“One more dance along the razor’s edge finished. Almost dead yesterday, maybe dead tomorrow, but alive, gloriously alive, today.” Robert Jordan

Fear is the mind killer. Fear will attempt to layer us with guilt and shame dredged from the past, while burying us with anxiety about the future. Learning to live, a day at a time, is one of the keys to freedom. To do this we must take the specters from our past and embrace them for the experiences in living they are. All the mistakes, the missteps,the times when we acted in our own self-interest at the expense of others, and yes, all the times when we have been hurt or treated poorly must be dragged from the shadows and brought into the light and allowed to heal. For these scars, well-earned and proudly displayed, are badges of our survival, and we must stand ready to share their story with anyone if it will assist them on their journey.

Our future fears: mere phantoms, insubstantial, attempting to bluff us into retreating from life, to cower, move from the light back into the shadows of morbid reflection, cut off from the truth of being: that we are Spiritual Beings, extensions of the Great Creative Life Force, in fact, children of Creation.

So, smile and dance today in the manner that suits you, and when the adversary Fear whispers a storm is coming and you should be afraid, laugh and plant flowers for the coming rain to nurture for storms are not only part of living, but are necessary as part of our ever-unfolding awakening.

Miracles Of Recovery 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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“Patience is the companion of wisdom.” Saint Augustine

Patience.  I recall a student saying to me years ago in all earnestness “I know I need patience, I just need it right now!” Eventually we laughed, but in the moment, he truly couldn’t see the forest for the trees.Today as never before society and our lives move at a breakneck pace. Today I laugh when I realize I’m starting to feel annoyed when downloading something and it takes more than a minute. When the internet was new updates often took hours, sometimes over night to download, or irritated when ordering something online and they don’t offer same day shipping. Most reading this won’t remember the standard tag line when you ordered something pre-internet: “expected delivery time 4 to 6 weeks.”

I grew up in a world of newspapers and magazines and 30-minute daily broadcasts of Walter Cronkite (or Huntley and Brinkley) to report the day’s news. Phones were attached to walls. Portable music was a transistor radio and the playlist consisted of whatever the station chooses to broadcast. For research: hard bound Encyclopedias and trips to the library. Spell check was a dictionary. Coffee was black, though cream and sugar were available, and out in the world if you wanted to grab a quick cup the local donut shop was often the destination, usually poured by someone 40ish who clearly enjoyed doughnuts wearing a stained white all-purpose apron and a hairnet. 

Now don’t misunderstand, I love the technological advances of the last few decades and readily avail myself of them. I don’t want to go back. But we all need to remind ourselves daily to slow down, take a breath and enjoy the day. When we practice this habitually, there is much less chance of becoming impatient when someone has 17 items in the 15-itemmax checkout line, or who takes 5 minutes (at least it feels like it) to order a cup of “coffee.” We slow down by taking a break, a time out from the world. We turn off the phone, Laptop, Tablet, the TV and just enjoy a few quiet minutes of solitude, every day. By doing this we drop our stress levels and become more efficient (clinical studies show this to be true) and instead of being annoyed you will find yourself smiling the next time the person in front of you orders a half caff double pump mocha Frappuccino with a splash of vanilla extra whip with Hazelnut sprinkle’s in a double cup, with a sleeve of course, from that stylish 20 something Barista in the designer bib.

Miracles Of Recovery 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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“The truth of the matter is that you always know the right thing to do. The hard part is doing it.” General Norman Schwarzkopf.

From 25 to 30 years of age I was pretty much lost in self and a haze of intoxication. By 25 I had had a good job, owned a home, drove a nice car, was married and a father. Though my daughter was stuck with me, the rest was gone or going. Now, I am supposedly a pretty smart fellow, if you believe IQ tests, (today I suspect scoring well on an IQ test merely demonstrates an ability to take IQ tests well) but looking at my life, I sure wasn’t acting like a “genius.” There were uncounted times when I knew what I was doing or about to do was a bad idea, but that didn’t stop me. Oh, and I was a time traveler when under the influence. I would start out in one place,blackout and then come too, sometimes the next day, in a different place,sometimes wearing different clothes, invariably broke, often in the company of new “best friends” whom I didn’t recognize. A few times this happened while driving, a truly disconcerting experience.

These time traveling episodes terrified me. I was certain I was going to wake up in jail cell somewhere with no recollection of how I got there or what I had done, or cuffed to a hospital bed, or just dead. But as much as I hated these episodes, I did it regularly. A smart man remarked years ago this type of behavior demonstrates a base form of insanity,and it sure felt like it.

I haven’t lived like that for a very long time. Curiously, to this day, that self-destructive voice that drove me all those years ago, cloaked in all manner of guises (fear), still whispers in my mind’s eye in an attempt to drag me back into that old life and ways of thinking. Such is the profound and deep-rooted nature of addiction thinking. The good news is today I have a Recovery tool kit to rely on so when it starts in,I stop and employ the tools that experience, both mine and others, have shown to be effective, a day at a time. 

Miracles Of Recovery 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Miracles Of Recovery Blueprint

To address the increasing overdose death rate as well as the staggering relapse rate for individuals who have “completed” a professional program, I created Miracles Of Recovery. Having over 30 years’ experience down in the mud, the blood and the tears of addiction, both as someone in recovery and a treatment professional, the truth is:
RECOVERY IS NOT ONE SIZE FITS ALL
There are many paths to freedom and successful recovery is as much an art as a science. The heartbreaking truth is we have the tools for success, it is the application where we are failing. This 13-page document details a new approach to recovery, building bridges across the spectrum of treatment, utilizing all the current tools and paths of recovery, creating sustainable new platforms for real world and cyber engagement with current recovery communities and treatment professionals as well as creating new sustainable communities for those currently struggling to connect. Creating real long-term affordable aftercare, as well as providing help and support for those who have loved ones in recovery or have tragically lost someone to addiction. While providing new and innovative income streams beyond Healthcare Providers and Government to make it all work. Please click on the link below.

Miracles Of Recovery Blueprint


© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved Miracles Of Recovery, Overdose Death, Alcoholism, Wayne Dyer, Drug Addiction, Zen, Emmet Fox, Opioids, Heroin,Einstein, AA, Healing Path Recovery, Drug Rehab, #Drug Addiction, #Drug Rehab, #Healing Path Recovery, #Heroin, #Opioids

“Courage is the price that Life exacts for granting peace.” – Amelia Earhart.

 “We can laugh at those who think spirituality the way of weakness. Paradoxically, it is the way of strength. The verdict of the ages is that faith means courage. All men of faith have courage.” Alcoholics Anonymous. 

Society often honors those who demonstrate courage, sacrifice and selfless devotion with medals, commendations and public recognition, and this is as it should be. But every day, millions, if not billions, without recognition or fanfare quietly stand and courageously demonstrate over fear. How do I know? Without this courage, this world could not, would not survive.

Living on the Spiritual Basis requires us to stand in the light, exposed, often being targeted by those still in the grip of the darkness of the bondage of self. Courage is birthed and strength in Spirit realized when we have faith in something greater than ourselves, refusing to condemn those who condemn; selfless love quietly on display. This is the fabric which binds us together, holds the center and provides the foundation we all rely and stand on. So, just for today, be of good cheer, raise your head and be counted, for you have chosen to walk the path of a courageous warrior of peace.

Miracles Of Recovery 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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I am a hiker. I live in Southern California which is a wonderful place to live if you love to hike. Mountains, hills, and panoramic views abound. My “playground” is the Laguna Wilderness area. It surrounds the town of Laguna Beach with some 77 miles of hiking trails. Now, Laguna Beach is an artist colony and a beautiful little town. It runs along the coast climbing from the Pacific Ocean to the top of the steep hills that border it and is a destination not only for tourists but locales as well. Now, there are only three ways into Laguna, either by Pacific Coast Highway from the north and south or Laguna Canyon Road from the east.

One of the starting points for my hikes is Coastal Peak Park. The road that leads to it parallels a toll road that intersects Laguna Canyon Road. Now, the road that leads to this park is wide and well maintained, but dead ends at the park, was never connected to Laguna, and is clearly marked as having no outlet. Yet invariably about every five minutes or so a vehicle will come zooming down this road, the driver thinking they have found a “secret” back door into Laguna avoiding the inevitable traffic and/or tolls. They arrive at the turnaround, pause for a moment and then speed back the way they came. Maps clearly show this road ends, has no outlet, yet this continues unabated, something I have observed for years.

We have all done it at times in our lives. We saw the signs that we were headed in the wrong direction, but we sold ourselves on the idea that it would be OK, or worse, we really weren’t seeing what we were seeing, a form of willful blindness. Now, a driving mistake is one thing, the price a little extra burned fuel, some lost time. But what of the signs ignored in the areas of relationships, our children, careers and the like? We must learn to pay attention to the signs, and if heading in the wrong direction or toward a dead end, stop and alter course, to trust our intuition, the voice that speaks the truth, even when we don’t want to hear it. And if we are unsure of what direction to follow, we seek guidance, perhaps secular, perhaps spiritual, hopefully both. Oh, and even if on the wrong road, there is always something to learn and see, the road to Coastal Peak Park provides some wonderful views, both ways.

Miracles Of Recovery

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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From Fear all forms of Spiritual disease and unease are birthed, and Fear is a bluffer. Look back on your life,think of all the things you were frightened of that turned out to be phantoms once walked through, and even if it was something difficult, it rarely was as bad as imagined. We are bombarded with fear daily. Most of the advertising we are subjected to is fear based. Hurry to this or that sale or you will be a loser and miss out on the buy of the year. If you have thinning hair, and want to be a real man, buy this product or have that procedure. Better buy gold or silver now, before it skyrockets in price and the economy collapses, the list is nearly endless. Add to this the daily drumbeat of negativity in news reports and it becomes abundantly clear that we live in a world where the one true Adversary, Fear, clearly holds sway.

And Fear is a liar. Do bad things happen? Of course. There will be: economic downturns, people we love and care about will die, wars and rumors of wars will abound, interpersonal conflicts (over, if we are honest, things usually quickly forgotten), floods, famines, droughts, and yes, balding all happen. Such is the world, but every day, billions of people do the right thing, help others,support the downtrodden, care for those sick and suffering and they are invisible, their stories rarely reported. People just like you.

Living On The Spiritual Basis we learn to look beyond the headlines, the ads and people who feed our fears.There are many unassailable truths, and this is one: no one gets out alive. Tobe free, we must hold in our heart the truth about death and not let our fear of it dominate us. This temporary fleshy conveyance will one day return from whence it came, we however will continue, for we are in truth Spiritual beings experiencing the human condition, not human beings searching for the Miraculous; for our True Self, the I Am, is part and parcel of the Great Eternal Creative Life Force at the heart of all creation, currently traveling in this flesh, but is not constrained or defined by it any more than we derive any real significance from the type of car we drive.

So take reasonable precautions in life for this is only rational, plan for rainy days for the rain comes for all but we must never lose sight of our true eternal nature for in so doing, we triumph over the fear driven life.

Miracles Of Recovery 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Living on the Spiritual Basis is often about stepping out in faith and taking risks. Leaving the job or career where we are “comfortable” but uninspired or just plain bored. Asking someone out on a date, risking rejection. Agreeing to go on a date, risking rejection. Leaving a relationship that is “comfortable” when we know it is time to go in our heart of hearts. Giving the keys to the car for the first time to that newly minted teenage driver. There are many more, some, like trying a new restaurant or hair color, having decidedly less lasting impact than some of the above, but taking risks is part of life. Without taking risks,nothing changes, growth is stifled. Einstein went against the orthodoxy of the time and changed the world of physics forever. Edison and Bell failed more times than they succeeded, yet they are hailed as two of the greatest genius inventors of all time. They all shared one thing in common: they stepped out in faith,risked, believing there existed a new way or approach, a different way of looking at things, leading to material and intellectual progress, in fact,changing the world forever.

We must stay open to the winds of change in our lives. There is a voice in all of us, the voice of the Miraculous, that sings to us, encourages us, fuels our dreams and aspirations. Most unfortunately will opt for the safe, the comfortable, and fail to heed its call, choosing to watch the play rather than participate in it. So, just for today, take a risk, order something different from the menu or try a new restaurant, take the longer scenic route home, sing out loud in the car or dance around the house, unmindful of who may be watching. When we do these small things daily, we begin to demonstrate over fear, and once released from the bondage of fear our lives improve in ways undreamed of, our thinking expands with new insights and who knows, you just may change the world.

Miracles Of Recovery 

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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Failure is inevitable. Everyone fails. Often. Consider the observations of a few highly successful people about the importance of failure in our growth: “Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be” – John Wooden, “We are all failures – at least the best of us are.” – J.M. Barrie, “The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.” – Henry Ford, “Failures are finger posts on the road to achievement.” – C.S. Lewis, “Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit.” – Napoleon Hill, and “Failure is so important. We speak about success all the time. It is the ability to resist failure or use failure that often leads to greater success. I’ve met people who don’t want to try for fear of failing.” – J.K. Rowling

A spiritual advisor said to me long ago “Everyone takes a turn in the barrel.” When I look back on my life through the new pair of glasses living on the Spiritual Basis has provided, the times when I struggled the most were those when I took failure personally and lost sight of the truth, that in my life, my failures have invariably led me to my greatest awakenings, and my self-inflicted pain was the result of losing focus on this truth: behind every dark cloud the sun still shines and without the rain there would be no flowers.

Miracles Of Recovery

© Vincent Lee Jones Living In Spirit All Rights Reserved

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