks all those boxes, and I got to wrap up here.

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Justin B: then it's from God. But I love this line from the big book, these lines, and being still inexperienced and just, having made conscious contact with God. It is not probable that we are going to be inspired at all times. We might pay for this presumption in all sorts of absurd actions and ideas. So.

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Justin B: in order to hopefully not pay for these things and all sorts of absurd actions and ideas, I also share my daily two-way prayer guidance with a few others who are practicing two-way prayer, so that they can also check my guidance against the 4 absolutes, and see if I'm in danger of following self's will, and not God's will.

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Justin B: And then those next lines in the big book. Nevertheless, we find that our thinking will, as time passes, be more and more on the plane of inspiration, we come to rely upon it.

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Justin B: and I am coming to rely upon this this connection with God, whether it be through the recovery prayers that I mentioned earlier, or this practice of two-way prayer, and it has made massive amounts of difference in my life, in my recovery

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Justin B: and in my ability to help others. And thank you so much, Liza. With that I'm going to pass.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Thank you, Justin. Oh, man, I

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: every time I hear any it's kind of like when I read the big book right like I'll hit a page, or there'll be a page at a meeting, called out Right

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Page, and finally, everybody's like you say that every time, and I feel like I do the same thing with every rico thing, especially when it's people that I am so fortunate to get to know and love. I'm like, Oh, my God is my favorite. I'm like you say that every time, because it's legitimately true, right? Like I love it so much. Thank you for that. I am totally.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I took notes because there was so much

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: to ask, based on everything, because you included so much to feast on there.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I heard in the beginning you said that you were guided, and I want to come back to that because you said you were guided to

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: take certain steps and do certain things both in your creation and evolution of Rico. 12 things, but also your life, your prayer, life, everything that is all of what we get to do in this way of life? What does that guidance look like to you, or sound like or feel like? How are you able to discern or determine?

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: What is the space that you get to occupy in connection with your higher power, as that continues to evolve as you do.

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Justin B: Yeah.

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Justin B: I think that early in recovery I would have used the word prompted rather than guided, because it would have just been, Hey, Justin

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Justin B: slap upside the head. Look over. There is kind of how that would have been.

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Justin B: And now I the the word guidance is so much more valid to how things are today. I because now

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Justin B: I'm hoping that it doesn't take a slap upside the head to get my attention. I'm hoping that I'm seeking

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Justin B: for that. And a couple of years ago I I sat down with somebody who helped me identify some things about myself

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Justin B: and

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Justin B: and help me identify what really made me go, and and those who listen to this may recognize this

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Justin B: from one of the opening readings that I always do

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Justin B: my personal brand. The reason why I think I exist, and why God has me doing

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Justin B: whatever I'm doing, whether it be Rico 12 or whatever is that I'm seeking guidance so that I can reflect light, inspiring hope, meaning, worth and growth in others and in myself.

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Justin B: But how does guidance look now?

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Justin B: It is

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Justin B: I seek guidance. I say, Okay, God.

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Justin B: what do you need me to be today? What do you need me to do today?

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Justin B: And I feel that.

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Justin B: And I,

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Justin B: man. There are times when words come to my head and heart that I'm like

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Justin B: that is not me that is definitely a power greater than me. Where did that come from? And oftentimes it comes when I'm sitting down and talking with one of God's kids

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Justin B: being of maximum service to others, they'll say something, and they'll be like.

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Justin B: All right. God! I have no idea where to go and boom.

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Justin B: and there it is, and and that's kind of how that guidance works is, it comes to my thoughts, and it usually is in well, it's in the same way that I speak, because I think God speaks to me the same way I speak.

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Justin B: but it's words that I would never formulate myself. So does that make any sense? Does that answer the question?

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Yeah, perfectly. That's fantastic. I love that.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: You also said, well, first, st let me get to a question from one of our people in the live audience. Is there a link or a place where all of these different prayers can be found? That's just a place, or certain pages, or whatever will you have something posted that people could link to that might list them, or reference them.

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Justin B: I have seen like documents with all of these prayers, maybe not all of them, but most of them. But what I can do is my notes that I took for this. I can basically have that available to anybody who wants those. And I can just send an email to Rico 12 pod@gmail.com, and I can send you these notes that have all those prayers.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Thank you for that and great question. Thank you, Misha. And then so also another question for you from our live audience. Are there any actual two-way prayer meetings that you attend, or that are your favorite to go to? Or is there even just a broad reference or place for those kinds of resources on what two-way prayer is, whether it's through Father Bill W. Or or elsewhere.

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Justin B: Yeah. So so

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Justin B: I always send people when they say, Hey, Justin, tell me about this two-way prayer thing that you're talking about.

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Justin B: I always send people to 2 wayprayer.org. It's Father Bill W's website. And I also reference people. I say, dude, you got to read

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Justin B: this book. I've got it filtered, but it's called How to Listen to God overcoming addiction through practice of Two-way Prayer, by Wally P. Who is a big book historian.

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Justin B: and that book. When I 1st read it, it was like

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Justin B: mind blowing.

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Justin B: And then, as I continued practicing 2 way prayer and

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Justin B: dude, I have been so spoiled to be able to become well. I call him my friend friends with Father Bill W.

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Justin B: I don't know that he'd call me his friend, but an acquaintance, but I love him and I and I. He used to host a couple of two-way prayer meetings weekly. He doesn't anymore. He does different things with that. But I for about a year every Sunday morning I'd sit down with him and 8 or 10 other people, and we just talk about two-way prayer and man

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Justin B: very cool. I know there are two-way prayer meetings. I don't currently attend any, but I know that you can find some, probably through the two-way prayer website. And also, I think the spiritual gangsters may have a two-way prayer meeting that they do or have done so. There's a couple of resources that.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Awesome. Yeah, I know there's an artist's way. One. There are several. If you want. I mean, if anybody googles it, you can find a ton of stuff I would kind of always like God show up through the results. In that way, too. It's kind of fun

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I wanted to follow up on that a little bit because you were talking about your practice, and the people that you connect with, where you kind of run it by each other.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: in that space. Is that what you? And actually it kind of ties into another question. The same. So take it wherever you want to.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: In some fellowships. The idea of what sponsorship is.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: and what those relationships look like beyond your initial running through the steps right? Whether it's a god squad, whether it's a sponsorship relationship, whatever it is, that is that space of things. What has been most beneficial for you?

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: In addition to living your 12 by sponsoring right? But I mean in having those, whether it's the God Squad or like Mark Houston and those guys had the steel on steel connections and relationships. What have been the most significant places for you in those deep, meaningful, personal relationships that allow you to continue to level up in your recovery and grow with a group

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: intimately in the ways that you do this work? Does that make sense as a question? Do you know what I'm saying?

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Justin B: Yeah, it does. I think it does make sense. Yeah, those

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Justin B: relationships continue to grow. I think once

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Justin B: once a Sponsee quote, unquote graduates finishes their finishes their 12 steps.

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Justin B: I send them. I say, okay, go, fly, go, sponsor, go! Go! Be! I am here, and I'm happy to continue taking your your daily, your daily review, your 10th step 11. Step review. I'm happy to continue. If if they have chosen to start practicing two-way prayer, I'm happy to continue exchanging two-way prayers with you

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Justin B: and and giving feedback in those ways. And that, honestly, is

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Justin B: when I when I interact and exchange those 10th step, 11th step questions at the end of the day with people, and exchange to.

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Katie H.: Daughter.

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Justin B: Yeah, we we

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Justin B: that's how that those relationships really expand and grow.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: That's awesome.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Aligned with that also. Are there spaces where you think

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: your

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: understanding of things as you continue to grow through both the application of reading the big book and doing all that you do within the Rico family, and also living your life and out there doing the other things in all of the ways that you connect both to fellowship people as well as

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: church, family, people, family, family, people, right, and all of those things. When we start to practice these things in all our affairs? Is there a space where you've noticed changes in your relationships with anybody that you've invited into that space with you in prayer, even if they're not a 12 step person.

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Justin B: Absolutely. And I I'm going to go specifically to church on this and my church community and my work community. But I'm going to go to church on this

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Justin B: As I have applied these principles in all my affairs.

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Justin B: I have

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Justin B: been able to. Well, one, bring a wrecking ball into church with vulnerability and realness.

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Justin B: but to allow other people to go holy crap Justin! He's being pretty vulnerable right now, and he's sharing things that I have never

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Justin B: heard people actually share and mean

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Justin B: and so that that has created more

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Justin B: connection with people that

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Justin B: that I would say beforehand were friends.

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Justin B: But I didn't know anything about them. They didn't know anything about me. We saw each other on Sundays, and maybe once during the week, but that's as deep as it went. And now there's there's a real connection there, and practicing these principles, and all my affairs has really opened that up and honestly changed the culture of many places that I

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Justin B: interact with in church. So.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I love that. Thank you.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I'm also curious.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: We have a question about that God's line visual that you gave us. I love, that are there ways that you use that same kind of line of what's mine and what's not mine, or that that somehow, even in referencing right, the prompting or the guidance, or the different things that come to you, where you just simply see that line and recognize. Oh, this is me and self like, how does that show up for you? And what do you tend to do in those moments when you are awakening to that truth? Right.

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Justin B: Yeah, absolutely. And I wish I was as aware of this quickly. My wife is hyper aware of that's not my line.

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Justin B: not and and her line is not my circus, not my or not, my monkeys, not my circus or not my circus, not my monkeys, or something like that, and

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Justin B: and it usually takes her or someone else to say, Justin, is there really anything you can do about that, in whatever way it is before I go. Oh, yeah.

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Justin B: that's probably on God's Lane. Okay, I'll give that to God. I wish I was as quick to recognize that I'm getting quicker.

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Justin B: It's becoming more and more a working part of my life

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Justin B: kind of my thought process. But

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Justin B: I still my still default is, I'm a red, blooded American man. I'm short man syndrome. I can do this, and whatever is in front of me, I can control it.

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Justin B: That's my initial. Go to, but it's becoming less and less that way.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I love that, and hey! So given the rooms that we know you came in by your story, and your Rico's here have been phenomenally open about those things, too. What is in your relationship with your wife like? How do you spiritually

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: nourish one another and do things that are specific to your relationship that have been healing, that maybe other people that aren't sure whether they're going to stay married, or even in relationships. Or, you know, in that kind of space where there seems to maybe be pain. That isn't yet.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I won't want to say gotten over. But right when you're still in the beginning stages of trying to build something as God would have you do it, and you are changing your own life. But there's also this tethered group of people or person that is yours that are also hopefully going with you like, how did you guys learn to navigate that space.

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Justin B: And that was such a

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Justin B: crazy road. And it's a really long story, and I will share it more in depth. Or maybe I'll have heather my wife on sometime to share a little bit more about that, because it's really more her story than mine, I think.

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Justin B: But

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Justin B: she came into the 12 step rooms, the anon rooms 8 years before I ever was willing to set foot in these rooms.

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Justin B: and she got healing, and

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Justin B: for whatever reason. During that time she never felt guided

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Justin B: to say, Justin, it's over

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Justin B: I'm out of here. You're a loser.

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Justin B: and I'm so grateful for that, because she could have, and probably should have honestly.

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Justin B: but well, she shouldn't have, because it's not the way it worked out, but she could have very easily.

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Justin B: But how we work together now is recovery is both of our lives. She spends her so much of her time giving back, and her

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Justin B: her job now is working with with addicts who are trying to fight

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Justin B: to maintain their children, who are in danger of losing their children. And this is a new, a new thing that she's worked for for a long time and just started here in the last 6 or 8 months.

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Justin B: And

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Justin B: so so this, this recovery life has become

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Justin B: really our whole way of life, and how we connect with each other. We still have trouble connecting in non recovery ways. But when we're speaking the language of recovery.

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Justin B: It's it's a powerful thing. And we're we're developing the other the other ways as we go along.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Oh, that's so beautiful! And I love her just because I love you and like Dude. The way that you describe things with her is, is absolutely beautiful to me, and

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: as someone that came in

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: chose a sick person in my sickness, and have watched things transform in my own marriage, it's it's magical to see what can happen in those spaces. And I love that you guys embody that

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: we have an anonymous question, 1st thanking you for your share. And then specifically, when you continue to watch as we're guided to through the book in multiple ways. But that part of continue, what does that look like for you, either in relationship to what attend looks like, or just broadly.

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Justin B: Yeah. So step 10 is another thing that I have really

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Justin B: gotten a much better grasp on over the last couple of years in my recovery continue to watch, and and I love what it says. On page 84 of the big book continue to watch for selfishness, dishonesty, resentment, and fear.

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Justin B: When these crop up

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Justin B: they grow, they're gonna happen.

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Justin B: They are going to happen. Even if I'm in a good

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Justin B: connected place with God. Things are going to crop up. But then we ask God it wants to remove them. So really my step. 10 process is what it says here

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Justin B: immediately. Oh, God! I am resenting this situation.

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Justin B: Remove my resentment. Take it away from me. I can't handle this. Pick up the phone, talk to somebody else, shoot off a text message, I love.

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Justin B: I love this voice. You can do a voice message thing through text on, on apple phone, on iphones now. And you can also do Marco Polo, so it's it doesn't have to be like live and in person. I don't I? But I can still

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Justin B: send a message to somebody and state it out loud and get it out there, and if I've if I need to make amends, I do it right away, and then I turn my thoughts to being of service to someone else.

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Justin B: If I'm if I'm if I'm at work and I can't actually get up and go serve someone, I can turn my thoughts, and that changes my perspective. And that's what my step 10 continuing to watch, looks like today.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: That's fantastic.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: We have another question for you, related specifically to religion, right? Because you grew up in a very religious situation, even prayer. And those kinds.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: There's a certain idea, especially for a lot of people that aren't comfortable with the whole God thing. I always reinforce that, you know. That's just a shorthand. It doesn't really mean anything. We just say that because that describes that we're all reaching, whatever ours is, that's what that is for you. How has

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: not only your relationship with that higher power evolved, but even your understanding or lack of understanding of what that power that is, the power we live by, evolved with you, or something that is truly set apart from what the religious aspects of that have been.

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Justin B: Yeah, I think I've recorded on this. I don't remember if it was on here, but I've probably said something about it on Rico 12. But I think I've talked in a couple of other groups about my experience with this.

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Justin B: I eventually had to fire the god of my understanding that I

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Justin B: thought I grew up with. I had to kick that God to the curb and say, Hey, you're not strong enough. You're not loving enough. You don't care enough. You don't. You aren't aware enough of me.

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Justin B: and I needed to find a new God. Now, what I what what I found for me is that when I did that, and I opened my my mind and said, God, who are you?

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Justin B: All of a sudden I realized that the God of my youth

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Justin B: was that God? But

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Justin B: being taught to me from God rather than from somebody else, and

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Justin B: with

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Justin B: a perspective of love, so that I'm not hearing the the smiting and the the burning and the the whatever else that that stuff doesn't. That's not the God of my understanding, but

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Justin B: the God of my my youth and childhood is the god of my understanding today without those those aspects.

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Justin B: But it came to the point where I had to say, I am willing to give up everything to know you. God, I'm willing to give up my my religion, my culture, my everything that I have known my whole life to know you.

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Justin B: Now teach me who you are.

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Justin B: and it's it's been a

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Justin B: scary but really cool process.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: That is awesome.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I heard you describing about taking that pause, and what that looks like when you apply that, and also how you used to pray, and it was extensive. And then, now, it's just really simple and and kind of just gets to the core. And you you're in a space where you're more ready to listen.

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I was recognizing for me right? I think some of us, when there's religious stuff, or whatever in the background, and we think about prayer, we feel like we're in, like one of those bad scary movies or something where like, if you have a wish. But you don't state it just right, like you're going to end up dead or something. So we're like trying to throw in all the lawyers speaking caveats to make ourselves like, okay. But just in case you're thinking this, and I'm getting punished that way, let me see this right? So it's like all of these things. It's like this huge run on sentence. So we can finally get to the point that we actually need, or whatever in prayer

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: without that, and being able to just kind of get to the core of whatever, and listen for those answers. How does your sense of timing

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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: exist in the infinite right when you're in that pause, and waiting for the answers and doing the next right thing. In the meantime, what does that time and space actually look like for you as you wait patiently.

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Justin B: Yeah, great question. And I've never actually thought about this. But as I ponder on that right now, Liza.

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Justin B: I think that that moment that time

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Justin B: for me. I think it needs to look like taking action. What I think is the next right thing to do. But being open to

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Justin B: you know. Nope, that's not it. Or, yeah, keep going.

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Justin B: Because if I'm not, because I mentioned earlier my

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Justin B: some of my primary character defects, avoidance and procrastination. If I sit and wait in that time.

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Justin B: Well, I'm very soon going to find myself scrolling, or, or, you know, looking at sports scores and everything else, and and avoiding my life away rather than getting into action. I hope that answers that question.

439
00:52:03.600 --> 00:52:18.260
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: It absolutely does. I love that? Yeah, I think patience like a lot of us aren't like, naturally patient people. I'm gonna make it happen, even if I have to do it. And now we're like, wait, what am I doing? You tell me I'm just gonna wait. And then we're like, well, what do I do while I'm waiting? So I love that. Thank you.

440
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Justin B: So my, actually my two-way prayer from yesterday, and I'm not going to read it. But it was pretty funny. I was given 3 specific checklist items to do in my two-way prayer. And I was like, Okay, I'm going to get to work on it. And I had already closed it up. And then I had this thought, come to me. Say, Justin.

441
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Justin B: patience.

442
00:52:37.210 --> 00:52:37.939
Justin B: it's like.

443
00:52:38.070 --> 00:52:38.790
Justin B: Oh.

444
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Justin B: okay, I'll sit back for a minute, and I know what I've got to do. But I'm not gonna jump in right now. So that was, that was a pretty funny thing that you just brought up and reminded me of my guidance from yesterday.

445
00:52:50.540 --> 00:53:08.010
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: That is awesome, and even aligned with that. So then, when you take God with you everywhere, right when we live, that 53 choice that God truly is everything, and we want to be open. And we're setting aside all of the things that we think we know all the time. What does it look like for you to carry God with you throughout the day?

446
00:53:09.830 --> 00:53:10.960
Justin B: You know

447
00:53:12.410 --> 00:53:17.379
Justin B: I'm not successful at it all the time, obviously. But when I

448
00:53:18.220 --> 00:53:21.510
Justin B: feel connected in

449
00:53:21.660 --> 00:53:23.539
Justin B: in in my

450
00:53:23.670 --> 00:53:26.629
Justin B: believe in things that, I believe, are Scripture.

451
00:53:27.010 --> 00:53:28.359
Justin B: One of the

452
00:53:28.450 --> 00:53:31.580
Justin B: one of the repeated guidelines is to pray always.

453
00:53:31.870 --> 00:53:39.240
Justin B: That doesn't mean to hit my knees all the time. It doesn't mean to be going around talking to God like this. It means to keep that thought. God, what is your will?

454
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Justin B: Thy will, not mine be done?

455
00:53:41.490 --> 00:53:44.469
Justin B: What is the next right thing to do? How can I be of service?

456
00:53:44.810 --> 00:53:52.259
Justin B: Just have those thoughts and open communication with God? And I think that's what it looks like when I'm in a good place, when I'm not in a good place. I'm just

457
00:53:52.620 --> 00:53:55.930
Justin B: an automaton, like every like many other people.

458
00:53:58.180 --> 00:53:59.060
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I love that.

459
00:53:59.760 --> 00:54:14.380
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: What would you tell your early recovery self if you were able to speak to him today, which I imagine is also something that you practice as you sponsor. Right? What are some of those things that you're like? Oh, I'm gonna help them bypass the hard lesson I learned on that one.

460
00:54:14.470 --> 00:54:21.467
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: even if that includes. By the way, like, I'm all down to hear some of your like. These are some of the expert, absurd things I did when I thought it was gone.

461
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Justin B: You know, I think that that word that I just said patience, is something that I would tell myself, because and this still trips me up all the time when I feel like I get

462
00:54:35.570 --> 00:54:39.409
Justin B: guidance, whether it be from God, whether it be from my boss, whether it be from my wife.

463
00:54:39.753 --> 00:54:46.570
Justin B: If I'm in a place where I'm not like. Oh, I'm going to avoid that, and just sit back. I get right on it, and I get going?

464
00:54:47.231 --> 00:54:49.189
Justin B: And that's when I make.

465
00:54:49.610 --> 00:54:51.850
Justin B: That's when I fall on my face.

466
00:54:52.516 --> 00:54:54.740
Justin B: I need to breathe.

467
00:54:55.130 --> 00:54:58.399
Justin B: Have patience, and I would advise myself, Justin, just

468
00:54:58.810 --> 00:55:00.810
Justin B: go along with what's being shared

469
00:55:01.010 --> 00:55:03.240
Justin B: by your sponsor, by these people that

470
00:55:03.260 --> 00:55:04.750
Justin B: have what you want

471
00:55:04.820 --> 00:55:10.900
Justin B: and don't expect to be them. And in their place today just because you talked to them once.

472
00:55:11.030 --> 00:55:20.510
Justin B: Have patience with the process and let it happen. Grow with God, grow with yourself and go with it. Be patient. So that's what it. But I think that's what it would be.

473
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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: That's beautiful. And honestly, that tendency to compare or

474
00:55:27.160 --> 00:55:31.939
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: the even the intentional and deliberate

475
00:55:31.990 --> 00:55:52.280
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: invitation. Right like, I always say, you know, God is everywhere. We don't have to ask God to come in because God's not there. We do that because we need to wake up right like I'm being conscious to the fact that I've been operating unconsciously. And so now I'm very deliberately and intentionally saying, like dude, I know you're here. And now I'm going to be aware of it. I'm so sorry right.

476
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Justin B: Yeah.

477
00:55:53.620 --> 00:55:54.540
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I love that.

478
00:55:54.910 --> 00:56:05.270
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: There's a question related to your relationship. And and probably would be better asked of her genuinely because she was in program before you were. But are there things that you've noticed

479
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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: that become a part of how we operate in recovery within relationships with someone who may or may not still be

480
00:56:12.830 --> 00:56:16.291
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: in the old ways of life as opposed to our new one.

481
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✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: That are a prayer in that space that you're familiar with, or have heard, or even that she told you, or something. That is a way of kind of getting through those perhaps challenging moments.

482
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Justin B: So so, Liza? Let me make sure that I understand.

483
00:56:32.890 --> 00:56:36.389
Justin B: Actually, would you re ask that question a different way, cause I kinda got lost in it.

484
00:56:36.390 --> 00:56:40.560
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Absolutely. No, it's a bunch of word salad dude. I was trump all day on that one. Sorry, so

485
00:56:40.880 --> 00:57:05.910
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: genuinely. Is there a prayer that, you know, are familiar with that is applicable or even just a page, something within our kind of context of operation, the way we live, this book, and with connection that is useful for somebody whose partner or people in their lives may not be where they are. Recovery wise that helps you to continue to meet them where they need to be met, instead of hoping for yourself to get what you want.

486
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Justin B: I gotcha.

487
00:57:07.710 --> 00:57:27.330
Justin B: and I think oh, I think that's 1 that I, or or a situation I think that I have with Sponseese sometimes. Come on, man, why aren't you getting this? But especially with my wife? I think my wife would be able to answer this question much more than me, but I've heard her say things before, like you know what. When I married Justin.

488
00:57:27.490 --> 00:57:30.960
Justin B: I took it to God before I made that decision.

489
00:57:30.990 --> 00:57:36.260
Justin B: and I felt that God said it was the right thing for me to do. I'm going to stick it out for a little bit longer.

490
00:57:36.330 --> 00:57:48.670
Justin B: and I'll just ask him again, is it still the right thing to do to be with this person? And I think that's that's the same prayer that I have with my sponsees? God, is it still the right thing for me to do to be

491
00:57:48.720 --> 00:57:54.934
Justin B: spending this time with this person who is not putting into practice the things that we're talking about

492
00:57:55.480 --> 00:57:58.969
Justin B: and I'll keep doing it until God says it's time to

493
00:57:59.050 --> 00:58:02.090
Justin B: to let them know that. Hey?

494
00:58:03.010 --> 00:58:05.349
Justin B: Keep trying. I'm still here

495
00:58:05.729 --> 00:58:10.469
Justin B: when you're ready to work this. Come back to me, you know, but I think that's kind of it.

496
00:58:10.750 --> 00:58:12.640
Justin B: Is this still your will

497
00:58:13.500 --> 00:58:15.320
Justin B: that I that I stick this out.

498
00:58:15.480 --> 00:58:17.690
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Yeah, well, and how simple. Right?

499
00:58:18.230 --> 00:58:19.210
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: I love that

500
00:58:19.650 --> 00:58:22.449
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: one more question before we wrap up. And I'm sorry

501
00:58:22.610 --> 00:58:32.553
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: the script specifically, I was just so eager to get into questions with you and responding to our beautiful people in chat that I was just like pepper my questions. Now I want to know everything.

502
00:58:32.890 --> 00:58:43.460
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: last question. So if someone is dealing with a lot of fear related to higher power, and what that might look like or what that relationship was previous.

503
00:58:43.630 --> 00:58:54.059
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Stop them from religious context. Right? How do you encourage them to seek God and understand it from a perspective of love and patience and tolerance?

504
00:58:55.510 --> 00:59:05.490
Justin B: Yeah. And I think this is a place where where that that practice that I talked about earlier of firing God and saying all those things that I

505
00:59:06.120 --> 00:59:14.409
Justin B: thought of you heard about you experienced with you. You're you're you're on the curb. I don't ever want to see you back in my head again.

506
00:59:14.730 --> 00:59:15.940
Justin B: and then

507
00:59:16.864 --> 00:59:23.599
Justin B: there's a there's a really cool practice in one of the books from Sexaholics anonymous called Step into action.

508
00:59:23.610 --> 00:59:31.330
Justin B: and it's a step. 2 inventory, one method of working step 2. And it's basically I make an inventory

509
00:59:31.470 --> 00:59:34.429
Justin B: of powerful people in my life who have.

510
00:59:34.720 --> 00:59:43.009
Justin B: who I have felt powerless in their presence at one way or another. The next column is what happened. What did they do? That made me feel powerless.

511
00:59:43.030 --> 00:59:47.979
Justin B: Next column is, what did I learn about God from these experiences with people.

512
00:59:48.730 --> 00:59:56.089
Justin B: and I write that out. And the next column is the truth I choose to believe today about God.

513
00:59:56.430 --> 01:00:02.260
Justin B: you know. And and if if I can actually go through this process and really

514
01:00:02.490 --> 01:00:04.479
Justin B: fire that old God.

515
01:00:04.870 --> 01:00:06.280
Justin B: and and and

516
01:00:06.310 --> 01:00:21.929
Justin B: choose to believe these things, a loving God, a patient God, a supportive God, my biggest fan, who's in the stands cheering for me as I'm on the field of play, saying, even if I fall on my face, fumble the ball, whatever it may be, is still saying, Justin.

517
01:00:22.390 --> 01:00:30.279
Justin B: I'm proud of you. Go do it! You can get back up and do it again. That's who I want, and that's the process that really changed my own perspective with God.

518
01:00:31.110 --> 01:00:36.060
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: That is so powerful. I'm gonna listen to that like 20 times. Thank you for that. That's magnificent.

519
01:00:36.350 --> 01:00:41.480
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Thank you, Justin, for your fantastic share, and for everything that you do

520
01:00:41.600 --> 01:00:46.456
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: in everything. That is the Rico 12 community and your life, man, I'm so grateful

521
01:00:47.500 --> 01:00:51.630
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: to even just trudge next to you. It's it's such a gift.

522
01:00:51.770 --> 01:01:09.160
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: If we, if we, by meaning you guys listening, have not addressed a question that you have, or you want to know more, or even considering joining the Whatsapp community, send an email to Rico 12 pod. So that's our eco, like the beginning of the word recovery. The number 12, like our steps.

523
01:01:09.240 --> 01:01:23.319
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: and pod, POD. Like podcast@gmail.com to join us in this conversation. If you haven't already done so, please rate and review the podcast on apple podcasts. It really is a powerful way to work your step. 12

524
01:01:23.450 --> 01:01:51.430
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: next Friday we get to hear from a Rico, 12 veteran, Dennis T. Whose topic is going to be around the concept of our recovery gardens, root and branch. I'm so looking forward to hearing from him stay tuned on the Whatsapp community and our email list for more information on that. And again, if you aren't already on the email list or within our groups. Go ahead and send that email to Rico 12 pod@gmail.com just asking to be included, and we will gladly do that for you.

525
01:01:53.560 --> 01:02:00.819
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Let's launch off into the rest of our day. Justin's chosen the prayer of Saint Francis that he's going to say for us, and

526
01:02:01.010 --> 01:02:04.989
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: then I will bid you all adieu. Thank you again for listening and being here.

527
01:02:04.990 --> 01:02:05.300
Justin B: Hmm.

528
01:02:05.740 --> 01:02:14.450
Justin B: thank you so much, Liza, and this is another prayer that's really affected me in my recovery, and we'll get all these questions posted in the Whatsapp group that are on here that we weren't able to get to.

529
01:02:14.870 --> 01:02:15.730
Justin B: All right.

530
01:02:16.410 --> 01:02:22.329
Justin B: Lord, make me a channel of thy peace, that where there is hatress hatred. I may bring love.

531
01:02:22.430 --> 01:02:25.879
Justin B: that where there is wrong I may bring the spirit of forgiveness.

532
01:02:26.000 --> 01:02:31.609
Justin B: that where there is discord I may bring harmony, that where there is error I may bring truth.

533
01:02:31.780 --> 01:02:34.179
Justin B: that where there is doubt I may bring faith.

534
01:02:34.280 --> 01:02:36.920
Justin B: that where there is despair I may bring hope

535
01:02:37.040 --> 01:02:39.759
Justin B: that where there are shadows I may bring light.

536
01:02:40.020 --> 01:02:42.890
Justin B: that where there is sadness I may bring joy.

537
01:02:43.020 --> 01:02:47.370
Justin B: Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted.

538
01:02:47.450 --> 01:02:51.539
Justin B: to understand than to be understood to love than to be loved.

539
01:02:51.610 --> 01:02:56.749
Justin B: for it is by self-forgiving that one finds it is by forgiving that one is forgiven.

540
01:02:56.760 --> 01:03:00.369
Justin B: It is by dying to self that one awakens to eternal life.

541
01:03:00.530 --> 01:03:01.570
Justin B: Amen.

542
01:03:02.650 --> 01:03:09.250
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Amen. Thank you. Thank you so much, Justin, and everyone here again there is one who has all power, and that one is not me.

543
01:03:09.400 --> 01:03:22.099
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Now you find God. Now keep coming back, and when you do come all the way in and show all the way up we get to trudge this happy road of destiny together it works if you work it, and you are with it.

544
01:03:23.710 --> 01:03:27.319
Justin B: Awesome, Liza, you are so amazing. Thank you so much.

545
01:03:27.430 --> 01:03:29.160
Justin B: and thank you all, everybody. I appreciate.

546
01:03:29.160 --> 01:03:29.910
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Thank you.

547
01:03:30.150 --> 01:03:31.050
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Thank you.

548
01:03:31.140 --> 01:03:31.700
Justin B: Alright!

549
01:03:31.700 --> 01:03:33.450
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

550
01:03:34.480 --> 01:03:35.810
✨️Liza Love ☎️+143 GO DEEPER✨️: Thank you for that.

551
01:03:36.280 --> 01:03:43.108
Justin B: Thank you all. So so, Liza and everybody here, I will pull these. There's a lot of

552
01:03:43.620 --> 01:03:49.049
Justin B: a lot of things in the chat here. I'll pull them. I'll post the questions in the Whatsapp group, and I will.

553
01:03:49.090 --> 01:03:59.239
Justin B: I will respond to each of them over the next couple of days, if if you want that, you can access that in the Whatsapp group. So thank you all so much, Liza. Amazing.