Eight Step Recovery Quotes

“Breaking down does not have to mean reaching a catastrophe.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“Reflect on why your life is precious. Ask yourself: “What inspires me to live?”   • Reflect on the fact that death is unavoidable, and on how you want to live your life. Ask yourself: “How am I being in this life? What am I doing with my life?”   • Reflect that actions have consequences, and on some of the consequences of your actions. Ask yourself: “What actions have been a gain to my life? What actions have been a cost in my life?”   • Reflect on the ocean of inevitable suffering, the waves of sickness, aging, and death that one day will come even to you. Ask yourself: “What am I feeling right now?”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“Applying effort is more than just reading a book on recovery; it is about bringing some of the tools that have been suggested into action.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“In Tibet, the word for meditation is gom, which means “to become familiar with one’s self.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“The challenge for human beings is not how to avoid suffering, but how to face the pain that is inherent in our lives, and how not to create more suffering by our desperate attempt to avoid pain. Addiction is, perhaps, the most desperate measure we employ to escape suffering.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“We need to pick ourselves up out of the relapse, give ourselves a gentle, firm, kind talking to, and move on. Beating ourselves up and dwelling on the past keeps us stuck and overfocused on ourselves.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“Sometimes we need to allow ourselves to break down so we can choose different bricks to build ourselves back up.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“We can easily take the thoughts that appear in our minds for granted. We assume that they are true and believe that we must act on them. With mindfulness, we are trying to relate to our thoughts differently – not take them so seriously or buy into the stories they are telling us. To create this space around your thoughts, it can be helpful to write them down or to be able to recognize your “favorites” – the ones that regularly appear in your mind and that you get caught up in.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“Learning to be with our experience is not easy. It can feel counterintuitive, like the last thing one should sensibly do. Hearing our thoughts can be even scarier. It can help to recognize that we are not our thoughts, and that we don’t have to act out our thoughts. We don’t have to believe our thoughts. We don’t have to identify with our thoughts.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“When we crave something, we are holding on to the desire for the pleasurable aspects of an experience, while denying or ignoring its painful and unpleasant aspects. Craving is inextricably linked to suffering. We can be abstinent and still crave the experience we have abstained from, which is why it is important for us to cultivate sobriety of mind: a mind that is free of craving, calm, and clear-sighted.”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction

“Step One: accepting that this human life will bring suffering    Step Two: seeing how we create extra suffering in our lives    Step Three: embracing impermanence to show us that our suffering can end    Step Four: being willing to step onto the path of recovery and discover freedom    Step Five: transforming our speech, actions, and livelihood    Step Six: placing positive values at the center of our lives    Step Seven: making every effort to stay on the path of recovery    Step Eight: helping others by sharing the benefits we have gained”
― Valerie Mason-John, Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction